The days following the October holiday had been relatively calm, with no unexpected incidents.
However, on the eve of the new semester, Liu Yutong received surprising news.
Near the Wanlong Supermarket under renovation in the university district, another supermarket was also undergoing rapid construction—its scale only slightly smaller than Wanlong's.
What’s more, this supermarket belonged to Mingcheng Commerce, Yang Xin’s former employer, now rebranded as Wanjia·Mingcheng Supermarket.
In this era, mergers and acquisitions had become the most direct and efficient way for supermarket brands to quickly capture market share.
Simply put, it was a case of the big fish eating the small.
Mingcheng Commerce was a prime example.
Founded in 1988, the company had started as a general merchandise retailer before transitioning into supermarkets, gradually growing into one of the province’s notable local chain brands.
Yet even after nearly two decades of development, this established enterprise couldn’t escape the fate of being acquired.
Without sufficient resources and strength, businesses facing aggressive large-scale retail brands had only two choices: sell out willingly or be crushed by the competition.
Liu Yutong never expected that Wanlong Supermarket’s first store in Bright Pearl City would encounter such a formidable rival so soon.
Even before its rebranding as Wanjia·Mingcheng, the original Mingcheng Supermarket was already a force Wanlong couldn’t match.
After confirming the news, Liu Yutong immediately called Yang Xin, who was away on a business trip for training.
The moment the call connected, she heard the excitement in his voice.
"Miss Liu, your foresight in sending me here is incredible! This is the first time I’ve seen a supermarket with such a service model—it’s truly impressive! You were right—in the future, we must perfect our service. That way, even with price wars and e-commerce competition, we’ll stand firm!"
"Seems like you’ve learned a lot. When are you coming back?"
"Miss Liu, did something happen?"
"A supermarket is opening just a few hundred meters from ours in the university district. They’re already renovating, and it looks like they’re targeting us."
"What?! Which supermarket? What’s its name?"
"Our people talked to the construction workers there. It’s your old employer—Mingcheng."
Yang Xin fell silent for a few seconds before responding.
"Miss Liu, I had no idea about this. Even when I was at Mingcheng, I never heard of plans to open a store in the university district."
"I believe you. The reason I called is to ask—what do you think we should do?"
"With two supermarkets in the same area, a price war is unavoidable. Miss Liu, we might have to prepare for losses, or at least minimal profits."
"I can accept minimal profits or even losses, but there has to be a time limit. Otherwise, we won’t last—it’s not worth it."
After a moment of thought, Yang Xin said, "Miss Liu, since you put it that way, I think we should focus all our efforts on improving service. If we can quickly turn our supermarket into a place people love to shop, even Mingcheng’s presence nearby won’t hurt us much."
"Of course, the key is to crush Mingcheng Supermarket outright. Building brand recognition takes time, and with a competitor stirring trouble next door, if we engage in a drawn-out battle, we might collapse before we even complete our transformation. So, my suggestion is—either don’t act, or strike them down in one decisive blow!"
"........."
Over the phone, Yang Xin meticulously analyzed the pros and cons, covering everything from initial strategies to customer targeting, service details, pricing tactics, and long-term development plans.
Finally, he asked cautiously, "Miss Liu, what do you think?"
Yang Xin had met many bosses in his time. Most would retreat at the mention of massive potential losses—unless they were deep-pocketed tycoons, few could calmly accept sustained or sudden heavy losses for a single store.
So, he wasn’t sure whether Liu Yutong would hesitate after hearing his analysis.
Instead of answering directly, Liu Yutong suddenly shifted the topic.
"Yang Xin, do you know the revenue figures for our stores during the holiday?"
Without hesitation, Yang Xin recited the supermarket’s performance data.
"Wushui County’s store made 1.58 million in the first six days, Gu County 1.27 million, Huai County 1.39 million, and Moshui Town 1.13 million—total revenue of 5.37 million. Food sales accounted for about 60%, and excluding promotional costs, the gross margin was roughly 18%, with a net profit margin of around 8-9%..."
Even while away for training, Yang Xin remained fully aware of Wanlong’s operations—proof of his strong sense of responsibility.
Keeping him had been the right decision.
The numbers he reported were already known to Liu Yutong. After all, the supermarkets were now Wanlong’s primary income source. Though promotions had lowered gross margins, nearly a million in gross profit over six days was substantial, with net profit around half that—roughly 50,000 per day.
That might not seem like much, but if sustained, it would mean an annual net profit of 30 million.
Of course, that was under ideal conditions.
Post-holiday, gross margins would rise slightly, but sales would drop significantly.
Whether they could truly achieve 30 million in annual profit depended entirely on future operations.
"We do have one weakness—sales of large appliances and similar items are growing rapidly, but our supplier resources in that area are insufficient. We need to find suitable suppliers quickly to fill that gap..."
A few minutes later, after Yang Xin finished his report, Liu Yutong finally spoke again.
"Yang Xin, the reason I asked about our revenue was to tell you—we have the strength to fight. It’s just one supermarket. We can afford this battle!"
"Beyond trusting you, I also trust our opponent. I believe Wanjia won’t give Mingcheng too much support, and I’m sure someone there will prioritize their own position over letting the supermarket bleed money—that’s a common flaw in big corporations."
"My stance remains the same—you have full authority over the supermarket. The decisions are yours. All I can offer is advice and support. Go all out—I trust your judgment and ability!"
Hearing this, Yang Xin on the other end of the line was instantly filled with confidence. If he still lacked faith after such trust from Miss Liu, he might as well pack up and leave.
"Miss Liu, don’t worry! I won’t let you down! We will win this battle!"
"Good. That’s all for now."
"Wait, Miss Liu!"
Just as Liu Yutong was about to hang up the phone, Yang Xin suddenly remembered something and called out to stop her.
Liu Yutong: "What is it?"
"Here’s the thing, Miss Liu. I’ve come across a real talent here—the store manager of East Lai Supermarket. I’ve spoken with her a few times, and she’s absolutely exceptional. Since our supermarket is aiming to prioritize service excellence in the future, her expertise in this area would bring us fresh ideas and methods. I’d like to recruit her, but her salary expectations are a bit high. To persuade her, we’d likely need to offer at least a 20% raise..."
"Salary isn’t an issue. The real question is—would she be willing to join us?"
Liu Yutong understood perfectly well that talent was the key to the supermarket’s growth. For someone truly capable, spending extra to recruit them was worth it.
"She’d probably want to check out our environment first. Her hometown is Bright Pearl City, which works in our favor. The only uncertainty is whether we can keep her once she returns..."
"Yang Xin, you’re overthinking it. If you can get her here, we won’t have any trouble keeping her."
