Chapter 26: The eldest lady and Xiao Qianxi have a falling out
Just a week after Qin Hao returned to the capital, on May 10, the number of SARS cases in the capital began to show a downward trend. This news also reached thousands of households through television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet.
Although this does not mean that the epidemic is over and we can sit back and relax, it can be regarded as a staged victory, indicating that the spread of the epidemic has been controlled.
However, some habits are difficult to change once they are formed.
In the past two months, Tesco's transaction volume has skyrocketed tenfold from less than 8 million per month at the beginning. The number of new users and daily order volume have also increased fivefold and sevenfold respectively. Of course,
, the surge in transaction volume is also related to rising prices.
It’s not that Qin Hao wants to enrich the country, but mainly because of the epidemic control, the purchase price of suppliers has increased a lot than usual. This is because Tesco has enough purchases to achieve this price. Many offline stores even sell daily necessities.
It has increased several times.
This is also the main reason why many users who have never had contact with Tesco before choose to place orders online. No one knows when the epidemic will be over. If they keep buying things at this price, many families will not be able to afford it.
At first, Tesco still adopted the method of placing orders online and picking up the goods offline. However, due to the requirements of the Beijing Epidemic Prevention Department, large numbers of people were not allowed to gather. At Qin Hao's suggestion, Liu Qiangdong organized a group of couriers to deliver the goods.
Orders are delivered directly to users' homes.
As a result, the cost has increased a lot. After all, people are panicking during the epidemic. It is difficult to recruit people for positions like couriers that have to contact thousands of households without offering high prices.
Throughout March, Jingcheng Tesco's orders were basically at a loss. It was not until April that the order volume increased and the costs were amortized, and it was barely even.
Of course, users are naturally excited about the service of express delivery directly to their door. It not only eliminates the trouble of going out to pick up the goods, but also eliminates contact with the outside world and the risk of contracting SARS.
Even in some communities, since many people do not have computers at home, they will ask their neighbors who have computers to help place orders. Sometimes there is even a situation where an order cannot be loaded into a three-wheeler.
However, this is only a treatment available to users in Beijing. Users in other areas can still only go to stores to pick up goods. After all, the cost of door-to-door express delivery is too high, and Tesco adopts a group purchase model, and its gross profit is inherently low.
, price increases will only push users to other shopping platforms, such as the just-launched Taobao.
Liu Qiangdong was dismissive of Taobao: "These are all useless things. The things they sell are too miscellaneous, with hammers and sticks here and there."
"Don't underestimate it, it will be our strong enemy." Qin Hao said in a serious tone. Of course he would not underestimate Taobao, let alone Jackma.
"Oh?" Liu Qiangdong looked at Qin Hao in surprise, wondering why he paid so much attention to this newly emerged platform.
Qin Hao tapped his fingers on his desk: "Taobao takes a completely different route from Tesco. I take a small but refined approach, while Taobao takes a large and broad approach. Taobao's current transaction volume is definitely not as high as Tesco's."
But when the online shopping user group becomes larger and larger, and user demands increase, Taobao's advantages will become apparent."
"For example, if you want to buy a sofa set online, but it is not available on Tesco, you have to go to Taobao to buy it. There is no other choice."
Liu Qiangdong's face was startled: "Can Tesco be as big and comprehensive as Taobao?"
"It's difficult." Qin Hao shook his head gently.
"Why?"
"Because, Tesco takes a completely different route from Taobao. Taobao is asset-light. It is just a platform. There are no other fees except bandwidth. However, Tesco takes an asset-heavy model. It not only has offline stores,
There is also warehousing, and the cost of JD Logistics is not low. If we want to be as big as Taobao, we will burn a lot of funds, which may be thankless and bring us down."
Qin Hao is very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of Tesco, so he did not regard Taobao as an imaginary enemy from the beginning.
"The domestic market is so large that no one can achieve a complete monopoly. As long as we perfect our business model, we will be able to occupy a place in the e-commerce market. As for whether we can become the industry leader, we have to walk step by step.
, don’t try to reach the sky in one step.”
Liu Qiangdong nodded when he heard this: "You are right, I am too eager for quick success."
Qin Hao patted Liu Qiangdong's shoulder and said sternly: "Now the epidemic situation in Beijing has been controlled. According to my prediction, in another two or three months, the epidemic situation in various places may be gradually controlled, so the next
Two or three months is particularly critical for us."
"Don't worry, JD Logistics will never hold you back." Liu Qiangdong immediately expressed his stance.
"Brother Dong, I'm going to do this with ten thousand hearts."
…
At the same time, Xicheng District of Beijing.
A three-wheel drive stopped at the door of a villa, and the courier shouted to the door.
"Is Ms. Wang Ying here? Your express delivery has arrived."
When Mama Wang heard the shouting outside, she frowned and put down her teacup. When Wang Ying came in with several express boxes, she couldn't help but say.
"Didn't I tell you that if you want to buy something, ask the driver to go directly to Wangfujing to help you buy it. Things on the Internet are probably fake. It would be embarrassing to be recognized by others if you wear them."
The smile on Wang Ying's face faded.
"Mom, didn't I tell you, I bought this from Yiguo. Although it is not a famous brand, it is genuine and the price is cheap."
Mother Wang looked disgusted: "The family doesn't lack your money..."
"I know that my family is not short of money, but the money at home does not come from strong winds. There is no harm in saving a little money."
While talking, Dad Wang came out of the room.
"Well, as Yingying grows up, she starts to think about her family, which is good."
Wang Ying received the compliment, a faint smile bloomed on her face, and she went upstairs with the express box in her arms.
Mother Wang rolled her eyes at her husband: "What do you know? Just help me. Didn't I agree that I will take care of the children's education?"
"Then the child knows how to save money, why don't I praise him a few times?" Father Wang looked puzzled.
Mother Wang snorted: "How can you save money? I have been shopping online every day for the past half month. I asked casually that day, and this girl kept talking to me, saying that this shopping website was founded by her schoolmate.
, and also said how outstanding this alumnus is, there must be something wrong with it.”
"Oh? Yingying's alumnus? He must be young. Being able to start a shopping website shows that he has good vision. Now the higher-ups are vigorously developing the Internet, which is a hot spot."
"Humph, so what if you are excellent? He was born in a poor family in Ebian. How can such a person be the son-in-law of our Wang family?"
Father Wang frowned: "The family is in a bad situation, but it doesn't need to be beaten to death. We were poor and lower-middle peasants three generations ago."
"Go, this is not your company, what kind of official talk, I don't care anyway, Yingying is my only daughter, I must find her a well-matched husband."
"Okay, okay, you have the final say, okay."
"That's pretty much it."
Wang Ying hid at the corner of the spiral staircase on the second floor, her face pale. Although she had been mentally prepared, she still felt extremely disappointed when she heard her mother's words.
She is already a sophomore in college. According to her parents' arrangements, she will go to the UK to study after graduating from college. By the time she comes back, Qin Hao and Xiao Qianxi may already be married and have children.
From childhood to adulthood, Wang Ying has always obeyed her parents' arrangements and has never let them worry. Before she met Qin Hao, she had already accepted this arrangement. After graduating from college, she would study abroad and then find a well-matched husband to take care of her children.
, live a life that is enviable in the eyes of others.
However, now Wang Ying is extremely disgusted with this arrangement, as if she is just a puppet on strings.
At this moment, Wang Ying wanted to be willful for herself.
…
As we enter June, the weather has become hotter. Strangely enough, the SARS epidemic across the country has also been effectively suppressed this month.
In July, major universities began to gradually unblock.
Beiqing was no exception. The moment the school gate reopened, countless Beiqing students rushed out of the school and opened their arms to breathe in the hard-won free air.
"This damn SARS is finally over!" Xu Lin raised his arms and shouted.
Xie Qiao also held Xiao Qianxi's hand excitedly: "Haha, I can finally go home."
Since classes have been suspended during the SARS period, even though it is already summer vacation, students in Beiqing need to make up one month of make-up classes, so Xiao Qianxi and the others were arranged to start classes only on the second day after the lockdown was lifted.
Of course, Qin Hao is an exception. Although the SARS epidemic was basically under control in July, the habits formed by customers cannot be changed all at once. What's more, online products are much cheaper than offline stores.
Not only did Tesco's business volume not fall back because the SARS epidemic was under control, on the contrary, it also increased to a certain extent. A large part of these users were unable to go to Internet cafes to access the Internet during the epidemic. Now that the epidemic has been lifted, they can finally go online.
Placed an order online.
According to background statistics, the number of Tesco users has exceeded 20 million, which is already a very scary number. You must know that as of June 30, the number of mainland Internet users was only 68 million, which is equivalent to an average of one in three Internet users.
I have personally registered a Tesco account. Of course, there must be many users who have registered multiple Tesco accounts. Even so, it is already very amazing.
If it hadn't been for SARS, Tesco would never have been able to gain so many users in just one and a half years.
After the epidemic, the Beiqing campus has changed from the depression of the past, and is filled with laughter and joy. It seems that after the epidemic, students have a new understanding of life.
Dormitory 213.
"Miss, welcome back!"
Xu Lin rushed forward and was about to give Wang Ying a bear hug. In the past, Wang Ying would either avoid it in disgust or stop it directly, but this time, Wang Ying actually let Xu Lin hug her and just gave her a hug.
Big eyes.
Xie Qiao was also very happy to see Wang Ying: "Wang Ying, welcome home."
Home, when Wang Ying heard the word, she was stunned for a moment. Originally, she had always thought that her home was in a villa in Xicheng District, but at some point, she only felt depressed about that place. Instead, she felt more relaxed in the dormitory.
Just as Wang Ying was changing her bedding, the door of dormitory 213 was pushed open.
"Qianxi, you are back too."
Xiao Qianxi nodded with a smile: "Well, isn't this the first day of resumption of classes? I'll come back to see you."
Xu Lin walked around Xiao Qianxi and said to Xie Qiao suspiciously: "Have you noticed that Qianxi is a little different from before?"
"What's different? Why didn't I notice it?" Xie Qiao shook his head.
Xu Lin scratched the back of his head: "I can't tell you exactly what's different. It's just that the feeling has changed, and you've noticed that Qianxi's skin is much better than when she first entered school, and her figure is also better.
"
Xiao Qianxi was skeptical about Xu Lin's words. She looked in the mirror every day, so why didn't she feel it?
Xie Qiao stared at Xiao Qianxi for a long time: "Well, it is indeed different."
Finally, after Xie Qiao took out Xiao Qianxi's student ID card for comparison, he came to a conclusion: This is the magic of love.
Wang Ying sneered at Xu Lin and Xie Qiao's childish remarks.
"You might as well say that people rely on clothes, and Buddha relies on gold clothing."
In an instant, the atmosphere in dormitory 213 took a turn for the worse.
Since Xiao Qianxi and Qin Hao got together, their consumption level has skyrocketed. Although they are not luxury goods, they are still good domestic brands. According to Xiao Qianxi's family background, they must not be able to afford them.
"Ahem, Qianxi, don't listen to the eldest lady's nonsense, you look good in anything you wear." Xu Lin tried his best to find a step for both parties.
However, Wang Ying did not buy it: "Is there something wrong with what I said?"
Xie Qiao was confused for a moment and didn't understand why Wang Ying, who had always been "indifferent to worldly affairs", showed such strong hostility towards Xiao Qianxi.
Xiao Qianxi's fragile self-esteem was severely stung, and she immediately fought back.
"What about you? What are you wearing that your parents didn't bring to you? Yes, I don't have a family as good as yours, but I can at least earn living expenses with my own hands. If I have
One day, you leave the protection of your parents, what can you do?"
Xu Lin and Xie Qiao were stunned and didn't know what to do.
Wang Ying actually regretted it when she said the words, but Xiao Qianxi's counterattack left her with no way out. The eldest lady's pride made her unable to lose face and apologize to Xiao Qianxi, so she could only choose to continue to be tough.
"Throwing aside all the conditions that are beneficial to the other party and forcing a comparison, this is gangster logic. No matter how much you are unhappy in your heart, there is one thing you cannot change."
"No matter how hard you try, you can't reach the height where I started."
"You keep saying that I am nothing if I leave the shelter of my parents, but if our identities can be exchanged, in this dormitory, the person you want to exchange with the most must be me, right?"
Xiao Qianxi stumbled and almost fell.
Wang Ying saw it but didn't feel the joy of a winner. In fact, if her identities could be exchanged, the one she wanted to exchange most would be Xiao Qianxi.