Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

’Time to check my weight!’

As the thought crossed his mind, Chen Yansen gestured with his hand, and the body fat scale next to the bookshelf immediately flew to his feet.

kilograms!

He was originally 97.3 kilograms. He had gained over 20 kilograms in one go.

But judging by his build, he looked like he weighed 80 kilograms at most. The rest of the weight was all in his density.

Then, Chen Yansen wrapped his Spiritual Power around his waist twice and stepped back on the scale. His weight instantly dropped by two kilograms, showing 116.

A dozen or so seconds later, under the regulation of his Spiritual Power, his weight returned to 97 kilograms. But Chen Yansen then wrapped it five more times, controlling his weight at 87 kilograms.

This way, he wouldn’t look out of the ordinary.

As for his strength?

Chen Yansen felt it had multiplied several times over, but he had no way to measure it precisely. When his constitution was at 10 points, he could lift a car half a meter high with one hand. Now it was 31.16; he could probably fling a car through the air.

The gym at the East Gate of Xuyuan definitely couldn’t measure his upper limit of strength. After a moment of thought, he came up with a technical solution. By using an industrial-grade hydraulic force gauge and dynamic force sensors, he could jury-rig a heavy-duty strength-testing machine.

After clarifying his thoughts, Chen Yansen made a list of the equipment and sent it to Zuo Hongyu of Orange Mobile Phone, putting him in charge of procurement.

Additionally, his hearing, sense of smell, and vision had all improved dramatically. All sorts of rustling sounds and strange odors instantly flooded his nose and ears.

With a single thought, Chen Yansen wove a ’filter net’ with his Spiritual Power, blocking out all smells and sounds within a five-meter radius.

Otherwise, with his superhuman hearing and sense of smell, his normal life would inevitably be affected.

After receiving the message and looking over the equipment list, Zuo Hongyu was curious but didn’t press for details.

’Just follow the boss’s orders. No need to ask about the purpose.’

’That’s what a smart person would do!’

Since joining the Orange Phone Factory, Zuo Hongyu’s status in the Shencheng City industry had undergone a world-shaking transformation. Even his former employer, the boss of Big Pineapple, had to respectfully call him ”President Zuo” whenever they met.

As the factory’s purchasing director, he regularly dealt with international suppliers like Qualcomm, MediaTek, Jingdongfang, Desai, and Sony. The power he wielded was no less than that of the founder of a second-tier mobile phone manufacturer.

After all, brand managers from the likes of Xiaolajiao, Big Pineapple, and Boguide phones couldn’t secure the same supply prices that Zuo Hongyu negotiated with top-tier suppliers.

「Meanwhile.」

Orange Pay’s offline promotion campaign had caught Penguin’s attention.

Shencheng City, Penguin Headquarters.

”Orange Pay’s ’Scan’ and ’Payment QR Code’ features are quite good. I think WeChat should take a page from their book and integrate the instant messaging software with financial products,” a Penguin director said bluntly, spreading his hands.

Of course, ”take a page from their book” was just the polite way of saying it. The uglier word was ”plagiarize.”

”Actually, regarding QR code payment software, Wealth Treasure launched its first payment prototype back in April of last year. Three months later, it was upgraded to a QR code payment method. So, it’s not really ’taking a page from their book.’ Chen Yansen copied Wealth Treasure too,” another Penguin director joked with a smile.

Be that as it may, the way Orange Pay used its scanning function to connect offline and online commercial channels was still a refreshing and stunning development for them.

In other words, Wealth Treasure had pioneered QR code payments but failed to find the right direction for development. Orange Pay, on the other hand, had shown everyone a clear path forward.

”The Finance Division can leverage WeChat’s traffic advantage to expand its business and bring substantial financial returns to the group. If we’re going to create a payment function, there will definitely be a balance feature. The funds deposited in each WeChat account will not only increase the user’s account value but also improve user stickiness and retention. I have no objections!”

Liu Zhiping glanced around the room, taking in everyone’s expressions, then studied Ma Wenteng’s face for a moment before speaking.

”I...” Zhang Xiaolong opened his mouth, just as he was about to say something.

”WeChat’s user base has already reached 260 million, with a penetration rate of 72.2%. If we only rely on advertising for profit, it’s a complete waste of resources. Martin, I agree with your view.”

Ma Wenteng adjusted his glasses, directly cutting off Zhang Xiaolong’s words as he spoke slowly and deliberately.

Interactive operations like merchant payments, credit card repayments, and transfers could all bring a huge amount of deposited user funds to Penguin.

Even if Zhang Xiaolong disagreed, it wouldn’t change Ma Wenteng’s decision.

”I believe we can restart the previously shelved WeChat Pay plan!” Liu Zhiping announced solemnly.

”Jim, you coordinate with Xiaolong and draw up a product development plan first.”

Ma Wenteng said, looking past Zhang Xiaolong to address Lai Zhiming, the general manager of the Finance Division.

”OK,” Lai Zhiming agreed readily. He saw the situation more clearly than Zhang Xiaolong.

It was a joint decision by Ma Wenteng, Liu Zhiping, and numerous directors. What could he do even if he disagreed?

”Alright, Pony, I understand.” Zhang Xiaolong took a deep breath, forced a smile, and reluctantly agreed.

In his vision, an instant messaging app shouldn’t be loaded with too many commercialized modules. The product needed to maintain a sufficient level of purity and focus on its core functions to become a truly national-level social media app.

But Ma Wenteng didn’t see it that way!

But he also understood in his heart that Penguin was a publicly traded internet company with a complex and dispersed shareholding structure. Pony was under pressure to turn a profit.

The kind of product he wanted to create couldn’t find fertile ground to survive at Penguin, or even in the entirety of Hua Country.

Because most internet company bosses, the moment they corralled a user base, would immediately start to profit from it through ads, service fees, micro-loans, or financial derivatives.

”Pinbei, Kuai Pao, and Fast Taxi are occupying three top-tier traffic portals on WeChat and QQ. If you ask me, Senlian Capital should be paying Penguin an advertising fee. Even if we only charged one percent, that’s over three billion in annual revenue,” a director interjected.

”Charge them? Are you going to go ask Chen Yansen for the money?” Ma Wenteng’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them as he retorted with a sardonic expression.

”I...” The director gave a dry laugh and stammered.

’Idiot!’ Liu Zhiping cursed inwardly upon seeing this.

Compared to three billion in annual revenue, the profits from Penguin’s investments in Pinbei, Kuai Pao, and Fast Taxi were the real prize.

If not for him and Ma Wenteng going against the majority opinion to trade traffic resources for an investment spot, how would Penguin have ever gotten a piece of Pinbei’s Series B funding round?

Did Goldman Sachs, Huake, and Huaxin Capital not have money?

Ma Wenteng snorted coldly and said calmly, ”Meeting adjourned!”

His shareholding in Penguin wasn’t the largest, but through the VIE stock structure, he still held firm control.

On the board of directors, although there were people who occasionally caused trouble, he had suppressed most of them.

「On the other side.」

Hang City Ali Headquarters, Taohua Island office.

The corners of Ma Liyun’s mouth turned down as he read through the investigation report on Orange Pay. He had never imagined that Wealth Treasure’s QR code payment tool would be taken offline by a competitor.

”Enabling a merchant payment feature... that’s a good idea! Wealth Treasure can follow suit.”

After a long moment, Ma Liyun put down the document in his hand and said to Lu Zhaoxi.

”There are regulatory risks. If we don’t clear it with the higher-ups, payment QR codes will essentially be helping merchants hide their revenue,” Lu Zhaoxi reminded him softly.

”Do it first. Get the model up and running, and corral the users first! By the time the regulations come down, the opportunity will be long gone,” Ma Liyun said dismissively.

’The worst that can happen is we get shut down and forced to reorganize!’

”And what about Chen Yansen?” Lu Zhaoxi asked.

”He copied my Cainiao logistics and QR code payment feature. I’ll copy his offline promotion strategy. We can call it even.”

The smile on Ma Liyun’s face was smug, filled with the satisfaction of having evened the score.

...

...

「Hu City, Pudong International Airport.」

Chen Yansen sat in the VIP lounge, scrolling through the news on his phone.

Beside him, Song Yuncheng wore a backpack, clutched Chen Yansen’s backpack to her chest, and held their IDs, Schengen visas, and plane tickets in her hand. She stared at him with a pout, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

’Chen Yansen doesn’t treat me like a stranger, but he’s not treating me like a person, either!’