Chapter 544 Administrative Reshaping of the Business Landscape (Bug Fix): Strategic Ecosystem Builder
The city leaders found it increasingly intriguing and proactively inquired of a nearby shopkeeper who was taking a break: "Do you run an online store? How's business?"
The merchant nodded and said, "Yes, it's open. Business is alright, isn't it?"
The city leader asked with great interest, "How does it compare to your counter?"
The merchant laughed: "Of course, the counter sells more. The counter sells 50,000 worth of goods, while the online store can sell about 5,000."
The leader humbly asked, "Isn't it possible to earn more online? Without having to pay rent."
As far as he knew, the rent here was not low.
The merchant shook his head: "If you add shipping costs, the cost isn't low, it might even be higher, it's quite troublesome."
The city leaders pressed on, asking, "So what motivates you to run an online store?"
Someone nearby gathered to watch the commotion, and upon hearing this, almost rolled their eyes—even a small mosquito is still meat! What kind of stupid questions is the leader asking? Is a 5,000 yuan deal no longer a business?
The merchants were quite honest: "On the one hand, it's about expanding sales channels. Kids love playing on computers these days, and when they grow up, they'll be the main consumers, and they might prefer to buy things on computers. On the other hand, we own our own factory, so we have a lot of orders and our machines are running at full capacity, which helps reduce overall production costs."
City leaders all gave him a thumbs up: "You have a great sense of the big picture; you'll win in the future."
He read foreign reports that those doing business on e-commerce platforms like Amazon are mainly individual entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business owners.
He had pondered the reasons and done a lot of analysis, but he never thought that increasing order volume could reduce average production costs.
Or perhaps he knew this principle, but didn't incorporate it into the motivations of small and medium-sized enterprises to operate online stores when analyzing the situation.
It is clear that one must go deep into the masses to find the true secrets of how an industry works.
The leader walked forward with a smile, then suddenly turned around and jokingly said, half-teasingly, "Hey, Mr. Wang, you're leading an army of women. I see that female bosses have made up more than half the sky along the way."
Although the Yangtze River Delta region was commercially developed and many women went out to work during the Republic of China era, men generally still dominated business ventures.
After all, business people have to load and unload goods, and women are naturally at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength.
Moreover, many business deals are made over drinks, and women are more likely to be at a disadvantage when they try to outdrink others.
The husband-and-wife shops he saw were mostly run by the woman at home, who oversaw production, while the man ran the shop and looked for orders.
Unless you're opening a shop in a place like Ladies' Market.
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "I really didn't notice that. Anyway, it's either men or women, and there are no restrictions when it comes to attracting investment."
The city leaders became increasingly puzzled: "Normally, there are more male comrades than female comrades."
This isn't a women's products superstore.
The person in charge next to him could only laugh awkwardly: "We are responding to the government's call."
The group of leaders looked at each other, wondering what this had to do with the government's call. The Shanghai Municipal Government had never said that women should go out and open shops while men should stay home and guard factories.
The person in charge explained with a smile, "Before the Lunar New Year, the street office and the fire department both sent us notices to strengthen safety management, especially to prevent fires."
This doesn't sound special; it's just routine to check on safety during holidays.
What does it have to do with women working at the counter? It's not like it's safer for women to run a shop. That's just utter nonsense.
The person in charge revealed a subtle expression: "Mainly because when the fire department came to inspect, they said that smoking is not allowed inside, otherwise it could easily cause a fire."
Some of the officials present were aware of the smoking ban.
In 1994, the "Interim Regulations on Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places in Shanghai" were introduced.
In his memory, smoking was not allowed in shopping malls with a floor area of about 200 square meters or more.
How can I put it? Regulations are regulations, and reality is reality. The reality is that these regulations are basically not enforced. There are plenty of people strolling around the mall smoking, who cares? It's very difficult to manage.
Even the leaders of the relevant departments that issued the regulations still smoke during meetings. Isn't the meeting room also a kind of public place?
The person in charge of the electronics market laughed and said, "Now they are really cracking down on it. If anyone is caught smoking, they will be fined 200 yuan, and it is a direct fine to us because we have not been able to persuade them effectively. We have put up no-smoking signs on the wall for a long time, but it is no use. We really can't take it anymore, so we have to step in and be the bad guys, telling the merchants that they are not allowed to smoke, or they will not rent out their stalls."
The leaders present listened without any change in their expressions.
How can we expect them to change? Are we supposed to give them a cold shoulder and harshly criticize the fire department for doing wrong? And tell them they're not allowed to do that anymore?
Are you kidding me? Have you been watching too much Judge Bao? If you don't allow them to impose fines, where will their administrative expenses come from? Where will the salaries and bonuses of so many people come from? Do you allocate government funds to them?
Where would we get so much money?
In the past two years, a large number of factories have closed down, and we need to carry out infrastructure construction, so money is needed everywhere.
What if you don't have enough money? Live off the land where you live, live off the water where you live, and use your own ingenuity to survive.
This kind of thing applies all over the world.
So everyone just listened to it like a story.
The person in charge didn't complain, but simply stated, "We've specifically set aside a room so that people who want to smoke can go inside and not smoke in the business area. When someone goes there to smoke, they usually ask the surrounding shops to watch their counters. But some people have a heavy smoking habit and keep going to the smoking room, making it difficult to take care of their business."
After all, other people also have their own businesses to run, and they can't keep watching your counter for you forever.
Some people smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, and their mouths are always full of cigarettes, except when they're eating. How can they possibly watch the counter like that?
"So some people quit smoking, and those who really couldn't quit would have their wives watch the counter while they went home to look after the factory."
He explained, "There are relatively few female lesbians who smoke, so there are more and more female lesbians in the electronics market this year."
The city leader nodded: "I see. It's good that you're a woman; you're very meticulous."
He didn't mention the fire department's fine at all, and just kept walking.
As a result, a minor dispute broke out up ahead. An old man wearing a red armband was stopping a young man at the other end of the stairs: "Put out your cigarette right now. Either you go outside to smoke, or you go to our smoking room. You can't smoke anywhere else."
The young man glared at him: "Why should I? I'm smoking right here."
"That won't do!" The old man's eyes widened even more. "There are plainclothes police everywhere. If they catch you smoking, they'll fine our unit 200 yuan, and then they'll deduct it from my pay. I only make a little over a month's salary! If they keep deducting like that, I'll be starving!"
The young man grinned and said, "Who punishes your unit like this? Tell me, and I'll find someone to sue you. I'm from East China University of Political Science and Law."
The old man shooed him away, saying, "Even if you're a great lawyer, it's useless. The common people can't fight against the officials. If you win the case, our unit will be in even more trouble."
The onlookers laughed.
The leading cadres were originally going to go that way, but can they still go now? Going there now would just make them easy targets.
Wang Xiao softly extended an invitation: "Boss, would you like to come downstairs and take a look at our customer service room?"
These days, there are no smartphones. Customer service staff who serve online stores are all gathered in a computer room and work together.
The city leader immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, I really want to see this with my own eyes."
The main group left in a hurry, and the onlookers, who were happy to watch the drama unfold, were quite disappointed not to have witnessed a bigger conflict and could only disperse.
As Zhang Junfei walked, he kept trying to find fault: "Actually, it's good that the smoking ban is strictly enforced. On the one hand, the air is better, and on the other hand, it is indeed much safer. Our market stipulates that there should be a certain distance between shops, but everyone wants to sell more goods, and the phenomenon of public open spaces being occupied is very serious. We really can't control it, and there are indeed fire hazards. Everyone is afraid of accidents."
One of the cadres immediately chimed in: "Yes, anyone who's in management knows how difficult it is. If you manage, people will hate you; if you don't, it's really not going to work, and nobody can take responsibility if something goes wrong."
Everyone chatted and laughed, and the matter was quickly put behind them.
Jiang Shangzhou remained silent throughout, only pondering to himself how powerful the influence of administrative management was.
It was just a seemingly minor regulation, or even a mere notice from a department-level unit, that forced a long-established, almost universally accepted social rule to change.
How much influence does administrative management have on business activities?
His thoughts drifted a little further, recalling a piece of gossip he overheard during a meeting in Beijing: the Beijing underworld, the one who helped them divide up spheres of influence and prevent serious disputes, was an ordinary cadre named Wang Weiping.
Those who wield power are capable of things beyond imagination.
Wang Xiao's voice came from the front: "This is our customer service room."
Jiang Shangzhou then came to his senses and felt a chill creep over him.
The computer room is definitely different; the air conditioning is blasting.
City leaders have also visited the internet cafe and felt that these rooms, which are about 100 square meters in size, are essentially internet cafes.
The young man in his twenties sitting in front is the internet cafe manager, while those teenagers sitting in front of the computers are exactly the kind of kids who love going to internet cafes.
However, none of them had time to play games; they were all chatting online.
A child raised his hand and said, "Teacher, teacher, come and help me see what he's asking?"
The young man who had been sitting in front, lost in thought, immediately stood up and went to help.
Wang Xiao explained, "He is a full-time customer service representative. He didn't want to take a summer vacation, so he stayed to teach these kids and help them solve communication problems they couldn't resolve."
What problem is it? It's about international exchanges, of course.
Although there aren't many clients like this now, they do exist. Currently, the average middle school student's English level is really insufficient for business communication.
The boys were so busy that their fingers flew across the keyboards that they didn't care who entered the computer room.
The leaders and cadres watched as if it were a spectacle, seeing these kids become small business owners online, even finding it somewhat comical and amusing.
When an official saw a child helping others, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! There's a little foreigner here too!"
She's quite good-looking, with a high nose bridge, big eyes, and a smart and stylish appearance.
As a result, the child immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, glaring with his blue-green eyes and retorting, "You're the foreigner!"
Wang Xiao nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, you're the old guy, I'll treat you guys to ice cream later."
The boy with cat-like eyes pursed his lips and turned to help the others.
After this little blunder, the adults felt embarrassed to stay in the computer room any longer.
Everyone watched from beginning to end, and then came out.
Once outside, Wang Xiao smiled and explained, "He's of mixed race. His father is Chinese and his mother is Romanian. His family came back from Bucharest to do business."
Oh, now everyone understands. People of mixed race are indeed more sensitive about their identity.
Jiang Shangzhou asked with concern, "Were they doing business in Bucharest before? Why did they come back?"
A few years ago, the Spring Festival Gala even sang: "Beijing's scalpers are shaking Eastern Europe!"
At that time, their main Eastern European countries for doing business seemed to be Hungary and Romania.
Wang Xiao sighed: "The golden age is over, and business isn't as good there now."
In the early 1990s, the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe severely impacted the social supply system. Many people had money but couldn't buy anything, or the prices were exorbitantly high.
"Business was really good back then. As long as you had goods, you could basically sell them. But in recent years, people's economies have recovered and developed quite quickly. With a sufficient supply of goods in society, business is naturally not as good as before."
Wang Xiao pointed in the direction of the computer room, "There have been quite a few people like his parents who felt they couldn't see any opportunities in Bucharest and turned back to China in the past two years."
“It just so happens that a few years ago when I was raising funds to build the electronics mall, they bought the shops here. They used to rent them out to others, but now they've taken back the counters and are running them themselves. They actually have a lot of advantages because they speak foreign languages.”
It is well known that it is difficult to get by on your own with only a foreign language, but a foreign language combined with any other skill can double your value.
The city leaders became more and more interested as they listened; this was like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, keeping a backup plan for himself.
But he was more curious: "Are those resellers who didn't buy shops in China still doing well?"
Wang Xiao smiled and said, "That's how business is. People always see the thief eating meat, but to be honest, the thief gets beaten up much more often. Especially in the last two years, more and more people have come here, and the competition is too intense."
Why are there so many? No need to ask.
With mass layoffs across the country, how can so many people not find ways to make a living?
Things are valued for their scarcity, and the same applies to people. In any industry, if too many people rush in at once, the income of those working in the industry will drop rapidly.
City leaders also expressed their concern for overseas compatriots, sighing, "It's tough for everyone."
Everyone says that going abroad is like finding gold everywhere, but how could that be? There are rich people and poor people everywhere.
Wang Xiao sighed, "Yes, that's why the website is now helping them with e-commerce. We built the container market in Bucharest; many people went there to make a living after hearing about us. If we can lend a hand, we definitely will."
The city leaders smiled and praised Wang Xiao: "You really are Boss Wang. Everyone who mentions you praises your kindness and integrity."
Wang Xiao quickly waved his hand: "I don't deserve it. At home I rely on my parents, and when I go out I rely on my friends. They all help me out. It's all because they are willing to give me face."
Jiang Shangzhou was secretly amazed when he heard this; he felt that I Buy's success was simply a matter of course.
Because it's an offline-to-online model, it already has a rich offline network.
Needless to say, domestically, she has several commercial cities as a natural support.
In Japan, she also has her own clothing brand, chain stores, and corresponding warehouse markets. Her business in South Korea also includes e-commerce platforms from Dongdaemun.
In Europe and Russia, there are also container markets where merchants are natural e-commerce sellers. They are familiar with the local environment, know how to do business, and don't have to worry about sourcing goods.
The company's bankruptcy caused by the bursting of the dot-com bubble brought her a large influx of American e-commerce businesses.
At this point, the website's business structure is almost complete.
Even if someone wanted to replicate I Buy's strategy, they couldn't simply copy it because the initial offline costs were too high.
Jiang Shangzhou found it increasingly interesting the more he thought about it.
How to make the most of resources? Mr. Wang is a typical example.
Businesses that were once considered outdated and likely to be eliminated due to market changes have been transformed and become highly competitive new hot spots.
City leaders kept pressing Wang Xiao, asking, "Is e-commerce business easy to do in Europe?"
Wang Xiao shook his head with a smile: "It's not easy, it's very difficult. Europe is like a fragmented Tower of Babel, with each region acting independently, each with its own language and culture, and its own laws and regulations. Moreover, they are used to bank card transfers and cash on delivery, and they don't use credit cards much. Internet access is also ridiculously expensive."
City leaders were curious: "Is it very expensive? I heard that internet access in the United States isn't that expensive."
Europe and America are always referred to together.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "It can't be compared. In Europe, internet access is charged by the minute or by data usage. The telecommunications market in many of their countries is dominated by state-owned monopolies, such as Deutsche Telekom in Germany and France Telecom in France. Without effective competition, life is easier, so naturally, unlike in the United States, the rapid development of DSL and cable TV networks has driven down internet prices."
She sighed, "The European market is indeed difficult right now, but no matter how difficult the road is, it's still a road, and we have to find ways to give everyone more opportunities."
Jiang Shangzhou suppressed a laugh as he listened.
This Mr. Wang is really good at calling self-interest altruism, making it seem as if these middlemen becoming e-commerce sellers aren't expanding the market and adding more users for Ibuy.
However, the middlemen and women involved in the reselling did indeed benefit from this, so it was a win-win situation.
The city leader smiled and nodded: "So you are a responsible entrepreneur."
Then he sighed, “Europe really does need to form the European Union and unite. When the Chairman met with West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, he said that if they could not unite politically, economically, and militarily in 10 years, they would suffer. Now it seems that this is indeed the case.”
The world has entered the Internet age, but Europe has clearly fallen behind the United States in e-commerce.
Once you lose the initiative in anything, it becomes incredibly difficult to catch up.
Especially in Europe, there are so many countries, and each country has its own ideas.
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "So we should thank Qin Shi Huang."
Everyone was taken aback, wondering why he had suddenly brought up Qin Shi Huang again.
Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the millennium, was not a popular figure in society. Other emperors who frequently appeared on television, such as Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Yongzheng, and Emperor Kangxi, had a much stronger presence in the public eye.
Wang Xiao said in a serious tone: "Because Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, otherwise we would also be small countries, just like in Europe."
Everyone burst out laughing. That's quite an interesting way to put it.
The city leaders nodded with a smile: "We really have to thank our ancestors."
From this perspective, China has a greater advantage than Europe in developing the internet industry.
This brought considerable comfort to the leaders.
This summer, some internet companies in Shanghai also went out of business, such as Shanghai Yousheng and Shangyouzhichuang, whose servers were hosted in the Shanghai Hotline data center.
As a result, because the money ran out and they kept delaying the payment of the server rental fee, the data center operator cut off their network service.
Someone used their connections to plead with the city leaders.
But the city can't possibly pay for this for them.
So I guess these two websites have reached their limit.
Fortunately, wildfires cannot destroy them; they will spring back to life with the spring breeze.
As long as the soil is fertile and the seeds are strong, they will eventually be able to take root and sprout again.
The leaders were all smiles until the end of the visit.
When Wang Xiao saw the person off, Jiang Shangzhou specifically asked her, "You're going to Hong Kong on the 21st, right?"
What are we going to Hong Kong for? The Hong Kong Microelectronics Centre has finally been completed, the equipment is in place, the debugging is finished, and it's officially opened!
This is a landmark event for Cyberport in Hong Kong.
Compared to 1984, when IMEC started with only 70 employees and its influence was limited to Belgium, it had a lackluster start and failed to attract international political and business figures to its events. In contrast, the Hong Kong Microelectronics Centre, which was founded in the year 2000, enjoyed a booming, top-tier level of service.
The Hong Kong Chief Executive will personally unveil the plaque, and a host of celebrities will be invited to attend.
Wang Xiao nodded: "Of course, Dr. Zhang will go too."
The construction of the Hong Kong Microelectronics Centre is now complete, and Comrade Zhang no longer needs to travel back and forth between the two places. He can now focus all his energy on the 12-inch chip factory in Shanghai.
Could we shorten the two-year construction period? Let's work harder!
After all, the shadow of the bursting of the internet economy bubble did not affect the bright future of the memory industry.
Last month, in July, Powerchip Technology in Taiwan held a groundbreaking ceremony, officially announcing an investment of NT$60 billion to build a 12-inch chip factory.
If someone else started construction four months later than them but finished building it first, where would Mr. Wang's face be?
No, absolutely not! We need to finish faster, the sooner it's built, the sooner we can make money!
Mr. Wang thought it would be good to have another good talk with Dr. Zhang.
Furthermore, if the factory can be built ahead of schedule as desired, shouldn't the lithography machine factory also speed up its progress?
Comrades, let's get moving! The new millennium is here, and time waits for no one.
Mr. Wang saw the person off with a smile on his face.
After the car drove away, she turned around, and Zhang Junfei immediately scolded the person in charge of the electronics market in front of her: "What are you doing today? Making trouble out of nothing."
The person in charge of the electronics market was about the same age as Zhang Junfei. When Zhang Junfei glared at him, Zhang Junfei didn't dare to breathe loudly. He could only emphasize with a wronged and cautious tone, "It's really affecting business. It's one thing to not let merchants smoke, but if you don't let customers smoke, they'll definitely be unhappy."
The saying goes, "The customer is God," so how can you expect to get away with offending God?
Zhang Junfei was so disappointed in him that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets: "Don't you even understand this simple principle? You think it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings, right? You're criticizing the underlings in front of the King of Hell; you're slapping the King of Hell in the face!"
Wang Xiao had already started walking towards the large freezer.
She's always been incredibly lazy, only managing subordinates who report directly to her. As for how to manage their subordinates' subordinates? That's their job; she'd never do their work.
She should hurry up and buy some ice cream.
She promised to treat those kids to ice cream. As a grown-up, wouldn't it be incredibly embarrassing if she broke her promise?
Oh dear! What kind of ice cream should I buy?
Bright Dairy ice cream has a rich milky flavor, but it's a bit pricey. With so many children involved, it's a little heartbreaking.
Or you could just buy a cold dog (a type of cold dog snack). It has a milky flavor and comes with raisins. It's only one yuan a piece, which is a great deal.
And so it was decided happily.
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[Morning] Good morning!
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