Chapter 29 of 100

Chapter 29

14 min read3,401 words

"Make the Wang family regret, make them weep bitterly, make them go bankrupt!" Yuan Zhaoyi was indignant, acting like a hotheaded youth.

However, Li Xian had already become somewhat wary of this Yuan Zhaoyi.

Li Xian turned to look at Zhang Quan, "Brother Zhang, I know you are the most meticulous. What's the current situation with the Wang family?"

Zhang Quan thought for a moment, "Empress Hua is still Empress Hua, and the Emperor still shows some favor to the Wang family. Besides, there are hints of the royal family behind the Wang family's imitation of the lanterns. This is one of the reasons I didn't tell you before. After investigating part of the situation, I didn't dare to continue."

"Evidence?" Li Xian's eyes sparkled. If the matter involved the royal family, it would be much more complicated.

"Only one piece of circumstantial evidence, the night lanterns. The Wang family's shops don't sell night lanterns! Even when people were secretly approached, the Wang family didn't respond."

"Circumstantial evidence?" Li Xian rubbed his fingers, deep in thought for a long time. "Circumstantial evidence is enough. It makes sense that the royal family is involved. I heard that the Emperor is already crazy with poverty."

Yuan Zhaoyi immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, he's so poor that he's started selling official positions. Just 5,000 taels of gold can get you a third-rank official; 10,000 taels of gold can get you a second-rank official. I heard the Wang family is already planning to spend 20,000 taels of gold to buy a first-rank official position."

"Hmm." Li Xian nodded. This seemingly joking remark from Yuan Zhaoyi revealed a very important piece of information and evidence—the Emperor was really crazy with poverty! And the Wang family was also making moves!

Li Xian thought for a while before speaking, "Since the royal family is involved, we will abandon the low-end market. For the lanterns, we will occupy the mid-range and high-end markets. At the same time, we will engage in a price war by raising prices."

"Spit..." Shangguan Yong spat out a mouthful of tea, "Brother Xian, did I hear you right? You said a price war, and you want to raise prices?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"Of course there is a problem, a big problem. In a price war, you should lower prices, right?"

Li Xian smiled confidently, "If our lanterns can last for five years, what do you think? And if we only produce mid-range and high-end lanterns, our workload will be greatly reduced. That way, we can focus on fine craftsmanship, making the lanterns even more beautiful and vibrant."

Zhang Quan calculated for a while, "This can also reduce the costs of protection and transportation, and subtly show the royal family that we are making a concession. But this will affect our reputation. Others will see us as weak and easy to bully."

Li Xian chuckled, "Didn't you just say that the royal family might be involved behind the lanterns? We will temporarily make a concession to show the royal family that we are reasonable. But we won't let the Wang family off. Find all the locations of the Wang family's fabric shops. We will open a 'Brilliant Star Fabric Shop' chain store right across from each of their shops, and our prices will be 10% lower than the Wang family's fabric prices.

"Since we are using a large number of machines for weaving, we can outperform the Wang family in both quantity and cost. In terms of quantity, we can say we have an endless supply, as long as we have enough raw materials, we have plenty of fabric. In terms of cost, machine weaving is 20% to 30% cheaper than hand weaving, and the fabric is more uniform and delicate."

"Right, let's do it!" Shangguan Yong shouted, "We should also act indignant, claim that our supply is insufficient, and that we are losing money."

Yuan Zhaoyi shouted, "Great, great, excellent! I want the Wang family to be stuck with all their fabric. No, we should lure the Wang family into buying our fabric at a low price, and then let them be stuck with all their fabric. Ha ha..."

Zhang Quan squinted, his eyes flashing with a cold light, "Don't worry about raw materials. I have already contacted the merchants of the surrounding Chen Kingdom and agreed to buy all their textile materials at a price 10% higher than the market price."

Shangguan Yong immediately raised his hand, "I have also connected with the merchants of the Qi Kingdom, ensuring a steady supply of raw materials."

Yuan Zhaoyi shouted, "I have connected with the merchants of the Jin Kingdom."

Li Xian was overjoyed, "With the support of raw materials from three kingdoms, we are well-prepared for a major victory!"

For the next ten days, Li Xian, Zhang Quan, Shangguan Yong, and Yuan Zhaoyi discussed various strategies. Xu Ren watched from the side but never spoke up in front of them. He only shared his suggestions with Li Xian at night when they were alone.

During this process, Xu Ren helped Li Xian plan many covert moves that might be useful in the future.

Finally, after twelve days, the families of Zhang Quan, Shangguan Yong, and Yuan Zhaoyi sent 12,600 taels of gold. Then, the three of them left with their respective weaving machines. Of course, the machines were disassembled for transportation, and during this time, Li Xian also arranged for their guards to learn basic maintenance and assembly.

At the same time, they took away 6,000 bolts of fabric, which was all the inventory and the recent production over the past ten days. Although 6,000 bolts of fabric were not as impressive as 20,000, in this world without industry, 6,000 bolts of low-priced fabric were enough to cause a stir in the Wu Yang City fabric market.

Li Xian only wiped the cold sweat from his forehead after watching the three men's caravans disappear completely. These rascals were not idle during the twelve days, constantly trying to poach Li Xian's craftsmen. Fortunately, Li Xian had already won their loyalty through various means, including benefits, oaths, humane management, and a bright future.

After the three men left, the Li family's caravan finally arrived, loading the remaining goods and unloading a large amount of materials. Li Youwei also came personally to seek business advice from his nephew, Li Xian.

After Li Youwei left, Li Xian finally stretched lazily. This period had been extremely tiring, both physically and mentally. With the development of industry, it was no longer possible to work in isolation; entering the market was inevitable. But once they entered the market, it meant the risk of leaks. Li Xian had racked his brains to come up with a preliminary satisfactory plan.

However, the issue of conductors still hung like a noose around the neck of the scientific industry. As long as the conductor problem remained unsolved, the scientific industry could not develop significantly.

"Headache! Do I really have to go down the path of electrical science?" Li Xian looked at his plan, "Sigh, we already have a foundation. If there's no other way, we really have to go down the path of electrical science development. But, I'm not willing!"

Yes, he was not willing. Anyone in this situation would be unwilling to fail.

Looking out the transparent glass window at the green mountains and clear waters, Li Xian frowned.

With conductors, Li Xian was confident that his technology could advance rapidly. With conductors, he could realize many dreams. With conductors, he could control the entire industry and unleash the beast of science. But alas, there were no conductors.

For some reason, Li Xian began to feel restless: "I've read countless science fiction novels and countless穿越novels, but why did I encounter the conductor problem? There's not even a reference to borrow from!"

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