Chapter 658: More Sci-Fi Than Rebirth

As November ends, the days darken earlier. With the cold weather outdoors, Shallow Drinks sees a peak in customer traffic. Young Master Cao is swamped making money.

Meanwhile, the competition between Cloud Flash Pay and Alipay in the offline market has paused for now.

Alibaba has thrown its full weight into this year’s Singles’ Day event.

This Singles’ Day is longer than before, with more brands participating and more users ending up in tears from spending.

Many online shoppers were cleaned out by Boss Ma. Sales of meals under five yuan skyrocketed at Linchuan University’s cafeteria, while more expensive dishes plummeted.

A new phrase emerged online, “eating dirt,” meaning post-Singles’ Day, some are left with nothing but dirt to eat.

Alibaba also officially released Taobao’s trading data totaling 191 billion yuan, causing an uproar online.

Some media claim Taobao has made history.

Due to the ecommerce shopping festival frenzy, the entire delivery market is swelling. Various delivery brands take advantage, fiercely penetrating the market. Even Uncle from Hongrong Homes is now helping with parcel deliveries.

Due to festival traffic, Alipay’s user base has quickly surpassed that of Cloud Flash Pay, with nearly a million more users in just one week.

However, this figure is only temporary.

Shopping festivals don’t happen every day and consumers won’t go mad every month; they eventually return to their regular lifestyle.

Ordering deliveries, having meals together, Cloud Flash Pay’s user base remains strong and solid.

Therefore, these data fluctuations aren’t highly significant in the short term.

Jiang Qin had a late chat at Young Master Cao’s place last night, woke up, extricated his arms from the soft embrace of Left and Right, teased them a bit which elicited a moan from the sleeping little rich girl before pacing to the balcony to take in the view.

Various delivery vehicles are racing down the main roads, constantly heading towards the University district, piled high like small mountains.

College students truly are the main force in online shopping.

As Jiang Qin mused, Wang Haini entered with a pile of parcels, collapsing onto the sofa.

“Wang Haini, did you help me with the parcels?”

“Got them, the white one and the bigger SF Express one…”

Jiang Qin picked up a parcel, opened it to find Xiaomi’s latest phones sent by Lei Jun.

There was also a card included, addressed to President Jiang and Mrs. Jiang.

Other phone companies like Huawei, ZTE, HTC, Coolpad, Apple, and Samsung had also sent their latest models during this period.

This kind of business gifting is nothing unusual.

Everyone is saying Jiang Qin’s targeting Alibaba with Cloud Flash Pay, and he’s planning to dive into ecommerce soon. Building good relations with Group-Buy early is crucial for these phone brands reliant on online sales channels.

What would happen if phones were sold as quickly as food delivery?

Whether it will make money is uncertain, but in the arena of market competition, it’s definitely a powerful weapon.

Jiang Qin was handling a Xiaomi 2 when Wang Haini muttered, “I just went to the delivery station, it was almost maddeningly crowded. Why are so many people shopping online this year?”

“Times are evolving. In recent years, except for the food service industry, physical stores have been struggling. Wanzhong made massive efforts to reform, even risking closure for a year, all for this moment.”

“That makes sense. Half of the pure retail stores in my hometown closed this year, even the escalators are shut down. Naturally, I increasingly dislike shopping in person.”

As Wang Haini spoke, she picked up a parcel to open.

But as her eyes scanned the label and saw ‘temperature-sensitive, handle with care’, her face reddened and she casually set it aside.

Jiang Qin didn’t notice her subtle reaction and continued, “Physical stores face a harsh winter, especially for end retailers and shop owners. It’s going to be tough. 191 billion, that might have been the nationwide sales of physical stores before online shopping.”

“So what should they do?”

“Simple, they need to attach to malls or traffic-heavy business districts. It’s a survival of the fittest scenario but in the future, physical stores might serve more for advertising and experience.”

In 2008, Jiang Qin was scouting suppliers for a group buying project at Linchuan University which led him to meet He Yijun.

Back then, Wanzhong was a pure retail mall, from home goods and clothing to daily appliances, it had it all.

According to Old He, Wanzhong Mall was a landmark in the center of Linchuan.

But in less than four years, the whole environment changed.

Pure retail malls that fell behind suffered losses, only Wanzhong foresaw the wave and crazily transformed into a comprehensive mall in 2009, partnering deeply with Group-Buy.

Looking back from 2012, the subtle changes made were truly earth-shattering.

Meanwhile, He Yijun in Shanghai also saw the news about Taobao’s trading figures and the crowds at local delivery stations, sweating at the rapid changes.

Damn, it’s vicious. In 2011, Taobao’s shopping festival barely touched forty billion in sales, and in less than a year, it nearly quintupled.

Only those who witnessed this era could truly understand the risks in these social waves. Without changes, he would’ve been crushed…

The wave is fierce and wild, engulfing many.

Only those capable of riding the wave and leading the era, like the two Mas and Jiang Qin, can dominate.

Societal events lead to various public speculations. Soon, self-media shifted focus from the massive rise in online shopping to the difficulties faced by brick-and-mortar retail.

News outlets often broadcast about the overall decline in the physical economy, and how tough retail has become.

At this point, Wanzhong Group caught many people’s attention.

In recent years, the company has been known for its new construction and renovation projects of malls, gaining fame comparable to Wanda, especially with the Wanshanghui project which attracted wide attention from the start.

From an outsider’s perspective, this company seems magical.

In 2009, before ecommerce expanded greatly and while physical retail wasn’t yet heavily impacted, Wanzhong boldly cut its most profitable retail business to remodel, taking a year off.

Back then, many thought they were foolish.

But now, Wanzhong, in collaboration with Qin’s Real Estate in Shanghai, has become one of the most renowned brands in the comprehensive mall sector.

It doesn’t seem magical from the front, but looking back, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

As a result, a slew of media pursued Wanzhong, wanting to interview He Yijun and delve into why they daringly dived into transformation.

Wanzhong’s official response to the public was that the transformation was based on reflections on the era and to seek a better future for the company.

However, those in the circle knew that these official statements were for maintaining the group’s image, but the real reason was likely due to Jiang Qin.

After all, the second biggest shareholder of Wanzhong Group was Jiang Qin.

This conjecture made sense because, according to investigations, Wanzhong chose to transform when Group-Buy had just gained some fame in Linchuan.

After transforming, Wanzhong Mall also relied on Group-Buy coupons to generate traffic.

Thus, three years ago, Jiang Qin wasn’t just establishing Group-Buy; he laid out a grand strategy for Wanzhong Group to pursue comprehensive real estate development.

Most crucially, Qin’s Real Estate, initially a part of Feng Corporation, partnered with Wanzhong.

Rumors persist in the internet business and investment circles that Jiang Qin’s wife is the young miss of the Feng Corporation, but the two families seemed to harbor grudges.

Other details can’t be verified due to various reasons, but many have pieced together Jiang Qin’s journey.

Group-Buy dominated the online market and guided the development of comprehensive malls, then founded the Linchuan Business Alliance, corralling numerous brands, and established the Golden Phoebe Foundation for investment.

He alone directed the growth of three industries and laid two formidable strategies.

Online, Group-Buy leads; offline, comprehensive malls serve as the battlefield.

Back then, many thought he was just a college student good at websites and marketing, doch Jiang Qin’s foresight continues to astonish as more is uncovered.

“Had I known Jiang Qin was such a business talent, I surely wouldn’t have entered the group-buying war.”

“We were simply deceived, led by the nose to burn through the market only to realize it now.”

Right now, many old group-buying elites can’t help but sigh.

Even more anxious is Zhang Xuhao of Hungry Yet?.

Since they tightened their strategy and restructured, their market share dropped to about 28%.

But Zhang Xuhao remains composed as he waits for Pang Rui to integrate them with Alipay.

However, after seeing the rumors about Jiang Qin and Wanzhong Group, he’s slightly less stable.

It feels as if being on equal terms with a rival has revealed another impressive trait, challenging your beliefs but still forcing a sense of parity.

More affected is the internal strife at Feng Corporation.

Qin’s independence, failed investments, and struggling efforts make Feng Corporation uneasy.

Initially, hearing that Group-Buy’s CEO was Feng Shihua’s son-in-law hinted at a resurgent era for Feng Corporation, but the outcome was unexpected.

“I heard the current Mrs. Feng is Feng’s second wife.”

“Really? Wasn’t it said to be his first?”

“First my foot. It’s just a fabricated persona. It’s unclear what she used to ascend, but apparently, she wasn’t kind to Miss Feng—typical evil stepmother.”

“That explains it. I wondered why Feng’s son was so young. It turns out it’s a second marriage.”

“If not for this woman, Qin wouldn’t have become independent, and Linchuan brands wouldn’t have shunned our projects so vehemently.”

“Is this woman intent on ruining Feng Corporation single-handedly?”