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

"Snap!"

A crisp popping sound rang out in the phones of millions of people.

Without any hesitation, without any staged pause.

Lin Che took a very hard bite, biting off almost a third of the fruit.

Juice splashed everywhere.

Because of his excessive bite force, a few drops of pale yellow juice spilled from the corners of his mouth and dripped onto the dusty collar of his windbreaker.

The barrage of insults scrolling across the live stream screen momentarily stopped.

Then came the unsettling sound of chewing.

"Shh... Crack..."

That was the sound of teeth cutting through the fruit fibers—crisp and juicy.

Lin Che closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down—a physiological reaction that only occurs when a person is extremely thirsty and eating incredibly delicious food.

It doesn't even require language.

Just by watching the force with which he swallows, viewers in front of the screen can feel the crispness and sweetness.

Lin Che opened his eyes but did not speak.

He held the remaining half of the apple in his hand in front of the camera and squeezed the flesh hard with his fingers.

Nourishes—

The crystal-clear juice dripped down between my fingers.

On the uneven bite marks, a ring of translucent "rock candy heart" that looked like solidified honey shimmered with an alluring amber luster in the midday sun.

"Did you see that?"

Lin Che pointed to the circle of candy hearts, his voice slightly moist from just swallowing.

"This is called rock sugar heart."

"Only at an altitude of over 1000 meters, with a diurnal temperature range of more than 15 degrees Celsius, and after the first frost, will the sugar in apples crystallize like honey."

"Is it ugly?"

Lin Che looked at the camera, his eyes eerily calm.

"It's ugly. It's covered in scars, has thick skin, and is all gray."

"But it's as sweet as first love."

……

……

In the live stream, the wind began to shift strangely.

Those who had initially joined in the condemnation of the "garbage" saw their throats involuntarily move when they saw the cross-section oozing with honey.

Human beings' craving for sugar is written in their genes; it is an instinct that no amount of elite rhetoric can erase.

"This...it really looks delicious..."

"Is that filling really candy? It looks so translucent."

"I remember now! The apples my grandpa grew when I was little looked just like this! The ones with blemishes are the sweetest!"

"Who said there were bugs inside? Come out and get a beating!"

Lin Che didn't read the comments.

He turned around and handed the other half of the apple to County Chief Zhang behind him.

"County Magistrate, you should eat too."

County Chief Zhang had been holding back for a long time.

He took the half of the apple that was covered in Lin Che's saliva.

This man in his fifties, in front of millions of people, was eating heartily while tears streamed down his deeply lined face.

"Delicious...so delicious..."

His mouth was stuffed with fruit, and his speech was mumbled, yet every word struck the hearts of the audience.

"The villagers have it tough... Such good fruit, just sitting there rotting in the fields... Please help us out..."

The copywriting is not sophisticated.

There were no "buy two get one free" promotions.

There was only a county magistrate's humblest request and a billionaire's most authentic eating habits.

Lin Che faced the camera again.

At this moment, his gaze became extremely aggressive.

"Mr. Sun, and those friends drinking champagne in the banquet hall."

"You call this pig swill because you're used to eating waxed 'industrial fruits' that are harvested early to preserve them. Your taste buds have been tamed by preservatives and plastic wrap."

"The 'refinement' you're pursuing is just a pretty face."

"What Weiguang gives to ordinary people is solid substance."

Lin Che picked up the old folding knife and casually stuck it into the wooden box beneath him.

"A faint light doesn't serve pretentious people."

"Small lights serve the people."

"If you want an apple that looks like a work of art when displayed in a fruit bowl, please buy a box of JD Select for 88 yuan. Turn left when you leave, no delivery."

"But if you just want to peel a sweet fruit for your husband when he comes home from get off work, or for your growing child, that will warm your heart."

Lin Che pointed to the purchase link at the bottom of the screen.

"9.9 yuan."

"Five catties."

"Damaged fruit will be compensated."

"This is our answer."

……

……

Beijing, Weiguang Headquarters, Data Monitoring Room.

Shen Nan was looking at the backend data.

Just that one minute ago.

The transaction curve was originally a lifeless straight line, but the moment Lin Che said "sweet like first love," the line seemed to be injected with a stimulant and took off vertically at a 90-degree angle.

"It exploded..."

Shen Nan's voice was trembling.

"Boss, it's blown up!"

He disregarded the fact that he was still live-streaming and rushed into the off-screen voiceover, shouting, "The backend has crashed! 50,000 orders per second! The payment channels are completely blocked!"

The comments in the live stream are no longer legible.

There was no abuse.

Only two perfectly aligned characters filled the screen, drowning out all other noise like a tsunami:

【Place your order!】

【Place your order!】

【Place your order!】

Those middle-class people who were initially hesitant, observing, or even mocking the candy heart had their psychological defenses crumble the moment they saw it.

Screw the downgrade in consumption.

Screw elite aesthetics.

This is "rock sugar heart"! A rare find that sells for 15 yuan per pound in supermarkets, but here it's only 9.9 yuan for five pounds? Not buying it would be a fool!

Moreover, this is to help farmers.

I bought it not only to eat, but also for the crying county magistrate and the boss who dared to eat apples with mud on them.

An unprecedented sense of "justice-driven consumption" has swept across the entire internet.

……

……

Park Hyatt Beijing.

The summit has ended.

Sun Zhiyong was holding a glass of red wine, being interviewed by several reporters from small media outlets, chatting and laughing.

"Mr. Sun, Weiguang just went live to respond to your remarks. What do you think?" a reporter suddenly asked, his eyes looking somewhat strange.

"A response?" Sun Zhiyong sneered. "Nothing more than playing the victim. Trash is trash, no matter how you try to whitewash it..."

"No, Mr. Sun."

The reporter interrupted him and handed him his phone.

"You'd better take a look; their daily sales... have just surpassed 500 million orders."

"Moreover, the online opinion has reversed, and now netizens are asking if they can pick up the bag of apples you just threw away and give it to them."

Sun Zhiyong's smile froze on his face.

"How many?"

"500 million orders."

"That's impossible!" Sun Zhiyong exclaimed, raising his voice in disbelief. "That's substandard fruit! It's a defective product!"

"Netizens say..." the reporter swallowed, "that's the taste of first love."

Sun Zhiyong's wine glass swayed slightly, and the deep red wine spilled onto his expensive custom-made suit.

He lost.

He lost to a peasant he looked down upon, and to an unwashed, rotten apple.

……

……

Luochuan, orchard.

The live stream has ended.

Lin Che turned off his phone and let out a long breath.

He felt a sour taste in his stomach.

To demonstrate the effect, he ate three apples in a row, and now every burp he makes smells like apples.

"President Lin..."

County Magistrate Zhang walked over, holding the fruit pit that had been gnawed clean, unsure of what to say.

"Don't thank me."

Lin Che waved his hand, stood up, and patted the dirt off his backside.

"This is business."

"County Magistrate, although we sold out today, the real challenge has just begun."

Lin Che looked calmly at the fruit farmers frantically loading their trucks in the distance.

"This wave of popularity will last at most three days."

"Once the initial enthusiasm fades, users will still be picky. Slow logistics, poor packaging, and inconsistent fruit sizes will all become new negative reviews."

"Supply chain." Lin Che emphasized this word again, "You have to keep an eye on it for me. Even if it's just filling sacks, you have to pick out the rotten fruit. Every single rotten one means that Weiguang can live one more day."

County Magistrate Zhang nodded emphatically: "Don't worry! I'll personally oversee the sorting line! Anyone who dares to put rotten fruit in there, I'll chop off their hand!"

Lin Che smiled.

He turned around and looked at Shen Nan.

Shen Nan was holding his phone, grinning foolishly, clearly still immersed in the euphoria of reaching 500 million orders.

"Shen Nan."

"Hey, boss!"

"Have you read the online comments?" Lin Che asked.

"I saw it! It's all praise for us! They say Weiguang is a conscientious company, and that you're the most down-to-earth CEO," Shen Nan said excitedly.

"Didn't you look at anything else?"

Lin Che took Shen Nan's phone, swiped a few times, and pointed to a comment with many likes.

That was posted by a prominent influencer:

"Although Lin Che won this round, I still have to say that Weiguang Group Buying is still a low-end platform. It can only sell Apple products and toilet paper for 9.9 yuan. You want to buy an iPhone? You want to buy a Dyson? You want to buy SK-II? Sorry, please go to JD.com. Weiguang is just an online farmers market."

Shen Nan glanced at it and said dismissively, "Sour grapes! That's a hater!"

No, he's right.

Lin Che tossed the phone back to Shen Nan, a glint of madness flashing in his eyes.

"The current Weiguang is indeed a farmers' market."

"In the minds of users, we are synonymous with 'cheap' and 'low-end'."

"As long as this label is stuck on us, we will only ever earn a meager living and will never be able to enter the core battlefields within the Fifth Ring Road."

Lin Che raised his head and looked in the direction of Beijing.

Since you all say I'm only fit to sell apples.

Since you believe that high-end users will never place an order on Weiguang.

"Shen Nan, go back to Beijing."

Lin Che straightened his collar, even though it was still stained with apple juice.

"Get the money ready."

"How much?" Shen Nan was taken aback.

"Ten billion."

Lin Che uttered an astronomical figure.

"I'm going to make a big move."

"Since they think I'm not high-end enough, then I'll sell iPhones at rock-bottom prices."

"I want all of China to know that at Weiguang, we not only have Apple products for 9.9 yuan, but also Apple phones that are 1,000 yuan cheaper than on the official website."

"I'm going to launch a subsidy program worth tens of billions."