The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

Saturday, midnight.

Beijing Capital Airport Expressway.

The tires made a hissing tearing sound as they rolled over the puddles.

The carriage was quiet, with only the slight hum of the air conditioning vents.

Shen Nan slumped in the passenger seat, clutching the manila file folder tightly in his arms.

Inside were spoils of war just brought back from Shenzhen—a strategic cooperation agreement with TME.

He fell asleep.

The intense competition of the past few days has drained his energy.

At this moment, a trace of drool lingered at the corner of his mouth, and his face still bore the flush of triumphant excitement.

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Lin Che sat in the back row and did not sleep.

He lowered the car window halfway.

A damp, cold wind rushed into the carriage, dispelling the oppressive warmth.

Outside the window, the lights of Beijing are drawing near.

As you enter the Fifth Ring Road from the airport expressway, the scenery along the roadside begins to look less desolate.

A huge GG sign shimmered in the night, displaying the words "Consumption Upgrade," "Middle-Class Lifestyle," "High-End," and "Affordable Luxury."

This is Beijing at the end of 2017.

The entire internet is talking about "consumption upgrade".

People drink coffee that costs 30 yen a cup, talk about going to Japan to buy toilet seats, believe that tomorrow will be better, and believe that they will be richer.

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Lin Che held a tablet computer in his hand, the light from the screen illuminating his cold and stern face.

He was looking at a top-secret report in the Weiguang backend system – [Weiguang Store Group Buying Business Quarterly Summary].

This is a feature he launched despite opposition six months ago:

Imitating Pinduoduo's "cut a price" model, the micro-group buying platform guides users to Weiguang Video, leveraging Weiguang's social network to create viral e-commerce.

The data looks impressive, with a high daily active user count.

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"Boss... have you arrived?"

Shen Nan was awakened by the cold wind. He rubbed his eyes groggily and turned to look at the screen in Lin Che's hand.

"Are you still looking at the data for that 'group buying' deal?"

"Boss, to be honest, although this business has a lot of traffic, its reputation is terrible. It's all garbage that costs 9.9 yuan with free shipping. The customer service backend is flooded with complaints every day, saying that the tissues are crumbling and the fruit is half rotten."

"I think our current image at Weiguang is high-end and trendy. We shouldn't be producing these 'low-end street vendor goods' anymore, as it will lower our brand image."

Shen Nan pointed to the huge "GG" sign flashing on the side of the Fifth Ring Road outside the window.

It reads: "Middle-class lifestyle" and "affordable luxury".

Lin Che turned off the tablet, looking at the neon lights outside the window with a cold expression.

"Shen Nan."

"Do you think people who buy 9.9 yuan tissues do so because they like buying junk?"

Shen Nan was taken aback: "That must be because they wanted a bargain."

"wrong."

Lin Che's voice was soft, yet it carried a penetrating power.

"It's because they had no choice."

"Our group-buying model brought us traffic and viral growth, but we made a huge mistake—we didn't have a supply chain."

Lin Che opened a complaint form in the back office; it contained a box of rotten apples.

"We sold this box of apples for 19.9 yuan on Weiguang. The customer thought it was cheap and placed an order. But the apples they received were rotten."

Why?

"Because this box of apples only costs 5 yuan when it comes from the fruit farmer, it goes through first-level wholesalers, second-level wholesalers, fruit vendors, and finally reaches the merchants on our platform. In order to earn that 2 yuan profit, the merchants can only replace the good apples with rotten apples to ship."

"The model is correct, but the path has gone astray."

Lin Che tossed the tablet onto the leather seat.

"Shennan, China has 14 billion people."

Do you have a passport?

"Yes, I have."

"Less than 10% of China's population holds passports."

Lin Che held up one finger.

Do you have a bachelor's degree?

"Of course, I graduated from a 985 university."

Less than 4% of the population in China holds a bachelor's degree.

Lin Che pointed to the dark night sky outside the window, and then to the distant, unlit areas.

"Outside the Fifth Ring Road."

"In those counties you've never been to, in those villages that you have to zoom in several times on a map to find them."

There are 300 million people.

"They don't care about consumption upgrades, they don't care about Dyson or Estée Lauder. They only care if that box of apples can be two dollars cheaper, and that it has to be good quality."

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A deathly silence fell over the carriage.

Shen Nan opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that his throat felt like it was blocked with a wad of cotton.

"Our previous group-buying deals were just playing tricks on the traffic side."

Lin Che sat up straight, his eyes gleaming with ambition.

"Next, we're going to dig for food in the soil."

"I want to eliminate all the middlemen."

"I want to get those 5-yuan boxes of apples straight from the tree to the customer's table, still selling for 9.9 yuan, but with the best fruit, and the fruit farmers can earn an extra 2 yuan."

Shen Nan was dumbfounded: "This... how is this possible? It's not even enough to cover the logistics costs!"

"possible."

Lin Che's voice was firm.

"As long as the scale is large enough, and as long as we can control the source."

"The copyright war is over; we've monopolized their ears and eyes."

"Now, it's time to take over their livelihoods."

Lin Che turned his head and looked at Shen Nan.

"I'm not going to the office tomorrow; I'm booking tickets."

"Where to?" Shen Nan asked instinctively.

"Luochuan, Shaanxi".

Shen Nan was stunned: "That's... the countryside, right? What are you going there for?"

"Go buy apples."

Lin Che's gaze, peering through the car window, seemed to already see the Loess Plateau.

"Since e-commerce platforms are all doing business within the 'Fifth Ring Road,' I'll go outside the 'Fifth Ring Road.'"

"I want to see if what grows from that land can support the next trillion-dollar market value of Weiguang."

The car drove into the CBD.

The huge office building was brightly lit, and its glass curtain wall reflected the city's extravagance.

Lin Che withdrew his gaze.

He knew that the 1.0 era of Weiguang—the era of pure traffic monetization—was over.

The next 2.0 era.

It's sinking.

It means getting our feet in the mud to build a steel supply chain that goes straight from the fields to the city's dining table.

"Get ready, Shen Nan. Take off your suit and put on some durable clothes."

"Next stop, no wine or cigars."

"Only yellow earth and dust."

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