Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

In late August, a gentle breeze swept through Xucheng, adding a touch of coolness to the evening.

At the entrance of the Sky Garden Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the city center, Chen Yansen offered a faint smile to the middle-aged man who had come forward to greet him, then took another two steps forward.

”Mr. Ma, are you here for the Orange Mobile Phone product launch?”

Chen Yansen stopped and asked Ma Wenteng.

”What do you think, President Chen?”

Ma Wenteng smiled, shaking Chen Yansen’s right hand as he replied with a noncommittal question of his own.

”It’s not important, is it?” Chen Yansen said with a shrug.

”We’ve only met two or three times, yet Penguin has already invested five or six hundred million US dollars in you. If I didn’t make a trip to Xucheng, I’d have to pay you a visit in Luzhou.”

Ma Wenteng teased, a smile in his eyes.

Liu Zhiping stood to the side, followed by an entourage of four people who looked like bodyguards and assistants.

The news that Senlian Capital had purchased 470,000 square meters of industrial land in Luzhou to build its headquarters had already spread throughout their circles.

”Mr. Ma, are you not confident in my abilities, or are you not confident in my projects?”

Chen Yansen bantered back casually, then nodded to Liu Zhiping in a simple greeting.

”Martin, see? This kid hasn’t changed a bit from two years ago. Just as confident and audacious.”

Ma Wenteng nudged Liu Zhiping beside him and shook his head with a helpless smile.

Although his expression was teasing, his eyes were full of admiration.

In Chen Yansen, he saw a reflection of his younger self—dashing and spirited, full of ambition.

In fact, in terms of business achievements, Chen Yansen had already far surpassed him at the same age.

After all, when he was twenty, he was still holed up in a computer lab at Shencheng University, banging out code. Chen Yansen, on the other hand, had already become a major mover and shaker in the Hua Country business community.

”Talented people are usually like that,” Liu Zhiping said, pushing up his glasses and playing along.

”Mmm, Martin has a point.” Ma Wenteng nodded in agreement.

Chen Yansen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Here were two men, one worth over forty billion and the other over two billion, teaming up to poke fun at him.

”Mr. Ma, this is Orange Technology’s new CFO, Zhou Shouzhi, and this is the Director of Orange Technology’s Brand Department, Ye Qiuping.”

Chen Yansen changed the subject, gesturing to Zhou Shouzhi as he made the introduction.

As for Gao Weilin, Senlian Capital’s general manager, Ma Wenteng and Liu Zhiping were already familiar with him from Pinbei’s financing collaboration, so there was no need for a formal introduction.

”A pleasure to meet you.” Ma Wenteng’s gaze swept over Zhou Shouzhi and Ye Qiuping.

He recognized Zhou Shouzhi, the co-founder of DST Capital’s Great China Region. It was said that his wife’s family was quite influential in North American financial circles.

While he hadn’t heard of Ye Qiuping, the fact that Chen Yansen brought her along meant she was most likely one of his trusted insiders.

Therefore, Ma Wenteng gave them due respect, shaking their hands and exchanging pleasantries without a hint of arrogance.

”Mr. Ma, let’s go inside and talk.”

Chen Yansen glanced around. Passersby had already recognized him and Ma Wenteng and were gathering in small groups, discussing them. Some had even raised their phones.

”Stop with the ’Mr. Ma.’ Just call me Pony, like Martin does.”

Ma Wenteng agreed, turning to walk into the hotel side-by-side with Chen Yansen.

In his eyes, Chen Yansen, who controlled companies like Orange Technology, Pinbei, and Cloud Speed Express, had long since earned the right to be his equal.

”Alright, Pony! But... everyone else calls me Brother Sen, so...”

Chen Yansen replied agreeably, his tone deadpan.

Ma Wenteng froze for a second, his expression stiffening. The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to suppress a laugh, but Liu Zhiping couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

Looking slightly awkward, Ma Wenteng shot Liu Zhiping a look. He had underestimated the extent of Chen Yansen’s shamelessness—the kid was actually trying to gain a bit of seniority over him.

”Just kidding,” Chen Yansen added with a grin.

”Asen, let’s go inside and take our time.”

Ma Wenteng pulled Chen Yansen along, heading straight for the elevators.

The group went to a private room on the top floor and took their seats. Gao Weilin called a waitress over and asked her to fetch two bottles of fine wine that Chen Yansen had previously stored at the hotel.

”When it comes to business, Asen, you’re really something else. Good-looking and sharp as a tack. In this search engine war, you’ve been hiding in the background, chipping away at a good chunk of the market share, haven’t you?”

Ma Wenteng asked unhurriedly, taking off his suit jacket to reveal a white dress shirt.

”Only 4%. Not even half of what 360 Search has,” Chen Yansen replied casually.

’4%? Only?’

Ma Wenteng snorted. ”Penguin Soso has been around for six years, and our market share is only 2.9%,” he said irritably.

’You guys are that pathetic and you want to compare with me?’

Chen Yansen couldn’t help but roast him internally, but outwardly he offered some consolation. ”Penguin’s home turf is in gaming and social media. Every company has its strengths and weaknesses. You can’t be dominant in everything.”

In 2011, Penguin’s total annual revenue was 29.2 billion, with its gaming division accounting for 64% and advertising revenue for 21%.

In reality, however, Penguin’s business lines spanned more than twenty different sectors, yet very few of them were profitable.

This showed that when it came to monetization, Ma Huateng’s methods for Penguin were rather uninspired beyond gaming and advertising.

To put it bluntly, Penguin’s current business model was highly dependent on monetizing its social media traffic through games. Its e-commerce, group buy, search, and security products were all a mess, clinging to Penguin like parasites, consuming resources without producing any results.

”Have you ever thought about getting into gaming, Asen?” Ma Wenteng asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tested the waters.

”I’m not particularly interested in the gaming industry. I’m happy to leave that to Penguin, NetEase, Perfect, and Shanda. As long as Orange Technology focuses on making great terminal devices, we can still earn a hefty profit from the gaming industry.”