Chapter 1078: Turmoil in the Business World
Liu Ruyan sat beside Liu Zixuan, turned her head and said, "News just came back from Xiumei Group’s Qian Nan Branch. Recently the lingerie market over there has been extremely turbulent. First, several small and medium-sized companies were acquired one after another, and then they started suppressing the market price specifically against our Xiumei brand, causing this quarter’s sales to drop by nearly half compared to usual!"
"What about the group’s stock?" Liu Zixuan asked again.
"With the product market in turmoil, the stock has naturally gone down as well. Fortunately our cash flow is huge, so the fluctuation isn’t too big, but we won’t be able to hold out for long. I feel this is planned and premeditated against us. If we can’t find a way later on to get the market back to normal, I’m afraid the stock will just keep falling all the way."
Listening to Liu Ruyan’s words, Liu Zixuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "The Netherworld Hall sure moves fast. In just two or three days they’ve blown the board up this big."
"Then how should we respond?" Liu Ruyan asked with a frown.
Liu Zixuan raised his brows slightly. "In these one or two quarters this year, how much has our Xiumei Group invested in the south?"
"Close to five billion." Liu Ruyan answered.
"If we pull it back now, how much will we lose?"
"Pull all of it back?" Liu Ruyan and Gu Yu exclaimed in shock at the same time. Pulling out a deal worth several billions all at once—no way would all of it be lost, but a big chunk would definitely go down the drain.
"I was just making a hypothesis." Liu Zixuan said with a meaningful smile.
"If we pull back now, we’d have to abandon all those markets we just laid out in the second-tier cities, and the flagship stores we invested in and are operating would all have to be shut down. If we calculate it that way, out of these five billion, at least two billion would evaporate in an instant. That’s a conservative estimate, because our southern market has just been rolled out and we’ve poured a massive amount of manpower and resources into it during this period. If we pull back, it’s really not worth it!"
Liu Zixuan snorted. "If we don’t pull back, and we don’t find a way to deal with Netherworld Hall, then I’m afraid what we lose won’t just be this five billion, will it?"
Hearing this, Liu Ruyan paused. "This... is indeed the case. If we can’t find a countermeasure, the stock drop will be far more than this five billion!"
"Then we adjust the layout. Give the flagship stores in second- and third-tier cities one week to shut down and suspend business, and in the first-tier cities we start large-scale promotions!"
"We understand that closing and suspending the second- and third-tier cities is to pull back funds, but those events in the first-tier cities—are they supposed to be our way of countering them?" Liu Ruyan frowned. "They’re running discount campaigns right now too. If we also cut prices, the market will likely fall into a vicious cycle. It’ll be really hard to return to normal afterward."
Liu Zixuan waved his hand. "Don’t just stare at the profit right in front of you. Look long term. This little bit of petty profit in front of us is nowhere near enough to shake the foundations of our Xiumei Group."
"Then what are you doing this for?" Gu Yu asked.
"Very simple."
Liu Zixuan spread his hands, stood up and said, "Netherworld Hall acquiring companies so aggressively to confront us comes down to two reasons. First, to rapidly hoard funds to supply Netherworld Hall. Second, to suppress us and the secular companies of the Hidden Sects."
"That’s right." Gu Yu nodded.
"Since that’s the case, we can’t let them make money that easily. Since they’re suppressing us, we withdraw first. Before we withdraw, we drag the market down to the lowest point. That’s excellent for domestic customers, but terrible for Netherworld Hall. Their aggressive acquisitions and suppression must have cost them huge capital. Once the market turns sluggish, they won’t be making much money at all."
At this point, Liu Zixuan’s tone shifted and he smiled meaningfully. "When they’re no longer making money and have to look for a way to pull out, we’ll then come in high and mighty, suppress them hard in turn, and acquire them. By then, the market is still ours to control, and the money is still ours to earn."
"Want to come to Star Sea and hoard funds? Hmph! They’d better ask these more than a billion people of Star Sea first!"
On this point, Liu Zixuan was very confident. It wasn’t that his Xiumei Group could play a decisive role, but because Jiang Yifan had said back then that the top tycoons in the country more or less all had ties to Hidden Sects and Hidden Clans.
Liu Zixuan already knew it was Netherworld Hall stirring up trouble, so naturally those Sects and clans would be clear on it too. When Netherworld Hall realizes they’re going to take a loss, those few could easily join hands and slam the merchants Netherworld Hall sent so hard they’d never be able to lift their heads again.
By then, the money Netherworld Hall put up would once again become part of Star Sea’s capital chain. For Star Sea, for Liu Zixuan, and for the various Hidden Sects and Hidden Clans, that would absolutely be a sure-win, no-loss setup.
After hearing Liu Zixuan’s plan, Liu Ruyan and Gu Yu exchanged a look. As things stood, only Liu Zixuan’s approach was the most workable!
"By the way, with that happening in the Qian Nan Market, what about the north?" Liu Zixuan asked again.
"There’s some of it in the north too, more or less, but in the north our Xiumei Group is basically the top player. Unless Netherworld Hall sends someone at richest-man level, they won’t be able to shake our Xiumei Group at all."
Listening to Liu Ruyan, Liu Zixuan waved his hand. "Don’t get careless. For Netherworld Hall to have come this far, it’s definitely not just luck and brute force."
As he spoke, he looked at Gu Yu again. "Call back some friends from the outer Eight Gates and have them help watch the dynamics of the northern Business World. The big war in the south is about to break out; we must keep the north steady. If the entire Business World falls into chaos, there won’t be the slightest benefit for us!"
Gu Yu nodded. "I’ll give the orders in a bit."
"That’s roughly the situation. I’ll go over to Ghost Wood City Group’s headquarters later to keep an eye on things. You two talk about other stuff first."
After Liu Ruyan finished speaking, she left the room.
Liu Zixuan lit a cigarette, took a few drags, exhaled the smoke and asked, "Any movement from Dragon Spirit’s side?"
The corner of Gu Yu’s mouth twitched a few times. "There is something, but I don’t know if it’s just my illusion or if it’s really happening. To be honest, ever since Netherworld Hall appeared, it feels like everything has changed."
"Changed? What do you mean by that?" Liu Zixuan asked with a frown.
Gu Yu let out a sigh. "The Star Constellation Scripture I cultivate—you should know about it, Zixuan. On a small scale it can divine a person’s fortune; on a large scale it can divine the fortune of a whole force. In the past, when I calculated the fortune of a normal Sect or of our Lingxiu Village, things might be a bit blurry, but I could at least grasp the general picture. But ever since Netherworld Hall appeared, all of this has become extremely chaotic. I simply can’t fathom it. I can’t even see clearly the auspicious or inauspicious signs for the few brothers right by our side."
"That shouldn’t be. By rights, the longer you’ve cultivated, the more proficient you should become. How could it get harder and harder to see?"