Chapter 235 - 236: Miss Qi’s Predicament

Chapter 235: Chapter 236: Miss Qi’s Predicament

This meeting looked like it was going to drag on for a while. After more than half an hour, Li Yang couldn’t sit still any longer, so he pushed the door open and paced the hallway a couple of times.

The office area was quite large. Before long, Li Yang had wandered to one side and heard angry shouting from inside a room.

"Our three Shunlong Supermarket locations in Ruizhou are all seeing a sharp drop in sales across the board. I’m asking you, who is going to take responsibility for this?"

"If this keeps up, our competitors will take our spot. I’ve told you all many times—we can’t panic in a situation like this. If we lose our composure, we may never get another chance to fight back."

"Alright. Now, tell me, why have our sales dropped?"

...

After a moment of silence, one person finally spoke up. "President Qi, it’s actually quite simple. Our competitor, Good Home Supermarket, is just being too aggressive. They’ve partnered with Quan’an Food Company, and as you know, Quan’an is advertising like crazy, talking about how natural and safe their produce is... Customers must have seen those ads and decided their produce is trustworthy, so now a lot of grocery shoppers are going there instead."

The others quickly chimed in, agreeing.

"On top of that, right when they struck the deal, Good Home Supermarket ran a three-day sale. Those were the three days our sales were lowest," the same person added, his voice tinged with resignation. "These are things we really have no control over. If only... if only our company had been the one to partner with Quan’an Company."

A wave of regret washed over the others.

Quan’an Company had actually approached them first to discuss a partnership, wanting to enter the local market.

But somewhere along the line, the negotiations fell apart, and no one else knew why.

Only Miss Qi knew!

Quan’an Food Company dealt in produce and was a major producer, making them a very important potential partner. That was why Miss Qi had approached the negotiations with the utmost sincerity.

But who would have guessed that the other party, upon seeing how beautiful Miss Qi was, would develop inappropriate designs on her.

Miss Qi was furious and rejected him outright.

Unexpectedly, her rejection infuriated him. He cut off negotiations immediately and went to partner with Good Home Supermarket instead.

It was clearly an act of malicious revenge.

Sitting in the meeting room, Miss Qi felt a pang of bitterness.

The stress from this whole affair was also why she had been feeling sick on and off these past few days.

’Is there really no way out of this?’

’You can’t underestimate the grocery business.’

’When customers come in for daily produce, they’re likely to pick up other things as well. Once it becomes a habit, they’ll subconsciously choose your supermarket for all their shopping needs.’

’That’s why produce is so important for a supermarket.’

’But now, we don’t have any advantage left!’

"President Qi, I suggest you go and try to talk with Quan’an Food Company again..." someone suggested. "Things have already gotten this bad. If we just let this continue, it’s not going to end well for any of us. It would be better to work things out with them and source our stock from them too. At the very least, that would put us on a level playing field with Good Home Supermarket, and we can compete from there."

The others all nodded in agreement. It was the best solution they had.

"Other than that, do none of you have any better ideas?" Miss Qi asked.

After a moment of silence, another voice piped up, "It’s not that simple, is it? They’re the biggest produce supplier in the area. If we don’t work with them, who else is there?"

Once again, the others murmured in agreement.

Miss Qi’s hands were clenched tightly beneath the table, but in the end, all she could do was force a bitter smile.

’It seems I really don’t have a choice.’

"Alright, meeting adjourned," Miss Qi said with a sigh. "I’ll figure something out."

The others quickly stood up and began filing out of the room.

As they left, Miss Qi could overhear them muttering to each other.

"Seriously, I have no idea how she managed to screw up that deal. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

"Exactly! And from the looks of it, she’s still not willing to go talk to Quanfang Food Company."

"Hmph, I think she has no idea what she’s doing. If this keeps up, our supermarkets are going to go under!"

...

They just shook their heads.

Feeling bitter, Miss Qi finally left the room as well.

The hallway was empty.

She turned her head and saw Li Yang at the other end of the hall, smiling and nodding at her.

Miss Qi thought for a moment before saying, "I’m sorry, I have a lot on my plate right now. Can we reschedule...?"

"Are you planning to talk to Quan’an Food Company, Miss Qi?" Li Yang asked.

Miss Qi frowned.

"My apologies. Your discussion was rather heated, and I couldn’t help but overhear some of it from outside..." Li Yang smiled. "I have a suggestion. How about we step into your office to discuss it?"

Miss Qi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of suggestion?"

"Let’s talk inside," Li Yang said with a grin.