Chapter 209.1 - I Became the Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory

At this point, the great noble families gritted their teeth and lowered the price to 12 wen.

Thus, the sales finally surpassed those of Xia paper.

Inside the Great Xia Imperial Palace.

Yaoyao excitedly said, “Now, our Xia paper has become popular all over the world! Because it’s both cheap and good, scholars are eager to buy our paper, and we’re making a killing!”

“However, the noble families haven’t given up without a fight. They’ve tried many tactics, but we’ve repelled them all! Now, they are selling at a reduced price, dropping it to 12 wen per bundle, selling them at a loss to attract attention! Hahaha…”

Lin Beifan gave a thumbs up: “Great! The paper they are selling is made using the old paper-making method, costing about 20 wen! Now they’ve set the price at 12 wen, which means they lose 8 wen for every bundle sold! It’s a huge loss!”

Yaoyao nodded repeatedly: “Exactly, the more they sell, the more they lose! Do you think we should press our advantage and lower our prices to block them? Even if we drop our price to 12 wen, we can still make a profit but they can’t, haha!”

Lin Beifan waved his hand: “It’s better not to!”

“Why not?”

Yaoyao was puzzled. “Didn’t you say we should squeeze them out of the market? Now is the perfect time for a price war. If not now, when?”

Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Those noble families are not so easily defeated! They have deep roots and can hold out for years! This is a protracted war, there’s no need to fight over temporary losses!”

“If we lower our prices, even if they suffer a huge loss, we’ll also earn less, which is unnecessary! And to be honest, those scholars have probably already spent all their money on paper for now, so even if you lower the price, you won’t sell much more!”

Yaoyao nodded repeatedly, humbly seeking advice: “You make a lot of sense, so what should we do?”

Lin Beifan said, “The best strategy now is to take the opportunity to buy their paper!”

Yaoyao was stunned: “Wouldn’t that be giving them money?”

Lin Beifan said irritably, “Are you silly? This isn’t giving them money. It’s stocking up. It’s rare to find paper at such a low price, so we should buy it in bulk and stockpile it!”

“After all, this paper won’t go bad even if stored for decades, and the price can’t stay this low forever. When the prices eventually rise, we can slowly sell off our stock, and won’t we make another profit then?”

Yaoyao looked at Lin Beifan with a new level of respect!

See, this is called having a vision!

While she was still planning for tomorrow’s immediate gains and losses, he was looking decades ahead!

“You’re right, let’s do it!” Yaoyao decisively agreed.

Lin Beifan cautioned, “Make sure to buy secretly, without them noticing!”

“Got it, got it, I understand!” Yaoyao chuckled slyly, like a fox that had succeeded in its scheme.

“Once we’ve stockpiled enough, we’ll raise the price of Xia paper!”

“Why?” Yaoyao was confused again.

Lin Beifan explained, “Of course, to facilitate selling off the stock! Think about it, if the price of paper is so low, the noble families won’t be able to hold out for long before they change their strategy! Once we raise the price of Xia paper, they will definitely take the opportunity to increase their prices as well in order to reduce their losses!”

“For example, if we raise it to 30 wen, they will definitely raise theirs to 20 wen! At that time, if we sell the paper we purchase from them for 18 wen, won’t we be making a profit?”

Yaoyao gasped in amazement!

Looking at Lin Beifan, her respect for him grew once again!

Admiration!

Awe-inspiring!

Compared to the noble families, she knew that he had the high ground, but she thought he was operating on the second floor…

He was actually in the stratosphere!

Yaoyao shook her head in admiration: “You’re too good at doing business! It would be a loss to the world of commerce if you didn’t go into business!”

“Of course!”

Lin Beifan said proudly: “If heaven had not created me, Lin Beifan, the world of commerce would be eternally in darkness!”

……

After receiving Lin Beifan’s advice, Yaoyao immediately went back and excitedly put the plan into action!

She had people from her Demon Sect disguise themselves as scholars and go to the noble families’ shops to buy paper in bulk.

Consequently, the great noble families were surprised to find that their paper was selling exceptionally well.

Often, it would sell out as soon as it was put on the shelves.

In comparison, the shops of the Demon Sect had become much quieter.

……

In the Great Dé Dynasty, at the Lin residence.

The steward ran back excitedly: “Master, great news, tremendous news! Our paper sales are booming; they sell out as soon as they hit the shelves, completely overshadowing the shop across the street!”

Lin Yuandong’s face darkened as he scolded: “Great news my foot! We are selling at a loss right now; the more we sell, the more we lose!”

“Yes-yes, you’re right, Master. This servant knows his mistake!” the steward apologized in a low voice.

“What’s the reaction from the shop across the street?” Lin Yuandong asked with authority, shaking his sleeve.

“Master, there hasn’t been much reaction from them, their price is still 20 wen per bundle!”

“It seems they are quite calm, not easy to deal with!”

Lin Yuandong said coolly: “In that case, after you go back, have our people limit the supply or bundle the paper with other stationery treasures for sale!”

“Master, are you thinking of…”

“Of course, it’s to reduce our losses!”

Lin Yuandong said with a pained expression: “The faster we sell, the quicker and more we lose! We must extend the battle line to wear them down!”

“Master, I understand what to do!”

After the steward returned, he immediately devised a strategy where each person could only buy two bundles.

If they purchased other items, some discounts would be given depending on the situation, with half-priced or even free paper.

However, this did not deter Yaoyao and the others.

The Demon Sect had plenty of people and even more who were skilled in disguise.

Thus, they continued to ‘stock up’, buying everything clean each time.

Half a month passed like this.

……

In the Great Dé Dynasty, at the Lin residence.

Lin Yuandong inquired: “How’s the situation? Can the shop across the street still hold on?”

“Reporting to the Master, there’s still no significant activity from the shop across the street. The price remains at 20 wen per bundle, but their shop is deserted. Hardly anyone goes there to buy paper now!”

Lin Yuandong frowned; the outcome was not as good as he had hoped.

In his imagination, the opponent should have been unable to hold on and then resorted to lowering their prices.

No matter how much they lowered, even if it was by just one wen, it would indicate that their strategy was effective and that they had gained an advantage.

But now, there was still no response.

***