Chapter 572: Chapter 570: Easy to Fall into a Pit

None of them had expected that the young man they had always looked down upon would have such a profound plan. Even after the meeting ended, the shockwaves of astonishment were still rippling through their hearts, leaving them unable to calm down for a long while. With mixed feelings, the group walked out of the meeting room. It wasn’t until they reached their office that they remembered something very important.

"Wait, aren’t we in control of purchasing and logistics? When did that become his achievement?"

However, the meeting was over. No matter how much they discussed it now, it was useless. This also taught them a valuable lesson: during meetings with Xue Yang, they couldn’t just listen to him alone. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even realize when he had led them into a pit.

* * *

After everyone else had left, only Xue Yang, Cui Hao, and Ming Yue remained in the meeting room.

Cui Hao looked at Xue Yang, his eyes full of admiration. "Godfather, you’re incredible. I’ve been following your plans every day, but I never realized what your ultimate goal was."

Xue Yang smiled slightly and gently patted Cui Hao on the shoulder. "After today, you need to quickly organize a team and start the renovations," he said, handing a piece of paper to Cui Hao.

Cui Hao took the paper and frowned in confusion. "Renovations? The supermarket is doing well right now. Why cause such a huge disruption? We just started turning a profit. Isn’t this too risky?"

Xue Yang did not elaborate. He simply said, "Do as I say," then rose and left the meeting room.

Ming Yue picked up the paper and examined it carefully before turning to Cui Hao. "He’s right," she said firmly. "Do as he says."

Cui Hao looked at Ming Yue in confusion. "Why you too...?"

Ming Yue cut him off. "Just look at what’s on the paper first."

Cui Hao lowered his head and studied the paper closely. It was densely filled with lines and small characters, and he was immediately stunned by the detailed plan.

"This is..." He looked up at Ming Yue, his eyes full of surprise.

Ming Yue nodded. "Trust him. Follow the plan, and you can’t go wrong."

Cui Hao nodded, not daring to say anything more.

"However, for such a large project, we should probably hold a bidding process," Cui Hao suggested.

Ming Yue nodded in agreement. "That’s a good idea. We can choose the most cost-effective renovation plan through a tender process."

The two of them were in complete agreement and immediately split up to get started. One went to continue monitoring the supermarket’s operations, while the other began preparing for the bidding.

* * *

When the other managers at Yonghui Supermarket learned about Xue Yang’s plan to completely renovate the supermarket, they immediately expressed strong opposition.

Xia Jianguo, a senior manager, was particularly vocal in his opposition.

Fuming, he stormed into Xue Yang’s office and vehemently expressed his discontent. "Xue Yang, I strongly oppose remodeling the supermarket! Our current promotional strategies have already yielded good profits, so why risk a major overhaul? This could cause a significant drop in customer traffic!"

Xue Yang responded calmly, "Manager Xia, a single promotion might attract customers, but its effectiveness will greatly diminish if we keep using the same strategy. If you don’t believe me, go check the other supermarkets. If I’m not mistaken, our strategy has likely already been copied."

Xia Jianguo was left speechless by Xue Yang’s words, but he held his ground. "Even so, we should seize the current opportunity to stock up on more goods. The more we can earn, the better."

"And then what? Stock subpar goods for the customers to buy?" Xue Yang retorted.

Xia Jianguo argued dismissively, "They’re promotional products, after all. Are customers really expecting high quality? Where in the world would you find a deal that good?"

Xue Yang smiled slightly. "Manager Xia, you’ve been behind the scenes at Yonghui for too long. You don’t understand how fussy today’s customers are. Believe it or not, if you dare to stock inferior products tomorrow, no one will set foot in Yonghui again within a day."

Xia Jianguo remained stubborn. "If using inferior goods won’t work, then we can just go back to stocking the original products. In any case, it’s hundreds of times better than shutting down for renovations."

"Go back to the original goods, and then break even, or maybe earn just enough to cover labor costs?" Xue Yang asked again.

"This won’t work, and that won’t work," Xia Jianguo accused angrily. "Xue Yang, you never actually planned to keep Yonghui Supermarket open, did you?"

"That’s right," Xue Yang responded calmly.

"If you didn’t want to keep it open, why did you buy it?" Xia Jianguo demanded.

"I don’t think I need to explain that to you, Manager Xia," Xue Yang replied coolly.

His response sent Xia Jianguo into a rage. "I watched Yonghui Supermarket grow from a single small grocery store to this size," he countered. "I won’t let you ruin it."

"If you don’t want me to ’ruin it,’ that’s fine too. If Manager Xia has the money to buy it back, I won’t say another word."

"You..." Xia Jianguo glared at Xue Yang as if he wanted to tear him apart and swallow him whole.

If I had the money, would I have just stood by and watched him turn Yonghui Supermarket into this?

"Manager Xia, you must be getting close to retirement age, right?"

At this, a chill went down Xia Jianguo’s spine. "Xue Yang, what are you trying to say?"

Xue Yang reminded him gently, "Nothing special. I just think a man has to know his limits. When it’s time to let go, you should let go."

His words struck Xia Jianguo like a heavy hammer, leaving him stunned as if drenched in ice water.

Xia Jianguo realized he could no longer dictate matters at Yonghui Supermarket by leveraging his seniority and experience as he had in the past.

But he wasn’t ready to give up. Why should he listen to the foolish commands of some young whippersnapper?

After some deep thought, Xia Jianguo found Ming Yue again.

He asked expectantly, "Miss Ming Yue, are you really not going to manage Yonghui Supermarket anymore?"

Ming Yue responded with a smile, "Uncle Xia, Yonghui Supermarket is no longer under my control. Now, I only follow orders."

Xia Jianguo proposed eagerly, "Miss Ming Yue, if you talk to Boss Wang and ask him to buy back Yonghui Supermarket, it will definitely work. The supermarket is well-known throughout Yancheng. If we buy it back and continue with the old model of promotions and discounts, we can definitely bring it back from the brink."

Ming Yue shook her head. "Uncle Xia, you really have gotten old."

After speaking, Ming Yue walked past him to find a suitable company for the bid and put out the news.

Xia Jianguo stood rooted to the spot. This was the second person to tell him he was old.

Am I... really old? No. I refuse to be.

Refusing to give in, Xia Jianguo dialed another person’s phone number. "Young Master Doudou."

"Who is this?" Wang Doudou, who was already in a foul mood, answered with obvious impatience.

"Young Master Doudou, this is Xia Jianguo, the sales manager of Yonghui Supermarket."