Chapter 400: Sister Sold It

The night deep and still, the meeting room of Suixin Group’s Shanghai branch was brightly lit.

Due to the crazy marketing by Nuomi and LaShou these days, the user base of Suixin Group was rapidly declining, with the number of orders dropping to an all-time low, reverting to pre-funding levels.

At the same time, Suixin Group’s newly established customer service center was inundated with endless calls.

The callers weren’t inquiring about packages or ordering services but wanted to cancel their previously hoarded coupons.

After stabilizing the market in Shanghai, Suixin Group had reduced their discounts from an initial 60% off to about 20-30% off.

Naturally, burning cash to benefit consumers in a market without competitors is simply foolish.

So now, the coupons held by Suixin Group users are mostly at a discount of 20-30%.

However, compared to Nuomi’s 50% discount coupons and LaShou’s additional discounts on top of 32%, Suixin Group’s coupons instantly became less appealing leading to an increase in refund demands.

Additionally, they had previously sold a batch of “May Day Gold Coupons,” valid for three days, mainly to leverage the market and show off Suixin’s user base and spending power. But many expired as people did not check the dates.

Suixin Group’s policy is clear: they don’t take responsibility for expired discount coupons, but with the recent refund turmoil, even customers with expired coupons are demanding refunds.

Ye Ziqing and Cui Yiting are strategizing every day, pacifying customers and hardly ever leaving the meeting room except for bathroom breaks.

Liu Yin was originally here to hang out with her friend, but now she ended up as their food delivery person.

At 8 PM, Liu Yin brought dinner to the meeting room and noticed Ye Ziqing’s pale lips and couldn’t help but sigh.

“How’s it going?”

“The user base continues to decrease, and the customer service center has many refund orders every day.”

Liu Yin placed the boxed meals on the table and glanced at the computer: “They can offer discounts. Can’t you just do the same? Didn’t you just raise ten million dollars?”

Ye Ziqing, massaging her temples, looked up: “The market in Shanghai is less robust and needs more funds. It’s hard for us to directly compete with them without risking getting burned in a costly war.”

“But not competing would also mean…”

“That’s why Yiting and I are thinking of a better approach.”

Ye Ziqing forced a smile before opening her meal and immediately praised the tomato and egg dish.

But Liu Yin could see a heavy shadow in her friend’s eyes.

After dinner, Ye Ziqing suggested they go out for some fresh air, and Cui Yiting, feeling overwhelmed, agreed. The three of them found a park bench nearby.

The summer night breeze was mild and not too sharp, quite comforting.

Along the verdant park path, a group with earphones jogged under dim streetlights, fading into the darkness.

Nearby cicadas chirped, and frogs croaked—such sounds could be soothing if one were in the right mood.

But at this moment, Ye Ziqing’s fatigue was intensifying instead of waning.

In fact, she was struggling to accept how Suixin Group had just escaped one problem only to fall into another.

In hindsight, they shouldn’t have engaged in the Shanghai battle but should have invested more to break the monopoly in Kyoto.

Unfortunately, losing the Shanghai market impacted them deeply, driving them to hastily re-enter the fray, playing right into their competitors’ hands.

“Actually, I’ve run out of ideas.”

Liu Yin: “?”

Ye Ziqing pursed her lips: “I stay in the meeting room every day just to make myself feel I’m doing something, to alleviate my anxiety.”

Hearing this, Cui Yiting frowned: “Ziqing, we’re not at that stage yet. Don’t talk like that.”

“This time is different from the last. Last time we had merchant resources in Shanghai to use as bargaining chips. But now, we’re blocked on both sides. Jiang Qin was right; the national market isn’t as simple as I thought.”

Liu Yin looked up at Ye Ziqing and after a pause suggested: “Ziqing, why don’t you ask Jiang Qin for advice?”

Hearing this, Ye Ziqing was slightly taken aback.

Cui Yiting looked puzzled: “I’ve met that Jiang Qin. He’s just an ordinary college student, talking about school stuff, walking dogs, dating. What help can he provide?”

Liu Yin didn’t want to argue and continued to persuade her friend: “Why not give it a try? Maybe a folk remedy can cure a serious disease.”

“Or maybe… let it be.”

Ye Ziqing shook her head.

She had recently treated Jiang Qin to a meal, boasting about pulling off a big coup and being a capable leader. Now, asking him for advice felt demeaning.

Moreover, she didn’t think Jiang Qin could have any useful solutions.

As he had said before, the national market doesn’t operate like regional markets—it’s an entirely different environment.

Ye Ziqing now understood, got it, and was almost crushed by the continuous barrage of overt and covert attacks. But could Jiang Qin really handle it? If he could, wouldn’t he have intervened already?

“Let’s go. I want to go back and sleep. These days have been too draining.”

Hearing this, Cui Yiting looked at her with a touch of resignation in her tone.

She wanted to offer some comfort, but realizing she had no solutions herself, what good would comforting words do?

She put out her cigarette, picked up her bag, and followed Ye Ziqing back to the apartment.

However, human despair is transient, not permanent. After a good night’s sleep, Ye Ziqing regained her fighting spirit the next day.

She began to reconsider Liu Yin’s suggestion. Should she call Jiang Qin for advice?

“Ziqing, what’s wrong?”

Ye Ziqing saw Cui Yiting coming to work: “I’m thinking about Liu Yin’s suggestion last night.”

“Asking Jiang Qin for advice?”

Ye Ziqing nodded and then fumbled in her bag for her phone, hesitated for a moment, and pressed the call button.

Seeing this, Cui Yiting said nothing. The last time she and Ye Ziqing met Jiang Qin, her impression of the sophomore was that he was all flair and no substance, famous for nothing. But if it could ease Ye Ziqing’s anxieties, it might be helpful.

Soon, the call connected, and Jiang Qin was squatting at the entrance of Linchuan University with Dong Wenhao and Lu Feiyu, admiring the pretty freshmen.

Watching the slender legs passing by, the trio felt a proud sense of being college students.

When Ye Ziqing’s call came through, Jiang Qin wasn’t too surprised since he was well aware of Suixin Group’s predicaments.

“Junior, how have you been lately?”

“I’m okay, senior. I just got back to school and was planning to preview the textbooks before classes officially start, to really outdo everyone.”

Hearing this, Dong Wenhao and Lu Feiyu glanced at their boss, thinking how effortlessly he lied.

Ye Ziqing pondered on the phone: “Your views on the current group buying market?”

“Bloody chaotic, I hardly dare to look.”

“?”

Jiang Qin leaned against a tree in the shade: “Senior, you must have something to discuss, right? Why not just tell me?”

Ye Ziqing and Cui Yiting exchanged a glance before explaining their dire situation and asking for any suggestions.

Jiang Qin was silent for a while before laughing lightly: “I do have a suggestion, and it can definitely solve your current dilemma.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but you might not like what I’m about to say.”

Jiang Qin pursed his lips and spoke directly: “Senior, sell it.”

Ye Ziqing was startled: “Sell what?”

“Just decide to sell Suixin Group now. The dispute has just started, and your company’s valuation is still high. You should be able to get a good price, maybe even make a little profit. But if you continue to drain resources, once the market share drops further, you’ll start incurring losses.”

Jiang Qin added: “I suggest you sell to Nuomi Group. That way, they’ll have the strength to backstab LaShou as well, which would be a kind of revenge for poaching your team. Plus, your customer service center is quite intact; can I buy that off you?”

“…”

Since Ye Ziqing had the phone on speaker, Cui Yiting could hear everything and couldn’t help but scoff with disdain in her eyes.

Sell it? Was that the culmination of the efforts of over two thousand people for half a year, just to be sold off like that?

Was that even a suggestion? Who couldn’t come up with that?

Cui Yiting thought Ye Ziqing was out of her senses to consider advice from a mere college student that sounded like a kindergarten guide.

Ye Ziqing’s expression darkened: “Junior, if Suixin Group was yours, would you be willing to just throw it away like this?”

“If Suixin Group were mine, there wouldn’t be any issues with LaShou or whatever.”

“…”

“I just said it’s useless. Instead of listening to him here, we might as well go to the frontier market. It’s better than his empty talk!”

Cui Yiting’s voice came through the handset, but she was cut off before she could finish.

Lu Feiyu couldn’t help but turn his head to look at him: “Boss, who was that?”

“Mang Ge.”

“That was clearly a woman’s voice.”

Jiang Qin squatted back down: “A woman daring to be called Mang Ge. How bold is that?”

Lu Feiyu’s eyes rolled: “I’ll tell the boss’s wife you were talking to another woman. Are you scared, boss?”

“Get lost. You trying to get me in trouble? Go use your money and buy me an expensive ice pop!”

“…”

To explain, I’m really not dragging this out. The reason I opted to write from Ye Ziqing’s perspective is because Jiang Qin will face a similar siege later, and without this first-person perspective, the impact wouldn’t be as strong. The novel is destined to have ups and downs. Besides, a real group buying war lasted a year, and although I won’t write for that long, settling it in just six months isn’t realistic. Please be patient. The difficulty in writing this part is to make it rich yet not jump too quickly in the timeline, as many campus scenes would otherwise be rushed.