Chapter 83 Chris Offers a Plan
Terry, in disbelief, asked, "Can they offer such significantly lower prices than us?"
"Yeah, by more than double," the bald man replied, gritting his teeth in frustration. "I have no idea what that idiot Benjamin is thinking. Even if he wants to compete, at least set a comparable price! This will definitely affect the market. And I'm puzzled—where are they getting their supply from? It's like they're getting it for free!"
Terry looked down at the report again, paced the room a few times in agitation, and then said, "Notify the people in charge of distribution to come to my office for a meeting immediately."
By around 2 PM, a dozen people responsible for distribution had gathered in the conference room, including Chris, who had previously clashed with Robert.
At the head of the table, Terry, smoking a cigarette, squinted at the group and said, "Sales are down by 30%. Let mehear your solutions."
A brief silence followed, and then a younger man spoke up first, "I heard that their supply channel has set a clear sales target for Benjamin. They have to sell over 200,000 BTC - Bitcoin worth of goods each month to get a lower price. So now the Anderson family's distributors are going crazy, aggressively pushing sales because the lower purchase price means higher commissions for them."
"That's nonsense! Selling 200,000 BTC - Bitcoin worth of goods a month? Benjamin is trying to take over half the market in the Black Street District!" another rugged-looking man cursed, his eyes bulging. "If they keep hitting the market like this, next month it won't just be a 30% drop in sales; we'll have to shut down."
"Why don't we just engage in a price war with them?" another person suggested, "We can lower our prices, too."
Terry immediately dismissed the idea. "Lowering prices is something only a fool would do. Not only would it affect the market environment, but think about the customers. If someone used to pay two dollars for your product and you suddenly drop it to one dollar, what would they think? They'd hate you, thinking you were ripping them off before. Even if your price matches the Anderson family's, they'd still go to them. So what do we do, lower our prices even more than the Anderson family?"
The room fell silent.
"Can we find a way to use official channels to crack down on the Anderson family?" the bald man suggested.
"It's difficult." The young man shook his head. "The Anderson family was hit hard last time, and they're more cautious now. They no longer distribute in Maple Street. They've closed their old storefronts and only contact their distributors privately, distributing quotas down the line. Each transaction happens at a different location and the amounts are small, exploiting legal loopholes. Even if you catch them, the most they get is a little over a year in prison."
Hearing this, everyone looked grim, and the room fell silent again.
After five or six minutes, just as Terry was about to speak again, Chris, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "Terry, I have one question for you."
Terry was taken aback. "Go ahead."
"Tell me, in this situation, do you want to take a hard stance against the Anderson family, or are you willing to tolerate their market impact for now?" Chris asked, frowning.
The room erupted in discussion.
"Isn't it obvious? We have to fight back!"
"Yeah, what kind of question is that? If we let them keep hitting the market, how will we make money? The distributors won't stick with you."
"We have to come up with a way to deal with them. The Black Street District is only so big. If they sell 200,000 BTC - Bitcoin worth of goods a month, our market will definitely shrink."
Before Terry could speak, everyone had already voiced their opinions. This issue directly affected their interests, and seeing the dismal numbers on the report had already made them furious.
Terry pondered for a moment, then urged, "Just say what you have to say."
"I have a way to take the Anderson family out of the game," Chris said with a smile.
Everyone was stunned.
"Then spit it out," the bald man urged.
Chris thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "I need to discuss this with Terry alone."
Terry was taken aback.
Ten minutes later.
Terry asked everyone to take a short break and went to his office with Chris. Once the door was closed, they began to speak in hushed tones.
"Go ahead, what's the plan?"
"Why don't we..." Chris whispered to Terry.
Around 8 PM.
On a street in a residential area in northern Pine City, Alexander, wearing a thick military coat, sat in the passenger seat and asked Andrew, "Does Robert ask you to hang out every day?"
"Robert's a good guy," Andrew replied without hesitation, "Ever since I met him, I've been so busy every night I can't even put my pants on."
Alexander was speechless. "I can't believe you. I get that we're all men and have needs, but I've never seen anyone as desperate as you. Every night? Can you handle it?"
"I don't get it either. The more we hang out, the less tired I get, and the more excited I become," Andrew responded shamelessly, "Look, just chatting with you is getting me excited. Isn't that weird?"
Alexander was stunned for a moment. "You're something else."
"I try to control it, but I just can't."
"Don't refrain from sharing irrelevant information with me," Alexander scolded, "You need to control yourself and stop hanging out with Robert every day. He's just started handling the distribution, and he needs to be on top of everything. Don't let your fun get in the way of business."
"Of course. Even though I play, I never let it affect my work. I'm here on time, aren't I?" Andrew replied seriously.
"Not everyone is like you. Some people can't control themselves once they start playing," Alexander said softly, "Just try to control yourself."
"Got it." Andrew nodded.
"Keep an eye out. I'm going to take a leak," Alexander said, opening the car door.
At that moment, a man with a small braid got into a car in front of Alexander and shouted before driving off, "Goodbye!"
Alexander stood outside, stunned, his eyes wide with surprise.
The car engine roared as it drove away.
"What is it?" Andrew asked from inside the car.
"That guy looked really familiar," Alexander muttered.
"Who?"
"He looked like one of the guys who kidnapped Alex," Alexander replied after thinking for a moment.
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