Eine neue Welle von Geschäftsmöglichkeiten, mit denen man in den Landkreisen "einfach so" Geld verdienen kann, beginnt nun allmählich ihren wahren Charakter zu zeigen.

Before March 15th, a new wave of seemingly lucrative businesses in the counties gradually revealed their true nature.

Recently, many Internet users have complained that on both sides of the main street "Jiefang Road" in their hometown counties, almost one - third of the new businesses that were brightly lit and decorated with "Congratulations on the Opening" banners before New Year's Eve never reopened their shutters after the Chinese New Year.

This is not just the feeling of a few individuals. Even the media has reported that "more and more businesses in the counties have to close."

If you look closely, you will find that not all businesses in the counties go bankrupt, but there is a clear "stratification":

Most of the closed businesses bear prominent franchise brands, such as "Mixue Aurora" tea shops, "XX Discount" snack stores, and "XX Bear" children's programming stores.

Those that are still thriving are still Wang's barbershop, Li's hardware store, and the local grain and oil store.

It must be said that this wave of business closures in the counties is even more severe than in big cities. This is a targeted "Great Escape" against the savings of the middle - class in the counties, and the first to be eliminated are precisely the middle - class in the counties who have invested their entire life savings in the hope of achieving social upward mobility through "franchising".

Why did the franchise stores in the counties collapse shortly before March 15th?

People think it's an "Easy way to make money",

in fact, it's a "Money - losing trap"

The beginning of all tragedies looks like an exciting story.

Some people who are tired of working in big cities want to return to their hometowns and start a business. Since last year, they have been easily inundated by the "Three Things for Middle - aged Entrepreneurship":

Firstly, there are catering and tea shops, "The money pressure in small cities, recoup the investment in three months!"; secondly, there are so - called "Trend" discounters for near - expiration food; thirdly, there is the so - called "Easy Wealth Franchise" for children's quality education, "An annual income of one million is not a dream!"

In the advertisement, there are not only payment screenshots and videos of crowds, but also this very tempting sentence: "The opportunities in big cities are exhausted, the last unexploited area lies under our feet in the counties!"

Over the years, consumption in the counties has obviously become hot.

Many big brands from first - and second - tier cities have begun to pursue the strategy of "cities surrounding the countryside". First, there were KFC and McDonald's, later there were Luckin Coffee and Bawang Cha Ji, etc. All of them want to open businesses in the declining counties and get a larger share of the pie.

Many fast - franchisers not only target those who want to return to their hometowns from Beijing and Shanghai, but also take advantage of the "fear of a fixed salary" of some wealthy and unemployed middle - class members in the counties. In their words, the path described by this "new lucrative business" is infinitely clear:

You, a middle - class member in a county - level city with a few hundred thousand yuan in savings, local connections, and an aversion to a fixed salary, just need to find a big brand and pay the franchise fee. Then the brand company will give you full support: location selection, training, supply chain, marketing plan. All you have to do is be a "hands - off boss" and wait for the gushing cash flow, build a "next Bawang Cha Ji" or a "next Tastin Burger", and then make money effortlessly.

What about the risks? They seem to be eliminated by the advertisement of "All - time support, worry - free entrepreneurship".

So, many people under this temptation cashed in their savings and scraped together 300,000 yuan to become the second franchisee of "Mou Mou Tea" or "Mou Mou Programming" in their city. For example, the owner of a children's programming store in a county - level city is a primary school teacher who has invested 500,000 yuan, of which 200,000 yuan is from loans. At a snack discounter in a county - level city, the boss is a provincial official who has used the money he saved for a car.

Many people think that everything will be okay once they become a small boss, but the truth is that paper wealth is not the same as reality.

The statistics of the China General Chamber of Commerce reveal a cruel truth. The annual closure rate of physical businesses is up to 37%, and 28 businesses close every hour.

Among them, the catering industry is the most affected. Nearly ten thousand businesses have closed, and 60% of new businesses do not even survive 12 months. The once - bustling food businesses on the commercial streets are empty in rows.

The snack franchise business is also severely affected. In a small city in Nanchang, five snack franchise stores are for sale, and some businesses have the characteristic of "short - term probation": A snack franchise store opened in October 2023 and closed in mid - 2024; another opened in March 2025 and was already for sale in July.

The tea and coffee sector also has a hard time. The industry has undergone a "major restructuring", and 157,000 businesses have closed throughout the year, with an average of 411 businesses disappearing every day.

March 15th is approaching. Every year at this time, some consumption traps and fraudulent businesses are exposed. But there is a more hidden and systematic "harvest" that is rarely in the spotlight.

These are the franchise businesses that package a business model that is already tired or even invented in first - and second - tier cities as the last chance in life and sell it to the broad middle - class in the counties.

They usually have all the necessary approvals and are based on a voluntary agreement.

It's hard to say it's fraud, but it's more like a legal hunt, and the money - burning is quite exaggerated.

Tens of thousands of yuan burned,

many middle - class members in the counties disappear overnight

"Invest 700,000 yuan, zero in three months."

Sounds terrible? But this is just the picture of many franchisees in the counties.

The brand company weaves a "Effortless - money - making" dream. But in reality, new entrepreneurs only find that they are just cannon fodder in the brand company's money - making strategy after they have paid the franchise fee, renovated the store, and purchased the first batch of goods.

The first cornerstone of the "Effortless - money - making" myth is information asymmetry.

The brand company uses the language of first - tier cities, carefully selected data, and edited success stories to construct a tangible gold dream in front of the middle - class in the counties: low cost of trial - and - error, high return.

In fact, some franchisees collide with well - known brands and fake "backing by large enterprises".

For example, a 22 - year - old student from Shandong wanted to open a franchise of a rice dish brand but was cheated out of 150,000 yuan by a "fake" company. The company presented itself as an "improved version", the franchise fee was only 60,000 yuan, and it promised "location selection by the headquarters, guarantee of customer flow". He was tempted, took out the 150,000 yuan his parents gave him, paid the franchise fee, rent, renovation costs... But before the store opened, the brand company had completely disappeared.

This "collision" method has already formed an industry. On the blacklist of high - risk franchise brands in 2025, brands such as Chayu Shiguang, Yinyue Gongfang, Mixue Princess, Cha Mama, Cha Qian Sui, etc. have problems such as imitating well - known brands, lack of core technology, and a closure rate of over 50%.

Do you think you are safe if you avoid the fake - franchise fraud scheme? Too naive.

The second killer argument of the "Effortless - money - making" franchise myth is the endless money - burning.

Many franchisees did not think that paying the franchise fee and renovation costs is just the beginning of the money - burning.

Seemingly, the county is a money pit, but in fact, it is an efficiency trap. Many franchisees have really complained: "I invested 700,000 yuan in a store, and after six months, three more stores of the same brand opened nearby, and the opening promotions of the new stores just took away my customer flow."