"What should we do then?"

Wu Ren couldn’t accept the reality of losing all his customers.

He had just tasted the joy of opening orders and hadn’t savored the feeling yet. How could he bear customers abandoning Wu Ji to go to Jufu Supermarket?

"Jufu Supermarket’s move is too ruthless. We can’t force customers to stay; we need to come up with a good plan," Gu Youtian said.

"Ruinian, what do you think? Do you have any good ideas?"

Wu Ren didn’t respond to Gu Youtian and directly asked Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian was delighted inside.

Since Jufu Supermarket attracts customers with low prices and service, if Wu Ji offers even lower prices and better service, customers will naturally choose Wu Ji.

However, Wu Ji currently doesn’t have access to ice, and even if they did, the cost would be unsustainable for Wu Ji.

The best solution is still to engage in a price war.

He couldn’t believe that offering prices half as cheap as Jufu Supermarket’s wouldn’t bring the customers back to Wu Ji.

The ice and mung bean soup are just embellishments; what’s more important is the price. Especially for customers looking for a bargain, lowering prices is the most effective way. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Gu Ruinian considered it and said, "We don’t have ice now, and even if we did, we couldn’t fill the room with it. We can’t afford the costs, and not having ice later would only make customers unhappy."

Gu Ruinian thought this was the problem Jufu Supermarket was facing.

Taohua, you’ve only seen the means to attract customers, but haven’t considered whether customers will still be interested once the ice runs out.

After a pause, Gu Ruinian continued, "So I think we should start with pricing. By lowering our prices, we’ll attract customers. Previously, just lowering our prices to less than a third of Jufu’s was enough to attract customers. Now, if our prices are half of Jufu Supermarket’s, customers will surely come back."

Gu Youtian disagreed, his face stern as he said, "Do you know the cost price of our goods? If we lower our prices to half of Jufu’s, we’d incur huge losses."

Supported by Wu Ren, Gu Ruinian argued, "Dad, this is a critical time. To lure customers away from Jufu Supermarket, we can’t just focus on costs. We need to first draw the customers in. If no one comes to the store, all our stock will just rot, which would be an even greater loss."

"Placing ice and offering mung bean soup are novelties that only generate a temporary interest. In the long run, customers care most about the price. We don’t have to always be half as cheap as Jufu Supermarket. Jufu had their three-day grand opening sale; we’ll do five days. After five days, when customer traffic stabilizes, we can adjust prices."

"As for profit, we can cut our costs. With more customers, we can leverage that to negotiate lower prices for supplies. Moreover, there’s a wide range of supply options. By approaching both ends, we can find the cheapest source."

Gu Ruinian thought to himself, if things come to worst, they could pass off inferior products as better ones.

After all, people in this era are quite naive. Everyday items don’t have the unified standards of the industrial age. Who can tell if something inferior is being passed off as better?

Even if they could tell, they’d still buy it for the lower price.

Make a quick buck first.

Once the money’s made, slowly transition and clean up the business image. Many modern enterprises have done just that.

Before Gu Youtian could speak, Wu Ren nodded and said, "Ruinian is right. If we can’t draw customers in, everything else is for naught. Starting today, we’ll also hold a grand opening sale. For the next five days, our prices will be half of Jufu Supermarket’s. Let’s first stabilize our customer base."

Wu Ren couldn’t stand the silence in the store any longer.

And he couldn’t tolerate customers being lured away by Jufu Supermarket, especially because its owner was none other than Tong Huaqiong.

The humiliation Tong Huaqiong brought by separating Tong Pandi and Wu Musheng still stung Wu Ren.

Therefore, Wu Ji absolutely could not lose to Jufu Supermarket.

"Lower the prices immediately," Wu Ren gritted his teeth.

Gu Youtian thought about it and saw no better option, so he had to accept the suggestion to lower prices.

"But what if Jufu Supermarket notices our price cuts and does the same?" asked Wu Musheng, who typically had no thoughts on store operations.

Gu Ruinian replied, "If that happens, we’ll engage in a price war. As long as our prices are lower than Jufu’s, we’re fine."

To avoid having Gu Youtian object, Gu Ruinian elaborated the pros and cons to Wu Ren, who strongly agreed with Gu Ruinian’s approach.

Hence, Gu Ruinian took out paper and ink and drafted a simple poster saying "All products are half the price of Jufu Supermarket’s." He hung the poster at the entrance of Wu Ji and had a clerk stand before it and read it aloud.

It proved to be an effective move, attracting several customers who came to a halt.

Soon, Wu Ji was crowded with customers.

Wu Ren was even more satisfied with Gu Ruinian.

"Granny, Wu Ji has lowered its prices again, and they said anything Wu Ji offers that Jufu Supermarket has is priced lower at Wu Ji. If bought at a higher price, the difference can be refunded within five days."

Nie Xiaofeng noticed many people turning back into Wu Ji and went to gather information.

"Should we lower our prices too?" Nie Xiaofeng asked.

After all, Wu Ji was a decent-sized shop specializing in everyday products. If everyone went to Wu Ji, Jufu Supermarket’s business would suffer.

Tong Huaqiong waved her handkerchief, saying, "No, we will not."

She wouldn’t let Wu Ji lead her around by the nose.

A price war? She had no interest in that.

Especially not a price war with Wu Ji. Was Wu Ji even worthy?

Nie Xiaofeng was anxious and said, "But lots of customers are going to Wu Ji."

Tong Huaqiong laughed and asked Nie Xiaofeng, "Xiaofeng, why do we open shops?"

Nie Xiaofeng replied without thinking, "To make money."

Tong Huaqiong said, "You’re right, to make money. If we lower the prices every time Wu Ji does, and Wu Ji keeps lowering theirs, when does it end? Prices keep going down until even the profits are gone, then what’s the point of running a shop? It’s like putting the cart before the horse."

This was a minor issue, yet Nie Xiaofeng was extremely worried.

She wouldn’t have the patience to explain if it were anyone else, but she was willing to for Nie Xiaofeng since he lacked experience.

Nie Xiaofeng thought about it and realized it made sense.

Su Chengmin glared at Nie Xiaofeng and said, "Hurry and keep an eye on things at the entrance, it’s getting crowded now."

Nie Xiaofeng jogged over.

Watching Nie Xiaofeng’s back, Su Chengmin thought to himself, so big and yet so clueless about business, it was no wonder the family shop was handed over to his two brothers.

Despite Wu Ji’s massive price reduction sale, it couldn’t dampen the popularity of Jufu Supermarket.

Even people who didn’t plan to buy anything wanted to go in and have a look.

After all, Jufu Supermarket’s model was so novel and appealing. Clerks didn’t give cold shoulders even if you didn’t buy anything, and they offered mung bean soup.

If you bought a lot, you could leave the goods at the store and provide your home address, allowing you to return home and wait for delivery.

Plus, the section for repairing pots, bowls, and pans was bustling, with five repairmen working hard.

Of course, Wu Ji also did not lack customers.

After all, the prices were truly enticing.

"Jufu Supermarket’s prices were the same as yesterday’s."

The clerk, sent by Gu Youtian to spy on Jufu Supermarket’s prices, handed the copied prices to Gu Youtian.

"How could this be?"

Gu Ruinian couldn’t quite believe it.