"This rice of ours is simply unbeatable!" Bian Xuedao was thrilled. He was so excited he felt like having a cigarette, but when he saw the number of women present and remembered that Wu Jun didn’t smoke either, his hand, which had just reached for his pocket, fell back to his side.
Ma Chaoyun looked just as thrilled. "Chen Lin is a professional in this field. If she says there’s no problem, then there’s definitely no problem. Our Hongyun Rice tastes so incredible, I’m not the least bit surprised by these test results."
"I was wondering about something earlier," Xu Fei said with a smile. "The sales rep from De Nuo who delivered the certificates kept asking our receptionist where to buy this kind of rice. He said a bunch of his colleagues wanted some and had asked him to bring it back for them. He must have seen the test results."
"We’re golden," Qian Na said with a laugh, picking up a test certificate from the table and planting a kiss on it. "Now let’s see what faults those restaurant buyers can possibly find with our Hongyun Rice."
Bian Xuedao said, "I’ll take these certificates to the relevant authorities. Let’s see what they have to say now. They need to hurry up and arrest those bastards who were spreading rumors."
"Brother Jun, we’ll go make copies right away and reassure those restaurant buyers." With the certificates in hand, Xu Fei was eager to get back to work. Business had been held up for the past few days, and she knew Brother Jun had missed out on a lot of profit.
Hearing Xu Fei, the other regional managers couldn’t sit still. They all rose to their feet, ready to head out.
"Don’t be in such a hurry, everyone. Please sit down. I have an announcement to make." Wu Jun waved his hand, signaling for the excited group to take their seats.
At Wu Jun’s request, the group reined in their excitement and returned to their seats.
"I’m going to take this opportunity to adjust the price of our Hongyun Rice." Wu Jun gestured toward the stack of test certificates in Xu Fei’s hand and said with a smile, "With these certificates, wouldn’t selling it for just five yuan be a complete waste of our Hongyun Rice?"
"Yes, CEO Wu has a point. We should’ve raised the price ages ago." It was a revelation for Bian Xuedao, and he chimed in, "Even without these test certificates, I felt like we were selling it for too little."
Everyone else in the conference room nodded in agreement, sharing Bian Xuedao’s sentiment.
To be experts in their field, after they started working with Hongyun Rice, they had all purchased every brand of rice on the market, at every price point, to take home for a taste comparison.
Whether it was Fulinmen rice for five or six yuan, Arowana for seven or eight, or even the premium Xiangshui, Wuchang, and Meng Zalang varieties that cost over ten yuan—every single one was blown out of the water by Hongyun Rice in terms of both quality and taste.
Xu Fei asked, "Brother Jun, how much of an increase are we talking about?"
At Xu Fei’s question, all eyes in the room turned to Wu Jun.
Wu Jun held up two fingers, making a ’V’ sign.
"Just two yuan? No way, that’s far too little." Bian Xuedao immediately voiced his disapproval.
Xu Fei added, "Brother Jun, I agree with my brother-in-law. Seven yuan is still too cheap."
Ma Chaoyun nodded. "I think it should be at least in the double digits. At the bare minimum, we should match the price of Wuchang and Xiangshui rice. Our Hongyun brand might not be as famous, but our taste and quality absolutely demolish theirs."
"You’ve all misunderstood my meaning." Wu Jun chuckled. "I meant twenty yuan. Per jin."
"Twe—twenty yuan a jin?" Bian Xuedao stared at Wu Jun in astonishment.
’From five yuan a jin straight to twenty... isn’t that taking too big of a leap!’
The others wore the same stunned expression as Bian Xuedao. They were all completely baffled by Wu Jun’s unpredictable methods. ’When he sets a low price, it’s ridiculously low. And when he raises it, he’s just as impulsive.’
"Is there a problem?" Wu Jun asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Pork is selling for thirty-five yuan a jin. Is it so outrageous for our Hongyun Rice to sell for twenty a jin? This price isn’t even two yuan different from Meng Zalang rice."
"Brother Jun has a point." Hearing Wu Jun’s comparison, it suddenly clicked for Xu Fei.
"It’s not outrageous at all. Let’s go with that price," Ma Chunmei agreed, the logic clicking for her as well. "If an ordinary pig waddling around can fetch thirty yuan, then selling our superior rice for only twenty is a steal!"
"I think the price is quite reasonable," Chen Lin said. "Our Hongyun Rice is so rich in various trace elements essential for the human body, it’s better than many health supplements out there. We could practically sell it as a health-food rice."
Qian Liangping, their second uncle-in-law, chuckled and said, "Hearing young Chen Lin talk about health supplements... you know, I really think our Hongyun Rice has that effect. I used to have high blood pressure, but I’ve been eating our family’s rice for this whole period, and my blood pressure has stabilized quite a bit lately."
Bian Xuedao added, "I have hypoglycemia, and I feel it’s improved as well."
"My anemia has improved," Qian Na said.
"And my constipation is gone," Ma Chaoyun said. "Everything’s... running smoothly."
Wu Jun was speechless.
’A perfectly good business meeting had somehow turned into a patient support group. This is getting weird.’
’Still, everyone was saying it. Could Hongyun Rice really have medicinal properties?’
’Should I be like Nao Baijin and set a corporate vision? "Helping the people of Huaxia live a healthy life to the age of 100"?’
Wu Jun waved his hand, and the group paused their medical testimonials to look at him quietly.
Wu Jun said, "If no one objects to the price, then it’s settled. Starting today, starting this very moment, that’s the new price."
"Brother Jun," Xu Fei said suddenly, "we’ve already issued almost 100 VIP cards with the promise that the price would never increase for VIP clients. Now that we’re selling it for twenty yuan a jin, they’ll still be able to get their supply at five yuan. There’s a huge profit margin there, and I’m worried people will try to exploit this loophole."
"Doesn’t the card say, ’The right of final interpretation belongs to Junheng Trading Co., Ltd.’?" Wu Jun replied. "We’ll just add a new rule. Business accounts with a VIP card are limited to one bag per day, totaling thirty bags per month at the original price. Personal VIP cards are limited to two bags per month. I’ll explain it to my aunt when she gets back."
Xu Fei nodded. "Okay, that should take care of it. VIP customers will still enjoy a substantial discount over the course of a month, so our VIP card will still be quite valuable. They should be able to accept these terms."
Just as Xu Fei had calculated, the price of a bag of rice would jump from 250 yuan to 1,000 yuan. VIP members would save 750 yuan on a single bag. The card’s value was indeed exceptionally high.
"It was a freebie, after all," Bian Xuedao said. "If they can’t accept the new terms, they can return the card."
Qian Na laughed. "I doubt anyone would be that foolish."
"Alright, let’s move on. The price is set," Wu Jun said. "Brother-in-law, take all the test certificates, make copies, and contact the relevant authorities to get the rumors cleared up on our official website. It’s time for those pathetic clowns to end their performance."
"Okay, I’m on it." Bian Xuedao didn’t waste a second, heading out the door as soon as he got his orders.
Wu Jun then turned to Chen Lin. "Chen Lin, make a copy as well and take it to my aunt. She’s at the convention center over in the Ancient City district."
"Of course, I’ll get right on it." Chen Lin stood and followed Bian Xuedao out of the room.
Xu Fei and the others who remained also had their own assignments: contact their clients and announce the price change.