jdhmnovel Chapter 1260 What's the reason?
Chapter 1260 What's the reason?
All the reports from the research and testing lab were ready. After receiving them, Liu Meilan began to examine them carefully.
The quality of pearls this year is better than last year. Because there are more farmed pearls, the price is not higher than last year, but actually a little lower.
However, Liu Meilan struck a good balance, allowing everyone to make money without suddenly increasing it too much.
Just then, the town government was surrounded by villagers who were farming pearls.
They didn't dare to approach Dafu Jewelry directly, nor did they dare to approach Liu Meilan, but they could come together to see Mayor Tang.
Mayor Tang frowned slightly when he saw the people outside. "You didn't sign a contract with Dafu Jewelry, so it's normal that they haven't accepted your pearls!"
Upon hearing this, one of the villagers immediately became agitated. "Last year, someone clearly came to collect the goods. Why aren't they coming this year? Is Dafu Jewelry using unfair competitive practices?"
Upon hearing this, Mayor Tang quickly waved his hand, "The people on the island are busy harvesting pearls right now, they don't have time to suppress you! Dafu Jewelry and Meilan have cultivated a lot of pearls in Hai Province, and they have also contracted many pearl farming islands in the South China Sea. Our island's output is just a drop in the ocean! Whether we accept your pearls or not is irrelevant!"
Upon hearing this, the pearl farmers immediately became anxious. "Mayor, you can't just abandon us! Everyone else's pearls have been harvested one after another, but what about ours? They're still in the water, and we don't dare to retrieve them at all!"
Mayor Tang spread his hands, "It's no use you coming to me! I don't know any of the buyers outside, and I can't talk to them! Whether they buy or not is none of my business!"
Upon hearing this, a woman quickly said, "Since no one from outside has come to collect them, could you help us talk to Dafu Jewelry about selling these items?"
Mayor Tang shook his head. "You didn't sign a contract. Even if it's an acquisition, priority will be given to those who have signed contracts! What you did last year was quite ugly, but Dafu Jewelry didn't hold it against you. They just collected your breach of contract fee and still sold you the pearl oyster seedlings. They didn't make things difficult for you!"
The villagers were speechless after what the people of Tang Town said. They felt embarrassed, but they couldn't sell their goods and were losing everything. They were really considering jumping into the sea.
So I don't care about saving face or losing face. As long as I can sell the pearls, I'll do anything.
The woman gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with anger. "Those people outside are really wicked! We've already signed the contract, and now they don't want it anymore! They don't even want the deposit! It's outrageous! Mayor, we know we were wrong. Why don't we go apologize to Meilan and Lemei and beg them to take our pearls back? Otherwise, we won't have earned a single penny this year, and we'll probably lose all the money we made this year!"
Mayor Tang waved his hand, "Don't worry, pearls are like this. If they don't sell this year, they can grow inside for another year. Next year, there will be even more and bigger pearls!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly shook their heads. "Mayor, some of the pearl oysters that weren't big last year were left in the tank to continue growing. If we don't sell them this year, they'll pile up and we'll consume more and more of them. We're out of money and can't repay our loans. What are we going to do?"
Mayor Tang had long anticipated this day. Last year, these people were short-sighted and greedy, tearing up the contract with Dafu Jewelry, which embarrassed him and greatly diminished his prestige.
If he agrees to their demands now, how will he manage Sifang Island in the future?
Mayor Tang asked, "Have you inquired about why they're no longer accepting the pearls?"
A middle-aged man gritted his teeth in anger, “Of course we inquired! After we saw that Tai Fook Jewellery had started buying pearls, we couldn’t wait to mine them and sell them! But when the buyers didn’t come, we called them. What we got infuriated me! They actually said that our pearls were of poor quality and couldn’t compare to those provided by Tai Fook Jewellery!”
"Mayor, isn't this guy talking nonsense? We raise pearl oysters in the same way, around Sifang Island, using the same methods and feed. We work diligently and haven't slacked off at all. So why do you say our pearls are inferior to those of Dafu Jewelry?"
The others quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's clearly their excuse! Could it be that they've teamed up with Dafu Jewelry to suppress us?"
Mayor Tang squinted and thought carefully. "There's absolutely no need. If we were to join forces, we would have done so last year. Why wait until this year?"
The others nodded in agreement, "Yes! That's what we can't figure out either! Several buyers have given the same explanation, but those are all large international companies, not something Tai Fook Jewellery can buy! So we also got some pearl oysters, and the pearls we collected were no different!"
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he handed over a small bottle containing pearls of different sizes and colors from a transparent glass bottle to Mayor Tang.
Mayor Tang took the pearls and examined them carefully. "It's impossible to tell the difference with the naked eye. I'll leave these pearls here for now. You all go back first, and I'll go ask Meilan. But until then, you all keep your mouths shut and don't say anything out of line, lest you offend someone without even realizing it!"
The crowd quickly agreed, "We understand, Mayor, we won't do it again!"
Everyone looked worried. After returning home, they bought incense and went to the Mazu Temple to burn incense, hoping that their pearls could be sold.
Mayor Tang took the bottle of pearls, put it in his pocket, and went home for dinner. His daughter was visiting today, and he wanted to ask her, Xiaoyu, about it first.
Tang Xiaoyu brought her child over, looking radiant, and was helping to bring out the food.
When Mayor Tang returned and saw his daughter, he beamed with joy. "Xiaoyu, look! These are all pearls cultivated by villagers who didn't sign contracts with Dafu Jewelry. Why aren't the outside buyers coming? They're even foregoing their deposits!"
Tang Xiaoyu knew all this, of course. She came here today for this very reason. "Actually, I was also very curious. I asked Lisa, and she said that the pearls bought from the villagers were not as good as the pearls bought from Dafu Jewelry!"
Mayor Tang was dumbfounded. "The villagers themselves went to inquire, and they got the same answer! Isn't there any other reason?"
Tang Xiaoyu shook her head. "Those villagers don't believe us. Dad, don't you believe us either? Meilan, Lemei, and I are all from Sifang Island. How could we stab the villagers of Sifang Island in the back? Actually, what they did last year wasn't very ethical, but we won't hold it against them! What they did was unreasonable, but it was human nature! They just wanted to make more money!"
Mayor Tang looked confused. "If it wasn't you who were behind this, then what is the reason?"