Chapter 414: Who Really is the First Group Buying Website?

After exchanging contact information, everyone headed back to their rooms, while Song Yaqian pondered what to send to Jiang Qin.

Since it was a chance meeting, honestly, there wasn’t much to start a conversation with.

So after much thought, she decided to invite Jiang Qin for breakfast through QQ the next morning. It seemed natural and could also help them get closer—a win-win.

Girls are all pretty assertive, and the more dominant they are, the more they admire strength.

This kind of girl, who competes with boys in everything, often feels superior to the guys around her.

But seeing Jiang Qin conversing effortlessly with big shots she admired, as steady and unchanging as a mountain, Song Yaqian felt glued to his expressions.

The next morning, Song Yaqian dressed up elegantly, applied her makeup naturally and fresh, then sent a QQ message to Jiang Qin.

However, after waiting over ten minutes without a reply, Song Yaqian headed out and knocked on Jiang Qin’s door.

“Jiang Qin, would you like to have breakfast together?”

“…”

Since it was already 8:30 AM, other young entrepreneurial college students were also up. When they saw Song Yaqian standing at Jiang Qin’s door, they couldn’t help showing a slightly strange expression.

Had they already arranged to have breakfast together?

But that made sense since, after seeing Jiang Qin’s connections, they all wanted to befriend him too.

Interactions between boys were not as convenient as those between boys and girls.

But we can always join in. If you guys are eating together, why not we join and make some conversation?

After waiting another ten minutes and knocking five times, there was still no response from the room.

Just as everyone was about to give up, suddenly, the elevator arrived at the eighth floor, Jiang Qin stepped out with his hair slightly sweaty.

“Why are you guys standing at my door?”

“Uh… called you for breakfast.”

Jiang Qin glanced at his watch: “It’s already 8:30 AM. Are you just having breakfast?”

Song Yaqian was taken aback: “Did you eat already?”

“Yeah, I went at 6:30 AM, then ran around the hotel. You guys go ahead, see you at the venue later.”

“…”

Jiang Qin went back to his room and hopped into the shower, feeling even more handsome as the water flowed over his skin.

The others outside exchanged looks, some bewildered.

Honestly, they struggled to get up by 9 AM at school; getting up at 8:30 AM for breakfast was already a record-breaking effort for them. Yet here he was, having breakfast at 6:30 AM and even had a run.

Being more capable and disciplined than them was somewhat annoying.

You can’t keep up with his perspective or status, and you can’t even match his daily habits.

Song Yaqian was silent too. She thought 8 AM was a bit early to call Jiang Qin, but he had been up since 6:30 AM.

6:30 AM… How could a college student manage that?

“Uh, Yaqin, shall we go eat?”

“Alright, let’s go together.”

As several of them took the elevator down, just before reaching the buffet, they saw a group trying to calm an agitated old man.

Song Yaqian, recognizing the old man’s face, suddenly realized he was an economist invited by Lashou Network and held a high status, prominently featured on the back of the invitation.

The old man kept clutching his chest and shouting, “Did you find him? Who called Cao Guangyu?”

“We haven’t found anyone, Professor Liu. We didn’t invite someone named Cao Guangyu. What do you need him for?”

“I met a young man during my morning exercise. He insisted on racing me, saying it’s boring to run alone. He even bet 500 yuan on it. But the kid couldn’t keep up and took a shortcut!”

“…”

Those heading down for breakfast glanced at each other again, recalling Jiang Qin’s sweaty appearance and realizing that disciplined people really can make connections anywhere.

Soon, it was morning, and the Group Buying Industry Exchange Conference officially began. Numerous industry elites dressed up and arrived, totaling over three hundred people.

Naturally, the front rows were occupied by group buying giants, industry moguls, important leaders from Shanghai, and a few key experts, while others of lesser status filled the rear.

“Back when I was twenty-one at the group buying conference, I felt like a mere nobody.”

Jiang Qin patted his thigh, sighing with some emotion.

Tan Qing couldn’t help but glance at him, “Boss, you said the same thing the first time you attended Linchuan’s end-of-year commerce meeting. Later, they all followed us.”

“Yes, history tends to repeat itself.”

“…”

Subsequently, various figures took the stage starting with the leaders from Shanghai, who expressed their warm expectations for the group buying industry and their strong appreciation for its role in driving the market economy.

Next, various scholars analyzed the current economic situation, the role of internet development in industrial upgrading, and made predictions about the future market economy.

To Jiang Qin, however, the highlight of the conference was the speech by Wu Bo, the CEO of Lashou Network.

He stated that group buying should not just serve the major cities but should benefit the entire country, change national consumption habits, adjust their strategies, consolidate their business lines, expand market coverage, and serve more cities.

Subsequently, Nuomi Network, WoWo Network, Tuanbao Network, and 24Coupon all expressed similar thoughts.

Jiang Qin listened from below, thinking that the costly war in first-tier cities indeed seemed unsustainable, and everyone was tired of going at each other’s throats.

“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed experts and leaders, I am Ye Ziqing, representing Suixin Group.”

“First of all, it is a great privilege to be here to share insights and experiences concerning the group buying industry with everyone.”

“The group buying industry, as one of this year’s rapidly growing sectors, is changing consumption habits like never before, from small to large, from weak to strong, demonstrating great vitality and innovation.”

“Suixin Group, as the nation’s first…”

Ye Ziqing looked at her speech script, paused, and then looked up involuntarily towards Jiang Qin.

The speech wasn’t written by her but by a company copywriter and later revised by Zhou Zhenhao before being handed to her.

She had reviewed it the previous night, checked the wordings, which were quite clever, and the meanings clear and straightforward, not arrogant yet flamboyant.

But she realized she couldn’t pronounce some words only when she actually stood on the stage, no, she couldn’t open her mouth.

Especially here, in front of that person…

“Suixin Group, as…”

“As the nation’s second O2O group buying platform, we have unwaveringly focused on improving service levels, perfecting online operations, and benefiting consumers, come rain or shine.”

The room fell silent, the seasoned big shots at the front kept their composure, but those less experienced were clearly not as serene.

Since its launch early this year, Suixin Group had always claimed to be the nation’s first O2O group buying service platform. Their advertisements, posters, even corporate websites described them as such.

How significant are the words ‘the first’?

Even if you lose eventually, you’ll have made a historical mark in the group buying industry.

Even on your next venture, having once pioneered a market-disrupting business model, you’d get extra attention from investors.

When Suixin Group suddenly burst onto the scene in Shanghai, they aggressively advertised, moved quickly, had a solid model, and a well-developed system, looking less like a hurried concoction and more like an art piece tested by the market.

This site stirred up the scene immediately catching the attention of Wu Bo, Shen Bo, and other startup elites, who quickly emulated it and rapidly expanded their operations.

But who would have thought, today, Ye Ziqing would declare themselves the second?

Jiang Qin had spent six months getting group-buying off the ground, stationed in four universities for another half a year, and finally established a mature system when he started city-wide promotions before quickly moving operations online.

Back then, he was broke; if the group-buying market had ignited back then, he would’ve been the first to burn.

So, if Ye Ziqing had stuck to being the first, nobody could have questioned her.

But now, by declaring Suixin Group the second, the implications were wholly different.

A large part of the audience couldn’t help but follow her gaze backward, looking toward the back rows.

Finding someone based on where someone’s looking is unreliable because a gaze isn’t a tangible line.

But Ye Ziqing’s upward and high glance suggested the person was in the back rows, and quite to the side, indicating a position on the side of the back rows.

People looked back for a long time with no clue since the person sitting on the side of the back rows certainly wasn’t a big shot, so they recognized no one.

But there was one exception—Kang Jingtao, the marketing manager of Lashou Network.

He also looked back subconsciously. After seeing a row of unfamiliar faces without finding his target, he paused slightly on Song Yaqian and then spotted Jiang Qin the next second.

That second made Kang Jingtao’s heart skip a beat, and his eyes instantly deepened.

Meanwhile, Song Yaqian also couldn’t help but turn to look at Jiang Qin beside her.

For some reason, when Ye Ziqing said they were the second, Song Yaqian immediately remembered the shout of ‘uncle’ from Ye Ziqing’s friend last night, and a sense of realization washed over her.

“Who is the first? I’m so curious.”

Jiang Qin looked around, pretending to search: “Why hide and not claim such lavish fortune? If no one claims it, I will!”

Song Yaqian pursed her lips: “It’s you, right?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, careful, or I’ll sue you for defamation,” Jiang Qin’s expression changed as he pointed around, pretending to be a gossiping dog.