Back to the prime of life

Chapter 207 Street Stall
"I've already registered, and I'll start classes when school starts in September."

After Lu Mang Company moved its office location again, Lu Changge finally had his own office, since he, as the boss, still needed some privacy.

Of course, he did not deliberately pursue luxury; everything was based on the principles of simplicity and practicality.

Once a company accepts investment, it needs to strictly regulate its finances. Otherwise, if things don't go well and everyone starts losing money, investors are capable of anything.

At that moment, he was sitting at his desk talking on the phone with Zuo Shuya.

"Is it an MBA?"

"Yes, but I've heard that some of these things are superficial. Many people are just looking for connections rather than learning. But I've already started reading some books on my own, just in case what I learn from books is not enough and it doesn't meet your requirements in the end. By the way, you could also tell me about the idea behind that investment company so I can prepare accordingly."

“There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself. You learn by doing and do by learning. It’s impossible to learn everything at once anyway.” Lu Changge changed the subject and guided her, “I’ve recently been in contact with some investors and other entrepreneurs, and I’ve heard people talking about something called ‘Bitcoin.’ Have you heard of it?”

"Bitcoin? What's that? Never heard of it."

"You can look into it when you have time. It's a kind of electronic currency. People in e-commerce might be sensitive to this stuff. I heard people discussing it while I was eating."

"What use is it?"

"Hmm...it's not really useful, but it's a cutting-edge technology, I'm guessing."

When it comes to rebirth, there are some things that can't be ignored, and Bitcoin is a prime example. How we view this phenomenon requires some consideration.

On the one hand, it's because the price doubled so dramatically that it was less than a cent of RMB at its cheapest point, but when it started to show its true colors, it was already tens of thousands of US dollars each.

It would feel foolish to let this windfall pass by.

On the other hand, Lu Changge didn't know much about it, and he wasn't sure if there would be any problems if he did too much. Sometimes, theoretically, it could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, but actually paying it out seemed a bit too exaggerated.
If we really go by that logic, shouldn't Satoshi Nakamoto be the world's richest man?
Unsure of the ultimate consequences of going too far, he thought he should just dabble a little, say less, but a few billion dollars should be enough.

So he talked to Zuo Shuya about this, suggesting she look into it, and that the registered capital of the investment company might come from this.

Zuo Shuya had no suspicions and simply agreed without saying much.

After finishing their business, she asked Lu Changge where he was and if he was with anyone.

Lu Changge felt a little guilty under her question. He glanced at the office door and said, "I'm alone in my office."

"You're all alone... When are you free? I'd like to sneak over to Jiangzhou to see you."

"Why say secretly? Just come over if you want," Lu Changge said with a laugh.

"I'm just afraid of getting caught by your girlfriend, so of course I have to sneak around. How about I book a room and we meet up? I haven't seen you in a while."

Her tone was somewhat coquettish, which was truly captivating.

"...Okay, then call me when you arrive."

"Okay! I'm off right now!"

Lu Changge has really made something of himself; a girl travels a long way to book a hotel room for him. I wonder what kind of treatment that is.

……

……

After officially withdrawing from the school, Li Ming was only allowed to stay at Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology until the end of June. Although no one would come to kick him out, there were still some well-intentioned reminders.

However, Lao Li didn't care. Since he made this decision, all sorts of negative opinions had arisen, so this was nothing. He was now a public relations manager at a newly established e-commerce company, and his monthly income was already quite high. In this era where the average monthly salary was three thousand, renting a nice and clean two-bedroom apartment was relatively easy.

After the new house was completed, Qin Jun came to look around and said, "Although it's rented, it's still a housewarming celebration. How about I add some furniture for you? Just name your name if you need anything."

"How can you be so sarcastic?" Li Ming glared at him, probably only saying that he couldn't afford to buy and could only rent because he was a good friend.

Qin Jun chuckled, "Look at what you're saying. Do you think this little bit of hardship is worth your time, Mr. Li? Dropping out of school is no big deal, and you got it done in no time. Ten years of hard study, and you've got nothing in the end. How do you have such courage?"

"No need for the sarcastic remarks. Actually, I have a little idea. I'm a bit of a free spirit, and I have a hard time controlling my mouth. I'm not good-looking, and my family isn't well-off. In the end, meeting Lao Lu was the turning point in my life. But the free spirit I've developed since childhood can't be changed overnight. Now that's it, I have no way out, so I'm single-mindedly focused on killing that guy surnamed Chen."

Qin Jun knew he was referring to the person who had recently insulted Lu Mang Company and Lu Changge on television.

"You've got guts to go all in, so do you have a plan?"

"Do I have an idea? What a question! I've already mobilized hundreds of small Taobao shop owners to denounce him."

Qin Jun was also somewhat surprised when he heard this, "Hundreds? How do you know so many?"

"Just be mindful in your daily life." Li Ming had some experience in this area, and even Lu Changge admired his social skills. "Let me put it this way, originally we would pay people online to buy reviews. Later, some clever guy found some people and formed a special group, which became a kind of secondary distributor. He did a lot of the dirty work, and I could just make the requests. In short, there are definitely hundreds of people claiming to be small Taobao shop owners, but I don't know if they are all real."

The internet is full of truths and lies, making it extremely difficult to distinguish between them.

If you don't occupy this high ground of public opinion, the enemy will.

The way small Taobao shop owners talk can indeed easily offend people.

Li Ming led Qin Jun to see the manifesto he had specially prepared for the enemy. This angry article, which was to be posted online, not only lashed out at the opponent on a moral level, but also, with Lu Changge's reminder, pointed out many outrageous product quality issues of the other side.

There are plenty of articles online about how bad the quality of Vancl's clothing is. At least Lumang's low prices are due to its special supply chain. How can Vancl offer such low prices? It's because they cut costs to an extreme.

"Uneven stitching on trouser legs, canvas shoes coming unglued... How can a company selling substandard clothing package itself as an internet company?"

Qin Jun read it through briefly, and finally gave a thumbs up, "You're ruthless. But be careful not to insult ourselves too."

“It’s different. We have suppliers all over Jiangzhou, and we’ve helped companies whose exports are blocked. What are they? They’re the ones who rely on cheaply harvesting and selling street vendor goods. Didn’t Lao Lu recently find someone who specializes in branding? He even gave us a training session, so I’ve been in meetings these past two days discussing this. I’ve come up with a killer move.”

Qin Jun asked, "What is it?"

"Old Lu once said that clothing costs are low, the key is to sell the brand. Everyone knows that LV bags cost very little, but people are willing to pay a high price for them. Our Vancl also needs to start telling stories. Building on the previous image of young people daring to dream and achieve, we need to create an image of a group of young people with dreams and evoke emotional resonance from consumers. However, so far, Vancl has not achieved any success in this regard, so I want to guide it towards street vendor goods."

Qin Jun's heart skipped a beat. "I thought the business battle I was expecting would be the high-level kind. It turns out it's just mudslinging?"

"Hehe, many small Taobao shops sell these kinds of cheap, low-quality goods. Since we're going to condemn them, let's use these cheap, low-quality goods to annoy them. Once this concept takes hold..."

Qin Jun gradually began to believe it. This Old Li really did have a reason for dropping out of school, and now he was wholeheartedly focused on this kind of thing.

Where do you plan to begin?

Li Ming opened a Baidu Tieba webpage, where netizens were retaliating. The post contained two pictures, one of a Vancl product and the other of a photo taken at a street stall. The two pieces of clothing were almost identical, and the poster claimed to be a small Taobao shop owner.

Caption: A con artist who turns cheap street vendor goods into fashionable clothing suddenly thinks he's awesome and starts mocking us.

"Which of the details here are true?"

"It does not matter."

(End of this chapter)