"Pah! What is this meat sauce? It's nowhere near as good as our braised meat sauce. Now I'm relieved. Once everyone tastes this, they definitely won't buy that anymore, and our business will go back to how it was yesterday."
Du Ziteng exaggeratedly spat out the ingredients from his mouth, his heavy heart slightly eased. He thought that with this taste, it really couldn't compare to what Liu Nian ge made, and it certainly wouldn't affect their business.
"The taste isn't great, but it's cheap, and there's meat. The portion size isn't as big as ours, but it's not small either. If it were me, I'd still choose them..." Zhang Ziping said in a low voice. After saying this, he instinctively lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone. He was an orphan, timid and lacking confidence since childhood, and it took him immense courage to speak just now. Everyone knew his personality, so they were quite surprised when he spoke up. Even Zhang Liunian glanced at him with a little surprise, inwardly commending the boy for being quite perceptive. Indeed, for that price, people would accept it even if the taste wasn't very good.
"Young girls and wives love a bargain. Now that South City has meat sauce that's one dollar cheaper than ours, it's bound to have an impact. Otherwise, why would we have only sold less than ten thousand bottles this morning?" Grandpa Huang also agreed with Zhang Ziping's idea, as the morning's sales volume was a fact.
Zhang Liunian listened intently as everyone expressed their opinions, finally focusing his gaze on Grandpa Tang. "I also think we'll be impacted. It's human nature to be greedy for bargains." Grandpa Tang, who was working his first day, followed suit and offered his opinion when Zhang Liunian looked his way.
Zhang Liunian nodded. "There will definitely be an impact, but it's not like we have no way out."
"What way out?" Du Ziteng immediately asked curiously, seeing Zhang Liunian's confidence.
"Did the scalpers you asked to keep an eye on come to pick up goods today?" Zhang Liunian asked back instead of answering, confusing everyone. What did he mean?
"Not yet. They usually come around two or three in the afternoon, when there are the fewest people," Du Ziteng replied honestly.
"Bring them over when they arrive. I want to talk to them personally," Zhang Liunian instructed.
"Okay, but does what you told them have anything to do with this?" Du Ziteng asked, full of confusion. Why were they talking about scalpers?
"It has a bit to do with it." Zhang Liunian put down the meat sauce in his hand, crossed his hands in front of him, and wasn't worried at all about the sudden appearance of pirated goods.
But if he wasn't worried, Du Ziteng and the others were. Their daily sales had dropped from tens of thousands to just ten thousand today; this huge disparity was hard for them to accept.
"What does it have to do with it?" Du Ziteng felt like the impatient eunuch waiting for the emperor, deeply understanding the feeling now.
"I want to reach a deeper level of cooperation with them. They will become my agents and help me start selling three types of preserved vegetables outside." Zhang Liunian knew they were worried about the situation of piracy emerging, so he didn't hide it from them.
"Is that really okay? Won't they follow suit again?" Du Ziteng was still a little worried.
"Let them follow if they want, as long as they can keep up." Zhang Liunian had just estimated the cost of their preserved vegetables. Take the meat sauce, for example. The portion size was the same as his, about a pound. Even though the bottle took up some weight, there was a lot of meat inside. At most, the cost would be over ninety cents, and that didn't even include labor. They had hired so many people to work today, and labor was a significant expense. After deducting costs and labor, Zhang Liunian was certain their profit was less than five cents. This was even based on his generous estimate of the "friendship price" offered by the Tang family. If they really investigated carefully, it might be even less. It mainly depended on the wages paid to the people they hired. If the wages were high, the profit would be zero; if they were low, there would be a penny or two. If Zhang Liunian's estimation was correct, this tactic of harming the enemy a thousand while hurting themselves eight hundred wouldn't be sustainable for long. It would also be impossible for them to have the capacity to go to other cities or provinces, as there would be transportation and labor costs in between. Of course, if they also set up a factory, it wouldn't be impossible, but that would take time! This couldn't be done in a day; it would take at least ten days to half a month. With that much time, he would have new tricks.
"They can't keep up? No, that's not right. Who are these people who suddenly appeared? They're so capable, covering the streets of South City overnight. Someone with such ability couldn't possibly not keep up!" Du Ziteng said halfway through and then, realizing something, suddenly changed his tone.
"It might be the Tang family," said Grandpa Huang, because he knew the Tang family had a grudge against his elder brother, Zhang Liunian. And in South City, only the Tang family could completely dominate the market overnight. Because this was their territory, if they didn't have this much capability, they wouldn't be called the Tang family.
"The Tang family? They're that capable, actually hiring five hundred people all at once? And blocking all the people who used to sell goods for us?" Du Ziteng was shocked. He hadn't expected the Tang family to have such great capabilities.
"They are a family that, along with the Ding family, holds the dual power in South City. How could they not have this ability?" Grandpa Huang's expression was solemn and fearful, worried about not having good days ahead. What to do now? If Zhang Liunian was truly suppressed by the Tang family, they might really be unable to make a living in South City. At that time, they, the underlings, would not only go hungry but might even lose their lives. Although Zhang Liunian was very capable, two fists couldn't fight four hands, let alone a behemoth like the Tang family. Alas, what to do? Zhang Liunian was the benefactor they had finally found to make money. Living with him meant having money to spend and meat to eat every day. He didn't want Zhang Liunian to be defeated by the Tang family so soon!
Zhang Liunian was taken aback by the words, "The Tang family and the Ding family?" Right, he had heard this before, but later the Ding family suddenly had an accident and disappeared from the historical river of South City. It was also around that time that Fang Yan went mad. The timing was quite coincidental, and he wondered if there was any connection. Zhang Liunian began to recall those events. They were still four or five years away, so the time was still early. Moreover, since it had nothing to do with him directly, in his past life, he had only listened casually and hadn't paid much attention to remembering. However, he still remembered the reason for the Ding family's downfall. It was said that because a railway station was to be built in South City, the Ding family used their connections to insist on rerouting the railway specifically through Dingjia Village, setting up a small station. Most importantly, this matter was actually approved. As a result, when the higher authorities came to inspect, they discovered the blatant favoritism and abuse of power, and after some investigation, the entire Ding family was brought down. Ding Xiaoyue's affairs also fully erupted at that time, drawing widespread condemnation.