Read Novel Full Chapter 128 – Piece of Trash
Chapter 128 – Piece of Trash
Xia Mian and the Mao sisters ran into He Wei in the cafeteria. Since there was no suitable venue in the city center for such a large-scale expo, it was being held in a temporarily repurposed, decommissioned factory on the outskirts. Naturally, there were no restaurants nearby, so whether you were a boss or a regular staff member, everyone had to line up to eat at the makeshift cafeteria.
After spending the morning helping Xia Wenyue sort out the division of responsibilities and workflow at their booth, Xia Mian, along with Mao Huimei and Mao Huilan, headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
Just as they sat down, they suddenly heard a familiar voice. Xia Mian and Mao Huimei immediately exchanged a glance and looked over. Sure enough, it was He Wei, dressed in a sharp business suit, walking side by side with a young woman in formal attire, both carrying meal trays.
Xia Mian remembered that the He family had originally made their fortune in canned food, so it made sense for them to attend a food industry expo.
He Wei and his companion were clearly in the middle of a serious discussion, focused and absorbed, and didn’t notice Xia Mian’s group. They sat down in the empty seats right behind them.
A few minutes later, four or five more men came by, greeting He Wei as they joined the table. Soon, the conversation turned to business.
A portly middle-aged man spoke with a mocking tone, “Those fruit farmers are really ungrateful. Isn’t it normal to renegotiate prices once a contract ends?”
“The price Manager He is offering is totally reasonable. They’ve been making money for three years already, more than enough to recoup their investment.”
“Mr. Wang is right,” someone chimed in. “All they do now is pay for some pesticide all year. The new purchase price is only 20% lower, and they’re acting like it’s the end of the world. They don’t even consider how much we lose just on transporting their stuff from their remote mountain villages.”
He Wei said, “Let’s not push too far. Our past purchase prices weren’t that high either. Don’t end up scaring them off and disrupting our supply chain.”
“Don’t worry, President He,” the man called Wang laughed. “Manager He and I already discussed it. Once we break those few troublemakers, we’ll be making steady profits for years.”
Someone else praised, “As expected of an overseas returnee—Manager He truly is as sharp as hell.”
The woman laughed. “It’s just a matter of strategy, after all.”
President Wang grinned. “That’s right. We can afford to wait, but those farmers can’t.”
“Once the fruit ripens, it’ll start rotting on the trees. Right now, we’re only cutting their price by 20%, but if we wait until harvest time, we can slash it by 50% and they’ll still have to sell.”
At that point, the woman suddenly spoke up, her tone excited, “Everyone, I’ve got a new idea.”
Then their voices dropped to a low pitch, and it was obvious that they were discussing things quietly.
Their voices dropped as they began discussing it in hushed tones. But because President Wang had such a naturally loud voice, Xia Mian still faintly heard phrases like “wait until it rots,” “poor harvest,” and “jacking up price.”
Suddenly, a memory from her previous life surfaced. In her old world, Xia Mian had seen a news report about the exploitation of farmers. In a certain region up north, farmers had spent an entire year growing cabbage. But when the buyers finally arrived, they deliberately slashed the price, offering only half of what had been paid in previous years. The farmers, of course, refused. Accepting such a price would mean letting a year’s worth of hard work go to waste.
But the most powerful buyer in the area had united all the other buyers and formed a monopoly. As the cabbages neared over-ripeness, the farmers had no choice but to compromise in tears.
That’s when the buyers slashed the price again—down to twenty percent.
The farmers couldn’t possibly agree to sell at such a loss. But the buyers held firm, even intentionally stalling for time.
By the time the cabbages started rotting in the fields, the farmers were crying as they sold the remaining crop for twenty percent of its original price, suffering near-total loss.
To make things worse, because of the forced low pricing and spoilage, the overall supply was cut in half, which lowered transport costs for the buyers. The market price actually rose, and the buyers spun a story about there being a “poor harvest” that year, justifying the high retail price.
Afterward, those farmers were bound by harsh contracts for years, exploited and unable to escape until social media and independent journalism finally exposed the scandal.
By then, however, those unethical businessmen had already made a fortune.
The group behind them was already cheering. “Manager He, that plan is brilliant!”
“Well, I think we could push for five-year contracts.”
“Ten years would be even better.”
The woman said, “Let’s not go overboard. We still have to leave them something to live on. If we push them too far, they may give up completely and stop growing fruit altogether. That would harm us too.”
Mr. Wang immediately chimed in with flattery, “Manager He really thinks of everything.” Then added, feigning concern, “True, we do have to let them make some money.”
Someone laughed, “In that case, we really ought to thank that nosy Fang Yongpeng. If he hadn’t interfered, we’d have signed the contracts already and wouldn’t have come up with this even better plan!”
“Exactly. That guy’s such a clown. Just a middle school teacher—what business does he have meddling in this?”
After a few more casual comments, they finished eating and left, until only He Wei and the woman remained.
“Sister Lan, isn’t that a bit much?” He Wei asked.
“Not at all.” The woman was clearly in a great mood. “If you do the math, just the cost savings on raw materials this year alone will save the cannery several hundred thousand.”
“Your father will definitely be happy.”
He Wei said nothing more.
After the two of them left, Xia Mian looked up to see both Mao Huimei and Mao Huilan fuming.
“What’s wrong?”
“Those black-hearted crooks!” Mao Huilan couldn’t hold back. “They always say once the fruit trees start bearing, it’s a no-cost business, as if farmers do nothing all year except spray some pesticides and just wait for the fruit to grow itself!”
Mingxi County was mountainous, and many families leased land to grow fruit. The Mao family had leased a few acres themselves, so they’d naturally encountered this kind of ruthless price suppression. Even without hearing the rest of that despicable scheme, the mere idea of cutting 20% from renewed contracts was enough to make their blood boil.
For farming families, that 20% could be the tuition for a child’s education for a whole year.
But beyond feeling furious for those fruit farmers, there wasn’t much they could do.
Not far from the cafeteria exit, someone suddenly called out, “Mao Huimei?”
The three turned and saw He Wei. He was standing by the roadside smoking, so they had passed by without noticing. He looked just as surprised to see them. After giving them a once-over, he asked, “What are you doing here?”
He Lan quickly caught up and asked, “He Wei, someone you know?”
Mao Huimei replied coldly, “Not really.”
He Wei’s expression darkened, and his tone turned mocking. “So you’ve climbed to a higher branch now, huh? Can’t wait to draw a clear line with me?”
They were here on business today, so they dressed more formally and even wore light makeup. Given He Wei’s deep-rooted hostility and prejudice, it was obvious his imagination had gone wild with assumptions.
Mao Huimei had already disliked him, and after overhearing their plan to exploit fruit farmers, her disgust only deepened. She had no desire to engage with him any further and said coldly, “What? Didn’t get to enjoy yourself, Young Master He? Now you’re lashing out in frustration?”
He Wei narrowed his eyes slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Mao Huimei sneered, “What do you think?”
He Wei glanced at Xia Mian. “You saw me at the birthday banquet.” Then he turned back to Mao Huimei. “So you knew everything. You played me on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, so what?” Mao Huimei said, staring at him with disdain. “Can’t take being played, Young Master He? Then don’t play at all. What, only you’re allowed to toy with people, but no one’s allowed to play you?”
He Wei’s face turned livid with rage. He stormed toward Mao Huimei, fists clenched, clearly looking like he was about to hit her. “Who the hell do you think you are, you dare—”
Before he could finish, Mao Huimei grabbed his shoulders and slammed downward, lifting her knee hard into his stomach. As he doubled over, she followed with a sharp elbow to his back. He hadn’t even reacted before collapsing onto his knees.
“Hey! What are you doing?!” He Lan rushed over in a panic to help her cousin up. “Do you even know who he is? You dare lay a hand on him?!”
Mao Huimei looked down at them from above and said coldly, “Who he is? Just trash in human skin, thinking he’s some golden egg!”
“Climbing the higher branch, you said?” She scoffed. “Sure, I’m from a small county, but I’m not so desperate. A revolting piece of trash like you, hah! Even if you were the richest man in the world, I wouldn’t give you the time of day!”
With that, she grabbed Xia Mian and Mao Huilan and turned to leave.
He Wei finally caught his breath, clutching his stomach and shouting angrily, “Mao Huimei! You just wait!”
Mao Huimei responded with nothing but a mocking snort.
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