Chapter 160: Dire Straits, No Way Out

Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Dire Straits, No Way Out

"It’s true. The news is out, and our upper management has already held a meeting."

"We’re considering scaling back from the original six stores to just two. There’s no need to go head-to-head with them on this. Attacking their strengths with our weaknesses would be the most foolish move."

After Li Muwan finished speaking, Jiang Fan fell into deep thought.

"I’m out. This whole thing is beyond my capabilities."

Hearing this, Jiang Fan threw up his hands and leaned back against the sofa.

"Whether you want to give up or do something else, that’s on you to figure out."

"My shoulders aren’t broad enough to carry this responsibility."

"You... Did I tell you all this just so you could give up?"

Li Muwan staggered, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

"Then you tell me what we’re supposed to do now! They have immense capital and great products to back them up. I wouldn’t say they’re better than Xuerong Group, but they’re at least on par, right?"

"Plus, with so many companies banded together, the discounts they can offer are on a level we can’t possibly match. They could crush us just by throwing money at the problem."

"Promotional events and all that are secondary. Consumers today care more about the size of the discount."

"No matter how good your event is or how much money you pour into it, what’s the point if your discounts can’t compete?"

"Is anyone going to buy it??"

Jiang Fan stated this fact calmly.

Li Muwan’s gaze was fixed on him.

She knew Jiang Fan was speaking the truth. In fact, no one understood it better than she did. After all, to have built the sales department to its current size, she knew that profit was always king.

But deep down, she had a strange feeling that the man before her was capable of creating miracles.

But on second thought, even she felt she was asking the impossible.

Since the competition was coming on so strong, a price war was inevitable. There was no doubt about it.

Unless Xuerong Group was willing to pour a huge amount of capital into fighting them for the Celestial Dragon District market.

"Just do what you think is best. It’s not like we can lose much more at this point."

Li Muwan finally spoke after a long, long hesitation.

Although she knew it was impossible, she still clung to a tiny sliver of hope.

Even closing four of the six stores would mean a huge financial loss, since they were all ready to open at a moment’s notice, with everything else prepared.

But letting Jiang Fan take the lead... the worst that could happen was just closing the stores anyway.

Any subsequent losses wouldn’t be that much greater.

"Still do it?"

Even Jiang Fan was stunned by her decision.

"What other choice do we have?"

"Right now, we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. We might as well take a gamble. At least there’s a small chance."

"If we don’t fight, it’s a dead end. We won’t get even a sliver of the market share in the Celestial Dragon District."

Li Muwan said, aimlessly flipping through a folder on her desk.

"Why are we so obsessed with the Celestial Dragon District?"

"Can’t we just give up on this place and expand into other cities?"

Jiang Fan was genuinely confused.

"The Celestial Dragon District might seem chaotic, but it accounts for 50% of Yang City’s population and area. Its economy is the cream of the crop."

"Whoever can become the leader there can use it as a base to slowly radiate influence across the entire city, with a high chance of swallowing up the other competitors."

"Besides, expanding to other cities and provinces is actually much more difficult."

At this, Li Muwan shook her head, and for the first time, Jiang Fan saw a trace of weariness in her expression.

"Alright, I’ll give it a shot then. But we do it my way. If something goes wrong, or if we lose our shirts, you can’t blame me."

"Mm."

"I’m heading back. Are you leaving too?"

Li Muwan stood up, picked up her bag, and asked.

"You’re heading back now? Are you done with work?"

"No, but I don’t feel like doing anything else today. I’m playing hooky."

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Alright then, let’s go."

"Did you drive? Want a ride back in my car?"

"I didn’t. Sounds good."

In that brief exchange, the distance between them seemed to shrink a little.

But they didn’t exchange a single word the entire ride.

Not until they reached his front door. "Have you eaten? Want to come in and grab a bite?"

Jiang Fan asked.

"Never mind, I won’t disturb you two lovebirds. You guys go ahead. I’ll just order some takeout."

Li Muwan froze for a moment, then smiled and shook her head.

"Bullshit. What lovebirds? What are you even talking about? Get in here."

As Jiang Fan unlocked the door with his key, he grabbed Li Muwan’s arm and pulled her inside.

Hearing Jiang Fan’s voice, Sun Yanzi came out of her room.

"Mu Wan, did you just get off work?"

Sun Yanzi was clearly and pleasantly surprised to see her.

"Yeah, she just finished up. She didn’t eat at the office. Is there still food at home?"

Jiang Fan answered for her.

"Food? Yes! I saved some for you. It’s all hot. I’ll bring it out."

Putting down the towel she was using to dry her hair, Sun Yanzi hurried into the kitchen and brought out all the prepared dishes.

She had been keeping them warm in a steamer, worried that Jiang Fan wouldn’t have a hot meal to eat when he got back.

"Then I’ll impose."

"Yanzi, are you feeling any better?"

Li Muwan was a little embarrassed by their enthusiasm, feeling as though she had misjudged their generous intentions with her own petty mindset.

"Much better. I think I can go back to work tomorrow or the day after."

"I’ve been going stir-crazy at home these past few days."

Sun Yanzi took Li Muwan’s hand, and the two of them sat down at the dining table.

"Tell me, what’s been going on at the company lately?"

"Did Fengming Group really team up with those other companies?"

"Shouldn’t we figure something out? Didn’t we partner with the Yufan Design Team? Can they get some designs out to us quickly?"

"With the Yufan Design Team’s reputation, anything they release is guaranteed to be a bestseller!"

Even though Sun Yanzi was at home, she had been keeping an eye on company news in the group chat for the past few days.

But since she wasn’t physically at the office, she only had a partial understanding of the situation.

Still, she was doing her best to think of a solution.

"I’ve already asked. They can’t get anything out right now. And more importantly, even if they could, we wouldn’t necessarily be able to manufacture it right away."

"You know Yuefan Group. Their designs aren’t just attractive and intricate; their products absolutely must use the finest craftsmanship."

"When something requires handwork, it has to be done by hand. If a machine is used as a substitute, the entire batch is considered defective and scrapped."

Li Muwan said with a sigh.

"They’re pretty picky. Does it really have to be hand-embroidered?"

Jiang Fan asked, walking over after washing his hands, utterly perplexed.