Chapter 518: Shake it Up

The collaboration between Group-Buy and Alipay surprised many, while Zhihu and WeChat’s partnership was even more astonishing.

Both tech giants had chosen to partner with the same group-buying company for their main projects for the second half of the year, stirring widespread discussion in the investment circle.

Indeed, both Tencent and Alibaba have proven they have a keen eye for such ventures.

Especially Alipay, whose combination of heavy promotions and expertly managed group-buying operations has led to staggering user growth.

Online shopping to home, group-buying to stores, online grocery shopping, meticulously selected goods, and mobile payment markets are gradually gaining momentum, significantly altering lifestyles through these promotions.

Soon, nobody might need to carry a wallet anymore, as mobile payments permeate every aspect of daily life.

Many are starting to believe this is indeed the future.

At this moment, a man named Li Chengdong is sweating profusely.

He’s the manager of the Merchant Services at Tenpay, the same one who famously kept Jiang Qin waiting for four hours without showing up.

Li Chengdong once thought his handling of the situation was quite elegant, so he has been talking about it everywhere, keen to show off his importance.

He believed that without support from third-party payment software, Group-Buy would inevitably fail.

And Dianping, currently the strongest shopping site besides Group-Buy, was expected to rise to the top.

But now, Group-Buy’s partnership with Alipay has changed the game.

Ad campaigns in four major cities exploded in blue and yellow, right beneath their headquarters, making them nearly impossible to ignore.

Furthermore, numerous media outlets are continuously voicing that group-buying plus mobile payments will change the future.

This leaves Li Chengdong feeling somewhat jittery inside, unsure if the company’s executives might blame him.

As expected, he received an email from his boss first thing in the morning, discussing cooperation with Group-Buy, asking him to come to the meeting room.

Li Chengdong took a smoke in the smoking area to soothe his anxiety before walking into the office, facing several high-level executives.

“It’s alright to refuse cooperation, make it clear and decline politely. But how entitled must you be to make the Group-Buy boss wait four hours?”

“This was ill-considered on my part.”

“Just ill-considered? He’s overseeing two projects valued nearly at ten billion, deeply entrenched in the service sector, and even Alibaba wants in. What were you thinking?”

“I was only considering our partnership with Dianping.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to reject a potential partner on behalf of the company?”

“No…”

“When someone expresses interest in partnering with us on a WeChat project and becomes our strategic partner, clearly they favor our company. And you make the refusal that ugly?”

“Sorry, Mr. Cheng, my mistake.”

“Now that you realize your mistake, hurry and apologize. Try to gain his forgiveness and minimize the damage.”

Tencent focuses on social ecosystems whereas Alibaba focuses on e-commerce ecosystems. Their priorities differ.

That doesn’t mean they won’t venture into other areas.

In fact, when companies reach their size, they typically feel they can control all related industries.

Just as Alibaba has been eager to explore social platforms, hoping to create its own traffic pool of users, Tencent is dabbling in e-commerce.

Li Chengdong, by refusing an influential online market shareholder with countless online payment users, has made a grave error.

After leaving the meeting, he sighed, then spent a long time choosing his words before finally calling Jiang Qin.

Honestly, it was quite embarrassing for him.

He felt Jiang might not berate him too much, or mock him too severely.

But what distressed Li Chengdong the most was Jiang not picking up, letting the phone ring out.

Trying to stay on good terms doesn’t always mean having to please everyone; sometimes showing a bit of temper fits with his image as a young, handsome, and wealthy college owner.

Jiang tossed his phone aside and called a meeting with the Group-Buy headquarters.

The staff had been traveling in batches, many noticeably tanned but looking more spirited than before.

It’s often said that the demeanor of employees reflects the state of a company, and Group-Buy is undoubtedly thriving.

“This round of joint promotion funded by Alipay was a huge success, described in eight words: ‘Spending someone else’s money feels fantastic.'”

“However, the popularity of mobile payments won’t spike overnight in lower-tier markets, so each branch’s main task is to help Hengtong Freight establish supply chains in first-tier cities.”

“Also, notify Su Nai to assemble a tech team to work on a warehouse management system we’ve previously reviewed and integrate it into the supply chain development.”

“Moreover, we can launch a centralized promotion now with algorithms on Tonight’s Headlines.”

“Meanwhile, Zhihu should continue promoting WeChat and Alipay but ensure the frequency doesn’t compromise user experience.”

After the meeting, departments convened for further briefings to adjust their focus for the latter half of the year.

Jiang stretched lazily, drove back to Linchuan University.

Today, the scorching sun marked the start of the school season at Linchuan University, with snow white legs and slim waists dazzling at the entrance.

Tents sprang up in the middle of the pedestrian street, welcoming new freshmen with banners from various faculties.

Some lonely upperclassmen wandered around, seeking companionship under the guise of helping with luggage — seemingly bossy yet tender.

Driving through, Jiang surveyed the delicate legs of female students before returning to his dormitory.

Upon entering, his roommates sat shirtless at the table, playing cards under the fan, their faces showing they’d been at it for a long time.

“Jiang, you’re back? I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“I bought a new phone, and it comes preloaded with Group-Buy and Tonight’s Headlines, but why can’t I delete them?”

Ren Ziqiang showed the two pre-installed apps on his new smartphone.

Jiang replied with a twist of his mouth, “You’d be lucky to get them deletable. I paid good money for that!”

“Really? Is that even legal?”

“Just a sneaky trick. I make sure you know where to download them from and prevent accidental deletions. It’s very considerate.”

Choking a little, Ren responded, “My phone’s storage is already low. Jiang, that’s pretty domineering of you.”

Jiang tossed his T-shirt onto the bed, “You could just delete everything else and keep only Group-Buy and Tonight’s Headlines.”

“Is that even reasonable?”

“You could keep WeChat and Alipay too, those are my partners.”

Ren gaped, “Isn’t WeChat owned by Tencent? I’ve been grinding QQ and you’re already partners with Ma?”

Jiang nodded, “Just a small collaboration.”

“Then you should be dealing with my boss Cao, why are you splashing this on me?”

Cao Guangyu cursed loudly, “Mom’s spaghetti, I got splashed during the summer break. And he came knocking!”

Jiang grabbed Ren’s fan and gave it a couple of swings, “Have you guys tried WeChat? Is it good?”

Ren pondered, “I logged in and looked. It seems just like QQ. But I already have QQ, why would I need WeChat?”

“WeChat’s aim is simplicity, ease of use, and better mobile market penetration. It’ll be more popular and reach a broader audience. Does your family use QQ, Ren?”

Shaking his head, Ren replied, “My parents don’t even know what QQ is.”

“Exactly. They don’t use QQ but might be on WeChat soon. QQ is for strangers; WeChat focuses on people you know.”

Ren’s mouth hung open, “My parents barely finished middle school. I can’t even picture them using smartphones, let alone WeChat.”

Jiang patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’ll eventually join the ‘loving family’ group.”

“What?”

Promoting new apps in school is easy since college students like new things and there are few fun apps available for newly-released smartphones.

Also, registering for WeChat on campus could get you a cup, towel, clothes hanger, or toilet paper.

Moreover, WeChat has an intriguing feature called ‘Shake it.’

Ever since its launch, Linchuan University’s fields have been filled with guys shaking their phones, hoping to encounter a goddess.

Girls enjoy shaking it too, always hoping for a handsome catch.

What they might not realize is that all the top-tier catches are shaking it off in real life, not online.

But because of WeChat’s simple interface and easy navigation, many classes have set up their own groups, constantly gossiping within.

Financial Studies Class 3 is one. About twenty students joined, including Jiang Tian, Song Qingqing, Jian Chun, and Pan Xiu. Whenever they see Jiang, they call out for the ‘male god.’

Also, Feng Nanshu and her dorm mates created a WeChat group and dragged him into it, wreaking havoc on their pure friendship.

Gao Wenhui said, “Jiang, come control your wife. She ate way too much ice cream today!”

Feng Nanshu retorted, “I did not eat a lot!”

Just arrived at the hotel, starving