Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

After the press conference, Xiaomi arranged a dinner reception for its core suppliers and some industry peers.

It was only then that Luo Yonghao realized how sly Lei Yijun was. He hadn’t given him any opportunity to get close to the suppliers.

Unlike Luo Yonghao, Chen Yansen was, of course, on the guest list.

The moment he entered the banquet hall, Chen Yongming of OPPO sidled up to him and teased with a smile, ”I heard you poached President Duan’s last disciple?”

”The CEO position at Pinbei is hardly an insult to Huang Zheng.”

Chen Yansen raised an eyebrow and replied coolly.

OPPO’s Find 3, which was released in February, and its upcoming Finder were both slated to use Orange Technology’s memory-cleaning algorithm. The two men were rivals, but also partners.

With the added connection through Huang Zheng, it was a rare occasion for Chen Yongming to proactively come over and say hello.

”Sigh. It looks like Zhou Hongyi really backed Lei Yijun into a corner. The Xiaomi 1S dropped from 1,999 yuan to 1,299 yuan. He must be thrilled, but now life is miserable for OPPO.”

Chen Yongming sighed, glaring at Lei Yijun in the distance, his eyes filled with resentment.

The OPPO Find 3, which had only been on the market for a few months, also had a four-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, a two-megapixel front camera, and an eight-megapixel rear camera. The only thing it had over the Xiaomi 1S was 12GB more storage, but that wasn’t nearly enough to justify its 3,699 yuan price tag.

That’s right, the launch price for the OPPO Find 3 was 3,699 yuan!

Chen Yansen glanced at Chen Yongming, wondering where the man got the nerve. Even Orange Technology had only dared to price the Orange C2 at 2,699 yuan. How dare OPPO sell the Find 3—with hardware and software far inferior to the Orange C2—for 3,699 yuan?

Now that the Xiaomi MI2 was out, anyone who still bought an OPPO Find 3 either never went online or simply had more money than sense.

”So, President Chen, are you going to adjust the specs and price of the OPPO Finder?” Chen Yansen asked, looking at Chen Yongming with a playful smirk.

”If I don’t, we’re dead in the water! If you and Lei Yijun hadn’t come in and stirred the pot, the Find 3 would’ve sold more than just a few tens of thousands of units.”

Chen Yongming snapped.

Tens of thousands?

Chen Yansen paused for a moment. ’I really underestimated the number of fools out there,’ he thought.

The two of them hadn’t been chatting for long before Yu Chengdong from Huawei came over. He pulled them over to a table, where representatives from suppliers like Qualcomm, Sony, Jingdongfang, and BYD were gathered.

”President Chen, good to see you,” the representative from Jingdongfang greeted Chen Yansen respectfully.

After all, Senlian Capital held 10.9% of Jingdongfang’s equity. As the third-largest shareholder, Chen Yansen wielded considerable influence within the company.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly and exchanged a few pleasantries with the man.

He glanced around the table. Most of the suppliers were smiling, but the expressions on the faces of the smartphone manufacturer representatives from companies like OPPO, Huawei, and Coolpad were far more complicated.

It was clear from their conversations with the suppliers that they all felt the same way as Chen Yongming and planned to go back and adjust the specs and pricing strategies for their new products.

”President Chen, my apologies. It’s been a hectic day. Let’s find some time tomorrow, and I’ll make it up to you properly,” Lei Yijun said, walking up to Chen Yansen with a wine glass in hand. He smiled broadly, putting on the air of an inattentive host.

”You’re too kind, President Lei. Here’s to the success of the Xiaomi Mobile Phone!” Chen Yansen raised his own glass and clinked it against Lei Yijun’s.

”Thank you for the good wishes, President Chen. My goal isn’t too ambitious. I’ll be happy with a total of 10 million units in annual sales.”

Lei Yijun’s confidence had soared after the press conference when he learned that the online reception for the Xiaomi MI2 and Xiaomi 1S was quite positive.

Chen Yongming frowned, cursing inwardly. ’Ten million units isn’t ambitious? What a show-off.’

Yu Chendong and Coolpad’s Guo Yingde exchanged a look and spat inwardly. ’So it’s just a game of price-to-performance, huh? As if Huawei and Coolpad can’t play that game?’

The two of them decided then and there that they would go back and develop a 2,000-yuan phone specifically to compete with Xiaomi.

「Meanwhile.」

Cheng Weixing had transferred a group of his core team members from Hang City and Jinling, and they had rushed to Yanjing overnight. He was preparing to nip his competitor in the bud.

Early the next morning, he and his assistant found their way to the DiDi Dache office.

”KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!”

His assistant stepped forward to knock.

The DiDi Dache receptionist looked up and asked, ”Hello, welcome to DiDi Dache. Who are you looking for?”

”Is Cheng Wei in? Please let him know that Cheng Weixing from Fast Taxi is here to see him,” Cheng Weixing said.

’Fast Taxi?’

’Aren’t they our competitor?’

The DiDi Dache receptionist looked confused, but she had heard the name Cheng Weixing before and knew he was the CEO of Fast Taxi.

So, without thinking too much about it, she picked up the landline on her desk and called Cheng Wei’s office.

”President Cheng, the head of Fast Taxi is here,” the receptionist said.

”Cheng Weixing?” Cheng Wei responded instantly, pressing for confirmation.

”Yes,” the receptionist replied.

”I understand.” Cheng Wei frowned slightly. After hanging up, he began walking out of his office, mulling over the purpose of Cheng Weixing’s visit.

But even by the time he had crossed the main office area and laid eyes on Cheng Weixing, he still hadn’t figured it out.

”Cheng Wei?” Cheng Weixing asked, confirming the identity of the man who approached.

”President Cheng, hello. I’m Cheng Wei, the project lead for DiDi Dache.” Cheng Wei extended his right hand, holding it in mid-air.

”A pleasure to meet you. I’m Cheng Weixing, CEO of Fast Taxi,” Cheng Weixing said with a smile as he firmly grasped Cheng Wei’s hand.

As he spoke, he took a moment to observe Cheng Wei. The man didn’t look very old, about the same age as himself. He was fair-skinned and clean-cut, with a scholarly air and a pair of glasses. He looked more like a teacher than an entrepreneur.

Cheng Wei was also sizing up Cheng Weixing in turn. Dressed in a crisp suit and followed by an assistant, he couldn’t have been much older than thirty. He was young, too.

But their circumstances were vastly different. Cheng Weixing was backed by Senlian Capital, which gave him whatever money and resources he needed. Just two months after launching, he had raised 90 million US Dollars at a valuation of over 600 million US Dollars.

He, on the other hand, had a much more pathetic story. He and his colleagues had scraped together 800,000, only to be ripped off first by an outsourcing company and then again by a technical partner. It was only after struggling to secure 2 million in financing that he was finally able to develop and launch DiDi Dache.

If Fast Taxi’s journey had been blessed by the heavens, then DiDi Dache’s was a catastrophic start. There was simply no comparison.

”President Cheng, please, come in. Let’s sit down and talk,” Cheng Wei said, leading Cheng Weixing down a hallway and into a cramped conference room.

Walking through the office, Cheng Weixing had only seen about twenty employees. Even counting the street promotion teams, he guessed DiDi Dache’s total staff size couldn’t be more than fifty people.

At that moment, he felt a surge of confidence.

Once they were seated, Cheng Wei got straight to the point. ”President Cheng, you’ve come all the way from Hang City to Yanjing. What is it you wanted to discuss?”

”I’d like to buy DiDi Dache for 20 million,” Cheng Weixing answered with a smile.

’The best way to eliminate a competitor is to acquire them. Plus, Fast Taxi could integrate DiDi Dache’s resources and expand its market share in Yanjing at the same time.’

Cheng Wei was stunned. He never imagined Cheng Weixing would open with an offer to buy out DiDi Dache completely.

’Is he scared of us?’

Cheng Wei shook his head instinctively. ”I’m sorry, President Cheng, but I have no intention of selling the company at this time.”

He hadn’t resigned from his position as the general manager of Wealth Treasure’s B2C division just to walk away with a paltry ten or twenty million.

”Fast Taxi is entering the Yanjing ride-hailing market tomorrow. We’re offering a 10 yuan subsidy for new users and a 2 yuan subsidy for drivers on every ride. How much money does DiDi Dache have on its books? Can you even last a month?” Cheng Weixing sneered.

Money was power. He had 500 million yuan ready to burn and could keep up the subsidies until DiDi Dache couldn’t get a single ride.

Cheng Wei opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it again, swallowing his words in resignation. He knew that if their roles were reversed, he would make the exact same choice as Cheng Weixing.

There was no reason for Fast Taxi to stand by and let DiDi Dache grow into a real threat.

”President Cheng, the ride-hailing market is huge,” Cheng Wei said, his expression strained. ”You’re doing very well in the south. There’s no need for you to come wade into the murky waters of the north.”

”From the sound of it, President Cheng, you seem to think the northern market already belongs to you?” Cheng Weixing retorted with a smile.

”The market is big enough to accommodate both Fast Taxi and DiDi. There’s no need for us to needlessly burn through our marketing budgets just for the Yanjing market,” Cheng Wei urged patiently.

’My strategy is simple,’ he thought. ’Stall for time! Once DiDi Dache secures the Yanjing market and built up its order volume, I will have a much stronger negotiating position with investors. And once I get more funding, what reason would I have to fear Cheng Weixing?’

”President Cheng, if you sell the company to Fast Taxi, you’ll immediately receive a handsome payout. If you want to stay in the ride-hailing industry, I can even introduce you to Mr. Chen at Senlian Capital,” Cheng Weixing said, his tone softening slightly as he smiled.

”I’m sorry, but for the time being, I will not be selling DiDi Dache,” Cheng Wei refused once more.

”In that case, President Cheng, let’s let our products do the talking.”

Cheng Weixing stood up, looking down on Cheng Wei.

In his eyes, selling DiDi Dache to Fast Taxi was Cheng Wei’s best and only option. ’When it comes to a contest of raw power, DiDi Dache is no match for us!’

The meeting ended on a sour note. Cheng Wei politely escorted Cheng Weixing to the door.

Staring at Cheng Weixing’s departing figure, Cheng Wei knew one thing for certain: ’Fast Taxi won’t be an easy opponent. This fight is inevitable.’

In reality, if Cheng Weixing had come to Yanjing just three days earlier, Cheng Wei might have actually agreed to the offer.

But just yesterday, an investor from Today Capital had taken him on a trip to the Qian Du Headquarters. Not only had he secured access to the Qian Du Map data API, but he had also received a strategic investment of 30 million yuan.

Although his own equity stake had been significantly diluted once again, the deal gave DiDi Dache the power to truly compete with Fast Taxi.

After leaving Digital Valley, Cheng Weixing still couldn’t figure out why Cheng Wei had refused his proposal to be acquired by Fast Taxi.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered, Cheng Weixing had been certain there was a high probability that Cheng Wei would accept, which was the only reason he had bothered to visit in person.

’Unless... I’m missing some crucial piece of information.’

Suddenly, a thought struck Cheng Weixing like a lightning bolt: ’Could DiDi Dache have secured another round of funding?’

’Fuck it! Who cares! Since Cheng Wei wants to go head-to-head, I’ll be happy to see what he’s really made of.’

Back at his hotel, Cheng Weixing immediately began planning his next moves: accelerate driver and user acquisition, find a permanent office space, and recruit a street team.

”Hong Jun, what’s DiDi Dache’s commission rate?” Cheng Weixing asked his head of the Market Department after giving out his instructions.

While he had been visiting the DiDi Dache headquarters that afternoon, Hong Jun had taken a team to Terminal 3 of Yanjing Airport to gather intel on DiDi Dache’s operational strategy.

”Twelve percent. Same as ours,” Hong Jun replied.

”So what should we set Fast Taxi’s commission rate at in Yanjing? Ten percent? Or eight?” Cheng Weixing asked.

”Well, during the initial market expansion phase, first-time orders from new customers usually account for over eighty percent of the business anyway. Why don’t we just offer a commission-free period? The promotional impact would probably be better than just lowering the rate,” Hong Jun suggested after a moment’s thought.

”Fine. Fourteen days, commission-free, for new drivers. Let’s see how long Cheng Wei can hold out!” Cheng Weixing said, his eyes narrowing coldly.