"Don't even mention it," Ye Zhi said, her voice muffled against the desk. "You didn't have to come in so early today. Go back and rest. I'll handle things here."
"No, I'm not tired," Chen Wei replied.
Ye Zhi nodded, not urging him further. She then asked, "Have there been any developments from Qianbai?"
"Yes," Chen Wei said. "They've started running advertisements. Their mobile app's official version is set to launch fully in half a month. They're also planning a pre-launch warm-up, with promotional offers and widespread distribution of coupons to reward users throughout these next two weeks."
Ye Zhi sounded a little surprised. "It seems Qianbai has some capable people. To come up with this counter-strategy overnight is quite impressive."
Chen Wei nodded. "Indeed. Half a month of promotions is enough to divert our popularity. It seems they're ready to compete with us on spending. Ms. Ye, how should we respond?"
"No need to rush yet," Ye Zhi said. "First, let's get a detailed understanding of their half-month-long campaign. For instance, how are they offering discounts to merchants, and what's the magnitude of the offers for users? Such an exaggerated spending spree would have required multiple rounds of discussion within Qianbai; they couldn't have decided this quickly."
"Alright, I'll find out," Chen Wei agreed.
Soon, Chen Wei arrived at Ye Zhi's office with the gathered information.
Ye Zhi quickly skimmed the documents, and a smile spread across her face.
During Qianbai's promotional period, merchants would have their fees waived, but the discount amounts would be deducted directly from their earnings. As for users, Qianbai had employed a clever tactic: users were divided into several tiers based on their spending. The higher the spending, the lower the value of the coupons they received. Conversely, those who spent less, especially new users, received higher value coupons.
"Is this data accurate?" Ye Zhi asked.
"Extremely accurate," Chen Wei stated confidently. "I used a few tricks myself."
"Ouyang Minghan, as expected. He plans to get something for nothing!" Ye Zhi clicked her tongue twice. "It's one thing to take money from the merchants, but to have evolved to the point of exploiting familiar customers, I'm impressed..."
"What should we do now?" Chen Wei asked. "Should we expose their scam to the television media?"
"The direction is right, but the approach is flawed," Ye Zhi said with a faint smile. "These days, TV viewers and internet users are practically two different groups. Exposing them on television won't be effective.
Go to those video streaming sites and find popular video creators with large fan bases. Have them analyze Qianbai's promotional activities and create some videos. Also, pay close attention to the price fluctuations of items on Qianbai; if you notice any abnormal shifts, you can provide that data to them as well."
"Ms. Ye, are you suggesting that the prices of goods on Qianbai's website will increase?" Chen Wei asked, taken aback.
"Of course," Ye Zhi's lips curled slightly. "If Qianbai doesn't want to spend money, how can merchants bear it themselves? Raising prices before offering discounts will inevitably become standard practice."
Ye Zhi couldn't help but muse internally about these tactics; she had seen them all before.
However, it was fortunate that Ouyang Minghan was still in that awkward phase of wanting to spend money but being unwilling to spend his own. That's why he resorted to such methods. If he ever had an epiphany and decided to spend billions, it would truly be troublesome.
Chen Wei went off to execute her instructions. Ye Zhi took out her phone, preparing to contact a few brand merchants with whom she had good relationships.
These merchants had stores on both Taoxun and Qianbai, and they were all major brands with considerable influence. She wanted to remind them that while Qianbai hadn't given them a choice, they could actually negotiate with Qianbai and opt out of this campaign.
After all, for these brand merchants, casually adjusting prices like smaller businesses would damage their reputation. But if they didn't adjust their prices, they would suffer financial losses.
Ye Zhi made several calls, and the effect was quite good. Those brand merchants were already contacting more brands, preparing to negotiate with Qianbai collectively.
She hung up the phone with satisfaction, hoping Ouyang Minghan would appreciate her stab in the back.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
Ye Zhi looked at the caller ID in surprise. It was Qi Xuan.
This was extremely rare. Qi Xuan never called her during her work hours, as no matter what the matter, she would go to his place, and they would eat and chat.
She answered the call, asking with some confusion, "Qi Xuan, is something wrong?"
"I just wanted to ask," Qi Xuan sighed, sounding a little perplexed. "Do I look like a complete sucker?"
"Ah?" Ye Zhi was quite bewildered. "Why do you ask?"
"Ouyang Minghan has come to Qi Corporation," Qi Xuan sighed again. "He wants to see me, probably to solicit investment."
Ye Zhi: "..."
This is not fair!
She had only taken a jab at Ouyang Minghan, and now he was attacking her flank?!
Of course, she wasn't worried that Qi Xuan would try to play both sides. After their time together, she understood him. He had a sense of justice ingrained in him, and he wasn't on the same path as Ouyang Minghan.
Ye Zhi said with some exasperation, "He really knows who to approach. Are you planning to meet him?"
"That depends on you," Qi Xuan's lips curved slightly.
"Ah?" Ye Zhi was baffled. She thought for a moment and then said, "How about I give you a gift then?"
Qi Xuan: ...
He no longer held any expectations for Ye Zhi's gifts.
During this time, he had been having late-night snacks with Ye Zhi every day. Whenever they had these late-night snacks, Ye Zhi would actually give him gifts.
However, the gifts she gave were now all displayed in his bedroom. There was a massage chair, two lazy sofas, a computer desk, a handmade carpet, two modern paintings, and several other decorative items...
These were all things Ye Zhi bought to decorate her own house. Anything she found good, she would buy an extra one for him.
This made Qi Xuan suspect that Ye Zhi was using his room as a platform for a home decoration game.
Although he didn't dislike the gifts Ye Zhi gave him, he wanted some other kind of present.
He was about to hint at what he wanted when he suddenly felt that if he hinted, Ye Zhi might send him even more peculiar gifts.
"I like flowers," Qi Xuan hinted, and as an afterthought, he added, "Not too many."
Ye Zhi blinked, then immediately said, "I understand! Don't worry, leave it to me!"
After the call ended, Qi Xuan frowned slightly. Did Ye Zhi really understand? Well, he'd find out tonight.
He called his assistant in and asked sternly, "Ouyang Minghan still refuses to leave?"
The assistant replied, "Yes, he said he won't leave until he sees you."
"Then let him wait," Qi Xuan said indifferently.