Chapter 146

The next morning, the air had gotten even colder.

Before he could get out of bed, his phone rang loudly.

Still half-asleep, he picked up.

On the other end, Lu Qiang’s anxious voice shouted, “Boss! Bad news! The Fashion Institute and the Normal University are rebelling!”

“What the hell? Speak human words, will you?”

Taking a deep breath, Lu Qiang explained, “This morning when we delivered food, a crowd blocked the school gates. They’re not letting riders in!”

That woke Jiang Zhou up instantly. “What do you mean? I already negotiated with the schools!”

“We don’t know either, but more and more orders are being canceled!”

“Don’t panic. Pull the riders back. I’ll have Su Nan post an announcement.”

“What about the orders that are already out?”

“Forget those for now. Just make sure the riders don’t fight with the canteen staff over delivery fees!”

“Got it!”

Jiang Zhou quickly got dressed and called Su Nan.

“Xiaonan, something’s up. Come with me to Ganfanren HQ.”

Still groggy, Su Nan yawned, “What happened?”

“Fashion Institute and Normal’ University banned food deliveries. Tell the merchants not to take any orders from those campuses.”

“My god, how could that happen?”

“No idea. Just post the announcement. I’ll go check things out.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll get up right away!”

Hanging up, Jiang Zhou rushed to the Normal University.

Sure enough, a large crowd was gathered at the gates.

Lu Qiang was arguing angrily with them, but the iron gates were tightly shut.

Even students trying to leave were being blocked inside.

“Boss, finally you’re here!”

“What’s going on? Did you ask who they are? Teachers?”

Shaking his head, Lu Qiang replied, “No. They’re all cafeteria cooks and serving ladies!”

Jiang Zhou froze for a moment. “So it’s the canteen staff causing trouble. Well… that makes sense.”

“But that means we can’t deliver food anymore!”

“I’ll first contact the school leadership. Cancel all the orders from these two universities.”

After saying that, Jiang Zhou drove back to Ganfanren HQ.

He wasn’t surprised in the least that the university canteen staff would cause trouble.

That was just how universities worked these days, the canteens were outsourced.

They paid the school rental fees, and all the profit went into their own pockets.

But ever since he launched Ganfanren, students had gradually gotten used to ordering food online.

Of course that was bound to cut into the canteens’ business.

Especially now, in the middle of winter.

Students didn’t even want to leave their blankets, let alone walk to the canteen.

And precisely because of that, Ganfanren’s orders had surged.

His business had clearly reduced the canteen’s profits.

But blocking the gates to stop riders from entering, that was downright shameless.

The catering market in Shangjing wasn’t that big.

How many customers you could attract depended on your own skills.

You couldn’t just stop others’ customers from entering because your own sales were bad.

When Jiang Zhou first started Ganfanren, it had been just as hard.

His success today was built step by step, all from his own promotion.

Had he ever played dirty tricks like this?

Did he hire people to smash up the canteens?

Did he tell students, “If you don’t order from Ganfanren, you’ll starve”?

No, this move by the canteen staff had taken fair competition and turned it into something ugly.

When Jiang Zhou got back to Ganfanren HQ, Su Nan had already canceled all the orders from the two universities.

She had also posted an announcement on the website, stating that for now, they would not be providing delivery to Fashion Institute or Normal University.

Right after, Jiang Zhou called Director Jiao from Normal University.

“Hello, Director Jiao. Did you know that the canteen staff are blocking our riders from entering?”

“The security office already told me. I’m in talks with the canteen managers now.”

Jiang Zhou frowned. “Can you tell me what their demands are? They can’t block us every day. How will the students eat?”

Director Jiao sighed. “Their demand is that you stop deliveries. Otherwise, they’ll accuse us of breaching our contract with them.”

“And what about online orders?”

“Well… for now, just put it on hold. Let us work out a solution.”

“…”

Jiang Zhou was silent for a long time. “So just because I don’t have a contract with you, I’m the one to be sacrificed?”

After a pause, Director Jiao replied, “You see, our support for you has always been free, but the canteens pay rent.”

“…Alright. I understand.”

Hanging up, Jiang Zhou called the head of administration at Fashion Institute.

The answer was exactly the same.

The schools had contracts with the canteens.

But they had no contract with Jiang Zhou, nor did he pay any fees.

So, to appease the canteen managers, they would sacrifice him and suspend campus deliveries.

After all, before online orders, the students hadn’t starved.

This was the solution the schools had come up with.

It was the “best” one in their view.

“Boss, what do we do now?” Su Nan asked anxiously.

“What’s the panic? The sky isn’t falling. Go make me a cup of tea.”

Pouting, Su Nan still made him a cup. “How come you’re never worried, no matter what happens?”

Jiang Zhou looked at her. “And what good would worrying do? Would those two canteens suddenly allow us in if I panicked?”

“But even though we’re expanding citywide, most of our orders still come from the university district.”

“Mm, I know. We can’t afford to lose those two schools.”

“Then… do you have a solution?”

Jiang Zhou pulled her down to sit beside him. “Let me ask you: what’s the relationship between the schools and the canteens?”

Su Nan thought for a moment. “It’s a business partnership. The schools collect rent, and the canteens make money.”

“Exactly. Now, if one of those old canteens were to go bankrupt, what would the school do?”

“That’s no problem. Campus dining is a fat piece of meat. Lots of people are eyeing it. If this contractor goes under, the school would just bring in another one.”

Jiang Zhou nodded. “Then the answer is simple. Find a way to make the troublemaking canteens shut down.”

Su Nan stared at him like he was spouting nonsense. “Boss, we’re just students. How could we possibly do that?”

“We can’t. But someone can.”

“Who?”

“Think carefully.”

Su Nan frowned. “You mean… Director Yan?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head. “That old man only has influence in our school. He wouldn’t matter in the others.”

“Then I don’t know. I’ve never met anyone like that.”