Chapter 156: Greed Leads to Destruction

"As expected."

Chen Huajiang chuckled. Gou Weidong's desperate antics were exactly as he had anticipated. To put it bluntly, it was nothing more than the work of greed. Originally, Gou could have made a profit of ten or twenty cents on every coal stove he sold to Chen; but seeing Chen selling them for one dollar and seventy cents—and witnessing the intense market demand—Gou naturally wanted a bigger slice of the pie.

"I’ve also noticed quite a few merchants hanging around the factory gates lately. I recognize a few of them; they’re vendors from the local convenience stores," Liang Long reported, updating Chen on the recent developments. "The Wu brothers are moving inventory directly to them now. There’s no need for the factory to handle shipping anymore; these people just show up and pick the goods up themselves."

Chen nodded with a faint smile. He didn't see any problem with this. If the Wu family, who controlled the coal stove workshop, didn't try to skim some profit for themselves, that would be the real anomaly.

"It’s almost time to close the net. Talk to Gou Weidong first," Chen instructed. "Tell him that a price increase isn't out of the question, but to prevent him from behaving so unreliably and breaking his word again, we need to sign a formal order contract. This time, it has to be a large order with a strict contract, and we must include a penalty clause for breach of contract."

Chen believed that Gou had likely been hoarding a significant amount of stock during this period. Liang Long was merely providing the bait to feed Gou's greed. Simultaneously, Jin Sanshun was working in tandem with Chen, having his street vendors approach Gou to purchase goods, thereby creating the illusion that the stoves were in high demand and guaranteed to sell.

A week passed.

On that day, Kunlun Coal Stoves suddenly slashed their prices, dropping from two dollars and fifty cents straight down to one dollar and sixty cents. The stated reason, of course, was a promotional event to reward their loyal customers. At the same time, Chen Huajiang began flooding the market with the coal stoves he had acquired from the factory, pricing them at one dollar and forty cents.

This sudden turn of events left the Red Flag Factory's stoves completely ignored by the market. Gou Weidong had approached Chen multiple times, begging to buy the stoves at one dollar and forty cents, only to be rejected each time. Today, he finally cornered Chen at the entrance of the residential complex.

"Chen Huajiang! We had a deal! One dollar and forty cents per unit, and you were going to take as many as I could provide! Why are you going back on your word? You aren't leaving until you give me an explanation!" Gou Weidong’s eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and his face twisted with rage.

He had been incredibly anxious and exhausted lately. He was sitting on a mountain of three thousand coal stoves. Given that the workshop only produced three hundred units a day, he had essentially locked up ten days' worth of inventory. Moreover, as the market price had soared, the Wu brothers—not being fools themselves—had raised his acquisition cost; by the end, he was paying one dollar and sixty cents per unit. Even then, he had only secured the stock by threatening the Wu family.

Now that the market had crashed, he was stuck with the entire lot. Gou felt like he could die from the stress. His only lifeline was to have Chen Huajiang buy them at one dollar and forty cents.

"Gou Weidong, do you take me for a fool?" Chen asked with a look of disdain. "When I wanted to buy them from you at one dollar and forty cents, you refused, choosing to hoard them for profit. Now that the price has plummeted, you think I’m going to buy them? You aren't stupid, so why do you think I am? Move aside, you're blocking the way."

Chen pushed past him, heading toward his home.

"Chen Huajiang, you have to buy them! I’m begging you, okay?" Gou grabbed Chen’s arm, his eyes filled with desperation. Three thousand stoves! That wasn't just his family's entire life savings; it included funds his father had once again embezzled from the factory’s logistics department. He had thought he could just flip the inventory for a quick profit, but now everything was tied up in worthless stock.

"Begging me?" Chen sneered. "Gou Weidong, our relationship isn't nearly that close. And three thousand stoves? That’s a lot! Here’s a suggestion: why don't you try returning them to the Wu brothers and see if they’ll take them back?"

Chen intentionally raised his voice when mentioning the three thousand stoves before shaking off Gou’s grip and walking away.

Gou collapsed onto the ground, his face deathly pale. He knew he was finished. Unless the market price miraculously rebounded before the embezzlement was discovered, his family was ruined. What terrified him even more was the crowd gathering around to watch the spectacle; Chen’s mention of the three thousand stoves had clearly reached their ears, and the news would spread like wildfire.

The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced. The pressure, combined with the spike in his blood pressure, finally caused everything to go black, and he fainted from sheer terror.

"Something’s wrong! The Gou boy passed out!"
"What happened? I just heard Chen Huajiang talking about three thousand coal stoves..."

The crowd was startled by Gou’s collapse and rushed to help. As they whispered among themselves, they quickly pieced together the reason for his breakdown. By the end of the day, word had spread that the Gou family had embezzled factory inventory. When Liu Jun ordered an investigation and found the discrepancies in the logistics department's funds, he immediately called the police and had Gou Zhiguo arrested. The three thousand stoves were confiscated by the security department and returned to the factory. At that point, the factory management remained calm, believing that with the high demand, they could still recover the funds by selling the stock.

However, to everyone's shock, Kunlun Coal Stoves dropped their price again to one dollar and fifty cents, while Chen Huajiang lowered his to one dollar and thirty cents.

This sent the Red Flag Factory’s management into a panic, especially the three members of the Wu family. At these prices, their profit margins were squeezed to almost nothing, raising the risk that producing the stoves would actually result in a loss. An emergency management meeting was called.

"The price will definitely go back up! The coal heating projects in the residential areas are in full swing; demand still far exceeds supply. Kunlun and that factory are just trying to sabotage us!"

"Exactly! How much inventory could they possibly have? They’ll run out soon. Besides, I’ve heard that Chen Huajiang is the one behind all this. He’s no saint—he bought a massive order from the factory at one dollar and forty cents, and now he’s selling at one dollar and thirty cents. Isn't he just losing money?"

"Don't worry, Director Liu. In a few days, the price will bounce back. I’ve scouted the market, and some retail outlets are already running out of stock."

Wu De, Wu Min, and Wu Lei spoke with absolute certainty, each sounding more confident than the last. Their words managed to settle the nerves of the others, as they were all aware that sales in the city remained robust and the heating renovations were continuing at a fever pitch.

And so, the Red Flag Factory missed its final opportunity to offload its inventory.