Chapter 711: Countermeasure

After Deputy Mayor Wang left, Chen Yang reminded Chu Min not to casually leak his plan. This caused her dissatisfaction.

"Chen Yang, my uncle went so far as to turn against Deputy Mayor Tang for your sake. He meant well, yet you don't appreciate it—you're truly ungrateful!"

Seeing she was angry, Chen Yang smiled and explained: "I stand on a different platform from your uncle, so our ways of thinking differ. If you leak my plan, he may not understand. Acting rashly could even backfire."

Chu Min gave Chen Yang a sideways glance and snorted coldly: "You think having money in Modu can solve everything? Without his support, not only your chain stores, but even that lousy game company and real estate project will go under."

Chen Yang offered no rebuttal. Without Deputy Mayor Wang's support, at least getting past the Tang Family's hurdle would be impossible. But his inner plan indeed does not want too much outside interference.

For example, regarding the purchase of shops, although there was an idea of preparing offline chain stores for the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, it was not the whole story.

As a Reborn Person, he knew the value of investing in shops in Modu far outweighed opening offline chain stores. Therefore, when accepting media interviews, he deliberately proposed the idea of developing franchise stores, aiming to keep people from over-speculating about his intention to buy shops.

As for having Luo Xue issue the official statement, it was actually meant to calm everyone's enthusiasm for the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company's plans in Modu.

Because the company's stock price rises higher, the more people pay attention to his behavior of buying shops in Modu. By then, shop prices in Modu will surely skyrocket. Even if the Tang Family doesn't cause trouble, he will still have to pay a high price to achieve his goal.

"Honey, I don't mean to blame you or your uncle." Chen Yang pulled Chu Min into his arms and gently explained: "Actually, my purchase of shops in Modu isn't solely for opening chain stores; the main purpose is to bet on their appreciation. If too many people notice this, I fear the shop prices in Modu will double before I even finish my plan."

Chu Min's anger hadn't faded; she said dissatisfiedly: "Even if you want to invest in shops, what's the harm in telling your uncle? He's my uncle, not an outsider."

Chen Yang didn't want to continue the topic, quickly saying: "Honey, I just misspoke; don't take it to heart."

Seeing Chen Yang admit his mistake, Chu Min also didn't press further.

However, when it came time to sleep at night, Chen Yang was still forced to spend the night in the guest room.

One week later, several core districts of Modu suddenly saw a dozen or so stores named "Green Countryside" agricultural products chain appear.

Almost at the same time, Modu's TV stations and major media all uniformly ran ads for the "Green Countryside" agricultural products chain. Its slogan "Green food, enjoy life" almost perfectly matched the sales strategy of the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company.

What's more coincidental is that these chain stores happened to open directly opposite or next to the shops Chen Yang had purchased.

Thus, the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company's intention to open branches in the same locations loses meaning. After all, the agricultural products market is neither small nor large. Once Green Countryside seizes the market first, the Old Hundreds chain stores would have to pay a higher price to regain a foothold.

Upon receiving the news, Shen Anna immediately summoned Chen Yang back to Xingcheng to convene a board meeting.

"Boss, what should we do now? Should we continue with our plan?"

Seeing the grave expressions of Shen Anna and the senior board members, Chen Yang said calmly: "Since someone has already seized the offline market, let's first develop the online market."

Shen Anna looked at Chen Yang doubtfully and said: "Boss, isn't our online market already up and running? What more do we need to develop?"

Chen Yang said: "I mean developing an online agricultural products market specifically for the Modu region. First we'll get the warehousing, logistics, and delivery services in place, then use a price war to crush Green Countryside."

Shen Anna furrowed her brows, hesitating slightly: "Our transfer warehouse isn't built yet, and our logistics network hasn't reached Modu. If we launch a price war now, we'd have to rely on other logistics companies. Not only would costs be high, but the service might not meet our standards. If something goes wrong, it would harm our reputation—and might even boost the competitor's fame."

Chen Yang understood Shen Anna's concern, but he had already found out that the boss behind Green Countryside is East Prosperity International. As an international investment firm, it wouldn't waste too much time and energy on a profitless project. Once a price war starts, even if Tang Qingfeng wields great power, he couldn't ignore the interests of the other shareholders.

Moreover, before returning to Xingcheng, Chen Yang already had a strategy to cut costs and reduce risk. He told Shen Anna: "I've already bought quite a few shops in Modu; I can set aside some as offline collection points for agricultural products. That way we save on rental fees for the collection points and reduce delivery staff expenses."

"More importantly, our collection points are all near Green Countryside. Consumers will subconsciously compare our product quality and prices. As long as they can't do better, we can gradually win back the market."

Shen Anna thought Chen Yang's suggestion was good. After all, the company's self‑operated goods services in Dongjiangsheng and Guangdong Province mostly link directly with offline chain stores and various courier collection points. As long as there's a suitable spot in Modu, the project can be launched quickly.

Thus, Shen Anna put Chen Yang's proposal to a board vote, and it passed unanimously.

After the meeting, Shen Anna told Chen Yang: "Boss, for agricultural product distribution in the Jiangsu‑Zhejiang‑Shanghai region, I think we still need to cooperate with local enterprises and farmers. Otherwise, with our current inventory, we might run out of stock in just a few months."

During this period, Chen Yang had already contacted many agricultural products enterprises in Su Cheng to establish long‑term cooperation. But his personal energy is limited; he can't handle everything himself. So he had Shen Anna arrange the marketing department's elites to go to the Jiangsu‑Zhejiang‑Shanghai and Yunnan‑Guizhou‑Sichuan regions to develop more partners.

Of course, more importantly, we need to set up independent cold‑chain logistics systems in each province and city.

Although building a cold‑chain logistics system consumes enormous funds, for the already‑listed Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, this is no longer an issue.

After leaving the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, Chen Yang went to the financial investment firm and found Cheng Xiao Xiao, who had just returned from a business trip to the north. He asked her to keep an eye out for any northern‑region agricultural products enterprises willing to cooperate.

If they are interested, Chen Yang also prepares to expand the company's business northward.

Cheng Xiao Xiao had no objections; she only asked Chen Yang to raise her travel allowance to the highest tier.

Chen Yang accepted this without hesitation. Compared to Yu Wenlong, who idles away at the company addicted to games and reckless spending, Cheng Xiao Xiao, who is always out there working on business, is a true model professional. For such an employee, even without the status of the provincial party secretary's niece, he would give her the best treatment.