After the Lesser Fullness of Grain (Xiaoman), the summer heat in the provincial capital intensified, the sycamore leaves gleamed glistening in the sun, and cicadas chirped incessantly in the streets and alleys, yet they couldn't dispel the palpable anxiety permeating the food industry. Lin Wanqiu sat in her office at the new headquarters of the Food Industry Association, her fingertips tracing the pile of letters on her desk, her brow furrowed into a shallow frown. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor, mirroring the complex and unsettling situation within the industry, a feeling of heaviness settling in her heart.

Just two months after the association's establishment, the previously regulated market suddenly became turbulent. First, several food companies from other regions flooded into the provincial market with low-priced products, dumping pastries, canned goods, and other products below cost and quickly seizing a significant market share. Then, several smaller food factories in the province, unable to withstand the competitive pressure, successively suspended operations. Even two well-established brands with good reputations fell into operational difficulties due to rising raw material costs and squeezed market share.

"President Lin, this is an urgent letter from Mr. Sun Defu, the owner of Qinghe County. His pastry factory is about to go bankrupt." Chen Min, the association's secretary-general, handed over a crumpled letter, her tone anxious. "And the Hongxing Canned Food Factory in the provincial capital just called to say that their products are being squeezed out of the wholesale market by brands from other regions, and they can hardly sell them. They have tens of thousands of cans of food piling up in their warehouses, and their cash flow is becoming a problem."

Lin Wanqiu took the letter, his fingertips touching the rough paper, as if he could feel Sun Defu's anxiety. The handwriting was messy, and the words were full of despair. He said that the pastries from other places were not only 30% cheaper than theirs, but also advertised "new technology, old taste," which made them very popular with consumers. His factory's pastries were completely ignored, and he was almost unable to pay his workers' wages.

Putting down the letter, Lin Wanqiu felt a mix of emotions. She recalled her initial visit to Sun Defu's small factory, the simple yet clean workshop, and Sun Defu's transformation from resistance to trust. Now, such diligently run small businesses were facing a survival crisis, while those companies dumping their products, seemingly dominating the market, were actually disrupting the normal competitive order. In the long run, the entire industry would suffer greatly.

"Have you thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of these out-of-town companies?" Lin Wanqiu looked up at Chen Min, her tone calm yet carrying a subtle sharpness.

“We’ve investigated a portion of them.” Chen Min nodded and handed over an investigation report. “It mainly involves three companies from neighboring provinces. They have capital backing, adopt a large-scale production model, lower raw material costs, and then seize the market by dumping at low prices. Moreover, we found that some of their products have quality problems, such as excessive additives in pastries and inaccurate expiration dates on canned goods. However, because of their low prices, many consumers still buy them.”

Lin Wanqiu flipped through the investigation report, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. In her past life, as a food blogger, she had an almost obsessive commitment to food safety. In this life, having founded her food workshop, she upheld "honest operation and quality as the foundation" as her core principles. These businesses, resorting to any means for profit, not only harmed consumers' health but also undermined fair competition within the industry. She could not stand idly by.

"No, we must come up with a solution as soon as possible." Lin Wanqiu stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the rows of factories in the distance. She already had a preliminary idea in mind. "If we let them dump their products like this, not only will small businesses in the province go bankrupt, but even some strong companies will be impacted. The entire industry will fall into chaos. Now that our association has been established, we must protect everyone and uphold fairness and justice in the industry."

As they were talking, the office door was pushed open, and several vice presidents of the association walked in, all with anxious expressions on their faces. Among them, Zhang Hongye, who runs the largest candy factory in the province, spoke first: "President Lin, you must think of a solution! Our factory's candy sales have been declining for half a month. If this continues, we won't be able to hold on."

"Yes, Chairman Lin, those out-of-town companies are so unscrupulous! They're dumping goods at low prices and selling inferior products; they're practically disrupting the market!" Li Jianguo, who runs a cannery, chimed in, his voice full of indignation. "Can't we unite, lower our prices, and fight them head-on?"

"No way!" Lin Wanqiu immediately rejected the suggestion. "They have the capital to back them up. If we blindly lower our prices, we will only fall into vicious competition, which will ultimately lead to a lose-lose situation and make the entire industry suffer losses."

"What can we do? We can't just stand by and watch them take away our market!" Zhang Hongye stamped his feet anxiously.

Lin Wanqiu turned around, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said firmly, "Don't panic, everyone. The more critical the moment, the calmer we need to be. I believe the key to dealing with the current competition lies in 'unity' and 'quality improvement.' First, we must unite all the companies within the association to form a joint force and resist the impact of companies from other regions. Second, we must adhere to the bottom line of quality and enhance our core competitiveness through technological innovation and product upgrades. Third, we must expose the quality problems of low-priced products to consumers and guide them to make rational consumption decisions."

She paused, then continued, "In addition, we need to formulate comprehensive industry standards as soon as possible so that illegal and non-compliant companies have nowhere to hide. Only by regulating market order can honest companies have better development space and allow the entire industry to embark on a healthy development path."

"Setting industry standards?" Li Jianguo frowned. "That's probably not something that can be accomplished in a day or two, is it? We're facing an imminent crisis!"

“It does take time to develop industry standards, but it’s the fundamental solution,” Lin Wanqiu patiently explained. “We can take a two-step approach. First, we can develop temporary industry regulations to address the current prominent quality issues and work with market supervision departments to investigate and rectify them. At the same time, we can accelerate the improvement of formal industry standards, forming a complete regulatory system from raw material procurement and production to product inspection and market sales. In this way, we can not only quickly curb the chaos but also lay the foundation for the long-term development of the industry.”

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