Early in the morning, on a high-speed train from Changzhou to Shanghai, I received a WeChat message from a friend asking if a major industry company was using PR tactics to 'write scripts' to disparage other peers, and then he sent me a link saying it had already involved Dian Da. My friend then asked me: Aren't you angry? I've been to your warehouse in Suzhou and talked with several local convenience stores, and the claims are far from the truth. I replied with a smiley face: Not angry at all, because we won't be a shooting star; Dian Da will only be a growing star, shining and providing warmth. Most importantly, we can truly do something for the thousands of small shop owners, and through entrepreneurship, change some things to make the industry better. There's a famous saying by Dreiser: 'Don't trouble trouble unless trouble troubles you; don't make vain wishes, don't indulge in unfounded sentimentality, but strive to improve yourself and maintain your individuality.' I think this is an excellent interpretation, whether for Dian Da's corporate values today or for entrepreneurs in all walks of life. My family used to run a small shop, so from that perspective, I understand the hardships, difficulties, and life pressures faced by this group better than most. At that time, my mother often got up at three or four in the morning to go with the 'big team' to stock up. Sometimes the weather suddenly turned bad, with dark roads and slippery conditions, and dangers were common. What impressed me most was an aunt who went with my mother to stock up; she slipped and fell into a ditch by the roadside and passed away shortly after. These firsthand experiences gradually turned changing small shops into my passion, and it's one of the reasons I founded Dian Da. Years later, I gave up a stable position at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to join the FMCG industry and become one of its members. Dian Da was founded in 2014, which is actually earlier than when Mr. Ma from Alibaba proposed 'New Retail.' A few days ago, I saw an article by Mr. Liu from JD.com, and one sentence moved me: 'We don't need to constantly use new terms to define an industry. ' This reminded me of the day when I communicated with my partners to decide on founding Dian Da and determining the business direction of optimizing the supply chain. It was almost instinctive to want to change the somewhat poor living conditions of traditional small shops. We spent a lot of time doing market research ourselves, but we never thought about defining anything conceptually. In my view, the implementation of a thing is far more meaningful than floating in the air. After the first round of financing, I liked to say one sentence to employees: Our first thought for survival is to do well, not to do big. Over the years, that's indeed what we've done: making the Yangtze River Delta deeper, broader, and more thorough, while providing more commercial value to upstream and downstream partners. Have we done the right thing? I don't have the final say; the nearly 100,000 small shop owners in the Yangtze River Delta and the increasing number of partners have the best voice. Maybe this strategy prevents us from becoming a superficially prosperous large-scale company in the short term, but we have won the reputation and respect of the small shop owners we serve. Wei Zhe, former president of Alibaba and founder of Jia Yu Capital, said: Eagles are looking for 'momentum,' only pigs look for the 'wind.' I want to add, a growing eagle also needs to find 'heart' . We need small shop owners to empathize with Dian Da, we need every Dian Da employee to be united, and we need the whole company to stay true to its original aspiration, having both heart and perseverance. Just now, a PR friend comforted me, saying that the angle and analysis of that article clearly couldn't be written by a small shop owner. Although it's interesting, it's not worth taking to heart. I just smiled. If that's really the case, I should thank the giant for thinking highly of us, remembering to arrange a role for us in a big show. There is much to learn and borrow from giants, and Dian Da will always maintain this attitude, absorbing the strengths of many to help itself grow better. Actually, what makes me think more today is the day Dian Da was born. Several of us founders raised glasses of beer and toasted, full of ambition. More than three years have passed, and at each annual meeting, more and more Dian Da people raise their glasses together. Thinking of the sweat and tears they've shed, which have made Dian Da what it is today, I often get teary-eyed. This is the sentiment of Dian Da, and also the tears and laughter of people on the entrepreneurial path in all walks of life. We are still young, the road is long, but it's bright. We won't be a shooting star, so don't be timid; keep moving forward. Rui Yun, Founder & Chairman of Dian Da July 14, 2017 -END-