Chapter 536: Total Collapse

Operating an internet group-buy platform naturally sets you up in partial opposition with merchants since you’re taking a cut from their sales.

Moreover, the group-buy hasn’t yet settled payments with the merchants, which logically should not win them any brand’s support.

Most outrageous is that eighty percent of these brands have never cooperated with the group-buy before.

Especially Xitian Milk Tea.

Remember when the group-buy market entered a phase of ruthless growth? Everyone was fiercely competing for merchants. The group-buy team, using brute force, once threatened Lashou Network to back off. They almost fought at the Xitian branch in Xijing.

At that time, Xitian’s legal representative, Fang Xiaoxuan, publicly criticized the group-buy’s overbearing manners.

It’s said they paused their cooperation for a long period in November due to these issues.

What’s the situation now? Dianping has been left hanging by over half of the renowned brands, and Jiang Qin seemed to have known it beforehand.

“Don’t panic, keep our formation, notify the commerce department to call and verify.”

Zhang Tao made a decisive decision and started arranging tasks.

“Understood.”

“Also, give the media some red envelopes, tell them to delay announcing the signing event, and not to come here for photos.”

“Okay, boss, I’ll arrange it right away.”

Yang Xueyu nodded and stepped out of the banquet hall. Just as he left, the door was pushed open again.

A man in a dark blue suit, slightly plump, entered and looked around the room. He greeted a few people in the fourth row and then headed straight for the right side of the first row.

After sitting down, he looked around to find no one beside him, which seemed to confuse him as he had not expected this.

Seeing this, Zhang Tao and Chen Jiaxin swiftly approached and stood in front of him.

“Hello, I’m Zhang Tao, the owner of Dianping, and this is our general manager Chen Jiaxin. May I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?”

“Ah, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Chen, nice to meet you. I’m Guan Deshan, the North China regional manager of Burger King.”

“Mr. Guan, delighted to meet you. We’ve heard much about you. Are you here for the signing event?”

“Yes, our boss said that Burger King will always be as close to Dianping as family. But it seems I’ve arrived too early; why has no one else shown up?”

“They might still be on their way. Please, have a seat. I’ll have someone brew some tea for you.”

Zhang Tao heaved a sigh of relief once the conversation ended, his nerves slowly relaxing.

True, the signing event was still some time away. Usually, the smaller entities arrive early to network. The big brands tend to have an air about them and often arrive a bit later.

That Jiang Qin probably glanced here before, saw the first three rows empty, and dropped a smokescreen. Damn it, what a dog’s ruse!

Just then, Guan Deshan’s phone rang. He excused himself to Zhang Tao and Chen Jiaxin, then turned to answer the call.

It was from a manager at headquarters. A few words into the conversation, Guan’s smile gradually faded until it vanished completely.

“Uh, sorry Mr. Zhang, I need to leave.”

Zhang Tao was surprised: “What happened? Is there a problem?”

“Uh… my wife is having a baby.”

Guan Deshan put his phone away and hurriedly walked outside, muttering to himself, confusion written all over his face.

Wasn’t it agreed that we were as close as family with Dianping? Why suddenly claim the same about group-buy?

It’s like a child supported by patrons starts calling them mom and dad, only for someone else to turn up claiming you are the child of the family across the street. What the hell is this mess?

Guan Deshan quickly opened his Weibo and deleted all the posts he had made criticizing the group-buy’s financial issues. Clean slate, clear conscience!

“Mr. Guan, Mr. Guan!”

“?”

Zhang Tao chased a few steps, to find Guan Deshan speeding up, his expression becoming increasingly embarrassed.

If it were only the brand merchants from the first three rows not yet arriving, he might still have hoped, but Guan’s hasty departure seemed like the final hammer blow to his chest.

It wasn’t just a smokescreen. Something was indeed wrong.

Although uncertain how, it seemed that the invited partners might not show up after all. This thought made Zhang Tao sweat profusely.

Meanwhile, Zhang Li hastily ran up, out of breath, holding a phone in his hand.

The unlocked screen displayed a photo of a Xitian Milk Tea shop with a joint promotional poster from them and the group-buy, announcing a new product available through group-buy.

“Xitian and group-buy collaboration?”

“Not just Xitian, there’s more…”

Hearing Zhang Li’s panting, Chen Jiaxin immediately scrolled through more photos.

River Hotpot, Sichuan Pepper Grill, Burger King, Mei Ye KTV, Da Di Cinema, Fresh Mr., Roads Lung Fung Mei, Qianben Foot Spa, Yang Ji, Turtle Chrysanthemum Fragrance, Prehistoric Self-Serve Steak, Vienna Hotel, Local Flavor Noodles…

All key chain brands had posters at their stores announcing joint deals with the group-buy, even promoting exclusive packages for them.

Da Di Cinema’s second photo clarified that buying tickets through the group-buy would also gift a small popcorn and a cola.

Upon seeing these photos, Chen Jiaxin’s vision went dark, and she stumbled back three steps before stabilizing.

Jiang Qin had won over the entire consumer base with a single refund and one advertisement, yet without partner merchants, it would have been in vain. But if all these brands now sided with the group-buy…

Then with such a massive consumer base, along with top-quality merchants, the group-buy was set for a sudden surge of orders tonight.

A week before, they had stirred public opinion, established a persona, and now joint brands—Chen Jiaxin felt as if something colossal had collapsed right onto them.

Before she could catch her breath, their boss suddenly started calling for security nearby.

Chen Jiaxin turned to see a swarm of journalists and photographers bursting in, snapping photos wildly — capturing every angle with relentless flashes.

Although hotel security reacted swiftly, reporters still managed to reach the front desk and frantically clicked pictures of the empty first three rows.

“How did reporters get here? Where’s Yang Xueyu?”

“Boss, I’m… I’m here!”

Zhang Tao’s eyes reddened: “Didn’t I tell you to send the media some red envelopes and keep them away for now? What happened?”

Yang Xueyu gasped for air and shook his head: “The red envelopes were sent, and the media agreed, but these journalists weren’t invited by us.”

Just then, a female journalist in a trench coat rushed over with a microphone: “Mr. Zhang, the internet claims Dianping is facing financial troubles. Is this true?”

Before Zhang Tao could respond, another journalist rushed forward: “Mr. Zhang, half of the signing event’s merchants are absent. Does Dianping indeed have financial issues?”

“Mr. Zhang, it’s rumored Xitian hasn’t received payments from Dianping and plans to cancel the contract. Is this true?”

“Mr. Zhang…”

“Please respond, Mr. Zhang.”

“Mr. Zhang, Dianping has ignored refund inquiries and even booked two luxurious halls for revelry. Do you genuinely care about consumers?”

Zhang Tao felt his ears ringing, the incessant buzz of media voices swirling around him, only hearing them shout Mr. Zhang.

Next to him, Chen Jiaxin was also encircled by reporters, facing the same questions, mouth agape, unsure how to respond.

Why were there rumors of Dianping’s financial collapse online? It was due to group-buy.

Because Yang Xueyu had just mentioned that Jiang Qin admitted he had also prepared a team to spread rumors of their financial collapse.

But Dianping wasn’t really worried since mere rumors couldn’t cause a sensational effect.

Why did the rumor about group-buy work? It was all because of the earlier fire set by Tuanbao Net.

Yet once photos of this venue get out, things wouldn’t be so simple, because their venue indeed appeared half-empty, especially the first three rows.

Dianping originally hoped to gather all major brands, casually sign something to guide the smaller merchants towards Dianping, but if these photos leaked, Dianping’s troubles would be substantiated.

When merchants realize big brands have left, even if you could prove your finances are solid, how could they trust you?

Who knows what other major issues your company might hide; why else would the big brands all run off?

They had never anticipated this scenario…

Meanwhile, in the neighboring banquet hall, a seminar was about to begin, and Jiang Qin had already taken his seat, occasionally fiddling with his phone or looking up blankly, his face betraying no particular emotion.

“Jiang is amazing! Dianping might be forced to face the music because of him, yet he remains so composed.”

“Indeed, the consumer issue is resolved; how will they address the merchants’ trust issues? The moment this signing event over there starts, probably more merchants will leave group-buy and lean towards Dianping.”

“It’s all so sudden. For Jiang to have swayed public opinion this far is quite remarkable. Carrying consumer goodwill, his next venture will definitely be highly anticipated.”

The crowd chattered, already planning Jiang’s next business endeavors, while time in the hall moved steadily forward.

Soon, it was five in the evening, the start_time for the seminar.

Oddly, two seats at the front remained empty, one belonging to Zhang Tao, the other to Chen Jiaxin.

“Two minutes left. Where are the folks from Dianping?”

“They were just here. Stepped out after a call.”

“It’s time now. Surely, they won’t be late?”

Seeing everyone’s skepticism, let me clarify. Business associations aren’t a big deal; there are about 110,000 of them nationwide. Many mortal enemies might even belong to the same few associations and still don’t hesitate to clash. Domestically, such conveniently named organizations are abundant… they’re everywhere. Like being a member of the provincial Writers’ Association might also involve being a member of some city’s Writers’ Association or even being listed in other organizations. This isn’t the same as the Avengers; it’s normal for a company to join multiple business organizations. They won’t necessarily have one heart. Saying they’re brothers from the same association and should never be worked with is outrageous. Moreover, the previous chapters always mentioned the business association is hosted by Linchuan government. Jiang Qin doesn’t hold any position, plus someone reported in the school news that Chu Siqi was taking photographs, Linchuan City Government even made a disk for Jiang Qin as a souvenir, which Old Cao mistook for a porno DVD. Damn, it’s all because I update too slowly. You’ve probably forgotten the details. I’ll penalize myself with an extra chapter update. So from a godly view, Jiang is the big boss of the business association, but from the story’s angle, he’s just a member, and only at the city level, not even provincial. The only difference is, Jiang really leads them in making money, which gives this organization its significance…