Chen Zhe's "home appliance subsidy" plan has had some effect, which means that his method is still feasible. Although it can't make a lot of money, the main thing is to clear out the stockpiled goods in the warehouse.
Following this line of thought, he started promoting it in the live streaming room of Linglong Club.
Soon, he sold out all the home appliances in Zhe Shangzhe Supermarket.
However, after the sales were completed, a new problem arose: these large home appliances had reached a certain bottleneck. If they continued to operate according to the home appliance subsidy plan, they would not make money. But they could not stop purchasing inventory either. So now they had to negotiate prices with the manufacturers.
Having made an appointment with Luo Guifang, Chen Zhe planned to go to Changhe Group first.
Upon arriving at Changhe Group, Chen Zhe could see that Luo Guifang had just finished a meeting, and she looked tired.
Luo Guifang sat in the chair, rubbed her temples, and said with some helplessness, "Meetings all day long don't really decide anything. One issue is discussed over and over again. To be honest, I wasn't this tired when I started my business. I haven't been to your club in a long time. My whole body aches now, and I can't find the time to go even if I want to."
Chen Zhe, being very sensible, stood up and walked towards her.
"Isn't there a technician right here? Sister Luo doesn't need to go to the club."
Luo Guifang was slightly taken aback when she felt Chen Zhe place his hand on her shoulder.
"That's not what I meant. I don't want you to help me..."
"It's nothing, Sister Luo, it's just a small thing."
Luo Guifang nodded and accepted Chen Zhe's kindness. She sighed slightly, "I didn't expect that even though you're now the president, you'd still be willing to give me a massage. Compared to you, all the directors around me are so calculating. I'm really exhausted."
"My brother didn't do anything; he just couldn't bear to see Sister Luo so tired."
Luo Guifang patted Chen Zhe's hand and then smiled and said, "You are still as humble as ever. I suddenly remembered the first time we met. You helped me make an appointment with Master Xie. I was very grateful to you and gave you a little hint about the market. I originally thought I would give you a sum of money as a way of thanking you, but I didn't expect you to return the money to me. To be honest, I thought highly of you back then."
"Sister Luo was kind enough to give me pointers back then, so I must repay her kindness. Otherwise, what kind of person would I be?"
"Hahaha, repaying kindness... You're right. It's hard to find anyone who does that these days. They're either ungrateful wretches who want to take advantage of you, or good friends who stab you in the back. Heh, those board members, I've been with them since the start of the business. I helped them all get rich, but how did they repay me? They kept tripping me up for their own benefit. Didn't I talk to you about lowering the price before?"
"Yes, we talked on the phone."
"For the company to continue to develop, lowering prices seems to be the only way. However, I've also considered our previous relationships with some of our competitors. I finally reached a consensus with them and was preparing to implement the price reduction strategy, but then the board of directors objected. They felt that lowering prices would harm their interests, saying things like, 'We are a big brand, and big brands have their dignity.' That's all nonsense. What's the use of having a brand if we can't sell our products? Can a brand put food on the table?"
"Sister Luo, can't you be a little firmer?"
Chen Zhe knew that Luo Guifang was a decisive person, and such indecisiveness was not like her usual style.
"I do want to be tough, but my company isn't run by one person; my word alone doesn't count."
Chen Zhe nodded. This incident clearly showed that Hu Ling was more capable than Luo Guifang. Hu Ling held absolute power in the companies of the Linglong Chamber of Commerce, and she could do whatever she wanted. In contrast, Luo Guifang was overwhelmed by a single board of directors.
"Forget about that, what brings you here today?"
Luo Guifang asked.
I came here today hoping to talk to Luo Guifang about lowering prices, but there's no point in saying anything now, since Luo Guifang can't solve the problem anyway.
"Sister Luo, I just happened to be passing by and stopped by to see you."
Luo Guifang smiled; "Give me a break, it's about a price reduction, right?"
"Haha, I can't hide it from you, but after hearing what you just said, I think this method is not feasible for the time being."
"Yes, it is indeed a bit difficult. They are now united against me. To put it bluntly, they might oust me later."
"Huh? Really? Didn't you found this company?"
"So what if I founded it? I only own 19% of the company now, and the board of directors adds up to 21. If they ever turn against me, they can vote me out."
Luo Guifang sounded quite helpless when she said those words.
"Sister Luo, I believe they won't do that."
"Well, I hope so, Chen Zhe. I will continue to work on this matter, so you don't need to worry."
"good."
The two chatted for a while longer before Chen Zhe left Changhe Group.
He approached several other brands to discuss price reductions, but things didn't go smoothly. They believed the current difficulties were only temporary and that the market would naturally improve over time.
Chen Zhe wasn't so optimistic; he felt that the current market conditions might be the best they'd be in the next few years.
After a long day, Chen Zhe was met with a cold shoulder. Just as he was about to return to Linglong Club, Chen Si called him again.
"Little brother, are you free?"
Chen Zhe was supposed to go back to the company to handle some matters, but Chen Si rarely called him.
"I'm free whenever you need me, sister.
Chen Si chuckled.
"You're such a good brother. Come visit your sister's house sometime. I get quite bored by myself."
"Give me 20 minutes, I'll be right there."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
...
Twenty minutes later, at Chen Si's villa.
Chen Si was sitting in the living room, wearing a slip dress and drinking red wine.
Her big, fat cat was lying on the sofa, stretching and sleeping.
The empty living room, with only one person and one cat, felt exceptionally desolate.
"I'm sorry, I called you here even though I knew you had to go to work."
Chen Si smiled slightly, expressing her apology.
Chen Zhe stepped forward and poured himself a glass of wine.
"Why are you drinking alone, sister? You should have called me beforehand. I feel a little uncomfortable seeing you drinking alone."
Chen Si chuckled and then placed her hand on Chen Zhe's chest.
"Let me hear it, is your heart aching?"
She really did lie on Chen Zhe's chest.
A few seconds later, he felt Chen Si's shoulder twitching.
He immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"Sister Chen, is something the matter?"
After sitting down, Chen Si turned her head away and wiped away her tears.
"No, nothing, I just miss you."
"Sister Chen, you don't have to hide anything from me. I don't want to see you suffer alone."
After hearing this, Chen Si finally couldn't hold back anymore. She buried her face in Chen Zhe's chest and burst into tears. She didn't look like a strong woman at all, but more like a little girl who had been bullied.
She cried for about 3 minutes.
She finally managed to stop crying.
"Chen Zhe, I might go bankrupt."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhe was shocked. Chen Si was the former richest woman in Donghai City. She was going bankrupt? How come he had never heard of it? If there were any signs, the news should have spread by now. But Chen Si wouldn't lie to him like this.
"Sister Chen, what exactly happened?"
Chen Si gave a bitter smile.
"You should know that most of my businesses are in real estate."
Chen Zhe nodded.
"Even if the real estate market is sluggish right now, with your size and resources, you shouldn't have to go bankrupt, right?"
"Sigh... To be honest, my company started to decline a few years ago. During that period, I took on a lot of projects and invested a lot of money, but those projects required too much capital, so I had to borrow a lot more from the bank..."
How much did you borrow?
"I borrowed about 30 billion yuan, 20 billion yuan in the company's name and 10 billion yuan in my personal name. I have to repay more than 100 million yuan in principal and interest every month. Actually, I've been holding on for a long time... People outside say I'm the richest woman in Donghai. Haha, little brother, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. Actually, I'm the most indebted woman. There was that foreign trade policy a while ago, right? Because of that foreign trade policy, many companies couldn't survive. Our relationship with them is closely related. If they can't survive, naturally it's hard for us to survive too. At this critical juncture, the banks increased our risk and classified us as a dangerous enterprise, and stopped giving us financing. Haha, I won't be able to repay next month, so I'm going bankrupt."
When he actually said the word "bankruptcy," his lips were trembling, and Chen Zhe could feel the pain in his eyes.
“Brother, do you know how much pain I’ve been going through lately? I really can’t tell anyone else. I’m under so much pressure. I can only call you.”
Chen Zhe patted Chen Si on the back.
Is there anything I can help you with?
Chen Si had helped him a lot, so Chen Zhe wanted to help her as well.
Chen Si shook his head; "No need, this amount is too large, no one can help me unless the bank is willing to continue financing us, otherwise we can only go into bankruptcy liquidation."
"Then let's go to the bank manager and ask them to make an exception."
"It's no use. I've gone to them several times, but they either refuse to see me or find an excuse to kick me out. Haha, it's ironic! When I was doing well, they lined up behind me begging for loans, but now... haha, reality is just that cruel."
Chen Zhe nodded.
Seeing that Chen Si seemed to have given up, he didn't force her anymore, but secretly made a mental note of it.
He comforted Chen Si several times.
Chen Zhe left in the evening.
Standing at the gate of Chen Si's villa, looking at the huge estate.
He recalled every little detail of his encounter with Chen Si.
Chen Si helped him open his supermarket. When Hu Ling first disappeared, Linglong Club was in dire straits. At that time, Chen Si silently supported him. He asked her for money, land, and people, and she supported him in everything. Now that Hu Ling is in trouble, he has to help her, even if he knows he may not have the ability to do so.
"Sister Chen, don't worry, I won't let you go bankrupt."
Having made up his mind, Chen Zhe turned and left.
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com