A few days later, Renrengou announced,
"The company has completed a Series C financing round valued at 2.2 billion US dollars, led by Sequoia China, with follow-on investments from Tencent, IDG, and other companies."
As soon as the news broke, the outside world was in an uproar.
The main reason was that the 2.2 billion US dollar figure was simply too explosive.
Historically, not many domestic internet giants have raised more than this amount, especially in 2011.
Ranked first was Ant Group's Series C, raising 10.3 billion US dollars, but it was later halted before its IPO.
Ranked second was Didi's Series F, raising 4.5 billion US dollars, and it was also immediately subjected to regulatory investigation after its IPO.
ByteDance also had a Pre-IPO financing round, valued at approximately 4 billion US dollars, but its IPO was indefinitely postponed.
The above three haven't happened yet, and perhaps never will; for now, only Renrengou stands out.
"Wow, such shocking news just burst out without a word."
"2.2 billion US dollars, calculated at the current exchange rate of 6.6, wouldn't that be 14.5 billion RMB?"
"Fun fact, one hundred million in cash is approximately 1.19 cubic meters, so 14.5 billion in cash would require 172.55 cubic meters."
"Upstairs, that's way too 'cold' a fact; strange and quirky knowledge just keeps increasing."
"..."
Zhang Xuhao, however, was indifferent; after all, if the sky falls, there's always someone tall to hold it up.
Wang Xing, however, was numb.
How the hell was he supposed to fight this battle now?!
He had to beg and pray just to raise one hundred million, while they easily got 2.2 billion. Where was the fairness in that?
.........
The afternoon of July 22nd.
Chen Pingjiang and Gao Songbin stood in the Dongjiang Twin Star Building, looking out the window.
Outside the window, the rain poured down, the entire sky was frighteningly dark, and lightning snaked across the sky like a giant dragon, bringing thunderous roars and stunning visual effects.
The distant streets, usually bustling, saw no one for half the day today, and even vehicles were scarce.
Gao Songbin said worriedly,
"The roads are already starting to flood."
From the TV behind them came a news report:
"A cold air mass from the north is moving south and will collide with Typhoon 'Sanba,' triggering heavy rainfall across the entire Yangtze River Delta region. Strong rainfall is expected within the next two to three days, with precipitation in some areas potentially reaching..."
Chen Pingjiang frowned deeply:
"A typhoon plus cold air, and continuous heavy rainfall for several days. Our delivery capacity for takeaways will be severely impacted. How have you deployed your resources?"
Gao Songbin said,
"Instructions have been passed down through the ranks beforehand. Our platform has also activated emergency mechanisms, including rational dispatching, extending delivery times, shortening delivery distances, removing negative reviews for delays, and implementing penalty exemptions, all to ensure the safe delivery by riders."
Chen Pingjiang nodded:
"This is the first major test since our takeaway business launched. Such situations will occur frequently in the future. We must establish a complete system to ensure delivery capacity while also prioritizing rider safety. In the event of particularly extreme torrential rain, areas with severe weather should halt operations when necessary. The rider App should also include functions like weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, and emergency contacts to remind riders of delivery safety."
"Yes, Chairman Chen. Compared to other platforms, our Blue Riders have relatively ample delivery experience. Do you remember the blizzard when our takeaway service first launched in Dongjiang University Town? That was tough. However, we've accumulated a lot of experience and have also provided training courses to riders on self-protection and safety knowledge for abnormal weather conditions like typhoons and heavy rain."
Chen Pingjiang sighed,
"This situation is more extreme than that time, and back then we only operated in a small area, but this time it's the entire Yangtze River Delta. Severe weather will cause a surge in orders, so you need to be prepared to handle it."
While Chen Pingjiang and Gao Songbin were looking worried.
Far away, inside a Blue Rider station in Pengcheng.
Station manager Pan Zhongren, wearing a raincoat and rubber boots, held a large megaphone and shouted outwards with an emotional expression.
A few meters away, outside the door, the pouring rain was like broken strings of beads, or like countless bullets raining down madly.
Standing in front of him were seventy or eighty Blue Rider delivery drivers, among them young men in their early twenties, middle-aged people in their forties, and two or three middle-aged women.
Everyone craned their necks, looking at Pan Zhongren standing on the stage.
"Brothers and sisters! I originally thought many would take leave for the night shift today, but I didn't expect all of you to show up! Even many brothers from the morning and mid-shifts are still holding on, and honestly, I'm deeply moved. On behalf of the group, and on behalf of the people of Pengcheng, I thank you for bravely facing difficulties and harsh weather to ensure the normal functioning of people's lives."
"At this moment, we are not fighting alone. Behind you are your colleagues, me, CEO Gao from the group, and Chairman Chen above. Thank you all!"
Saying this, Pan Zhongren bent down and bowed deeply.
Unexpectedly, someone in the audience laughed out,
"Boss, don't make it so serious! Besides, you can at most represent the group, how can you represent the people of Pengcheng?"
"Haha, Xiao Wei, just shut up, aren't you afraid the boss will hit you?"
Suddenly, a dazzling flash of light tore through the heavy dark clouds, illuminating everyone's faces for a moment.
Xiao Wei, who had just been speaking, instinctively ducked his head in fright, and some quick-thinking people quickly covered their ears.
The scene fell silent.
Then came a "boom," as a clap of thunder traveled from far to near, finally exploding beside their ears.
Pan Zhongren glared at Xiao Wei, then strained his voice and shouted:
"Do you remember the content of your pre-employment training? Do not stand under or next to trees, do not get close to billboards, stay away from utility poles on the road, especially in old residential areas. No matter how uncomfortable, do not wear flip-flops or sandals, and absolutely no bare feet, otherwise, wading through water can easily lead to slipping and injury.
Firmly stay away from deep water areas, and walk towards the middle of the road, because you cannot be sure if a manhole cover has been washed away beneath the surface, nor can you accurately judge the water accumulation; once you slip into a low-lying area, it's extremely dangerous."
"Don't rush; if it's late, it's late. Our customer service colleagues will appease the customers, and all negative reviews will be removed."
"Finally, everyone must promise me to pay attention to your own safety. Do not treat severe weather lightly, because this time it's not just heavy rain but also a typhoon. Promise me, you must come back safely and soundly."
As Pan Zhongren was about to continue speaking, a young girl quickly ran over,
"Manager Pan, it's a call from City Manager Liu."
Pan Zhongren quickly answered the phone.
Others didn't know the content of their conversation, but they saw Pan Zhongren repeatedly saying "Good" with a very happy expression on his face.
After a while, Pan Zhongren hung up the phone and picked up the megaphone again:
"Brothers and sisters! Just now, Manager Liu relayed the instructions from Chairman Chen and CEO Gao. To thank everyone for your efforts, and to keep every passionate heart from growing cold, the group has decided that for this occasion, and for all future severe weather events, a reward called 'severe weather delivery fee' will be added. For each order delivered, the delivery fee will increase by eight yuan!"
As soon as his voice fell, the audience immediately became boisterous.
"Oh my god, that's great. Originally, with bits and pieces added together, it was ten yuan. Users already paid two yuan more for orders in bad weather, and now the group has added another eight yuan. All combined, delivering one order can earn twenty yuan!"
"Exactly, deliver 60 orders a day, and that's over a thousand."
"Damn it, I'm doing it. I'm not going off duty until midnight tonight."
"..."
Pan Zhongren said,
"Alright, I've said all I need to say. Everyone get ready, and head out when orders come in. I'll be here waiting for your safe return, and we'll drink celebration wine together."
"Go for it!"
"Go! Let's do it!"
The crowd below was highly excited.
"Guys, sorry, I've got an order."
Xiao Wei triumphantly raised his phone and walked towards the door.
"Take it easy on the road."
"Got it."
As soon as he stepped out of the station gate, Xiao Wei felt pea-sized raindrops hitting his helmet and striking his cheeks.
The helmet clattered with the impact, and there was a slight stinging sensation on his face.
Xiao Wei mumbled,
"Damn, has the sky broken? Such heavy rain."
After getting on his electric bike, Xiao Wei zipped into the rain curtain with a whoosh.
He didn't feel much while inside the station, but once on the main road, Xiao Wei truly realized how heavy the rain was.
It was as if a layer of fog covered his eyes; he couldn't see clearly.
There were almost no pedestrians on the road, only a few vehicles moving slowly.
What frustrated Xiao Wei even more was that if he didn't pull down his helmet's visor, the rain would make it impossible to open his eyes, but if he did pull it down, his vision would become completely blurry shortly after, making it even harder to see.
He rode like this for two kilometers, arriving at the nearest Yuanfang Plaza Miaochao store.
"Beauty, number D37, is it ready?"
"It's ready, here you go."
The Miaochao staff member found the order Xiao Wei needed to deliver from the fully stocked counter.
Xiao Wei pointed to the stacks of takeout packaging bags next to him:
"These all need to be delivered."
"Yes, so many people ordered today, we can't keep up. Be careful on the road, the rain is too heavy."
Xiao Wei waved his hand and quickly walked out with his order.
"Ding!"
His phone rang. Xiao Wei took it out and saw it was a message pushed by the Blue Rider APP.
"Significant water accumulation on the middle section of Qiushan South Road, depth unknown. Riders nearby should try to take a detour."
Xiao Wei was stunned,
"Damn, my luck is terrible; that's exactly the road I need to take, and a detour would be too far."
After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Wei decided to go and check it out first.
Just as he exited the Yuanfang Mall gate, Xiao Wei saw his good friend Dazhuang hurrying over, and the two greeted each other.
"Slow down, buddy."
"Alright."
After getting on the bike, Xiao Wei had only ridden less than a kilometer when he frowned, feeling something was amiss.
The wind was too strong; he could barely control the electric bike.
After trying to push forward for a stretch, he passed through a flooded section of road.
Xiao Wei observed that the accumulated water was about half a wheel high, which wasn't a big problem.
The only difficult part was that it was a small slope, and a large amount of water was slowly flowing in one direction.
He had only ridden less than twenty meters when the strong wind and water current caused the bike to lose balance, throwing Xiao Wei and his bike out.
Fortunately, he wasn't going fast, so he avoided injury.
After falling, Xiao Wei felt he was fine and quickly checked the Miaochao packaging bag, finding it intact, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Gritting his teeth, he lifted the electric bike back up and rode on again.
Soon, the person and the bike arrived at the flooded section of Qiushan South Road.
Looking at the scene before him, Xiao Wei finally frowned.
Vehicles parked along the roadside were submerged to varying degrees.
Taller SUVs were fine with only their entire wheels submerged, but low-chassis sedans suffered badly, with the accumulated water directly covering their front ends.
Xiao Wei silently calculated in his mind, feeling he should be able to get through.
Although the company had extended delivery times, there were only ten minutes left until the delivery deadline.
After some thought, Xiao Wei decided not to take a detour, because a detour would add at least 20 minutes.
At the entrance of a roadside shop, someone happened to witness this scene.
After a moment's thought, they quietly took out their phone and started recording.
He had barely taken two steps into the flooded section when his electric bike hit a pothole, causing the front wheel to instantly sink.
This forced Xiao Wei to get off and pull the front of the bike out.
It was then that he realized the accumulated water was already above his thighs.
This flooded stretch of road was very difficult to traverse; Xiao Wei repeatedly got off and pushed the bike.
It took him a full five or six minutes to get through this hundred-meter-long flooded section.
After getting through, Xiao Wei let out a long breath.
Unfortunately, by the time he arrived at the resident's home, he was still two minutes late.
After knocking, the door opened shortly after.
It was a young girl.
As soon as she saw Xiao Wei, his face covered in rain and his clothes streaked with mud, she immediately felt a pang of guilt,
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was raining so heavily outside. If I had known, I wouldn't have ordered takeout."
Xiao Wei grinned:
"It's nothing, this is our job. And please don't stop ordering takeout; we rely on this kind of weather to earn a bit more, as the platform offers more subsidies."
"Well... then thank you for your hard work."
That word of "hard work" made Xiao Wei feel that the entire arduous journey was worth it.
"Twenty yuan in hand, on to the next order."
However, for the next order, he wasn't so lucky.
Rushing as fast as he could, he was still five minutes late.
As soon as he opened the door, a young man frowned:
"What's going on? It's been overdue for so long, I've already passed the point of hunger."
Xiao Wei offered an awkward smile:
"I'm sorry, the rain outside is too heavy, I drove a bit slowly."
"If the rain is heavy, don't take orders! Isn't going home to sleep better? I'm waiting to report you."
After saying this, the man took the takeout and slammed the door shut.
Xiao Wei's hands trembled slightly with anger.
He took several deep breaths, trying hard to compose himself, and then accepted a new takeout order.
All the way until midnight, Xiao Wei completed a total of twenty-four orders, earning 480 yuan in total.
Earning money was certainly joyful, but even more joyful was being able to help others.
For example, a girl was alone at home, suffering from severe stomach pain and unable to go out to buy medicine due to the heavy rain; Xiao Wei delivered it, and she kept expressing her gratitude.
For example, an older sister regularly delivered meals to her elderly father who lived alone, but couldn't today, so she ordered takeout.
When she opened the door, the old man's grateful eyes left a lasting impression on Xiao Wei.
Later, the older sister who placed the order also called to express her thanks.
Although his rubber boots were filled with water, squelching with every step, and the rain had numbed his cheeks, Xiao Wei's heart remained warm.
Such scenes were unfolding in every city across the Yangtze River Delta, from Nan'an, Shanghai, to Dongjiang.
Blue figures in windbreakers walked through streets and alleys, braving wind and rain, their bodies mixed with sweat and rainwater, delivering takeout orders to customers with a smile.
Such deeds did not escape the public's eye.
As various short videos were continuously uploaded to Weibo and circulated on WeChat, the Blue Riders became popular.
Related topics once again surged to the top of the trending list.
The topic "Yangtze River Delta Heavy Rain, Delivery Riders Persist in Delivering Food in the Rain" soared to the top of the charts.
The topic's comment section was filled with various remarks, and some also posted videos they had filmed.
Among them were delivery riders falling off their bikes, riders wading through water, and some who took a long time to get up after falling.
Various local and official media outlets reposted videos provided by netizens.
A flood of attention and comments instantly overwhelmed the original post...
"I was very hungry tonight and ordered takeout. I was worried the rider wouldn't make it, so I called the rider and told him, 'The weather's bad, don't deliver it, keep it for yourself to eat.' I clicked 'confirm receipt.' The rider didn't say anything then, but he eventually delivered it to me, only about ten minutes late, and kept apologizing, asking not to give a bad review. I ate the takeout with tears in my eyes then; even though it was cold, my heart felt incredibly warm! Hats off to everyone who struggles and works hard for life!"
"Just now my son said he wanted to order takeout, and I told him not to. It's raining so heavily, it's not safe for the delivery riders either."
"The platform clearly issued a red heavy rain warning; can't the system just pause operations?"
"It's truly heartbreaking to see. Whose son, whose father is this? How many people in different cities are fighting so hard for a living? I hope everyone stays safe and well!"
"To all the delivery riders nationwide, thank you for your hard work. Please protect yourselves."
"So dedicated, thumbs up to the riders."
Initially...
The comments were still very positive, mostly expressing gratitude to the delivery riders and urging them to prioritize safety.
But soon, the narrative began to be skewed by those with ulterior motives.
"One can only say that some people who order food... don't put themselves in others' shoes."
"There's no way to put it. In such situations, delivery fees will be raised. Objectively speaking, although the weather is severe, delivery drivers also earn money. But I usually can't bring myself to do it; when I encounter bad weather, I just go hungry and order once the rain or snow stops."
"If they can't deliver, they can report it. I don't know why they have to push themselves so hard?"
"I don't know why the comments section blames those who order takeout. No one held a knife to force him to take the order, did they? Although it's very difficult and tough, he did it voluntarily!"
"Some people are truly speechless. Didn't the delivery driver accept this order himself? Haven't you seen the news? Delivery drivers in Shanghai earn over ten thousand a month. Those earning a few thousand pity those earning over ten thousand."
"One can only say it's like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai – one is willing to inflict, and the other is willing to suffer."
"I just want to ask Renrengou, why don't you shut down your system in such severe weather?"
"The platform also bears responsibility!"
"This is practically profiting from others' misery. Your platform makes money effortlessly, while forcing these riders to brave the wind and rain."
"Suddenly I feel Chen Pingjiang has changed, becoming a capitalist, ultimately turning into a villain."
"Boycott Renrengou!"
(End of chapter)