Free Web NovelChapter 118: Chapter 118: Video Conference, Little Yellow Car’s Reaction
Wang Wei drove the Audi aimlessly around a large intersection for over ten minutes before he heard Wu Yun say, "Wang Wei, head back to the office."
The Audi immediately changed lanes, made a U-turn where permitted, and headed back the way they came.
"Everyone in the office, tidy up! The chairman is coming to inspect the company any minute. Look sharp, everyone! We can’t let Modu and Rongcheng show us up!" Luo Hong sent this message to the branch’s main group chat, followed by a photo of Wu Yun so that everyone would recognize him.
A stream of "Got it" messages popped up one after another, bumping Luo Hong’s message right to the top.
The few people in the main open-plan office and the employees in the smaller offices sprang into action, tidying up all the documents, chairs, and desks.
Once everything was clean, practically no one could focus on their work. People kept glancing toward the entrance.
The employees in the office were mostly from administration, finance, and HR, along with a few programmers responsible for system maintenance.
Aside from the programmers, who had to constantly monitor backend registration data and handle any issues that arose, no one else had any pressing tasks.
"President Wu, good morning!" The voices of the two receptionists drifted in, followed by the sound of three sets of footsteps.
"President Wu, I’m Luo Hong, the branch manager. Would you like to tour the office first, or should we head straight to the video conference? I’ve had the conference room prepared; it’s ready whenever you are."
On the way over, Wu Yun had sent a request to Li Qiuliang to immediately organize a short video meeting with all the branch managers to discuss insurance and liability.
Through his glasses, Wu Yun saw: Name: Luo Hong, Age: 35, Management: Master of Management, Internet Comprehension: Expert, Oratory Skill: Master of Oratory.
Looking at the composed, middle-aged man before him, who was neither obsequious nor arrogant, Wu Yun thought for a moment before saying, "President Luo, let’s start with the video conference. I can tour the branch office afterward."
Wu Yun was led into a relatively large conference room. Two laptops sat on the table, along with headsets and microphones that were already plugged in.
A female staff member explained how to use the push-to-talk microphone, brought him a cup of tea, and then excused herself from the room.
Wu Yun put on his headset and looked at the five other video feeds on the screen. Seeing that everyone was present, he pressed the talk button on his microphone.
"President Li, good morning to all the branch managers. I’ll skip the self-introduction. Aside from the two managers from Guangzhou and Peng City, whom I haven’t met face-to-face, I know the rest of you. In fact, Manager Zhang Cheng from Modu gave me quite the welcome, drinking me right under the table."
As Wu Yun shared this embarrassing tale, everyone on screen, except for Luo Hong who was struggling to hold it in, doubled over in laughter.
The tense atmosphere of the hastily called emergency meeting was instantly dispelled.
"Alright, I know everyone’s busy, so I’ll get straight to the point. There are two main items I want to discuss today, and I’d like to hear your opinions on them."
Wu Yun went on to raise the issue prompted by the traffic accident he’d seen that morning: what should the company do if a Little Red Car user gets into an accident? He then shared his idea of adding rider insurance.
"What I’m proposing is that customers must sign a safety agreement upon registration. I want our legal department to draft and implement this agreement as soon as possible. It needs to include clauses about use by minors, age restrictions, adherence to traffic laws, and so on. Basically, draft it in whatever way is most advantageous to the company, provided it’s all legal and compliant."
Seeing everyone on the video call furiously taking notes, Wu Yun took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Alright, the second matter. Let’s discuss providing insurance for our riders. How do we purchase it? How do we charge for it? And what other issues might arise? I want everyone to speak freely and share their thoughts. Once we have a plan, we need to find an insurance company to negotiate with as soon as possible. If a suitable policy doesn’t exist, we’ll have them create a custom mobility plan for us!"
"I’ll give you all ten minutes. I’m just going to step out for a moment. We’ll start the discussion when I get back."
After speaking, Wu Yun stood up and headed straight for the restroom.
...
「Meanwhile, in the OFO Little Yellow Car office in a Capital City high-rise.」
After securing investment and expanding the company, Dai Wei had decided to move the office from an old residential building into this relatively inexpensive commercial space.
BAM!
Dai Wei slammed his palm on the desk, a curse escaping his lips. "Damn it! Is Little Red Car doing this on purpose? Launching their full-scale rollout at the exact same time as us? Aren’t they just trying to screw with us!?"
Ling Fei, sitting opposite the desk, was miserable. ’And whose fault is that?’ he thought. ’You’re the one who insisted on piggybacking on Little Red Car’s momentum to save a little on advertising.’
’Well, instead of catching their tailwind, we caught a tactical missile.’ frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
’If live-streaming were a thing right now,’ Ling Fei thought, ’I’d probably be shouting, "Thanks for the fireworks, my dude!"’
The reason Dai Wei was so furious was that on his way to work, he had seen scores of Little Red Cars at numerous intersections. Then, when he got to the office and checked the trending topics for his own company, he saw Little Red Car trending as well.
His own employees had seen scrolling digital ads for Little Red Car at subway and bus stations on their way in. In contrast, their own promotional efforts—paying to get on the trending list and hiring people to hand out flyers from street stalls near schools—felt pathetic. A sense of stifled frustration filled him, and you could smell the sour grapes of his jealousy from a mile away.
’So what if they’re rich!’
Dai Wei had already hired someone to investigate Little Red Car’s corporate structure and funding. ’Damn trust fund kids,’ he fumed internally. ’They’re already loaded, why are they trying to steal the livelihood of us common folk?’
Dai Wei had always considered Capital City to be Little Yellow Car’s home base, with his entire development strategy centered on it.
What he hadn’t expected was for Little Red Car to strike with the force of a thunderbolt, deploying 150,000 bikes in Capital City right off the bat.
Amid his anger, Dai Wei felt a sliver of relief. Thankfully, Little Red Car was launching in multiple cities at once and hadn’t concentrated all its bikes in the Capital. If they had, he’d be in a world of hurt.
After a long silence, under Ling Fei’s questioning gaze, Dai Wei finally unclenched his fists and sighed. "Ai, I misjudged Little Red Car’s strategy. I thought they’d stay holed up in Rongcheng and conquer that city first. I never expected them to have such a huge appetite! But this is fine, too. They’re spreading themselves thin, while we can focus our growth! The market is still huge. We still have a chance!"
"Ah Ling, what are the app registration numbers looking like? And how much have we collected in security deposits?"
In private, the two addressed each other as friends. "Ah Wei, don’t lose hope. Our situation is still pretty optimistic."
"Before the launch—that is, before 8 p.m. last night—our app had over 45,000 registered users. However, because our bike deployment was so limited, only a little over 20,000 of them have paid the security deposit, which is a conversion rate of just under fifty percent."
