Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

At the entrance of Luzhou Prefecture, white walls and dark tiles were bathed in brilliant light.

A sea of luxury cars crowded the entrance. Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, and Audis were common sights, and there was no shortage of Bentleys, Porsches, and Ferraris.

It was hard to imagine that Luzhou in 2012 had already become this wealthy.

Just then, a panda-colored Gusteau slowly drove up, causing passersby to stop and crane their necks to get a look.

A seven or eight-million-yuan Rolls-Royce wasn’t unheard of in Luzhou, but a coveted license plate with a string of four 8s was enough to make one’s imagination run wild.

’Who the fuck is this?’

’Such a showy license plate!’

Once the car came to a steady stop, a small, fair foot in a sandal stepped out.

Following that, a young woman in a white shirt and blue wide-leg jeans got out of the car with a smile.

”Tao Jingwen said he’s bringing a few friends. I’ve thought about it—they’re most likely local brand owners from Luzhou who want to get on Pinbei or secure more platform resources. Tonight, you can play it by ear. You can show Tao Jingwen some respect, but you don’t have to give him everything.”

Chen Yansen followed, getting out of the car and instructing Song Yuncheng.

Frankly, he considered people like Tao Jingwen and Xu Minggang fair-weather friends at best, not much more than nodding acquaintances.

Once their interests no longer aligned, they probably wouldn’t even say hello if they ran into each other on the street.

That was why when Tao Jingwen said he was bringing friends, Chen Yansen had readily agreed.

The other party wanted to act as a broker, to pull some strings for people, and that was of course no problem.

After all, collaborations like this were usually mutually beneficial, so there was no reason for Chen Yansen to refuse.

Song Yuncheng nodded slightly and followed behind Chen Yansen.

Gao Weilin sighed and glanced at Xiaoli. Now that the boss didn’t need him to drive, he couldn’t escape these social functions.

He thought for a moment, and after weighing his options, he decided he’d rather be the boss’s driver.

The three of them went around the spirit screen, through the front hall, and followed a waiter deeper inside, passing over a small bridge with turquoise water below and through courtyards and pavilions.

Even though he had been here twice before, Chen Yansen was still amazed. To have been able to acquire such a large plot of land in bustling downtown Luzhou more than a decade ago and spend hundreds of millions to build this classical Jiangnan-style garden was truly impressive.

It required both connections and capital; one without the other wouldn’t have been enough.

”Junior Brother Chen, long time no see.” Xu Minggang was standing outside the private room, and as soon as he saw Chen Yansen, he greeted him warmly.

”President Xu, you’re too kind. Making you come out and greet me personally... if you do this again next time, I won’t dare to answer your calls anymore.”

Chen Yansen joked with a smile.

”Tsk, look at you! It’s only been a few months, and you’re already being so distant! Call me Brother Xu!” Xu Minggang said with a straight face.

”Who else is inside?” Chen Yansen smiled and changed the subject.

”The bosses from Changhong, Rongshida, and Jinghuai, plus the owner of Huazhang Liquor Store. Lao Tao couldn’t help it; debts of gratitude are hard to refuse. If you can make a deal, great. If not, you don’t have to give him any face.”

Xu Minggang explained briefly.

Obviously, this message was what Tao Jingwen had asked Xu Minggang to relay on his behalf.

”Don’t worry, I know how to handle it,” Chen Yansen replied, following Xu Minggang inside.

Inside the private room were two round tables. Tao Jingwen was accompanying four middle-aged men, sitting at the eastern table, drinking tea and chatting idly.

Judging by their clothes and appearance, the people at the other table were mostly assistants and secretaries, the type to drive their bosses home later or warm their beds.

”President Chen, let me introduce you to some new friends.”

Tao Jingwen quickly stood up, pulled Chen Yansen to a seat, and pointed to the middle-aged man in a suit on the far left. ”This is Zhang Renwu, the general manager of the Luzhou Changhong Branch.”

”President Chen, I’ve heard so much about you.” Zhang Renwu leaned forward slightly and shook Chen Yansen’s right hand.

”President Zhang, a pleasure to meet you,” Chen Yansen responded amiably.

He didn’t show any disdain or neglect just because the other man was only the head of a branch office.

”This is Jin Junhua, the chairman of Rongshida Electric Appliances.”

”Liang Zhirong, general manager of Jinghuai Motors.”

”Xu Xiangdong of Huazhang Liquor Store. He’s also the liquor tycoon of our Huian Province. A lot of the online liquor sites get their stock through President Xu’s channels.”

Tao Jingwen introduced them one by one.

Chen Yansen shook their hands and exchanged pleasantries, giving Tao Jingwen plenty of face.

Changhong and Rongshida had joined Pinbei Mall back in December of last year, so they had already established a cooperative relationship.

But Liang Zhirong from Jinghuai Motors taking the initiative to join the fray made Chen Yansen quite surprised.

Although Pinbei had a precedent of collaborating with Chery to sell cars online, the daily sales figures were usually not high. Only when the brand increased its advertising investment and subsidies could they manage to sell two or three thousand vehicles.

The promotional value, however, far exceeded the actual sales value!

’Could it be that Liang Zhirong has similar plans?’

Chen Yansen mused silently.

”President Chen, Huazhang Liquor Store also joined Pinbei Mall this February. I hope you’ll look after us in the future.”

Xu Xiangdong was about fifty years old with a full beard. He was also the only one among them wearing a casual jacket, with prayer beads around his neck and on his wrist. He didn’t look like an entrepreneur, but more like a boss selling trinkets on an antique street.

”Thank you for your support of Pinbei, President Xu. We’ll look after each other. Please, have a seat,” Chen Yansen replied politely with a faint smile.

Before long, waiters brought out platters of exquisite cold dishes and hot entrees, filling the mahogany dining table to the brim.

Xu Xiangdong pulled out a few bottles of liquor from behind him and placed them on the table: vintage Moutai, The Macallan 1990, and Yamazaki 18. The cheapest bottle was at least twenty or thirty thousand yuan.

When Tao Jingwen had introduced him as the liquor tycoon of Huian Province, it was no exaggeration at all.

In fact, people in the industry within the province regarded him as the ’Godfather of Liquor.’ Aside from the bosses of Gujing and Yingjia, Xu Xiangdong’s net worth was definitely in the top three.

He owned wineries abroad, as well as baijiu brands and beer factories in China, with annual sales in the billions.

However, in Chen Yansen’s eyes, these achievements were nothing to write home about.

”President Chen, I heard Chery’s sales on Pinbei are quite good?” Liang Zhirong from Jinghuai Motors couldn’t help but get straight to the point after two drinks with Chen Yansen.

”President Liang, that depends on one’s expectations. If Jinghuai’s goal is 2,000 vehicles a month, then Pinbei is not a problem.”

Chen Yansen said, looking at the other man with a level tone.

In 2012, the Jinghuai Motors factory primarily produced bus chassis, light trucks, and light-duty passenger vans. Cloud Speed had purchased over a thousand light trucks from Jinghuai for its deliveries.

’2,000 vehicles a month?’

Liang Zhirong’s eyes lit up. He was in charge of the passenger car division, and last year’s sales were less than 100,000 units.

If Pinbei could really sell 2,000 vehicles a month, that would be 24,000 a year. His performance numbers would easily increase by 25%.

”President Chen, to be honest, Jinghuai has also been thinking about joining Pinbei. What you said just now about 2,000 vehicles a month, is that for real?” Liang Zhirong first stated his position, then asked for confirmation, still a bit uncertain.

”President Liang, Pinbei is a flash sale platform. The prerequisite for moving products is that Jinghuai must provide sufficient discounts and a simple vehicle pickup process,” Chen Yansen reminded him with a smile.

”No problem, President Chen! If you have time in the next couple of days, I welcome you to visit Jinghuai, and we can discuss the details at length.”

Liang Zhirong looked at Chen Yansen with an expectant expression.

Chen Yansen wasn’t particularly interested in this kind of business, which wouldn’t be very profitable, so he called Song Yuncheng over.

”No need to go to all that trouble. Pinbei has mature branding and campaign plans for car sales. This is Song Yuncheng, the Director of Pinbei’s Major Accounts Investment Attraction department. President Liang, if you have any requirements, feel free to discuss them with President Song.”

Chen Yansen pushed Song Yuncheng into the spotlight.

Song Yuncheng smiled faintly, handed over a business card, and briefly described Chery’s success story. In just a few sentences, she had earned Liang Zhirong’s trust.

Song Yuncheng was very capable at her job; otherwise, she wouldn’t have become the director of the Major Accounts department.

Chen Yansen had always kept business and personal matters separate. People like Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, and Chen Xu, whose abilities didn’t meet the standard, could only hold the title of team leader.

Meng Jie was still just a junior intern in Orange Technology’s finance department, earning an intern’s salary of just over three thousand a month.

Three minutes later, Song Yuncheng returned to the other table and sat down again.

”Miss, are you an employee at Orange Technology?”

A girl with long, chestnut-colored hair sitting next to her asked, tilting her head.

”Uh... I guess so,” Song Yuncheng replied casually, too lazy to explain.

”What’s Chen Yansen’s temper like in private? Does he chew out his employees?” the girl pressed.

Gao Weilin, who had been sitting opposite her looking down at his phone, couldn’t help but look up and size up the girl after hearing this.

She looked to be under twenty, youthful and pretty, with two shallow dimples on her cheeks.

When he first sat down, he’d assumed she was some boss’s secretary. Looking at her again now, he noticed the youthfulness and naivety in her face.

That, combined with her almost idiotic line of questioning, made Gao Weilin conclude that she was either some boss’s daughter or some boss’s young mistress.

Song Yuncheng’s elegant eyebrows knitted slightly. ”Why are you asking all this?”

”I want to... I want to work at Orange Technology in the future,” the girl said, randomly making up an excuse.

”I’m not at liberty to comment on the boss’s private affairs. If you pass the interview and get hired, you’ll find out for yourself,” Song Yuncheng refused curtly.

After speaking, she turned her head and ignored the girl.

Seeing this, Xu Jiujiu looked helpless. She had actually wanted to ask more strange questions, like whether Chen Yansen had a girlfriend, if he was good to his girlfriend, and when they might break up.

But Song Yuncheng had made it clear she didn’t want to talk to her, so she turned her attention to Gao Weilin.

”Uncle, you look so cute, you must be a warm-hearted person. Can I ask about some gossip?” Xu Jiujiu said, trying to act cute.

Gao Weilin waved his hands repeatedly. ”I’m just the driver. I don’t know anything.”

”...” Xu Jiujiu opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Sitting at the next table, Chen Yansen overheard the conversation. His gaze rested on Xu Xiangdong’s face, and just by their similar eyes and brows, he guessed their relationship.

But he didn’t pay it much mind, continuing his pleasant conversation with Zhang Renwu from Changhong and Jin Junhua from Rongshida. As they chatted, the topic turned to the upcoming ”418 Home Appliance Festival.”

Jingdong, Sunning, Gome, Dangdang, Yixun, and Pinbei—the six major platforms were in an all-out war across all categories. Although it would impact Changhong’s and Rongshida’s network-wide price control systems, it was also the best opportunity for the two brands to boost their performance.

After all, the platforms shouldered the bulk of the cost for the price differences.

Chen Yansen naturally wouldn’t waste the opportunity. He roped in Zhang Renwu and Jin Junhua and settled on a traffic plan for the second half of the year.

To put it simply: support Pinbei during 418, and Pinbei would throw its weight behind Changhong and Rongshida in the second half of the year.

Zhang Renwu and Jin Junhua were themselves curious; for some reason, they had both agreed very readily.

Even Tao Jingwen and Xu Minggang couldn’t help but exchange a look, their hearts full of doubt: ’Have these two had a change of heart? They’re offering a promotion on par with Singles’ Day right off the bat.’

”Then I must thank President Zhang and President Jin for your support,” Chen Yansen said with a smile, his eyes narrowing slightly.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone was flushed and slightly tipsy.

Chen Yansen had to attend the unveiling ceremony for the Orange Factory the next morning, so he suggested ending the dinner.

Tao Jingwen felt the same way and immediately agreed.

The group slowly walked out of Luzhou Prefecture, got into their respective cars, and waved goodbye.

「Meanwhile.」

In a dormitory at Orange Factory No. 4 in Luyang District, Sun Haiyang tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

”Ocean, what the hell, is your ass hurting or something? Stop tossing around. The bed boards are creaking so much I can’t fall asleep even if I wanted to,” Yao Xin protested from the lower bunk.

”Xinzi, it’s just... I feel like my parents spent over a hundred thousand yuan to put me through college, and the second I graduate, I go to work in a factory tightening screws. The pay is good, I know, but it just sounds bad,” Sun Haiyang said with a pained expression.

”With the kind of university we went to, people joke that we’re one of Luzhou’s ’Four Little Dragons.’ What’s wrong with tightening screws? It pays seven or eight thousand a month!” Yao Xin pursed his lips. He didn’t share Sun Haiyang’s psychological burden.

Some of their other dorm mates went to work as white-collar workers in office buildings, either in telephone sales or online customer service, but when you asked about their salary, it was only three thousand.

Yao Xin hadn’t hesitated for a second before accepting the offer for Production Operator—colloquially known as a screw-tightener—at the Orange Factory.

”You’re both university students from Luzhou?” another middle-aged man in the next bed, who was also awake, asked in a low voice.

”Yeah, Uncle Li,” Sun Haiyang replied.

”Sigh, university students not finding white-collar jobs and coming here to tighten screws instead... I hope my son doesn’t end up as miserable as you two in the future,” the middle-aged man said bluntly.

”...” Sun Haiyang.

”...” Yao Xin.