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

A temporary distribution center shared by SF Express and China Post in Luochuan County, Shaanxi Province.

Two o'clock in the morning.

There is no night here.

Dozens of high-powered lights illuminated the 5,000-square-meter cement plaza as bright as day.

You can never imagine the oppressive feeling of that sound unless you experience it firsthand.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

That was the sound of transparent sealing tape being violently torn.

Not just once, but a thousand times, ten thousand times.

They rose and fell, converging into a sharp whistling sound.

"Quick! Line 3 is out of boxes! Restock!"

"Waybills! The waybills here aren't printing! The printer is jammed!"

"Don't throw it there! That's a fresh produce shipment bound for Guangdong! Handle with care, understand?"

The distribution center, which was originally only able to hold 5,000 packages, has now been turned into a maze.

The brownish-yellow cardboard boxes were stacked like city walls, leaving only a narrow passageway for one person.

At the deepest part of this labyrinth.

A middle-aged man wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows was squatting on the ground, clumsily stuffing apples into a mesh bag, then packing them into a box and sealing it.

His shirt was soaked through on the back, clinging to his back and revealing a large patch of dark sweat.

That's County Magistrate Zhang.

"County Magistrate, please take a break."

The courier station manager, sweating profusely, watched with trepidation, saying, "This job is rough; don't hurt your hands."

County Magistrate Zhang straightened up and heard a crisp "crack" sound from his spine.

He took off his fogged-up glasses and hastily wiped the dust off his face.

"Stop taking a break my ass."

This usually refined and polite county magistrate suddenly swore.

"As you can see, there are still 500,000 orders that haven't been shipped yet. Each of these orders represents a lifeline that Mr. Lin from Weiguang begged for for us."

County Chief Zhang pointed to the long line of trucks outside.

"The fruit farmers are watching, Beijing is watching. If I can't ship the goods and they rot in the warehouse, I'll really have no choice but to jump into the Yellow River."

After saying that, he squatted down again, picked up the duct tape gun, and with a "sizzle," sealed a box.

Although the movements were not standard, the fierceness in them made it seem like he was fighting for his life.

……

……

"Sizzle—"

The sound of slamming brakes rang out at the warehouse entrance.

Lin Che pushed open the car door and jumped out.

The scene before him startled him slightly.

This is called "margin call".

Although he saw millions of orders on the data, the visual impact of seeing those millions of orders turn into actual packages piled up in front of him was something that data could not match.

It was a disaster.

It was also a carnival.

"President Lin!"

The sharp-eyed County Magistrate Zhang spotted Lin Che and tried to get up to greet him, but his legs gave way and he almost fell to the ground.

Shen Nan reacted quickly and caught him.

"County Chief Zhang, thank you for your hard work."

Lin Che looked at County Chief Zhang's hands, which had several cuts from the edge of the cardboard box, with a solemn expression.

"But that won't work."

Lin Che surveyed the chaotic scene.

There were many people, and they were working very hard.

However, the efficiency is extremely low.

Some people were looking for tape, some were looking for shipping labels, and some were carrying boxes, unsure where to put them.

Pure manpower tactics appear pale and powerless in the face of hundreds of thousands of orders.

"Shen Nan."

Lin Che's voice turned cold.

"Has the 'external help' I asked you to contact on my way here arrived?"

"arrive!"

Shen Nan took out a walkie-talkie and shouted, "Enter!"

Rumbling--

Outside the warehouse gate, several black vans painted with the "Weiguang Logistics" logo slowly drove in.

More than thirty professional sorting workers, dressed in uniform and carrying barcode scanners, jumped off the vehicle.

"Stop everything!"

Lin Che took the megaphone, and his voice drowned out the noise at the scene.

All the sounds of tape being torn stopped abruptly.

Hundreds of bloodshot eyes stared at the young boss.

"At this rate, we won't finish distributing the money even if we keep going until next year."

Lin Che jumped onto a wooden tray full of apples, looking down from above.

"Now follow my orders."

"Move all printers to the east side and designate it as the 'Document Production Area.' Don't print one by one; print in batches by province!"

"Pour all the apples onto the conveyor belt in the middle and set it up as an 'assembly line.' The first group is only responsible for putting them in net bags, the second group is only responsible for packing them into boxes, the third group is only responsible for sealing the boxes, and the fourth group is responsible for labeling them."

"Like making screws in a factory, everyone only does one thing!"

"County Chief Zhang, have your men withdraw and take charge of the unloading and logistics. Let these professionals go up and seal the boxes."

Lin Che pointed to the professional sorting workers who had just entered the site.

"Get moving!"

Following Lin Che's instructions, the chaotic scene began to be reorganized.

The primitive, small-scale farming-style busyness has disappeared, replaced by a cold, industrialized rhythm.

Efficiency has improved visibly.

The time it used to take for an apple to go from being placed in the crate to being sealed and labeled has now been reduced to 15 seconds.

County Magistrate Zhang stood aside, watching this scene, his lips trembling.

He saw not only hope that the apples would be sold.

He also saw a force called "modernized supply chain" taking root and sprouting on this ancient Loess Plateau.

……

……

Four o'clock in the morning.

The first batch of 20 fully loaded 9.6-meter trailers finally set off.

They will rush overnight to distribution centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Consumers there will be able to enjoy these "9.9 yuan with free shipping" apples as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Outside the warehouse, Lin Che and County Chief Zhang squatted on the curb, each holding a bowl of instant noodles.

"Mr. Lin, I really don't know how to thank you."

County Magistrate Zhang slurped up a mouthful of noodles, his eyes brimming with tears. "After this battle, the fruit farmers of Luochuan will be able to have a prosperous year."

Lin Che took a sip of hot soup, which dispelled the chill of the night.

Don't thank me too soon.

He looked at the dark mountains in the distance.

"Sending out the fruit is only the first step. Next, we will face something even more difficult than logistics."

"What?" County Magistrate Zhang asked, puzzled.

Lin Che did not answer.

Shen Nan walked over, phone in hand, his face grim.

"Boss, look at this."

On the phone screen is a newly published WeChat public account article, which has already surpassed 10 views.

The title is alarming: "Consumption downgrade or IQ tax? Weiguang Group Buying is creating a garbage frenzy."

The article included several shocking pictures:

Close-up of several apples that were half rotten.

A pile of aesthetically unappealing burlap sacks.

There was also a sarcastic and cynical comment:

"...While we are still pursuing organic living and refined aesthetics, the glimmer of light has pulled us back to an era of scarcity."

"Those apples priced at 9.9 yuan are small, have rough skin, and are even covered in dirt. This is disrespectful to consumers and an insult to the decade-long quality improvement efforts of Chinese e-commerce."

"Lin Che exploited people's desire for bargains by dumping these low-end agricultural products that should have been used as animal feed. This is not helping farmers; it's feeding everyone garbage."

The comment section below the article was full of echoing voices:

"This is disgusting, I would never buy this kind of thing."

"Weiguang is too low-end, I'm uninstalling it."

"Only poor people eat rotten apples."

As County Chief Zhang looked at the instant noodle container, he crushed it, spilling soup all over his hand.

"fart!"

He was trembling with anger. "These are the best mountain apples! They just don't look good! How are they considered garbage? These office workers... these people..."

He couldn't bring himself to curse, because he didn't know what words to use to describe such arrogant superiority.

Lin Che took the phone and calmly scrolled through the vicious comments.

His expression showed no anger.

There is only one kind of hunter's cold smile when he sees his prey fall into the net.

"It's finally here."

Lin Che tossed his phone to Shen Nan.

"The Elite's Counterattack."

"They're getting anxious because we've taken away their cheese and broken down the premium barriers they've built up with 'refined' and 'high-end'."

Lin Che stood up, threw the instant noodle bucket into the trash can with a dull thud.

"Shen Nan, notify the Beijing public relations department that there's no need to delete the posts."

"Let them curse."

"The harsher the scolding, the better."

Lin Che turned his head and looked at the mountain of apples in the warehouse behind him, his eyes burning with a warlike flame.

"Since they say we're selling garbage."

"Then I'll eat it in front of all the Chinese people and show them."

"County Chief Zhang, I'm going to do a live broadcast from the orchard tomorrow morning."

"I want to show these elites within the Fifth Ring Road what 'real sweetness' really means."