Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn?

Chapter 250: If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

Outside Wanzhong Mall, the street promotion of group buying spread like ripples in a pond, expanding circle by circle.

The number of merchants joining the group buying increased gradually, and the whole process was smooth.

Of course, some merchants stubbornly refused to join, thinking, “Isn’t it redundant to give away a tenth of our earnings? That’s our hard-earned money!”

To this, the group buying team didn’t insist.

After all, many stores in the city were duplicates; it wasn’t unusual to have two or three bubble tea shops on the same street. Missing one didn’t hinder the group buying platform; they weren’t dependent on a single partner.

“Meng, are we going to die if we don’t join them? What a joke. Let’s continue our business as usual. We never lacked customers before.”

“Why should I share a tenth of my earnings with those bastards in group buying? What’s the point?”

“Nowadays, these big businesses just want to leech off us, with their ugly tactics. Everyone, don’t fall for it!”

On Xinmin Street, Meng Bing, who owned a noodle shop, was fervently expressing his views to the neighboring merchants.

Hearing this, several merchants who were planning to sign hesitated.

Indeed, the costs were ours, the products were handmade by us, and the profits were earned by us. Then suddenly, they come and want a piece of our pie, doing nothing but asking for a tenth of our sales.

“That’s just like robbery, isn’t it? It would be more honest if they just said, ‘Open your cash register, I’ll take some money. Don’t resist, smile while you’re at it!’”

With this realization, the surrounding merchants were infuriated, almost tearing up the contract in disgust, refusing to cooperate.

“Meng is right. We do our own business. Can’t we survive without them?”

“They want a tenth of our earnings right off the bat. That’s shameless.”

“Next time I see those group buying salespeople, I’ll spit on their faces!”

The merchants of Xinmin Street cursed and returned to their shops, starting another hard day of business.

However, as time passed, they noticed that aside from the employees from the office building across the street, the number of casual passersby was visibly decreasing.

Indeed, the street was gradually becoming deserted, and the number of customers dwindled.

At first, Meng Bing didn’t take it seriously, inviting neighbors over for card games, spending entire mornings at it. After all, when the weather got hot, people didn’t like going out much. For them, business always had its ups and downs.

But gradually, as the foot traffic lessened, Meng Bing started to worry.

He abandoned his card games and stood at the street corner to observe. He noticed that although the number of casual visitors on the street had decreased, surprisingly, the number of customers at the Liangwei Roast Duck Shop in the middle of Xinmin Street was increasing.

Many customers drove specifically to the duck shop, bought a duck, and left immediately.

Meng Bing wandered around all morning and finally couldn’t resist entering the duck shop, heading straight to the kitchen.

“Ever since I signed the agreement with the group buying platform, they’ve given me a lot of exposure and traffic. The customers liked the food and left many positive reviews. A few days ago, my shop was awarded the title of ‘Linchuan’s No.1 Roast Duck’.”

“Linchuan’s No.1? What’s that?” Meng Bing asked, puzzled.

Old Liang explained with a sigh, “It means ‘Number One’ in English. Now my shop is rated the highest among all duck shops in the district. Damn, I’ve been making roast duck all my life, and only now I found out my skill is top-notch. Isn’t it amazing?”

“So now everyone knows your roast duck is the best in Linchuan?”

“Exactly. So, many people come specifically for my duck. I can hardly keep up with the demand.”

That night, Meng Bing dug out the business card of Mr. Li from the group buying platform from his drawer and, under the cover of darkness, signed the contract.

Sure enough, the first wave of traffic was impressive, and Meng Bing was too busy to join any card games.

But the nearby merchants weren’t fools. Without advertising or flyers, how could his business suddenly improve so much? It wasn’t until the group buying sales team visited the street for the third time, providing Meng Bing with a poster to display in his window, that everyone had an epiphany.

“Darn it, Meng Bing, you sneaky rat. You joined them after telling us not to?”

“Sorry, sorry, guys. Just trying to make a living here. It’s not embarrassing to earn money!”

With a grin, Meng Bing shamelessly put up the group buying poster on his glass door.

Thus, Xinmin Street, once proud and independent, slowly became filled with advertisements for the group buying platform.

By noon, under the scorching sun, a group of office workers from the building across the street came out for lunch.

Among them was a regular of Meng Bing’s noodle shop, Tao Wang, twenty-five years old.

After the intense promotion by the group buying platform, Tao Wang’s friends and colleagues had all started using it. They said there were often coupons available during the promotional period, and some even won a free eating card, enjoying a week of meals without spending a penny.

Tao Wang scoffed at the group buying idea.

He considered himself to be exceptionally clever and above such petty gains. Believing he was too smart to be tricked, he steadfastly refused to use the group buying service.

That was until he paid his rent and found himself short on cash, reluctant even to add extra sausage to his noodles. That’s when Meng, the owner, seized the opportunity to persuade him to try group buying.

“You can try it on the group buying platform. Our noodles are two yuan cheaper there, and I’ll even throw in a grilled sausage for you, but you need to leave a good review.”

“A good review? What’s the use?”

“It’s part of the group buying platform’s rating system. The more positive reviews, the more exposure and customer flow we get.”

After some hesitation and a glance at his dwindling wallet, Tao Wang signed up on the platform and placed an order. The simple act of ordering saved him two yuan and even scored him an extra sausage, feeling almost like a free meal.

“Damn, this is great!” Tao Wang regretted not using the group buying service sooner, thinking he could have saved enough for a foot massage.

Many people shared Tao Wang’s initial skepticism towards new things, suspecting the world of trying to deceive them. However, they often missed out on the benefits during the promotional phase of new services. By the time they realized its value, the most significant promotions were over. Tao Wang, for instance, missed half-price deals and 40% discounts, only catching a 20% discount and a free sausage.

This scenario was a microcosm of the group buying platform’s business negotiations and street promotions, with examples of resistance, understanding, and eventual joining being commonplace and repeated daily.

The platform’s review system played an unimaginable role in this process. Firstly, it allowed consumers to quickly understand the true nature of a business, helping them make informed choices and saving time. As a result, customer loyalty and trust in the group buying platform grew.

On the other hand, merchants, aiming for more traffic and exposure, started encouraging customers to order through the platform and accumulate positive reviews. Some even upgraded their stores and designed survey questionnaires to enhance customer experience.

This was a cycle of positive development: merchants upgraded their services while consumers enjoyed higher quality. The image of the group buying platform grew more robust, like a wildfire in the spring wind, burning brighter and bigger.

Recently, Deng Yuan and Zhang Yu, two friends and colleagues, received bonuses of 1,500 and 1,000 yuan, respectively. They returned to their rental with bags of purchases, some for personal use and others for their families. They even bought new clothes for themselves.

Deng Yuan, coming from a less affluent background, finally decided to replace her five-year-old Nokia phone with a new one.

Seeing this, Liang Xiao and Qian Lele’s faces soured.

“You got another bonus?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

After changing her shoes, Deng Yuan entered the living room. “This time it’s 1,500 yuan for me and 1,000 yuan for Zhang Yu.”

Qian Lele was astounded. “What did you do to get so much bonus?”

“We’re doing street promotions. The bonus is based on the number of new users we sign up.”

“So, you’ve made 2,000 yuan in bonuses this month?”

Deng Yuan nodded. “Yeah, we just finished promoting an entire business district. That was a phase bonus, and now we’re off to the next district. There might be more bonuses after that.”

Liang Xiao felt increasingly uncomfortable. “I checked your group buying platform. You always have discounts. How does it even make money? Isn’t your boss worried about going bankrupt?”

Zhang Yu, who had just entered the living room, smiled slightly. “Whether or not the company goes bankrupt is for the boss to worry about. What we need to consider right now is where to go this weekend.”

“Go out?”

“Yes. Deng Yuan and I have some money now, so we’re planning to go out for a couple of days. See you next Monday.”

Zhang Yu’s gentle words felt sharper than a knife to Liang Xiao.

Why?

Why aren’t Deng Yuan and her friends being deceived, and why do they keep getting bonuses? It’s just a small, obscure company!

Liang Xiao was so angry that he couldn’t even eat dinner. He went back to the room with a gloomy face and started looking for a job.

AN: I’m going to buy wedding supplies and order clothes. The next update might be late.

Liked it? Extra chapters at /premium/ via Patreon!