Chapter 770: Chapter 518: You Are the Wealth of My Lifetime
Under normal circumstances, when one company dominates an industry, it’s time for capital to speak up.
In the past, merchants received overwhelming subsidies, customers indulged in excessive benefits, and riders enjoyed high treatment.
But what about later?
Even many contradictions were shifted, turning the conflict between the platform and the riders into a conflict between customers and riders, continually advocating for customers to be more tolerant, patient, and considerate towards the riders.
Have you all seen the trending topics about delivery guys?
But what about the platform itself?
It imposed increasingly strict regulations on employees, increased exploitation, and raised fees for customers.
As for the merchants, let’s not even talk about them.
When the platform reached its peak, merchants were like sons and the platform was like Daddy.
Honestly, people’s thoughts are always determined by their position.
Most people, if given the opportunity to become capitalists, may behave even worse than the capitalists they despise.
But Cheng Zhu’s Youu Tea is a merchant, and he also had to consider more for his own Youu Tea.
“Before Ningning officially takes over, I want to pave the way.” That was his mindset.
Indeed, in certain fields, it’s not easy to maintain a rivalry between two strong competitors or have three powers in balance.
Cheng Zhu got involved, seeking to maximize his own interests.
Moreover, being a merchant is just one of his roles; he ultimately intends to create his own platform.
In the office, Wang Xin kept the conversation under his control, guiding the topic.
Cheng Zhu listened attentively.
Ultimately, he would definitely relate more to Zhang Xuhao due to his age.
Moreover, Wang Xin’s ambitions were certainly bigger than Zhang Xuhao’s, aiming for more, and even the way he conversed was different.
“Mr. Cheng, I personally admire the recent arrangements you’ve made with Youu Tea and Ming Tea,” Wang Xin steered the conversation from Alibaba to Youu Tea.
“Here it comes!” Cheng Zhu thought to himself.
He had always guessed that Wang Xin might bring this up.
Praising someone sometimes also shows one’s own class and position.
After all, a commendation from someone higher up counts as praise, while flattery from a subordinate to a superior is what everyone now deems sycophantic.
Sometimes, praising is a way to posture.
Cheng Zhu personally quite liked using this speech technique, as it has some subtle effects.
Besides, Wang Xin also mentioned [Ming Tea].
Cheng Zhu was curious: “Does he want to monopolize everything?”
Youu Tea and Ming Tea, I want them both!
He had thought about this before meeting Wang Xin.
Because [Eleme] now has an advantage in big cities, which fits [Youu Tea] more. Meanwhile, [Meituan] at this stage is actually more suited for [Ming Tea]!
In the past, the value of Ming Tea was not as high as it is now.
Wang Xin, nicknamed Little Ma Yun, has turned Ming Tea into a replacement for Little Youu Tea.
Sure enough, after praising Cheng Zhu, Wang Xin suddenly changed the subject, “Mr. Cheng, since you invested in Ming Tea, it has been transformed. I’ve met with Wang Yunan, and if possible, I’d like to invite you two for a meal.”
“Of course,” Cheng Zhu replied.
“I am very optimistic about both Youu Tea and Ming Tea personally. I think if everyone could cooperate, there would be more possibilities in the future.” Wang Xin put down his teacup and leaned back in his chair, beginning to share his thoughts.
“Zhang Xuhao must have made quite a few promises yesterday. Actually, at the current stage of Youu Tea, no matter which platform it is, they would all show the utmost sincerity, and Meituan is no exception.”
“However, looking at the volume and our current focus areas, [Eleme] seems more singular, after all, it’s just a pure delivery platform.”
Wang Xin looked at Cheng Zhu and continued, “You probably saw the news in January. Tencent invested $350 million in [Eleme] together with [Dianping] and [Jingdong].”
Cheng Zhu nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Wang Xin then said, “[Meituan] is different, we are actually more like [Dianping] + [Eleme].”
This short statement had already laid out the differences between his company and the competitor.
Look at Little Zhang Xuhao, he still needs my old rival [Dianping] to invest in him, otherwise, I would have crushed him already!
He indeed still has Tencent behind him, but I have Alibaba!
For Wang Xin, outsiders didn’t know his current awkward situation with Alibaba, but he had to wave this flag.
After making these preparations, he began to play his trump card.
For [Eleme], its ace is its market share in big cities.
Wang Xin knew this area was not [Meituan]’s main battlefield currently, this would be where the final battle happens, so, for now, his strategy with Youu Tea contradicted that.
Thus, he started, “Like [Dianping] that didn’t focus on its own delivery business but chose to invest in [Eleme], we [Meituan] run our own delivery and don’t need to invest in any delivery platforms. So, my idea is that in the future we could invest in some… merchants.”
After finishing, he started making eye contact with Cheng Zhu, implying something.
This not-so-tall man had quite a sharp look in his eyes.
“I’ve always been paying attention to the new power restaurant brands, and I know that Youu Tea will definitely have a third and fourth round of funding.” Wang Xin continued making eye contact with Cheng Zhu.