Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 81: Chapter 77: Making It Bigger and Stronger! Pulled into the Grove

”Bro, what are your numbers for squats?” Hu Yongfan asked curiously, handing him a bottle of mineral water.

”Don’t know. Guess we’ll find out,” Chen Yansen said, taking the water. He pointedly checked the bottle’s seal, and only after seeing it was intact did he twist open the cap and down half the bottle.

”I’ll spot you. You should rest for a bit first!” Hu Yongfan suggested.

”No need.” Chen Yansen waved him off.

With that, he walked toward the bench press and started aggressively adding weight to the barbell. He started with 120 kilograms, which scared Hu Yongfan so much that he hurried over, afraid there’d be an accident.

Chen Yansen lay down on the bench, gripped the bar, and didn’t rush to push. He first got a feel for the weight.

Seeing this, everyone thought he wouldn’t be able to lift it. But just as that thought crossed their minds, they heard Chen Yansen let out a low grunt and steadily press the 120-kilogram barbell above his chest.

CLANG!

Chen Yansen racked the barbell, let out a breath, and slowly sat up.

”You’re adding more weight?” Hu Yongfan felt his scalp tingle when he saw this. He’d been training for three years and could only push 100 kilograms.

Of course, his shorter stature and lower body weight limited his maximum potential.

”Never tried 140 kilograms, but it shouldn’t be a problem,” Chen Yansen said nonchalantly as he secured the clips.

”Alright! I’ll be right behind you to spot,” Hu Yongfan reminded him.

”Thanks.” Chen Yansen gave a slight nod and lay down again.

He took a deep breath, simultaneously engaging his arm and chest muscles. The veins on his neck bulged, and his wrists trembled slightly.

This scared Hu Yongfan, who quickly reached out, his hands hovering over the bar to support it.

The 140-kilogram weight was lifted, bit by bit, until it was suspended in mid-air.

Chen Yansen’s hands were shaking, not from lack of strength, but because he hadn’t found the right leverage point. Once he adapted, his arms quickly steadied.

CLANG!

Chen Yansen racked the barbell, then sat up, panting heavily. His arms felt weak.

”Bro, you’re good enough to be a coach! Let’s exchange contact info and train together sometime,” Hu Yongfan praised.

”Maybe next time.” Chen Yansen refused again.

’He didn’t have the spare time for this. Just adding a few points in his free time was tens of thousands of times better than pumping iron.’

”I’m really straight, you know.” Hu Yongfan thought Chen Yansen was refusing to share his contact information because of a misunderstanding. He explained, his eyes full of melodramatic resentment.

”Bro, I believe you,” Chen Yansen said with a completely straight face, not a trace of a smile.

’First rule of mental patients: never admit you’re sick.’

’By that logic, Chen Yansen naturally didn’t believe Hu Yongfan’s words. It was mainly his eyes—they had that classic look.’

Just then, a girl in a striped sweater squeezed over. ”Hey handsome, can I add you on QQ?”

”Sorry, I don’t have a QQ account.” Chen Yansen gave a small smile and turned to walk away.

’This girl wasn’t his type. She had that gentle and cute look, the kind that gets super clingy in a relationship. Chen Yansen wasn’t interested.’

’President Chen had his own unique tastes. He couldn’t be bothered with anyone who didn’t catch his eye.’

”No QQ account!” Du Yaoyao watched Chen Yansen’s retreating back, grinding her teeth in frustration. ”So what if you’re handsome! Such a lame excuse for a rejection. Scumbag!”

Walking out of the gym, Chen Yansen thought, ’I’m already this strong at only 1.67. I need to recruit more people and speed up the process of getting stronger.’

Back at the Innovation Park, Chen Yansen was full of energy during the interviews. He hired 10 part-time customer service reps in one go. Counting the original 10, they would be able to fill two rooms in the future.

Except for Meng Xibo and Zhu Xiaopeng, the rest were all girls. The two of them were ecstatic, secretly sending messages to Chen Yansen to express their profound gratitude, stopping just short of kneeling and calling him dad.

Chen Yansen replied with a disdainful emoji and continued the interviews.

”Huh? What are you doing here?” Du Yaoyao walked into the interview room with her resume and recognized Chen Yansen at a glance.

”Why can’t it be me?”

Chen Yansen responded with a half-smile, his arms crossed over his chest.

He hadn’t expected they’d meet again only two hours later.

”So you’re Chen Yansen? No wonder,” Du Yaoyao whispered, not voicing the second half of her thought.

At Xucheng Academy, Chen Yansen’s name was even more famous than Tang Qingshan’s, but not many people had actually seen him.

After all, he usually stayed at the Innovation Park, skipping his major courses, electives, and even gym class.

Relying on the ”license to skip class” the principal had given him, Chen Yansen didn’t even know the names of his professors halfway through the semester.

”Are you still going to interview?” Chen Yansen asked, knocking on the table to snap her out of her daze.

”Yes, of course!”

Du Yaoyao came to her senses, sat down with a faint smile, and began her self-introduction. ”I’m Du Yaoyao from the ’07 Chinese Language program. I’m interviewing for the editor position today. I’m proficient in writing in various literary styles...”

”The monthly salary is 3,000. If that’s acceptable, report for work tomorrow at 9 a.m.”

Chen Yansen saw that she was articulate and logical, so he didn’t ask any more questions.

Simply put, after the Investment Attraction team communicated with the merchants and submitted the brand group application forms, the category operations team would review them and pass them to the editor. The editor would then enter the data into the backend, standardizing the product titles and main images.

The work was repetitive and mechanical, with a low technical barrier. Anyone could do it.

”Uh... okay, President Chen. Will you be able to stamp my internship papers and provide the five social insurances and one housing fund?” Du Yaoyao asked cautiously.

”We’re a legitimate company,” Chen Yansen said, rolling his eyes.

”Oh, thank you, President Chen.” Du Yaoyao stuck out her tongue playfully and took her leave politely. After finding out Chen Yansen was the big boss of FoxTao, her earlier casual attitude immediately vanished.

”Next!” Chen Yansen called out.

The next three candidates interviewing for the editor position were all pretty girls. Chen Yansen exchanged a few words with them and decided to hire them on the spot.

Xu Dan was a top student majoring in human resources. All these candidates had already passed the initial screening, so as long as there were no major issues, Chen Yansen would generally approve them.

After that, he hired two more operations staff responsible for product promotions.

The core of the FoxTao 2.0 UI consisted of four main sections: Mall Rebates, Super Rebates, Nine-Ninety, and Search Rebates.

From 9.9-yuan low-priced goods to high-value brand products costing hundreds or even thousands, FoxTao planned to cover it all.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake as Taobao, which had choked off traffic to small C-store sellers in order to upgrade Taobao Mall, handing the opportunity to Pinduoduo on a silver platter.

The lower-tier market and its users have always been there; they don’t just disappear because you stop selling cheap goods.

’Only by following the trend can you go further!’

Having lived two lives, Chen Yansen wouldn’t make such a basic mistake. From the moment the 2.0 plan began, he had clearly defined the responsibilities of each module to meet the needs of users in different price ranges.

The last few candidates were all applying for the Investment Attraction position.

Chen Yansen focused on assessing their communication and logical expression skills. Out of nine candidates, he kept eight, only rejecting one person who looked shrewd but spoke incoherently and couldn’t get to the point.

After finishing his work, he turned to see the sky outside had darkened, and night was about to fall.

Chen Yansen returned to Room 206 and saw Song Yuncheng sitting by the window, talking to someone on her phone.

A notebook lay open on the desk, its pages filled with the names of dozens of e-commerce websites like Meng Basha, Zouxiu, Jia Tianxia, and Okbuy, with the status of their partnership negotiations noted next to each one.

’People who want to make money sure are driven!’

Chen Yansen chuckled softly and didn’t disturb Song Yuncheng.

He glanced at his watch and headed downstairs.

In early winter Hubei, the wind was bone-chilling, harsh and dry.

Many people were already wearing fleece-lined hoodies, and some even had on light down jackets. It was only then that Chen Yansen realized he was just wearing a long-sleeved shirt but didn’t feel cold at all.

Soon, he arrived downstairs from the women’s dormitory.

Meng Jie had been waiting for a while. As soon as she saw Chen Yansen, she grabbed his arm and started pulling him off campus.

”What’s the plan?” Chen Yansen asked.

”Drinking, chatting, a little flirting, and then kissing you,” Meng Jie replied, her answer short and forceful as she giggled.

”Sounds good.”

Chen Yansen replied with a laugh. ’Now this was an interesting girl. She calls you ’bro’ during the day, and at night, she’s calling for her ’bro’.’

’Girls like Su Meiling and Du Yaoyao... he’d gotten tired of them in his past life. They’d start crying after a few words. It was just so boring.’

”My treat!” Meng Jie said, lifting her chin with a grin.

”In that case, I’ll have to really take you to the cleaners.”

Chen Yansen put his hand on Meng Jie’s shoulder, joking around.

He was thirty centimeters taller than Meng Jie. Seen from behind, they looked like a father leading his daughter.

When they reached the school gate, Meng Jie pointed to a row of restaurants across the street and said magnanimously, ”Pick any one you like.”

”Let’s go for the Shuangqing Rooster Hot Pot. I heard Tang Zhenzhe say the one across the street is pretty good.”

Chen Yansen wasn’t picky about food, so he just said it casually.

Meng Jie hummed in agreement. The two crossed the road, walked on for a bit, and went up to the second floor before they saw a restaurant with a Rooster Hot Pot poster.

”Huh? Isn’t that your roommate?” Just as Meng Jie pulled open the glass door, she saw six people sitting at a round table near the entrance, one of whom was Tang Zhenzhe.

Before Chen Yansen had a chance to say hello, Tang Zhenzhe saw him and quickly stood up. ”Brother Sen! We just got here. Why don’t we add some more dishes and eat together?”

Chen Yansen glanced over. Besides Tang Zhenzhe and Su Meiling, he didn’t know the other four people at all.

Hearing Tang Zhenzhe’s invitation, Chen Yansen turned his gaze to Meng Jie.

”The more the merrier. And we can meet new friends,” Meng Jie agreed readily, showing no signs of being fazed.

”Alright. Tell the owner to add more dishes and pay the bill first. I’ll reimburse you later,” Chen Yansen leaned in and whispered in Meng Jie’s ear.

Meng Jie nodded, turned towards the cashier, and Chen Yansen took the opportunity to sit down.

”Brother Sen, is that Meng Jie? So you’re into tomboys, huh?” Tang Zhenzhe said, pulling Chen Yansen closer with a familiar air and teasing him with a wicked grin.

Although Meng Jie had been growing her hair out for a few months, it was still much shorter than most girls’, just barely reaching her shoulders.

”Cut the crap! She’s got a bad temper. Be careful or she’ll crack a beer bottle over your head,” Chen Yansen warned, half-joking, as he noticed the beer on the table.

”Hey, pretend I never said it.” Tang Zhenzhe believed him and quickly shut his mouth.

Su Meiling, who was sitting nearby, introduced the others to Chen Yansen. They were all from the School of Communication and Culture’s student union. Chen Yansen just nodded in acknowledgment, not even bothering to remember their names.

’University student unions are pretty damn useless, especially at a second-rate university.’

When Meng Jie returned after ordering more food, the group raised their glasses and started drinking.

Su Meiling’s glass was filled with juice. Seeing Meng Jie chugging beer with the guys without a hint of feminine modesty, she couldn’t help but complain inwardly: ’Does Chen Yansen like the ’savage girlfriend’ type? But I don’t even drink.’

Thinking of the white silk stockings hidden in her dorm room, Su Meiling felt a wave of discouragement.

She looked at Tang Zhenzhe, then at Chen Yansen. For a moment, she had considered giving Tang Zhenzhe a chance, but that thought was instantly dismissed.

Although Tang Zhenzhe was also a good guy, attentive and always doting on her, he just couldn’t compare to Chen Yansen.

”For this month’s New Year’s Eve party, every class has to put on a performance. But there aren’t many singers in our class. Only Xu Xingxing signed up with the song ’Bad Girl,’ and the teacher rejected it, saying it didn’t fit the spirit of the School of Communication and Culture,” Tang Zhenzhe lamented, holding his glass.

”So do you have a performance now?” Chen Yansen asked.

”I got an upperclassman from the Music Academy to help. We’re going to stage a poetry reading. I’ll just pull 30 people up there. Forget the quality, we’ll win ’Best Performance’ on sheer presence alone.”

Hearing the question, Tang Zhenzhe broke into a wide, smug grin.

Chen Yansen gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

’Don’t underestimate poetry readings. These kinds of performances are highly moving and are the easiest way to win awards at university events.’

”I signed up for a performance at the School of Business New Year’s Eve party. You have to come this time,” Meng Jie said, nudging Chen Yansen and reminding him earnestly.

For the last welcome party, she had prepared for a long time, but Chen Yansen had been at the Innovation Park working overtime with Zhang Wenbo and the others, which had made her furious.

”I’ll definitely be there,” Chen Yansen promised solemnly, raising his hand.

After dinner, the group parted ways on Xue Lin Road.

Meng Jie grabbed Chen Yansen, aimed for a small grove of trees by Pearl Lake, and dove right in.

Chen Yansen’s expression was strange. He thought, ’Isn’t this a little... backward?’