Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”President Chen, sorry to bother you. I’m Zhang Liaoyuan, the founder of Three Squirrels. We just launched on Pinbei Mall last week and are already averaging 1,000 sales a day. Thank you so much for providing an online sales channel for us businesspeople from Huian.”

Zhang Liaoyuan strode forward, his face a mask of eager admiration, and said with a smile.

It was a carefully crafted opening, designed to introduce himself and his brand while simultaneously leveraging their shared hometown to build rapport with Chen Yansen.

Xu Minggang raised his tipsy gaze, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth as he sized up Zhang Liaoyuan with amusement.

’This guy certainly has a gambling streak.’

Fortune is sought in danger, but it is also lost there.

If Chen Yansen found Zhang Liaoyuan’s approach too brazen, he wouldn’t just fail to build a connection—he might even provoke his disgust.

’Three Squirrels?’

Chen Yansen furrowed his brow, a flicker of confusion on his face. He was no stranger to Zhang Liaoyuan. In his past life, they were both internet entrepreneurs from Huian and had spoken on a few occasions.

Livestreamers on Feiyu had even sold his products.

’But by all rights, Three Squirrels shouldn’t have been founded at this point in time, should it?’

But Zhang Liaoyuan had been very clear: Three Squirrels launched on Pinbei Mall last week.

But then Chen Yansen had a second thought and relaxed. The e-commerce industry had already undergone massive changes due to his influence.

The Thousand-Groupon War, which should have already produced a clear winner, was still raging fiercely. Lashou Network and WoWo Group were far in the lead, showing no signs of slowing down. Wang Xin of Meituan, despite pulling out all the stops, had only just managed to surpass the market share of Nuomi Network and Dianping to crack the industry’s top three.

So, it was only natural that Three Squirrels would be founded a few months ahead of schedule.

Even Zhang Yiming of Byte hadn’t created his content aggregator app yet; instead, he was completely focused on tinkering with mobile browsers.

”Oh, so you’re President Zhang. A pleasure,” Chen Yansen replied with a slight smile, his tone neutral.

Zhang Liaoyuan might become wildly successful in the future, with a net worth in the tens of billions at his peak, but right now, Three Squirrels was just getting started. To put it bluntly, he was merely the head of a C-tier brand.

”Excuse us. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.” Xu Minggang waved a hand, signaling that Zhang Liaoyuan could scram.

He was the host tonight, and his sole purpose was to get closer to Chen Yansen.

For a small fry like Zhang Liaoyuan to waste even a minute of his time, the fact that Xu Minggang didn’t have his assistant chase him off already showed considerable self-control.

”My apologies, President Chen. This is our company’s product. Please have a taste when you have a moment.”

Zhang Liaoyuan didn’t know who Xu Minggang was, but since the man was drinking with Chen Yansen, he figured he must be important. Not daring to cause offense, he could only offer an apologetic smile.

With that, he took a bag of mixed nuts from his pocket and offered it with both hands, his posture extremely deferential.

”Thanks. Stop by Pinbei headquarters sometime.”

Chen Yansen took the nuts, patted Zhang Liaoyuan on the shoulder, and with those words, turned and walked away.

In any case, for a brand like Three Squirrels that had successfully capitalized on the e-commerce boom, while there was certainly an element of luck, there was no denying that Zhang Liaoyuan’s operational and management skills were absolutely top-notch.

Back in their private room, Xu Minggang asked curiously, ”President Chen, that guy has a real street-hustler vibe. You think he’s promising?”

At thirty-six, Zhang Liaoyuan had been around the block—he’d hustled on the streets, run a cold-drink stand, and even sold pirated CDs.

It wasn’t until he was twenty-seven that his life finally got on track when he entered the nut industry, a move that would define his entire career.

He started in entry-level sales and spent nine years working his way up to the general manager position.

Two years ago, he founded a brand for his former employer called Kekeguo, the predecessor to Three Squirrels. It had a successful trial run on Taobao Mall; in the eight months after its launch, cumulative sales exceeded 10 million.

That was when Zhang Liaoyuan started thinking, ’I’m the one who negotiated with the suppliers. I’m the one who set up the online channels. So why am I the one taking home just a meager cut of the profits?’

And so, he poached a group of core team members from Kekeguo and founded Three Squirrels.

Xu Minggang was a sharp judge of character; Zhang Liaoyuan not only had a ruthless streak, but he was also incredibly ambitious.

”It’s not that I think he’s particularly promising,” Chen Yansen explained with a smile. ”It’s just that, for a nut brand like Three Squirrels that has a bit of potential, since I’ve run into him, I might as well give him a chance.”

Xu Minggang nodded slightly, raising his glass for a toast, and promptly put Zhang Liaoyuan out of his mind.

After all, in his eyes, Zhang Liaoyuan’s minor accomplishments made him no different from any random person on the street.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Yansen and Xu Minggang got into their respective cars and waved goodbye.

Chen Yansen, feeling clear-headed and refreshed, instructed Gao Weilin to drive back to the hotel.

Watching Old Gao’s back, he couldn’t help but think, ’I really do need to hire a driver. After all, Gao Weilin is the Chief Financial Officer of Senlian Capital.’

’Maybe I should ask Lao Chen to be my driver?’

’Chen Guobin has twenty years of driving experience; he’s a true veteran driver, no doubt about it.’

’No, that won’t work! Lao Chen is too nosy. If he found out I have... roughly two girlfriends, he’d raise absolute hell!’

Chen Yansen shook his head repeatedly at the thought.

’Forget it,’ he decided. ’I’ll have Xiong Li post a job opening later and see if any reliable candidates turn up.’

「The next morning.」

The conference hall at Jingdongfang’s headquarters was packed with reporters from Luzhou’s local media.

News of Orange Technology’s stock-swap deal with Luzhou City Construction and Xin City International had been immediately leaked. On Tao Jingwen’s orders, her assistant had passed the information to the heads of the Luzhou Daily, the Luzhou Radio and Television Station, and Luzhou Online.

He wanted to use this opportunity to publicize Luzhou as a flagship city for the LCD panel industry.

”President Chen, who would have thought? One minute we’re partners, and the next we’re practically family,” said Wang Dongsheng, the CEO of Jingdongfang, as he grasped Chen Yansen’s right hand with a smile.