Chapter 539: Let Every Penny Find Its Home

In the following week, the group-buy campaign, in partnership with Xi Han He Qing, intensely harvested the market. Simultaneously, the sixth round of new brands also received nurturing and achieved rapid growth.

The once cooling group-buy market saw a new peak in consumer spending.

At this time, the VIP users of Xi Han He Qing had successfully integrated into the online membership system of the group-buy, bringing in a wave of new customers.

Business owners in Linchuan were making a fortune, and the top eight tycoons were exceptionally excited.

Honestly, many brands fell in the fierce clash of the internet with physical industries due to their inability to adapt.

However, members of the Linchuan Business Group genuinely felt a thrilling delight from Jiang Qin’s strategies.

At this time, more news began to be dug out by industry insiders.

The natural porters of Farmer’s Spring, Gaduoji’s fire-reducing tea marketing gimmick tied with hotpot, Burger King undermining KFC to establish brand image, Kang Mailing’s classic diaosi bucket…

Many marketing professionals felt like they were struck by a revelation upon learning these.

They felt that the mid-twenties owner of the group-buy was a miraculous figure, even causing a few giants in the advertising world to feel overshadowed.

In contrast, the group-buy market, excluding the group-buy campaigns, was bleak.

At the end of October in Kyoto, a drizzle fell, soaking the entire city, deepening the colors on the ground and intensifying the autumn chill.

Outside the Third Ring, in front of a big Northeast iron pot stew shop, the owner, Mr. Zhang, squatted under the eaves smoking and watching the new Spicy Boiled Fish restaurant across the street, couldn’t help but purse his lips.

Recently, his business had cooled a lot, whereas the opposite was packed with long queues they couldn’t even handle.

“I told you not to be hasty in breaking the contract with group-buy, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look, all customers are gone!”

“What could we do? Everyone online said they were out of money!”

“You believe whatever’s online! Last time, I told you to stock up on salt and you did!”

“That Dianping’s hype was so loud, even held a big conference; I thought I was going to strike it rich!”

“Yeah, well, look now, all the customers are gone. Just look at the opposite!”

The bustling restaurant owner’s wife grumbled as she dumped the trash in the bin at the door.

Last year, when Dianping entered Kyoto, a market manager came to sign their shop, but Old Wu refused, claiming they had no future. In three months, LaShou fizzled out.

Later, group-buy came to Kyoto, expanded aggressively, and marketers kept showing up in every business district, but Old Wu still held his ground, not signing up, claiming they had no future. Then both Dianping and LaShou collapsed together.

A few days ago, rumors that the group-buy was out of money started circulating online, and suddenly Old Wu became alert. He was among the first to run to cancel the contracts and waited outside their office for three days.

He signed the cancellation agreement and got the payment he had longed for. Immediately, he gleefully signed a contract with Dianping.

Overnight, the customers disappeared.

Luck is indeed mysterious—money not meant for you won’t come your way whether you run fast or slow.

Old Wu himself was baffled, wondering if he had perfectly missed every correct opportunity.

“Call that Manager Chen tomorrow. Tell him we’re not cancelling. Let’s focus on running the shop and earning money peacefully.”

“We just got our payment back. How do I save face?” Old Wu snapped.

Old Wu’s wife gave him a sidelong glance: “What’s more important, face or money?”

“Honey, listen, stuff online is mysterious. The group-buy was suddenly off and then on again. I think there might be a turnaround this time. I rushed last time; this time, I’ll bet it all on Dianping. We’ll definitely win!”

“Have you considered that every choice you’ve made so far has been wrong?”

Old Wu paused: “Every time it was just a little off.”

Old Wu’s wife stopped her work: “Then I think you should change your strategy. Go against your gut. If you think Dianping can win, let’s join the group-buy. You’ve never chosen right!”

“????”

“Times have changed. Everyone bundles deals now with vouchers before dining, unlike the old days when opening the door would bring business. Choosing the right platform is crucial.”

Unwilling to listen to his wife’s nagging, Old Wu insisted on his perspective. Just then, someone called for an extra dish, and he stood up heading inside.

It was a table for two, one young and one mature, who hadn’t been there long but were eating quickly.

Old Wu served them a plate and casually sat nearby, lighting a cigarette, and overhead their conversation.

“The supply chain for the group-buy needs to keep building. Cold fresh chain, import chain, all need to be established step by step. The focus for the Kyoto station in the later phase will be on this. Keep a close eye.”

“Understood, boss.”

Jiang Qin nodded: “If brands outside Linchuan Business Group want to work with our supply chain, we welcome that too. Catering to both merchants and consumers, controlling costs, let every penny find its home.”

Yao Shengdong puffed up his chest: “Understood, boss doesn’t want a penny to wander homeless!”

“Damn right, you summarized it well. Come, let’s have one.”

“What about Dianping then?”

Jiang Qin set down his glass: “The internet is just taking off, related laws are still incomplete. Though an anti-monopoly law might appear later, let’s keep it for now. Bullying it a bit is quite fun.”

Old Wu, sitting nearby, increasingly felt something was off. He glanced at Jiang Qin, thinking he looked familiar.

Right then, the TV on the wall broadcast news about Dianping holding a press conference to disclose their account balance and reassure their partners.

Old Wu’s attention was diverted immediately. He stared at the news for a while, thinking, ‘See, I was right’. His wife just doesn’t see the big picture.

Yao Shengdong also watched for a while then looked back at Jiang Qin: “They’ve made a denial.”

“It’s useless. They can pacify merchants, but not consumers. Ignoring refund issues for expired vouchers while renting luxury halls for meetings will trouble them for a long time.”

Jiang Qin took a sip: “No users, appeasing merchants alone is pointless. Like this restaurant, how long can it last without customers?”

Old Wu: “????”

“That’s also true.”

Yao Shengdong stood to pour more wine but Jiang Qin waved him off: “No more for me. A bit tipsy is enough. I have school tomorrow. Let’s settle the bill.”

Old Wu stood up, took a look at the bill: “That’ll be 123.”

“We’ve got a Dianping voucher. The hostess checked it earlier. Just charge for the drinks.”

“Six yuan.”

Jiang Qin let Yao pay, then raised his phone, snapping pictures in the restaurant, tapping out a review.

“Beautiful, quiet environment with few guests. Paid for a full table but felt like a private booking. Great value for money. Five stars, will visit again.”

Yao Shengdong watched bewildered: “Boss, what are you doing?”

Jiang Qin looked up: “Leave a good review, get five yuan back, but it must include photos.”

“Oh.”

After posting his review with an empty restaurant photo, Jiang Qin left the Big Northeast Iron Pot Stew with Yao Shengdong.

Meanwhile, Old Wu stood pondering, then dashed to the counter, rummaging for a newspaper from a few days ago which had ‘I endorse this for myself’.

Comparing the photo from the paper with his recent memory, Old Wu took a deep breath and grabbed his phone to call Manager Chen.

That must be the group-buy boss. Damn, too sly! Using Dianping’s voucher, wanting a five-yuan cashback, and the cheeky five-star review suggesting no one visits his shop.

Anyone else would’ve thrown punches by now, but Old Wu, always a thinker, decided then and there to tie his fate to the group-buy forever.

If such a person couldn’t succeed massively, who could?

After all, to see if a business could thrive, one had to look at the cunning style of the boss.

The next day at noon, the cunning Boss Jiang boarded a return flight to Linchuan.

Wei Lanlan was waiting in her BMW at the airport to drive him back to group-buy headquarters, where he was greeted with enthusiastic cheers.

Honestly, when group-buy faced deep scrutiny, the boss had already been systematically organizing their responses.

Filming advertisements, gathering funds, notifying Linchuan brands, and producing various co-branded posters—yet the true impact remained unknown to everyone.

Moreover, to ensure a surefire success, everyone had to endure the rumors online without any rebuttal.

Lu Feiyu was about to explode. He was from the journalism department and now controlled Tonight’s Headlines—a feeling like trying to hold in a bit of pee.

Not to mention, he couldn’t hold it at all.

Eventually, Lu Feiyu with a phrase, “Group-buy won’t be targeted, right? Just because they paid us back,” managed to stun everyone, exhaling heavily, his tailbone tingling with relief.

“Boss, we’ve won.”

Jiang Qin nodded: “Yes, an overwhelming victory. Group-buy will have no more weaknesses from now on.”

Wei Lanlan clenched her fists excitedly: “Oh, by the way, these last two days, many brands from out of town have been calling, asking about partnerships.”

“As expected. Not only group-buy fired up this time. Linchuan Business Group and Golden Silkwood might have also been exposed. No need to hide anymore. Let the business department handle it, but set the bar high.”

“Understood.”