Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”We’re not the lowest in the industry. If anyone’s going to raise prices, it should be Shentong and Yuantong first,” Chen Yansen said nonchalantly.

Liao Wei chuckled, instantly understanding his boss’s meaning. He now felt reassured.

The group took the elevator to the second floor and walked into a conference hall large enough to accommodate over 200 people.

Inside, representatives from a dozen or so express delivery companies were already seated, chatting in small groups.

When the crowd saw Liao Wei and his group, their expressions darkened. They didn’t say anything, but inwardly they all cursed, ’Troublemakers.’

Upon seeing this, Chen Dejun of Shentong couldn’t sit still any longer. He had spoken with Liao Wei over the phone, but this was their first time meeting in person.

Just as he had imagined, Liao Wei had a look about him that was instantly off-putting.

He looked away in disgust, his attention immediately shifting to Chen Yansen.

’The chairman of Senlian Capital, the actual controller of Cloud Speed Express, and also the big boss of Orange Technology and Pinbei Mall.’

At this thought, Chen Dejun abruptly stood up and strode over to meet them.

Yu Weijiao of Yuantong, Lai Haisheng of Zhongtong, and Nie Tengyu of Yunda also stood up and walked toward Chen Yansen.

”Boss Chen, it seems you’re trying to wipe out every single express company from the Tonglu System!”

Chen Dejun sneered, getting straight to the point.

”President Chen, you’re exaggerating. This is all just normal business competition. Cloud Speed is a latecomer, so we had to use some unconventional methods. I’m sure you can understand. Didn’t Shentong itself rely on a price war to stand out from so many other express companies back in the day?”

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, unfazed.

”We’re all businessmen. Why don’t we sit down, have a proper discussion, and make money together?”

Chen Dejun suppressed his anger, trying to make peace.

”If you merge your company into Cloud Speed, won’t we be one family? Then, naturally, there would be no need for a price war.”

This time, Chen Yansen didn’t even consider a cash acquisition, instead proposing a merger through a stock swap.

Chen Dejun laughed. ’This kid’s got quite an appetite!’ he thought. ’Trying to swallow Shentong whole just like that. Aren’t you afraid you’ll burst?’

”Boss Chen, with you messing things up like this, no one can make money comfortably. It’s a dark and slippery road out there. Be careful you don’t take a fall,” threatened Yu Weijiao of Yuantong.

”You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want. Otherwise, if I so much as scrape my knee one day, I’ll have to hold President Yu responsible. I hear President Yu just had a new grandson last year?”

Chen Yansen retorted, looking coldly at Yu Weijiao.

”Don’t you dare do anything reckless!” Yu Weijiao panicked. He hadn’t expected someone as young as Chen Yansen to act with such utter disregard for consequences.

”Useless,” Chen Yansen muttered, a mocking smile on his face.

Yu Weijiao’s face flushed red. He lunged forward to throw a punch but was immediately stopped by bodyguards.

”President Yu, there’s not enough room to move here. How about we find a proper venue some other time? I’ll be sure to keep you company. But we’ll have to sign a contract; otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll be held responsible if I beat you to death.”

Chen Yansen said in an arrogant tone.

The bosses of Xiyais Express, You Su Logistics, Suer Logistics, and Long Shengda Express looked at each other in dismay. They had originally thought Liao Wei was like a mad dog, biting anyone he came across.

But his boss was clearly even crazier.

”Yu Weijiao, what do you think you’re doing?”

Just then, Zheng Shengyu of the Postal Association walked over with his assistant, his face grim, and demanded in a hostile tone.

This industry conference was nominally a networking event, but in reality, it was a mediation session: to call a halt to the price war and maintain the stability of the express delivery industry.

Who was Yu Weijiao putting on this ’I’m-going-to-hit-someone’ act for?

This was a blatant show of disrespect to him!

”Chairman Zheng, my apologies. I just wanted to get a little closer to Boss Chen to chat.”

Yu Weijiao was fuming, but faced with Zheng Shengyu’s cold expression, he could only scramble for an excuse.

”Go back to your seat.” Zheng Shengyu waved his hand dismissively, not bothering to argue with him.

”Chairman Zheng, a pleasure to meet you!” Chen Yansen said with a faint smile, seemingly unaffected, as he stepped forward to greet him.

Zheng Shengyu looked up, sizing up Chen Yansen from head to toe, and finally said with a smile, ”There aren’t many young men like you.”

Clearly, Zheng Shengyu was very pleased with Chen Yansen.

From a macroeconomic perspective, over 6,000 couriers from the Three Passes and One Reach had lost their jobs in the last three months. But these same people put on new uniforms and, in a flash, became Cloud Speed Express employees. The number of people paying into social security had also increased by 6,000.

So, if it weren’t for the price-cutting by the Tonglu System companies, which had led to a flood of complaints and affected the Postal Association’s own interests, Zheng Shengyu couldn’t have been bothered to intervene.

”You flatter me, Chairman Zheng. I’m just following labor laws,” Chen Yansen said with a shrug.

Zheng Shengyu nodded, patted Chen Yansen’s shoulder, and then walked to the podium.

He scanned the room and saw that aside from Shunfeng, the bosses of the remaining 30-plus major express companies invited were all present.

Zheng Shengyu frowned. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he saw Wang Wei walk in with his people.

”Since everyone is here, let’s begin. First, I’d like to thank all of you for your contributions to Hua Country’s express delivery industry in 2011.”

”Last year, the total volume of express deliveries reached 4.29 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 37.8%. Of this, intra-city deliveries accounted for 23% and inter-city deliveries 73%. The eastern region accounted for 81.9%, the central region 10.5%, and the western region 7.6%. The industry’s revenue reached a high of 85.53 billion yuan.”

”The growth rate in the first quarter of 2012 has once again exceeded the Postal Association’s expectations, with daily volume reaching as high as 20 million parcels. The total for the year is projected to break the 6 billion parcel mark. However, it’s worth noting that revenue per parcel is constantly declining, service quality has plummeted, and some express company employees have even been selling customers’ private packages at will...”

As Zheng Shengyu spoke, he directed his criticism toward Shentong and Yuantong.

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao had cut the dispatch fees again and again, leaving couriers unable to make a living. As a result, their service attitude took a nosedive, and lost parcels became a common occurrence.

An investigation revealed that the couriers were selling them as ’mystery boxes.’

”I don’t care how you compete, but the income of the couriers on the ground cannot be affected. In three days, Shentong and Yuantong must raise their delivery fee for parcels under 1 kilogram to 1.5 yuan.”

Zheng Shengyu called out Shentong and Yuantong by name, urging them to raise their prices.

Yu Weijiao was indignant. Why didn’t Zheng Shengyu step in when Cloud Speed was cutting prices? But as soon as Shentong and Yuantong cut theirs, he had to intervene.

”If you refuse to make corrections within the deadline, your business licenses will be revoked directly.”

Zheng Shengyu stared at Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao, warning them bluntly.

Chen Yansen turned his head and shot a provocative glance at Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao.

He had calculated long ago that a per-parcel price of 1.5 yuan could cover all costs while also guaranteeing stable income for the couriers.

When Shentong and Yuantong had dropped their price to one yuan, his reason for not letting Liao Wei follow suit was also based on this consideration.

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao exchanged a look. ’This is big trouble,’ they thought. ’We tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice used to lure it. That old bastard Zheng Shengyu doesn’t care if we live or die.’

Wang Wei of Shunfeng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although the price was only being raised from 1 yuan to 1.5 yuan, it was still good news for Shunfeng.

Otherwise, in the long run, no matter how wide Shunfeng’s ”moat” was, it would eventually be breached by the Three Passes and One Reach and Cloud Speed.

He was even tempted to suggest restricting the minimum price per parcel to over 3 yuan, but it wasn’t his turn to speak yet.

Before long, Zheng Shengyu finished his speech and walked off the stage.

Immediately after, Wang Wei took the microphone and stood on stage, speaking eloquently about Shunfeng’s product positioning and service advantages. His words made it clear he didn’t give a damn about his competitors.

While the Three Passes and One Reach and Cloud Speed were waging a price war, Shunfeng was optimizing its cold chain delivery services and busy expanding its own fleet of cargo planes.

Little did he know that Cloud Speed had also launched its own cold chain service a week ago. It was currently in a trial phase, precisely to compete with Shunfeng for market share.

After Wang Wei stepped down, Chen Dejun grabbed the microphone and started laying into Liao Wei. He called him out by name, ’cursing’ him for having no professional ethics. He accused him of initiating a price war just when the industry was thriving, causing Shentong to accumulate losses of over 200 million yuan from Q4 2011 to Q1 2012.

Liao Wei snorted, rubbing his nose, and cursed inwardly: ’I lost 600 million and didn’t make a peep. What the hell are you crying about!’