"The price is only thirty percent of ours?"
Someone shouted with a cracking voice, and some people's faces twisted in disbelief.
Huang He, the leader of the group, though his expression remained unchanged, the cigarette he was holding triumphantly suddenly dropped onto the table.
It showed that his inner turmoil was far from the calm he displayed.
"Director Wang, you can't be joking, can you? Thirty percent of our price? That wouldn't even cover our costs, would it?"
Huang He gritted out the words, which was met with a hearty laugh from Makarov, the leader of the delegation from the Ice Bear Kingdom.
"This price might not even cover your costs.
However, our technology and equipment are much more advanced than yours, allowing us to control costs to a certain extent. Therefore... we won't be losing money!"
Andre said proudly, though he left one sentence unsaid.
It was true they wouldn't lose money, but they wouldn't make much either.
Of course, at this point, they didn't care about making a profit. Having orders to fill, revitalizing their capital, and clearing inventory was the best blessing from heaven.
Moreover, the workers didn't care about the wages anymore, as long as they had something to eat!
In other words, their labor costs were almost zero; they'd work for a loaf of bread!
These words naturally couldn't be spoken to others, so Makarov and his team maintained an air of pride.
This made Huang He and his entourage gnash their teeth.
"This is unethical! Is this intense competition really necessary? What are they even after? You guys aren't losing money, but we're at a huge disadvantage!"
They not only lost the wealthy patron Wang Yu but also had to bear breach of contract penalties!
At this point, someone couldn't hold back and began to plead with Wang Yu.
"Director Wang, we were wrong. Considering our long-standing cooperation, please take care of us and continue to cooperate at the original price."
The speaker was the director of the kettle factory. Among those present, aside from Huang He, he had the most extensive cooperation with Wang Yu.
After all, electric kettles had become one of Wang Yu's flagship products, and the contract manufacturing alone had made their once-failing factory incredibly profitable.
This inevitably bred ambition in him. He wondered why Wang Yu was earning the lion's share when most of the work was done by them through contract manufacturing.
Thus, he had come with everyone else to pressure Wang Yu into increasing prices.
But who would have thought that Wang Yu would completely ignore them and directly undermine them by finding the Ice Bear Kingdom as a supplier?
This made the director of the kettle factory panic. He quickly and profusely apologized and tried to curry favor with Wang Yu.
"Heh, I gave you face and looked out for you. So, who will look out for me? We all need to eat, and we have so many workers to support. It's not easy for any of us."
Wang Yu replied slowly.
Well, he had simply thrown back the words that everyone else had directed at him earlier, leaving everyone gasping for air.
"I've given this decision a lot of thought. I didn't want to fall out with all of you. But you all insisted, repeatedly saying you'd rather pay the breach of contract penalty. I had no choice."
Wang Yu spread his hands, his tone filled with an air of innocence.
"Yesterday, the delegation from the Ice Bear Kingdom delivered the first batch of orders, including various parts and contract manufacturing. And the quality is very good. Our workers are already working overtime to get it done.
I still wanted to give you all face, considering our long cooperation, but clearly, you rejected my goodwill.
So, I can only say, sorry!"
"..."
The crowd was rendered speechless. Wang Yu's words were flawless.
After all, he had pointed out that he had offered them a chance before, but they were blinded by profit and insisted on cornering Wang Yu.
And now, they had dug their own graves!
"We had a good relationship, but you went and found an external supplier, and such a low-cost, competitive one at that. Can we still play together happily like this?"
Everyone looked at Wang Yu with disappointment, even despair.
"Wait, that's not right!"
Huang He suddenly spoke, his cloudy eyes widening as he stared intently at Wang Yu, then burst into manic laughter.
"Hahahaha, you cunning little brat! You almost got away with it!"
Huang He roared with laughter and then shouted to the crowd, "You've all been fooled by Wang Yu."
"Fooled?"
Everyone was stunned, especially the director of the kettle factory. His formerly dejected expression, like his mother had died, instantly regained its spirit.
"That's right, everyone think about it. Even if the production costs in the Ice Bear Kingdom are lower than ours, how much profit can they make at such a low price? Why would they travel all this way to get involved in this mess?"
Huang He's words resonated with everyone, and they nodded in agreement. It made a lot of sense.
If the same situation happened to them, unless they were truly desperate, they wouldn't be willing to do such thankless work!
"Moreover, Wang Yu, you've overlooked a crucial point!"
Huang He looked at Wang Yu triumphantly, picked up the cigarette that had fallen on the table, relit it, and took a puff.
"You just said that the first batch of supplies from the Ice Bear Kingdom arrived yesterday, and the workers are already working overtime... This is the biggest loophole!"
Huang He's face was full of smugness. "All your factory buildings were locked up, clearly because production in your workshops stopped and the workers were on holiday after we cut off your supply.
Where did you get the idea of overtime from?"
At this point, Huang He could no longer hide the triumphant expression on his old face.
"Yes! That's right!"
"Director Huang He is indeed far-sighted and experienced!"
"Damn it, we were almost fooled!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
...
Everyone suddenly perked up. Their dejected spirits, like frostbitten eggplants, were instantly revitalized, and they once again held their heads high, as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
Their eyes, one after another, gleamed as they looked at Wang Yu.
They were almost deceived!
Wang Yu, this young man, despite his age, is so cunning. Fortunately, he's not Zhuge Liang, and Director Huang He isn't Sima Yi!
Let's see what else you have to say!
"Heh, you're talking about that?"
Wang Yu shrugged. "A few days ago, our factory moved to a new location.
Secretary Yang approved it for me. A batch of bankrupt factories were acquired, and the new areas were connected.
The reason you saw our factory buildings with their doors locked and empty was...
...because the equipment inside had all been moved out, along with all the workers, to the new factory site."
Wang Yu said calmly, then glanced at his watch.
"If my calculations are correct, the workers should have already completed a twelve-hour overnight shift. It's time for them to rest.
Well, Director Huang He, would you like to visit and inspect my new factory?"
"You..."
With a *snap*, the cigarette in Huang He's hand finally fell to the ground.