Font Size:
On the other side, Tang Lei and Gu Huanxi made a trip back to Xiahai City to visit their godfather and godmother. Xu Mo asked them to deliver some supplies to the orphanage.
“Deliver to several more places; we have no shortage of money lately.”
Tang Lei and Gu Huanxi agreed, each donating one million yuan.
Xu Mo and Li Banzhuang stayed in Beijing to handle company matters.
The Price Slashing and group buying models were running smoothly, with user growth progressing rapidly. However, breaking into the e-commerce platform market remained challenging.
No one’s success comes easily.
Some investors’ opinions weren’t wrong; the e-commerce platform market is almost saturated, making it difficult to find entry points and new models.
Xu Mo and the others knew that achieving great success in this field would likely require a lot of effort.
“Here! Have some water!”
Xu Mo handed a glass of water to Li Banzhuang.
“Thanks!” Li Banzhuang reached out to take it, busy working on some documents.
“Recently, it seems Tang Lei is quite popular with the ladies. Several girls at school look at him with such affectionate eyes!” Xu Mo appeared to have noticed something, sitting down on the nearby sofa with a mischievous grin. “I wonder if he’s interested?”
At this, Li Banzhuang laughed. “Tang Lei said he’s focused on his career. We’ve been so busy lately, managing the company and handling our studies. There’s no time!”
“He’s become quite famous!” Xu Mo chuckled.
Li Banzhuang nodded in agreement.
It seems the media coverage of Tang Lei’s biological parents searching for him brought him quite a bit of fame, leading to his exposure in the media.
After that, many people at school learned he was one of the founders of Little Monster Shared Bicycles, which earned him a return of up to five hundred million yuan. His popularity at school skyrocketed, surpassing Xu Junzhe, and making him the new entrepreneurial star.
Recently, many people have been seeking advice from Tang Lei, asking how to start a business, if he has any new ideas, or if he’s interested in investing in their ventures.
This attention has somewhat annoyed Tang Lei.
However, Tang Lei is a solid guy, down-to-earth and sincere. He stays away from vices and handles things steadily. He has turned down most of the requests.
When people approached him about investments, he didn’t respond.
Lately, a few pretty girls seem to have taken a liking to him, often surrounding him, waiting for him to go to or leave class.
“This kid, he might not be able to resist temptation. I bet he’s already secretly gone on a date with one of them.”
Xu Mo acknowledged that girl. She was quite nice and pretty, a modest and gentle type. If there were no other issues, Xu Mo would naturally wish them well.
“Xu Mo, I never thought we’d come this far!” Li Banzhuang said with a smile. “Lately, it seems like a lot of people are evaluating our company!”
Xu Mo shrugged. “In the short term, attracting investment is probably a long shot.”
“Are we keeping the data confidential for now?” Li Banzhuang asked with a smile.
“Of course, it’s confidential! In this field, we can’t reveal our data just yet! We need to seize this small opportunity and establish our market first! What others think doesn’t concern us much,” Xu Mo replied.
“You really have a good grasp on things! I wasn’t optimistic before, but it seems like you only needed two moves to get the company up and running!” Li Banzhuang said with a smile.
She leisurely took a sip of water and then suddenly spoke up again, “Do you remember the old days? You led the three of us around, earning money for living expenses and side jobs! Back then, Tang Lei was timid, Huanxi and I were quite shy, and it was always you who approached families who had lost loved ones, asking if they needed help. They chased you away so many times, but you kept going back!”
Xu Mo was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, “Memories best forgotten!”
“We were pretty bold back then. Even seeing dead people didn’t faze us; we could cry on demand, even fake crying!” Li Banzhuang laughed, seemingly recalling many things. “I remember once, after crying, my legs were sore. When I stood up, I twisted my ankle, and you carried me back!”
“Didn’t Huanxi also carry you?” Xu Mo asked.
Li Banzhuang laughed, “Huanxi did, but most of the time, it was you! You always took us around, running here and there. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t have had any pocket money, and we might not have even been able to finish school!”
Xu Mo chuckled, “Do you remember the time we set up a stall at the night market and got chased for several blocks?”
“Of course, I remember! I lost all my stuff then! Even though it was just little trinkets and toys, I lost a lot of money! Huanxi cried for a long time when she talked about it since that was her entire savings!” Li Banzhuang said, her eyes welling up with tears. “But we were still pretty happy back then. After crying, we went to have barbecue.”
“Yeah! We were quite happy back then!” Xu Mo nodded.
At that time, they even found wailing at funerals to be interesting. Being around the deceased didn’t bother them.
The main thing was that crying at funerals had a high return. Typically, they could earn over three hundred yuan for a day’s work and get free food and drink. If they were lucky, the host family would give them candies and snacks to take back. It was simply wonderful.
After their wailing sessions, they would usually stop for some barbecue on the way back and then return to the orphanage happily.
They were all orphans, shameless and resilient, so they could only do these kinds of things. Back then, they were like indestructible little cockroaches, living life with wild abandon.
As for outsmarting the city management officers, that was even more fun. Sometimes, the officers couldn’t catch up with him and Tang Lei, who would dart away like a flash.
Recalling these past events brought a smile to his face. Xu Mo grinned mischievously, “Do you remember the time you and Huanxi got scared to tears by a few stray dogs?”
Li Banzhuang laughed too, “I remember! But I also remember once when a few hooligans tried to harass us. You and Tang Lei ran over and fought with them. Tang Lei got his head bashed and his face scratched up! That fight was intense, and the director scolded us all!”
“…” Xu Mo laughed, “Haha, that won’t happen anymore! I guess no one will ever dare to bully us again!”
“Yes! Never again!” Li Banzhuang nodded, her eyes sparkling.
Tang Lei found his family and parents, even though he didn’t like it, and Xu Mo also found his, although many things came up.
Li Banzhuang’s parents had long since passed away, and she had no siblings. She had been alone her whole life, experiencing the pain of separation and death.
Having witnessed her parents’ deaths, she cherished her relationships with them more than anyone else.
Recently, this girl has been working very hard. Compared to the shared bicycle business, she seems to prefer the e-commerce business. Whenever there is overtime work, she never hesitates.
Lately, she has been diligently studying books on market operations, trying to learn as much as possible to help Xu Mo build the company.
They are all orphans, with no one to rely on but each other.
Xu Mo naturally noticed her efforts. This girl used to be timid and afraid of the dark, crying loudly whenever she saw darkness.
Later on, she even stopped being afraid of the dead, having been toughened up by their experiences.
Li Banzhuang still has a lot of room to grow.