Rebirth: Super Banking System

Chapter 2144: Chapter 1966: Just Treat It as a Gift

Thankfully, there’s limited flow.

Otherwise.

If everyone squeezed in and took something, the shelves would probably be empty.

“What’s going on up front?”

“No idea.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

“…”

The crowd’s curiosity was making the entrance increasingly crowded, so the property management quickly sent more security guards to maintain order, to prevent any incidents.

Among them.

A security guard grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted.

“Don’t push.”

“Line up properly.”

“If you don’t have a reservation, don’t line up. There’s access control at the entrance, and only a reservation QR code can let you scan and enter, otherwise, you can’t get in.”

“Follow the order.”

“No jumping the queue.”

“…”

With the efforts of security, the crowd started to split up, with those who had reservations going up to queue, and those without moving back. They had no choice but to retreat, as they couldn’t get in otherwise.

But no one went far away.

They were watching from a distance.

The smarter ones went directly to the second floor, choosing a good spot to watch.

“Wow, so many people.”

“What’s happening?”

“Tang Qing’s unmanned supermarket is opening.”

“So soon?”

“…”

People were curious about the unmanned supermarket; after half a year of anticipation, it was finally open to the public. Those who just found out quickly took out their phones, trying to make a reservation.

In the next moment.

Disappointment set in.

“No slots left for today.”

“What a pity.”

“It’s hard to come by but the reservations are filled a week ahead.”

“Sigh!”

“If there were more, it would be better. There are only thirty-six nationwide, not enough.”

“Exactly.”

“Actually, it’s not bad. Tang Qing mentioned this project a long time ago, saying it’s just to realize some ’ideas’, not to make money.”

“That’s true. Hoping to make money from supermarkets, Tang Qing must be crazy. Everyone agreed, it’s not that supermarkets don’t make money, but there are just too few.”

Chatting.

Taking pictures.

Soon, journalists arrived, with reporters from Shanghai TV Station setting up cameras and starting to film, with ten minutes to go before the official opening.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Today.”

“The unmanned supermarket officially opens, and we can see that the store entrance is already crowded with people, all ready to be the first to witness the unmanned supermarket.”

“Since last December…”

“…”

After the opening remarks.

The journalist led by staff rushed into the supermarket, immediately witnessing shelves filled with a sci-fi feel. The first impression:

Very thick.

Embedded in the wall.

And above are dazzling products.

To eat.

To drink.

To use.

All familiar brands, but with an additional label: Unmanned Supermarket Exclusive.

“Are these all exclusive?”

The journalist asked curiously.

This exclusive label, different from the tags on trains, is directly printed on and not a sticker, meaning all packaging is custom made.

“That’s right, our products are specially made.”

“Look.”

As he spoke.

The staff picked up a bottle of beverage, pointing at a spot.

“Huh?”

The journalist was surprised.

“An additional six milliliters?”

“Yes.”

“An additional six milliliters.”

“Our products are different from regular ones, each weight is slightly different from regular products, making it easier for our equipment to identify.”

“Weight.”

“Is our first identification method, when you take it off the shelf, the intelligent shelves can feedback to the backend what you’ve taken.”

“That advanced?”

The journalist appropriately showed a surprised expression.

In fact.

It was quite surprising, as identifying products by weight established the first line of defense, preventing some undesirable thoughts and actions.

Thus.

Unless they are professionals, it’s difficult to cheat by placing something of the same weight on the shelf, eliminating most of the wishful thinking.

“That’s a credit to R&D.”

Upon hearing it.

The journalist nodded.

“You mentioned the first method, is there a second?”

“Yes.”

As he spoke.

The staff led her to a small platform at the entrance, “All the products, just put them on here, and it’ll automatically check out.”

“Do they need to be separated?”

Watching domestic staff pile a bunch of products onto it, the journalist asked curiously.

“No need.”

“Stacking them together is fine, it can also accurately identify.” Almost instantly, a list of products appeared on the screen, with a total price below.

“There’s the option to choose a plastic bag here.”

“Twenty cents each.”

“Environmental protection.”

“Biodegradable.”

“After confirming, click pay. For now, payment can only be made using WeChat or Alipay, but later, we will open up cash payments, giving everyone more options.”

After a demonstration.

The journalist nodded.

Indeed.

It’s quite convenient.

With fewer steps, you just need to bring the items to the cashier, then click to confirm the products, and show the payment code, then the operation is complete.

Then.

The journalist took a bottle of water from the shelf.

Not placing it on the platform.

“In this way.”

“Will it be possible to take it out?”

He was expecting the staff to showcase some ’black tech’ to tackle small thefts. Unexpectedly, the staff simply smiled and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

The journalist was stunned.

Where’s the promised black tech?

Soon.

The staff quickly explained.

“As you’ve seen, our access control requires real-name registration to scan and enter, but we haven’t set many hurdles for exiting.”

“Even if you take a large bag of stuff and walk out.”

“Without paying.”

“You can still leave.”

“However.”

“From now on, you’ll never enter again unless you compensate for the value of all the products.” The staff smiled as they explained. Initially, they didn’t understand this point.

But.

Later, a colleague enlightened them.

This project.

The boss isn’t short on money, so even if some cargo is lost, it’s no big deal. The boss probably treats this as a public welfare project.

If you want to steal.

Go ahead.

Consider it on the house.

But just this once.

Next time.

Wherever there’s a breeze, that’s where you’ll go. This approach greatly reassured the R&D team because they didn’t have to brainstorm theft prevention methods, saving quite a few brain cells.

“Is that so, it really is…human-centric.”

The journalist nodded.

This was handled with a generous spirit.

You can take freely, but there’s no coming back if you do it again. If someone is hell-bent on experiencing it once in a lifetime and can’t resist the temptation, there’s no way to really prevent it.

She really wanted to ask.

Won’t they lose a lot this way?

But she held back in the end.

No kidding.

We’re media.

We’re a TV station.

It’s not appropriate to publicly speculate malicious intentions like that, even though trust has been eroding in recent years, that’s just a phenomenon, and you shouldn’t make public speculations about this.

“Very impressive.”

“Advanced.”

“Are you planning to expand?” the journalist asked further.

Thirty-six locations.

Almost one per province, too few.

At these words.

The staff slightly nodded.

“It’s still under research, but we believe there will be more unmanned supermarkets in the future, not only us, but many peers are also doing it.”

Very tactful.

In any case, he hadn’t heard of plans for a large number of branches opening in the short term.

This project.

The boss’s goal isn’t to make money, but to develop something interesting; one per province is few, but it’s okay.

The value is in the quality.

Not in the quantity.

If it spreads too wide and the hype dies down, it’ll end in a bit of a mess. This project isn’t even a standalone company but is under Qingyuan Technology.

A small team is responsible for it.

Therefore.

How many stores they open doesn’t count as an achievement, but rather it’s about managing well and satisfying the boss.