Chapter 562: He Who Part-timed Conquered the World

After discussing the internet cafe’s location with Lu Zhichuan, Jiang Qin hung up the phone and rubbed his belly, noticing that the blonde guy opposite was glaring at him unfriendly.

Before Jiang Qin could speak to scare him off, the blonde guy picked up his phone, mimicking Jiang’s smirk and holding the phone to his own mouth.

“Hey, Pony Ma, I’m giving you three minutes to add a million Q-coins to my account!”

“What? Need four minutes? Trash, I’ll give you five, do it now!”

The blonde finished speaking, put down his phone, and couldn’t help but throw a mocking and provocative look.

Hearing this, a few people nearby laughed aloud.

A girl in a JK uniform instantly pouted, lost interest in Jiang Qin and began fiddling with her nails.

Some try too hard to act tough, and it just comes off as unrealistic.

Meanwhile, young master Cao nearby was full of admiration, thinking that the blonde’s act was pretty natural and maybe he could learn something.

But soon, a man in a suit arrived, causing quite a stir among many in the internet cafe.

None other than because he bore a resemblance to a school disciplinary officer.

The visitor was Lu Zhichuan, who had rushed over from Alibaba.

Holding two plastic bags containing food from a nearby Sichuan restaurant, his heart was full of hope for his career.

Seeing Lu Zhichuan, Jiang Qin immediately nudged Cao Guangyu next to him.

“Old Cao, food’s here.”

Cao Guangyu, just starting a game, couldn’t care less about his hunger: “Wait a bit, Old Jiang. Let me first take down this guy.”

“…”

Five seconds later, young master Cao let go of his mouse: “Alright, I’m dead. What were you saying?”

“Useless,” Jiang Qin spat.

At that moment, Lu Zhichuan skillfully unwrapped the plastic bags and took out the meals.

The meals were fancy dishes, spread impressively across the table, catching the young folk opposite off guard.

Upon closer inspection, this middle-aged man was also wearing a gold ring, adding to his dignified appearance.

“President Jiang, I wasn’t sure about your taste, so I ordered some dishes I like. Please enjoy while it’s hot.”

“Thanks, President Lu.”

Jiang Qin started eating and spoke between bites: “About what we discussed online, if you’re okay with it, I’ll start you off with a salary like Alibaba’s, and we’ll talk more details later.”

Lu Zhichuan paused momentarily: “Okay.”

“Wrap up your business here and pack your bags for a trip to Linchuan as soon as possible. I need you there within a month to help me with a couple of investments.”

“Understood, I’ll proceed with the arrangements.”

Ever since Lu Zhichuan arrived at this internet cafe with food, the wheels of his destiny had already begun to turn.

There’s no turning back after defecting, especially not when it’s to deliver food.

But Lu Zhichuan trusted his judgment and choice.

From clinching the final deal in the group-buying wars to outsmarting all competitors in the information race, what convinced him most was Jiang Qin’s attitude—these made him feel that joining Pintuan was absolutely the right choice.

Truth be told, investors may not fully understand every industry, but they do have a good knack for judging people.

President Jiang’s audacity matched that of his current boss.

Especially when Tencent’s Peng Sheng tried to pressure Jiang Qin with public sentiment, hoping to invest in Pintuan, Jiang’s now famous response had spread far and wide.

“I haven’t considered you competitors since 2009, but today, you finally look a bit like ones.”

Yet, amidst his boldness, President Jiang also had an enigmatic charm.

It’s said his business trips always involve visiting LaShou then Dianping, which is quite alarming.

So, Lu Zhichuan showed up.

Jiang Qin turned to him: “Pintuan is just a small company. Don’t you think you’ll lose out leaving Alibaba?”

Lu Zhichuan touched his nose: “Rather than making some failing investments, I’d prefer a fruitful collaboration with you. My forte is negotiations, and I hope to leverage your keen insights to partake in the vigorous growth of the Internet over the next century.”

“If investment managers from other companies had your judgment, they’d be earning big soon.”

“Then let’s keep it quiet. Let’s make a fortune in silence.”

Jiang Qin was a bit surprised: “Wow, we haven’t even signed the contract and you’ve already grasped our corporate culture?”

Lu Zhichuan chuckled awkwardly: “I guess falling on my face a couple of times taught me something.”

“Lu, it’s not personal. You just happen to walk into the line of fire every time.”

“I understand.”

Jiang Qin stretched and pushed away his keyboard: “Did you drive? First, take us to young master Cao’s place.”

Cao Guangyu quickly took off his headphones: “I’ll ride shotgun. I really enjoyed our last chat with President Lu, felt like it ended too soon!”

“…”

The three then settled their internet fees and walked out the cafe.

The youth opposite stealthily followed out to see them climb into a Mercedes.

This left the blonde, who had been making calls, utterly baffled.

The man had sat in the cafe half a day talking about markets and investments, complaining that even instant noodles were too expensive, his phone a mere contract device from a telecom company.

Yet, everything he mentioned over the phone about Alibaba turned out to be true.

Damn, the blonde felt he might have missed a cracking chance to strike it rich.

Imagine, if he had rallied some folks to corner him in an alleyway, he could’ve extorted thousands.

Next to him, the tattooed girl’s eyes lit up, announcing that Jiang Qin was the one endorsing himself.

Meanwhile, young master Cao chatted away with Lu Zhichuan about the life of a wealthy second generation as if in a serialized drama, leaving Lu quite overwhelmed.

Isn’t this just like a TV drama? Am I watching a soap opera?

I swear I watched this episode just last night!

However, when the car pulled up at Cao family’s grand villa and he caught sight of the unique Chinese garden landscaping, Lu Zhichuan felt as puzzled as the blonde.

“Damn, are you really the young master?”

Lu Zhichuan’s eyes widened, not believing what seemed to be true.

“?”

Cao Guangyu was stunned too, thinking, we had such a good chat last time, and I was steady today, how could you say something so rude?

Jiang Qin’s trip to the Cao residence was to pack up; he had been in Hangcheng for three days, inspecting the expansion of Hengtong Freight and a logistics park. After recruiting an investment manager, it was time to head back.

After a brief packing session, the two set off on their return journey.

Meanwhile, Tonight’s Headlines, amidst a surge in user and creator activity, began promoting daily specials, Xitian milk tea, and various Linchuan Business Group brands.

These weren’t direct advertisements but part of a series of soft promotions.

Soft promotion meant not advertising directly, like promoting weight loss rather than the movie plot.

Stories ranged from community group buys delivering vegetables to lonely seniors, long queues at the local Xitian milk tea spot, River Hotpot offering birthday wishes moving a guy with no money, no property, and no girlfriend, to Yang Ji warming a scavenger with steaming hot dumplings.

Interested? Fine. Not interested? Also fine.

But as these brand names subtly flicked past people’s eyes, their visibility definitely rose.

Most people’s consumption habits are influenced by familiar brands, and that’s the theory behind soft promotion.

Soon, news broke that Lashou Network had been fined, Dianping was struggling and Nuomi might have to sell itself to Baidu.

In this cold winter, they cordially added insult to injury for their business rivals.

“This damn thing is really unethical!” Zhang Tao from Dianping headquarters cursed out loud.

Now, every stimulus made him see black, an aftereffect of the group-buying summit.

In fact, ever since the public opinion battle was thoroughly overturned by Pintuan, all group buying websites had waned.

Dianping could now only compete in industries Pintuan temporarily disregarded, while Lashou was even worse off, resorting to drastic layoffs, reminiscent of Tuanbao’s previous collapse.

Baidu, generous as ever, went ahead and acquired Nuomi, ensuring a decent ending for its boss and employees.

Essentially, the group-buying wars had concluded, from a market once shared by over six thousand heroes, now only Pintuan stood, triumphant atop the ruins of its competitors.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tao couldn’t help but fall silent, mourning the money squandered before.

“President Zhang.”

“Mr. Chen, what’s up?”

Chen Jiaxin entered the CEO’s office: “A startup in Shanghai is hoping I can help them out.”

Zhang Tao glanced at her: “What company?”

“A food ordering platform.”

“…”

Zhang Tao paused before nodding. As Chen Jiaxin placed her resignation on his desk and left, he began another round of cursing at Jiang Qin.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin returned to Linchuan University; stepping off the plane, the chilly Linchuan weather made him shiver. It seemed early winter was kicking in.

But Jiang Qin wasn’t concerned about the cold, more about his close friends.

He had checked in three times today, but upon switching off airplane mode after the flight, he hadn’t received any notification from the little rich girl.

“Still in the cafe, haven’t eaten. Finished watching ‘Yan Shuangying’, don’t know what to do. When are you back?”

“Still in the cafe, planning to poach their investment manager, have arranged to meet him; the guy from yesterday’s dinner.”

“Boarded the plane, will arrive in about two hours; will talk more once I’m in Linchuan.”

Am I being too much of a simp?

As Jiang Qin reviewed the messages he sent, he frowned more and more, looking like a grumpy old man on the subway. So, he decided to act cold.

Also, today seems to be the birthday banquet of the little rich girl’s grandmother. Probably quite busy over there too.