Chapter 203: The Cunning Rabbit
The Artifact Refining Workshop's operations began smoothly, but soon problems emerged. Mo Hua once again heard Elder Yu cursing someone.
Mo Hua went to inspect the formations at the Refining Workshop and found Elder Yu chatting with Yu Chengyi.
As they spoke, Elder Yu suddenly burst into a tirade against Qian Hong.
He called him things like "bloodsucking maggot," "turtle-backed old bastard," and "insidious beast."
The elder seemed quite creative with his insults.
Midway through his scolding, Elder Yu noticed Mo Hua standing nearby, quietly listening and jotting something down, his face full of keen interest.
He even muttered softly, "So that's another way to insult someone… why didn't I think of that?"
Elder Yu coughed once, stopping abruptly, and said sternly,
"You didn't hear anything."
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded seriously. "I didn't hear a thing."
Elder Yu's anger gradually subsided. He sat down squarely on a nearby chair.
Mo Hua poured him a cup of tea and handed it over. "Elder Yu, the Qian family's causing trouble again?"
Elder Yu had grown accustomed to chatting with Mo Hua and no longer hid much from him, except, perhaps, his more colorful vocabulary.
After sipping the tea, Elder Yu sighed in relief and nodded. "Our spiritual artifacts aren't selling."
"No one's buying?"
"Oh, there are buyers. After all, spiritual artifacts like vine armor and simple sabers are always in demand. But the merchants and Demon Hunters I contacted from other Immortal Cities all said our prices are too high."
Mo Hua looked puzzled. "Our prices aren't already quite cheap?"
Since the Refining Workshop was large and produced in bulk, their artifacts were priced one or two spirit stones lower than the market average.
"It's the Qian family," Elder Yu said darkly. "Their prices are too low."
"They're undercutting us?"
"Yes." Elder Yu grew angry again. "The Qian family treats their refiners like beasts of burden, forcing overtime, hoarding a stockpile of artifacts, and waited for us to start production. Then they dump their goods at low prices to crush us."
"That turtle spawn, that—"
Elder Yu stopped mid-insult after glancing at Mo Hua, swallowing his words.
Mo Hua frowned slightly but remained silent. He had no solution himself. Yet when he saw that Elder Yu, despite his irritation, did not seem particularly worried, he asked,
"Elder, you have a plan, don't you?"
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "You noticed?"
Mo Hua replied matter-of-factly, "If you didn't, you'd be far angrier. The insults would be worse."
Compared to before, Elder Yu's cursing was already quite "mild."
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Elder Yu thought to himself that perhaps he should refrain from cursing in front of the boy next time, lest Mo Hua end up with a head full of profanity.
He coughed lightly to cover his discomfort and said, "Indeed, there is a plan."
Mo Hua refilled his cup. "Tell me, Elder. I'd like to hear it."
Mo Hua's face was full of curiosity.
Elder Yu pondered briefly, then decided this was something worth teaching. He explained patiently, "I told the merchants that whatever price the Qian family offers, we'll sell for five fragments of a spirit stone less."
"Five fragments, huh…"
Mo Hua thought privately, As expected of Elder Yu... so calculating that even five fragments don't escape his grasp.
"Five fragments is plenty," Elder Yu snorted. "With so many spiritual artifacts, small margins add up fast."
"What happens after that?" Mo Hua asked.
"As long as we can sell and recover our spirit stones, the Qian family won't be able to compete with us," Elder Yu said confidently.
"Why not?"
Elder Yu gave him a look, sighed, and said helplessly, "Because of the formation you drew."
"The Qian family keeps the secrets of their refining furnaces tightly guarded—I couldn't find out much—but I've seen their finished artifacts…"
"The quality of their spiritual artifacts is decent, but still inferior to ours. Besides Master Chen's craftsmanship, the main reason is that their refining furnaces can't compare to ours."
"Their furnaces are first-grade, ours are also first-grade. The difference lies in the formations within."
Elder Yu took another sip of tea and continued, "I suspect their furnaces use a first-grade Molten Fire Array. Compared to our smaller furnaces, the difference isn't huge, but when compared to our large-scale refining furnace, theirs can't even come close."
Mo Hua suddenly understood.
The Large refining furnace was inscribed with a First-Grade Molten Fire Spiritual Control Composite Formation, far superior in efficiency and power to a standard First-grade Array.
"Would the Qian family know about our large refining furnace?" Mo Hua asked.
"All refining furnace designs are kept secret," Elder Yu replied. "If I can't learn about theirs, they certainly can't learn about ours."
"But they'll find out eventually, won't they?"
"As long as they don't know now, it doesn't matter. By the time they do, it'll be too late."
"What do you mean?"
Elder Yu patiently explained, "Price-cutting is a losing game. It can't last. The Qian family relies on their decent furnaces and higher production capacity. They want to finish us in one stroke, taking an early loss to destroy us. What they don't know is that our furnaces are even better and produce more."
"As time goes on, we'll recover our costs and outproduce them. If they keep lowering prices, they'll just be cutting their own flesh, losing money with every sale."
A trace of schadenfreude flickered in Elder Yu's eyes.
"So as long as we endure the beginning, we won't have to fear the Qian family?" Mo Hua asked.
"Exactly!" Elder Yu straightened proudly. "Our Refining Workshop is bigger than theirs, our furnaces better, our refiners more numerous, our artifacts superior in both quantity and quality. The Qian family will be nothing to fear."
Mo Hua nodded, beginning to grasp the idea, though he sensed something missing. Even if events unfolded as Elder Yu predicted, it would merely give them an advantage, not complete victory.
It hardly justified such visible satisfaction.
Mo Hua eyed Elder Yu suspiciously. "Elder, do you have another plan?"
Elder Yu froze, glanced at him, and said helplessly, "Why are you such a little fox?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, waiting expectantly.
"There's one more move... 'Drawing the firewood from beneath the cauldron.'"
"Drawing the firewood?"
Elder Yu explained, "The Qian family's Refining Workshop is rushing production. Their refiners must be working day and night. The Qian family's own workers can endure it, but their hired refiners are surely full of resentment. They're just earning a living; no one wants to be worked to death."
"I've already sent people to secretly recruit them. We'll pay a bit more spirit stones and won't force endless overtime. In time, those refiners will come work for us instead."
"I've also notified all demon hunters that any materials obtained from hunts are not to be sold to the Qian family. We'll buy them ourselves."
"I've even spoken to all the rogue cultivator marketplaces, told them not to trade with the Qian family for now. If the Qian family causes trouble, they can come to me; I'll handle it personally."
A sly glint flashed in Elder Yu's eyes. "Once the Qian family lacks both materials and refiners, that's what's called drawing the firewood from beneath the cauldron."
Openly, they competed in prices. Secretly, they stole the Qian family's craftsmen and cut off their supply of materials.
Mo Hua sighed in admiration. "Elder Yu, you're really devious."
(End of Chapter)