It wasn’t just rumors.

Xia Xiaolan had returned!

Not just by herself – she brought someone familiar to Song Minglan. Wait, wasn’t that Xu Jing, the one who had been cheated on by Xiang Li?

In New York during her studies, Xiang Li and Li Yong had organized a welcome party for Song Minglan, using it as an excuse to collect money, causing Song Minglan to lose face in front of Xia Xiaolan, which angered her Xiang Li and Li Yong… but why was she thinking about the past now?

Xu Jing was Xiang Li’s ex-boyfriend who had been cheated on – Song Minglan knew this. She also knew that Xu Jing had received investment from Xia Xiaolan to start a factory in China. She was aware that Xu Jing and Ma Hai, two struggling overseas students, had built quite a business after returning home – their Wenquxing electronic dictionary had filled a market gap.

As for Xiang Li, after being dealt with by Han Jin, her life had become increasingly miserable. If she knew of Xu Jing’s current success, she would probably regret her choices bitterly.

Song Minglan suppressed her scattered thoughts and ran over. If there had been a mirror in front of her, she would have seen her expression – eyes gleaming, cheeks flushed:

“Manager Xia!”

The return was so sudden – Sheng Xuan had just called saying she was still in Qiong Island. As Xia Xiaolan’s special assistant, Song Minglan felt anxious about her lack of awareness regarding her boss’s whereabouts.

Xia Xiaolan nodded and introduced Xu Jing:

“Xu Jing is here to help us install computers and set up a system.”

This explained why Xu Jing was with her, but Song Minglan remained confused.

With Yaxiya being squeezed to the edge by competitors, how could Manager Xia still think about spending money on computers and systems? Song Minglan knew what computers were – she had studied abroad and was worldly. But she couldn’t connect computers and systems to save Yaxiya from its decline, so she was worried:

“Manager Xia, while you were away, Lu Hongbo from Zijingshan Department Store held a friendship meeting, gathering all the suppliers and threatening to cut off Yaxiya’s supply!”

Lu was going too far.

Along with the other state-owned department store managers – none of them were decent people. Song Minglan believed their supplier threats had exceeded normal business competition, using their petty authority to bully Yaxiya.

And those suppliers were wavering.

Song Minglan had privately met one supplier who revealed the truth about the ‘friendship meeting’: Led by Lu Hongbo, the state-owned department store managers had given suppliers an ultimatum – any supplier continuing to work with Yaxiya would be banned from all their department store counters!

Suppliers had to choose: either work with the state-owned stores or with Yaxiya – there were only two paths.

No businessperson wanted to limit their options. They didn’t want to distinguish between state-owned and private enterprises – whether Zijingshan, Shangdu Department Store, or Yaxiya, they just wanted to sell their goods.

Yet Lu Hongbo and others forced suppliers to choose, demanding they cut off Yaxiya from doing business with them!

The suppliers were wavering.

This violated market economy principles, but under Lu Hongbo’s continued pressure, if suppliers had to choose sides, they would likely abandon Yaxiya.

Yaxiya’s customer flow was low now.

If it was still like during the opening, with daily sales of over 2 million yuan, suppliers would never attend Lu Hongbo’s ‘friendship meeting’ no matter what and would play dumb despite their urgent demands.

Ultimately, all blockades were fake – suppliers would side with whoever could move more goods and bring them greater profits.

Now, suppliers are waiting for Yaxiya’s response.

They hoped for a price war between both sides – the stores would take losses while suppliers kept profiting… The fiercer the better, with both sides desperately offering discounts to attract Shangdu’s citizens. That would make both bargain-hunting citizens and high-volume suppliers grin from ear to ear!

Whether Yaxiya would join the big discount promotion depended on Xia Xiaolan’s attitude.

Song Minglan reported all her intelligence at once, not hiding her urgency:

“Manager Xia, the current situation is very unfavorable for us-“

Rather than holding out stubbornly, why not compete with those state-owned department stores in price promotions? Since being turned away from that drinking session, a fire had been burning in Song Minglan’s heart!

“Special Assistant Song, I know you’re thinking of Yaxiya’s interests. Now that I’m back, of course, I’ll start fighting back.”

Xia Xiaolan finally said what Song Minglan wanted to hear.

Song Minglan’s eyes lit up like small bulbs.

“Manager Xia, are we going to have discount promotions too? That’s wonderful!”

Nearby Yaxiya employees eavesdropping also became energized.

Yaxiya offered high wages, and nobody wanted to change jobs casually. Apart from the old team left by Zhu Suizhou, everyone else had been carefully selected through multiple rounds.

No one wanted to leave!

Other places couldn’t offer such high salaries!

Plus, Yaxiya’s grand opening had left a deep impression on employees – how envious their relatives and friends had been of their jobs there.

Recently, being suppressed by several state-owned department stores and seeing business decline had made employees anxious.

Now, finally, these frustrating days seemed to be ending.

Yaxiya’s management, service, and various innovations had left state-owned department stores far behind. Once Manager Xia agreed to discount promotions, customers stolen by state-owned stores would surely choose Yaxiya again!

Song Minglan and the employees all looked at Xia Xiaolan with anticipation.

They just needed Xia Xiaolan’s command, and they would rush to work overnight changing price tags on all products – overtime without pay, they would do it voluntarily!

Xia Xiaolan thought that her next words would break all their hearts.

But it couldn’t be hidden – everyone would know sooner or later.

“…Special Assistant Song, when did I say Yaxiya would have discount promotions?”

“You- you said you would start fighting back-“

Song Minglan stammered. Was it fun to toy with her? So many people had heard!

Seeing the Special Assistant looking pitiful and about to cry, Xia Xiaolan patted her shoulder: “Special Assistant Song, I did say we’d fight back, but this counterattack won’t follow others’ rhythm and rules. We’ll make our own rules – otherwise, why would I invite Xu Jing here?”