NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 225: Can We Really Not Earn This Money?
TL: Etude
“We had agreed, didn’t we? After Christmas Eve, we would both forget about that incident.”
“Jiang Qin, dreams are beyond one’s control,” Feng Nanshu said pitifully.
Hearing this, Jiang Qin paused slightly, racking his brains but ultimately finding no argument to counter this point.
It wasn’t brought up intentionally; it was a dream. Can anyone actively choose what they dream about?
How annoying.
Eating what shouldn’t be eaten indeed leads to trouble.
But Feng Nanshu could shut him down so effectively with just a sentence. Was this really stupidity? It didn’t seem stupid at all.
Jiang Qin grew cautious and turned to observe the little rich lady. He saw her sipping through a straw, her eyes looking foolish.
“…”
“If you bring it up again, I’ll bite you till you cry next time.”
Feng Nanshu panicked a bit, involuntarily retracting her feet.
At that moment, Jiang Qin’s phone rang in his pocket. It was a call from his mother.
His thumb hovered over the answer button, his expression indecisive.
He seemed to have been busy with promotional activities for the Normal University and the University of Science and Technology since the start of the semester, completely forgetting to call home. His mother’s rant meter must be full by now.
Jiang Qin moved the phone a bit further away and pressed the answer button.
“You little rascal, completely out of touch since the semester began? It’s been over a month, not even a single call home?”
“Also, why is there an extra twenty thousand yuan in my account? Is your startup making so much money?”
“Jiang Qin, don’t be upset with your mom nagging. I just hope you focus on your studies. There will be plenty of opportunities to make money later. Don’t get involved in bad things outside.”
“…”
Jiang Qin, covering the microphone, turned to Feng Nanshu, “It’s my mom’s call, do you want to take it?”
“Yes.”
Feng Nanshu’s eyes shone brightly, recalling the scene where Yuan Youqin pampered her made her happy. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Jiang Qin pursed his lips, “Then I’ll give you my favorite time for parent-child interaction. In return, you can’t bring up the Christmas Eve incident again.”
“What if I can’t help it?” Feng Nanshu’s nose crinkled slightly.
“Try to hold back.”
Jiang Qin handed her the phone. Yuan Youqin, not hearing her son’s response and about to get angry, was instantly stunned when she heard a soft ‘Auntie’. (wait, forgot to say, but Auntie and Uncle is also what you call your parents-in-law in China)
“Nanshu? Why are you calling me now? I’ve missed you.”
“I don’t have your number. Jiang Qin won’t give it to me.”
“Wait till the summer break, come over to our house, and I’ll scold him in front of you.”
Jiang Qin, listening to Yuan Youqin’s sudden change in tone, was speechless. How much did his mother like the little rich lady? Just a call of ‘auntie’ and all her anger dissipated?
But indeed, his mother was something, inviting the little rich lady over for the summer holidays in just two sentences. Truly my mother!
Meanwhile, Gao Wenhui, sensing the opportunity from behind the counter, came over, her eyes gleaming, eavesdropping next to Feng Nanshu.
“What are you eavesdropping on?”
“I love to listen!”
Jiang Qin looked at Gao Wenhui, thinking how terrifying it was to meet someone who could ship anything and anyone. Then he strolled to the shop’s entrance, stretching under the evening’s fiery sunset.
From Tuesday to Thursday, Jiang Qin had taken a three-day break, which was now nearing its end.
Of course, many things were also coming to an end.
Like the beauty contests at the Normal University and the University of Science and Technology, and the group buying promotional campaign.
Everything, everything was proceeding methodically on its intended path.
…
In early April, the sun was tender, and spring was in full bloom.
The team from the Polytechnic University withdrew from the University of Science and Technology, handing over the operational business to the part-time student team of the University of Science and Technology.
At the same time, the Linchuan University team also withdrew from the Normal University, handing over the operational business to the part-time students there.
All the hustle and bustle began to settle into calm.
How to put it?
It was like attending a lively banquet, singing and dancing wildly, but once home, you were alone, waking up with only a headache after a night of revelry.
Many students, who had been zealously voting in the rankings, now found themselves aimlessly empty, leading them to ponder over life.
What does the title of top campus beauty have to do with me?
Even if the goddess gets numerous votes, she won’t spare me an extra glance. Why did I get so carried away?
Has my life changed because of this?
No, the goddesses remain goddesses, and the losers remain losers. Those without hope stay hopeless, and those without partners remain single. Everything seems unchanged.
However, for Jiang Qin, organizing four campus beauty contests had reshaped many things into the form he desired.
For instance, the consumption habits of university students had shifted from offline to online.
From September 2008 to April 2009, from Zhihu to contests, then to group buying platforms, Jiang Qin, step by step, captured the four universities. Finally, he successfully bound the consumer power of Linchuan University students together, forging the group buying platform.
How formidable was this power?
The students of the four universities didn’t know, the merchants on the pedestrian street didn’t know, and even the staff at 208 didn’t fully understand.
But there was one person who knew very well, and that was the logistics manager of Wanzhong Mall.
Whether it was Linchuan University, the Polytechnic University, the University of Science and Technology, or the Normal University, each had its pedestrian street with similar fruit shops, barber shops, and supermarkets…
But the group buying platform had only one mall channel, and that was Wanzhong.
Meaning, if students from these four universities wanted to buy something high-end or expensive through an online channel, it would all be orders from Wanzhong.
The combined consumption power of the four universities really opened the eyes of the logistics department manager, Xiao Dao.
On the morning of Qingming Festival, in the drizzling rain, He Yijun sat in his office listening to Yue Zhu reporting on the mall’s renovation progress.
“The basement level’s modification is 85% complete, and the supermarket has started trial operations.”
“The first floor’s modification is 54% complete, with Chow Tai Fook and Lao Feng Xiang in negotiations.”
“The second floor’s modification is at 32%.”
“The third floor’s modification is 76% complete, with the hotpot and bubble tea shops starting business.”
“The fourth floor…”
He Yijun frowned, “Wait, why is the progress on the second floor so slow? Who is in charge of this level?”
“It’s Luo Dawei, the logistics manager,” Yue Zhu said.
“Call him to see me!”
Three minutes later, Luo Dawei from the logistics department arrived at the top-floor office and immediately faced criticism from He Yijun.
He had borrowed a large sum of money from the bank for the mall’s renovation and had entertained various partners with drinks, expecting everything to be on track. But then, a manager’s dragging of feet was intolerable.
But as he scolded, Luo Dawei suddenly produced a sales report from the group buying platform, leaving He Yijun stunned.
“What’s this?”
“The group buying platform’s sales report for last month.”
“How much is the sales volume?”
“2,480,000 yuan…”
He Yijun was momentarily dazed, “Are you confused? I’m asking about the group buying platform’s individual sales volume.”
Luo Dawei swallowed nervously, “That’s what I’m talking about, the group buying platform’s individual sales.”
“You mean to say, the group buying platform helped us sell 2.5 million yuan worth of goods? Are you out of your mind? Our offline sales before the renovation were only about that much!”
Luo Dawei spread out the sales data on the table, “The spending power of those university students is incredibly strong. They really spend money when they have it. I know the progress on my floor is slow, but can we really afford not to earn this money?”
“…”
He Yijun carefully reviewed the sales report, stunned and unable to recover for a long time.
Wanzhong was the largest pure-sales mall in Linchuan!
How could a group buying channel match the sales of an entire mall? Was this some kind of joke?
“Boss, boss, are you alright?”
He Yijun took a while to snap out of it: “We definitely can’t miss out on earning this money, but even if the shipment volume has increased, your progress shouldn’t be this slow, should it?”
Luo Dawei sighed, “It’s not just about shipping, boss. To change our business model, we’ve almost completely cut down on pure sales, reducing our stock by 80%. The warehouse can’t keep up with the demand from the group buying platform. I’m swamped with not just shipping but also coordinating new stock.”
“So… in that case, since Old Zhao’s area is almost done, let him handle your floor, and you focus solely on the in-and-out logistics for the group buying platform!”
“Alright, boss!”
He Yijun pursed his lips, suddenly curious about something: “How much money does Jiang Qin make a month?”
Luo Dawei shook his head, “I don’t know, but I can make a rough estimate.”
“How do you estimate that?”
“With about two hundred thousand students across the four universities, even if only half of them use the group buying platform, that’s a hundred thousand people. Boss, you should know, Jiang Qin’s group buying has signed up all the merchants around the university town. Apart from eating in the canteen, anything they buy can be through group buying. If we assume each student’s living expenses are five hundred, with a hundred and fifty spent online, and take a 15% commission, his gross profit each month would be around one million yuan or more.”
He Yijun wasn’t really listening closely, but he couldn’t help picturing a scene in his mind.
Above the Linchuan University town, there was a giant meatball with ‘Group Buying’ written on it.
It extended countless blood vessels, connecting to the surrounding merchants and to Wanzhong.
Whenever a student made an online purchase, a portion of the nutrients would flow into the meatball through these vessels.
Students became lazier, online consumption increased, and the meatball grew fatter.
“First, create a popular forum among students, then cultivate a huge traffic pool through the campus beauty contests, and finally monetize this traffic through group buying, turning it into a massive money-making machine, both consuming and outputting.”
Luo Dawei twitched his lips, “Boss, ‘consuming and outputting’ is quite an image!”
He Yijun’s scalp tingled.
At first, when he approached Jiang Qin, it was purely for advertising in the university town. He had never imagined that this university student, full of smooth talk, could come up with such a thing.
The star student of Linchuan University, damn, truly lives up to the reputation!
“Alright, Manager Luo, you can go back now.”
“Okay, boss.”
Luo Dawei left the office, taking the elevator to the basement warehouse. He saw the workers preparing for the evening’s shipments, the whole place bustling.
Among them was a bald man named Ma Liang, nicknamed Brother Xiao Ma.
He had been arranging shipments since noon, busy until now, drenched in sweat, then sat in a corner to gulp down some water.
Brother Xiao Ma was a grassroots worker, not understanding what ‘reform’ meant.
His world was only about earning money to support his family, making sure they were fed and not hungry.
But since returning after the New Year, the logistics department had undergone major layoffs.
First, those in charge of the home appliances and furniture city were laid off, then those from the clothing factory…
He was terribly anxious at that time, spending a lot of money on two bottles of wine to inquire with Manager Zhang, fearing he would be laid off.
Manager Zhang told him that the mall was changing its business model and would no longer need as many delivery drivers. But he reassured him that he definitely wouldn’t be laid off.
Why?
Because he had taken on the logistics work for the group buying, luckily entering the safe zone.
“Because the group buying needs truck drivers, so the mall will still need you.”
Brother Xiao Ma immediately thought of the university student who had tricked him with two banners, and hurried home to harshly discipline his son, who had been planning to drop out of school.
Not for anything else, just because he had realized that knowledge was damn power!
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