Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

ID card, graduation certificate, degree certificate, a student record printout, a bank card, a suit, an evening gown, a slip dress... Huh, there’s even a G-string. ’That’s Teacher Ye for you.’

’Other than the ID card, most of these documents are probably fake.’

He barely believed a single punctuation mark of anything Ye Qiuping said.

Unable to sleep, Chen Yansen pulled out his phone and started a chat with Meng Jie.

”Aren’t you in room 0418?” Meng Jie asked.

”Ma Wenteng came to Xucheng. I’m out at a business dinner tonight,” Chen Yansen replied.

”The boss of Penguin, Ma Wenteng?” Meng Jie asked, just to be sure.

”Yup. Send me a pic. President Chen is going vegetarian tonight—I’m only looking at legs,” Chen Yansen teased.

”I’m not sending you anything,” Meng Jie replied, lying on her dorm bed with a faint, tight-lipped smile.

Two minutes later, after getting no reply from him, she finally understood. Rolling her eyes, she snapped a picture of her calves and sent it over.

Chen Yansen replied instantly with an evaluation: ”Nice. I like what I see.”

Meng Jie’s eyes crinkled in a giggle, but she typed back, ”You pervert!”

After his fun with Meng Jie, Chen Yansen opened his chat with Song Yuncheng.

”Want to get crayfish after work?”

”Aren’t you at the office?”

”Don’t drink too much. If you get back early, I’ll go to room 0418 and make you some tea to sober up.”

All three were unread messages.

Chen Yansen leaned against the headboard and stuck his hands under the comforter. He grabbed a hamburger-shaped plushie with his left hand while dialing Song Yuncheng with his right.

His hands could never be idle when he was on the phone.

The sleeping Ye Qiuping let out a soft murmur, completely unaware.

”Is the dinner over? I heard Mr. Ma from Penguin is in town. Is he coming to visit Pinbei tomorrow? Do we need to prepare?” Song Yuncheng launched right into work the moment she answered.

”Pony is going to the Science and Technology Park tomorrow morning. I’ve already given Huang Zheng a heads-up. The press conference is in the afternoon, so there’s no scheduling conflict,” Chen Yansen replied.

”Are you at Sky Garden?” Song Yuncheng asked.

”Checking up on me?” Chen Yansen retorted, his brow furrowing in displeasure.

”No, of course not. I’m just concerned about where President Chen is sleeping tonight. Didn’t you say last time that you weren’t used to sleeping alone? How about I come over?” Song Yuncheng said with a laugh.

Chen Yansen glanced at Ye Qiuping beside him and replied with perfect composure, ”No, it’s too late. I’m heading back tomorrow anyway. I’ve slept by myself since I was a kid, so I’m used to it.”

”Well, get some rest. Make sure to drink plenty of water after all that alcohol. If you feel sick... call me,” Song Yuncheng said, her voice full of concern.

”Okay,” Chen Yansen replied before promptly hanging up.

That night, many people lay awake.

Chen Yizhou wondered why Chen Yansen wasn’t answering his calls. Was it a stalling tactic, or had he already given up on acquiring Nuomi Network?

’Do I really have to sell Nuomi Network for 160 million US Dollars?’

Chen Yizhou opened the weekly financial report. A quick glance was enough to make his head throb.

Meituan, Lashou, Dianping, Nuomi Network, and WoWo Group—the five major platforms were locked in a free-for-all, with the predatory Kuai Pao lurking on the sidelines.

To capture market share and user traffic, everyone had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep burning cash. Whoever was left standing would be the ultimate victor of the Group Buy Wars.

But whether this process would take one year, two years, or even three to five years, no one could say.

Losing 30 to 40 million US Dollars a year, Chen Yizhou was now in the same position as Wang Xin, the man who had sold him Xiaonei Network six years prior.

The market pressure was immense, and capital was drying up—venture capitalists weren’t willing to open their wallets.

It was either find more funding or sell. There was no third option.

Qian Du had abandoned Nuomi and acquired Lashou Network instead. This not only foiled his plans but also gave Nuomi a new, even more powerful enemy.

He was sick of the Group Buy market; he didn’t want to be in this game for another day.

His original bottom line had been 200 million US Dollars. Now, after all the back-and-forth, he had silently lowered it by another 40 million, bringing it down to Chen Yansen’s initial offer.

「Meanwhile.」

Liu Qiangdong, also in Yanjing, was just as frustrated. Jingdong had lost its title as the number two in e-commerce. Squeezed by Taobao and Pinbei, and with Sunning, Gome, and Yixun also vying for a piece of the pie, Jingdong’s daily sales had dropped to around 400 million.

The numbers from their big sales events looked good on the surface, but he knew the truth: they were artificially inflated by massive coupons—the ’150 off 199,’ ’500 off 2,000,’ and ’800 off 5,000’ variety.

With the IPO plans stalled, fundraising going poorly, and being squeezed from all sides by competitors like Taobao and Pinbei, Liu Qiangdong couldn’t help but think, ’This is too much.’

Luckily, he had managed to grasp a lifeline.

If he could just secure the top-tier traffic portals on QQ and WeChat, then—forget about surpassing Pinbei’s daily active users and sales for a moment—at the very least, Jingdong wouldn’t be in such a passive position when it came to fundraising.

He had approached every investor he could think of, both at home and abroad. But as soon as they heard about Jingdong’s revenue, cash flow, and market share, they all shook their heads and declined.

In the investors’ eyes, Jingdong’s model was too ”heavy.” It didn’t look like an internet company at all, but rather a cumbersome, slow-moving beast with high overhead and poor resilience.

Pinbei had left Jingdong in the dust in less than a year, which seemed to prove that the Amazon model might not be viable in Hua Country.

”Sir, you’re still here?”

Just then, Zhuang Yujia, the director of procurement for small home appliances, saw the deeply troubled Liu Qiangdong as she passed his office.

”You haven’t left either, have you?” Liu Qiangdong asked with a smile, his somber expression vanishing.

”I made drunken crab and marinated edamame.” Zhuang Yujia glanced around, and seeing that they were alone, she asked boldly.

The implication was obvious.

”Alright, let’s go to your place,” Liu Qiangdong said, grabbing his coat. He wanted to unwind, too. The pressure lately had been immense, and he desperately needed a release.

The two of them went to the underground parking garage, got into the same car, and drove off toward a mixed-use commercial and residential complex.

「At the same time.」

In a private room at a Hu City club, Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao were cursing Ma Liyun to the empty air, holding nothing back.

”Looks like Ah Li is really out of cash!” After several minutes of cursing, Yu Weijiao threw up his hands in resignation.

Yuantong Express’s daily pickups were down to just 600,000 parcels. Shentong was doing slightly better, but not by much, barely holding on at 800,000.

The investment Ma Liyun had promised had yet to materialize.

Yu Weijiao figured that Ah Li had spent over 7 billion US Dollars buying back Yahoo’s stake, so it was understandable they were short on cash.

”No money? He just doesn’t want to give *us* the money!”

Chen Dejun snorted. ”Ah Li invested 96 million US Dollars in Fast Taxi’s Series B funding. And I heard that when Ma Liyun was talking to Fuxing Group and Fuchun Group, he let slip that the initial investment in Cainiao Logistics would be around 5 billion Hua Yuan, with Ah Li putting up half.”

”For real?” Yu Weijiao shot to his feet, his eyes wide with fury as he demanded an answer.

”Would I lie to you about this?” Chen Dejun took a hard drag on his cigar, the nicotine finally easing some of the agitation in his heart.

”Fuck! E-commerce Ma is a treacherous bastard. The man sells counterfeit goods, what credibility could he possibly have?”

Yu Weijiao paced anxiously in front of Chen Dejun, cursing Ma Liyun and his entire family to hell and back.

But then a thought struck him. He slapped his forehead and asked, baffled, ”If he has the money, why won’t he give it to us?”

”What other reason could there be? He’s waiting for us to be on our last legs so he can acquire us for cheap.”

Chen Dejun shook his head. ’Yu Weijiao is shrewd enough in day-to-day matters,’ he thought, ’but when a real crisis hits, his true colors always show.’

”Better to sell to Senlian than Ah Li. Chen Yansen is an open villain, but Ma Liyun is a hypocrite.” Yu Weijiao plopped back into his seat and drained his glass in one gulp.

”Chen Yansen is the one who put us in this miserable state. Are you really okay with that?” Chen Dejun put down his cigar, seeming to ask both Yu Weijiao and himself.

”Does it matter?” Yu Weijiao asked, looking up with a bitter smile.

”What if we go to Chen Yansen together? If we team up, we’ll have more leverage in negotiations. What do you think?” Chen Dejun suggested.

”Fine.” Yu Weijiao was silent for a long moment before nodding heavily. His eyes were red. More than a decade of his life’s work, and he was being forced to just hand it over. The feeling was utterly bleak.