Chapter 298: A Humble and Unadorned Vicious Business War

Late August, the fourth floor of the Xu Yuan Library.

Standing by the glass curtain wall, one could overlook more than half of Xu City Academy.

Near Pearl Lake, Willow Creek, the basketball courts, and the gymnasium, clusters of freshmen gathered, harboring beautiful yearnings for university life, enthusiastically exploring the campus environment.

Chen Yansen hung up the phone.

Five minutes ago, he had made separate calls to Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yi.

Both men readily agreed, cheerfully deleting the calculation list for material costs.

They could afford to ignore Yu Chendong's face, but they truly dared not offend Chen Yansen and the other.

Zhou Hongyi knew clearly that the hardware and software of the 360 Phone relied on Sister Chengzi Technology's support; if he cut ties with Chen Yansen to go it alone, the 360 Phone could not sell millions of units a year.

Lei Yi, on the other hand, feared the overall strength of Senlian Capital; facing an opponent with both sales channels and R&D and production capabilities, even in his dreams, he worried Chen Yansen would target him.

Moreover, Xiaomi had purchased patent licenses for memory cleaning algorithms, battery management systems, and voice analysis development tools from Sister Chengzi Technology; once separated from Chen Yansen's technical support, whether the Xiaomi 1s and Xiaomi Mi2 could maintain their best-selling status became an unknown.

Turning around, Chen Yansen returned to the reading room, leaned back in his chair, and casually opened a copy of "Handbook of Batteries" to absorb professional knowledge related to batteries.

This thousand-plus-page reference book, he flipped from the title page to the back cover in just five short minutes.

Not until noon, twelve o'clock, did Chen Yansen stand up, return a stack of books on batteries, materials, and packaging technology to their proper places, and leisurely leave the library.

Strolling along Xuelin Road, the lush plane tree branches overhead cast a patch of shade on both sides of the road, where the welcome stations for various departments were set up.

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

Returning to the foot of the faculty apartment building, Chen Yansen got into the driver's seat of the Aston Martin Rapide and sped off toward the Science Park.

The food at Xu Yuan Canteen was hard to describe in terms of taste; it was better to go to the Science Park for lunch.

Meanwhile.

Yanjing, No. 6 Teacher Wang Jing East Road, Meituan Headquarters.

Wang Xin sat in his seat, eyes fixed on the core indicator data of Meituan's delivery department; twelve days had passed since the food delivery service went live.

The number of registered riders rose from zero to 3,270, with a daily active user count of around 1,000, accounting for less than one-third.

However, in terms of delivery timeliness, punctuality rate, rider satisfaction, and capacity utilization, the performance of part-time riders was unsatisfactory.

Orders within 3 kilometers usually took 45 minutes, with an overall average delivery time of about 55 minutes, and an overtime rate of 9.75%, close to one-tenth.

But the key issue was that Kuai Pao's overtime baseline was 29 minutes, while Meituan's was 40 minutes; if the same standard were adopted, Meituan's overtime rate would exceed 50%.

Therefore, most users who had grabbed Meituan's first-order food delivery discount immediately uninstalled the app.

Free lunches delivered slowly, users could endure it; but when it came to paying out of their own pockets, they would naturally choose a food delivery platform with fast delivery and good service.

Thus, it was evident that Meituan riders were unfamiliar with road conditions, the order dispatch mechanism had problems, and capacity had not been fully released.

"Huiwen, the penalty details for rider management must be further strengthened: increase the deposit amount, intensify deductions for late deliveries, and for those who repeatedly refuse delivery orders, directly downgrade their weight and reduce their order limit. Additionally, immediately ban accounts for those with poor customer service attitudes!"

A flash of coldness passed through the eyes behind Wang Xin's glasses as he spoke with a stern face.

"This will likely backfire, forcing experienced riders to defect to Kuai Pao."

Wang Huiwen frowned tightly and raised an objection.

"In Yanjing, there are at least thirty or forty thousand scattered laborers; if they don't do it, plenty of others will!" Wang Xin said lightly.

This was exactly the same as the ground promotion team's "human wave tactic"; once the numbers went up, victory would be achieved through scale advantages.

"Alright, I understand." Wang Huiwen nodded and did not continue to argue against it.

On important decisions, one could express different views, but after the boss emphasized it a second time, one could only offer unconditional support.

Wang Huiwen knew the ways of workplace survival well; since Wang Xin had made the final decision, his job was simply to implement it.

At three in the afternoon, after a forced update, the Meituan rider app added multiple penalty measures, ranging from a minimum of 50 yuan to a maximum of 200 yuan.

"Damn it! I'm quitting! Meituan's positioning is inaccurate, and route planning is unreasonable; are we deliberately late on purpose?"

"Who cares! I'll work another month, get familiar with the terrain of nearby residential areas and malls, then immediately go interview at Kuai Pao!"

"Brothers, what exactly are the benefits for Kuai Pao riders? I've only heard people say there's a base salary and social security, but the per-order rate isn't as high as Meituan's!"

Several Meituan riders, after the lunch rush, leaned against their e-bikes for a nap, smoking and chatting idly.

"I went for an interview last week; they thought I wasn't familiar with the road conditions, but I deliberately asked about the salary, benefits, and welfare system." A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy said with a grin.

Having just graduated from high school this year, he scored only over 160 on the college entrance exam, not even reaching the threshold for junior college, so he simply entered an electronics factory.

But the life of a factory dog, with two shifts a day and a starting workday of 12 hours, made him realize how hard it is to earn money; subsequently, he dumped his bucket and ran, joining the food delivery army without hesitation.

"Xiao Jiang, speak up quickly!" Another young man, feigning sleep on an e-bike, flipped over and jumped down, handing over a Liqun cigarette and pressing for an answer.

Jiang Hao didn't stand on ceremony; he took the Liqun, tucked it behind his ear, and slowly began, "Base salary 1,600 yuan, five social insurances and one housing fund, quarterly bonuses issued every three months, calculated based on delivery volume and service ratings, minimum 1,600, maximum 4,800; additionally, there are accident insurance, third-party liability insurance, and commercial medical insurance."

"What about order-chasing bonuses and event rewards?" the young man asked.

"Of course there are; what you mentioned are all standard at Kuai Pao; after working for three months, you also get an option grant, equivalent to stock, worth about twenty or thirty thousand, distributed over four years."

Jiang Hao sneered with disdain.

"Kuai Pao's benefits are indeed quite amazing, but if we compare per-order rates, Meituan is the king." Another Meituan rider said abruptly.

"Bullshit! Take orders within 3 kilometers as an example: Kuai Pao is 4.5 yuan, Meituan is 6 yuan; it seems like 1.5 yuan more, but you have to factor in the base salary, quarterly bonus, and order-chasing rewards; if you want to make money, you still have to go to Kuai Pao! If your math is bad, just shut up!"

Jiang Hao immediately retorted.

"Tsk! You kid good at math? You only scored 160 on six subjects in the college entrance exam; I could write blindly with my eyes closed and still do better than you." This Meituan rider joked mockingly.

"That's just because I didn't want to learn!" Jiang Hao stuck his neck out, his face flushing red as he stubbornly argued.

"Oh, really?"

"Hahaha, Xiao Jiang, then go back and repeat a year, and take the exam to get into Tsinghua or Peking University for us to see."

Several riders teased and joked. After Meituan's new rules came out, even more people wanted to jump ship to Kuai Pao, but no matter how many people left, it wasn't as many as the new recruits.

Just as Wang Xin had said, if you don't do it, plenty of others will!

On the other side.

Beside Qilin Xintiandi, a Kuai Pao station was packed to the brim, with many delivery workers wearing Meituan uniforms squeezed inside and out.

Some received brand-new KuaiPao work uniforms, helmets, and e-bike keys, smiling as they walked out, while the rest still formed a long queue.

Station manager Zhu Chao, gazing at the sea of people, couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, the company adjusted its hiring pace to match order growth to protect the interests and income of full-time riders; otherwise, if we hired without limit, I wouldn't have time to work, just being busy with interviews all day."

At that moment, a KuaiPao delivery rider pushed through the crowd, approached Zhu Chao, and whispered a few words.

"I'll screw you! Is that true?" Zhu Chao's face instantly changed, and he cursed with red eyes.

"The Meituan rider said it himself; he even showed me the building distribution map of the residential complex," the KuaiPao rider replied.

After speaking, he took out his phone, opened the photo album, and the image displayed was a building distribution map of Poly Central Park.

This data had been painstakingly compiled over more than twenty days by their station, cooperating with Gao De Map staff, and uploaded to their internal navigation software.

This was also the main reason why KuaiPao could shorten delivery times to under twenty-nine minutes.

Riders' locations were accurate, route planning was precise, and they could even go directly to the user's building.

For ordinary new delivery riders, entering a complex and finding the customer's building number was already a challenge.

But KuaiPao riders, regardless of experience level, could become veteran drivers immediately with the assistance of the navigation system.

Yet this precious data had ended up in the hands of a Meituan rider.

Who the hell did this?

Trying to cut off everyone's livelihood?

Zhu Chao narrowed his eyes, immediately realizing the severity of the situation, and told the other person, "Don't make a scene yet; investigate secretly and see which damn bastard did this."

"Understood, Station Master. Once we find the person, I'll skin him alive," the KuaiPao rider said fiercely.

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

Soon, the person in charge of the North China region received the news and synchronized the preliminary investigation results with headquarters.

Although Pei Yi was furious, he kept his cool, instructing the Beijing station manager to investigate secretly and find the person first.

"Damn Wang Xin! Playing dirty, are you?"

Pei Yi snorted coldly, summoned Dan Jiawei, and prepared to infiltrate Meituan's group-buying division.

As for calling the police or filing a lawsuit, Pei Yi considered it briefly and chose to abandon it.

Although the residential complex building distribution map was non-public data independently collected by KuaiPao and Gao De staff through manpower and technical means (GPS surveying, rider organization) with confidentiality measures in place, and these data could in principle constitute trade secrets, Meituan's behavior had crossed the line.

But on one hand, securing evidence was difficult, and on the other, the litigation cycle was long.

Pei Yi couldn't wait that long!

If Wang Xin dared to disgust him, he would make Wang Xin suffer even more!

In an instant, KuaiPao's expansion speed in the group-buying business became even more rapid, and the market battle with Meituan was no longer confined to the North China region.

The East China, Central China, and South China markets, which Dan Jiawei had just taken over, also launched assaults on Meituan.

For instance, if Meituan's ground promotion staff negotiated a ninety-nine-yuan group-buying package with a merchant, KuaiPao's ground promotion BDs, upon discovering this, would definitely visit within two hours and lure the merchant to publish the exact same group-buying item on KuaiPao with the offer of "zero commission for the first three months upon joining."

But KuaiPao would use subsidy methods to lower the price by another ten yuan based on the ninety-nine-yuan price, bringing it down to eighty-nine yuan.

For the same group-buying item, KuaiPao's price was ten yuan cheaper.

Over time, this would leave users with the impression: KuaiPao's group-buying prices are cheaper; Meituan is treating them as suckers to fleece!

Pei Yi and Dan Jiawei executed the strategy of pressing chest to back to perfection, sticking like a damn leech that couldn't be shaken off.

Relying on deep pockets and ample funds, KuaiPao's group-buying business grew extremely fast; after integrating Nuomi. com's merchant and user resources, Nuomi. com officially became KuaiPao's core channel.

The high-frequency delivery business brought massive exposure and extra orders to the group-buying channel.

Meituan's strategy was low-frequency driving high-frequency, while KuaiPao's strategy was high-frequency driving low-frequency; this huge strategic difference created Wang Xin's passive situation.

In fact, it wasn't just Meituan; including Dianping and Laoshou. com, all were struggling exceptionally hard.

The worst off was Wowo Tuan, whose weekly transaction volume had dropped to forty million; although it hadn't fallen out of the top five in the market, its market share was gradually decreasing.

The Matthew Effect became even more obvious: KuaiPao, Meituan, Dianping, and Laoshou occupied nearly eighty percent of the group-buying industry market, while the remaining one hundred-plus surviving group-buying websites split the other twenty percent.

Let alone making a profit; whether they could even eat their fill was a problem.

Layoffs, market contraction, financing difficulties, broken capital chains, and closing down; since KuaiPao started the price war, group-buying websites running away happened almost every day.

That evening, after listening to Pei Yi's work report, Chen Yansen was slightly stunned upon learning that Old Pei had dispatched corporate spies; he hadn't expected that Pei Yi, a graduate school graduate, would even think of such dark tricks.

He didn't oppose it, only instructing him to be careful and not let the other side catch him red-handed.

Merchant competition, after all, involves using some underhanded tricks more or less.

If Wang Xin dares to do the first day of the first lunar month, don't blame him for doing the fifteenth.

Meituan's CRM database and user information could also be put to use.

After giving simple instructions, Chen Yansen hung up the phone; the sky outside had already darkened, so he pushed open the door and went downstairs.

At this moment, Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yijun were still trading verbal blows on Weibo.

Xiaomi and 360 phones both topped the trending searches, and sales had shown obvious changes.

Xiaomi Mi2 and Xiaomi 1s sold sixty-three thousand units in one day, a month-on-month increase of twenty-six point four percent.

360 N1 sold seventy-one thousand units in one day, a month-on-month increase of thirty-one point seven percent.

Lei Yijun quickly realized what was happening; he was no longer angry, but instead, with tacit understanding, retaliated against Zhou Hongyi. The two played off each other, even surpassing Sister Chengzi phones in popularity.

Liu Qiangdong, upon seeing the two's Weibo feud, couldn't help but think: The tactics look very familiar!

Damn! These two guys are copying me!

(End of Chapter)