The refining workshop started off smoothly but gradually encountered problems, particularly when Mo Hua overheard Elder Yu cursing again.
Mo Hua went to the refining workshop to inspect the arrays and saw Elder Yu chatting with Yu Chengyi.
As they chatted, Elder Yu began cursing Qian Hong again.
He said things like "blood-sucking tapeworm," "old turtle with a tortoiseshell," and "sly beast," varying his insults.
As Elder Yu cursed on, he noticed Mo Hua eavesdropping nearby, listening intently and seemingly enjoying the spectacle.
Under his breath, Mo Hua muttered, "You can curse like that too," "Why didn't I think of that?"
Elder Yu coughed, paused, and then said to Mo Hua, "You didn't hear anything."
"Mm-hmm," Mo Hua nodded. "I didn't hear a thing!"
Elder Yu's anger gradually subsided, and he found a chair to sit down comfortably.
Mo Hua poured a cup of tea and handed it to Elder Yu, asking, "Is the Qian family causing trouble again?"
Elder Yu had grown accustomed to chatting with Mo Hua, avoiding nothing in their conversations except for insults.
After drinking the tea poured by Mo Hua, Elder Yu sighed and nodded, "We can't sell our spiritual tools."
"No buyers?"
"There are cultivators who want them, of course, since Vine Armor and Rustic Knives are essentials. But I've approached several merchants and some demon hunters from other cities, and they all think the prices are too high."
Mo Hua was puzzled, "Aren't our prices quite cheap? Because our workshop is large and production high, our spiritual tools are priced lower than market rates by one or two pieces of fragmented spiritual stones."
"It's the Qian family. They're offering too low."
"The Qian family is undercutting?"
"Yes," Elder Yu said with renewed anger, "Qian family's workshop treats cultivators like cattle, making them work overtime and stockpiling a batch of spiritual tools in advance, specifically waiting for us to start. They're selling at low prices to suppress us."
"That son of a turtle, Qian Hong..."
Elder Yu stopped mid-curse, glanced at Mo Hua, and silently swallowed the rest of his words.
Mo Hua frowned, but after a moment's thought, he realized he had no solution. Looking up, he saw that although Elder Yu was angry, he didn't seem overly worried. Mo Hua asked, "Elder, do you have a plan?"
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "You figured it out?"
Mo Hua said, "If you don't have a plan, getting angry and cursing might not help more than it does now."
Compared to before, Elder Yu's curses were now relatively "mild."
Elder Yu looked somewhat embarrassed, thinking to himself that next time, he should curse fewer people, or at least avoid Mo Hua when doing so. Mo Hua was young and shouldn't learn to curse so much...
Elder Yu coughed, masking his embarrassment, and said, "Actually, I do have a plan."
Mo Hua poured another cup of tea for Elder Yu. "Tell me about it."
Mo Hua looked curious.
Elder Yu thought for a moment, feeling that this was a teaching opportunity. He patiently explained, "I told those merchants that for every price the Qian family offers them, we'll sell five cents cheaper... in fragmented spiritual stones."
"Five cents..." Mo Hua marveled. Indeed, Elder Yu, meticulous and precise, was cutting prices to the smallest details...
Mo Hua thought to himself.
"Five cents is not bad," Elder Yu grunted. "With so many spiritual tools, every little bit adds up. Five cents in spiritual stones is not insignificant."
"What happens next?" Mo Hua asked.
"As long as we can sell them and recoup the spiritual stones, the Qian family won't be able to compete with us," Elder Yu said confidently.
"Why can't the Qian family compete with us?" Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled.
Elder Yu glanced at Mo Hua, sighed, and reluctantly said, "Because of the arrays you draw."
"I couldn't find out about the Qian family's refining furnace matters, but I could see the spiritual tools they produce..."
"The quality of the Qian family's spiritual tools is quite good, but still inferior to ours. Besides Master Chen's exquisite craftsmanship, another reason is their refining furnace. Theirs, though also top-grade, is definitely not as good as ours..."
"Their furnace is a top-grade one, and so is ours. The difference lies in the arrays inside."
Elder Yu took a sip of tea and continued, "I guess they also have a top-grade Melting Fire Array in their furnace. Compared to our smaller furnaces, theirs are comparable, but compared to our large-scale furnace, their's is far inferior."
Mo Hua suddenly realized.
In the large-scale furnace, there is a top-grade Melting Fire Controlling Spiritual Recovery Array, which is more effective than a typical top-grade array.
"Do the Qian family know about the large-scale furnace?" Mo Hua asked.
"The matters regarding the furnaces are confidential. I couldn't find out about the Qian family's, and naturally, we wouldn't let them know about ours," Elder Yu said.
"Will the Qian family find out sooner or later?"
"As long as they don't know now, it's fine. If they find out later, it will be too late."
"Is there a strategy behind this?"
Elder Yu patiently explained, "Cutting prices is already a losing proposition in business. The Qian family is relying on their superior furnaces and high production to try to achieve a quick victory by initially accepting losses and squeezing us out. However, what they don't know is that our furnace is better and our production higher."
"In the long run, we'll turn things around. We'll produce more and more spiritual tools, and if they continue to cut prices, they'll end up hurting themselves, essentially making a loss-making deal."
Elder Yu seemed somewhat gleeful.
"So, as long as we get through the initial phase, we shouldn't fear the Qian family?" Mo Hua asked.
"Exactly!" Elder Yu said triumphantly. "By then, our workshop will be bigger, our furnaces better, our craftsmen more numerous, and we'll produce more and better quality spiritual tools. The Qian family won't be a threat."
Mo Hua nodded, starting to understand, but he felt there were still some loopholes. Even if things developed as Elder Yu said, both sides would simply be competing with each other, with his side having some advantages.
It didn't seem enough to make Elder Yu so triumphant.
Mo Hua glanced suspiciously at Elder Yu, "Elder, do you have any other methods?"
Elder Yu paused, looked at Mo Hua, and helplessly said, "Why are you like a little fox?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, waiting for Elder Yu to continue.
"I have another move, which is to 'pull the rug out from under them.'"
"Pull the rug out from under them?"
Elder Yu explained, "The Qian family's workshop is rushing their production, and their craftsmen must be working day and night. Their own craftsmen may manage, but those hired craftsmen must harbor resentment, just working to make ends meet. Who would truly want to work like a horse..."
"I've quietly started to win them over, offering more spiritual stones and no need for round-the-clock work. In time, these craftsmen will come to work for us."
"I've also informed all the demon hunters that any materials obtained from hunting demons are not to be sold to the Qian family; we'll buy them ourselves."
"I've also contacted all the independent traders' markets, telling them not to do business with the Qian family for now. If the Qian family causes trouble for them, they can come to me, and I'll handle it."
A hint of mischief appeared in Elder Yu's eyes. "In the future, how will the Qian family refine tools when they are lacking materials and craftsmen?, that's what 'pulling the rug out from under them' means."
"On the surface, we're competing on prices with the Qian family, but behind the scenes, we're poaching their craftsmen and cutting off their material sources."
Mo Hua sighed, "Elder Yu, you're quite cunning!"
(End of the Chapter)