From Taobao intern to the father of Pinduoduo

Chapter 1 Alibaba Intern

Corner Cafe.

Sunlight streamed onto the brown wooden tabletops, and several thriving green plants were displayed in the shop, while abstract art paintings hung on the walls.

A waiter in a Western-style uniform stepped forward and asked, "Hello, sir, what would you like?"

Lin Mu looked up and asked, "What's your signboard here?"

"Sir, this is Nestlé coffee, a big German brand. Would you like a cup?" the waitress answered proudly, her chest puffed out.

Lin Mu felt a little embarrassed and took a serious look at the waitress to make sure she wasn't joking.

He then realized—yes, it wasn't 2025, it was 2008.

At this time, people still have a lot of romanticized views of big foreign brands.

He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Okay, have a drink."

Lin Mu found a seat by the window. A short while later, a waitress brought him a cup of coffee, served in a white cup.

"Sir, your Nestlé." The waitress still spoke with a hint of pride.

Lin Mu twirled the coffee spoon, adding sugar cubes to the cup while admiring the beautiful scenery outside the window.

This is a lakeside coffee shop.

Outside the window, willows sway gracefully in the warm breeze.

Lin Mu was lost in memories.

In his previous life, he was a test-taker in a small town. Through sheer hard work, he became the first college student in his village.

After graduating from university, he joined Taobao – that year was 2008, when the e-commerce industry was about to take off and embark on a fast track.

Lin Mu capitalized on several waves of opportunities, rising through the ranks to become a senior executive within the Alibaba system.

But that was his peak. Soon, in the power struggles at the top, he was relegated to a peripheral business line.

In his past life, he foolishly believed that "nothing is impossible to achieve through hard work," so he put all his effort into making the branch business thrive so that he could return to headquarters.

But a 40-year-old's body is no longer as strong as a 20-year-old's. He relied on three iced Americanos every day to get through it, ruining his health. Finally, one day, his body couldn't take it anymore, and he died suddenly with a "crack".

Fortunately, fate was kind to him and sent him back to 2008—the time when he had just joined the Alibaba system and was still working as a C-end shop assistant on Taobao.

The so-called Taobao shop assistants, while seemingly customer service representatives, actually have special privileges: they can apply for special traffic resources and also have the authority to verify whether merchants are qualified to participate in special activities.

Ultimately, Alibaba's Taobao shop assistants are more like business consultants for merchants than customer service representatives.

Now that he has been given a second chance at life, Lin Mu doesn't want to risk his life for Ali again, only to end up dying suddenly.

In the weeks since his rebirth, he has already sorted out his thoughts and planned his future path: first, to achieve results within the Alibaba system, make connections with talented people, and pave the way for his future "defection".

He planned to seize the ecological niche that should have belonged to Pinduoduo by timing it right at the turn of 2013 and create Pinduoduo himself.

To steal Huang Zheng's luck, many prerequisites are required, and his experience within the Alibaba system can help him meet them all.

Suddenly, the once peaceful street became noisy.

"Someone jumped into the lake! Someone jumped into the lake!"

"Is there anyone who can swim?"

"Call the police! 110, 119, or 120?"

"Who has already called the police?"

"No, bro, please don't jump! It's too dangerous down there!"

coming!

Lin Mu stood up abruptly, knocking over a chair that crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

He came to this coffee shop not to relax, but to reconnect with a predestined connection from his past life.

On this day in his previous life, in 2008, he also bought a cup of coffee here to perk himself up, when he suddenly saw someone jump into the lake. Without thinking twice, he jumped in to save the person.

This one jump put him on the fast track to promotion—because of his act of saving lives, he was noticed by his superiors and given special training, resulting in an astonishingly fast promotion speed.

Moreover, this is a human life at stake.

Lin Mu strode out of the coffee shop, took off his coat and shoes, stuffed his two socks into his sneakers, and casually placed them on the roadside.

He found a suitable angle by the lake, and with a sudden leap, jumped into the lake in a standard entry motion.

"thump--"

Lin Mu grew up by the sea, and his family had been fishing for generations, so he was an excellent swimmer. He knew that you shouldn't rush to pull someone out of the water—the drowning person would instinctively grab onto anything they could, which could easily drag the rescuer into danger as well.

Therefore, you must wait until the other person has exhausted their strength before you start to rescue them.

Lin Mu swam around the person who had fallen into the water, drawing a circle around them, waiting patiently.

A moment later, the person stopped struggling and sank weakly to the bottom. Lin Mu seized the opportunity, grabbed the person under the armpits, and kicked his legs hard, pulling the person toward the shore.

Finally, he pulled the person ashore.

Passersby immediately gathered around.

"Holy crap, bro, that's awesome!"

"I saw him jump down on his own! This young man is so young, what could he possibly want to do that would make him want to die?"

"Brother, quickly drink some hot water to warm yourself up!"

Lin Mu took the towel handed to him by a passerby, wiped his face, and drank some hot water to warm his stomach.

He glanced at the young man who had been rescued and brought ashore—the man was thin and had a somewhat monkey-like appearance. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and the man did not go into shock. After spitting out some lake water, he groggily woke up.

A passerby handed him a cup of hot honey water and comforted him, saying, "Brother, you're so young. What can't you overcome to jump into the lake? Take my advice: nothing is more important than life and death. What seems insurmountable now will seem insignificant when you look back on it later."

Another passerby pointed at Lin Mu and said to him, "Look, this is the handsome guy who saved you."

The young man looked at Lin Mu dazedly, not fully conscious, and murmured subconsciously, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

Lin Mu took off his soaked shirt, revealing his well-defined eight-pack abs, and wiped the water droplets off his body with a towel.

He was an "old acquaintance" of Li Zhi, the man who had fallen into the water—after saving Li Zhi in his previous life, the two had become friends.

Lin Mu asked, "Brother, you're so young and already so depressed. Is it because you're troubled by love or money?"

He already knew the answer: Li Zhi's factory back home had a large stockpile of goods and was heavily in debt, which led him to jump into the lake in a moment of despair. But the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

Li Zhi wiped his face with a bitter smile, his voice hoarse: "Brother, I'm really sorry... I borrowed money to start a business, lost everything, and still owe over two hundred thousand. Sigh..."

"What kind of business do you run?" Lin Mu asked, feigning curiosity.

"It was an underwear business," Li Zhi sighed. "A friend said he had connections in foreign trade and could sell underwear overseas, so I partnered with him to open a small factory. Turns out that guy was a liar. The underwear he made didn't meet foreign trade standards at all, and we couldn't sell it domestically either. All the goods were stuck with us... Brother, I'm really sorry, I was just confused."

He paused, his eyes clearing slightly: "When I was almost drowning just now, I finally figured it out—as long as I'm alive, I can always earn the money back slowly."

In his previous life, Lin Mu used the resources of a Taobao shop assistant to help Li Zhi open a Taobao shop and even created a small hit product, which became a classic case within the Alibaba system.

Now, with twenty years of marketing experience, he is fully capable of making the store even more successful and turning it into a benchmark case in the entire industry.

This case study could help him gain recognition in the industry and pave the way for the future creation of Pinduoduo.

Lin Mu stroked his chin, thinking to himself: So, whether in this life or the past, he was Li Zhi's benefactor. This kid's luck is really good.

However... is it also thanks to the good deeds I accumulated in my previous life that I was able to be reborn?

Time and life.