My Multiple Identities Revealed After Marrying the Bigshot-Chapter 449: This Is All That Can Be Done

"Stretching out negotiations with that factory could be pretty strategic," she said. "Even if we do end up selling to them, we should at least bump up their price a bit. Given the way they’ve operated over the years, they’ll surely try to press the costs down as much as possible, so this is an opportunity for a drawn-out price negotiation."

"The factory wants Xingmi, but the urgent need isn’t on us," the village chief explained.

"Later on, you’ll also be able to compare and see whether the factory’s price or our local offer is better."

"Our company never uses strong-arm tactics; we’re all about cooperation and mutual benefit, making money together."

Right there before the village chief, Lu Youxi listened as he spieled one plausible point after another, nearly sweet-talking the cadre senseless.

But it wasn’t really fast talk—they were reasonable points the village chief was making.

The cadre got somewhat swept up by the chief’s argument, "You’re making sense. I personally feel it’s better to follow Lu Youxi. But I can’t speak for all the villagers, so I’ll just relay what you’ve said and let them decide for themselves."

The village chief nodded and added, "Right, also suggest they look into what happened with Ge Guifen."

"Ge Guifen? What about her?" the cadre asked quickly.

"You see, before, when Youxi hadn’t made connections with supermarkets and other businesses, she was relying solely on her small diner to help the people of Hexing Village earn their keep."

"Her diner wasn’t large enough to support more people, so the moment there was a chance for bigger business, she made sure to include everyone from our neighboring villages as well."

"I understand," the cadre hastened to say. "Previously, it was Lu Youxi who was personally buying Hexing Rice. Youxi is one of your own, using her own money to improve the economic conditions of your village—no one can call that unfair."

"But now that she’s got business and still thinks of the surrounding villages, we’re all very grateful," the cadre said sincerely. "We folks might not be highly educated, but we’ve got conscience, and we know fairness."

The village chief smiled and nodded, "Yes, back then, Youxi paid much more than the factory did. Our village ended up reserving the best rice for Youxi."

"The factory couldn’t get any rice and was forced to raise their prices, just slightly more than Youxi’s offer. The others were grateful to Youxi for considering them and trusted that she would grow the business and pay even better for their rice, so none sold to the factory. Only Ge Guifen went behind our backs to make a sale."

"Now, seeing Youxi clinch the deal, not only has she raised the purchase price quite a bit, she’s also offering a year-end bonus. It’s no telling how much more than what the factory was offering, so now Guifen is regretting it and wants to sell her rice to us again."

"So, make sure you explain this clearly to the villagers, give them some perspective. Working with Youxi can lead to price hikes and dividends; it’s not just a one-time deal. Meanwhile, the factory isn’t willing to pay more—cooperating with them might not last."

"I’ve got it," said the cadre. "I’ll make that clear to everyone."

"All right, it’s up to them to decide. We won’t insist," the village chief instructed.

After hanging up the phone, the village chief eagerly said to Lu Youxi, "Now even the folks from the villages ten miles around will know all about Ge Guifen’s deeds."

Lu Youxi couldn’t help but laugh, "So you brought up Ge Guifen on purpose just for this?"

"Not entirely. It really is to alert people from the other villages to make their own choice—whether moving forward with us for sustainable development or making a one-off deal with the factory. And yes, it might as well put a spotlight on Ge Guifen, tarnishing her reputation a bit."

"Ah! That’s as far as we can go, I suppose," the village chief still seemed a bit unsatisfied. "I don’t feel good about helping her make money. I always feel shortchanged, like she’s getting one over on me."

"That’s why I feel happy whenever she’s not doing well," the village chief admitted.

Lu Youxi truly hadn’t expected the village chief to show such a side.

Previously, Youxi had always thought of him as a highly respected figure in the village, full of integrity and fairness in his judgments.

She never suspected he could dislike someone as much as he did.

The people from the villages surrounding Hexing Village each received replies from their local cadres.

After careful consideration, and with the glaring example of Ge Guifen’s folly, everyone decided to follow Lu Youxi and reject the factory’s offer.

The factory thought they were just bargaining.

After a while, they raised their offer again.

But everyone was adamant in their refusal.

Each time they wavered, they remembered the example set by Ge Guifen.

Moreover, even someone like Guifen, who’d do anything for money and deeply resented Lu Youxi, chose to sell to Youxi.

That was a clear sign that there was no hope left with the factory.

In the end, the factory couldn’t acquire a single grain of Hexing Rice.

And just as Youxi had anticipated, they started playing dirty tricks, attempting to buy off villagers to cause trouble in Hexing Village.

But now everyone was counting on Hexing Rice to make a living—who would sabotage their own interests to work with the factory?

Plus, the village had suffered enough at the hands of the factory—it was generous of them not to retaliate.

Not only did the villagers not collude with the factory, they also kept a watchful eye on each other—to prevent any fool who might believe the factory and betray them all.

In the end, it turned out that no one conspired with the factory.

The only fool who had chosen to work with the factory was Ge Guifen.

Now even Guifen, who treasured money above all and hated Lu Youxi, was willing to set aside her grudge to collaborate with Youxi.

This showed just how much better it was to work with Youxi than with the factory.

So ultimately, the factory searched high and low but couldn’t corrupt anyone.

Youxi’s hunch was correct—they were indeed repackaging Hexing Rice under their own brand.

Because Hexing Rice was delicious and of high quality.

The factory was cautious, not selling domestically for fear someone could taste the difference.

Thus, after rebranding, they exported it.

Without Hexing Rice, the factory might find rice of the same quality, but it would be at a significantly higher cost.

And the taste of the other sources wouldn’t quite match Hexing Village’s, which was somewhat problematic to explain.

How the factory would solve this problem, however, was their own concern now.

Despite promotional campaigns being a factor, Hexing Rice still received positive feedback.

Customers who had purchased Hexing Rice found it tasty and, taking advantage of the promotions, went back to stock up.

They didn’t want to miss out and feel constrained once the original price was restored.

"Uncle Village Chief, President Zhang from Sincere Supermarket has contacted me," Lu Youxi said cheerfully to the village chief.

"What did he say? Any good news?" The village chief, seeing Youxi’s expression, couldn’t help but get excited.

Lu Youxi nodded, "During the promotional period, those who bought Hexing Rice and those who came back for more, still within the timeframe, have been the highest compared to any other similar products in Sincere Supermarket’s statistics."freēwēbηovel.c૦m