The Current Vicious Cycle

Between companies, the competition isn't about service, quality, or brand—it's about price. The race to the bottom on pricing continues.

Initially, consumers see it as a bargain. But then, companies start cutting corners on quality, and those consumers who value quality become dissatisfied. But it doesn't stop there—companies will also cut wages and lay off staff.

When incomes drop, fewer consumers prioritize quality, while more consumers focus on low prices. This, in turn, forces companies to continue the vicious cycle: lower prices, reduced quality, wage cuts, and layoffs.

The entire society regresses.

If you're selling something at the lowest price across the entire internet, you're selling an industrial commodity. But if you're not the cheapest option online, yet customers still come to your livestream—like Dong Yuhui's—willing to listen to your rambling and pay a higher premium, that premium is "consensus value." It's value derived from trust in you, Dong Yuhui. This is the inevitable process toward high-end industries and consumption upgrades.

Dong Yuhui's departure, framed in business terms, is the divestment of a listed company's core asset. To do this, Old Yu had to answer to all shareholders of the listed company. How? By taking responsibility himself. All the losses had to be shouldered by him personally, if he wanted to let Dong Yuhui go.

Yu Minhong, using the rest of his life, absorbed the losses caused by stripping away the listed company's core asset, paving a bright path for Dong Yuhui. He hoped Xiaodong would have the chance to become a benchmark figure—especially in today's domestic market, especially in an environment where everyone is engaged in cutthroat price wars. But the man who ultimately made himself a stepping stone is named Yu Minhong.