Chapter 403: It’s Over, We Can’t Compete

Lashou Network acted quickly; less than half an hour after the order was issued, teams across three areas had consolidated their fronts.

They began conducting area analyses for the university towns, devising three viable plans per area and enhancing the locality’s entry fee and subsidy splits with substantial funds. The leaflets they distributed sparked widespread discussion immediately.

This method, using money to pave the way, is Lashou Network’s usual tactic.

Common? Yes, but extremely effective.

Because nothing is more real than actual money.

With that, Kang Jingtao’s top-tier market team entered the university town with bulging wallets.

Dark clouds loomed over the city like a breaking storm, as sunlight gleamed off armored scales.

Kang Jingtao, strategizing from behind, advised everyone to avoid direct confrontations with the rival group-buying mobsters. He said, “We advance when they retreat, and we withdraw when they advance.”

The university towns had countless districts and streets beyond their monitoring capabilities.

You have to admit, Lashou Network’s team is skilled. “A hint of cold sharpness arrives first, soon followed by a dragon-like spear attack” – they achieved the first six words of this strategy in just one day.

By now, Kang Jingtao had further refined the Shanghai Plan, even planning for events after displacing the rival group, Suixin Group.

Business requires foresight like this, taking extra steps early to remain unbeatable in future timelines.

As for their competitors? In his eyes, they were already dead.

Their current mantra was: “Intense desire to dine on barbarian flesh, merrily drinking the blood of the Huns.”

Kang Jingtao stood tall, his chest swelling with fervent hot-blooded poetry.

Under such arrangements, several of Kang’s leading market specialists had already taken positions at busy shops around the university town, promoting their site with enviable funds.

Among them was a top specialist named Wang Zhi, who worked his way up from the bottom. Known for his sweet talk and understanding of merchant psychology from his small business experience.

This time, Mr. Kang entrusted him with the currently hottest fast food brand, Burger King.

According to Mr. Kang, Burger King had never participated in online sales channels. If they could secure a deal now, future collaboration opportunities could abound.

Fired up, Wang Zhi approached the Burger King outlet at the entrance of a university town, only to be predictably rejected.

“Sorry, we’re really busy right now, no time to listen.”

“Busy with what?”

“We’ve ordered a lot of stock and are short on hands. Please come back later.”

Wang Zhi immediately offered to help, hoping they could spare an hour to hear his pitch.

This is a common tactic in field marketing because convincing a merchant initially builds goodwill, making later negotiations smoother.

After assisting at Burger King all day, handling deliveries and overwhelming himself, dusk had arrived.

However, through helping out, he became familiar with Burger King’s supply demands.

Impressive, for the hottest fast-food brand, they indeed required substantial supplies.

“Brother Wang, have some water. You’ve worked hard today,” a pretty waitress handed him a glass of water and a tissue considerately.

“Can we talk about the cooperation now?”

After drinking, Wang Zhi couldn’t resist bringing up his reason for the visit.

“I’m off work now, how about tomorrow?”

Hearing this, Wang Zhi nodded, realizing too much pressure could backfire, so he returned to his station.

After a day’s work, his fellow market specialists shared their experiences; they all helped with deliveries and warehousing, earning favorable impressions from merchants around the university town.

Pleased with their reports, Kang Jingtao nodded approvingly, predicting visible results in three more days.

Importantly, they encountered no hooligans, and the anticipated conflicts never occurred.

The next day, Wang Zhi returned, prepared for signing contracts, aiming to secure them by the afternoon.

“We’re still busy. Could you please come back tomorrow?”

“Is today also very hectic?”

“Yes, we just got notified of an event needing immediate attention at a specific location.”

“Let me help. How about we talk after ten?”

“Well… okay, but won’t that be troublesome?”

“Not at all.”

Wang Zhi followed them to a loading area, recognizing the three trucks he had helped load before.

Turns out, the stock wasn’t meant for the store?

Just then, the waitress invited Wang Zhi aboard, handing him a bottle of water.

Smiling, Wang Zhi grabbed the handle and settled into the driver’s cabin, then followed the truck out, watching dawn unfold before him while pondering how to spend his upcoming commission.

Soon, they arrived at a road next to the university campus, where several similar trucks were unloading.

Wang Zhi was stunned to see a colleague beside the neighboring truck, feeling utterly confused.

Quickly, the charming waitress called over Wang Zhi to help unload kitchen equipment to set up the site.

Focused on the signing task, the LaShou men didn’t hesitate and began assisting, transforming the street into a food court by noon.

From north to south, many stalls had set up their signs, interestingly enough.

For instance, Burger King’s looked like a bus stop sign, reading “Missing you at Burger King.” Similarly, Xitian’s sign read, “Missing you with the breeze at Xitian.”

Walking around, Wang Zhi noticed not just food stalls but also shops for daily necessities, handmade jewelry, and fruit vendors.

“Time to sign the contract, right?”

Wang Zhi pulled the contract from his bag, about to head back to the stall, when he saw several workers pulling up a banner and erecting a large PVC board, freezing when he read the banner.

Pintuan Offline Food Festival.

The PVC displayed various merchant logos with numbers, seeming like a leaderboard.

According to the rules below, the festival would run for about a week. Customers coming through group buying could enter a special page to rate the food. The merchant with the most positive reviews would get significant discounts according to the rules.

For instance, the top-rated merchant would offer half-price tickets every Monday.

Second-place would offer 40% off every Tuesday.

Third, 30% off on Wednesdays, and so on…

Meanwhile, Wang Zhi’s colleagues, also staring at the banner, turned pale.

Defeated…

They had been scammed; it was Pintuan’s offline event.

They had worked for Pintuan for two days for nothing…

At night, as the lights began to illuminate, Kang Jingtao rushed to the food festival venue, getting out of his car in a frenzy.

The bustling long street was alive with university students, eating and laughing amidst the lively crowd.

Some fast-food stalls showcased their cooking processes transparently, highlighting their cleanliness and intriguing the knowledge-thirsty students.

For location-dependent businesses like River Hotpot, they couldn’t bring their entire setup, so they heavily promoted their broths, adopting a Kanto-daki style.

Kang Jingtao walked through the street amid the crowd, growing more silent.

Seven days… Kang Jingtao knew that LaShou couldn’t do anything to overshadow this food festival’s hype within a week.

But in the group buying market, every second currently counted as money; they couldn’t afford to wait here for seven days.

Especially since Nuomi’s business was progressing so smoothly, everything would be over in seven days.

Kang Jingtao still didn’t understand why Pintuan had such significant market appeal, letting merchants join their stunt, but he knew confronting Pintuan head-on wasn’t a smart move now.

Additionally, letting customers decide which merchants get discounts next based on reviews wasn’t just targeted but also highly engaging and even cheaper than offering a store-wide discount, instantly lifting customer loyalty.

After all, “It was my choice, my favorite merchant ranked first, and I got a discount in return.”

Efficiency, loyalty, cost, and effectiveness—all maximized in an instant.

Who the hell devised this marketing strategy?

Kang Jingtao felt a chill down his spine, his pores sweating cold.

“Mr. Kang, what do we do now?”

“Let’s not mess with the university town for now; let’s go back and devise a new strategy.”

Kang Jingtao got into his car and returned to the Shanghai division, spread out a map of the area, checked his initial plan of action, then tossed it in the bin, drawing up a new one.

First, avoid the university town—yes, stay away from the university town… and oh, right—channel through Nuomi from the center outwards.

He’d been in Shanghai for a week with nothing to show for it; he only had time to break through using Nuomi’s existing network.

Thinking this made Kang Jingtao swear under his breath—Nuomi must’ve known something.

Then he remembered something about Nuomi.

Before securing Suixin Group’s merchant resources, they had been dealing with the Shanghai university town market.

Back then, everyone thought Nuomi disdained university towns, hence their eagerness to cooperate with Suixin Group. Once they got the resources, they swiftly shifted their forces to Shanghai, but now it seemed their departure wasn’t so straightforward.

Pintuan…

What’s the deal with Pintuan?

Since its inception, LaShou had always aimed to be number one, never considering a backward glance.

Whether it was Nuomi, Suixin Group, the secluded Wowo Group, the unexpectedly emerging Tuanbao Net, or even the sudden withdrawal of industry leader Dianping, LaShou had never really seen them as threats.

But this time, Kang Jingtao suddenly felt a piercing unease.

“Queen, the food festival has started.”

“Good, thank you for your hard work.”

Tan Qing smiled, retrieving a document from a drawer and shredding it. It was labeled “Food Festival Initial Plan, March.”

Yes, business requires such foresight—planning steps ahead to remain unbeaten in the future timeline. Thus, they had been preparing for the food festival well in advance.

Originally, the food festival was set for the weekend, but LaShou’s interference meant they had to start earlier.

Three days later, the food festival not only caught the attention of nearby universities but also drew in local residents.

However, due to Jiang Qin’s previous arrangements, advising them to keep their doors shut and not to reach out, this local fervor didn’t show any aggression or predatory nature.

It seemed like through this event, they were declaring to the outside, “You do your thing, we’ll stick to the university district.”

At this time, the LaShou team, having been tricked into working for free for two days in the university district, stormed into the market already seized by Nuomi, shouting about redeeming their honor.

Chang Jian Song soon heard the feedback from the front-line market and immediately knew they must have encountered thugs in the university district too.