In fact, Lin Chen's purpose in giving advice from both sides was to create chaos in the online shopping market. Only when the online shopping market is divided among many players will Huasuan.com have room to survive. If one party dominates, then that party will not need to care about Huasuan.com at all. Anyone who dares to sell at a lower price than me will be crushed. Then what use is Huasuan.com?
Soon after, Amazon China launched its Christmas pre-order campaign, offering a deposit of 50 yuan, with a 100 yuan discount for the final payment on Christmas Day. Consumers thought, "Hey, this is great! It's like getting an extra 50 yuan off on top of the existing discounts." As a result, Amazon China once again diverted some of the revenue from Taobao's Double Twelve shopping festival.
Zhang Yong called Lin Chen: "Brother Lin, did you teach Amazon this pre-sale method?"
"How could that be? If I were that good, I would just start my own online shopping business instead of running Huasuan.com and trying to make a living off you big shots."
Zhang Yong thought to himself, "I don't believe you for a second. You little rascal, you're really bad." But he still spoke politely: "Brother, of course I believe you. It's just that everyone in the industry is saying that you gave Zhang Wenyi the idea, and she even gave you five million in consulting fees."
"Damn it, don't let me find out who's spreading these rumors. If I find out, I'll never work with them again. Five million for consulting fees? Dude, think about it. I only sold to Amazon for ten million this Christmas. Do you think Amazon would give me five million just because I said a few words?"
"Ah, this..." Zhang Yong himself was not confident in his words. Indeed, if Lin Chen's consultation fee was so high, then what was the point of running Huasuan.com?
"Haha, let's not talk about that. I called you today to ask if there's any way to get the traffic back from Amazon."
"Brother, you think too highly of me. What can I do? There must be a mastermind behind Amazon."
"Okay, then I'll think of another way."
After hanging up the phone, the secretary said, "Boss, it seems it really wasn't Huasuan.com's idea. So what should we do next?"
"Then let's have a real showdown! That fake foreign devil Amazon, do you think I'm afraid of him? Go, announce it! We'll start pre-sales on the same day as Amazon, with the exact same discounts!"
Subsequently, following Taobao's lead in pre-sales, JD.com, Dangdang, and Vancl followed suit, making the competition fierce even before December 2009 arrived.
Meanwhile, Lin Chen, the mastermind behind it all, was in the Ele.me office listening to Zhang Xuhao boast.
"President Lin, how's it going? We've knocked Xiao Yezi's business out of business. From today onwards, Ele.me is going to take over all of Shanghai."
Lin Chen scratched his ear: "Oh, then good luck."
"Why aren't you surprised at all?"
"Why should I be surprised? Huasuan.com has already expanded nationwide. You haven't even conquered Shanghai yet. You're too slow. I really regret investing five million in you."
"Hehe, impossible, absolutely impossible. Huasuan.com has only been online for a short time, not even a month, and it hasn't even taken over the university town yet. All you do is brag."
Liu Xiaoxiao couldn't bear to see her boss embarrassed, so she weakly raised her head and replied, "Boss, you've been busy lately, so you might not have noticed, but Taobao and Huasuan.com had a joint promotion for Singles' Day, Amazon is going to have a promotion with Huasuan.com for Christmas, and JD.com is going to have a promotion with Huasuan.com for New Year's Day."
Zhang Xuhao was instantly petrified. Taobao? Amazon? JD.com? These are all giants! Ele.me is just a small fry in their eyes, and now they're even going to cooperate with Huasuan.com?
Opening his computer browser and typing "Huasuan.com" into the search bar, Zhang Xuhao was forced to accept the reality of the situation by the overwhelming amount of news articles he found.
"Ah!!! God, why are you so unfair! Why is it that Lin Chen, despite being ugly, has so much money and such good luck?"
"Hey Zhang Xuhao, I'm suing you for defamation! You should look at yourself in the mirror. How dare you say I'm ugly? You'd better go deliver your takeout."
At that moment, Ms. Liu from the Entrepreneurship Center walked in.
"President Lin, so you're here! I just went to your office to look for you, and An Rou said you must be across the street. And here you are."
"Hehe, it's quite amusing to listen to Zhang Xuhao showing off here. Teacher Liu, is there anything I can help you with?"
Zhang Xuhao: Listen to this, are you even speaking human language?
"I'm here to inform you that on December 15th, your company, along with two other university student startups in Shanghai, will be led by the official university student entrepreneurship management office to Beijing to participate in the national university student entrepreneurship competition to be held at the end of the year. Please prepare accordingly."
"Okay, Teacher Liu."
After Teacher Liu left, Lin Chen also returned to his office. Su Xiaowan was also there today. Recently, there have been several large transactions on Huasuan.com, and Su Xiaowan came to assist with the tax filing.
"Lin Chen, was that 5 million yuan consulting fee paid in your personal name or in the company's name?"
"What consultation fee? You've got it wrong. It was just a red envelope from an elder when we met."
An Rou was speechless: "Who gives five million when meeting their elders?"
"Senior, you don't understand the world of the rich, so don't make wild guesses. By the way, senior, get ready to come with me to Beijing on December 15th to participate in the National College Student Entrepreneurship Competition."
“December 15th, let me see…” An Rou flipped through her memo and glanced at it. “Boss, no way, I have to take the CET-6 exam, so I can’t go.”
"You're already a senior, how come you still haven't passed the CET-6?"
"Ahem, I just really love Chinese."
"Can't we take the test again next year?"
"No way, if I don't pass this year, I won't be able to graduate next year."
Lin Chen thought for a moment, then looked at Su Xiaowan and asked, "Xiaowan, are you free?"
Su Xiaowan smiled and said, "I have time. Anyway, I'm only a freshman. I can take the CET-4 and CET-6 exams next year."
Lin Chen nodded: "That's right, unlike some people who have taken the exam four times and still haven't passed. Xiao Wan, could you organize the financial statements? We might need them later."
An Rou slumped weakly on the table: "Xiao Wan, you know how to hurt people."
At this moment, Dawei suddenly shouted, "Boss, I saw someone online valuing our company, saying that our company is estimated to be worth 200 million US dollars."
Everyone gathered around, looking at the content displayed on Dawei's computer. It was an analysis article by a financial blogger on Weibo. The article stated that although Huasuan.com had only been established for a month, its formidable operational capabilities and technological barriers made the website unique in the market. The author estimated that after the joint event with Taobao's Double Eleven, Huasuan.com's registered user base had exceeded 20 million. Combining these factors, the author gave it a valuation of 200 million US dollars.
An Rou scoffed, "So you're a well-known financial blogger? Your data isn't accurate at all. Yesterday, our user registration count already exceeded 60 million."
"Keep it low-key, senior. You can't just tell anyone this data, or Mr. Zhang from Taobao will come and chop me up with a cleaver."
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