The announcement sent shockwaves through all merchants on the Gou Huaisuan platform. Everyone stared at the notice in disbelief. To have a month's sales revenue frozen without prior warning – was this even humanly possible?
Of course, they didn't yet know it might actually be two months, considering the ongoing logistics blockade!
Consequently, the entire Gou Huaisuan mall erupted in chaos. Countless sellers immediately lodged complaints with the official customer service of the Forty Thieves. The volume of merchants calling customer service lines surged to over ten times that of buyers.
However, the Forty Thieves' customer service offered only one consistent response: this was necessary to prevent significant harm to buyers' interests, everything was for the buyers, and the decision was non-negotiable.
Naturally, the sellers refused to back down so easily. They directly threatened customer service, stating that if the company insisted on implementing this decision, they would cancel all received orders.
The customer service then responded very decisively, explaining that according to the mall's rules, after a customer placed an order through legitimate channels, merchants were not allowed to unilaterally cancel orders unless there were unavoidable circumstances or the customer initiated the cancellation. Otherwise, they would be fined 30% of the order value, which would be directly deducted from the store's security deposit.
If the security deposit was insufficient, the deduction would be made from outstanding payments.
This strategy completely baffled all the merchants.
Soon, the merchants devised new counter-strategies, such as closing their stores, refusing to accept further orders, and waiting for the previous payments to clear before ceasing operations altogether. Surely, that would be acceptable!
However, they soon received notifications from the Gou Huaisuan mall stating that according to the mall's rules, a store could only be closed after all orders had been settled. Until then, closing a store was not permitted.
This notification once again left all merchants utterly perplexed.
If they were not allowed to close their stores, products would continue to be sold, making it impossible to ever wait for all orders to be settled.
Of course, for every strategy, there was a counter-strategy. Many merchants considered a different approach: removing all products from their stores. The store would remain open, but without anything for sale, effectively replicating the state of being closed.
However, as soon as this idea emerged, they collectively received system messages. The system proactively reminded all merchants that according to the mall's rules, if a store had no products for sale for more than three consecutive days, it would be considered malicious occupation of system resources. The store would be forcibly closed, and the entire security deposit would be confiscated as a penalty.
The system specifically clarified that this rule was part of the original agreement and not a new addition.
Well, the merchants were once again bewildered. They checked the contracts they had signed, and indeed, such a rule existed. How had they overlooked it?
Naturally, the merchants quickly thought of new solutions, such as only listing one product in the store, pricing it prohibitively high so that no one would normally buy it, and then waiting for two more months. After all, there were always more solutions than problems.
However, very soon, the merchants heard a story about a merchant who, within two hours of modifying his product listings, was investigated by the Gou Huaisuan mall. The mall discovered that he was selling non-compliant products with inadequate packaging, violating the mall's principle of honesty and trustworthiness. Consequently, the mall imposed the maximum penalty of ten times the value of the non-compliant products, fining him 12,000 yuan in one go, effectively nullifying all his sales during the promotional period.
Instantly, all the merchants felt a chill run down their spines. In this day and age, which merchant could honestly say they had never violated any rule?
Most importantly, they recalled another clause in the rules: if a product had not been delivered to the user within 14 days and no settlement could be reached with the user, the order would be deemed invalid and refunded.
Initially, they considered this a minor clause, as any courier service should have delivered the package within 14 days. Even if there were issues, they could simply absorb the loss for that order.
But now, thinking about all the piled-up, undeliverable packages, it was like a sword hanging over everyone's head! If Gou Huaisuan invoked this clause, every single merchant would face a significant deduction of funds.
It was at this point that the merchants finally understood that their cash was entirely in the hands of the Forty Thieves. As long as the latter didn't want to pay them, there were a thousand and one excuses to withhold their funds, and they had no recourse.
Some merchants also attempted to resolve the issue through legal channels. However, after consulting with lawyers, they discovered that the Forty Thieves' contracts were exceptionally comprehensive. From a contractual standpoint, the Forty Thieves' actions were not illegal, and the chances of winning a lawsuit were low.
Furthermore, even if they filed a lawsuit, the various procedures would take at least three months. During this period, as the funds were in dispute, it would be even more impossible to retrieve them.
Not to mention additional expenses like legal fees.
Upon receiving such answers from the lawyers, the merchants fell into complete despair. Many even wept uncontrollably from sheer distress, as numerous merchants had gone bankrupt for this promotion, selling their homes to acquire inventory, all for the sake of profit.
Instead of making money, they now faced the prospect of having their funds frozen for two months.
Just as the merchants' negative emotions were about to explode, the Forty Thieves suddenly issued another announcement. It stated that considering the significant losses merchants would incur this time, the Forty Thieves had decided to offer compensation. For all orders that had been delayed for over a month prior to the announcement of the new regulations, an additional 1% cash subsidy would be granted per order.
In other words, if you had an order worth 10,000 yuan that was delayed, you would receive an additional subsidy of 100 yuan.
Moreover, all orders placed within the following month would also receive an additional 1% subsidy.
Like giving a carrot after a stick, upon seeing the meager 1% subsidy, the merchants actually felt a sense of gratitude. Their initial anger was instantly suppressed, and many merchants began to consider not how to seek justice from the Forty Thieves, but rather how to endure the coming month and wait for the Forty Thieves to release their sales revenue.
Some even considered expanding their sales, thinking that the 1% subsidy on every order was an additional profit!
Thus, through the Forty Thieves' series of remarkable maneuvers, the potential storm that was brewing was quickly quelled. Over 60% of the merchants silently accepted the new regulations, and another 20% accepted them reluctantly.
The remaining 20%, although dissatisfied, could not make any significant waves. The entire process and the methods employed were, in a word, perfect.
October 11th, the final day of the 1020 promotion. Inside a restaurant belonging to the Forty Thieves, the atmosphere was festive. Simultaneously, over a hundred chefs were busy in the kitchen, preparing a wide array of delicacies.
These chefs were invited from over a dozen nearby restaurants, offering Chinese, Western, and Japanese cuisines. The various dishes transformed the entire cafeteria into a feast, allowing all employees to indulge in whatever food they desired.
Yes, it was a super luxurious buffet. This was a rare moment of celebratory atmosphere within the Forty Thieves for days.
This event was urgently arranged by Jin Yuanying that afternoon, inviting most employees to put down their work and join in the celebration.
As time passed, the Forty Thieves had weathered the most difficult days. Their workload had significantly decreased. The newly hired employees had acquired basic work skills through intense practical training. Therefore, only a few employees were now needed to operate the Gou Huaisuan platform, allowing most employees some much-needed rest.
After finishing this meal, one-third of the employees were granted leave to go home and see their families, whom they hadn't seen in over ten days.
The remaining two-thirds of the employees would take turns resting and going on leave.
In fact, at this point, the Forty Thieves could manage with two shifts. Three shifts were an exaggeration. However, Xiao Ma Ge had said that this was a critical juncture for the company, and it was better to be cautious. Hence, only one-third of the employees could rest, but even this was met with immense gratitude from the employees.
At the beginning, Lao Ma Ge was also invited to give a speech in front of all the employees.
Lao Ma Ge spoke extensively, from founding Haigouwang to Gou Huaisuan, then to this current promotion, his trip to Hong Kong, and all the crises encountered throughout the process. He recounted everything.
After all, the past few days had been incredibly intense, feeling as if the entire company was teetering on the brink of collapse every single day. Naturally, he felt a surge of emotions.
Of course, the most crucial part of the speech was how he faced and resolved various difficulties and challenges, ultimately overcoming all problems.
The company no longer faced a financial crisis, and its future was bright. Once the promotion concluded, the Forty Thieves would become the most powerful e-commerce platform in China, poised to achieve a historic and great victory!
As these words were spoken, a wave of cheers erupted from the audience, transforming the restaurant into a sea of joy.
However, at this moment, something happened that deeply displeased Lao Ma Ge: Sun Tongyu submitted his resignation letter.
"A virtuous person does not stand under a precarious wall!" This was the sole sentence in his resignation letter.