Chapter 298: Plain and Unadorned, Yet Ruthlessly Cutthroat Business Warfare

Late August, fourth floor of the Xu Yuan Library.

Standing by the glass curtain wall, one could overlook much of Xu Yuan College.

Near Zhenzhu Lake, Liu Creek, the basketball court, and the gymnasium, groups of first-year students gathered, brimming with idealistic hopes for university life as they eagerly explored the campus.

Chen Yansen put away his phone.

Five minutes earlier, he had called Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yi Army separately.

Both had readily agreed and swiftly deleted their cost breakdowns for materials.

They could ignore Yu Chendong's face, but they truly dared not offend Chen Yansen.

Zhou Hongyi knew well that 360 Mobile's hardware and software both relied on Orange Tech's support; if he went solo without Chen Yansen, 360 Mobile could never sell several million units a year.

Lei Yi Army feared the overall strength of Senlian Capital; facing an opponent with both sales channels and R&D and production capabilities, he worried even in his sleep that Chen Yansen might target him.

Moreover, Xiaomi had purchased patent licenses from Orange Tech for memory cleanup algorithms, battery management systems, and speech analysis voice development tools; once removed from Chen Yansen's technical support, whether the Xiaomi 1S and Xiaomi Mi2 could maintain their best-selling status became uncertain.

Turning around, Chen Yansen returned to the reading room, leaned back in his chair, and idly flipped through a copy of *Handbook of Batteries*, absorbing professional knowledge on batteries.

The thousand-page reference book, he flipped from front to back in just five minutes.

Only at noon did Chen Yansen stand up, return a stack of books on batteries, materials, and packaging technology to their shelves, and leisurely leave the library.

Strolling along Xuelin Road, the dense branches of plane trees overhead cast cool shade on both sides, where each department's new student registration booths were set up.

As Chen Yansen passed the telecom campus card event point, Tang Zhenzhe's English vocabulary progress remained stuck on "abandon."

Back at the faculty apartment building, Chen Yansen slid into the driver's seat of the Aston Martin Rapide and sped toward the tech park.

The food at Xu Yuan's cafeteria was dreadful; better to eat lunch at the tech park.

Meanwhile.

Beijing, No. 6 Wangjing East Road, Meituan Headquarters.

Wang Xin sat at his desk, eyes fixed on Meituan Delivery's core performance metrics; twelve days had passed since the takeout service launched.

Registered riders had risen from zero to 3, 70, with daily active riders around 1, 00—less than one-third.

Yet in delivery speed, on-time rate, rider satisfaction, and capacity utilization, part-time riders performed poorly.

Orders within three kilometers typically took 45 minutes; overall average delivery time was about 55 minutes, with a late rate of 9. 5%, nearly one in ten.

But the key issue: Kuai Pao 's late threshold was 29 minutes, while Meituan's was 40 minutes; if Meituan used the same standard, its late rate would exceed 50%.

Thus, most users who grabbed Meituan's first-order discount promptly uninstalled the app.

Slow free meals were tolerable; but when paying out of pocket, users naturally chose platforms with faster delivery and better service.

Clearly, Meituan riders were unfamiliar with road conditions, their order dispatch system was flawed, and capacity remained underutilized.

"Huiwen, tighten up the penalty details for rider management—raise the deposit amount, increase fines for late deliveries, and immediately downgrade riders who repeatedly refuse orders, lowering their order cap. Also, immediately ban riders with poor customer service attitudes!"

Behind his glasses, Wang Xin's eyes flashed coldly as he gave the order with a grim face.

"This could backfire, driving experienced riders straight to Kuai Pao."

Wang Huiwen frowned, voicing opposition.

"In Beijing, there are at least thirty to forty thousand casual laborers; if they quit, others will take their place!" Wang Xin said coolly.

It was identical to the ground promotion team's "human wave tactic"—once numbers grew, scale would win.

"Understood," Wang Huiwen nodded, no longer arguing.

On major decisions, differing opinions were allowed; but after the boss reiterated, only unconditional support followed.

Wang Huiwen understood workplace survival: once Wang Xin decided, he'd execute it.

At 3 p. ., Meituan's rider app, after mandatory update, added multiple penalties ranging from 50 to 200 yuan.

"Fuck! I'm done! Meituan's location is inaccurate, routes are poorly planned—is it our fault we're late?"

"Who cares! I'll work another month, get familiar with nearby neighborhoods and malls, then head straight to Kuai Pao for an interview."

"Guys, what's Kuai Pao 's rider pay like? I've heard they offer base salary and social insurance, but the per-order rate isn't as high as Meituan's!"

Several Meituan riders, resting on their electric scooters after the lunch rush, smoked and chatted idly.

"I interviewed last week—they said I didn't know the area well—but I deliberately asked about salary and benefits," said a seventeen-year-old boy, grinning.

He had just graduated high school, scored only 160 on his college entrance exam, barely missing the junior college cutoff, and ended up working in an electronics factory.

But twelve-hour shifts, two daily rotations—the life of a factory dog—made him realize how hard money was to earn; he promptly quit and joined the takeout army without hesitation.

"Xiao Jiang, tell us quick!" another young man, pretending to nap on his scooter, sprang up and handed him a Liqun cigarette.

Jiang Hao didn't refuse, took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and began: "Base salary 1, 00 yuan, five insurances and one fund, quarterly bonus every three months based on delivery volume and service rating—minimum 1, 00, maximum 4, 00—plus accident insurance, third-party liability insurance, and commercial medical insurance."

"What about surge bonuses and promotional rewards?" the young man asked.

"Of course there are—those are all standard at Kuai Pao. Work three months and you get stock options—equivalent to shares, worth about 20, 00 to 30, 00 yuan, paid out over four years."

Jiang Hao sneered.

"Kuai Pao 's benefits are awesome, but when it comes to per-order pay, Meituan's still king," another Meituan rider suddenly interjected.

"Bullshit! For orders under three kilometers, Kuai Pao pays 4. yuan, Meituan pays 6—sure, it's 1. yuan more, but factor in base salary, quarterly bonus, and surge rewards—you make more money at Kuai Pao! If you're bad at math, shut up!"

Jiang Hao shot back immediately.

"Pfft—you're good at math? Only 160 across six subjects in the college entrance exam? I could blindfold myself and do better." The Meituan rider teased.

"I just didn't feel like studying!" Jiang Hao retorted, neck stiff, face flushed.

"Oh, really?"

"Hahaha, Xiao Jiang, go retake the exam and get into Tsinghua or Peking University for us!"

The riders laughed and teased. With Meituan's new rules, more wanted to switch to Kuai Pao —but no matter how many left, new recruits outnumbered them.

Just as Wang Xin said: if you quit, others will take your place!

On the other side.

At a Kuai Pao station next to Qilin New World, the place was packed, filled with delivery riders wearing Meituan uniforms.

Some had received brand-new Kuai Pao uniforms, helmets, and scooter keys, smiling as they walked out; others still waited in long lines.

Station manager Zhu Chao looked at the throng and sighed: "Good thing the company tied hiring pace to order growth to protect full-time riders' income—if we hired unlimited people, I wouldn't need to do anything else but interview all day."

At that moment, a Kuai Pao rider pushed through the crowd and whispered something to Zhu Chao.

"What the fuck! Really?" Zhu Chao's face changed instantly, eyes red as he cursed.

"A Meituan rider told me himself—he even showed me the building layout of the residential complex," the Kuai Pao rider replied.

He pulled out his phone, opened his album, revealing a building layout map of Poly Central Park.

This data had taken their station over twenty days to compile, working with AutoNavi staff, point by point, then uploaded into their internal navigation software.

This was why Kuai Pao could cut delivery time to under 29 minutes.

Riders' locations were precise, routes optimized, even reaching users' building entrances directly.

For new delivery riders, just finding the right building number in a complex was a nightmare.

But Kuai Pao riders, whether experienced or not, became seasoned drivers instantly with navigation assistance.

Yet this valuable data had ended up in the hands of Meituan riders.

Who the hell did this?

Trying to cut off everyone's livelihood?

Zhu Chao narrowed his eyes, instantly grasping the severity. He told the rider: "Don't make a fuss—quietly find out who's behind this."

"Got it, boss. Once I find him, I'll peel his skin off," the Kuai Pao rider growled fiercely.

Zhu Chao grunted, pulled out his phone, and walked toward the office.

Soon, the North China regional manager received the news and relayed preliminary findings to headquarters.

Pei Yi was furious but kept his composure, instructing Beijing station managers to investigate quietly and find the culprit first.

"Fucking Wang Xin! Playing dirty, huh?"

Pei Yi sneered, called in Shan Jiawei, and prepared to sabotage Meituan's group-buying division.

As for reporting to police or suing, Pei Yi considered it briefly—and chose to drop it.

Though the building layout maps were independently collected by Kuai Pao and AutoNavi staff via manpower and technical means (GPS surveying, rider input), kept confidential, and thus qualified as trade secrets, Meituan had crossed the line.

But gathering solid evidence was difficult, and litigation would take too long.

Pei Yi couldn't wait that long!

Wang Xin dared to annoy him—he'd make Wang Xin suffer more.

Instantly, Kuai Pao accelerated its group-buying expansion, and the market battle with Meituan spread beyond North China.

Shan Jiawei's newly acquired markets in East China, Central China, and South China also launched attacks on Meituan.

For example, when Meituan's ground team negotiated a 99-yuan group-buying package with merchants, Kuai Pao 's BDs would show up within two hours, luring merchants to list identical group-buying items on Kuai Pao with a "three-month commission waiver."

Kuai Pao would then slash the price further by 10 yuan using subsidies, bringing it down to 89 yuan.

Identical group-buying items—Kuai Pao was 10 yuan cheaper.

Over time, users began to believe: Kuai Pao 's group-buying prices were lower; Meituan was robbing them blind.

Pei Yi and Shan Jiawei executed their "chest-to-back" strategy flawlessly—like a stubborn adhesive, impossible to shake off.

Leveraging deep pockets and ample funds, Kuai Pao 's group-buying business surged rapidly; after integrating Nuomi's merchant and user resources, Nuomi officially became Kuai Pao 's core channel.

High-frequency takeout orders brought massive exposure and extra orders to the group-buying channel.

Meituan's strategy was low-frequency driving high-frequency; Kuai Pao 's was high-frequency driving low-frequency—a strategic disparity that left Wang Xin on the defensive.

In fact, not just Meituan, but Dazhong Dianping and Lashou also struggled desperately.

Worst hit was WoWoTuan: weekly GMV had plunged to 40 million yuan; though still in the top five, its market share was steadily shrinking.

The Matthew effect grew stronger: Kuai Pao, Meituan, Dazhong Dianping, and Lashou now held nearly 80% of the group-buying market; the remaining 100+ sites split the other 20%.

Not to mention profit—whether they could even afford to eat was a question.

Layoffs, market contraction, difficulty securing financing, broken cash flows, closures—since Kuai Pao ignited a price war, nearly every day saw Tuangou websites flee.

That evening, after listening to Pei Yi's work report, Chen Yansen paused slightly upon learning that Old Pei had dispatched corporate spies; he hadn't expected Pei Yi, a graduate, to think of such underhanded tactics.

He didn't oppose it, only warned him to be careful and not get caught.

In business competition, a little dirty play is inevitable.

If Wang Xin can start on the first, don't blame him for finishing on the fifteenth.

Meituan's CRM database and user data might as well be put to use.

After giving brief instructions, Chen Yansen hung up the phone; the sky outside the window had darkened, so he opened the door and went downstairs.

At this moment, Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yi Army were still trading insults on Weibo.

Xiaomi and 360 phones both surged to the trending list, with sales showing clear changes.

Xiaomi Mi2 and Xiaomi 1S sold 63, 00 units in one day, a 26. % increase Huanbi.

The 360 N1 sold a staggering 71, 00 units in one day, a 31. % increase Huanbi.

Lei Yi Army quickly realized the tactic, his anger vanished, and he responded to Zhou Hongyi with perfect Moqi; the two played off each other, even overshadowing Orange Phone in Redu.

Liu Qiangdong, upon seeing their Weibo feud, thought to himself: This method feels familiar!

Damn! These two are copying me!

(End of Chapter)