Chapter 435: Too Terrifying, He Must Be Stopped!

In the North, most people eat dumplings for the Winter Solstice, while in the South, it’s mostly glutinous rice balls.

Dumplings are fragrant, glutinous rice balls are sweet; each has its charm.

For Lashou Network, the glutinous rice balls in their bowl are not sweet but rather bitter, an indescribable kind of bitterness.

The 1.2 million spent ended up as predicted, virtually wasted, a mere exchange for several flags of appreciation from merchants praising Lashou Network as a great philanthropic organization helping them expand their business and boost their brand.

Robin had a smile on his face, his heart cursing madly, even sporting a blister on his lips.

How did they lose?

Recently, the staff at the Lashou Network’s Shanghai branch had been pondering this question. Some suggested they had underestimated their opponent, otherwise, it wouldn’t have come to this.

But Robin felt it wasn’t just that.

The sudden entry of group-buying into Shanghai and having signed over fifty merchants before even starting their advertising could indeed be seen as a sneak attack, but they all knew that just sneaking wouldn’t have hit them this hard.

Could their own highly capable promotional team have held them off?

No.

Their own food festival had started laying the groundwork already in May; could they have prevented it?

No.

Those in-depth collaboration agreements were traps set six months ago; could they have avoided falling into them?

Couldn’t.

Thus, even though Lashou Network initially treated the group-buying with high regard, they still lost because they simply couldn’t withstand these strategies.

Even if they were prepared, it would only have added a few days of worry without affecting the outcome.

“After New Year’s, I might be recalled by headquarters to take on a different position.”

“I want to say, it’s been my honor to work with all of you, but as they say, all good things must come to an end, and now it’s time to part ways.”

“President Yang will come over from Kyoto this afternoon and will gradually take over my duties. I hope everyone will cooperate with him as earnestly as they did with me.”

As Robin spoke, he ate a glutinous rice ball in the silent conference room, even the sounds of swallowing seemed quieter.

Nearly half the market was lost, and eventually, someone has to stand up and take responsibility; the senior leadership won’t consider how frightening your rival is, only the final outcome.

This is actually the fate of those in the corporate world; the higher you stand, the easier it is to encounter problems.

Since Robin took over the Shanghai market, he hadn’t faced any competitors and lost disastrously the first time, probably leading headquarters to conclude he couldn’t control the market.

However, he was lucky to have a brother who had pioneered territories for LaShou; the company wouldn’t blame him much. But after such a debacle, it’s hard to trust him with major responsibilities again.

That Mr. Yang is unlucky too; he probably doesn’t know that group-buying’s erosion of LaShou is still continuing, only more slowly now.

“President Luo, this is not your fault.”

“Yes, President Luo, with how things have developed over the past half month, no one could have made a difference.”

Robin looked at everyone, chuckled, and waved his hand, “A loss is a loss, no need to find excuses. It’s my misfortune to encounter such an outrageous… college student, haha.”

Wu Peng fell silent, “I’ve never seen such a terrifying college student in my life.”

“So you see, knowledge is power. Don’t ever look down on intellectuals, especially you, Wu Peng, considering you didn’t study much. I heard your son doesn’t want to go to college? Go back and seriously talk to him. Today’s college students are not like we were.”

“You’re right, President Luo. I’ll go home and discipline him properly. He must attend college, even if just a community college.”

At this remark, Cui Yiting and Song Yaqian just fell silent.

Cui Yiting, not long a postgraduate, lacked this generational feeling, while Song Yaqian, still an undergraduate, was a typical current college student.

They really wanted to say that not all college students are outrageous; it’s just Jiang Qin who’s playing at this level. Not even university professors who teach these students could pull this off.

But with things having reached this point, what would be the point in saying that?

After finishing the glutinous rice balls, Cui Yiting went to the rooftop, lit a cigarette, and stared at the desolate sky, feeling like she was in a dream but unable to wake up.

This feeling had persisted for several days; the doctor had said it was due to severe stress causing her nervous exhaustion.

And all her stress originated from Jiang Qin.

When did she first meet Jiang Qin? It was after the Suixin Group had to cut off an arm to survive, and out of curiosity, she followed Ye Ziqing back to Linchuan, only to be greatly disappointed.

He had no air of an entrepreneur; his posture was sloppy, his mouth filled with obscenities, completely uninterested in business matters, talking only about how fat his dog was and that his roommates were fun-loving folks.

So, during the time Liu Yin helped out in Shanghai, every time she spoke up for her Uncle Jiang, she did it disdainfully.

But only now did she realize what it meant to mastermind great strategies and win from a thousand miles away.

It was also this sweat-drenched experience that gradually merged the image of Jiang Qin with that of an entrepreneur in her mind, rising impressively.

“A college student, one who hasn’t even graduated…”

Meanwhile, Robin, taking Song Yaqian with him, was leaving the branch for the airport to pick up Yang Xueyu sent from Kyoto.

Robin didn’t know much about Yang Xueyu and wasn’t interested in finding out more, as after this, Shanghai’s market would no longer be his concern.

He only exchanged some polite conversation before taking him to the Hilton Hotel, planning to have Song Yaqian brief him on the current situation while he took these days of transition to rest well.

“President Yang, you must be weary from the journey. Take some rest, and at 7 PM, we’ll have a welcome dinner.”

“Okay, President Luo. I’ll follow your arrangements.”

At the front desk of the Hilton Hotel, Robin was speaking when suddenly, Song Yaqian tugged at his sleeve and pointed toward the right rear side of the lobby.

With a puzzled look, Robin turned and saw a well-dressed young man heading towards the restaurant.

At first, he didn’t understand Song Yaqian’s hint, but soon he did, because the person heading to the restaurant was Jiang Qin.

“Yaqian, take President Yang to check in. I’ll head over there.”

“Alright, President Luo.”

Robin straightened his suit, tucked his shirt in smoother, adjusted his tie, and then stepped towards the restaurant.

Strangely enough, he hadn’t been this attentive when meeting Yang Xueyu. Seeing Jiang Qin, he involuntarily began to straighten up his appearance.

Jiang Qin was sitting at a window seat, a steak in front of him and a glass of red wine beside him, then he took out scissors from a drawer and snipped the steak into small pieces before spearing them with toothpicks to eat.

Seeing this, Robin took a deep breath, thinking to himself that this person really was someone who didn’t play by the rules.

“May I join your table?”

Jiang Qin looked up, “President Luo?”

Robin smiled slightly, “That’s me.”

“Good person.”

“?????”

Jiang too smiled like him, “Is there something you need me for, President Luo?”

After a long silence, Robin spoke, “I’ve always wondered what someone so capable would be like. You know, photos always seem unreal. Just now, I happened to see President Jiang and couldn’t help but follow.”

“That so.”

Picking up his napkin, Jiang wiped his mouth and looked out the window, “People who know me think I’m just a pretty face, but you, President Luo, you’ve seen my capabilities. If we weren’t on different sides, we could have been close friends.”

This time, Robin was genuinely silent, thinking to himself with his thick skin, no wonder he could pull off such feats.

“When did you start planning your strategies, President Jiang?”

“That’s a business secret. You can’t expect me to tell you that, President Luo. Don’t joke with me.”

Unable to help himself, Robin laughed, “That was presumptuous of me. One always feels discontent after a loss, wanting to know where they fell short—made me a bit foolish, I suppose.”

Jiang looked up at him, “No, you wanted to test me because I won. You think, given my youth, I’ll surely be overconfident now that I’ve won such a brilliant battle. Maybe I’d ramble on about my methods, showing off the victor’s superiority.”

“Don’t you want to show off a bit, President Jiang?”

“You don’t know me at all; you have no idea how tough I can be.”

Robin patted his thigh, looking out the window, “Honestly, I meant nothing by it, just making small talk since I will no longer be in charge of the Shanghai market soon.”

Jiang consumed a piece of beef, “Changing commanders?”

“Correct, I’m just here to help him check in. He really is a formidable person.”

“Useless, President Luo.”

“?”

“You’re trying to affect my mood, telling me a new rival I’m unfamiliar with, more skilled than you, has arrived. But that won’t work. I belong to the freestyle school—I’ll fight anyone. It really makes no difference who it is.”

Jiang took a sip of red wine, “Also, affecting me is pointless because I’ll have to return to school soon. The school’s break isn’t long; I still need to study hard. The rest will proceed as planned. Nobody can stop that.”

Luo’s face twitched slightly as he finally confirmed the unease in his heart. This person was very terrifying.

If group-buying secures further financing, no one will survive. Once he returns to headquarters, he definitively must suggest to the senior management, regardless of the cost, that group-buying must be stopped, or they will undoubtedly regret it.

With that thought, Robin no longer lingered but rose from his seat and left.

But he had just taken a few steps when he suddenly paused and looked back at Jiang.

“By the way, President Jiang, this hotel was a tough negotiation for us at Lashou Network; it took us four months. Currently, there shouldn’t be any other collaborators here. How come you’re also staying here?”

“Ah?”

Jiang coughed awkwardly a couple of times, “Your layout in the hotel industry is indeed good, the discounts significant, and the steak tasty. I quite like it.”

Robin held his breath, astounded.

Damn, we’re competitors, and you’re using our Lashou Network’s coupon to stay at the hotel? What the hell is this?!

Not okay, not okay, must stop him, must suggest to headquarters to take immediate action against him!