Chapter 383: Daily Sales Hit 50.7 Billion! Bug Incident: Fulfill Orders or Cancel?

10:30 PM, Zhuxianzhuang Technology Park.

Except for Buildings 5 and 6, which remained brightly lit, the employees of Chengzi Technology, Jinri Technology, and Chengzi Pay had long left work, leaving the interior and exterior of the buildings pitch black.

"Damn bastards! Trying to scam my overtime pay again!"

Chen Yansen sat in a rattan chair on the rooftop terrace, a smile on his lips, muttering softly.

Does Chen Zong care about that little overtime pay?

Of course not!

Pinbei's monthly gross profit reaches three billion Huayuan; even if everyone worked around the clock for 24 hours, the salary expenditure would be but a drop in the bucket for the company.

But today is the '38 Goodies Festival'; although the promotion level is not as high as 618, Double 11, or Double 12, it is still the most important e-commerce event of the Q1 quarter.

The tradition for Pinbei's big promotions has always been: barbecue, hot pot, beer, fried chicken, braised dishes, and Chen Yansen.

Just like a mascot!

Chen Yansen muttered inwardly.

As the boss, he naturally had to stay at the company to hold the fort.

Otherwise, he would have long returned to Sanjiaozhou to study Meng Jie or Song Yuncheng's lock core structures, or gone to Master Ye's home to drink a bowl of authentic Sichuan-style sweet soup.

Smelling the barbecue aroma drifting up from the first floor, Chen Yansen patted his belly; just as he was about to go downstairs for some late-night snacks, the phone on the table began to vibrate.

"Boss, you're not asleep yet?" Liao Wei asked cautiously.

"What's up? Want to tell me a bedtime story?" Chen Yansen joked.

Hearing this, Liao Wei grinned: "If the boss needs it, I'm not against it."

"Enough nonsense, get to the point," Chen Yansen said.

"The 13 second-hand passenger planes from Air China have just been delivered; same as before, they will be sent to Singapore for modification first, and are expected to be put into use in July," Liao Wei explained calmly.

After reporting the main business first, he moved to the main topic: "Air China has a brand-new Gulfstream G550 business jet in hand, with a selling price of only 46 million US dollars."

"The same model as Ma Liyun?" Chen Yansen asked in return.

Earlier this year, Old Ma also bought a Gulfstream G550, with a package price of 49.7 million US dollars.

This news was told to him by Zhang Chaoyang.

Liao Wei chuckled: "That's right! This plane was originally commissioned by the head of Shangde Group to be purchased through Air China, but last year their company's capital chain ran into trouble; now they urgently need money and want to sell it to cash out."

Shangde?

Chen Yansen recalled the general situation of this company in less than a second, because the several packaging factories acquired by Yunsu Express were exactly subsidiaries under their umbrella.

"46 million US dollars isn't expensive; I'll have Old Gao contact you later," Chen Yansen said after a moment's thought.

A new Gulfstream G550 costs about 50 million US dollars, while a second-hand one costs around 30 million US dollars.

At that time, purchasing it in the name of Senlian Capital and then registering it under the Yunsu Express fleet could also save some management and maintenance costs.

With business activities becoming increasingly frequent, purchasing a private plane is nothing to be criticized.

As for second-hand planes, Chen Zong would not consider them at all.

Whether it is a car or a plane, Chen Zong never uses second-hand goods.

"Okay, Boss, then you should rest early," Liao Wei replied.

Chen Yansen put away his phone, stood up, and walked towards the elevator lobby, planning to take a round before getting off work and going home.

With a "Ding," the elevator doors slowly opened.

"Boss!"

"Brother Sen!"

Several employees from the Investment and Operations Department hurriedly greeted him.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly; from afar, he spotted Zhang Yifeng, Chen Xu, Li Hui, and Yuan Wei gathered together, skewering meat and drinking.

Actually, this is basically how e-commerce big promotions go; if the preliminary work is done properly, there is nothing much to do on the day itself.

"Brother Sen!" Seeing Chen Yansen, Li Hui hurriedly put down his beer and skewers, brought a chair for him, and placed it directly in front of the group.

Chen Yansen did not stand on ceremony; he sat down heavily, took the beer handed to him by Zhang Yifeng, took a huge gulp, and then asked: "Has the 3 billion arrived?"

Zhang Yifeng and Yuan Wei exchanged a smile, then shook their heads.

"Brother Sen, our daily sales are already 1.2 billion Huayuan; shouldn't the big promotion multiply that by several times? Mr. Huang said that if the sales target of 4 billion is not met, the Q1 performance bonus will be discounted," Chen Xu spoke up.

"Brother Sen, it's already 4.83 billion, probably around 5 billion," Li Hui, being the most honest, dared not keep the boss in suspense and reported the truth.

Chen Yansen felt slightly surprised, thinking: The golden age of the e-commerce industry is getting closer and closer.

"If the 5 billion target is met, I will add 0.2 to your Q1 bonus coefficient," Chen Yansen said lightly.

"Thank you, Brother Sen."

Hearing this, the group beamed with smiles and responded in unison.

With more than an hour left until midnight, just two hundred million is nothing; it's too easy.

They knew clearly in their hearts that this was just the boss's excuse for a "raise."

Although Pinbei pays twelve salaries a year, adding the four quarterly bonuses each year, the minimum is sixteen salaries and the maximum is twenty-four salaries.

During every big promotion, there are also extra reward mechanisms.

For example, Zhang Yifeng received 26 months' worth of wages last year.

"It's getting late; I'm going back first, won't keep you guys up with me."

Chen Yansen sat for only a few minutes, then waved his hand, turned around, and left.

Meanwhile.

Although Liu Qiangdong was in the United States, he still could not let go of his concern for Jingdong's big promotion performance.

Inside a high-end apartment, he leaned back on the sofa, staring fixedly at the computer screen.

On the data backend page, the total transaction amount of Jingdong's '38 Big Promotion' was clearly displayed: 2.27 billion.

Neither joyful nor sorrowful, neither good nor bad.

Liu Qiangdong exhaled deeply, turned his head toward the kitchen, and a slender figure came into view.

High ponytail, pure and adorable, making him feel as if he had returned twenty years ago, reliving the beauty of his youth.

One cannot forever possess youth, but one can still catch its scent in a young body.

Qianzai Dong thoroughly enjoyed his recent life.

"Old Liu, get me a bottle of red wine—I'm simmering a broth," the girl's crisp, melodious voice rang out.

Qianzai Dong snapped back to reality and walked straight toward the wine cabinet.

At this moment, it had just passed midnight in the country, and Pinduoduo's final sales figure settled at 5.06 billion.

In a rental apartment in Jin Ling, Li Chang arrived just before the event ended and finally bought a long-desired ukulele for 390 yuan.

He had intended to shut down his computer and go to sleep, but noticed a new group-buying page on Jingdong's homepage.

Does Jingdong do group buying now?

Li Chang, curious, clicked into Jingdong's group-buying channel; the webpage's UI style resembled Kuai Pao's.

The categories were mainly hotels and travel.

He dragged his mouse and flipped through a few pages at random.

Suddenly, Li Chang's hand froze; he quickly wiped his eyes and fixed his gaze on the screen.

"Romantic Tour of the Cherry Blossom Ancient City, Stay at a Five-Star Hotel, Three Days Two Nights, Free Travel."

The group-buying package included park admission tickets and hotel accommodation.

Most crucially, the price was only one yuan!

Is Jingdong insane?

He didn't overthink it—he clicked to purchase, entered his phone number, submitted the order, and paid, completing the entire process in one smooth motion.

Soon, his phone received a message from Jingdong with the group-buying coupon information.

Not a flash sale?

It's a bug!

Li Chang immediately realized the platform's staff had set the price incorrectly. Thinking this, he unhesitatingly changed the order quantity to 999 units.

To his immense delight, the payment process completed successfully again.

Original price 999 yuan, now only one yuan.

Even if he couldn't use them all, he could list them online for others—two nights at a five-star hotel, priced at five hundred yuan, would surely be snatched up in a frenzy.

One thousand units would be 500,000 yuan!

Li Chang's breathing became heavy, his face flushed red, too excited to sleep.

"Ding-ding-ding—!"

The continuous alert tones from his phone interrupted his thoughts.

Because Jingdong sent one group-buying coupon message per purchase, and he had just bought 999 at once.

In other words, hundreds more text messages were still on their way.

His phone was growing hotter!

Li Chang feared it might explode, so he hastily removed the back cover and pulled out the battery.

Then, seeing the group-buying item was still available for purchase, he bought another 2,000 units.

At the same time, he was not the only user who discovered Jingdong's bug; users across the country began placing orders like crazy.

In just half an hour, the group-buying item sold 50,000 units.

Only after inventory sold out did users regret it, slapping their thighs and crying: Why didn't I buy more?

Many users who had snagged the deal feared Jingdong would back out, so they listed the items overnight on Taobao's secondhand site (the predecessor of Xiaohuangyu).

Prices ranged from a maximum of 600 yuan to a minimum of ten yuan.

"Idiot! Do you have any brains, selling so cheaply!"

Li Chang had planned to list his at 500 yuan, but after seeing dozens of listings at ten, fifty, and one hundred yuan, he changed his price to 88 yuan.

Two nights at a five-star hotel plus Cherry Blossom Ancient City admission for only 88 yuan—dozens sold instantly.

That night was a carnival for the wool-pullers, while Jingdong remained unaware.

Li Chang stayed up all night, staring at his estimated income of over thirty thousand yuan, his grin stretching ear to ear.

At nine a. m., Sun Yang, the operations officer in charge of Jingdong's group-buying channel and travel category, opened his data backend and his face lit up with joy.

On the first day of the campaign, the best-selling product had sold 50,000 units.

This month's performance bonus was guaranteed!

When his peripheral vision caught the transaction amount column, he was utterly stunned.

Why is it only 50,000 yuan?

Checking the average order price, it was one yuan!

Fuck!

What the hell is going on!

Sun Yang's hands trembled uncontrollably; he could no longer grip the mouse.

He understood—a bug had occurred, and it was serious.

In no time, he sorted out his thoughts and found the responsible party in the operation logs.

A recent intern from the testing team had accidentally linked a test-environment product URL to the production environment.

Losses totaled 50 million yuan!

Fortunately, it had nothing to do with him.

But he knew deep down, this month's performance was doomed!

"Fuck, what a genius!"

Sun Yang, torn between laughter and tears, compressed the organized data and sent it straight to his supervisor.

"What's this? The first-day data for the group-buying channel?" the supervisor asked, baffled.

"Boss, Zhang Jianhao from the testing team deployed the test product onto the production environment," Sun Yang explained.

"Shit! Is he an idiot? Take the product down immediately!" The supervisor snapped awake.

"Sold out," Sun Yang replied.

"What? Sold out! How much inventory was there?" the supervisor pressed.

"Fifty thousand," Sun Yang answered instantly.

"..." The supervisor's heart turned to ash; he wanted to grab a knife and kill someone right there.

He burst out of his office, sprinted to the testing team's workstation, and shouted: "Are you guys trying to ruin people?"

Even though the testing team bore most of the blame for the incident, didn't the operations staff share responsibility for failing to spot the buggy product?

The bosses upstairs didn't care about any of that!

The news reached Xu Lei instantly; his face turned icy, eyes smoldering with rage, his right hand clenched so tight his knuckles cracked, teeth gritted together.

The boss had been studying in the Lighthouse Nation for less than a month, and already disaster had struck below.

How could he explain this to Liu Qiangdong?

Would the group-buying channel become an industry joke on its very first day?

Xu Lei's scalp prickled like an electric shock; after a moment's thought, he summoned the heads of the tech and customer service departments.

"Cancel all orders. If customers complain, compensate each with a 10-yuan Jingquan voucher—no minimum spend. For those with strong complaints, give 20 yuan," Xu Lei ordered coldly.

"Cancel all? I checked the data—23,000 users are involved. If this triggers a mass complaint, the Market Supervision Association will be calling me for tea," the customer service head growled.

"Don't cancel? Are you planning to fulfill all of them? Do you know how much we'd lose?" Xu Lei shot back.

If it were five million, he'd grit his teeth and accept it!

But fifty million in losses? That could literally kill him.

"Call the boss to sync up—I don't support acting unilaterally," the tech head said gravely.

"I agree," the customer service head chimed in.

This wasn't his problem.

The testing and operations teams for the group-buying channel were the ones who should take the fall.

If he endorsed Xu Lei's plan and the big boss later held him accountable, he'd get dragged down too—might even get yelled at.

"The boss has fully delegated me to handle the company's daily operations," Xu Lei said, displeased.

"Boss Xu, what if your opinion clashes with the boss's?" the customer service head urged.

"This issue has serious implications. I suggest Boss Xu consult the boss first," the tech head added.

Xu Lei, furious that the two refused to follow his orders, burned with anger.

After they left his office, he pulled out his phone, hesitated a moment, then called Liu Qiangdong.

On the other end.

Liu Qiangdong was sound asleep, arms wrapped around a soft, youthful girl, feeling as if he'd returned to twenty years ago—but his body could never go back.

The phone on the table rang for dozens of seconds, waking the girl in his arms; still, Lianzai Dong snored on.

"Lao Liu! Lao Liu! Lao Liu!" The girl knew his identity, shaking his shoulder hard, worried he'd miss an important call.

Liu Qiangdong blinked open his eyes groggily, his waist weak and numb; staring at the pure-faced girl, he asked instinctively: "Xiao Tian, what's wrong?"

"Your phone's been ringing—three calls in a row," Zhang Jintian whispered.

Lianzai Dong cursed under his breath, picked up the phone by the bed, and, seeing the caller ID, pressed answer.

"A product worth 1,000 yuan sold fifty thousand units?" After hearing Xu Lei's report, Liu Qiangdong snapped awake, fully alert.

Fulfill or cancel the orders?

Liu Qiangdong frowned deeply, trapped in a dilemma.

"Has JD entered the group-buying arena?"

Chen Yansen lay on a soft couch beside the pool, receiving a call from Huang Zheng, learning of the 1-yuan product bug.

(End of Chapter)