Alton hurried back from outside. "Mr. Luo, things aren't looking good..." Business at the furniture store was booming, and Luo Qian was in a fine mood. Seeing Alton, he smiled. "What's got you in such a panic, Alton?" Alton caught his breath. "All thirteen other furniture stores in Rhinoceros Sky Saint Market have cut their prices together!" Luo Qian paused. "How many furniture stores are there in the market altogether?" "Apart from ours, thirteen."
Luo Qian smelled a conspiracy. "They mean to join forces and squeeze me out," he said with a cold laugh. Alton nodded. Then Luo Qian smiled. "They keep cutting prices because they want to drag me into a price war." Wei Shandong came over. "They have deeper pockets than we do. If this goes on, they'll bleed us dry. We can't take the bait. We sell at the high end; there's no need to fight them head-on."
"True," Luo Qian said. "But simply carrying on as before isn't enough." Wei Shandong and Alton asked together, "What do you have in mind?" Luo Qian changed the subject. "Alton, Brother Wei, have you heard of a Trust?" Both men stared. "A Trust? Never heard of it."
Luo Qian took it upon himself to explain. "A commercial giant that dominates an entire industry!" Alton began to understand. "Like a Guild?" "Not at all. A Guild is a loose association. A Trust is a single business." Alton was astonished. "How could one business dominate an entire industry?" Luo Qian smiled confidently. "Alton, the entire furniture Guild has only thirteen stores. Do you really think we can't become a furniture Trust?"
After spending time with Luo Qian, Alton had come to admire him greatly. He had no idea how they would build a furniture Trust, but he had faith in Luo