Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Early the next morning, the sky over Yanjing was just beginning to lighten.

Qian Du Delivery officially launched. Entry channels were added to Qian Du’s other products—like Qian Du Search, Tieba, News, and Maps—providing massive exposure for the project’s start.

Riders in red short-sleeved uniforms were uniformly riding yellow Electric Vehicles, each with a massive delivery box on the back, rushing busily through the streets and alleys of Haidian District.

The moment they went live, the morning rush was a flood of orders!

New customers got an instant 15-yuan discount, letting them eat breakfast for free. Who would pass up a free meal?!

Inevitably, the order volumes for Kuai Pao and Meituan took a hit.

It had only been a few days, but Jiang Hao had already switched to the orange uniform of a Kuai Pao Rider. From seven to ten, he had delivered 19 orders in three hours, earning 137.5 yuan. At this rate, he could easily make three or four hundred a day.

”Yo! I thought you looked familiar. It’s Xiaojiang!” a Meituan rider said with a grin, pulling out a pack of Liqun cigarettes as he ambled over.

Jiang Hao was resting against his Electric Vehicle. He turned his head and saw it was his former colleague, Big Wang.

”Want one?” Big Wang asked, handing him a Liqun before fumbling in his pockets again.

”Thanks, Old Wang. I’ve got a light. Let me get that for you!” Jiang Hao took the cigarette, pulled a lighter from his pocket, and lit Big Wang’s cigarette first before lighting his own.

The two of them leaned together, gazing out at the bustling capital’s streets as they began puffing out clouds of smoke.

”Fuck! It’s getting harder and harder to make a living. Now even Qian Du is doing food delivery. The Meituan orders are so fucking few. I only ran seven orders all morning. I should’ve just stayed home and slept in.”

Big Wang expertly blew a smoke ring, cursing under his breath.

”Seven orders? That’s not bad. Don’t be too greedy,” Jiang Hao said with a chuckle.

”How many did you get?” Big Wang asked, unable to resist. He could tell from Jiang Hao’s tone that something was up.

”Not many. Just nineteen,” Jiang Hao said with a slight smirk.

”Fuck! Are you trying to act all high and mighty, you punk?” Big Wang demanded indignantly.

”Old Wang, Meituan doesn’t have online-time requirements, so it’s flexible, sure, but you can’t earn much. Kuai Pao might have stricter management, but the pay is higher,” Jiang Hao said, trying his best to persuade him for the sake of a 150-yuan recruitment bonus.

”Cut the crap, you punk. Aren’t you just trying to earn a referral fee off me?” Big Wang had already heard about this and teased him with a smirk.

”I’ll give you fifty,” Jiang Hao conceded.

”So you sell me out and still want to take the Big Head? We split it fifty-fifty.” Big Wang had deliberately sidled up to him, offered a cigarette, and started chatting. To be blunt, he’d already made up his mind to jump ship to Kuai Pao.

A few days ago on Xiaoyun Road Food Street, a Meituan rider driving against traffic hit a car. The traffic police initially ruled the rider was primarily responsible and the car secondarily responsible. But the car’s owner requested a review, and it was immediately changed to the rider being fully responsible and the car having no fault.

Simply put, the guy not only had to pay his own medical bills, but he also had to pay for the other person’s car repairs.

After all was said and done, he was out two or three thousand yuan.

It was only then that Big Wang understood why Kuai Pao bought its riders social security, commercial medical insurance, and third-party liability insurance.

Everything was fine until an accident happened. But once it did, not having insurance was a disaster.

”Old Wang, so you’re really quitting?” Jiang Hao asked, curious about how quickly he had agreed.

”Sigh... Let me tell you the truth, I’m genuinely scared. You remember that Xiaoxijiang from our station?”

Big Wang sighed, his expression turning tragic, as if he were about to tell a long and sorrowful tale.

”Yeah, I know him. The bastard who said my math was bad last time. What happened to him?” Jiang Hao retorted.

”He was driving against traffic and hit an Audi, scratching two of its paint panels. He broke his own leg, too. The car repairs alone are gonna cost him two thousand, and Meituan won’t even cover his medical bills.”

Even though it had nothing to do with Big Wang, he felt a pang of sympathy, like a fox mourning a dead rabbit.

”He got ripped off, didn’t he? A paint touch-up doesn’t cost that much,” Jiang Hao said dismissively, but he didn’t say anything else harsh.

’We’re all just poor schmucks trying to make a living. My little tiff with Xiaoxijiang was just a squabble. Nothing that sharing a cigarette couldn’t fix.’

”The owner wants it fixed at a 4S dealership. Who’s going to agree to a roadside shop?” Big Wang replied with a bitter smile.

”Then... he’s pretty unlucky,” Jiang Hao said, swallowing hard. He didn’t know what else to say.

”Tell me, how the hell can I keep busting my ass for Meituan after that? I heard when a Kuai Pao rider gets hit by a car, the company provides both money and support. Meituan copies their business model but doesn’t learn any of the good parts, only coming up with a whole bunch of shitty new ones.”

Big Wang spread his hands, a look of exasperation on his face.

”Alright, let’s go sign up right now. I’m telling you, Kuai Pao’s recruitment spots are really tight, but our station happens to have openings.”

Jiang Hao urged him on impatiently, afraid that Big Wang would cause him to miss the lunch rush.

”Really? Then what are we waiting for!”

Big Wang slammed his cigarette butt onto the ground, stomped it out, and quickly hopped on his Electric Vehicle, following Jiang Hao toward the Kuai Pao service station.

The story of what happened to Xiaoxijiang quickly spread throughout the circle of Meituan riders in Yanjing.

On one side was Kuai Pao, with its high pay and comprehensive benefits. On the other was Meituan: flexible and with high pay per order, but with no safety net.

Which to choose?

Anyone with a brain would make the smart choice.

Suddenly, the most experienced Meituan riders began jumping ship to Kuai Pao en masse, while the riders Kuai Pao rejected went to Qian Du.

Most of the riders who remained at Meituan were just familiarizing themselves with the road conditions and delivery routes, treating Meituan as a springboard with Kuai Pao as their final destination.

But no matter how many people left, they couldn’t outpace the number of new people coming in.

The number of registered Meituan riders didn’t decrease; it actually increased by over a thousand people in absolute terms.