Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

With Kuai Pao, twenty thousand orders would be a piece of cake.

”Not bad. How did I not think of starting a grocery business before?” Pei Yi said, his brow slightly furrowed.

”If President Pei had thought of it, how would I have had the chance to work with you?” Liang Changlin joked.

Kuai Pao Maicai had over two hundred food company suppliers in Hu City, including Bright, Yongfeng Fruits and Vegetables, and Pang Shi Aquatics. It had also established purchasing and sales relationships with agricultural cooperatives in districts like Qingpu, Pudong, and Fengxian.

It owned six central warehouses, each over ten thousand square meters, which formed a supply network with its forward distribution centers. This allowed them to deliver over a thousand different products to customers’ doors within a 29-minute timeframe.

The repeat purchase frequency for the grocery business was comparable to the food delivery business.

Once it achieved scale in first and second-tier cities, using the high-frequency grocery service to drive the low-frequency ones, Kuai Pao’s group buy business would also rise with the tide, creating an insurmountable lead.

Pei Yi smiled but didn’t say anything. He had seen Liang Changlin’s capabilities firsthand. While he might not be as good at online operations as the younger generation, he had a real knack for supplier management.

He and his team had personally negotiated with most of the two hundred-plus suppliers, including Bright, Yongfeng, and Pang Shi.

”Once the business scales up, there’s no reason the grocery channel can’t become its own independent division. Keep up the good work.”

Pei Yi patted Liang Changlin’s shoulder encouragingly.

As the CEO of Kuai Pao, dangling a carrot for his subordinates had become a daily routine for President Pei.

”Thank you, President Pei. I’ll do my best,” Liang Changlin replied with a nod.

Although Pei Yi was only twenty-eight, born after 1985, Liang Changlin didn’t dare to underestimate him.

In the food delivery industry, Pei Yi had led his team to defeat Eleme head-on.

In the group buy industry, he had taken less than half a year to jump from fifth place to first. His operational strategies and competitive tactics were in no way inferior to established figures in the business community like Zhang Tao and Wang Xin.

Now, with Eleme’s founder Zhang Xuhao and the former CEO of Lashou Network, Shan Jiawei, both working under Pei Yi, Liang Changlin didn’t feel out of place at all.

After all, Shan Jiawei was far more famous and held a higher status in the industry than him. If even he was following Pei Yi’s lead, what right did Liang Changlin have to be picky?

「Meanwhile.」

In a rented room in Hua Jing Town, Xuhui District.

Zhang Peng hugged his direct supervisor, took a deep sniff, and said, ”Sister Ling, you smell so good.”

Chen Fengling giggled, turning to hug the ”little puppy” before her. ’A recent college grad really has stamina,’ she thought. ’It’s only been half an hour, and he’s all clingy again.’

”I’m worried your body won’t be able to take it,” Chen Fengling said, swatting his hand away in mock reproach.

”Are you saying I can’t handle it?” Zhang Peng was furious. A twenty-three-year-old man couldn’t stand hearing words like that.

Before Chen Fengling could react, he expertly went straight for the kill.

Five minutes later, Zhang Peng lay panting by her side, his face full of shame. ”Sister Ling...”

”It’s okay. You’ve probably just been too tired lately. I’ll buy an old hen and make you some soup to help you recover,” Chen Fengling comforted him softly.

”Sister Ling, I’ll definitely repay you,” Zhang Peng said, touched.

”Just don’t try to ’repay’ me in five minutes next time, okay?” Chen Fengling said with a seductive smile and a playful tease.

She picked up her phone from the bedside table and opened the Kuai Pao app. When she left work yesterday, she had been handed a promotional flyer for Kuai Pao Maicai downstairs from her office. That’s how she learned that after its food delivery and group buy services, Kuai Pao had now entered the grocery business.

This was big news in 2013!

Being able to buy all sorts of ingredients without leaving home really appealed to the working class.

Because on weekdays, they usually got off work around seven or eight, by which time the wet markets and supermarkets were either closed or only had picked-over, subpar vegetables left by the uncles and aunties.

Who would want to buy that?

”Chongming free-range chicken, goji berries, ginseng, shiitake mushrooms...”

Chen Fengling added the items she needed to her cart one by one, then proceeded to the order page. The system automatically populated her food delivery address by default.

After confirming it was correct, she submitted the order. The new user discount even took off 10 yuan.

”Sister Ling, I’m rested. Let me go out with you to buy groceries.”

Zhang Peng rolled out of bed and said as he got dressed.

”I already bought them online. Look,” Chen Fengling said, handing him her phone.

”Kuai Pao Maicai? They moved the wet market online?” Zhang Peng was stunned for a moment after seeing the screen.

”Exactly. So hurry up and fix your resume. I’ll help you revise it. If you can land the R&D position at Orange Pay, we can be together openly.”

Chen Fengling said, full of expectation.

Ping’an didn’t allow office romances. If they were discovered, one of them would have to leave.

She had worked hard at Ping’an for nearly ten years, and her position and salary were both good. Having Zhang Peng find a new job was the most logical solution.

Plus, with Orange Pay’s branch office about to open in Hu City, the two were determined to pass the interview and join the company.

”Okay, I understand,” Zhang Peng readily agreed.

In his eyes, although Chen Fengling was a few years older, she had a great body, took good care of herself, and was willing to spend money on him.

In life, she was like an older sister; at work, she was like a teacher. She could plan his career path and also direct his intensity, depth, and angle, which made him utterly obsessed.

He wasn’t just playing around; he planned to build a future with her.

’As for the ten-year age gap, is it really that big?’

Besides being hard to explain to his parents, everything else was fine.

「At the same time.」

Kuai Pao Maicai caught fire in Hu City.

”Kuai Pao Maicai Launches Today! A New Model for Fresh Groceries Delivered to Your Door!”

”Affordable, Quality Groceries, Delivered in 29 Minutes!”

Media outlets like Xin Hu Daily, Finance Net, Toutiao, and Tomato Channel all reported on it.

Vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, eggs, rice, flour, grains, oils, and seafood could all be delivered to your home within half an hour just by placing an order on the app.

For Kuai Pao’s existing users, who were tired of eating takeout, cooking for themselves once in a while was a nice change of pace.

On its first day, it racked up a total of 146,000 orders with a transaction volume of 5.7 million yuan. The trial run was a great success.

For the Kuai Pao Riders, this meant another source of extra income.

A group of riders who had been planning to return to their hometowns saw that Kuai Pao Maicai was exploding with orders and voluntarily decided to stay in Hu City through the New Year, wanting to earn more money for their children’s tuition and living expenses.

...

...

”Kuai Pao Maicai?” Wang Xin was just about to leave for the day when Wang Huiwen rushed into his office to report the news of Kuai Pao’s entry into the fresh grocery category.

”The one hundred million US dollars from Pan-Atlantic Capital is only enough to defend our market share in the group buy sector. The spoilage rate in the fresh grocery category is high, and we’d have to spend a fortune building numerous forward distribution centers. Our funds are tight.”

Wang Xin said dismissively.

In reality, he knew that selling groceries was a good business, with high purchase frequency and a large market size.

But he was also well aware that the bigger the business, the faster it burned through cash.

”Chen Yansen is a strange one. Half of the subsidiaries under Senlian Capital are in the business of making the dirtiest, most grueling money. I really don’t know what he’s after,” Wang Huiwen said, puzzled.

”Old Wang, why don’t you figure out which industry makes the easiest money? That way, we can make sure to avoid that bastard Chen Yansen,” Wang Xin joked with a smile.

Wang Huiwen grinned. The hundred million US dollars from Pan-Atlantic Capital had restored their confidence, and the gloom on their faces had vanished.

News of Kuai Pao Maicai’s launch quickly spread through their circles. When Ma Liyun heard about it, he scoffed, ”I’m afraid Chen Yansen is going to stumble this time!”

The fresh produce industry is full of pitfalls. Even seasoned veterans can easily step into a trap. He didn’t believe Chen Yansen could have smooth sailing in this business.

Last year, when Juhuasuan tried fresh grocery group buys, it was plagued with problems.

”Mr. Ma, should we still participate in Kuai Pao’s Series B financing round then?” Lu Zhaoxi asked.

”Of course. We can’t miss out on an opportunity to make money.” Ma Liyun shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Ali Baba’s investment in Kuai Pao was a core strategy for the group, and expanding its boundaries beyond the food delivery business was also a key initiative. The two were not mutually exclusive.

It was just like how Penguin still co-invested in Gaopeng Network with Groupon despite already having QQ Group Buy. Any sensible person wouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket.

Ma Liyun considered himself a sensible person, and a smart one at that!

If Taobao Delivery proved unable to fulfill Ali Baba’s mission in local services—just like their last attempt four years ago—then Kuai Pao was his backup plan.

What’s more, investing in Kuai Pao could bring huge returns to the group.