Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Wang Huiwen didn’t care, and Wang Xin wouldn’t either.

Compared to their order volume, Meituan’s delivery capacity was more than enough. Fulfillment wasn’t an issue.

As for fulfillment quality, after increasing the penalty fees, the delivery satisfaction rate for Meituan’s riders was also rapidly improving.

”Qian Du Delivery is live?”

At Meituan Headquarters, Wang Xin looked at Wang Huiwen across from him and asked.

”Yes. Right now, their business is concentrated in the Haidian and Chaoyang districts,” Wang Huiwen replied.

”One in the east, one in the west, with such a huge gap in between. Li Yanhong is deliberately setting up shop right under our noses. Who’s he trying to piss off?” Wang Xin saw through his opponent’s intentions at a glance, scoffing as he spoke with a cold glint in his eyes.

”The expansion plan for the South China Market is complete. We can pull a team from the Group Buy division to handle the market, operations, and business development. We can just hire riders locally.”

Wang Huiwen continued his report.

”Make sure it doesn’t affect the Group Buy business,” Wang Xin urged, still concerned.

”Okay, I understand.” Wang Huiwen nodded.

As Wang Xin’s right-hand man, Wang Huiwen was keenly aware of the psychological pressure his boss was under. Company management, fundraising, fighting for market share—each task was like a great mountain weighing on his mind.

Starting a business was no easy feat. Entrepreneurs who lacked energy or weren’t sharp enough were often crushed by the fierce market competition in the initial stages, left for dead on the beach.

After Wang Huiwen left, Wang Xin sighed softly. His shoulders slumped, inadvertently revealing his utter exhaustion.

Lately, Meituan had been teetering on the brink of life and death.

Fortunately, they had secured investments from Redwood Capital and Pan-Atlantic Capital. Once the funds arrived, Meituan would be able to hold on.

A niche business track would typically go through several phases: a free-for-all, then a culling from five to four, four to three, and even three to two.

As long as Meituan didn’t fall behind, they were guaranteed a top-three spot in the market at a minimum.

What was the most terrifying thing in a competition?

’Complacency in your own heart!’

At this thought, Wang Xin gradually straightened his back, the fighting spirit reigniting in his chest.

Senlian and Qian Du were certainly powerful, but wasn’t Gaopeng Network, backed by Penguin and Groupon, also powerful back in the day?

’I cut them down all the same, and they became a stepping stone for Meituan!’

This was a happy day for the citizens of Yanjing. The launch of Qian Du Delivery brought everyone another wave of free lunches.

”Well, I’ll be. Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch?”

A netizen from the Yanjing Region quipped on Weibo, their smug tone making netizens in East China and Southern China burn with envy.

「Elsewhere.」

Xiang Hailong, who had taken over as CEO of DiDi Dache, was finally getting a taste of Cheng Wei’s hardships.

Fast Taxi was superior to DiDi Dache in positioning technology, order dispatching, and route planning. Combined with its twice-daily ”first-order discount” subsidy, it left him with absolutely no opening to counterattack.

Furthermore, due to the successful implementation of the ”Thousand Talents, Hundred Cities” plan, Fast Taxi’s coverage had already expanded from North China and East China to the entire Central China Market.

Its average daily order volume reached as high as four million!

Meanwhile, DiDi Dache had barely reached 800,000!

Its operational area was limited to the North China Region; to this day, it still hadn’t entered the East China Market.

Even after pulling staff from various Qian Du departments, they were still short-handed and could only do their best to speed up recruitment.

”President Xiang, our anti-fraud team has discovered a fake-order software called ’Little Milk Cow.’ It’s a complete suite of tools, including phone number receiving, virtual positioning, and trip simulators. The data department traced the order information from Q3 and found that roughly twenty percent of our subsidy funds have gone into the pockets of Gray Studios.”

Just then, a technical director from DiDi’s anti-fraud team knocked and walked into Xiang Hailong’s office, his expression grave.

”How much? Twenty percent?”

Xiang Hailong shot to his feet, questioning him in disbelief.

He had established the anti-fraud team after taking office. In a way, this bad news was actually good news.

By comparison, it made Cheng Wei’s performance look even more lackluster.

”Don’t tip them off yet. Have the parent company step in and work with the Inspection Institute to round them all up at once.”

Xiang Hailong continued.

Banning accounts, IPs, and devices was just a temporary fix, not a root-cause solution. To eliminate the problem completely, they had to uproot the entire industry chain behind it.

Meanwhile, far away in Shencheng City, Brother Hui and his crew had sold another five sets of ”Little Milk Cow” last week.

”Brother Hui, we should rename the product. Why call it ’Little Milk Cow’? It should be ’Big Golden Bull’!”

”HAHAHA, Yaozi’s right! Or how about ’Big Golden Hen’? We’re making millions a month—isn’t this the hen that lays golden eggs?” Liu Zi grinned.

Brother Hui and Ah Zhen exchanged a look, their faces filled with satisfied smiles.

In the past two months, they had made well over ten million just by selling the software.

The Gray Studios in the North China Region were basically all their clients.

They had sold over seventy sets of ”Little Milk Cow” in total, causing immense losses for DiDi Dache.

A swarm of ”wool-pullers” were like barnacles, welded firmly to DiDi’s body, sucking it dry. The marketing funds they had siphoned off were perhaps more than seventy or eighty million.

”It’s not safe to stay in the country. Ah Zhen and I talked it over, and we’re preparing to move the company to An Nan,” Brother Hui said slowly.

In his view, after Qian Du took over DiDi Dache, it was only a matter of time before a tech giant with BAT-level capabilities discovered ”Little Milk Cow.”

If they were caught, given the amount of money involved, they would be looking at seven years minimum.

They had almost been busted last time in Yanjing. The longer Brother Hui stayed in Shencheng City, the more panicked he felt.

”An Nan? It’s a poor, remote backwater. How could it be as comfortable as Shencheng City?” Liu Zi frowned instinctively. He didn’t want to go.

”The girls in An Nan are young, beautiful, and really clingy,” Ah Zhen said with a grin, his eyes narrowed.

Hearing this, Liu Zi’s eyes lit up, his interest instantly piqued.

After the group came to an agreement, they bought tickets for a flight to New Mountain International Airport that very night.

「At the same time.」

After receiving the report from Qian Du and DiDi, the Yanjing Inspection Institute took the matter very seriously and immediately launched an investigation.

But the Gray Studios in the North China Region remained completely oblivious. They were still frantically receiving phone numbers to register new accounts, using randomly generated device IDs and IP addresses to bypass DiDi Dache’s anti-fraud system and fleece the platform for subsidies.

A moderately sized studio could fleece 100,000 a day, easily raking in three million a month.

...

...

「Digital Valley.」

Cheng Wei waved his arms, announcing to all the members of DiDi Bike, ”We’ve secured funding!”

Li Fukei from Innovation Workshop had invested 50 million Hua Yuan, securing the angel investment for DiDi Bike with a post-money valuation of 500 million Hua Yuan.

Could DiDi Bike, which didn’t even have an app yet, really be worth 500 million?

Didn’t Li Fukei understand this?

Cheng Wei knew in his heart that fundraising was just a game of hot potato; as long as someone else was left holding the bag at the end, it was fine.

’As long as the business model is new enough, and you dare to hype it up and know how to package it, you can even take a pile of shit public.’

Especially on the eve of the mobile internet boom, venture capital firms from Europe and America were practically throwing money at Hua Country’s internet projects with their eyes closed.

”President Cheng, you’re awesome!”

”We have money now!”

”DiDi Bike will rise!”

The employees stopped what they were doing and cheered ecstatically.

The boss securing funding meant the project would survive, and their jobs would be safe.

”This week, I’ll prepare the stock option incentive plan. Everyone gets a share,”

Cheng Wei announced loudly.

He had studied Fast Taxi and Kuai Pao, as well as Pinbei and Orange Technology. He treated Chen Yansen’s operational strategies as a business bible. As a dedicated ”Jensen-ology” enthusiast, Cheng Wei naturally wouldn’t pass up a great motivational tool like stock options.

Seeing his subordinates’ reactions, Cheng Wei knew he had made the right move.

That afternoon, Cheng Wei took a team of business development staff and rushed to Jinmen.

Over 300 complete vehicle factories were gathered there, forming a comprehensive supply chain for low-to-mid-range production, with an annual output of nearly 40 million units.

”One million bikes?”

After hearing Cheng Wei’s request, the owners of factories like Feige, Fujida, Colin, and Jie Ma were utterly dumbfounded.

Once they fully understood DiDi Bike’s business model, they were all stunned. Inwardly, they cursed, ’Isn’t this guy an idiot?’

’Leaving bicycles all over the street? Is he inviting thieves to an all-you-can-eat buffet?’