Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 153: Chapter 142: DST’s Investment Interest, The Future Working Emperor

After landing at Capital Airport, Chen Yansen and his two companions took a car to the East Corner Hotel next to the 798 Art District.

The Xiaomi product launch wasn’t until the next morning. They had arrived a day early because Lei Yijun was holding a small networking event.

Fewer than twenty people were attending—all of them founders of companies he had personally invested in, along with the heads of the lead investment funds: IDG, Qiming Capital, and Digital Sky Technology.

After checking in and resting for a bit, Chen Yansen drove over to the 798 Art District.

As soon as he entered the private room, dozens of pairs of eyes turned to him in unison.

”President Chen, it’s good of you to come. Thank you for attending Xiaomi’s new product launch.”

Li Wanqiang stepped forward with a smile to greet him.

Seeing this, Lei Yijun, who had been exchanging pleasantries with some investors, excused himself and hurried over.

This trip to Yanjing was different from his previous two. Back then, Chen Yansen was just the founder of FoxTao, a project valued at only a few hundred million US dollars.

Now, he not only controlled a shopping guide e-commerce unicorn valued at over 2.5 billion US dollars, but he was also the big boss of Orange Technology.

In just ten days, the Orange Mobile Phone had pre-sold 1.2 million units.

While there was still a gap compared to the four giants—ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad, and Lenovo—this pre-sale volume was an absolutely dazzling achievement among second- and third-tier phone brands.

The gazes of several venture capital firms followed Chen Yansen closely the moment he walked in, their intense interest palpable.

Among them were Xiaomi Technology’s Series A investors, as well as potential investment firms hoping to get a piece of the pie in Xiaomi Technology’s Series B financing.

With over a billion people in Hua Country, the market potential for smartphones was enormous. Compared to Xiaomi, Orange Technology, which had already achieved a certain level of success, was clearly a more valuable investment.

”President Lei, sorry I’m a bit late. I wish Xiaomi a triumphant launch and massive sales,”

Chen Yansen said with a smile, stepping forward to address Lei Yijun after a brief exchange with Li Wanqiang.

”Unlike Orange Technology, Xiaomi doesn’t have its own phone factory. We still have to wait another half a month before sales begin since the production schedule needs to be coordinated. But I’ll gladly accept your well wishes, President Chen. Please, have a seat,”

Lei Yijun said, looking at Chen Yansen and sharing his thoughts candidly.

Building one’s own factory was expensive. While it had some advantages, the high management costs and the daunting problem of fixed-asset depreciation from rapid technological iteration were enough to make anyone hesitate.

After speaking, Lei Yijun pulled Chen Yansen along and began introducing the people next to them one by one. ”Let me introduce you to some new friends. This is the boss of Lakala, Sun Ran; this is the boss of UC Browser, He Xiaopeng; and this is the founder of YY Live, Li Ling...”

”President Sun, President He, President Li, a pleasure to meet you.”

Chen Yansen greeted them with a smile.

’In a dozen or so years, Lakala and YY Live’s market shares would be completely carved up by Ah Li, Penguin, and Byte. Their glory days would be long gone.’

’But here in 2011, both companies were in a period of rapid growth, aggressively expanding within their respective industries.’

’Among them, the most successful was He Xiaopeng.’

’Three years from now, He Xiaopeng would sell UC Browser to Ah Li, successfully cashing out for over 20 billion.’

’Lei Yijun, with his 20% stake, would reap over 5 billion in profit.’

’That was also why he would later be willing to invest in He Xiaopeng’s car manufacturing venture.’

The men responded politely. After all, though Chen Yansen was young, his net worth was high enough that they didn’t dare look down on him.

Next, Lei Yijun introduced several executives from venture capital firms.

Chen Yansen had previous dealings with both IDG and Qiming Capital, so they weren’t strangers. However, the person in charge from DST, the lead investor, made his eyes light up.

”Zhou Shouzhi, DST’s youngest partner in the China Region. He personally masterminded the financing deals for Jingdong and Meituan,”

Lei Yijun introduced with a smile.

”President Chen, I’ve heard so much about you! It’s a shame we couldn’t participate in FoxTao’s Series A financing. If Orange Technology has any financing needs, DST will certainly offer its full support.”

Without waiting for Chen Yansen to speak, Zhou Shouzhi proactively shook his hand, his expression one of sincere earnestness.

’At twenty-eight years old, Zhou Shouzhi had secured the position of Head of the DST China Region in just one year. His capabilities were plain to see.’

’He was easily on par with Prince Ziyuan.’

’Chen Yansen glanced between Lei Yijun and Zhou Shouzhi. They didn’t seem to know each other well. He guessed that DST had probably just started entertaining the idea of investing in Xiaomi but hadn’t made a move yet.’

’Rebus, Xiaomi’s most handsome guy, hadn’t yet hooked up with Xiaomi’s second-most handsome guy.’

’Should I intercept?’

Chen Yansen pondered this internally while exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Shouzhi.

’Zhou Shouzhi was from Singapore and had studied in both Europe and America. After graduation, he used the influence of the Harvard alumni association and his wife’s family to land a job at DST.’

’Chen Yansen didn’t look down on him for ”marrying into money”; on the contrary, he admired such clever and adaptable people.’

’After all, it wasn’t a meal everyone was capable of eating.’

’From the investment deals Zhou Shouzhi had overseen since taking his post, it was easy to see that his ability and foresight were excellent. Ah Li and Jingdong alone had allowed DST to make a fortune.’

’In the Group Buy race, he had picked Meituan out of thousands of contenders, and in his previous life, Meituan had become the ultimate winner of the ”thousand-group-buy-site war.”’

At this thought, Chen Yansen smiled faintly. He declined Lei Yijun’s offer to sit at the head of the table, choosing instead to sit next to Zhou Shouzhi.

Gao Weilin and Song Yuncheng, like the other executives, returned to the private room next door after making their greetings.

”I hear you’re thinking of selling FoxTao, President Chen. Are you planning to focus on the smartphone race?”

Zhou Shouzhi initiated the conversation after they sat down.

Before the trip, the boss of DST Capital, Yuri, had instructed him to maintain a good relationship with Lei Yijun and look for an opportunity to get in on Xiaomi’s Series B financing.

But after Orange Technology’s meteoric rise, Yuri had set his sights on Chen Yansen as well.

After all, with 1.2 million pre-orders, as long as there were no production capacity issues, the Orange Mobile Phone was certain to secure a place in the Hua Country phone market.

”Is DST interested in taking it over?” Chen Yansen asked in return.

Zhou Shouzhi’s expression faltered for a moment before he smiled. ”I’m just afraid we wouldn’t be able to outbid Lotte and Augusta Capital.”

He wasn’t interested in FoxTao. His year of working in the country had given him a deep understanding of the e-commerce ecosystem; investing in comprehensive platforms like Taobao and Jingdong was the way to get bigger returns.

Although FoxTao was currently experiencing rapid growth, its ceiling was already within sight, and it was extremely dependent on external e-commerce platforms.

Especially given the domestic e-commerce landscape, where Ah Li held a 50% market share, if they ever changed their attitude and decided to suppress shopping guide websites...

FoxTao’s valuation would plummet. This uncertainty strengthened his conviction that investing in a shopping guide e-commerce site was by no means a wise move.

Chen Yansen looked up at him, read the subtext in his eyes, and smiled, unconcerned.

’There were plenty of suckers out there, anyway. Lotte and Augusta had both expressed strong interest; he didn’t need DST.’

Lei Yijun sat at the head of the table, chatting casually with Lin Bing, Li Wanqiang, and the others. The topics were mostly about the next day’s launch and the development trends in the smartphone industry.

”Apple plans to release a new product next month or in October,” said the head of Qiming Capital.

For the past year, phone manufacturers both at home and abroad had been releasing new products that imitated the iPhone 4.

At this time, Jobs had not yet resigned as CEO of Apple. Hearing this, everyone felt that the smartphone market in Q4 and the following year would become even more heated, with increasingly fierce competition.

’One step at a time,’ Chen Yansen thought to himself. ’Orange Technology’s talent pool, if not for me, probably couldn’t even compare to Xiaomi’s. We still have to take it slow when it comes to chips and the OS.’

’After all, the core members of Xiaomi’s R&D team mostly came from Motorola and Google, which was a key factor in the success of the MIUI system.’

The dozen or so men and women in the private room toasted and drank, their faces soon flushing red.

Setting aside investment talk, these bosses, with net worths in the hundreds of millions or even billions, were no different from ordinary people. They indulged in all the worldly vices: wine, women, wealth, and pride.

Chen Yansen had seen it all before and wasn’t surprised.

In his previous life, he might not have dined with big shots like Lei Yijun, but his unsavory friends in Hu City’s business circles were all the same. They had wives at home, kept secretaries as mistresses at the office, and courted innocent-looking young students from the local universities.

When they weren’t bragging at chamber of commerce meetings, they were living in a drunken stupor at high-end KTV clubs.

As long as a man could still get it up, they were all cut from the same cloth.

”President Chen, shall we step outside and chat in private?”

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhou Shouzhi lowered his head and proposed to Chen Yansen.

”No problem.”

Chen Yansen smiled, then stood up and addressed Lei Yijun, saying, ”It’s getting stuffy in here. I’m going to step out for some fresh air.”

Aside from him and Zhou Shouzhi, most of the people in the private room were heavy smokers. Lei Yijun, in particular, had started puffing away after just two drinks.

Lei Yijun squinted through the smoke, guessing what Zhou Shouzhi had in mind. He sighed internally and gave a heavy nod.

He knew that whether he had invited Chen Yansen or not, DST would have eventually gravitated toward Orange Technology on its own.

”President Lei, this...” Li Wanqiang’s expression turned ugly as he, too, realized what was happening.

”Focus on making Xiaomi a success. We won’t lack for opportunities.”

Lei Yijun waved his hand dismissively, his eyes filled with confidence.

As he’d said before, the market was big enough. Even the four giants—ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad, and Lenovo—could all eat their fill, to say nothing of second-tier manufacturers like them.

「Meanwhile.」

Zhou Shouzhi and Chen Yansen went into a separate private room.

The two sat down facing each other, and Zhou Shouzhi got straight to the point. ”DST has a good relationship with Qualcomm. If Yuri were to step in and lobby, Orange Technology’s chip supply price could be discounted by at least another 10-15%.”

”For electronic components like screens, cameras, batteries, connectors, and sensors, DST also has resources that can help Orange Technology with procurement costs and supply chain stability.”

Unlike ordinary investors, Zhou Shouzhi didn’t start by talking about valuation and financing. Instead, he brought up DST’s advantages in the supply chain.

He had prepared these talking points in advance; they could be used on Lei Yijun just as easily as on Chen Yansen.

”President Zhou, you truly live up to your reputation as DST’s youngest partner. To be frank, I’m not short on funds, but when it comes to the supply chain, I do need the resources of a third-party investment firm.”

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, expressing his agreement.

’Zuo Hongyu’s abilities were good, but his background and connections limited his potential. When dealing with top-tier international suppliers, a procurement volume of just a few hundred thousand units was hardly enough to secure the most favorable material costs.’

”So, does this mean you’re willing to accept an investment from DST, President Chen?”

Zhou Shouzhi pressed with a smile.

”Let’s not be hasty. We should wait for the first batch of pre-orders to ship and see the market’s reaction. I’m afraid if the user experience isn’t good, I’ll have nothing to show my investors.”

Chen Yansen shook his head, temporarily declining.

’The Orange Mobile Phone had only been announced ten days ago. It would be a disadvantage to discuss financing now.’

Zhou Shouzhi acknowledged this and didn’t press the matter. He understood the tactic of waiting for a higher valuation.

Since Chen Yansen had successfully built both FoxTao and Orange Technology, it meant he was a smart man. Of course he wouldn’t be willing to accept Series A financing at this juncture.

The two chatted for a while longer, and after agreeing on a time for their next discussion, they returned to the main room together.

However, what Zhou Shouzhi didn’t expect was that Chen Yansen didn’t just want his money—he wanted the man himself.

He wanted it all!