Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Evening at Yanjing Airport. The last of the twilight had faded, and the night was deepening.

Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng walked out of the arrivals gate, one after the other. In the distance, they saw Xiao Jun standing with a smile, waving at them.

”Boss, the car is ready for you. This is your driver, Wang Teng. He’ll be driving you for the next two days,” Xiao Jun said with a smile, striding forward to greet them.

Whoa!

’Another Wang Teng!’

Chen Yansen gave a faint smile and pointed to Song Yuncheng beside him. ”This is Song Yuncheng, the Director of Pinbei’s Key Account Investment Attraction department.”

”President Song, I’ve heard so much about you,” Xiao Jun said politely.

He wasn’t just being polite. Song Yuncheng’s reputation in their circles was genuinely formidable.

As FoxTao’s employee number one, she had later followed Chen Yansen to Pinbei Mall.

The internet’s very first e-commerce automotive marketing proposal was her creation. On top of that, she controlled half of Pinbei’s S- and A-level brand resources. Her standing in the industry was on par with the president of procurement and sales at Jingdong or a division head at Tmall Mall.

”President Xiao, it’s a pleasure,” Song Yuncheng replied politely.

Perhaps it was from following Chen Yansen and meeting so many industry titans, but Song Yuncheng now carried herself with a calm confidence before anyone she met, never obsequious, never arrogant.

She was a completely different person from the young woman two years ago who had stood with her head bowed, pleading with Chen Yansen at Xuyuan for the phone card dealership rights.

”Let’s go.”

Chen Yansen said coolly.

The group arrived at the parking garage. The driver, Wang Teng, jogged a few steps to a Maybach, got in, and pulled it up in front of Chen Yansen.

”Boss, I’ll head back to the company then. See you tomorrow,” Xiao Jun said.

”Yes. I’ll be at Gaode headquarters tomorrow morning.” Chen Yansen gave a slight nod and got into the back seat of the Maybach.

Song Yuncheng sat on his right.

Xiao Jun’s pupils constricted. He understood instantly. He watched the boss’s car disappear into the distance before getting into a Mercedes E300 and heading for 18 Changsheng Road.

The streetscape flew past the window. Chen Yansen glanced out at the Yanjing midsummer of 2012.

Just then, a taxi with the words ’DiDi Dache’ on a sticker at the bottom of its windshield pulled up from behind on the left.

’DiDi Dache?’

’I’m not sure if this DiDi Dache is the same one from my past life.’

’After all, I’ve already changed the internet landscape beyond recognition.’

At this thought, he took out his phone and called Gao Weilin. ”Old Gao, help me check if there’s an online ride-hailing app in Yanjing called DiDi Dache. Yes, send the info to me as soon as possible.”

”DiDi Dache? I didn’t expect a competitor to Fast Taxi to appear in the northern market so quickly.”

After Chen Yansen hung up, Song Yuncheng’s delicate brow furrowed as she remarked unconsciously.

”Actually, Yanjing already had a ride-hailing app called Yaoyao Zhaoche. Cheng Weixing discovered it last year when he was researching the northern market, but their business was mainly car rentals, so we didn’t pay much attention at the time.”

”After the new year, they probably saw Fast Taxi’s business model and switched from car rentals to ride-hailing. What surprises me is that, besides Yaoyao Zhaoche, there’s now a DiDi Dache too,” Chen Yansen explained unhurriedly.

He knew that no matter how niche the market, it was impossible for a single company or product to achieve a complete monopoly.

”Fast Taxi needs to enter the Yanjing market as soon as possible. Otherwise, once they’ve carved up the market, it will be much harder to try and take it back,” Song Yuncheng said softly.

”Rushing won’t help. Let’s wait for Old Gao to get the details,” Chen Yansen said, unconcerned.

’The fiercer the competition, the bigger the market for ride-hailing services would become!’

’If Fast Taxi were alone, conquering territory city by city, it would have to both cultivate the market and its user base while also facing pressure from the Transportation Association.’

’A few more rivals would only push Fast Taxi to accelerate its expansion.’

Half an hour later, the driver stopped the car at the entrance of the Delta Hotel.

This place was only a ten-minute drive from the venue for the Xiaomi new product launch.

Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng completed the check-in procedures and took the elevator to an executive suite on the top floor.

”I’m going to take a shower. You think about what you want for dinner.”

Chen Yansen took off his shirt, revealing clearly defined muscles, and spoke to Song Yuncheng. When he reached the bathroom door, he turned his head and asked, ”Want to join?”

Even though she had seen it countless times, Song Yuncheng couldn’t help but gulp. ’His body is incredible,’ she thought.

”I’ll go book a restaurant,” Song Yuncheng replied with a smile.

Chen Yansen said nothing and stepped into the bathroom.

When he finished showering and walked out wrapped in a towel, a call came in from Gao Weilin.

”Boss, I’ve looked into it. Xiaoju Technology was registered as a company in February, and their product went live at the end of April. Their operations are mainly concentrated around the Yanjing Airport terminals. Driver registrations are under 300, and user registrations are under ten thousand. So far, they’ve only secured a round of angel investment from Today Capital. The exact amount is unclear, but judging by DiDi Dache’s promotional push, it’s 3 million at most.”

Gao Weilin began his report slowly.

”Get in touch with Cheng Weixing,” Chen Yansen ordered. ”Have him pull together a team and send them to Yanjing.”

”Yes, Boss. Understood,” Gao Weilin replied.

”Good work. Clock out early.”

With that, Chen Yansen hung up and changed into some casual clothes.

”What are we eating?” Chen Yansen asked, looking at Song Yuncheng after he was dressed.

”Cantonese. The reviews on Dianping look pretty good.” Song Yuncheng handed him her phone.

Chen Yansen glanced at it. It was a Cantonese restaurant in Yidi Port, very close and not expensive. He nodded without objection.

While Song Yuncheng was taking a shower, Chen Yansen dialed Zhang Chaoyang’s number. ”Old Zhang, I’m in Yanjing. Treat me to dinner.”

”Don’t call me Old Zhang!” Zhang Chaoyang snapped. ”I told you, the security guard at Sohu is named Old Zhang. Last time I invited you to swim across the Weihai Strait, you flaked. Now you want me to treat you to dinner? Fat chance!”

”I brought two bottles of good wine for you,” Chen Yansen added.

”Fine. Wait for me to arrange it.” After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Chaoyang readily agreed.

Chen Yansen smiled and put down his phone.

’He was genuinely grateful to Old Zhang. If not for his intervention, Toutiao’s copyright issues would never have been resolved so smoothly.’

Zhang Chaoyang’s title as a first-generation internet ’godfather’ wasn’t just for show. He had good relationships with the Sect Leaders of both NetEase and Sina.

At seven that evening, Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng went to the Cantonese restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

It wasn’t until 8:30 that Zhang Chaoyang sent an address.

”Want to go to a bar?” Chen Yansen asked.

”I’ve never been.” Song Yuncheng pursed her lips, not giving a direct answer.

”Then I’ll take you tonight,” Chen Yansen said, putting down his chopsticks.

The two left Yidi Port and took a car to the bar where Zhang Chaoyang was.

’It was hard to imagine that the Chairman of Sohu’s daily routine consisted of singing, hiking, swimming, and drinking.’

When he arrived and pushed open the door of the private room, he saw a line of beautiful women.

Zhang Chaoyang was about to greet him, but his smile froze the moment he saw Song Yuncheng. ’Shit,’ he thought.

Song Yuncheng was slightly taken aback; she hadn’t expected such a scene.

’Old Zhang, you weren’t like this before, were you?’ Chen Yansen shot him a look.

’We weren’t that close back then,’ Zhang Chaoyang’s eyes seemed to reply.

”President Zhang, how about we find a quieter spot?” Chen Yansen suggested.

”Sure. Actually, I don’t know any of these women. I walked into the wrong room. You believe me, right?” Zhang Chaoyang said with a dry, shameless laugh.

”I believe you. This is Pinbei’s Director of Key Account Investment Attraction, Song Yuncheng. She’s also my...” Chen Yansen began to introduce her.

”I get it, I understand.” Zhang Chaoyang turned, threw down two wads of cash, and followed Chen Yansen out of the private room.

The three of them picked a quiet spot on the second floor, where they could see the performance stage on the first floor without it being too noisy.

Zhang Chaoyang took the two bottles of wine from Chen Yansen, his eyes lighting up. ”You’ve put some real thought into this,” he said, satisfied.

Although he told the public he didn’t drink, that was just to fool the media.

His career had been struggling for the past two years, and after several failed attempts to turn things around, Zhang Chaoyang had finally given up and accepted his fate.

’To hell with work!’

Sleeping at the company during the day and getting drunk at bars at night became President Zhang’s daily routine.

”Ding Lei called me last night. Said NetEase is also going to make a phone. What do you think?” Zhang Chaoyang raised his glass, clinked it against Chen Yansen’s, and asked with a smile.

”That’s great. The probability of success is no less than 50%,” Chen Yansen said with a grin.

”Did 360 Mobile Phone really sell 400,000 units?” Zhang Chaoyang rolled his eyes and then asked.

”To be precise, the total sales in one week were 430,000 units.” Chen Yansen took a sip of wine, savored it for a few seconds, and then told the truth.

”That’s just ridiculous,” Zhang Chaoyang said, the corner of his mouth twitching in disbelief.

”The barrier to entry in the phone industry is deceiving. For those who understand it, it’s easy to clear. Zhou Hongyi’s method was just particularly clever. He sacrificed hardware profits, which saved him the trouble of system R&D, hardware design, and building a supply chain. If Sohu wants to make a phone, I can provide you with technical support,” Chen Yansen said casually.

’A year from now, Motorola would even propose the concept of a modular phone.’

’Simply put, it involved manufacturing components like the processor, camera, memory, communications, wireless, and battery separately, then assembling them using a universal interface.’

’If a user felt the screen was too small, they could directly swap in a larger one. If they felt the battery capacity was too low, they could swap in a larger battery. All the modules were like pieces of a puzzle or building blocks.’

’Users would only need to buy the modules they wanted and assemble the phone at home.’

’Even Xiaomi had toyed with the idea of developing a modular phone.’

’Although this type of product never gained favor with the market or users, it showed that making a phone really wasn’t that difficult—no different from assembling building blocks.’

’The difficult part was how to become number one in the country, or even the world, in terms of sales.’

”Forget it. Not interested. Let’s drink.” Zhang Chaoyang waved his hand, looking completely uninterested.

Chen Yansen raised his glass in response. ’It seems Zhou Hongyi’s success has really emboldened a lot of people,’ he thought.

The two chatted until 10:30, then Chen Yansen got up to leave.

After seeing the two of them off into their car, Zhang Chaoyang turned and went back to the second floor to continue partying.

The next morning, Chen Yansen followed his schedule. He first went to Gaode, spoke with the heads of various departments one by one, chatted until noon, and then had lunch with Xiao Jun and others at a nearby restaurant.

Afterward, he left Gaode headquarters and took a car to the 798 Art Center.

When he arrived, it was exactly 1:40, so he wasn’t late.

After getting out of the car, Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng walked toward the conference hall where the launch event was being held. Just as they reached the entrance, they saw a Xiaomi staff member saying to a heavy-set man: ”Teacher Luo, let’s take a photo together. Yes, if it’s convenient, could you help hold up this promotional sign?”

Luo Yonghao didn’t think much of it. He took the sign, gave a slight smile for the camera, and snapped a photo he would regret for years to come.

’Huh?’

’Chen Yansen from Orange Technology?’

Luo Yonghao quickly put down the sign, trotted over, and introduced himself. ”President Chen, hello. I’m Luo Yonghao from Hammer Technology. Could I have two minutes of your time?”

Chen Yansen was walking along when he saw a heavy-set man rushing toward him from a distance. The man’s hair was messy, he wore black-framed glasses, and he was panting.

’Who?’

’Luo Yonghao?’

Chen Yansen frowned slightly, looking the man up and down.