https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-202-The-Cultivation-Industry-Five-Parts-/12541011/
Chapter 203: The Sly Rabbit
Chapter 203: The Sly Rabbit
The artifact refining process initially went smoothly, but problems soon arose as Mo Hua heard Elder Yu scolding someone again.
Mo Hua went to check on the array at the refining store and found Elder Yu chatting with Yu Chenyi.
As they talked, Elder Yu began berating Qian Hong, calling him a "bloodsucking parasite," a "turtle with a soft shell," and a "devious creature," among other colorful insults.
Elder Yu continued his tirade, only to notice Mo Hua eavesdropping nearby, quietly taking notes and looking thoroughly entertained.
Mo Hua muttered under his breath, "I never thought of insulting people like that," and "I wonder what else I could say."
Clearing his throat, Elder Yu paused and then said to Mo Hua, "You didn't hear any of that."
"Mm," Mo Hua nodded. "I didn't hear a thing!"
Elder Yu's anger gradually subsided, and he found a chair to sit down calmly.
Mo Hua poured him a cup of tea and asked, "Is the Qian family causing trouble again?"
By now, Elder Yu was accustomed to chatting with Mo Hua and didn't hold back, except when it came to his choice words of insults.
After taking a sip of the tea Mo Hua had poured, Elder Yu sighed in relief and nodded. "We can't sell our spiritual artifacts."
"Are there no buyers?" Mo Hua asked.
"Of course, there are cultivators who want them," Elder Yu replied. "After all, spiritual artifacts like the vine armor and the simple sword are always useful. But I've talked to several traveling merchants and some hunters from other immortal cities, and they all think our prices are too high."
Mo Hua furrowed his brows in confusion. "I thought our prices were quite low?"
Since the refining store was large and had high production, the spiritual artifacts were priced lower than the market rate by one or two spirit stones.
"It's the Qian family," Elder Yu explained. "They're offering extremely low prices."
"Are they trying to undercut us?" Mo Hua asked.
"Yes," Elder Yu affirmed, his anger rising again as he spoke of the Qian family. "Their refining store treats cultivators like slaves, overworking them. They must have stockpiled spiritual artifacts in advance, specifically waiting for us to start production. Now they're dumping their stock at low prices to suppress us."
"That turtle, Qian Hong..." Elder Yu trailed off as he glanced at Mo Hua, swallowing the rest of his insults.
Mo Hua knitted his brows but, after a moment's thought, admitted that he didn't have a better solution. He looked up and noticed that, despite Elder Yu's anger, there was a hint of calm in his expression, so he asked, "Elder, do you have a plan?"
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "You've seen through me?"
"If you didn't have a plan, you'd be more anxious and your insults would be even worse," Mo Hua said.
Compared to before, Elder Yu's current outbursts were relatively "mild."
Elder Yu's expression turned slightly awkward, and he thought to himself that he should probably curse less in front of Mo Hua from now on. The boy was young and impressionable; he shouldn't be learning all these creative insults...
Clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, Elder Yu said, "As a matter of fact, I do have a plan."
Mo Hua poured him another cup of tea and asked curiously, "Can you tell me about it?"
Elder Yu considered for a moment and decided that this was a good opportunity to teach. "I told the traveling merchants that no matter what price the Qian family offers, we will undercut them by five fragments of spirit stones."
"Five fragments..." Mo Hua was impressed.
Elder Yu was indeed a shrewd businessman, carefully calculating his moves to undercut the competition by five fragments at a time.
"Five fragments is quite a significant discount," Elder Yu huffed. "With the number of artifacts we produce, those fragments will add up. It's not a small amount."
"What happens after that?" Mo Hua asked.
"Once we start selling and recuperating spirit stones, the Qian family won't be able to compete with us," Elder Yu said confidently.
"Why won't they be able to keep up?" Mo Hua was still a bit puzzled.
Elder Yu sighed and shook his head as he looked at Mo Hua. "Because of the arrays you draw."
"The Qian family is very secretive about their refining furnaces, and I couldn't find out much about them," he continued. "But I can see the quality of the spiritual artifacts they produce..."
"The Qian family's artifacts are of decent quality, but they still fall short of ours."
Elder Yu took a sip of tea before continuing, "I suspect they've inscribed a first-rate Melting Fire Array in their refining furnace, which is comparable to our smaller furnaces. But compared to our large-scale refining furnace, theirs falls short."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up as he understood.
"Is the large refining furnace a secret from the Qian family?" Mo Hua asked.
"The intricacies of refining furnaces are closely guarded secrets. I couldn't pry information about theirs, and naturally, we can't let them know about ours," Elder Yu replied.
"Won't they find out eventually?"
"As long as they don't know about it now, by the time they do, it'll be too late," Elder Yu said.
"Is there something I'm missing here?" Mo Hua inquired.
Elder Yu patiently explained, "Undercutting prices is a losing strategy in the long run. The Qian family is doing it because they believe their superior refining furnace and higher production capacity will crush us in the short term, even if they take some initial losses. But what they don't know is that our furnace is even better, and we can produce more."
"As time goes on, we'll recoup our investments and refine more and more spiritual artifacts. If they continue undercutting prices, they'll be cutting into their own profits and engaging in unprofitable business."
Elder Yu couldn't help but feel a bit gleeful at the thought.
"So, as long as we can get through this initial phase, we won't have to worry about the Qian family anymore, right?" Mo Hua asked.
"Exactly!" Elder Yu exclaimed triumphantly, "Then our refining business will be larger, our furnaces superior, our artisans more numerous, and the quantity and quality of our spiritual artifacts will surpass theirs. There will be no need to fear the Qian family."
Mo Hua nodded, beginning to grasp the situation, but he still felt there were some loopholes. Even if things played out as described, it would only result in mutual competition, with their side having some advantages.
That didn't explain Elder Yu's overly triumphant attitude.
Mo Hua gave the elder a suspicious glance, "Elder, do you have another trick up your sleeve?"
Elder Yu paused, looking at Mo Hua helplessly, "How did you become so cunning, like a little fox?"
Mo Hua's eyes sparkled with curiosity, awaiting Elder Yu's response.
"There's one more strategy, and that's to 'remove the firewood from under the cauldron,'" Elder Yu said.
"Remove the firewood from under the cauldron?" Mo Hua repeated.
"The Qian family's refining business is rushing to complete orders, which means their artisans are working day and night. Their own family members might be fine, but the hired artisans must resent the long hours. After all, they're just in it for a paycheck; no one wants to work like an ox..."
"I've sent people to secretly poach them. We'll offer more spirit stones, and they won't have to work around the clock. After some time, these artisans will be working for us instead," Elder Yu explained.
"I've also notified all the demon hunters. They are to sell their hunting materials to us and not to the Qian family. The same goes for the loose cultivators' markets; I've instructed them not to do business with the Qian family for the time being. If the Qian family causes them trouble, they can come to me, and I'll handle it."
A hint of mischief appeared in Elder Yu's eyes as he continued, "In the future, if the Qian family wants to refine artifacts, they'll lack both materials and artisans. This is what I mean by removing the firewood from under the cauldron."
On the surface, they were engaged in a price war, but behind the scenes, Elder Yu was poaching the Qian family's artisans and cutting off their supply of materials.
Mo Hua exclaimed, "Elder Yu, you're so devious!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
