Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Chapter 99 The Kind-hearted Boss Shen

The gutter oil scandal has not yet subsided, and now news of H1N1 influenza has made headlines, causing everyone to feel uneasy.

Shen Mo was busy all day and only had time to have dinner with Lin Qingyan, Du Manqing and others in the evening.

The TV was broadcasting the latest news on H1N1 influenza, but the sound was muffled by the noise inside the store.

"Shen Mo, do you think swine flu will really be as serious as SARS?"

Du Manqing said, "Should we buy some disinfectant, gloves, and masks in advance?"

Don't be too nervous.

Shen Mo picked up a piece of food and said, "Swine flu is highly contagious, but it's not as deadly as SARS. If you're worried, just prepare some fever reducers, Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine), and masks. Don't listen to the nonsense circulating online, like hoarding Shuanghuanglian (a traditional Chinese medicine) or eating garlic like it's food."

Du Manqing said, "But my dad saw that you had stockpiled so much ginger and garlic, so he bought a lot too."

"How much did you buy?"

"Two large warehouses."

Two large warehouses? How many years can that feed us?

Lin Qingyan almost choked on the water in her mouth.

"If we don't use them all, we can sell them."

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Congratulations! Your family is probably going to make a fortune this time."

How much higher can the prices of ginger and garlic go?

Lin Qingyan said, "Could it possibly rise even more sharply than the current A-shares market?"

Shen Mo rolled his eyes: "Back in 03 with SARS, Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine) went from four yuan a box to over a hundred yuan a box. How many consecutive limit-up days do you think a stock would have to go through to rise that much?"

Lin Qingyan gasped, "Ginger and garlic can increase in price this much?"

Shen Mo said, "It's not that outrageous, but doubling or quadrupling it shouldn't be a problem."

"How about I stock up on some too?"

Lin Qingyan was deeply moved.

Shen Mo joked, "With the little money in your account, how much profit can you make by hoarding that little bit of ginger and garlic?"

"I can sell all my stocks!" Lin Qingyan said.

"Sister Qingyan, how about I help you?"

Du Manqing said, "Qingman just made some money, and I don't know how to spend it. How about we team up?"

"Sure!"

Lin Qingyan put her arm around Manqing's shoulder. "Manqing, you're so good to me, unlike some boss who just exploits us—"

"press?"

Shen Mo said, "Okay, in a few days I'll let you experience what a real American capitalist is like."

"By the way, my dad signed Hu Ge and Yang Mi as spokespeople, and I signed Liu Shishi as well."

Du Manqing smiled gently: "I'd like to ask you, what's the next step?"

"Isn't 'Chinese Paladin 3' about to premiere?"

Shen Mo said seriously, "Before the show airs, have Uncle rent a shop in Wanda Plaza in Hangzhou or Shanghai and set up a flagship store. We'll get off to a good start offline, and the show will naturally gain popularity after it airs."

Du Manqing nodded: "What about online?"

"We'll do a round of promotion on YiTaoGO, Tieba, and forums. The budget doesn't need to be too big; the key is to generate buzz."

Shen Mo said, "Of course, the most important thing is to get Qingzhou and Qingman to join Pinduoduo."

"Okay, we'll go whenever you say when," Du Manqing said.

After dinner, Shen Mo drove his Audi A6, first dropping Du Manqing off at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, then turning around and returning to the Jinsha Century Building.

Most of the lights on the floor were still on, and the data panels on several monitors were still flashing.

Yuan Hua rushed over, "Brother Mo! Good news!"

Shen Mo raised an eyebrow: "What good news now?"

"Farmtown is a complete hit in the US!"

Yuan Hua was very emotional: "Our user base exceeded 30 million in one month, and we topped the list of Facebook's fastest-growing games. We received several emails in our inbox. A distributor in Russia wanted the distribution rights, and companies in Europe also contacted us."

"Then we'll take them all."

Shen Mo said, "The overseas team needs to speed up its expansion. This is not only about the operation of Farm Town, but also about the overseas expansion of other PalmLe games."

"clear!"

Yuan Hua lowered his voice and said, "Brother Mo, there are already teams in Taiwan copying our farm game."

-

"That's normal. Which hit product isn't copied?"

As Shen Mo walked, he said, "We just need to do our own thing."

As the two walked down the corridor, the conversation naturally turned to the competition between YiTao GO and YiTao.

Yuan Hua slowed his pace: "Brother Mo, YiTao recently launched a distribution system where all Taobao affiliates can help post their promotional links. But Ali only allows YiTao to do this. Isn't this a double standard?"

"Ah Li, that's not surprising."

Shen Mo wasn't surprised at all.

When Ali makes investments or acquisitions, nine out of ten fail; the one that survives is considered lucky.

"Brother Mo, aren't you in a hurry?"

Yuan Hua said, "Once this distribution and fission strategy is implemented, YiTaoGO's advantages will be significantly reduced."

"You need to understand one thing: for traffic, Ali and Penguin are two different things. One generates traffic, while the other drains it."

Shen Mo analyzed seriously: "Ali is downstream of traffic, the terminal. It doesn't produce traffic itself, it has to rely on constantly sucking blood from outside" to maintain its operation, so they need YiTaoGO, Taobao Affiliate, and any tool that can help them find traffic."

"But penguins are different; they are upstream in terms of traffic and can generate traffic on their own by nature."

"Although YiTao's distribution and viral marketing can grab more traffic, its customer acquisition cost is higher than ours, its customer acquisition difficulty is greater than ours, and its coverage is narrower than ours. It looks lively, but in essence it is just a transaction relationship, not a social relationship."

"As long as the transaction relationship does not transform into a trust relationship, Taobao's traffic will not be able to settle down."

"Brother Mo, you're right."

Yuan Hua's expression relaxed: "So we're just going to watch and do nothing?"

"Yes, it definitely needs to be addressed."

Shen Mo said mysteriously, "But before that, please invite Huang Zheng here for me."

"Knock knock knock".

Huang Zheng knocked on the office door and walked in: "President Shen, if you hadn't come to see me, I was just about to."

"What a coincidence!"

Shen Mo poured three cups of tea and pushed one of them in front of him.

"I'd like to discuss with you whether Pinduoduo should expand its product categories?"

------

Huang Zheng slowly began, "Back during SARS, Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine), masks, and gloves were all in short supply. Now that H1N1 is here, why don't we prepare a batch in advance and make a health protection package?"

"Can!"

Shen Mo said, "And I think we should take this opportunity to expand our product categories to include clothing, footwear, baby and beauty products, snacks and beverages —"

"Like YiTao GO?" Huang Zheng asked.

"Yes and no."

Shen Mo said, "YiTaoGO is a shopping guide platform, and Pinduoduo is an e-commerce platform. We should let these merchants do it themselves."

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Huang Zheng's eyes flickered slightly: "You mean an open POP platform?"

"From the very beginning, Pinduoduo's direction was not B2C, but C2M."

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Now that we've successfully implemented the model using fruits and vegetables, and provided a sample for so many brands and factories, and with YiTao GO as a guarantee, I believe they will be very happy to join Pinduoduo."

"At that time, we can use ginger and garlic as promotional items to stimulate consumption and boost order volume across the entire platform."

.

Huang Zheng nodded.

"If we seize this opportunity, Pinduoduo's Series A funding and YiTao GO's Series C funding should be able to achieve higher valuations."

Shen Mo frowned deeply. He had experienced SARS and witnessed the salt-buying frenzy.

The salt that Wang Yin had snatched back then lasted for five whole years, and by the end, some of it had even clumped together.

Panic can lead to a blind buying frenzy, which can then be exploited by speculators who hoard goods and drive up prices.

"This is exactly what I was worried about. In some places, there has already been a rush to buy masks and Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine).

2

Huang Zheng's tone carried a hint of worry.

"This is Pinduoduo's moment of glory."

Shen Mo said, "On the one hand, we use supplies to stabilize public sentiment, and on the other hand, we use affordable prices to suppress unscrupulous merchants."

Huang Zheng was immediately filled with excitement. For the country, for the people, and especially for himself, he would gain both fame and fortune—it was a win-win situation!

Capitalists can be patriotic too!

"In terms of pricing, we must adhere to the principle of public welfare, put aside profits, and focus on three things: fairness, fairness, and absolute fairness!"

""

Shen Mo raised his chin, looking like he was saying, "I never thought about making this kind of money, like a poor man's money."

Huang Zheng almost blurted out, "Excellent! Absolutely excellent!"

Subsequently, the group, having reached a consensus, discussed and agreed on the plan, division of responsibilities, capital investment, and so on, and put forward a nine-character policy: build up warehouses, stockpile goods, and stabilize people's needs.