novelraw Chapter 948 Isn't your mom my mom?
Chapter 948 Isn't your mom my mom?
Three days later, Chen Xi removed his blindfold and put on sunglasses.
The surgery was successful. Although I can now be exposed to light, it still stings a little.
Sitting at the dinner table, Chen Xi's mind was full of questions.
Previously, the three women addressed Chen Caiyue as "Auntie" or "Auntie," but within just a few days, they changed their address to "Mom."
The way he was addressed had changed, but Chen Xi knew that Chen Caiyue wasn't open-minded enough to let him marry three women.
"What do you call my mom..." Chen Xi couldn't help but ask while Chen Caiyue was away today.
“Isn’t your mom my mom?” Zhao Lingshan said quite naturally, and casually put a piece of bread on his plate.
“Mom said she’s always wanted a daughter, but you won’t let her have any more,” Saori added.
"Hehe, Mom also said that when you were little, she dressed you up as a little girl. As a result, your dad took you to take a bath outside, and the staff wouldn't let you into the men's bathhouse." Jin Nana covered her mouth and laughed non-stop.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xi blushed. He remembered that when he was a child, he was fair-skinned and dressed up as a little girl by Chen Caiyue. When he first met Zhao Lingshan, she almost mistook him for her friend.
"Um... how is the situation in Jiangnan now?" Chen Xi awkwardly changed the subject.
"The restaurant business isn't doing very well; we've already closed several large hotels. Rent is rising every year, but the number of customers with spending power has decreased significantly. However, based on your advice, we've already started to transform the business, and the fast food is doing quite well. The central kitchen centrally distributes to various stores, which greatly improves efficiency and reduces spoilage. But my mother feels that this industry is becoming increasingly difficult to make money in, so she took the money and invested in real estate overseas..." Zhao Lingshan said after thinking for a moment.
“Now it’s all about live-streaming e-commerce and food delivery to your door. Who still goes to restaurants to eat…” Saori has been here for a while now and has figured out all the business tricks in mainland China.
She picked up her phone and opened a live stream of an online celebrity. Inside was a catering group similar to Da Jiangnan that was doing online sales.
There were a lot of people in the live stream, and orders were snapped up instantly within seconds of the listing being posted, making the business seem very booming.
Saori swiped a few more times, and the situation was similar in several other live streams.
"Wait, slide back!" Chen Xi shouted.
"What's wrong?" Saori muttered, but did as she was told.
The phone still shows a live-streaming e-commerce host, but the items being sold are agricultural products.
A live stream with somewhat rough quality popped up on the screen, with a muddy yellow field in the background and a rusty tricycle parked behind it.
A male anchor wearing a windbreaker and black-rimmed glasses is standing on the edge of a field, holding two muddy sweet potatoes in his hands.
"Family members! Family members in the live stream! Look at this fellow villager's skills!" The male anchor suddenly grabbed an old man with a tattered cotton-padded coat and a wrinkled face next to him.
The old man's hands were covered in chilblains and cracks, and his fingernails were filled with black dirt.
"Grandpa is seventy years old this year, and he's farmed all his life! This year's sweet potato harvest is bountiful, but the buyers are heartless, only offering three cents per pound! Three cents, family, that's not even enough to buy fertilizer! Grandpa was so anxious yesterday that he was wiping away tears in the field!" The male anchor's voice was trembling with tears. He pushed the old man closer to the camera, and the old man nervously rubbed his hands, his eyes darting away.
The screen was instantly flooded with comments.
"So pitiful!"
"How can there be such unscrupulous merchants!"
"Buy, buy, buy! Consider it a donation to charity!"
The male streamer's eyes gleamed as he watched the number of viewers soar.
He slapped his thigh and roared at the camera.
"I, Wang Laosan, am here today to help farmers! We're not here to make money, but to help this old man clear out the sweet potatoes in his field so he can have a good New Year! These are pure highland yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes, never sprayed with pesticides! Today in my live stream, not fifty, not thirty, just nine yuan and ninety cents! Five jin (2.5 kg) pack! And shipping is free!" The male anchor held up the sweet potato in his hand and took a big bite.
He turned to the old man and asked loudly, "Grandpa, can we sell it to you for this price? Let's just consider it making friends!"
The old man was clearly taken aback by the scene. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to speak: "This... this nine yuan and ninety cents includes shipping, it's not enough to cover the cost..."
The male streamer immediately interrupted him, grabbed the old man's shoulder, and shouted into the camera: "The old man said it's okay! As long as his family can eat good food, he'll accept any loss! I, Wang Laosan, will personally subsidize the shipping costs today! Five countdowns, three thousand orders, give me the link!"
A striking red shopping bag icon popped up instantly at the bottom of the screen. Five, four, three, two, one—empty in seconds!
"Don't worry if you didn't manage to grab one! There are still some left in the fields! Where's the assistant? Go collect another 5,000 jin from the next village. Today, we're going to spread this love to the very end!" The male anchor waved his arms in front of the camera.
Chen Xi leaned back in her chair, watching the male anchor putting on a show on the screen, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of her lips.
"Wow, this person is so kind-hearted. It's only 9.9 yuan with free shipping. He must be losing money himself." Saori looked at the screen and sniffled, feeling a little touched.
"Love? Saori, you should bring more bodyguards with you when you go out in the future, otherwise you'll be sold out and still have to help count the money."
"What do you mean?" Saori puffed out her cheeks.
Chen Xi took the phone from Saori and pointed at the anchor on the screen who was still yelling.
“Take a closer look. Nine yuan and ninety-five jin (2.5 catties). Including the cardboard box packaging and the cheapest express delivery, the logistics cost is at least five yuan. The streamer takes a 30% commission, which is three yuan. The remaining amount is at most one yuan and ninety cents.” Chen Xi’s voice was as calm as if he were doing a math problem.
"Five pounds of sweet potatoes for one dollar and ninety cents? What's the point of this old man farming? He could make more money just by selling his land." Zhao Lingshan reacted quickly and immediately chimed in.
"This is what they call a murder mystery to help farmers. This old man is most likely an extra hired for fifty yuan a day. As for the goods being shipped, they're not from their village at all; they're unsold, substandard products from the wholesale market in the next county, or small fruits mixed with mud and sand. The streamer earns tens of thousands of yuan in slot fees and commissions from a single live stream, the platform gets daily active user data, and consumers feel like they've done charity and gotten a bargain. Once the hype dies down, people find that half of the sweet potatoes they bought are rotten, and they'll curse the village online for producing only garbage. The streamer makes a fortune, moves on to another place, and continues acting, while the farmers who actually toil in the fields bear the brunt of the blame..." Chen Xi shook his head.
"With so many streamers, they can't all be fake, right?" Saori swiped her phone again, and several more live streams promoting farmers appeared.
"It's not all these scams that are just about hiring actors, but the remaining legitimate ones have equally sophisticated and unpredictable tactics." Chen Xi pointed to his phone.
"What other tricks could there be? If the products are sold, it will at least make some money for the villagers, right?" Jin Nana leaned closer to stare at the screen.
“You only see the millions in sales, but you don’t see where the money actually goes. Influencers don’t do charity when they go live. Big streamers ask for 20-30% commission, plus exorbitant slot fees, and then they spend money on the platform to buy traffic. After all this, the agency takes the lion’s share of the profits.” Chen Xi picked up his water glass and took a sip.
"Surely we can leave some for the villagers?" Saori blinked.
"The rest will have to be used to fill the gaps. Industrial products can be repaired if they break, but agricultural products can only be thrown away if they spoil. Rural cold chain transportation and packaging costs are high. If even a few fruits rot on the way, and the buyer applies for a refund, this loss will ultimately be borne entirely by the farmers who supplied the goods. In order to create the gimmick of the lowest price on the entire network in the live broadcast room, the anchor will desperately squeeze the purchase price at the place of origin. In the end, consumers get a bargain, the platform earns daily active users, and the villagers become the background for losing money and gaining publicity." Chen Xi tapped the table.
Jin Nana gasped in shock, while Zhao Lingshan leaned back in her chair, seemingly lost in thought.
“That’s not all. Many people don’t even expect to make money by selling goods; they’re eyeing the subsidies from above.” Chen Xi leaned back in his chair, his sunglasses reflecting the lights above him.
"No wonder many villages did a live stream once, and then there was no more news." Zhao Lingshan sneered.
“Because true brands require standardization, which small farmers simply cannot achieve. One batch of fruit may be good, but the next batch might be bad. To boost sales, livestreamers exaggerate ordinary apples into rare, heavenly fruits. When buyers take them home and find that the product doesn't match the description, they turn around and lash out at the place of origin. The livestreamer just packs up and moves on to another county to continue promoting the product, leaving the local area with a completely overexploited mess. This kind of short-sighted approach is devastating to rural brands.” Chen Xi rubbed his temples.
Huajing, All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.
Since Duan Yixiong was taken away for investigation, some of Huahetong's problems have been exposed. Naturally, its partner supply and marketing cooperatives have also suffered a wave of attacks.
As subsidies for new energy vehicles begin to decrease, some people are turning their attention to agricultural projects, which have a wider range of subsidies.
Fan Hongyuan was currently in a meeting: "The supply and marketing cooperatives and Huahetong have their own platforms. Although the data isn't very impressive right now, they are developing rapidly. Once the logistics network in rural areas across the country is fully completed, the good days for farmers will truly begin..."
“Boss, look at Taobao and JD.com, these online shopping platforms. Compared to them, agricultural product platforms seem to have a very limited range of products. Users won’t specifically download and use your platform just to buy reliable agricultural products. The internet is developing very rapidly now, and live-streaming e-commerce is booming. Look at these sales figures…” A tech company boss handed a document to Fan Hongyuan.
He continued, "Recently, we've sent several top online influencers to rural areas to help farmers, and the results have been remarkable. Some farmers in remote areas are currently facing financial difficulties because their agricultural products are simply going unsold. Live-streaming e-commerce can completely solve this problem thanks to the influencer's fan base and the platform's traffic. Platforms like Taobao are a thing of the past; live-streaming e-commerce is the future!"
Fan Hongyuan stared at the report in his hand, his mind racing.
He knew about live-streaming e-commerce; although its performance was mediocre in the past few years, it has developed rapidly in the last two. Moreover, it has captured many orders from major platforms, resulting in explosive sales.
Some people say that these live-streaming e-commerce platforms will defeat traditional online shopping platforms in the future.
"Leader, our goals are aligned: to truly enrich farmers and completely solve rural problems. Your cooperation with Huahetong and with us isn't contradictory. We're just responsible for sales; logistics and other issues should be handled by Huahetong. Isn't it better for everyone to focus on their respective roles? Moreover, this will alleviate Huahetong's pressure. Just think about how much it costs to set up an online shopping platform. Look at Taobao's annual operating costs, and look at how few hosts are needed for live-streaming e-commerce..." the man continued, his face beaming with enthusiasm.
"Hmm, we need to hold a meeting to discuss this issue," Fan Hongyuan said after a moment of thought.
Yang Family Villa, Qilin City.
Yang Dan, who had secretly returned home, was sitting in a chair smoking in silence.
The attitude of Yang's relatives towards him was completely different from before; they treated him as if he were a plague.
When his grandparents saw him, they asked him what had happened and why there were rumors circulating about the Yang family.
Yang Dan naturally reassured the two elders, saying that this was a competitor deliberately smearing the Yang family, and that her father and sister were busy with business in another city and could not return for the time being.
Just recently, Yang Dan received a text message from his father, telling him not to mess around anymore, that the trouble he had caused before had been dealt with, and that he had already made arrangements for the rest of his life.
Although Yang Dan is somewhat rebellious, she's not stupid; something about this text message seems off.
He tried calling his father and sister, but the calls wouldn't go through. After waiting a few days, surprisingly, the group from the mountain town didn't call to inquire about the money again, so he secretly slipped away back to his hometown alone.
Because of a previous crackdown by higher authorities, his relatives were either arrested or went into hiding like hermits. Although they were still cold towards him, they hadn't avoided him like they did this time.
This made Yang Dan feel very strange.
Then he went to his family's food factory, only to find that the factory had changed hands. Now the food factory has a sign with three pine trees, and he has inexplicably become a shareholder.
As for Yang's relatives, they were all naturally kicked out.
Yang Dan inquired with several people he used to get along with, and eventually learned that the negative rumors circulating outside were spread by members of the Yang family who had been kicked out, which made him furious.
"Damn it, these ingrates!" Yang Dan slammed his fist on the mahogany table.
He couldn't figure out his father's previous message even after thinking about it for a whole day.
Why aren't Dad and Sister answering the phone?
He said he'd planned out his life for the rest of his days, including shares in a food factory and this house?
That's not right, the house hasn't been transferred to his name yet.
Yang Dan grew increasingly agitated, so she decided to get up and wander around some places she used to frequent, hoping to discover something. (End of Chapter)