Chapter 622: I’m Just a College Student!

The blue riders on the street multiplied quickly as Hungry Yet moved rapidly. The red ones started to dwindle.

Group-Buy Delivery, however, didn’t make many moves and continued to develop steadily within its existing market scope.

Such a response was good for Hungry Yet as it faced no resistance in market expansion. Yet, it was somewhat embarrassing for Zhang Xuhao.

Initially, when Group-Buy Delivery suddenly targeted the college student market, Hungry Yet went all out, pouring all its remaining funds into this venture, causing all college town stations to be highly tense.

However, when the situation reversed, Group-Buy had no such reactive measures.

It felt like when I stomp my feet in panic, he dismisses it with disdain.

“In Shanghai, 1,853 sign-ups, task exceeded.”

“In Kyoto, 2,467 sign-ups, task exceeded.”

“In Shanghai, this week’s sign-up tasks weren’t met, accepting punishment voluntarily…”

“In Guangzhou, 2,826 sign-ups…”

Company leaders steer the big picture, departments follow KPIs closely, Hungry Yet rolls forward like a rumbling carriage.

The balance that was nearly even began to tilt as consumers and riders gradually leaned towards the blue side.

Consumers are happy, and industry insiders watch the excitement.

Group-Buy has always been uncompromising in the service sector, now truly bitten by Hungry Yet, experiencing a thrill like a warrior battling a dragon.

As Hungry Yet maximizes exploitation in big city markets, even the unlicensed are helping build it brick by brick. Zhang Xuhao quickly starts to lay plans, targeting third and fourth-tier cities to secure a hundred new operating areas.

Group-Buy Delivery’s operations were affected, and their order volume gradually decreased.

At Baidu Delivery’s headquarters, formerly known as Sticky Rice Delivery, Robin and Luo Ping gauge his mood to be good through Yang Xueyu’s social feeds.

“Amazing, he’s still got the mood to write poems on social media.”

“This shows Hungry Yet is indeed thriving; otherwise, knowing old Yang’s personality, he’d be freaking out instead of enjoying leisurely poetry.”

“Maybe Hungry Yet could really achieve something big this time,” Luo Ping analyzed.

After listening, Robin nodded, “That’s possible, especially since Tencent and Alibaba have teamed up. What’s not possible then?”

“Too bad Baidu lacks backbone.”

The Luo brothers, like Chen Jiaxin, belong to the doers.

Are they afraid to compete with Group-Buy? Yes, they are; they felt cornered during their group-buy days, a sensation that still haunts them.

But watching battles all around while standing on the sidelines is also excruciating.

“Wonder what Jiang Qin is doing?”

“Apparently, he’s writing a paper.”

Luo Ping was stunned, “How do you know?”

Robin showed his phone screen displaying Jiang Qin’s social feed with pictures of him writing a thesis, captioned: “With a pen, I stabilize the world; with a horse, I set the universe.”

After reading, Luo Ping couldn’t help but marvel, “So, he’s graduating from college, huh? Damn, this guy is fresh out of school. Outrageous!”

By mid-May, the temperatures in Linchuan rose, the sunlight became exceptionally brilliant, and the campus filled with dense greenery as students transitioned to wearing short sleeves.

Meanwhile, the School of Finance was conducting its graduation defenses.

Students arrived early in the morning and took turns on stage, discussing their papers and answering questions from faculty advisors.

Jiang Qin’s thesis was on the impact of internet commerce on economic development. Initially, in April, he submitted only the title, but now he had completed the content. The presentation prepared by Feng Nanshu looked fresh and elegant.

Soon, the defense session officially began.

Faced with stern, occasionally frowning advisors, the first few students were quite nervous as the questioning and challenges were sharp, especially from competitive advisors looking to trap their colleagues’ students.

However, the atmosphere changed when it was Jiang Qin’s turn.

Suddenly, the previously stern advisors smiled and nodded frequently.

“Yes, he’s right.”

“Oh, this perspective is fresh. I haven’t researched this area before. I need to take good notes.”

“Although this part slightly conflicts with my academic theories, I’m willing to believe he’s correct.”

It seemed like he was teaching, and the audience took it like a class.

“Damn, Jiang really knows how to show off. I should’ve written about Hengtong Freight’s role in driving national economic development.”

Young master Cao grit his teeth, regretting losing his chance to impress.

Zhou Chao beside him shook nervously, “I just hope Professor Zhou is a thousandth as gentle when questioning me as he was with Brother Jiang.”

“Do you have a thousandth of Brother Jiang’s estate?”

“I weigh 1.5 times more than Brother Jiang…”

Jiang Qin’s defense went swiftly as the faculty advisors unanimously gave him top scores.

Normally, there would’ve been a summary session where advisors evaluated and advised on students’ papers, but it turned into the “examiner” learning from President Jiang’s paper, sparking new ideas.

The students in the audience were stunned.

Logically, college students love challenging authority, so they ought to have opinions on the dual standards of the examining committee.

But as they watched Jiang Qin step down from the stage, remembering this was the man who appeared on national news and famously discussed world-changing ideas with Jack Ma, they couldn’t help but admire him.

Because what he said could indeed be the future.

At that moment, Jiang Qin sat down next to his dormitory’s “Three Musketeers,” opened his computer, and rechecked his PowerPoint, frowning slightly.

During the data presentation, he noticed that every page turn triggered a special effect, and something flashed by too quickly to see clearly, but it seemed to have text on it.

Thinking it was Little Rich Girl’s operational error, he deleted some pages, made the background transparent, then discovered each slide had a hidden Easter egg.

[Go brother! Go brother!]

[Jiang Qin Feng Nanshu]

[Original watermark of Jiang’s family]

[Little Rich Girl big bear]

Jiang Qin couldn’t help but smile as he flipped through the pages.

Cao Guangyu leaned over, “What is it? Did it crash into my face?”

Jiang Qin barked, “Scram!” then snapped his laptop shut and pretended to ponder.

Usually, he would confront Little Rich Girl about why she aimed at his face, and she would blame Gao Wenhui while pretending to believe her.

Been busy lately, simplify the steps.

Damn you, Gao Wenhui, you’re losing a month’s pay!

After the defense, Jiang Qin went to the cafeteria. His secretary Wen Jinrui called to ask his location, then hurried over with a folder.

Wen Jinrui graduated last year and had been working at 208 for three years, growing much, her entire demeanor drawing closer to Wei Lanlan’s.

“Boss, Sister Tan Qing asked me to give this to you.”

“What is it?”

“Remember Super Delivery Man?”

“I know, the foreign brand, right? Discussed it with Lanlan before. What about it?”

As Wen Jinrui opened the folder, he spoke, “This platform has always struggled since entering China, initially misjudging the market, never really taking off.”

Jiang nodded, “China’s delivery market differs from abroad; focusing on the mass market is key. Targeting high-end delivery sets your own limits.”

“But there are still buyers, plenty of wealthy folks in China, so while it hasn’t grown big, its profits are high, making it the only profitable platform besides Group-Buy Delivery.”

“There’s always a crowd with more money than sense.”

Wen Jinrui took out the documents and spoke, “This morning, Super Delivery Man announced its merger into Hungry Yet, becoming its premium delivery brand. The integration is complete.”

Jiang paused, taking the documents and stared at them, his fingers slowly tapping on the metal cafeteria table.

Super Delivery Man’s major shareholder, Hurricane Investment, saw this as a poor move. Feng Shihua, distressed over this investment, had harshly criticized the person in charge of Super Delivery Man for not knowing how to spend money, calling him useless.

This investment was meant to sink without trace, and Feng Shihua had given up hope.

But after Meal Point was targeted by Group-Buy Delivery, Duan Wenzhao, pained over his efforts, found no buyers, so he packed up the platform and handed it to Hungry Yet in exchange for shares. This move, however, provided Feng Shihua with a new strategy.

Rather than letting Super Delivery Man rot to closure, scooping water with a sieved basket, better to join Hungry Yet’s ranks.

Hungry Yet welcomed the proposal eagerly, sending Yang Xueyu to Shanghai to discuss the collaboration in detail.

Because operating a high-end delivery brand alone wasn’t feasible, but with Super Delivery Man joining to combine low frequency with high frequency, driving high-end sales with volume, the field could potentially succeed.

You get a paycheck, a bonus, there’s always the desire to try high-end delivery.

Additionally, Hungry Yet’s brand has always been perceived as low-end, especially under its small workshop operation mode, giving a “shoddy” impression, a brand scale that never matched up to Group-Buy Delivery.

But with Super Delivery Man’s high-end channels joining, it effectively filled their service gap while also elevating their brand image.

Thus, the collaboration was a quick success.

After thoroughly reading the documents, Jiang looked up at Wen Jinrui, “Notify the managers of city branches; meeting in Linchuan on Wednesday.”

“Yes, boss.”

(The groundwork is done, but I feel the earlier writing wasn’t great. Will optimize it soon. Dear readers, your votes please!)