Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 188 Lotus Cars' Escape: Alibaba's Passivity and Frustration

WeChat Farm is so popular, everyone with internet at home is playing it!
You can have a constant stream of diamonds and level up like crazy without spending any money, and even buy a Tibetan Mastiff!

Bite all the WeChat friends who steal your crops until they're bursting with gold coins!
That feeling was absolutely amazing!
Thus, these netizens discovered a new world.

Like Old Zhang from Fushou Village, they all actively promoted the products and enthusiastically helped their fellow villagers place orders.

Not for making money, but for diamond rebates!
As a result, Vipshop's orders for home appliances in rural areas surged rapidly.

On the fourth day of the "Home Appliances to the Countryside" program, orders in rural towns exceeded 2000 million yuan!
Vipshop's total daily transaction volume exceeded 1.1 million yuan!
This surprised Wang Junshan greatly:

"Vipshop's single-day transaction volume has exceeded 100 million? It even reached 110 million!"

"It's equivalent to JD.com's monthly GMV in just one day!"

Currently, JD.com's monthly transaction volume is only around 1 million yuan.

It's about the same as Vipshop's daily sales!

Wang Junshan's expression became quite interesting.

Shen Huaijin was also full of surprise: "It really is. Before, our daily transaction volume was stuck at around 90 million, and we could never break through 100 million."

"On the third day of the rural appliance subsidy program, sales have already exceeded 1.1 million yuan!"

"It can only be said that the rural appliance subsidy program has been incredibly effective, far exceeding expectations!"

"I never imagined there would be so many orders from rural towns! The daily transaction volume has exceeded 20 million!"

Looking at the data, Shen Huaijin was also shocked: "Although there are fewer internet users in rural towns, there are a lot of orders!"

"Look, one netizen placed sixty or seventy orders, which represents orders from half a village!"

For orders placed through the rural appliance subsidy program, household registration verification is required. The system can clearly see not only the recipient's information but also their place of household registration.

Wang Junshan looked up and saw that a consumer named Zhang Tianfeng had placed 78 orders!
There were 55 recipients, 55 mobile phone numbers, and 55 household registrations!
But all of them comply with the regulations!

“I strongly suspect that Zhang Tianfeng is buying the goods! His family runs an appliance supermarket, and he’s using the villagers’ household registrations to buy the goods. But a 13% subsidy doesn’t seem worth it.” Shen Huaijin was a little confused.

Wang Junshan laughed and said, "How could I possibly source the goods? There are probably only a few households in the whole village with internet access and computers. The villagers see that he buys them cheaply, so they all entrust him to place their orders."

"I see. But what's Zhang Tianfeng's motive? Was he just wasting his time?"

Shen Huaijin said, "Moreover, Zhang Tianfeng is not alone, but a group of people."

“You see, almost every village has a few kind-hearted people like this who help the whole village place orders.”

"That's why, on the fourth day, the online sales of home appliances in rural areas exceeded 2000 million yuan, and are still surging!"

"What do you think these people are after? Are they going to charge a service fee?"

Wang Junshan laughed: "Who knows? But I bet all these people are playing 'WeChat Farm'!"

"WeChat Farm!"

"Get diamonds back when you place an order!"

Shen Huaijin suddenly realized: "That's right, these people are really smart!"

"Take Zhang Tianfeng for example, 78 orders totaling 21698 yuan, and he directly received 21698 diamonds, which is equivalent to recharging 217 yuan!"

"That's equivalent to a week's income in the village!"

"I wouldn't normally spend money like this, but now it's all free, so I have to really enjoy the thrill of spending real money!"

"If it were me, I would also place orders for the whole village. If they don't place orders, I'll go to their homes and ask them!"

"Hahaha."

Wang Junshan was amused: "A rich woman like you doesn't need this much."

"Sigh, didn't I put myself in Lao Zhang's shoes?"

"If I were Lao Zhang, I would definitely do the same."

Wang Junshan smiled and said, "Very likely, very likely. However, we should encourage and support this kind of behavior."

"After all, diamonds are virtual currency, so it doesn't matter. But these orders are real orders, and the profits they bring are real money!"

"In this way, for the sake of simplicity, the original rebate system remains unchanged at 1:1. For every dollar spent, one diamond is rebated."

"If you reach a certain spending amount each month, you'll receive an extra diamond rebate gift pack at the beginning of the following month!"

"Spend 1000 in a month and receive an extra 100 diamonds."

"Spend 2000 in a month and receive an extra 300 diamonds."

"Spend 10000 in a month and receive an extra 2300!"

"Spend 100000 in a month and receive an extra 30000!"

……

Shen Huaijin beamed: "This is a great idea. It can greatly motivate people to place orders."

"Make the arrangements and get it done as soon as possible."

"it is good."

The next day, the extra diamond gift pack with rebates was launched, and enthusiastic netizens in the towns were completely excited!
This is practically a benefit tailor-made for them!
These days, who can spend 10 or 15 yuan a month on online shopping?

It's unrealistic, absolutely unrealistic!
But Lao Zhang can!

Behind him are more than 300 households and over a thousand people in the entire Fushou Village!
Zhang Tianfeng opened his calculator, did a quick calculation, and beamed with delight:

"I helped my fellow villagers place orders over four days, totaling 20,000 yuan. That would be 150,000 yuan a month, no, it might not be that much later, let's say 100,000 yuan!"

"You'll get 100,000 diamonds back, plus an extra 30,000, for a total of 130,000 diamonds!"

"There are so many diamonds, we can't possibly spend them all, we simply can't spend them all!"

“That’s great!”

"If you reach 15 in spending, that's 20 diamonds!"

"I have to work hard, not only to help with orders in my own village, but also to try to get orders from neighboring villages."

"It's not far away."

"20 diamonds to play 'WeChat Farm' is really awesome."

"With all this fertilizer buying, I'm bound to become the number one friend!"

"Hahaha!"

With that in mind, Old Zhang hopped on his little scooter and headed straight for the village committee of the neighboring village with a beaming smile.

Similar scenes are playing out in towns and villages across the country.

Even on many university campuses.

Many users of "WeChat Farm" have learned to be more careful with their money.

Which crops offer the most gold coins and the best value for money?

Which crops will level you up the fastest?

They were all calculated.

I racked my brains to upgrade.

Now, in order to get more diamond incentives, I'm going all out to help my fellow villagers, and even those in neighboring villages, place orders.

This has caused Vipshop's orders for home appliances in rural areas to surge again.

On the sixth day, the number of visitors to townships exceeded 3000 million, and Vipshop's total transaction volume for the day exceeded 1.2 million!
On the eighth day, the number of people in rural towns exceeded 4000 million, and Vipshop's total transaction volume for a single day exceeded 1.3 million!
This scene pleased Wang Junshan greatly.

The "Home Appliances to the Countryside" program saw a surge of about 40% in sales on offline platforms, but online sales grew even faster!

There's no way around it; as the sole monopolistic platform, Vipshop simply makes the most money.

In addition, Little Duck washing machines sold out completely. Daily orders surged from 1.2 to over 2 units.

The 608 twin-cylinder model, in particular, sold up to 8000 units in a single day due to its extremely low price.

As a result, both the Little Duck Factory and Xinle Electric Appliances had to operate at full capacity.

The sales of Little Duck's fully automatic pulsator wheel are even more astonishing, with daily sales exceeding 1 units!

Unfortunately, the Little Duck fully automatic pulsator washing machine is priced at 999 RMB during Vipshop's 8% off promotion, which is half the price of Haier's.

With the current rural appliance subsidy program, an additional 13% subsidy brings the total to 869!

It’s too cheap.

It's only a little over 200 yuan more expensive than a twin-cylinder engine.

As a result, many users in rural towns are directly buying Little Duck's fully automatic pulsator washing machine.

It's not a big deal if it's a little over two hundred.

Many city dwellers also have their relatives and friends in rural towns place orders and then ship the goods back to them.

This led to a rapid increase in Little Duck's popularity, and offline sales exploded.

Customer traffic at Little Duck specialty stores has more than doubled.

As a result, major distributors have begun placing orders.

The "Home Appliances to the Countryside" program is aimed at the lower-tier markets.

Haier's twin-cylinder 1200 still costs 1044 even after subsidies, which is still very expensive for users in rural areas.

Especially compared to the Peugeot 608's twin-cylinder engine, the difference is too great.

Most people have switched to buying baby ducks.

This led to Little Duck washing machines becoming a huge hit both online and offline, with daily revenue exceeding 2000 million yuan. Next month's monthly revenue is expected to reach 7 million yuan, with a profit of 2 million yuan. Vipshop will also earn tens of millions more in commission!

This isn't much for the future of technology.

But for a company that was originally on the verge of bankruptcy, it went from years of losses and being on the verge of bankruptcy to turning around in just one month to monthly revenue of 7 million and profits of over 2 million!
This is absolutely terrifying!
More importantly, this is just the beginning.

The Little Duck models currently on sale are all basic versions.

The latest fully upgraded model has been completed and has been included in the list of products eligible for the rural appliance subsidy program.

It is currently in full-speed mass production via three pilot production lines.

It will be fully launched in a few days, at which time revenue and profit margin will also increase dramatically!
After all, the price of the new model is not a bargain at 699 or 999, but a proper mid-range product!
While Future Technology is making great strides, Alibaba is facing a series of setbacks.

Lu Qinghuai, president of Alibaba's investment department, is busy negotiating investments with STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express, but he is running into obstacles everywhere.

This made Lu Qinghuai so angry he wanted to grind his teeth.
"Damn those four express delivery companies, they're asking for exorbitant prices, and things are going very difficult for me."

"Making exorbitant demands?" Jack Ma frowned. "Even with the financial crisis, they're still making exorbitant demands? Aren't they afraid that the logistics industry will grow bigger and swallow them up in the future?"

Lu Qinghuai shook his head: "The four major express delivery companies (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express) are not afraid at all. On the contrary, they saw that Alibaba was being crushed by Vipshop and had no choice but to invest in the four major express delivery companies to integrate their resources and fight against Vipshop and Future Logistics. As a result, the four major express delivery companies took the opportunity to raise prices!"

"So that's how it is. These bastards were sure they could take us down!"

"Yes, that's what they think."

"Great! Even the four major express delivery companies are bullying Alibaba. Excellent!"

Jack Ma slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"That's why it's very difficult for us to integrate the resources of STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express, and the money required to acquire shares is also very high."

Lu Qinghuai said with a sigh, "It's not even as good as Future Logistics, which directly invested 5 billion to build its own warehousing and logistics facilities."

Jack Ma waved his hand: "It's tough. In everything, the first person to try something new always makes a fortune."

"We have already built our own logistics system and secured the most favorable policies."

"It's too late for us to follow up now. At the very least, those twelve first- and second-tier cities won't give us such high preferential policies anymore, and the other cities don't have that kind of strength either."

"Building our own warehousing and logistics is no longer feasible, so let's continue acquiring shares in STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express!"

Lu Qinghuai frowned: "That makes sense, but we have to accept that the major express delivery companies like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express are taking advantage of our misfortune and raising prices on the spot! This is just too damn frustrating!"

“This is indeed a big problem!” Jack Ma fell into deep thought, then changed the subject:
"We can't let them control us; we can change our strategy."

"We've changed our investment strategy from five companies (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express) to two or three. Integrating the resources of two or three companies is sufficient."

"Chairman, that was a brilliant move!"

Lu Qinghuai's eyes lit up: "Three peaches kill five warriors!"

"Of the five logistics companies, STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express, we have invested in three. With Alibaba's full support, the three companies we have invested in are bound to develop rapidly, while the remaining two can only continue to decline."

"In this situation, all five logistics companies want to be among the three that receive investment, so they will all take the initiative to lower their prices! They will no longer dare to ask for exorbitant prices."

"Okay, get it done, get it sorted out as soon as possible, and integrate it quickly. Taobao Mall's logistics efficiency is lagging behind Vipshop's and must be completely improved!"

"Jack Ma said."

“Okay, once the warehousing and logistics of the three logistics companies are integrated, the delivery time of small items on Taobao and Tmall can be greatly improved. Although it is not as good as SF Express, it can be shortened from more than a week to three or four days.”

"But what about large items in logistics?"

“This…” Jack Ma sighed.

Integrating three of the four major express delivery companies (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express) can only speed up small-item logistics; it's still useless for large-item logistics.

The best solution would have been to strategically invest in Haier RRS, using Haier RRS logistics for large items, which offers integrated delivery and installation services, nationwide coverage, and even door-to-door delivery to villages.

However, with RRS receiving strategic investment from Wang Junshan, Alibaba has no chance.

"If things don't work out with RRS, we'll have to take a more roundabout approach. We'll invest in a high-quality large-item logistics company to improve the efficiency of large-item delivery. As for installation, let the brand handle that."

"Sigh, that's all we can do," Lu Qinghuai said helplessly.

Alibaba now feels frustrated and passive.

Lotus Motors is another example of struggling business!
Faced with Jeju's stringent requirements, Lotus Motors was stunned to be asked to sign a performance-based agreement.

Seeing that there was no profit to be made, he left without saying a word.

It's a Ponzi scheme from the start, how could they dare to sign a betting agreement?

They decided to return to Hangzhou and continue focusing on the Xiaoshan Industrial Park.

Youngman Lotus Automobile is registered in Hangzhou.

There is no doubt that Hangzhou has also voluntarily gone bankrupt.

Therefore, Lotus Cars began contacting other cities to see if there were any unsuspecting buyers...

Mayor Zhao was thrilled, but Secretary Song broke out in a cold sweat.

The situation has developed to this point, and everything is already quite clear.

Lotus cars are a huge rip-off!

A bottomless pit!
I almost fell for it.

Although Secretary Song escaped a disaster thanks to Mayor Zhao's reminder.

However, because of this incident, the provincial authorities had a lot of opinions about him, feeling that he was not mature enough...

The road has narrowed.

On the contrary, Mayor Zhao's overall perspective was unanimously recognized.

After all, Mayor Zhao could have simply pretended not to know anything and let Secretary Song fall into the trap, resulting in heavy losses for Jizhou and even Shandong Province, while Mayor Zhao would have a bright future.

However, Mayor Zhao, for the sake of Jizhou and the development of Shandong Province, still directly proposed to turn the tide.

The road has widened!
(End of this chapter)