Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"It is said that the prices of our apples and pears in the market have started to fall, and the drop is quite large." Xiaoli looked embarrassed and spoke in a hurried tone.

My heart skipped a beat. These two fruits are the main products of our base. They have always been in short supply and the prices have been very stable. How could they suddenly drop in price?

"What's the amplitude? When did it start?" I asked immediately.

"The price of apples has dropped by 20%, and the price of pears has dropped by more than 10%. This happened only in the past two days," Xiaoli replied quickly.

I frowned. This 20% is not a small amount. If things go on like this, the base's profits will be greatly affected. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. "I understand. Ask the sales department to stabilize the channel partners first, continue to pay attention to market price changes, and report to me at any time."

Xiaoli nodded and left the office. But I could no longer concentrate on my work as before, because my mind was full of the falling product prices.

At this time, the office door was pushed open again, and Bai Hanchuan walked in. Seeing my serious expression, he asked with concern, "What's wrong? What happened?"

I told him the report from the sales department. After listening to it, he frowned slightly and said, "Price fluctuations are no small matter. We must find out the cause as soon as possible."

"I thought so too, but..." I hesitated, "I really can't think of what caused the price to drop. The product quality of our base has always been very good and the reputation is also good."

Bai Hanchuan walked over to me and patted my shoulder gently. "Don't worry, don't scare yourself. The market is changing rapidly and anything can happen. Let's investigate first."

His words made me feel more at ease. Yes, there is no point in just worrying here. The most urgent thing is to find out the truth.

"You're right, we have to go to the market." I made a prompt decision.

"I'll go with you." Bai Hanchuan said without hesitation.

I shook my head. “No, you have a lot of things to do in your company. I can go by myself.”

"I'll let Lin Xiao go with you, so you two sisters can have someone to take care of each other." Bai Hanchuan suggested.

Lin Xiao runs a flower shop and is familiar with the market situation. It is indeed a good choice to ask her to accompany me. "Okay, I'll give her a call."

An hour later, Lin Xiao and I arrived at the city’s largest agricultural product wholesale market…

Lin Xiao and I came to the city's largest agricultural product wholesale market. As soon as we walked into the market gate, a strong fruity aroma hit us. There were all kinds of fruits on display, and the sounds of hawking and bargaining were endless, making it very lively.

I took Lin Xiao and went straight to the apple and pear stalls, carefully observing the fruit situation in the market. As Xiaoli said, the price of apples and pears in the market is indeed lower than that in our base, and the quality of these fruits is also quite good.

"Jinli, look, those apples and pears are big and bright in color, no worse than the ones in our base." Lin Xiao picked up an apple and looked at it carefully.

I nodded, already having a guess in my mind, "It seems someone is engaging in a price war with us."

"Price war? Do you mean someone is deliberately dumping products at low prices?" Lin Xiao asked in surprise.

"Very likely." I pointed to a large stall not far away. "Look at that stall. The price of their apples and pears is nearly 30% lower than ours, and their sales seem to be pretty good."

Lin Xiao and I walked to the stall and pretended to be customers to ask about the price. The stall owner was a middle-aged man who enthusiastically introduced their fruits to us, his words full of pride.

"Boss, your fruits are so cheap, are they sold directly from the place of production?" I asked casually.

"Yes, girl, these are authentic Qixia apples, grown in our own orchard. There are no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference, so the price is so affordable." The stall owner said with a smile.

Qixia apples? I was shocked. Qixia is a well-known apple town in China, and the quality of their apples is really beyond reproach. It seems that the competitor this time is not simple.

After Lin Xiao and I left the stall, we found a secluded place to discuss countermeasures.

"Jinli, what should we do now? We can't just sit there and wait for death, right?" Lin Xiao asked worriedly.

"Of course not." I took a deep breath. "We must make changes to stay invincible in the competition."

"how do you want to do it?"

"First of all, we need to adjust our planting strategy. We cannot limit ourselves to apples and pears. We need to increase the diversity of our products, such as planting seasonal fruits and high-quality fruits, to increase the added value of our products," I analyzed calmly.

"Well, you are right. Now that people's living standards have improved, their demand for fruits has become more diversified. It's time for us to make a change." Lin Xiao nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, we need to expand sales channels. We cannot just rely on traditional wholesale markets, but we need to actively explore online sales channels, such as e-commerce platforms, community group buying, etc."

"I support you in all these, but..." Lin Xiao looked embarrassed, "After all, the scale of our base is limited. If we want to make so many changes at once, I'm afraid..."

I understand Lin Xiao's concerns. Funding, technology, and manpower are all difficult problems facing us.

"Don't worry, I will find a way to solve it." I patted Lin Xiao's hand with a firm tone.

After returning home, I told Bai Hanchuan about the market situation and my ideas. After listening to me, he pondered for a moment and said, "Your analysis is correct. If you want to win in the competition, you must make changes."

"But..." I hesitated to speak. Those difficult problems weighed on my heart like mountains.

Bai Hanchuan seemed to see through my thoughts. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will help you."

"You?" I looked at him in confusion, "How can you help me?"

He stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed a number...

Bai Hanchuan hung up the phone, turned to me and said, "I have contacted several large supermarkets and fruit store chains. They are very interested in our fruits and are willing to cooperate with us."

I opened my mouth in surprise. "How did you do it? These big supermarkets and chain stores are not so easy to cooperate with, right?"

He smiled, with a hint of pride in his tone, "I forgot to tell you, I have a friend who works in the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and he helped us to make the connection."

It suddenly dawned on me that Bai Hanchuan had already paved the way for me, and I had really underestimated him before.

"Thank you, Hanchuan." I looked at him gratefully, feeling warm in my heart.

"Silly girl, why are you being so polite to me?" He ruffled my hair lovingly. "Just do it boldly. I will always be by your side to support you."

With the help of Bai Hanchuan, my confidence increased immediately. I started to contact those supermarkets and chain stores to discuss cooperation with them.

A few days later, Lin Xiao came to my house with a sad face.

"What's wrong? Xiaoxiao, have you encountered any difficulties?" I poured her a glass of water and asked with concern.

"Oh, don't mention it." She sighed, "My flower shop business has been slow recently. A new flower shop opened across the street. Their flowers are cheap and beautiful, and they have taken away all my customers."

Then I remembered that Lin Xiao’s flower shop was also located in the city center, so the competition must be fierce.

"Have you ever thought about how to deal with it?" I asked.

"I thought about it, but..." Lin Xiao bit her lip, "I have limited funds, I can't buy such cheap flowers, and my flower art skills are not as good as others..."

I held her hand and encouraged her: "Xiaoxiao, don't be discouraged. The problem you encounter is actually an opportunity, an opportunity for you to learn and grow."

"Opportunity?" Lin Xiao looked at me puzzled.

I nodded. "Think about it, why can other people sell flowers so cheaply? It's because they have wider supply channels and lower costs. Your flower art skills are not as good as theirs because you lack opportunities to learn and practice."

Lin Xiao was so absorbed in listening to this that she murmured, "You're right. I can't just stay where I am. I have to find a way to improve myself."

"So, what you need to do is to learn more about flower arrangement, visit the market more often, and look for better and cheaper sources of goods." I continued, "I believe that as long as you work hard, your flower shop will definitely be better than it is now."

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up, she clenched her fists and said firmly: "You are right, I can't give up easily, I have to work hard, I want to make my flower shop the best in the city!"

I was also very pleased to see Lin Xiao regain his confidence.

A few days later, I announced the new planting plan and sales strategy to all employees in the company conference room.

"We will introduce new varieties and expand the scale of planting. At the same time, we will cooperate with a number of large supermarkets and fruit chain stores to develop online sales channels..."

As soon as I finished speaking, there was warm applause in the conference room. Everyone's face was filled with confident smiles, full of hope for the company's future...

My eyes swept across the enthusiastic faces, and a surge of ambition surged in my heart. I seemed to see that with everyone's joint efforts, the planting base was booming, and our products were sold all over the country, even abroad, and to the world...

"Knock, knock, knock!" A series of rapid knocks on the door interrupted my thoughts and also brought the applause in the conference room to an abrupt end.

"Please come in." I frowned slightly, with a bad feeling in my heart.

The office door was pushed open and a soaking wet figure stumbled in.

"Boss Mu! Something bad has happened!"

I stood up suddenly, my heart in my throat, "What's wrong? Speak slowly!"

The person who came was my most trusted employee at the base, named Wang Qiang. He was a down-to-earth, hard-working man who never panicked for no reason. Judging from his appearance at the moment, something must have happened!

Wang Qiang was panting, his face pale, "The base... the base..."

"What's wrong with the base?" I grabbed his arm and asked anxiously.

"It's raining heavily, and many greenhouses have been flooded..." Wang Qiang's voice was trembling, with a hint of tears, "Many...many crops have been..."

Before he could finish his words, my cell phone suddenly rang.

I took a deep breath, tried to stay calm, and answered the phone.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Mu? I'm from the base..." The voice on the other end of the phone was also full of panic and fear.

I clenched the phone tightly, my knuckles turned white, and spoke with difficulty, "I... I understand..."