142: Chapter 142 Who would buy a wedding dress for thirty-eight yuan?

Meanwhile, Taobao moved quickly.

The day after they determined their direction, negative press against Pinduoduo began appearing across the Great Xia internet.

This was exactly half a month after Pinduoduo's official update.

Weibo trending topic number three: "Pinduoduo's trash products."

Clicking into the trending topic, the content featured a blogger ranting about Pinduoduo's products, claiming that while the prices were low, the quality was trash.

An electric rice cooker bought for a few dozen yuan had its casing crack after just a few days of use; a T-shirt bought for over ten yuan shrank and warped after being washed once; and five-jiao tissues were so thin they were translucent.

Many people in the comments section echoed this, saying the quality of the things they bought was indeed mediocre.

However, some were speaking up for Pinduoduo, arguing that price and quality are inherently linked; expecting to buy something worth hundreds of yuan for just a few dozen was inherently unrealistic.

Beyond Weibo, other platforms also began to see a surge of similar negative trending topics.

Under the relentless assault of Taobao's paid internet trolls, while Pinduoduo's Slash and other activities remained popular, the concept that "Pinduoduo products are all trash" was continuously being brought up and reinforced.

Five days later, a related trending topic shot straight to number one on Weibo: "A thirty-eight yuan wedding dress from Pinduoduo—who would buy such industrial trash?"

Clicking into the trending topic revealed a screenshot posted by a blogger. They had searched for wedding dresses on Pinduoduo, and the results showed prices getting lower and lower, with the cheapest one priced at thirty-eight yuan.

The blogger mocked it in the comments, saying that a thirty-eight yuan wedding dress was probably sewn from mosquito netting, and would fall to pieces after taking two steps in it. How could anyone buy such trash?

The comments section was almost entirely one-sided. "Although I've been defending Pinduoduo, a thirty-eight yuan wedding dress is truly absurd."

"They actually dare to list this kind of thing? Does Pinduoduo's quality control have a bottom line at all?"

"Industrial trash, pure industrial trash. Whoever buys it is a fool."

"I acknowledge the effectiveness of Langchao Group's promotional activities, but would anyone really buy such trash? Isn't it just here to disgust people?"

...Meanwhile, at Langchao Group. Zhao Lei pushed open the door to Qin Mo's office, his expression looking rather unpleasant.

"Boss, that wedding dress trending topic has even reached the trending list on Douyin."

"Taobao is going too far, constantly buying negative press about us. Do we really not need to do anything? Should I limit the traffic for this keyword on Douyin?"

Qin Mo sat in his office chair, holding his phone. On the screen was that Weibo trending topic, the screenshot of the thirty-eight yuan wedding dress magnified to fill the entire display.

He slowly shook his head. There was a faint, almost imperceptible sigh in his voice. "There is no need to respond to anything."

He placed his phone on the desk. "The outside world still doesn't know what users in the sinking market need. Their voices on the internet are very small, so they have always been ignored."

He paused, looking out at the skyline of the Magic City. "But it won't be long before they are noticed."

...That night. In a village in the mountainous region of western Great Xia.

It took several transfers by bus to reach the nearest county seat from here. The village road had only been paved with concrete a few years ago, but it had already cracked in many places.

On both sides of the road were adobe houses; the mud plastered on the walls had peeled off in some places, revealing the dry, cracked bamboo strips inside.

Zhao Dehan's home was located at the very foot of the mountain in the village. It was a house enclosed by earthen walls, with moss growing at the base, and the door frame was made of a few crooked pieces of wood nailed together.

In the courtyard at the entrance were stacked some firewood and a few old plastic buckets. The kitchen was built separately next to the main house, its walls blackened by smoke.

He gently pushed open the wooden kitchen door. Steam rose from the stove. In the dim light, his wife stood with her back to the door in front of the stove, holding a spatula in one hand, while the other arm bore several scars from old injuries.

Because of her illness, Zhang Xiulan's hair had long since been shaved off, and she wore an old headscarf. Zhang Xiulan had some physical disabilities, so her standing posture was unsteady; every time she cooked, she had to lean her weight against the edge of the stove.

"Why are you back so late today?" "Is it cold outside? I left some food for you in the pot; let me go heat it up."

Zhang Xiulan didn't turn around, her voice coming through the steam. Zhao Dehan stood behind Zhang Xiulan, hiding his hands behind his back.

"Put down the spatula first." "Almost done, just this dish left." "Just put it down first."

Zhang Xiulan placed the spatula on the edge of the stove and turned around.

Her facial features appeared somewhat stiff due to her illness, making it impossible for her to make very expressive faces. She wanted to smile, but the corners of her mouth only lifted a tiny bit.

Having been married for nearly twenty years, Zhang Xiulan had long been used to not having to hide anything from her husband; after all, he would never despise her.

"What is it, exactly?" Zhao Dehan brought his hands out from behind his back. A pure white wedding dress.

To call it a wedding dress wasn't entirely accurate; it was actually just the white petticoat of a wedding dress. But it was indeed white, and the tulle fabric gave off a soft glow in the dim light. It felt a bit stiff to the touch, and there were many loose threads, but it looked exactly like the one in the picture.

"You said last time that you saw city people wearing wedding dresses when they got married on TV and that it looked nice. Didn't you always want one? I bought one for you."

"That must be so expensive! Hurry and return it, return it. Wedding dresses are the most expensive things." "It was over thirty yuan, not expensive."

Zhao Dehan shook out the tulle dress and took Zhang Xiulan's hand, letting her touch the layer of white tulle. Zhang Xiulan reached out, her fingers lightly brushing against the fabric before pulling back, as if afraid of getting it dirty.

"Hurry up and put it on to try it." Zhao Dehan helped Zhang Xiulan slip the white dress on.

Zhang Xiulan's body was a bit hunched. After putting it on, the hem of the tulle dress dragged on the floor, and the waist was a bit too wide; the ties had to be pulled tight to secure it on her body.

"It looks good." Zhang Xiulan looked down at the white dress on herself, then looked up at Zhao Dehan. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything, yet the corners of her mouth pulled up into a slight arc.

Zhao Dehan fished his phone out of his pocket. The screen casing already had a few cracks, and a small piece of glass was shattered in the corner. He held the phone up.

"Come on, I'll take a picture of you." Zhang Xiulan raised her hand to cover her face. "What's there to take a picture of? We're at this age already."

"The merchant said there's a cash-back for good reviews. If we take a picture, we can get a few yuan back."

He pressed the shutter button facing Zhang Xiulan. The phone screen captured a blurry photo: in the dim room, a woman wrapped in white tulle faced the camera, her head tilted slightly, making a "six" hand gesture.

There were still oil stains from cooking on Zhang Xiulan's hands, but that "six" gesture was made perfectly straight. On her face, which could not fully express itself due to her illness, she smiled with a happiness she had never felt before.

Zhao Dehan put away the phone, panting as he leaned against the kitchen door frame.

"We are happier than city people. They spend so much money on wedding dresses that they only wear once."

He reached out with his rough hand and gathered the layers of white tulle around his wife's shoulders.

"And us?" "Wife, you can wear it every day from now on. You can wear it for as long as you want."