I'm back in 1990

Chapter 1179: I want to hear your opinions

On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, Huang Ruiying walked into the lecture hall as usual to prepare for class.

As soon as she sat down, she saw the classmate in front of her reading an article on a tablet. She saw the title: "Low prices are not the way out, they are a dead end."

Oh, it was her father's article!

Lately, media outlets have been constantly blocking her doorway trying to interview her father, forcing her to enter and exit through the back door. It's incredibly annoying, all because of this article.

She took out "Principles of Macroeconomics" from her bag and casually flipped through a few pages, but in reality, her eyes were fixed on the student in front of her, and her ears were perked up.

Sure enough, she heard something.

"Have you guys seen it? This is the article; it's been causing a huge uproar online lately." Zhao Jiaming, the boy in the front row with a tablet, placed it on the table; the screen displayed the article.

"I looked at it carefully again today, and it has to be Huang, the richest man in Hong Kong. He dares to say that low prices are a dead end. No one else would dare to say that except him."

A girl wearing frameless glasses chimed in, "I also think that makes a lot of sense. Last semester, Professor Zhou mentioned a similar point when he was talking about economic growth models, but he didn't put it so bluntly. Think about it, if you rely on low-price competition for a long time, and profit margins are squeezed to the extreme, where will you find the money for research and development?"

This is Lin Zhixia, Huang Ruiying's classmate.

Zhao Jiaming, however, objectively stated, "While that's true, we also have to consider reality. My uncle owns a hardware factory, and business has been getting increasingly difficult these past few days. If you don't lower your prices, others will, and even if you take orders, you might not make any money. But if you don't take orders, you can't do any business, and the business will collapse. Of course, he wants to upgrade and renovate, but where will the money come from?"

Lin Zhixia pushed up her glasses and said calmly, "That's short-term thinking. Professor Huang has already explained this issue very clearly in his article. The contradiction between short-term survival and long-term development is precisely the most painful part of transformation. But I agree that we can't not transform just because it's painful. As Professor Huang said, it's like boiling a frog in lukewarm water."

Huang Ruiying sat there listening with great interest. She thought to herself that if her father heard someone speaking up for him like that, he would probably laugh out loud in his sleep.

Seeing that Huang Ruiying was listening with great interest, her best friend Lin Xiaotang nudged her lightly with her elbow: "Why don't you give your opinion?"

These words immediately drew the attention of Zhao Jiaming, who was sitting in the front row. He turned around and asked in surprise, "Huang Ruiying, you've read this article too?"

Huang Ruiying thought to herself, "Isn't that obvious? The person who wrote this article is my own father. Besides, it's been all over the internet lately, so it's impossible not to know. And besides, I'm an economics major."

She has been enrolled in school for so long, and she has never mentioned her family to anyone. Her classmates only know that she is a local and that her parents run a small business, nothing more.

However, no one knew how big her so-called "small business" really was.

Seeing Zhao Jiaming like this, if he found out that she was the daughter of the author of this article, things would get really messed up. She wouldn't be able to have any peace at school anymore, and she didn't want to be treated like a panda.

So she smiled and shook her head, indicating that she hadn't seen it.

Seeing that Huang Ruiying refused to join the discussion, Zhao Jiaming couldn't find any other topics, so he had no choice but to turn his head away dejectedly.

Lin Xiaotang, however, winked at Huang Ruiying while Zhao Jiaming was out of sight, because Zhao Jiaming was the boy who had a crush on Huang Ruiying.

Seeing that Lin Xiaotang had started gossiping again, Huang Ruiying glared at her fiercely.

Just then, a clear voice rang out: "You two are here?"

Huang Ruiying's other best friend, Yan Yutong, rushed over to Huang Ruiying's side and plopped down on the table, throwing a stack of books she was holding onto the table.

"I thought I was late, I was so scared I rushed here." Yan Yutong was still panting and clutching her chest after sitting down.

Huang Ruiying glanced at her chest unhappily. What's she showing off for? It's just a D cup, what's so great about it?

Thinking of this, she tried her best to straighten her chest.

When Lin Zhixia, who was in the front row, learned that Huang Ruiying had not read the article, she found it unbelievable.

"Huang Ruiying, you didn't even read Huang Xiaochuan's article? That's Huang Xiaochuan! This is the first time I've ever seen him personally write an article to debate with someone. This matter has blown up quite a bit now."

"Let him write it, what's the big deal?" Huang Ruiying didn't take it seriously. She saw that person every day, just like everyone else, without any extra eyes or ears.

Unexpectedly, her casual remark made the people sitting around her feel that she was somewhat arrogant and ignorant.

Lin Zhixia pouted: "You! I don't even know what to say to you. Do you know how long Class Two has been discussing this article? Some people support it, some people oppose it, and the discussion is really heated. And look at our class, basically everyone is just like you..."

Lin Zhixia pouted: "You! I don't even know what to say to you. Do you know how long Class Two has been discussing this article? Some people support it, some people oppose it, and the discussion is really heated. And look at our class, basically everyone is just like you..."

Just then, the school bell rang.

The person who walked into the classroom was Professor Zhou Weiyuan, a macroeconomics professor in his early fifties, whose hairline was almost completely gone.

He has taught economics for over twenty years and is a well-known scholar in academia. His teaching level is also very high. He can impart complex economic concepts to students and also incorporate some vivid examples, so his classes always have a high attendance rate.

After he stepped onto the podium, he first put his briefcase down, then glanced at the students in the tiered classroom.

"Looks like everyone's in good spirits today!" He pulled a stack of printing papers from his briefcase. "There's been a really popular article online lately; I wonder if any of you have seen it?"

After saying that, he wrote the title of the article on the blackboard: "Low prices are not the way out, they are a dead end!"

Before he could put down his pen, a buzz of discussion arose in the classroom.

The students started talking all at once, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

Zhou Weiyuan nodded and patted the stack of printed papers: "That's right, it's this one. I've read it at least ten times. This morning I also found the article refuting him, 'Defending Low Prices,' and read it again. To be honest, both articles are well written and logically sound, but their stances are completely opposite."

He turned around and wrote two more words on the blackboard: "price competition" and "industrial upgrading".

"Today's class will not cover the textbook content; we will focus specifically on this issue." Professor Zhou turned around, placed his hands on the podium, and continued, "Professor Huang Xiaochuan is an economist who is extremely influential both domestically and globally."

His core argument is that low-price competition brings three major problems: first, the risk of deflation; second, stifling innovation; and third, ultimately harming consumers. The counter-argument is that a one-size-fits-all approach to industrial upgrading is unrealistic; many small and medium-sized enterprises must first address their survival; and in the current context of weak demand, low prices actually stimulate domestic demand.

"Now I'd like to hear your opinions!"