Summer #14

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 14

The lights are bright and soft, the shelves are neatly arranged, and the floor is shiny as mirror. Every little corner in here has a feel of clean and elegant simplicity.

Mu Hanxia walks in the crowd, with a bag of lychees in her shopping basket. The newly arrived small-core lychees, only 9.9 Yuan per pound, is as cheap as Le Ya’s promotional price. Mu Hanxia decides to buy a bag and have a taste of them.

However, seeing the prosperity of Yong Zheng, her feelings are somewhat complicated. Remembering the Lin Mochen with injuries all over him that night, and then thinking about Le Ya which she regards as family, why she can’t help but think she has acted like Mr. Dongguo[1]?

[1: There is a Chinese fable that tells the story of Mr. Dongguo and a wolf -- Mr. Dongguo saved the life of a wolf, who’s being chased by a hunter, by putting him in his book sack. After the hunter passed them and the danger was over, the wolf, who was released from the book sack, wanted to gulf up Mr. Dongguo as his meal instead of showing any gratitude. The moral of this fable is same as an Easop’s fable the Farmer and the Snake -- don’t save someone who’s evil by nature. ]

She walks around a little and is just about to go home, when she comes to a shelf in the corner and sees an open door in the wall in front of her with a sign on it saying, “Employees Only.”

Mu Hanxia strolls slowly over and glances into the space beyond the door. The ceiling is very high inside. Rows and rows of racks stand there fully stacked with all kinds of merchandise. It’s a warehouse. There are people walking in there.

An idea suddenly pops out in Mu Hanxia’s mind: if she could see what is high on inventory, won’t it mean that she would know where he will target next? But she is just thinking about it in her mind and doesn’t dare to actually run inside.

After peeking for a while, she is about to leave. But then she sees the two employees coming out, one talking on the phone in his hand, “OK, we’ll be right there.”

They go farther and farther away.

There aren’t many people around. Mu Hanxia stands there for a moment and makes sure there isn’t any sound from the warehouse, then she leaves the shopping basket on the floor and puts on a puzzled look, as if having lost her way, and wobbles into the warehouse.

Success! Holding back her excitement and nervousness, she walks swiftly into the deep end. The light is a little dim in the warehouse, the cement floor is also gray dark, and the noise outside sounds a little distant. Mu Hanxia walks around inside and has reached the deepest part of the warehouse before she can find any valuable clue.

So it seems Lin Mochen hasn’t put his most important inventory here in this warehouse. She turns back and is about to retreat, when she hears a loud “clang” sound -- the roller shutter at the door is descending.

Mu Hanxia is stupefied, and then hurriedly runs over, banging on the door, “Open the door, open the door! Someone’s still in here.”

She pounds on the door for a long time but there is no answer.

She takes out her cellphone. Whom should she call? No one. Whoever comes to her rescue will surely disturb people at Yong Zheng, and then they will know she is from Le Ya. That will be a really serious trouble!

Thinking hard for a long time, she puts down her cellphone. Looking at the tightly closed shutter door, she sits down in distress.

Just wait! Wait until someone opens the door, and then she can slip out. At most tomorrow morning, the door will definitely open.

After about an hour, the supermarket closes for the day, and there isn’t any sound from outside. The battery of Mu Hanxia’s cellphone also dies, forcing her to give up for good the idea of finding help. She buries her face in her arms, trying to fall asleep. It’s a little cold in here, so she holds herself tightly together in half sleepiness. Suddenly she gives a shudder as she hears faint footsteps behind her.

At this hour, the room is gloomy, and there is dead silence around. The sound of the footsteps is just like the echo in an empty hollow. Mu Hanxia quivers in fright and feels the chills running through her body. For a second, she doesn’t even dare to look back.

The footsteps are low and steady, soft and light, and unhurried. Mu Hanxia calms down and turns around.

There, between two rows of racks, a tall and slender male figure is approaching.

Lin Mochen.

The unbuttoned suit, the casual shirt, the hands in trousers pockets, and the eye that’s deep, dark, and bright.

Eyeing her half studyingly.

All of a sudden, Mu Hanxia realizes, it’s this guy who has locked her in the warehouse!

They stand, a few steps apart, for a few seconds.

Lin Mochen’s voice is insipid and polite, “Miss. Mu Hanxia, have you enjoyed yourself here?”

Mu Hanxia curses “devious” under her breath, but puts on a smile on her face, “Not bad. There’s so much to see here, that I almost forgot to go home. Why are you here Mr. Lin? Do you come to show your solicitude? You really don’t have to. I’m doing great here. It’s cool, spacious, comfortable, not too dark, nor too stifling here, and I can make a bed on the floor. I think I’m having a good time.”

A hint of smile flickers in Lin Mochen’s eyes. He glances at her and turns around, “Let’s go.”

This is to let her leave?

Staring at his back, Mu Hanxia starts flatly, “Hey, apologize.”

Lin Mochen’s footsteps stop.

Mu Hanxia: “You’ve kept me here for more than an hour. Shouldn’t you apologize?”

He turns to look at her and smiles, “Why should I apologize for doing what I want?”

Mu Hanxia stares at him, stares at him without any courtesy or cowardice, as if hoping to kill him with her stares. Lin Mochen certainly receives the full signal.

Then, he raises his hand, pins Mu Hanxia by the shoulder against the rack behind her.

Mu Hanxia freezes with her eyes opened wide in astonishment. He also fixes his gaze down at her.

In this narrow space, the light gleams down from above their heads, covering both faces in haziness. It is extremely quiet around, so quiet that Mu Hanxia can hear her own heartbeat. She suddenly smells the faint fragrance of soaps and towels from the rack behind her. Right in front of her, is his tall and slender outline. The young and masculine face is leaning so close. Those eyes, however, are like rocks in the coldest water, fixed on her.

“I have been soft-handed enough with you.” He says, “Otherwise, right now, you have been sent to the police office.”

Mu Hanxia’s heart is pounding fast, her face getting hot from his stares. She quickly pushes him away.

He turns swiftly and walks away quickly.

Mu Hanxia is close at his heal.

She now notices an open door in a wall on the far end. She saw the door before but it was locked. Lin Mochen must have entered from this door.

They walk on for a few more steps, and suddenly hear some vague talking and laughing outside. Mu Hanxia is surprised. Lin Mochen pauses, and she bumped into his back. She hastily backs away a step and also stops.

Then they hear ‘dang’, that little door is closed from outside by someone. “Tack,” it’s also locked.

“Sss...,” very light sound of the current can be heard from overhead, and the next second, the lights are all out.

Mu Hanxia is dumbfounded, Lin Mochen doesn’t move either. The whole warehouse is lit only by the dim emergency lights in the corners. Everything becomes barely discernibly.

“Won’t you hurry up and call somebody to come open the door?” Mu Hanxia urges.

Lin Mochen stays quiet in the dark for a few seconds, and replies, “I don’t have the cellphone with me.”

“What the...you are really a timely rain.” Mu Hanxia mutters, “Then you go knock on the door, knock hard! Get someone to help us. This is your store!”

But he just replies flatly, “I won’t.”

“Why?!”

“If my people see me with a female employee of Le Ya in my warehouse in the deep night, how am I going to lead them to destroy Le Ya for good?”

Mu Hanxia is speechless.

By this time, the workers outside the door must have gone too far to be called back. She has mentally suffered a lot tonight, but still ends up staying in this gloomy warehouse for the night. Her distress is beyond description. But when she sees Lin Mochen, the culprit, ends up the same as her, she evilly feels better.

“What now?” She asks.

Then she sees Lin Mochen bends, and seats his lofty self down on the floor. “Wait.”

Mu Hanxia says nothing for a while. Then, going back a few steps, she also finds some spot and sits down.

The night is long.

At first, neither of them speaks. It’s so quiet around, only the rustling of clothes can be heard. Holding her knees, Mu Hanxia steals a glance at him from time to time. He looks very calm, with his long legs propped against his body and his hands on the knees. His face is indiscernible in the dark, and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.

“Hey,” Mu Hanxia starts, “Do you enjoy scheming against others in business? ”

He ignores her.

Mu Hanxia starts again, “You beat Le Ya so badly. Aren’t you afraid that we burn our boats and fight back?”

“Then fight.” He says coolly.

Mu Hanxia pauses, and turns her head the other way, not wanting to talk to this guy any more.

But after a while he speaks, “You hungry?”

Mu Hanxia replied curtly, “Yes!”

“Then behave yourself.” He says. Mu Hanxia looks up and sees him get behind the rack. In a few moments, he comes back with something in his hand.

“Bad tasting chocolate pies and sausages.” He tosses them over, which Mu Hanxia receives in her arms. She is suddenly amused, does he have to taunt the products of his own supermarket like this?

The food despised by rich people like him is unusually tasty for Mu Hanxia, who has been hungry for a whole night. She quickly eats them up. In time, he gets bottled water from somewhere and gives her a bottle.

Mu Hanxia’s throat has been dry for a while. She feels some warmth in her heart as she finally gets to drink some refreshing water.

--------

It’s deeper into the night, and the air feels even colder.

Mu Hanxia leans against the rack and dozes off. But the warehouse is so chilly. She curls up, holding her knees tightly, but is too cold to fall asleep.

Lin Mochen just sits there with folded arms.

“Are you cold?” She asks, finally with a trace of weakness in her voice.

He seems to have smiled a little, gets up, and goes behind the racks again. Mu Hanxia hears his unhurried footsteps moving between several rows of racks. After a while, he brings a pillow and a quilt, as if by magic.

Mu Hanxia blurts out, “Are you Doraemon[2]?”

[2: Doraemon is a character in a Japanese animation series. He’s a cat who can provide anything that’s needed for his friends from his pocket.]

“I’m the one who’s giving your boss nightmares. You forgot?”

Mu Hanxia: ... I’m not gonna trifle with this guy! She stares eagerly as he tosses the pillow and quilt onto the floor, and asks, “Is there another one?”

He sits back down and covers the quilt cozily over himself before answering, “Just found this one, a defective piece. Yong Zheng’s bedding has long sold out.”

Mu Hanxia is left with no word.

After a moment, he says, “Come over if you are cold.” Then he closes his eyes, ready to go to sleep.

Mu Hanxia hesitates for a while, sniffs her already congested nose, gets up and walks over to his side. Luckily the quilt is very big. She lifts a corner of it and sits down half a meter away from him.

He keeps his eyes shut and doesn’t move, as if she doesn’t exist.

The quilt is unexpectedly thick and solid, and it feels a little warm with his body heat. Mu Hanxia crawls in, closes her eyes, and murmurs, “Good night.”

“Good night.” His voice comes from somewhere very close.

--------

Mu Hanxia is woken by the sudden brightness.

Opening her eyes, first thing she sees is the light that’s all back on again. Someone has turned them on. Then she notices right in front of her nose, the white shirt and the chest of a man.

No, more precisely, the chest of a man that’s pressed underneath her face.

The warm smell, and the steady heartbeat, are right by her ear. She stares at the scene, quite stunned, --

A night has passed, and Lin Mochen is lying on the floor. So is she. Her head is resting on his chest, and hand on his body. One of his hands is holding her waist, rather tightly. His short hair is ruffled, eyes lightly shut -- he’s still asleep. The quilt, however, has been kicked aside by them.

Is it she who moves badly in sleep or neither is good?

Mu Hanxia has never been held like this by a man, so she blushes irrepressibly. She feels as if there are spikes all over her and gingerly tries to get up. But as soon as she moves, Lin Mochen slowly opens his eyes.

The two pairs of eyes, so close to each other, are locked together. His eyes deep as an abyss.

Mu Hanxia, “......”

Then he loosens the hold and stands up. Mu Hanxia also stands up quickly.

Mu Hanxia is still a little uneasy. She looks away from him and picks up a different topic, “Someone’s coming?”

“Mhm.”

At his words, the shutter door rises slowly, people’s voice vaguely heard from outside.

So it’s already daytime.

Mu Hanxia lowers her voice, “What now?”

“You stay here and I go clear up the scene.”

“Oh, OK.”

Looking at him walking past her toward the door, Mu Hanxia suddenly reaches out and grabs his arm, “You won’t...lock me inside again, right? One can be crafty, but really shouldn’t be too crafty.”

A slight smile finally comes to Lin Mochen’s eyes, “Yes, I will. Just wait.”

--------

Mu Hanxia waits a while and hears no more sound from the door. Then Lin Mochen’s clear voice comes through, “Mu Hanxia, come out.”

Reassured, Mu Hanxia walks out. Lin Mochen is standing by the shutter door, all by himself.

Mu Hanxia’s heart skips a beat at the sight of him.

Maybe it’s because his shirt is wrinkled and his hair out of order. With his hands in his trousers pockets, he looks more like a regular young man than a lofty elite.

Or maybe it’s because he cleared away the employees and waits there for her to come out.

When she passes him, Mu Hanxia says in a low voice, “Thanks.”

“That’s all right. If you do it again, I won’t let you get away.” His voice is still a little hoarse from the night’s sleep.

Mu Hanxia gives him a glance from the corner of her eye, and walks away.

Don't Turn from Summer Chapter 13

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 13

He Jing nods, “Oh.”

“Second,” Mu Hanxia lowers her voice a little, “You think it’s the merchandise with the best quality and lowest price that get into our store? Not necessarily. If the suppliers want to get their products into the store, they need to pay entrance fees and spend money on difference people and things. Sometimes, it’s not the best that gets in, but the one that has spent the most money on people and things...”

He Jing has long heard rumors about this rule, but has only heard it so clearly stated from Mu Hanxia just now. So she says with widened eyes, “You mean, that’s why our apparels section is not as good as Yong Zheng?”

Mu Hanxia nods, and remembering the phone call she heard outside Meng Gang’s office, she says, “Not just apparels section. Think about how many years we have been in business, and some suppliers have been our partners for about seven or eight years. Some of them have complicated relations with Manager Meng and other managers. It won’t be easy to make any move.”

He Jing gasps to herself at these words and doesn’t dare to talk deeper. She just sighs, “According to what you said, because of these suppliers and those complicated relations, wouldn’t it be impossible to win Yong Zheng?”

But Mu Hanxia replies, “I think this is only second important. The most important thing is...”

“What?”

“Is stance.”

He Jing is somewhat at loss, “What is that? I say, Xia, you’ve gone to the sales department for only a month, and the way you talk is more and more pretentious.”

“Don’t speak nonsense!” Mu Hanxia says lightly, “Wasn’t I pretentious before?”

He Jing titters. Mu Hanxia smiles too, and says seriously, “At first I thought the grand promotion launched by Manager Meng is super great, super powerful, forcing the opponent into a tough position with a price war. And our supermarket and other supermarkets have always done like this.

I have also thought Lin Mochen... the current leader of Yong Zheng, is a very crafty, cunning guy. But now the way he sells the apparels actually have touched me greatly. I think he’s different from everybody else.

Other people either follow traditional rules, defend their earned interest closely, or scheme about trapping the opponent. Even Manager Meng. He is very experienced, is a seasoned veteran. Still he is such a person.

But Lin Mochen is different. He employs a newer, better and more sincere strategy for the supermarket apparel section. It feels like...we are striving to stand above our opponent while he is already at the top of the whole business from the very beginning. This is his stance. Therefore, once he makes a move, we all feel unprecedented pressure.”

--------

However, the following two weeks makes Mu Hanxia realize that her “prejudice” toward Lin Mochen at the very beginning wasn’t wrong after all... He is the one who stands at the top of the business, and he is also a crafty and cunning guy.

The second week after Yong Zheng’s opening, all cooked food is 50% off, with a promise: within this week, if the customers are not satisfied with the taste, they can return the food without any condition. If there is any problem with the quality, each case of complaint will result in a fine of 1000 Yuan. They also invite the experienced old workers from the cooked food factories to demonstrate how cooked food is made, full of the air of cultural gourmet masters, attracting a great amount of residents over to watch...

In the meantime, the apparels get from 50% off to 20% off with a sign saying that this price will only last a week and the following week it will go back to its full regular price. Buy quickly if you need them. As a result, the sales of apparels drops a little but is still quite high.

This week, the daily sales of Yong Zheng exceeds three million Yuang, and Le Ya drops to between 1.2 and 1.5 million Yuan.

The third week, all beddings go 50% off at Yong Zheng. The cooked food goes up to 20% off.

......

Where Lin Mochen is cunning about is that the several categories he chooses are all the weak points of Le Ya. Apparels, weak in the whole business including Le ya; cooked food has always been very diverse in brands which Le Ya is not particularly good at; bedding, at the time of switching from spring to summer, is what Le Ya keep conservative at and hasn’t paid much attention to...

Also, he changes his target very fast. The promotion of every category only lasts one week, and the next week it’s a different target. This is what makes Meng Gang and even the whole Le Ya too slow to react. Before you even come up with some countermeasures about the cooked food, he has already turned toward the beddings...The whole plan must have been laid out in advance, for it is impossible to get enough inventory the last minute. Mu Hanxia can almost imagine the picture of Lin Mochen sitting in his office, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, and calmly overseeing the battle with squinting eyes. Wherever his finger points at, the people at Yong Zheng will give a stab...

But who has ever acted like this in the whole supermarket business? Who else can be this ruthless and this fierce? This is more a battle to conquer a city rather than a store opening, and the targets are all the weak points of the opponents, with combined fists, lightning fists, and shadowless fists...

During this period of time, Meng Gang has also organized several defenses, taking advantages of the stronger categories of Le Ya, such as rice, cooking oil, and fruit, for very competitive promotions, and has regained some in sales. But Lin Mochen’s attacks are too wide-ranged and well-planned to be defeated. In contrast, Meng Gand has just spent three million, and is entangled in complicated relations. Even though he is shrew and sophisticated, he can hardly turn the table over with Lin Mochen getting ahead in almost every aspect.

The opening battle of Yong Zheng is a complete triumph. Now among the customers in this area, who doesn’t know Yong Zheng supermarket means low price and good quality? Not a bit less so than Le Ya, and even...a little better.

--------

To say that Meng Gang is not angry or depressed, that’s not true. In the business world, relations, money, women...these things are not problems. The worst fear is to have this kind of difficult opponent who won’t play his cards based on common sense. He breaks the established explicit and implicit rules of the market, breaks the habits and interests of many people, and makes you distinctly feel great threats.

But it is not bad enough to cause Meng Gang to lose his coolness. After all, he has been in this business for so many years, and is stably rooted in Le Ya as well as in Jiang Cheng. Even if this store temporarily loses its edge, it won’t cause fundamental damages on him.

Just move on. When the chance comes along, he can fight back again.

The promotion in the store goes on, and the battle against Yong Zheng also keeps going. The employees need to be scolded and encouraged as usual to keep them from losing cohesion or spirit. Social dining is more frequent than before, as Meng Gang needs more relations and more exchange of interests now.

One late afternoon, the sky is getting dark. Meng Gang is in his office, just changing into a casual outfit from his shirt, when his assistant Xiao Chen knocks on the door, “Manager Meng, for the dinner with Director Xie [Note by the translator: some leader from a government bureau.] tomorrow evening, who are you going to take with you from the sales department?”

Meng Gang ponders a little and says, “Just as you see fit.”

Xia Chen says, “OK. The subordinates of Director Xie are all guys, I think it’s better to take a girl with you, so as to animate the atmosphere, and to avoid being forced to drink too much. How about Mu Hanxia?”

Meng Gang turns to glance at him, and is quiet for a few seconds before replying, “Fine.”

--------

When Mu hanxia receives the call from the sales department manager, she is standing at the entrance of Yong Zheng superarket.

These days Le Ya’s performance is low, but she has no importance and can’t really be useful in any way, which actually causes her to have more free time. So today she plans to take a good look at Yong Zhen and see how they are doing it. Knowing one’s opponent as well as oneself should be helpful somehow.

The phone call from the manager is hurried and only mentions a dinner which needs her to join. It is not mentioned that Meng Gang is the one she is to accompany, so Mu Hanxia agrees to attend without any hesitation.

After she ends the call, she slightly disguises herself by putting on a cap and letting down her long hair, and then strolls into the Yong Zheng supermarket in an unhurried manner.

Don't Turn from Summer Chapter 12

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 12

Meng Gang hasn’t done it with much strength. But Mu Hanxia pushes him away with almost all her might.

She stumbles backwards a little. He is still seated, and she is standing. For a while, neither of them speaks.

“Mu Hanxia,” he just gently calls her name. With her eyes looking at the ground, Mu Hanxia pretends to smile light-heartedly, “Manager Meng, thank you for considering it for me, really. In my situation like now, your help is like a pie dropping from the sky. If I’m not thankful, I would be heartless. But...about going to college, even though I want it, I still don’t want to quit my job right now. I think I will wait until later to try for it when the time is right.” She pauses for a moment, and looks up at him, “For now, I just don’t want to draw a circle to limit my life yet.”

Meng Gang says nothing for a moment. If his eye was a little turbulent just now, it has returned deep and calm now. He takes out a cigarette and lights it up. Giving it a couple sucks, he says in a very plain tone, “As long as you’ve thought it through.”

--------

The next few days, the grand promotion continues. The whole Le Ya is busy like crazy.

Mu Hanxia is also very busy, but she no longer goes to the athletic field. Sometimes she may get lost in her own thoughts. Once a lunch, He Jing asks, “Got something on mind lately?”

Mu Hanxia doesn’t want to lie, but she doesn’t want to bring the thing up either. So she replies, “Not really. Just that I was hit by a huge pie the other day but I didn’t take it.”

She is very vague at it, and He Jing blinks, “Why didn’t you?”

“What if the price is to be trapped in it? Stay there obediently. Whenever the master wants a bite, just let him take a bit.” Mu Hanxia says, “I simply don’t want that kind of life.”

--------

Before one realizes it, the opening day of Yong Zheng is almost here.

The employees of Le Ya are still thrilled about their brilliant performance of the one-week grand promotion, whereas Yong Zheng across the street is still all quiet with no sign of any move, which makes people believe that they are defeated and can’t come up with any countermeasures. Therefore, there is no need to worry about them any more.

However, when Mu Hanxia thinks of that face of Lin Mochen’s, she is still nervous. The feeling is somewhat like the calmness before the thunderstorm, while you can’t tell what this guy is scheming behind that face of his.

--------

Nobody ever imagined that Yong Zheng’s attack arrives in such a violent, unusual, and even frantic manner.

First week, all apparels are 50% off.

Mentioning apparels section, maybe everyone will be surprised. As everybody knows that apparels in supermarket are rather old-fashioned and the quality is not super good. Only elderly people would buy them from supermarkets, and not before they compare the prices with those beside the farmer’s market. So traditionally, people seldom see supermarkets make a fuss over apparels.

But Yong Zheng, they just play their cards against the common sense. Or you can even say that they’ve undermined all the usual approaches a supermarket has for apparels.

On the opening day, when the customers come into the store, what they see first are the very prominently displayed huge posters of apparel promotion with all kinds of promotional catchwords, catching the full attention of everybody.

Then, when they get to the apparel section, they go: wow, no bad at all! The layout of shelves are already different from the wholesale style in other supermarkets. Instead, it’s more like a open fashion store, with soft lighting, comfortable arrangement, simple but elegant styles, and fairly good quality.

Next, when they look at the prices -- 50% off! Almost as low as the price on Taobao, but with texture and quality that one can see and touch.

What’s more, in the center of the apparel section, there are two super big neatly arranged stacks of classic style T-shirts for both men and women, with colors of solid black, white, blue, gray and red and fabric very soft. But the man-size price tag standing next says, “Only 9.9 Yuan!”

Next to it is another sign that writes, “All the apparels are on special sales due to our grand opening. At the present price only when the stock lasts. Don’t hesitate if you are interested.”

How can those elderly folks wait any longer at the sight of this? Immediately, they grab the carts and start shopping like crazy! Once they get started, the impulses and emotions will spread in the crowd and then everybody start to shop crazy. As long the the price and style is not too bad, they will be grabbed and thrown into the carts. So, in almost every shopping cart, there are a few pieces of clothes, some even a half cart of them, for the whole family. Especially the classic style T-shirts, they are sold out as soon as they are brought out from the warehouse.

Stimulated by apparels, Yong Zheng quickly sees a increase of customers as the word quick spread. People also notice that other merchandise here are not more expensive than those in Le Ya, and the shopping environment is very comfortable -- clean, spacious, fashionable, and more upscale than Le Ya who has existed for many years. Walking in the store, one’s spirit rises. The store assistants are also kinder and warmer, very considerate, making people feel even better. What’s more, they also find out that some merchandise here look even better than those in Le Ya, such as cooked food or river food and meat.

As a result all merchandise sell increasingly better.

The first week after Yong Zheng’s opening, their sales exceeds two million on a daily average. On the second and third day, the sales even get as high as three million, tie with the regular sales of Le Ya. In the same week, Le Ya gets badly impacted, sales dropping from three million at peak during grand promotion to two million.

This week, almost everybody in Le Ya is in shock. The atmosphere in the office turns from the earlier happy and light to solemn and quiet.

One day, Mu Haxia goes upstairs to deliver documents. When she passes Meng Gang’s office, she vaguely hears his serious voice, “What? You can’t do 50% off? I put you in the Le Ya system and let you stay comfortably for so many years...You must do it...”

Mu Haxia doesn’t dare to listen more and walks quickly downstairs.

Since that morning, she hasn’t seen Meng Gang much. But apparently, the all-new first move by Lin Mochen has shaken even a seasoned veteran in supermarket business like Meng Gang.

One night after work, Mu Hanxia and He Jing are enjoying bbq night snack as usual.

The moonlight is clear and the city serene. The two of them sit in front of the food stand and eat away, but all they’ve eaten is no more than 32.5 Yuan. Each holding a can of Fanta in her hand, it’s as if the days are as care-free as before. But, even as unimportant as them, they can still sense the shake brought by Yong Zheng’s opening.

He Jing mutters, “You say why Yong Zheng’s apparels sell so well? Why can’t we do like them, bringing in some prettier clothes with better quality, rearranging the display and packing, and then doing some promotion? Then we won’t suffer so much customer loss during the last few days.”

Mu Haxia has come in contact with a lot of inside business in the sales department these days. She lowers her head and give a bite of the chicken wing, and replies, “How can it be that easy? To begin with, this move of Lin Mo...Yong Zheng, has great risks. Apparels are different from other merchandise, they are more personalized and they change quickly in styles, which makes it easy for them to get overstocked. Yong Zheng got it going pretty well this time. If they didn’t, the whole inventory would have backfired for them. That’s why our supermarket usually just gets clothes of some regular styles and is satisfied at it maintaining a normal sale. Look at other supermarkets, who dare to take such a big risk to attack the apparel section?” After a pause, she continues, “I guess based on Manager Meng’s personality, he won’t do it either.”