Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 148: Chapter 138: Damn! Who’s Your Guide?

”Teacher Zhang, the director wants to see you in his office.”

At Huian TV Station, Zhang Liang had just walked into his office when he heard a colleague from outside call out to him.

”What does the director want to see me about?”

Zhang Liang walked over with a smile and asked casually.

”I’m not sure, but it’s probably another field interview. You know how it is.”

His colleague shook his head, teasing him with a grin.

Zhang Liang was the field reporter for the ”First Time” program. He was on business trips six out of seven days a week, exposed to the elements and working exceptionally hard.

Before Zhang Liang arrived, none of the old-timers in the program team wanted this gig. The moment he showed up, they pushed it all onto him.

At first, Zhang Liang had thought his colleagues were friendly and the work atmosphere was great. Only later did he realize those bastards were just afraid he couldn’t handle it and would quit, leaving them to do the dirty work again.

Hearing this, Zhang Liang didn’t give it much thought and headed straight for the director’s office.

In his view, while being a field reporter was tiring, it had its perks. Many interviewees who understood how the world worked would slip him a red envelope, asking him to touch up the interview content.

The amounts ranged from one or two hundred to several thousand, but the one who left the deepest impression on him was Chen Yansen, the founder of FoxTao.

He had assumed that since Chen Yansen had just come of age, he wouldn’t be very worldly. But as soon as the interview ended, the other party immediately handed him a ”polishing fee.”

The amount was the largest he had ever received in his career.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

Zhang Liang knocked on the door.

”Come in,” the director replied softly, sitting in his chair.

”Director, you were looking for me?”

Zhang Liang asked with a smile.

”Do you remember Chen Yansen, the one I had you interview last time?” the director asked in return.

”Of course I do. The rising star of university entrepreneurs in our Huian Province, right? His company’s valuation is almost 20 billion. How could I forget?”

Having accepted the man’s generosity, Zhang Liang was happy to sing his praises, even if Chen Yansen wasn’t present.

”He’s founded another company called Orange Technology. Next week, on the 6th, they’re holding a new product launch event in Xucheng. Since you’ve dealt with him before, I’m sending you again,”

the director said slowly.

”Alright, Director. Any other instructions?” Zhang Liang was secretly delighted. Though the 6th was a Saturday, his day off, the thought of Chen Yansen’s generosity made him accept with a smile.

He didn’t even ask what Orange Technology did or what the new product was.

”That’s all. You can get back to work,” the director said, waving his hand to dismiss him.

Back at his desk, it occurred to Zhang Liang that he hadn’t asked any questions. But he wasn’t worried. He skillfully opened Qian Du and searched for the latest news on Orange Technology.

The first result was a Weibo post from Chen Yansen. The title read: On August 6th, the Orange Mobile Phone will be released in limited quantities on FoxTao and the Orange Mall. A total of 200 commemorative engineering editions.

Below the post was a high-definition sample image of the Orange Mobile Phone.

It featured a large 4.5-inch screen, ultra-narrow bezels, a slim top and bottom chin, and an ultra-thin body. In terms of looks, it completely crushed other domestic phones.

A mobile phone?

In Zhang Liang’s opinion, making phones was a high-tech, precision industry. How could an e-commerce boss suddenly jump into making phones?

「Meanwhile.」

In Yan City, Li Wanqiang, along with Lei Yijun, Lin Bing, and others, had decided in a meeting to announce tomorrow, August 2nd, that the Xiaomi Mobile Phone launch event would be held on August 16th at the 798 Art District in Yanjing.

He had just stepped out of the conference room when he received a call from Chen Yansen.

”President Li, the Orange Mobile Phone is having its launch event on August 6th. As the trailblazers who guided me, you and President Lei absolutely have to come.”

Chen Yansen’s cheerful tone filled Li Wanqiang’s ears.

August 6th?

Li Wanqiang plopped into a chair and pulled up his calendar. Their launch events were only 10 days apart. ’Such a coincidence?’

”President Chen, congratulations! President Lei’s schedule is packed recently. I’ll let him know, but whether he can make it or not, Xiaomi wishes the Orange Mobile Phone great sales!”

Li Wanqiang thought for a moment before replying, choosing his words carefully.

”Alright, please pass that on to President Lei for me.” Chen Yansen didn’t waste any more words. Having delivered the notice, he hung up.

’Damn it! Who the hell is your trailblazer?’

Li Wanqiang cursed under his breath and couldn’t help but complain. After a moment’s thought, he got up and went back to Lei Yijun’s office to explain the situation.

”So fast? I remember his R&D center was only established in March.”

Lei Yijun was stunned, his face a picture of disbelief.

Having been through the process, he knew just how difficult it was to bring a mobile phone from system to hardware, from design to market.

Xiaomi had spent four months completing the beta version of the MIUI system, and then another ten months to finalize the industrial and hardware design of the Xiaomi Mobile Phone, all while securing the supply chain and contract manufacturers.

It took more than a year in total before they dared to announce the launch plan for the Xiaomi Mobile Phone.

Yet Orange Technology had done it in less than half a year—not even half of Xiaomi’s development cycle.

Lei Yijun’s first reaction was that the Orange Mobile Phone was most likely a white-label product, simply running the Aurora OS with the design and production outsourced entirely to a third-party manufacturer.

But he knew Chen Yansen. The man shouldn’t be so short-sighted.

”I just looked it up. He posted a concept image on Weibo. To be honest, I think this product is a long shot.”

Li Wanqiang handed over his phone. On the screen was a high-definition front view of the Orange Mobile Phone.

It didn’t even have Android’s three main navigation buttons. It was as if they completely disregarded user habits and acceptance.

”Such narrow bezels? Is this picture not Photoshopped? Where did he put the driver circuits and the ribbon cables? Did he reduce the battery capacity?”

Lei Yijun was full of doubts, a storm of questions brewing in his mind.

Battery capacity affects battery life. To sacrifice it just to narrow the bezels for better aesthetics would be incredibly unwise.

”So, are we going to the launch event on August 6th?” Li Wanqiang asked in a low voice.

”We’re going!”

Lei Yijun’s answer was decisive. He wanted to see for himself if this product, created in just half a year, could truly be a competitor to the Xiaomi Mobile Phone.

At the same time, Chen Yongming of OPPO and Huang Zhang of Meizu also received invitations.

Chen Yansen couldn’t care less what these people thought. He just wanted to hype up the launch event. He didn’t just invite competitors; some suppliers and software developers were on the invitation list as well.

Furthermore, he released lottery codes for launch event invitations on the Orange Technology official website, with a total of 100 spots available.

Winners would have their round-trip travel and accommodation expenses reimbursed by Orange Technology, and they would also receive a complimentary engineering edition of the Orange Mobile Phone.

Diamond-level users on FoxTao would automatically receive a launch event invitation!

Chen Yansen launched a lottery on Weibo and also invited several tech bloggers to attend the event.

In just a few days, ”Orange Mobile Phone” became a trending search term.

Chen Yansen now had 9.3 million followers on Weibo, just one step away from becoming a ”Big V” blogger with ten million fans. Thanks to his vigorous promotion, the Orange Mobile Phone quickly gained a following with its stunning looks and ultra-thin body.

However, Chen Yansen didn’t reveal too much information. The processor, screen, camera, battery life, and even the price remained unknown.

...

...

’Ye Qiuping?’

Chen Yansen clicked open the resume sent by the headhunter and was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected her to choose to jump ship to Orange Technology.

’Should I take this woman on?’

Chen Yansen leaned back in his chair, pondering.

In terms of ability, Ye Qiuping was more than qualified to be the Brand Department Director. In his past life, when they first met, she was already the Brand Department Director for a shopping guide website.

Coupled with her work experience in the Jingdong Market Department, she was undoubtedly the best candidate.

’I don’t play games, I play with feelings.’

’Love is the icing on the cake, not a lifeline in a snowstorm.’

Chen Yansen recalled Ye Qiuping’s words. In that woman’s eyes, feelings were worthless.

First, there was Zhou Keyuan, and now, Ye Qiuping.

Chen Yansen himself used to be a believer in pure love, but after getting used to the schemes and hypocrisy of ”green tea bitches,” he started living a life of frequently changing girlfriends.

He only believed in the money in his hands, believing it could buy anything.

What nonsense was that saying, ’An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of gold can’t buy an inch of time’? For just 12 yuan, he could buy an hour of a university student’s time, making them sit obediently in front of a computer to handle visitors for his FoxTao.

The second resume was from a Brand Department supervisor at NetEase. The work experience listed was full of trivial matters, phrased with fancy words, but upon closer inspection, the person didn’t have much real ability.

After reviewing a few candidates’ resumes and thinking for a moment, Chen Yansen decided to send the offer to Ye Qiuping after all.

’I’m not the Chen Yansen from my past life, and the current Ye Qiuping hasn’t reached the level she’ll be at two years from now.’

’Besides, I have no intention of walking down the same old path!’

After dealing with company matters, Chen Yansen went downstairs, got in his car, and drove back to the university.

The campus was deserted, filled only with the short chirps of birds and the drone of cicadas. Occasionally, a couple of tabby cat ”seniors” would run past, curiously watching Chen Yansen’s car.

Back in Room 0418, Chen Yansen summoned his system panel.

Because there was no quarterly bonus in July, his Human Dao Fire was lower than usual. Fortunately, the Orange Phone Factory made up for some of it. Adding the 1 wisp of Human Dao Fire left over from June, the current number on the panel was 1,319 wisps!

Without hesitation, Chen Yansen synthesized them into 13 wisps of Divine Dao Fire and added them all to his Spirit.

In the blink of an eye, his Spirit attribute increased from 10.17 to 10.30!

”It’s just a drop in the bucket!”

Chen Yansen sighed. He suspected this system must have been designed by Little Ma himself. It was so damn pay-to-win.

’I’ve got to make the Orange Mobile Phone a blockbuster hit! A factory with an annual output of 5 million units... I’ll build twenty more of them! They’ll contribute 200,000 Human Dao Fire a year for me. I’ll blow up the whole planet with that!’

Chen Yansen stood up and walked to the balcony, thinking with great anticipation.

Meanwhile, the tech community had erupted into a fierce debate over the appearance of the Orange Mobile Phone.

After all, back in 2011, Orange was the first phone manufacturer to dare to abandon physical and capacitive touch buttons.

While users only cared if the operation was smooth, competing companies were trying to guess how the Orange Mobile Phone implemented its gesture controls and how it solved the technical challenge of touch latency.