Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Chapter 98 The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.

On May 5th, a restaurant in the western part of Hangzhou was bustling with activity, as the NBA Western Conference semifinals between the Rockets and the Lakers were being broadcast live on television.

This is Yao Ming's first time reaching the Western Conference semifinals!

"The Rockets have finally broken their first-round exit curse!"

A group of guests were holding beer glasses and slapping the table.

"If you ask me, it was McGrady who dragged Yao Ming down. If the team had been built around Yao Ming back then, we would have made it to the Western Conference Finals long ago!"

"Yeah, yeah, McGrady is just too soft. Besides 35 seconds and 13 points, what else does he have?"

"Forget Kobe, even if you found Yao Ming a reliable backup center, the Rockets wouldn't be eliminated in the first round every year!"

As everyone was chatting enthusiastically, a sound of dry heaving suddenly came from the next table.

Liu Hua gripped his phone tightly, sweat beading on his forehead and his face turning pale.

The person at the table immediately panicked: "Brother Qiang, what's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

The waiter rushed over, worried that something might go wrong, but unexpectedly Liu Huaqiang told him to call the boss.

Seeing the boss with the big head and thick neck, Liu Huaqiang narrowed his eyes: "Boss, is there anything wrong with the oil you use?"

"No problem! We only use legitimate oils."

"Are you sure it's not gutter oil?"

"Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble? How could our family possibly use gutter oil!"

While the two sides were arguing, some curious people searched for the term "gutter oil" on their phones.

A quick search led me to an article titled "The Dark Side of Gutter Oil: The Invisible Killer on the Dining Table," which I skimmed through.

The more he looked, the uglier his expression became, and the people around him also started to look at him, and the originally lively atmosphere suddenly cooled down.

"No, this says that two to three million tons of gutter oil return to our dining tables every year—so what we eat—"

"Holy crap! Boss, what kind of oil do you use in your kitchen? Can I take a look?"

"What are you doing? I'm running a business, how can I use something like that?"

"Looking at it won't cost you a piece of flesh!"

In an instant, Liu Hua led several tables of guests, ignoring the owner's attempts to stop them, and headed straight for the kitchen.

The next second, a shout came from the kitchen: "There are several buckets of oil here, and they don't even have labels!"

When it was confirmed that the owner had lied, the entire restaurant erupted in uproar. Some people slammed their fists on the table in anger, while others took photos as evidence.

Someone has already dialed 110, "Hello, I need to report a crime. This shop over here is suspected of using gutter oil—yes, please come quickly!"

Others, like Liu Hua, almost overturned the entire restaurant and its inhabitants. Damn it, what a shady businessman! How dare he feed me this kind of oil!

The following day, multiple media outlets followed up with reports on the gutter oil incident, and public opinion quickly escalated.

The Urban Express newspaper reported, "Gutter oil is returning to the dining table; every bite you eat may be 'toxic oil'."

Litchi TV went even further, reporting: "Undercover investigation into the gutter oil industry chain: from sewer to dining table, the entire process is unregulated."

The incident caused a huge uproar, and investigations and reports about gutter oil quickly swept across the country and spread online.

Although there is no Weibo these days, there is Fanfou, which is similar to Twitter.

Netizens are frantically forwarding it on Fanfou, Tieba, and forums, and the comment section is full of curses.

"Damn, I feel nauseous just looking at oil now. I ate fried chicken from a roadside stall yesterday, and I feel like throwing up just thinking about it."

"I'm not afraid of eating gutter oil, I'm afraid of eating it for more than ten years without even knowing it."

"Any reliable cooking oil recommendations? I need them urgently, I'm waiting online."

'

""

Panic quickly spread from the internet to offline, with many supermarkets in Hangzhou emptying more than half of their cooking oil shelves.

The most expensive large containers were bought up by the case, with some people even stockpiling five or six containers at a time.

Just then, a new, bolded red activity zone appeared on Pinduoduo's homepage, themed "Making food safer, life better, and healthier." The zone featured bottled cooking oil from brands like Fulinmen and Luhua, priced a few yuan cheaper than offline and with free shipping.

Less than half a day after the product was listed, pre-orders exceeded 3 barrels.

The server was overwhelmed by the sudden surge in traffic, but fortunately, a load balancing plan had been implemented in advance, distributing the traffic evenly across the various data center nodes. The database also stabilized after the expansion.

Huang Zheng stared at the constantly changing order numbers on the back-end screen and said in a complicated tone, "The impact of this wave of reports about gutter oil is even better than the effect of us spending ten million to win."

"What we eat is never a trivial matter. Food safety is not only a lifeline, but also a moral and ethical line."

Shen Mo said, "This exposure will allow people to re-evaluate the value of reputable branded cooking oil."

Huang Zheng nodded: "Fortunately, we built at least one transit warehouse in Central China, East China, South China, North China, and Northwest China in advance, otherwise we simply wouldn't be able to handle such a large volume of orders."

"That's not enough."

Shen Mo said, "We don't have much money left in the account right now, which is completely insufficient to support the construction and operation of the transit warehouse."

Huang Zheng said, "You're right. If Pinduoduo wants to cover the whole country, it needs at least 20 transit warehouses and sorting centers. If you throw 2000 million yuan into it, you'll only make a noise."

Shen Mo said, "So, we have two options: either raise funds or increase our own capital."

"Raising funds now is not a good idea."

Huang Zheng shook his head: "If what you said is true, and the ginger and garlic we stockpiled can not only be sold at a better price, but also boost the valuation of Pinduoduo, it might even increase by 40% or 50%."

Shen Mo said, "That's what I think too, so I'm preparing to increase my investment."

"Sure! I've already sold Ouku.com, so I still have some funds available."

Huang Zheng pressed further, "Just tell me, how much do you need?"

"I plan to invest another 4000 million, of which 2000 million will be used to build a transit warehouse, and the other 2000 million will be used to continue purchasing ginger and garlic."

Shen Mo said, "Since you own 25% of the shares, you'll contribute 1000 million, and I'll cover the remaining 3000 million."

"With 2000 million invested in ginger and garlic, won't that be...?"

There was a hint of hesitation in Huang Zheng's tone.

"The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. You should have seen the news, right? The first case of swine flu in China has been confirmed."

"In the future, the supply of ginger and garlic in the market will only become tighter, and the price will only go higher."

Shen Mo narrowed his eyes. If he remembered correctly, the H4N8 flu started in April of this year and lasted until August of next year.

As a result, the prices of ginger and garlic have also risen steadily, increasing several times over.

"Yes, the price of ginger and garlic in eastern Shandong has risen slightly in the past few days, and it's about 20% more expensive than at the beginning of the year."

Wu Mei cautioned, "If we don't get in now, the prices will only go higher, and then we won't be able to keep costs down."

Qin Feng added, "What we can harvest now is last year's stock; the new ginger won't be harvested until October."

Huang Zheng thought for a moment, and finally relented: "Okay, then we'll do it your way."

"Don't worry, I've also had YiTaoG0 stockpile 1500 million worth of goods."

Shen Mo smiled. In fact, it wasn't just YiTao G0; he had also stockpiled ginger and garlic worth 3000 million yuan in the name of Lingyun Technology.

After all, the combined monthly revenue of "Everyday Farm" and "Agricultural Bank Town" reaches more than 4000 million.