Electronic Nezha

Chapter 46 Unmanned Fruit Supermarket
Old Liu—no, Old Liu—sat firmly in the central command tent, while Old Wang and I stood on either side. The room and the surrounding area were packed with people, and the formation was set up to prepare for a meeting.

My dad said loudly, "How's the matter we asked everyone to inquire about going?"

Just as I was about to express my opinion, Sister Zhao, who was sitting against the wall on the right side of the room, said, "The information you have is inaccurate!" Sister Zhao's stall was at the entrance of the market. She was in her fifties and was the production base, processing and dissemination channel for gossip in our area. At this time, it was really a good use of her talents to be a scout. I thought to myself, "You're finally reliable for once."

Everyone was delighted to hear this.

Sister Zhao said, "Those bosses don't want to do any fruit logistics at all; they want to build a fruit supermarket!"

The crowd cheered again, but their laughter was mixed with disdain: "Tch!"

Can a fruit supermarket compete with a fruit wholesale market? Which supermarket doesn't sell fruit? Two jelly oranges dare to cost 13.6 yuan, but we sell them for a uniform 55 yuan a box. We're fair and honest, so you can peel them, cut them, steam them, or juice them—it's all you can eat!
Seeing that no one was taking her seriously, Sister Zhao said urgently, "It's not that the supermarket sells fruit, it's that the supermarket only sells fruit."

"Hmm?" Everyone suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

Sister Zhao said, "And it's the kind of place where no one is around. From the moment you walk in, to when you buy things, to when you pay, no one will bother you."

An elderly man on the left said, "If no one's around, I'll just go in, grab what I want, and run away. What will you do then? Well, let's do it this way. When it opens, everyone here will go in and carry a sack of potatoes." People laughed and joked. Someone said, "If it's free, I can carry two sacks."

Old Sun said in a deep voice, "That's called an unmanned supermarket. There are cameras everywhere. Even if you grab a handful of sunflower seeds from inside, they can see you."

My dad asked Sister Zhao, "Little Zhao, is your information reliable?"

Sister Zhao said, "Absolutely reliable. My niece's husband works in the government, and their leaders have been holding meetings about this a lot lately."

Old Sun turned to my dad and said, "Old Liu, I've been asking around with my friends all afternoon. Xiao Zhao's information is basically credible, but not comprehensive—those guys are going to open a fruit supermarket and also set up a fruit logistics business. Some of the bosses are in the transportation business, and some are from the south who are in the planting business. They've partnered up to set up an unmanned fruit supermarket so they can transport those expensive fruits from the south without any problems and start a price war with us!"

"Hiss—" Someone started to gasp.

The word "logistics" is key. The vendors at the "Good Luck" fruit wholesale market rely almost entirely on a fruit logistics center in the suburbs for their supplies. Yes, strictly speaking, we are all "middlemen." As long as a "first-tier vendor" enters the market, it will be fatal to all of us.

At this point, I was a little confused. Was Liu Zhenhua's judgment based on big data that these people wouldn't really take action too subjective and arbitrary? What if he had done market research through other channels?
The old man who said he would just carry a sack of things away said, "We all understand logistics, but what exactly does 'unmanned' mean?"

Old Sun said, “This is the key point. The main person in charge of this cooperation between the government and the southern boss is a technology company that develops AI!”

Hearing this, I felt relieved.

Old Sun continued, "As Xiao Zhao said, if there's no one around, you won't see anyone the whole time you're buying things. That saves on labor costs, and their supply channels are better than ours. If he succeeds, will we still have a chance to survive?"

The old man said, "Then I'll just go in, grab a sack, and run. Won't no one be watching?"

Old Sun said seriously, "With so many cameras around, it's easy for the police to find you. If the amount is large, it's theft; if it's small, it's administrative detention. We can each carry a sack and run away. By the time we get back, the market will be empty, which is exactly what they want."

The old man stammered, "Is that AI really that powerful?"

Old Wang said, "When online shopping first came out, who would have thought that it would drive physical stores out of business?" Old Sun sighed, "When the times are about to abandon you, they won't even give you a warning."

I said optimistically, "Isn't this a friendly greeting to us now?" Even without Liu Zhenhua overseeing things, I still think this is unreliable when it comes to AI. In just the last year or two, quite a few so-called "unmanned supermarkets" have opened here. They're all small-scale convenience stores. You can just walk in and out, but you have to go through security checks when you leave. Even if you don't buy anything, someone has to open the door for you remotely. It's like taking off your pants to fart. These unmanned supermarkets have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and then they all disappear one day. It's really amazing.

Old Sun said, "I heard that this technology company is very popular overseas, mainly because it uses AI to operate unmanned modes."

Someone at the entrance shouted, "We don't understand these things, but I do know that the spice market has already started clearing out its stock."

Everyone was startled again; the spice market was clearing out its stock, and the renovation plan was probably on the agenda.

Old Sun said to my dad, "Old Liu, here's the situation. Can you give me some advice?"

Sister Zhao said, "The government must give us an explanation, or we'll sit in protest in front of the municipal government building!"

My dad waved his hand and said, "That's not how it works. They've clearly told you that they're going to open another fruit market in front of your place so you can compete fairly. What can you do about it?"

Sister Zhao said, "I will sit quietly!"

Old Sun said, "Times have changed. Now we have to follow the law! In the past, if a vendor beat up a market manager, it was a big deal whether they were in the right or not. But now, the law defines it as 'mutual assault.' Don't you think that's self-reliant?"

Old Wang said proudly, "Hey, why are you bringing this up?"

Sister Zhao said anxiously, "Then you should think of a solution."

Everyone's attention was focused on their Old Liu...

My dad stood up, cleared his throat and said, "I don't have any specific solutions. All I know is that our fruit market has existed ever since we had cold storage. I've worked here for almost forty years and have experienced a lot of ups and downs. In the past, there were only a few kinds of fruits—in summer, it was nothing more than peaches, apricots, and watermelons, and in winter, it was nothing more than apples, oranges, and pears. But it still fed generations of people."

"One year, worms were found in oranges in a certain place, which made people stop buying oranges. Another year, someone spread a rumor that eating bananas caused cancer, so people stopped eating bananas. But we all got through it, didn't we?"
"There are so many kinds of fruits now. There are many that our generation never even saw, let alone ate. Lychees, bayberries, cherries, they are all over the market now. I don't believe that those bosses can get all the goods from all over the country to their supermarkets through logistics."

"Even if his supermarket opens, someone my age definitely won't go. I'd be confused fiddling with my phone and get looked down upon. Besides, it's 'unmanned,' so how can you let people sample his products? Will his machines chat with regular customers? Who in business doesn't rely on repeat customers?"

These words were met with applause from the crowd. The old fox was indeed shrewd; without offering a specific solution, he had already achieved the goal of stabilizing morale...

I'm not surprised that my dad behaved this way. He's always been eloquent, not because of his knowledge or experience, but because of his stubbornness and obstinacy. For example, his theories about smoking and drinking in the past. But what he said today was heartfelt and based on his experience, so it had an added advantage.

Actually, it's very simple to overturn my dad's perception. Just introduce Yuan Yuan to the old man. If a medium-sized supermarket has four or five AI robots like Yuan Yuan, it will definitely make everyone who comes to shop leave with a full load and feel refreshed.

My dad seemed quite pleased with the lively atmosphere he had created. In his concluding remarks, the old man said, "There's only one month left until the New Year. Let's all enjoy the holiday in peace. Even if that unmanned supermarket is confirmed, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. With so many of us and so many mouths to feed, we can't all starve to death!"

Sister Zhao raised her arm and shouted, "That's right! At worst, we'll just sit in and have a protest!"

(End of this chapter)