"...But now, Taoxun has launched Taoxun Direct Sales, which will become the main business of Shunda Express in the future. They have achieved an internal circulation, and Feitong's price war will not harm Shunda Express at all! Moreover," Yao Hongbo's expression turned more solemn, "Feitong is still suppressing prices and engaging in a price war. It has instead become a wound for us at Qianbai, requiring continuous blood transfusion!"
Everyone immediately began to discuss heatedly. It was clear that Yao Hongbo's words had struck a chord with them.
Their support for Feitong's price war was nothing more than a desire to contend with Qi Xuan behind Ye Zhi. Qi Xuan was very rich, but would he be willing to spend money for Ye Zhi for half a year?
But who knew that they couldn't even touch Qi Xuan's fringes. Ye Zhi had directly feigned an attack and started direct sales!
For users, the difference between four or five days for express delivery was indeed not significant. However, the appeal between two days and five days was entirely different!
Even more troublesome was that Shunda didn't need Qi Xuan to spend money; it even helped Ye Zhi make money. But Feitong required them to spend money!
Feitong's extremely low express delivery prices were not enough to cover warehouse, logistics, and labor costs. They had to pour money into it!
Spending money was not a problem, but spending money should yield results, right? No matter how much money they had, they couldn't just throw it away! Besides, even throwing it into water would at least make a sound!
What pained them the most was that Feitong had already announced that prices would not increase within six months! Were they really going to supply Feitong with blood for half a year? They hadn't even seen any returns from investing in Qianbai, and now with Feitong added, even with more people, they couldn't sustain it!
The investors argued for a long time without reaching any conclusion.
Jin Kaiyuan's face was grim as he spoke, "Hongbo, can Taoxun really achieve next-day delivery?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Yao Hongbo replied cautiously, "but based on my current investigation, Taoxun has built large smart warehouses in first-tier cities. Judging by the radiation range of the warehouses, achieving next-day delivery to surrounding cities should not be a major problem."
"Is there any way to prevent them from achieving it?!" Jin Kaiyuan asked coldly.
Yao Hongbo looked at him blankly. "Director Jin, warehouses are key facilities for Taoxun and are surely guarded by dedicated personnel. The logistics are also Taoxun's own. How could we prevent them from achieving it?"
"Hmph! Maybe there's a way?" Jin Kaiyuan snorted and fell silent.
Yao Hongbo's eyelids twitched. Was Jin Kaiyuan planning to do something foolish?
Just as he was about to say more, he heard Zhan Li ask, "Hongbo, what do you think we should do next?"
Yao Hongbo was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Director Zhan, in my personal opinion, Qianbai must make a decisive move now and cut its losses immediately. We should withdraw investment from Feitong and focus on operating Qianbai's online shopping business. The online shopping market is vast. As long as we proceed steadily, we will definitely profit..."
"Yao Hongbo! Who do you belong to? Why are you boosting others' morale and dampening our own!" Su Ming said impatiently.
Yao Hongbo: ...
Fine, he knew. He just wouldn't speak anymore, alright?
The investors discussed again, but they couldn't reach any conclusion.
Withdraw investment from Feitong? Wouldn't that be completely admitting defeat to Taoxun?
Like Taoxun, do direct sales too? But with Qianbai and Feitong already draining their resources, did they have to build another direct sales system?
Setting aside the financial issues, by the time they got their direct sales up and running, wouldn't Taoxun have already captured most of the market? Would they continue to be the eternal second place, following behind Taoxun?
***
Late at night, Ye Zhi returned to the villa. She went to the balcony and habitually looked across.
The light in Qi Xuan's bedroom was still on. Qi Xuan was sitting at his desk, with a computer in front of him, seemingly busy with something.
As if sensing her gaze, Qi Xuan looked up and saw her.
He got up and walked to the window, opening it. "Why are you back so late today?"
Ye Zhi smiled and said, "I went to Ruoqing's new house and brought her some gifts..."
Qi Xuan: ...
She was truly benevolent, giving gifts to everyone, wasn't she?
"...She originally wanted me to stay overnight. But just now, her father called her and said they had finished their meeting and wanted her to come home to clarify some things, so I came back," Ye Zhi continued.
"It seems Taoxun's major move is truly extraordinary. I fear that for your sake, many families in Kyoto will have conflicts tonight," Qi Xuan teased.
Ye Zhi blinked her eyes. "You mustn't say such things. What does this have to do with me, an ordinary little woman? This must be because those families' elders and children lack communication! By the way, Coach Qi, are we still exercising tonight?"
"It's very late today. You should get some rest," Qi Xuan said with a low laugh, his voice gentle.
"Okay." Ye Zhi agreed. Just as she was about to return to her bedroom, her phone suddenly rang.
After answering the call, her face was filled with shock and bewilderment. Even after hanging up, she remained in a state of disbelief.
Qi Xuan frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "Did something happen?"
"Well, the supervisor of Taoxun's Kyoto warehouse just called me and said that someone tried to sneak into the warehouse but was caught by security. However, when the police arrived, they discovered that the person was Jin Kaiyuan, an investor from Qianbai," Ye Zhi said, utterly confused. "I'm a bit bewildered. Why would he personally go to the warehouse to break in? Couldn't he have hired someone else? Does this mean this is the real business war?"
Qi Xuan: ...
He had never witnessed such a bizarre event.
"It seems we need to strengthen warehouse security in the future," Qi Xuan said after a moment of thought. "As for this incident, perhaps he had too much to drink."
"Your guess is spot on!" Ye Zhi came back to her senses. "According to the security guards, Jin Kaiyuan seemed to have drunk quite a bit. He was acting suspiciously and staggering, which is why they caught him so easily."
Qi Xuan: ...
He had just said it casually.
"However, this is undoubtedly another blow to Qianbai's morale," Ye Zhi smiled faintly. "I hope the other investors don't take it too much to heart! If possible, I'd actually like to call and offer my condolences."
"Do you need me to provide their contact information?" Qi Xuan chuckled.
"No need, I'd better go to sleep now," Ye Zhi said with a giggle. "Anyway, they must know by now."
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Ye Zhi turned and went back to her room.
Ye Zhi's guess was correct. Several investors were having 'friendly discussions' with their children at home when they suddenly received news that Jin Kaiyuan had broken into Taoxun's warehouse and was caught on the spot, then sent to the police station.
They were all at a loss as to how to react. What made them even more speechless was that the incident appeared on the headlines of various websites that very night.