Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Inside the private room of Jinsha Hall at West Lake, the bright lights illuminated the various expressions on everyone’s faces.

Ma Liyun and Liu Zhiping appeared calm and unconcerned. Zhou Shouzhi held his wine glass, a faint, composed smile playing on his lips.

Zhu Xiaohu narrowed his stern, triangular eyes, saying nothing.

The investment directors from Hongyi Capital and Huake Investment Attraction exchanged a glance before suppressing the undercurrents of emotion in their hearts.

Finally, it was Zhai Jun, President of Macquarie Capital’s China Region, who broke the silence. ”President Chen, considering Fast Taxi’s current order volume and scope of operations, even factoring in market potential and growth expectations, its valuation is 300 million US dollars at most. I really don’t understand how you arrived at a 700-million-dollar offer.”

Chen Yansen looked up and said unhurriedly, ”Fast Taxi currently has no competitors, so subsidy pressure is low. I only need one billion to capture the core market of the Eastern Region. This process won’t take more than six months, at which point daily orders will exceed 10 million, and the valuation will be no less than 10 billion US dollars.”

”President Chen, you yourself said that would be six months from now. Can you guarantee that no new competitors will emerge during that time?”

Zhai Jun spread his hands and asked with a smile.

”A ride-hailing app needs at least three months of development to solve issues like hardware device compatibility, positioning accuracy, and communication stability. By the time a competitor launches, Fast Taxi will have already captured the market with the highest business capacity. What will our rivals compete with?”

Chen Yansen said dismissively.

In reality, Fast Taxi had another distinct advantage over its competitors: the backing of Gaode Map.

It could provide powerful map data support, accurately display the locations of passengers and drivers, and offer drivers precise navigation guidance, thereby increasing order acceptance efficiency and reducing passenger wait times.

A ride-hailing app with inaccurate location information, where drivers can’t find passengers and passengers can’t find drivers, would have a hard time gaining market acceptance.

It was precisely because Zhou Shouzhi, Liu Zhiping, and Ma Liyun knew this that they were willing to offer a valuation of over 400 million US dollars.

”I’m sorry, but if President Chen insists on raising Fast Taxi’s valuation to the unreasonable price of 700 million US dollars, then Macquarie Capital can only withdraw.”

Zhai Jun shrugged and shook his head in refusal.

”President Zhai, we’ll have a chance to cooperate in the future.”

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, responding without a hint of concern.

”Everyone, it’s getting late. I’ll be taking my leave.” Zhai Jun raised his wrist, made a show of looking at his watch, and casually rose to depart.

After a moment’s thought, the representative from Hongyi Capital said his goodbyes to Ma Liyun, Liu Zhiping, Zhu Xiaohu, and the others one by one, then walked out with his assistant.

In an instant, two investment firms had backed out in succession.

”President Chen, Huake Investment Attraction’s highest offer is 350 million US dollars. I wonder if that gives me a seat at the negotiating table?” Yu Heng had unilaterally raised his pre-planned offer by a hundred million.

Although Huake Investment Attraction’s offer was the lowest compared to Penguin, Ah Li, and DST, Chen Yansen smiled and said, ”President Yu, you’re being too formal. Fast Taxi’s Series A financing simply can’t do without Huake’s support.”

There was no other way. In 2012, if Fast Taxi wanted to partner with more taxi companies, it first had to obtain an authorization document from the Transportation Association. Otherwise, the taxi companies wouldn’t even give them the time of day.

Cheng Weixing’s connections were limited to Hang City. Once Fast Taxi expanded its business to other cities, it would have to deal with the local transportation associations.

Without the authorization document, the subsequent promotion on the driver’s side would be fraught with difficulties.

But if they could get Huake Investment Attraction on board, the situation would be completely different!

As an old-guard, ”Hua”-brand investment institution, dealing with the Transportation Association wasn’t a difficult matter.

It was this confidence that kept Yu Heng from leaving rashly!

After a moment of thought, Zhu Xiaohu suddenly smiled faintly. ”Jinsha Venture Capital, 400 million US dollars.”

Although Chen Yansen’s asking price was outrageous and unreasonable, it was worth noting that he had never made a losing deal since entering the industry.

For financial institutions like Penguin, Siwei Capital, and DST Capital that had invested in Chen Yansen, the return on investment had never been below 1000%.

Zhu Xiaohu didn’t agree with the 700-million-dollar valuation, but he chose to believe in Chen Yansen.

Investing is investing in the person. At that moment, he didn’t even think about the data and made the decision on the spot.

Besides, Ma Liyun, Liu Zhiping, and Zhou Shouzhi were no fools. If they could all sit there, still as mountains, why the hell should he be in a hurry?

”We’ll discuss the specific financing details tomorrow,” Chen Yansen said, picking up his glass again after receiving a satisfactory response.

”After this drink, we’ll head to the next event. You’re in Hang City, so I’ll arrange everything,” Ma Liyun announced generously.

Liu Zhiping and Zhou Shouzhi nodded slightly, having no objections.

Chen Yansen didn’t refuse either. He downed his drink, then boarded the Gusteau with Gao Weilin and Cheng Weixing, instructing Xiaoli to follow Ma Liyun’s Maybach.

The rest of their entourage returned to the hotel by car to prepare for the next day’s negotiations.

Half an hour later, a procession of seven luxury cars pulled up in front of a bar.

Seeing this, a well-dressed promoter immediately scurried over and greeted them enthusiastically, ”Mr. Ma, I’ve saved the biggest private room on the second floor for you. The usual?”

Clearly, Ma Liyun was a regular at this bar.

Chen Yansen was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected that the forty-something Ma Liyun was not only full of energy and a heavy drinker but also a frequent patron of bars.

This style was quite at odds with his age.

Ma Liyun, Yu Heng, Liu Zhiping, and Zhu Xiaohu walked ahead, passing through the neon-lit and bustling dance floor and booth area, and took the elevator to the second floor.

Chen Yansen patted Zhou Shouzhi on the shoulder, signaling that he wanted to talk privately.

Cheng Weixing was left in the private room to continue drinking with Ma Liyun and the others.

In the dim hallway, Chen Yansen pulled open a window, letting the cold wind rush in, which instantly freshened the surrounding air.

”President Chen, thank you!” Zhou Shouzhi said suddenly.

Orange Mobile Phone’s shipments in February reached four million units. At this rate, as long as there were no issues with the new products in the second half of the year, Orange Technology would leap into the top tier of smartphone companies, competing with Apple, Mountain Star, and Huawei.

This successful investment had further solidified his position within DST Capital and even in the international investment world.

Two years ago, outsiders had mocked him, saying he only got into DST because of his wife’s family connections. Now, those doubts had been completely silenced by his brilliant investment track record.

”What are you thanking me for? You’re the one who’s smart enough!”

Chen Yansen said with a laugh.

”What did you want to talk to me about, President Chen?” Zhou Shouzhi took a deep breath and asked seriously.

”Have you ever thought about switching industries?” Chen Yansen asked tentatively.

”Orange Technology or Pinbei? Or a new project?” Zhou Shouzhi asked, getting straight to the point.

’Talking to smart people is so refreshing—efficient and no beating around the bush.’

Chen Yansen couldn’t help but marvel internally. He didn’t answer Zhou Shouzhi’s question directly, instead asking, ”Which project would you want to go to?”

”You’re that confident I’ll agree, President Chen?” Zhou Shouzhi gave a slight smile and pressed the question.

”When you’ve been in investment banking for a long time, you tend to become overly cautious and suspicious. You focus too much on short-term gains and develop a fixed mindset. Do you really think you can fully grasp the success of Orange Technology and Pinbei’s models just by looking at the numbers on a page?”

Chen Yansen asked in a level tone.

”President Chen, I will consider it carefully. Give me some time.” Zhou Shouzhi furrowed his brow slightly. He understood what Chen Yansen meant.

To put it simply, his investment decisions were almost entirely dependent on financial data and his observations of entrepreneurs, but he didn’t actually understand the operations of the projects themselves.

The industry’s real-time valuation for Orange Technology already exceeded 20 billion US dollars. If he could join the company and successfully take it public, the returns would be substantial.

Zhou Shouzhi knew full well that if he stayed at DST, his base salary plus bonus was only 2 million US dollars a year. The rest depended on his share of investment returns, but that was too slow a way to make money.

Just then, a middle-aged man with glasses, who was about to enter a private room, caught sight of Chen Yansen by the window out of the corner of his eye.

He broke into a grin and waved. ”President Chen, you came to Hang City and didn’t even say a word.”

Chen Yansen looked over and saw that it was none other than the big boss of NetEase, Ding Lei.

The two had only had some initial exchanges and cooperation through the matchmaking of Zhang Chaoyang; they couldn’t be considered very familiar.

After all, among all of Toutiao’s data sources, only NetEase had charged a copyright fee.

So, he didn’t take Ding Lei’s words to heart at all. It was just a casual pleasantry from someone else; no need to take it seriously.

Otherwise, he’d be the one left feeling awkward.

”I’m here in Hang City on a business trip. Just arrived this afternoon,” Chen Yansen replied vaguely.

”Come! Let me introduce you to some new friends.” Ding Lei, however, was particularly enthusiastic. On one hand, it was out of respect for Zhang Chaoyang; on the other, he also wanted to help his friends make connections.

”President Ding, this is Mr. Zhou Shouzhi, the President of DST Capital’s China Region,” Chen Yansen introduced him formally.

”Investing in both Ah Li and Jingdong in one go, that takes a lot of guts. President Zhou, care to join us for a drink?”

Upon hearing this, Ding Lei shook Zhou Shouzhi’s right hand and suggested with a smile.

Chen Yansen watched Ding Lei’s actions and, after a moment’s thought, vaguely understood his intentions, so he readily agreed.

’I’ll have to see who’s important enough to make Ding Lei swallow his pride for them.’

Chen Yansen and Zhou Shouzhi followed Ding Lei and only then discovered that his private room was right next to Ma Liyun’s.

Ding Lei pushed open the door, revealing the scene inside. There were only three middle-aged men holding wine glasses, drinking and chatting.

Chen Yansen glanced around and didn’t recognize most of them, except for one man with black-framed glasses who looked familiar.

”President Chen, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Duan Yongping, the founder of BBK. This is Sun Tongyu from Bocasi Education. And this is Huang Zheng from Leqi Business, which specializes in e-commerce proxy operations.”

Ding Lei quickly made the introductions.

”President Duan, this is Chen Yansen from Senlian Capital, and this is Zhou Shouzhi, President of DST’s China Region.”

Then, Ding Lei stood before Duan Yongping and specially introduced Chen Yansen and Zhou Shouzhi to him.

”Mr. Chen, you’re even younger than I imagined.” Duan Yongping slowly rose, shaking his hand and exchanging pleasantries, a hint of reminiscence and melancholy in his eyes.

’Youth is fucking awesome!’

”President Duan, a pleasure to meet you.” After learning Duan Yongping’s identity, Chen Yansen immediately recognized Huang Zheng.

’The founder of Pinduoduo in my past life!’

Unfortunately, at this time, Huang Zheng was still busy with e-commerce proxy operations and hadn’t yet had the idea of starting his own platform.

When he had entered earlier, he had seen Chen Yansen and Zhou Shouzhi talking in the hallway. He had wanted to go over and build a connection but was afraid it would be too presumptuous and do more harm than good.

On second thought, he had returned to the private room to find Ding Lei and asked him to make the introduction.

The relationship between a proxy operations company and an e-commerce platform was like that of a real estate agent and a property developer. Whether Huang Zheng’s business could succeed and whether the brands he represented could get resources on the platform all depended on Chen Yansen’s favor.

After sitting down, Chen Yansen had a drink with Duan Yongping and the others. He understood Huang Zheng’s little scheme, and out of respect for Ding Lei, he gave him a personal business card.

Huang Zheng thanked him profusely, accepting it cautiously with both hands.

It was as exciting as a Taobao merchant running into Ma Liyun at a restaurant. Although, as a protégé of Duan Yongping, he wasn’t short on capital for his entrepreneurial ventures.

But he was still extremely covetous of the traffic resources of an e-commerce platform.

The thirty-two-year-old Huang Zheng looked at Chen Yansen with eyes full of reverence and envy.

In terms of education, he had a bachelor’s from a top-tier ”Double First-Class” university and a master’s in computer science from Madison University. In terms of starting point, he had worked as a project manager at Google for three years. In terms of connections, he had received investment from Duan Yongping on his first day of business and became a distributor for BBK and OPPO.

But after five years of entrepreneurship, his net worth hadn’t even broken a hundred million!

To put it bluntly, if Duan Yongping hadn’t brought him to this gathering, he wouldn’t have even been able to meet Ding Lei.

Therefore, Huang Zheng both worshipped and envied Chen Yansen, who had amassed a fortune of tens of billions by the age of twenty and was thriving in both the mobile phone and e-commerce sectors.