Chapter 8

Four drunkards all wore expressions of "What the hell is that?"

The leader frowned and asked first, "What did you say that thing is called?"

"e-commerce, which is electronic commerce," Qin Feng, who always thought for his guests, felt it was his duty to explain the question since they asked. At this point, Ma Xiaoyun had already completed the first round of financing. Even if Qin Feng explained the matter in detail, unless these four had billions in their hands, they would have no way to change the course of history.

Qin Feng explained in detail, "In simple terms, it's about building a trading platform on the internet, allowing all those who conduct trade on this platform to receive feedback from all sides in the first instance."

The few people still looked confused, all looking at Qin Feng expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

Qin Feng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Whether these four were truly rich or just pretending to be, in 2003, Dongou City had its wealthy, but none were on the level of Ma Xiaoyun, let alone having the extremely brilliant business strategic vision of Ma Xiaoyun and others.

For a long time, the bosses in Dongou City relied on speculation, manufacturing, and even after 2003, due to excess capital, they turned to real estate speculation. The Dongou real estate speculation group even became famous throughout the country. By 2010, with the tightening of capital, the economic situation in Dongou City deteriorated, leading to many bosses fleeing with the money and some even choosing to jump from buildings as an extreme way to end their lives.

In summary, the bosses in Dongou pursued one thing: speed.

They didn't care how they made money; as long as the money came in quickly, they would do it, even if it meant crossing the legal line.

After sighing inwardly, Qin Feng unknowingly sat down.

Facing the four drunkards at the table, Qin Feng spoke confidently, "This is a long-term business, but as long as you are willing to invest enough time, the returns will be beyond your imagination. Now, more and more people in the country are using the internet, and at the same time, more and more people are unemployed. These unemployed people will soon think of making money by opening online stores. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for the four drunkards to speak, Qin Feng continued, "Because opening an online store, first, doesn't require running around to get licenses like a physical store; second, it doesn't require paying taxes like a physical store, because there is no legal basis for taxing online stores in the country; third, the cost of opening an online store is extremely low, and if the inventory is not much, they can use their home as a warehouse."

"Then... then how do you deliver the goods? How do you deliver them?" One of the drunkards, who had not spoken before, suddenly perked up, unsure if he was the second or the fourth.

"Very simple, by courier," Qin Feng replied.

"Courier?" Drunkard No. 2 was puzzled.

Qin Feng explained, "For small online stores, dealing with customers is one-on-one, just like running a physical store. Usually, the amount of goods they require won't be high. In this case, the seller just needs to find a courier company, and the courier will pick up the goods at their home, allowing them to do business from home. So, the logistics sector will also be very profitable in the future. If the courier is diligent enough, they can earn at least ten thousand yuan a month."

When Qin Feng said this, the leader of the drunkards suddenly burst out laughing, pointing at Qin Feng, "Interesting, you're really interesting, it's as if you've seen it all."

Qin Feng smiled faintly and said, "Actually, I can predict the future. Do you believe that we will host the Olympics in 2008?"

"Of course, it's been in the news for a long time!" the leader of the drunkards shouted.

Qin Feng was slightly taken aback—had it been in the news? He had failed to bluff...

"I don't care about the rest, I just want to ask you, how does this thing make money?" Another drunkard who had not spoken before finally opened his eyes wide.

Qin Feng smiled slightly and asked in return, "Boss, may I ask you, if you make a market platform big, what would be your next move?"

All of them fell silent, and then almost simultaneously, they all gave their answers.

"Charge!"

"Management fees!"

"Make money!"

"Collect fees!"

The words were different, but the meaning was the same.

Qin Feng saw that even if these four weren't big bosses, they were at least businessmen.

"Right, exactly. As long as there are enough users, once they start relying on this platform to make money, as long as the charges are not exorbitantly high, they will definitely pay willingly," Qin Feng said slowly. "Let's assume the average charge per store is 50,000 yuan per year. If there are 10,000 users, the annual charge would be 500 million yuan. As their stores grow and the number of users increases, the 50,000 yuan management fee could become 100,000 yuan, and 10,000 users could become 1 million."

"100 billion!" the leader of the drunkards exclaimed.

The other three, however, shook their heads frequently. Drunkard No. 3 said repeatedly, "Impossible, impossible, how can money come in so quickly?"

Qin Feng said calmly, "Of course, it won't be that much at the beginning, but what about the future? If the number of users opening online stores really reaches 1 million? In the future, the internet will be a part of people's daily lives, just as common as televisions and refrigerators now. If everyone uses the internet, and there are so many stores across the country, they would be happy to spend a little more to open an online store to have an additional sales channel. Why not?"

These words made the drunkards all seem to sober up.

The leader of the drunkards looked around and asked for their opinions in front of Qin Feng, "Why don't we give it a try?"

Drunkard No. 3 immediately said, "How do we try? This sounds right, but do we know how to operate it?"

"Operate it by hiring people! If it really makes that much money, I'll pay a million yuan a year!" Drunkard No. 4 said.

Qin Feng immediately said, "If it's a million yuan a year, I can give it a try."

The four of them all looked at Qin Feng. The leader of the drunkards shook his head and laughed, "Who hired this guy? His mouth is even more eloquent than the professor at Dongou University."

Qin Feng looked shy and said, "Actually, I have the ability to teach at a university, but I just lack a degree. I find it very regrettable."

The four brothers burst out laughing.

Drunkard No. 3 slapped the table and said, "Brother, give him a raise, definitely give him a raise. It's not easy to cultivate a crosstalk performer in our hotel."

Hearing this, Qin Feng quickly stood up and looked at the leader of the drunkards, asking in surprise, "You're the boss?"

The leader of the drunkards stood tall, exuding a sense of arrogance, "Yes, I am the boss of Aqing Building, Xu Guoqing."