Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chen Yansen stepped out of the car and saw a smiling, middle-aged man with glasses, around six feet tall, looking at him.

”Mr. Chen, hello. I’m Tao Jingwen.”

Tao Jingwen extended his hand in greeting.

”Secretary Tao, a pleasure.” Chen Yansen shook his hand and responded politely.

The man’s position in Luzhou was equivalent to that of Song Siming from the show *Dwelling Narrowness*. He may have just been a secretary, but he wielded considerable power.

”Mr. Chen, your counterparts for the equity swap today are Wang Qingsheng from Luzhou Construction Investment and Xu Minggang from Xin City International. The Central Bureau won’t be involved in the specific valuations or swap ratio. This is a business matter, so I’ll leave the negotiations to you.”

After the pleasantries, Tao Jingwen’s expression tightened as he stated his position with a serious face.

”Understood. No problem,” Chen Yansen said with a slight nod.

With Jingdongfang, he wanted a voice, not controlling shares, so he naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for Meng Yuanzhi.

Seeing that he understood the situation, Tao Jingwen’s estimation of Chen Yansen instantly rose another level.

The group walked forward and entered a bright, spotless conference room.

A long, curved table sat in the center of the room.

The bookshelves, potted plants, teacups, and projector were all arranged in perfect order, conveying a sense of meticulous planning.

Near the window sat the representatives of the two parties, about ten people in total.

”Mr. Chen, this is Mr. Wang Qingsheng from Luzhou Construction Investment, and this is Mr. Xu Minggang from Xin City International.”

Tao Jingwen stood in the middle of the three parties and made the introductions.

”President Wang, President Xu!” Chen Yansen greeted them with a faint, relaxed smile.

Xu Minggang laughed heartily, leaning forward to grasp Chen Yansen’s right hand. He responded warmly, ”The young people of our Huian Province are truly outstanding. President Chen, I’ve heard your name so many times my ears are practically worn out. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you today.”

”You’re too kind, President Xu. You’re a veteran in this field, and I still have much to learn from you.”

It was a game of exchanging pleasantries. Even though Chen Yansen had never even heard of Xu Minggang, he wouldn’t put on airs when the other party was showing him such respect.

Wang Qingsheng from Luzhou Construction Investment, on the other hand, merely lifted his eyelids, grunted in acknowledgment, and remained seated.

Chen Yansen sneered inwardly and couldn’t be bothered to engage with him.

Tao Jingwen frowned. He hadn’t expected Wang Qingsheng to be so tactless.

’This equity swap deal determines whether the Orange Phone Factory can be established in Luzhou. It’s a crucial part of my boss’s strategy. Who does Wang Qingsheng think he is, putting on a sour face like this?’

At this thought, Tao Jingwen’s eyes narrowed, and he silently made a mental note of the slight.

”Jingdongfang is valued at 60 billion. Orange Technology’s last funding round put you at 9 billion USD, which is comparable to Jingdongfang’s market value. Based on a one-to-one swap, I, representing Luzhou Construction Investment Group, can give you 3% at most.”

Wang Qingsheng stated his terms matter-of-factly from his seat.

”President Xu, let’s sit and chat.” Chen Yansen ignored Wang Qingsheng, instead turning to Xu Minggang with a smile.

Seeing this, Tao Jingwen couldn’t hide a smile. He hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to be so bold as to give Wang Qingsheng absolutely no face.

”President Chen, please don’t misunderstand. We at Xin City International value Orange Technology at 16 billion US Dollars. Regarding the equity swap ratio, I am authorized to offer up to 6%.”

Xu Minggang got straight to the point after sitting down.

To put it bluntly, this equity swap was just a formality.

After all, Meng Yuanzhi had already spoken to them, and Xu Minggang had no reason to disrespect Meng Yuanzhi over a small amount of Jingdongfang’s equity.

Compared to Wang Qingsheng’s offer, Xu Minggang’s was clearly more sincere.

At this time, whether using the price-to-sales or price-to-earnings valuation methods, Orange Technology’s valuation was somewhere between 15 and 18 billion US Dollars.

”President Xu, I have no issue with Jingdongfang’s market value, but when it comes to Orange Technology’s valuation, I have a more rational model.”

Chen Yansen said lightly.

Beside him, Gao Weilin took out a laptop and opened a file. It was a valuation model he had created based on Orange Technology’s financial, market, product, and economic data from the previous year.

As Gao Weilin explained, he nonchalantly raised the valuation to 18 billion US Dollars.

Xu Minggang thought that was a bit high and glanced at Xin City International’s financial analyst.

The analyst’s brows were furrowed, but after hearing Gao Weilin’s full explanation, he gave Xu Minggang a slight nod of approval.

”I have no problem with that. How much of Jingdongfang’s equity are you looking for, President Chen?”

Xu Minggang asked tentatively.

”Since you’re offering, President Xu, I’ll naturally take it all,” Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

The 6% on offer, added to his original 4.9%, would total 10.9%.

This would make Senlian Capital the third-largest shareholder in Jingdongfang, behind only two investment firms from Yanjing.

In the future, this would give them a much stronger position when it came to the supply and price negotiation of LCD panels.

Through this equity swap and deep integration, Chen Yansen could gain more control over the supply chain.

Wang Qingsheng snorted coldly, his expression souring.

He had made a promise to Meng Yuanzhi yesterday. His earlier behavior was just an attempt to seize the initiative and suppress the price, but he never expected Chen Yansen to give him no face at all.

This left him in a dilemma. If he walked out, he would be offending Meng Yuanzhi. But staying in the conference room and watching Xu Minggang and Chen Yansen laugh and chat felt like a slap in the face.

Tao Jingwen took it all in. After a few seconds of thought, he stepped in to smooth things over. ”President Chen, I’m afraid that won’t do! Jingdongfang is a key investment for the city. I think it would be more prudent for each company to contribute 3%.”

As he spoke, he shot a meaningful glance at Wang Qingsheng.

”Secretary Tao is right,” Wang Qingsheng chimed in.

”But President Wang was only willing to offer a 60 billion valuation. Frankly, at that price, I’d have a hard time explaining things to Orange Technology’s other investors.”

Chen Yansen looked at Wang Qingsheng mockingly.

Hearing this, Wang Qingsheng’s expression flickered. He finally forced a stiff smile and said drily, ”I can accept the 18 billion US Dollar valuation.”

Xu Minggang watched Wang Qingsheng with an amused expression, thinking, ’What an idiot. If the boss didn’t have your back, what makes you think you deserve to sit at the same table as me?’

Seeing everything go smoothly, Tao Jingwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The subsequent procedures could now be handed over to the finance and legal teams.

”Mr. Chen, please come with me.”

Tao Jingwen beckoned to Chen Yansen.

Xu Minggang knew this was most likely Meng Yuanzhi’s doing. He waved his hand, signaling that Chen Yansen shouldn’t worry about him, and arranged to host a welcome dinner for him that evening at Luzhou Prefecture.

”President Xu, I’ll see you tonight, then.”

Chen Yansen stood up and accepted immediately. Befriending Xu Minggang was not a bad thing.

Once a company reached a certain size, contact with people like Xu Minggang and Meng Yuanzhi became unavoidable.

As long as he leveraged these connections properly, the expansion of the Orange Phone Factory could meet his expectations.

Otherwise, relying on capital alone would make it difficult to break through production capacity bottlenecks.

Tao Jingwen led the way, walking down a mahogany-paneled hallway and finally stopping in front of an office.