Age of Legends

Chapter 214 Face
In 2001, Zhao Tao had already opened an arcade and an internet cafe. To outsiders, he seemed to be ahead of the curve. But in reality, he simply followed the trend by paying attention to the news and observing the outside world. He would only act accordingly after seeing the changing tides. In fact, he was just going with the flow and being led by the tide.

It wasn't until the establishment of Shengfeng that he seemed to truly stand at the forefront for the first time, finding a solid foundation that could truly put his mind at ease, and enabling him to forge ahead on his own.

But in reality, things aren't so easy to navigate. The current express delivery business is in a gray area. In theory, letters are postal express, belonging to the national postal service, and private express companies shouldn't be able to get involved. But in reality, many things are done in this unconventional way, which is why Zhao Tao's shops are all located far from the post office. Delivering a package is like a clandestine rendezvous.

Zhao Tao was full of enthusiasm, but Zhang Chen knew that this road would not be as easy as he had imagined.

The initial target of 300 packages on the first day was achieved, and the morale of Zhao Tao's team was high. Zhang Chen did not say anything to discourage them, because these days it's not easy to promote the concept of private express delivery in Rongcheng.

When FedEx was founded in the United States, it was much larger than any private courier company today, but it only had fourteen small planes. On its first day, one plane took off, carrying only seven packages. It faced losses from the very beginning and even faced a break in its cash flow. How long did this period last? It took two years before it finally turned a profit.

The same situation occurred in domestic express delivery companies. Yuantong also turned a profit in two years, but it was only after the rise of Taobao e-commerce that it truly achieved leapfrog development.

The same logic applies. Did Shengfeng really expect to make money so quickly after its establishment? It's basically impossible. From operating an online network to gaining widespread public acceptance of express delivery, this process takes years. With Zhao Tao's internet cafe supporting them, and with occasional financial support from themselves, Zhang Chen only hopes that they won't lose too much money before the turnaround period arrives.

But we can't just not do it.

If Zhao Tao doesn't establish a foothold in the Southwest now, when the major express delivery companies like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express come to dominate the market, he'll only be able to be absorbed into a franchisee, left with nothing but scraps.

At least we've managed to hold on, and there's still a possibility of a division of power.

Sometimes Zhang Chen felt he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go along with it.

……

Qin Tangxi has been feeling uneasy lately. Since the last time, her older sister hasn't contacted her for a long time. Sometimes Qin Tangxi would send her text messages to ask about her situation, but she would only receive a cold and indifferent reply.

Qin Tangxi felt that there must be something wrong with her older sister, but she didn't dare to investigate.

This afternoon after school, Qin Tangxi was having lunch with her friends in the cafeteria when she spotted Pei Yan entering from afar. Several girls at the same long table were swooning over Pei Yan, exclaiming, "It's Pei Yan!"

Pei Yan's family is wealthy, he is very ambitious, and he is handsome. He has always been known as the school's most handsome boy at the Foreign Languages ​​School.

“I saw on the forum last week that quite a few girls from other schools were asking about Pei Yan.”

"Don't even mention it, even female college students come to see him! What, are all the male students from teachers' colleges toads?"

"Hey, he's looking over here!"

"Stop looking, don't let him see us!" A group of girls glanced at Pei Yan, but were too embarrassed to let him see them, so they immediately panicked.

Many girls wrote love letters to Pei Yan, and some even confessed their feelings to him in person. Private schools like the Foreign Language School are mostly run by wealthy families. Although the academic atmosphere is decent, there is no shortage of competition and girls of the same age who are more fashionable and even more mature. Someone like Pei Yan would definitely be pursued, but he has always handled things very well.

These girls were certainly not the usual outgoing or flamboyant types; they were quite shy, wanting to see Pei Yan but afraid of being discovered by him—like young girls in the throes of first love.

Qin Tangxi waved to Pei Yan from a distance, calling out, "Brother Pei! Brother Pei Yan!"

Pei Yan would also nod in response to Qin Tangxi's direction.

This drew surprised and bewildered glances from the girls nearby, which always gave Qin Tangxi a considerable sense of vanity. Pei Yan had just finished eating and bought two ice cream cones. He came to Qin Tangxi's table, where Qin Tangxi had also just finished eating. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Pei Yan handed her the ice cream.

"Ha, you bought this for me? Thank you, Brother Pei Yan!" Qin Tangxi's voice was practically stuck in her throat.

Qin Tangxi and Pei Yan walked out of the cafeteria side by side, attracting countless glances.

"How's your sister doing lately?" Pei Yan asked casually as they walked. "Has she told you anything about her situation at school?"

Qin Tangxi replied, "Ha, it's alright, I haven't been in much contact with her lately..."

Thinking of the rumors she had heard, Qin Tangxi tilted her head slightly and asked, "Brother Pei Yan... is there something going on between you two?"

Pei Yan paused for a moment. He and Qin Tangxi left the cafeteria and walked in the garden. They were spotted from a distance, and some people murmured and peered at them. He ignored them and said, "Last time we went out to play, some minor issues arose. I wonder if she has resolved them yet."

What's going on? Qin Tangxi pricked up her ears.

Pei Yan smiled again, "But it's nothing."

"Oh, okay." Qin Tangxi nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "If you're worried... why don't you take some time to visit my sister at Yude?"

Pei Yan laughed and said, "Heh, let's talk about it another time."

Little did she know that Qin Tangxi's heart was already pounding. Her words, "If you're worried," had a lot of hidden meanings. What could she possibly be worried about? What reason could Pei Yan have to be worried? The only reason was that his relationship with her older sister was unusual—ambiguous, affectionate, and so on.

To everyone's surprise, Pei Yan didn't refute it, simply saying, "We'll talk about it when we have time." Wasn't that tacit agreement? Goodness gracious, Qin Tangxi is really something; she feels like she's gone to great lengths to bring the two of them together.

I obediently went to the teaching building, but on the way there, I was surrounded by some girls asking me questions.

"Qin Tangxi, did your sister Shen Nuoyi and Pei Yan really know each other since they were little?"

"Are your sister and Pei Yan's family business partners? Or are they your sister's upstream suppliers? Is it true?"

"Pei Yan even bought you ice cream! Are your sister Shen Nuoyi and him getting closer? Are they together? Just say it!"

Seeing all these inquiries, Qin Tangxi couldn't be more smug. Many students in the foreign language school were wealthy and powerful. Even though Qin Tangxi was from a wealthy family, she didn't have a strong presence. In terms of fashion sense, there were others who knew how to dress better than her. In terms of looks, there were others who were more beautiful. And her family background wasn't the best either; her parents couldn't spend much time with her. Compared to those flowers carefully nurtured and watered by their parents, she paled in comparison.

But this is the only time she can outshine those people and gain more attention.

She was even more determined to hope that Pei Yan and Shen Nuoyi would get married, so that she could properly call him "brother-in-law" wherever they went in the future!

The most handsome guy at the foreign language school is her brother-in-law.

That would be so prestigious!

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There will be more later.

(End of this chapter)