2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 481 The Mysterious Little Tan, Stirring Up Trouble Again? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
In the top office of Beicang, only Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing remained.

Recently, our two bosses have been spending a lot of time here. Zeng Jixiang and his secretarial team are also very sensible; they absolutely won't bother them unless there's a reason, and they even stay far away.

When it's time, they absolutely refuse to stay on the top floor even for a little longer.

After dismissing Li Jinglan, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing exchanged a glance, then Tan Jincheng nodded and picked up his phone from the table.

When it comes to making calls, a feature phone is still the best option. The call quality of the Apple phone that Tan Jincheng got from the US was indeed not very good. In addition, Tan Jincheng also couldn't stand the slippery feel of the iPod, as he always felt it would fall out of his hand.

"Brother, can you help us out?" Tan Jincheng said with a grin.

On the other end of the phone was Wang Wei. Tan Jincheng's playful voice made his heart tighten: "What kind of help do you need? Let me make this clear first, I'm not sure I can help you."

Recently, this guy inexplicably sent Huang Ming to Changfeng Group in Hunan Province for a public research visit. The buzz surrounding Orange Products Club hasn't died down yet, and now ByteDance's actions have attracted attention in the capital market.

Given his penchant for stirring things up, this offer of help is hardly something he'd easily agree to.

“You can definitely help with this. Let’s go to the capital together, a trip that’s made public. The reason is to check on the logistics and transportation situation of Orange Products in the north, since winter is coming.”

Wang Wei remained speechless for a long time. Orange Products was in the midst of its Double Eleven mega sale, and both Tan Jincheng and he needed to be at headquarters to oversee operations. Why would he go to the capital at this time? And drag him along? Was he crazy?
Tan Jincheng is definitely not crazy. If he's going to the capital at such an important moment, he must have something even more important to do.

"I'm happy to cooperate with you, but can you tell me why?" After a moment of hesitation, Wang Wei quickly figured out the reason.

"I can't say for now, but you'll know the reason once we get to the capital. Don't worry, it won't cause any harm to SF Express other than taking a few days out of your time; it might even bring some benefits."

Having Sun Tongyu in charge of Orange Products Club would indeed be more beneficial for SF Express, its strategic partner. Tan Jincheng wasn't just trying to fool Wang Wei.

"Very important?"

"Yes, it's very important. I need a reason to go to the capital, so I'd like to ask for your cooperation, brother. Consider it a favor I owe you." Tan Jincheng, his playful demeanor gone, spoke with utmost seriousness.

Wang Wei, on the other end of the phone, could sense Tan Jincheng's seriousness. Over time, he had come to understand Tan Jincheng's personality to some extent. Tan Jincheng usually liked to joke around and was not very respectful, but he was very serious when it came to doing important things.

Going to the capital is actually more important than the ongoing Orange Products launch. I haven't heard anything about Huang Ming going to Xiangcheng. What can he do in the capital?
In the north, the express delivery market is still dominated by ZJS Express. SF Express has limited strength in the north, which also makes Orange Products Club's presence in the north weaker.

Unfortunately, for the sake of the online shopping market, SF Express needs to pay more attention to the Yangtze River basin, mainly the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas. This area is currently dominated by STO Express, and SF Express cannot compete with the two major domestic express delivery giants at the same time, as that would put too much pressure on them.

"You're not really trying to trick me into going to the capital to expand the market?"

"Brother, I still have integrity in business. You can't look at me like that. The capital city has heating now. What kind of market are you trying to expand in the dead of winter?"

Tan Jincheng was also quite helpless, as doing too many bad things would indeed damage his reputation: "Oh, by the way, the weather this year seems a bit abnormal. You should make proper preparations for your winter transportation capacity, just in case."

This is really a headache. Chengpin Hui's delivery capacity is handled by SF Express, but Tan Jincheng insists that no one can be told that there will be a major snow disaster at the end of this year, which will inevitably affect Chengpin Hui's delivery during the Spring Festival.

This is the only appropriate reminder we can offer. Let's see how much preparation Wang Wei can make. If he is well-prepared, he will be ahead of his peers. If he doesn't take it seriously, that's fine too.

Anyway, everyone will be in the same boat then; neither Orange Products nor Taobao Jingdong can deliver.

As for forcibly delivering goods during a blizzard, Tan Jincheng wouldn't do that. Besides, the commercial atmosphere wasn't as strong back then as it is now; it hadn't reached the point where everything was about making money.

Forced delivery will not increase a company's reputation; on the contrary, it may bring criticism.

"Oh, you mean that La Niña thing? It should be similar to previous years, but since you mentioned it, I'll be more careful."

For those in the logistics and transportation industry, paying attention to the climate is essential. Wang Wei didn't quite understand what Tan Jincheng meant, thinking that Tan Jincheng was referring to the La Niña climate issue that had been widely discussed since August.

"Okay, that works. Brother, just cooperate with me. Don't worry, if SF Express is doing well, Orange Products will do well too. With its valuation soaring, why would I possibly cheat you?"

OrangePlatform's current performance has enabled this vertical e-commerce website to capture 2% of the online shopping market share in 2008, which corresponds to a significant increase in Orange Technology's valuation.

This valuation increase is quite different from that during the Series B funding round. To a certain extent, it referenced the valuation systems of Taobao and JD.com. In just the past few days since its launch, Sequoia Capital and Tencent Investment have already made a fortune.

In just the past few days, several investment institutions have expressed their intention to invest in Orange Technology, and Sequoia Capital and Tencent Investment have also expressed their intention to increase their investment.

Other investment institutions might not know Orange Technology's financial situation, but these two were well aware. Burning through cash on a single website wouldn't sustain the initial investment for long. And this was with Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing being frugal, unlike some internet companies that were extravagant.

Wang Wei laughed and said, "If you put it that way, I'll believe you. You can't cheat yourself, no matter who else you cheat."

To be honest, ever since he received Tan Jincheng's call, he had been on edge, fearing that the other party might try to trick him. After all, it was quite unexpected for such a sudden turn of events.

Even if they really wanted to expand their business in the north, this isn't the right time.

"Alright then, since you said you'll know the reason once you get to the capital, I won't ask for now. I'll just announce to the public that we're preparing to enter the northern market. Tell me a specific time, and I'll make some arrangements in my schedule."

"How about the 15th? You can fly to Beijing on the 15th if you have time, and I'll fly there on that day too."

It wasn't that Tan Jincheng was too anxious, but rather that Sun Tongyu had already been staying in the capital for many days. Taobao's promotion in the capital was just so-so, not that important, and it was a bit strange for the CEO to stay in the capital for so long.

In the past few days, Sun Tongyu has also been exchanging messages with Tan Jincheng, mainly discussing the data and business direction of Orange Products Association, although he has not asked Tan Jincheng when he will be able to go to the capital.

But his words also implied that he couldn't stay in the capital for much longer, as staying any longer might arouse suspicion.

This is also one of the reasons why Tan Jincheng is anxious. The small house in Zhongguan Village in the capital is the best place to meet. There are people coming and going in the community and it will not attract attention. There is no deliberate overlap in their schedules.

No one would have imagined that Tan Jincheng would meet with the CEO of Taobao in a residential area, and not even a high-end one at that.

If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to create such good conditions again next time.

"The 15th? So urgent?"

Wang Wei couldn't help but become even more curious about why Tan Jincheng was in such a hurry to go to the capital. Although this kid was efficient, he was always methodical.

Was he going to meet with the head of an investment firm? That's unlikely. Given Orange Brand's current popularity and expectations, it should be investors supporting him. There's no need for him to personally fly to Beijing.

Is there anyone in the capital I want to see?
Wang Wei went through all the political and business figures he knew who were connected to Tan Jincheng, but still couldn't figure it out. However, since he had promised to help, he had to make time on the 15th, even if he wasn't available.

Another reason was that he was genuinely curious about what big move Comrade Xiao Tan was planning this time; he rarely saw him being so secretive.

"The 15th it is then," Wang Wei agreed. After hanging up the phone, he immediately asked his assistant to buy plane tickets. He publicly stated that he and Tan Jincheng had discussed it and were preparing to enter the northern market.

Good, it's good to show up with Xiao Tan. This kid is very good at causing trouble, so it's good to scare Zhaijisong a little first.

"Let's make a big splash in our push into the northern express delivery market. We should also emphasize that we are partnering with Orange Products to develop the northern market, and that Mr. Tan will be traveling with me."

Internet companies are generally perceived as having deep pockets, and Orange Technology has once again attracted the attention of investors. They have plenty of money, enough to scare Zhaijisong to death.

After confirming the itinerary with Wang Wei, Zeng Jixiang began to arrange his trip to Beijing on the 15th, while Tan Jincheng discussed the details of the meeting with Sun Tongyu on his mobile phone.

"Why does it feel like we're having an affair?"

His girlfriend was sitting right next to him, but he was fiddling with his phone, discussing how to secretly meet with another man. The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

"You're only just realizing this? There's a reason why President Peng finds you two strange."

Gu Qingqing had read the chat history between the two. The conversations on Dingding were fine, but the chat history on QQ was simply obscene. She didn't know where they found so many pornographic movies and torrents.

At first, Mr. Sun was a little hesitant, but later he even took the initiative to share and analyze, which is really hard to understand men's quirks.

"Let's go home and pack up. We haven't been home for several days. If we don't go back soon, Jin Yue will come looking for us."

"You know about this? But we just got home and we have to go on a business trip. I guess she'll be upset again."

"It's okay. We'll just tell her we went to buy her a birthday present. We can buy more while we're in Beijing. Besides, we won't be gone for more than a few days."

(End of this chapter)