Back to the prime of life

Chapter 203 The Smell of Money
"This young CEO Lu is quite interesting." In another car, the discussion about Lu Changge continued.

Liu Qiangdong knew that the assistant was referring to the payment cooperation proposed by Lu Changge.

In all aspects of e-commerce, there is actually something even more important than logistics: payment.

The later emergence of payment software was not the stroke of genius of any one person, but rather a result of the pressure to develop e-commerce.

Younger people are generally unaware of the inconvenience and risks involved in making payments when shopping online early in the morning.

Although there are various advertorials with nostalgia as their theme, recalling the trust between strangers in the past of "paying directly to the bank first and then receiving the goods".

However, anyone with basic common sense knows that this payment model is commercially meaningless because there is no way to ensure that sellers ship goods after receiving payment, making large-scale application impossible.

Moreover, back then, bank transfers required a trip to the bank, and even after online banking was developed, it remained just as complicated. For example, activating online banking required a trip to the bank, and when making a payment, one had to manually enter the seller's bank account information.

People who are used to Alipay and WeChat Pay, can they imagine having to enter their account information every time they shop online? Also, online banking payments require a U-shield or dynamic password card, and the process involves multiple redirects. With so many redirects, the final payment success rate is only 60%.

The complexity is so great that just reading about it makes my head spin, let alone actually trying it out.

And this is still a relatively advanced payment method; other methods, such as cash on delivery and postal remittance, are much more difficult to implement.

Therefore, payment is a problem that people in e-commerce must always solve.

Later, in an interview, Mr. Liu recalled that they were very clear that payment was a huge opportunity, absolutely certain. The only reason they didn't pursue it was because after investing in logistics, they dared not invest in other areas.

As things stand, Alipay has indeed existed for six years, but it still has many problems during this period.

One issue is the limited number of supporting banks; many local banks have not joined.

Secondly, the payment process relies on bank interfaces, resulting in poor system stability and a tendency to crash during peak periods.

Third, and most importantly, many people are still concerned about the security of their funds when developing online payments. Because it involves ordinary people's assets, the government cannot legislate to support it. Otherwise, if businesses operate entirely within the law, who would be responsible if problems arise?
Therefore, the government cannot legislate; it will deliberately leave it to the market to experiment and see. If it works, then it will support the market after standardization. If it doesn't work, well, who do you think it is?

In other words, this matter actually falls into a legal gray area. Nothing serious happened afterward, but if a system crashed and most users' funds were affected, the boss could potentially go to jail.

As far as Lu Changge remembers it, the first batch of payment licenses were not officially issued until 2011.

So there are still opportunities during this period.

As for bringing this up with Liu Qiangdong, there are ample reasons for cooperation.

Ultimately, payment software also needs users, and JD.com has a bright future. Just by capturing this segment, it can support a payment software of a certain scale.

He just hadn't seen Mr. Liu's later interviews, so he didn't know why Mr. Liu hadn't done it then.

In addition, Lu Changge also has a dream of creating a social networking app, which will definitely have a built-in payment function, so he has to plan ahead.

As for Boss Liu himself, he had just listened to Lu Changge boasting for a while in the office. On the one hand, he was somewhat surprised that this guy's industry insights had once again exceeded his expectations, and on the other hand, he was also somewhat conflicted.

I really wanted to do it, because everyone, whether human or ruthless, could see it as an opportunity at this point. But the company had just emerged from the ICU, and the heavy investment cycle in logistics was not yet over, so I rationally felt that I shouldn't do it.

After this back-and-forth struggle, he could only back down a little at most, and a basic stance and viewpoint emerged: "Regarding payment, even if we want to cooperate, it can only be based on his position. If it works out, JD.com won't have completely missed this opportunity. The combination of payment software and JD.com will have many possibilities in the future. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out; we can't shake our own foundation."

The assistant said, "But there are almost no things with very low risk and very high returns. That young Mr. Lu also seems to be an extremely intelligent person."

Mr. Liu sighed, "Of course."

He had to sigh, of course, because he was truly tempted.

Just a few tens of minutes ago, Lu Changge was exaggerating the prospects of third-party payment software, saying that in the future, payment scenarios could be extended to life bill payments, forming an ecosystem of payment + life services, which would not be a simple software but a life portal.

Furthermore, as a platform for temporary storage of funds between buyers and sellers, once it reaches a certain scale, it becomes a massive pool of funds. The potential for this to become truly enormous is worth imagining.

"By the way, how is that young lady Han doing at work?"

The assistant turned his head from the passenger seat, held up his phone, and said, "I'm already asking. I'll also look at last year's assessment."

"Okay, if it's suitable, promote him."

……

……

"So, who is that woman who came with you?" Han Jiayi was still gossiping on Lu Changge's side, and suddenly felt the excitement of a junior employee being able to learn about the things happening around the boss.

"Xu Huiya. The vice president of Titanium Capital, a woman who can decide on investment projects up to 100 million yuan."

Upon hearing this, Han Jiayi's eyes lit up. "Wow, that's amazing. Did she come here today to invest in our company?"

Actually, this kind of question and information is quite sensitive, but Lu Changge wouldn't bother with her. She probably doesn't quite understand yet.

"Without a final investment agreement signed, nothing is valid, but there should be hope. From now on, your company should have a smooth road ahead."

"I'm just an employee, I don't care about this. I never expected that after such a short time, that cold and unromantic junior of mine would be seen with such a person."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Lu Changge out of the corner of her eye.

She remembered when they were in school, there was a water crisis caused by an algae bloom. At the time, she just thought this boy was smart and didn't like to do boring things or say irresponsible things like other boys. But she never expected that this scene would appear in her life today.

Therefore,
I can finally rely on him to vent my anger.

"Life is full of unexpected turns. I started by opening a Taobao shop to earn some pocket money. Later, I got a little bolder and thought I could save up enough to get married. I thought I would be able to support my family and make a living in the future. But I never thought I would end up like this today."

However, we've been friends for a long time, so let's not talk about worldly fame and fortune. I haven't even asked you yet, but even though your boss didn't like you, you insisted on staying. So, how have you been doing so far?

"I didn't insist on staying, it's just that I've always been a bit slow-witted, and it's hard to change once I'm used to a certain state. As for working here, Manager Qu is quite annoying, but fortunately, that General Manager Zhang doesn't get along with her, so he won't let her do whatever she wants."

"I remember Mr. Zhang likes you very much. Does he take good care of you?"

She paused slightly upon hearing Lu Changge's words, turned to look at him, and said softly, "Do you want to know?"

"Why would I ask if I didn't want to know?"

Han Jiayi felt a surge of happiness and shook her head, saying, "He's a leader, and I'm just a nobody. I'm willing to lose this job, but he isn't. Plus, he doesn't know what Manager Qu might do if he gets extreme, so it's actually not so bad. Of course, this kind of thing is still uncomfortable. And it's not without its advantages. Someone confessed to me a while ago, but after hearing some gossip, he backed down. And..."

Lu Changge asked a simple question, but Han Jiayi seemed to have endless things to say.

Looking back, she was actually the kind of person with a rather indifferent personality, and she rarely had any emotional ups and downs.

Perhaps they've just gotten to know each other better.

"As expected, only good-looking people have youth, while ugly people only have life. Our Chairman Han is always the center of attention wherever he goes."

"Pfft, what are you talking about? What does youth have to do with being good-looking? But I don't know why, when I was in college, there were actually relatively few people who confessed to me, but after I started working, it completely changed. It feels like the guys here are much bolder than in college."

Lu Changge actually knew why.

Because at Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology, she was the president of the student union. Although she wasn't a high-ranking official in essence, she could still impress students. With her good looks and the position of president, many boys would automatically back down.

But once she entered society, her halo disappeared. She was neither from a prestigious university nor from a prominent family; she was just an ordinary recent graduate with a bachelor's degree, working an ordinary job. She was also beautiful, so naturally, many people were interested in her.

However, saying such things is rather unpleasant.

Lu Changge used a high-EQ approach, saying, "Perhaps it's because you exude a special charm at work."

Overwhelmed by his praise, Han Jiayi lost control of her emotions again. She wanted to laugh but forced herself to hold it in, and her hands clasped together in a jumble of shapes. "Nonsense... But even though many people confess their feelings to me, I still sometimes feel lonely and lost."

Outside the car window, the city lights flickered, people rushed about, and the flow of cars and people was dazzling. It was a bustling city, but she didn't feel a sense of belonging at all.

The city is too big.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm not as successful as you, and I don't make as much money, so that's why I act this way."

Lu Changge laughed and said, "Actually, that's not how it is, but when people are broke, they can take what you just said as an answer."

"why?"

"To lament one's loneliness is simply to feel that the city lacks human warmth. But the real cruelty of the city is that the smell of money is more pleasant than the smell of people. Live well first, then lament."

Han Jiayi seemed to understand something, then murmured, "You're right."

(End of this chapter)