Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

’He’s not taking Meng Jie on the business trip to Norway, but he’s taking me. That proves Chen Yansen likes me more.’

At this thought, a happy smile touched Song Yuncheng’s lips, and she giggled to herself while sitting alone in her chair.

’As for a business trip to Norway?’

’It was just a load of crap meant to fool a kid!’

’She wasn’t falling for it!’

”What are you thinking about? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you went to Sichuan to study face-changing. One moment you’re all gloomy, and the next you’re smiling so wide your eyes disappear.”

Chen Yansen put away his phone and asked with a grin.

”Can’t I think about something happy?” Song Yuncheng said defiantly, a faint smile on her face.

”Have you prepared the materials for the Spotify visit?” Chen Yansen asked casually.

In truth, his trip to Norway was 99% for fun. The remaining 1% was to discuss a music copyright partnership with Spotify for their short-video platform.

Spotify had over 20 million active users globally, with about 25% being paying customers. It had considerable influence in Europe and America, and the audio resources used by the Alexa Smart Speaker were sourced from Spotify.

And the headquarters of this music service platform was in Stockholm, Sweden!

That’s right, not in Norway.

From this, one could see just how perfunctory President Chen’s reason for the business trip was.

”I’m not very familiar with music licensing in Europe and America, so I asked Wang Teng for some information. I’m not sure if it’s what you need.”

Song Yuncheng explained honestly.

”It’s fine. Just email it to me for now,” Chen Yansen said with an unconcerned wave of his hand.

”Okay.” As soon as the conversation turned to work, Song Yuncheng immediately returned to her professional self.

”We fly to Copenhagen first, then connect to Oslo. Norway, this damn country is so fucking remote.”

Chen Yansen leaned back in his chair and couldn’t help but complain.

”I looked up some guides online. We should be able to see the aurora at this time of year.” Song Yuncheng pursed her lips, her eyes shining with anticipation.

”There’s plenty to do. The aurora is just the start. Skiing, hunting, and going out to sea are also a lot of fun.”

Chen Yansen added unhurriedly.

In his past life, he had taken many of his girlfriends there. Although the scenery was the same, the girl sleeping next to him was different, so each experience was also different.

Some were tight, some were bouncy, some were short; each had their own merits.

”You say it as if you’ve been there before,” Song Yuncheng giggled, asking innocently.

Chen Yansen just smiled faintly and said nothing.

It wasn’t until 10:30 at night that the boarding announcement came over the broadcast. The two of them went through the priority lane and walked down the jet bridge into the aircraft cabin.

With a flight of over ten hours ahead, Chen Yansen wasn’t about to make himself uncomfortable, so he booked first-class seats.

Looking out the window, the vast airport runway was pitch-black, illuminated only by rows of runway lights.

Twenty minutes later, the plane taxied slowly, then lifted off, and soon entered the stratosphere.

...

...

The next morning, Chen Yansen slowly opened his eyes. He was still on the plane.

Beside him, Song Yuncheng was drowsy. Her eyelids fluttered, and before he could speak, she fell asleep again.

Chen Yansen turned on the Airbus screen in front of him, put on his headphones, and randomly picked a movie to pass the time.

Meanwhile.

Over sixty after-sales repair personnel from the Orange Phone Factory pushed their suitcases, departing from Shencheng City for places like Jinling, Hu City, Yanjing, and Hang City.

On October 1st, Orange Technology would open its first batch of offline, directly-operated stores in the provincial capitals of the North China, East China, and Southern China regions.

First, to fully showcase products like the Orange Mobile Phone, Moss Smart Speaker, Bluetooth headsets, power banks, and phone accessories, providing users with a hands-on experience to boost their confidence in making a purchase;

Second, to supplement online sales channels and meet the instant purchasing needs of users, especially middle-aged and elderly customers unfamiliar with online shopping or consumers who want to inspect the product in person;

Although the e-commerce industry was in a period of rapid growth in 2012, offline sales still accounted for more than half of all smartphone purchases.

Third, to communicate with users up close, collect feedback on product use and market demand, and in turn, feed that information back into product R&D and improvement;

Finally, to provide users with services such as phone repairs, screen protector application, and system upgrades, addressing after-sales pain points and enhancing brand trust.

Before this, when users of the Orange Mobile Phone encountered product issues, they had to mail their phones back to the repair department in Shencheng City. Although Orange Technology covered the shipping costs, the turnaround time was too long for users who needed their phones back quickly.

”Brother Zhu, when you have time, come find me in Jinling. I’ll treat you to a foot massage—the kind where they take you upstairs.”

”Get outta here! You’re so young, and you’re already learning bad habits. Wouldn’t it be better to save your money to buy a house back home?”

In the departure lounge, Li Yunzhu snapped at his colleague irritably.

He was eighteen this year and had been working at the Orange Phone Factory for over a year. For the first six months, he was on the production line screwing in screws. Later, the workshop supervisor saw that he was young and quick-witted and sent him to the after-sales department to learn phone repair.

In the supervisor’s words: ”You’re not even twenty yet. Do you really want to spend your whole life tightening screws? The company is giving you an opportunity, you have to seize it!”

At first, Li Yunzhu was reluctant to change positions. After all, during the training period, he would only have a fixed income of 4,000 yuan a month, which couldn’t compare to his previous pre-tax monthly income of seven to eight thousand yuan.

But three months later, Li Yunzhu’s perspective had changed. He was suddenly filled with gratitude for the workshop supervisor who had ”shown him the way.”

Because after receiving his certificate of excellence from the after-sales department, the company set his salary at a base of 6,000 yuan. With commission and performance bonuses, he could easily break 10,000 yuan a month.

It seemed like only a two or three thousand yuan increase in income, but his work environment had changed, and he no longer had to work overtime every day. His previous high income had been earned entirely through 120 to 140 hours of overtime each month.

”Houses are too expensive. Foot massages are cheaper,” his colleague said with a sly grin.

”Alright, my flight is boarding. Come find me in Hu City later, and I’ll treat you to... pan-fried buns.”

After hearing the announcement, Li Yunzhu quickly stood up and made to leave. Before he went, he didn’t forget to respond generously.

”Pan-fried buns? Brother Zhu, could you be any more generous?” his colleague pouted, looking completely exasperated.

”How can I be like you? I have two younger sisters in school at home. If I don’t save up, how will I have enough money?”

Li Yunzhu grabbed his luggage, waved, and hurried towards the boarding gate.

”Brother Zhu, how about I become your brother-in-law and help you share some of the pressure?” his colleague shouted at Li Yunzhu’s retreating back.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunzhu turned around and mouthed a single word. He was too far away to be heard, but it was easy to read his lips. It was definitely ”Scram!”

The colleague grinned and waved back.

Among their group of repair trainees, he and Li Yunzhu had the lowest level of education. The others all had associate’s or bachelor’s degrees. There’s always office politics wherever you have people, and with politics comes a pecking order.

Fortunately, the two of them worked hard to prove themselves. A low level of education didn’t mean low ability. They were both skilled with their hands, had keen observation skills, and were patient and meticulous, so they improved extremely quickly.

In the last three or four months, thanks to their superb repair skills, they had made a name for themselves within the massive after-sales department.

Otherwise, how could they have become repair engineers for the first batch of directly-operated stores?

It was all thanks to their own abilities!

...

...

「Hundreds of kilometers away in Hu City, on Jinling Road Pedestrian Street.」

A newly renovated, 200-plus-square-meter Orange Intelligent Experience Hall, filled with a sense of technology, was being prepared in an orderly fashion.

Staff members were placing display models of the Orange C1, Orange C2, Orange C3, Orange D1, and Qingcheng D1S one by one on the display tables. The remaining products included the Moss Smart Speaker, Bluetooth headsets, power banks, and various phone accessories.

Few products, lots of space!

Tourists from out of town couldn’t help but look up at the store sign as they passed by, then stop and cast curious glances inside.

”Orange Technology opened an offline store?”

”This must be a directly-operated store. The sign has the number NO.000001 on it.”

”I wonder when it opens!”

”Let’s go ask!”

After chatting for a bit at the entrance, a few young people walked into the store together.

”Hey, is this an authorized retailer or a directly-operated store?”

”When do you open?”

The store manager, Xu Hao, heard the customers’ questions, put down his work, and said with a smile, ”We’re technically open for business now, but the official grand opening is tomorrow at 9 AM, because the after-sales repair staff are still on their way.”

”Will there be any promotions tomorrow?” the young man continued to ask.

”We’re a directly-operated store, so our online and offline prices are the same. However, we will be giving away some phone accessories. For example, if you buy an Orange C3, you’ll get a free pair of Bluetooth headphones valued at 99 yuan,” Xu Hao replied.

”Can we try them out first?” the young people asked.

”Of course. Please, feel free,” Xu Hao responded with a smile.

”Wow! This is the 64GB Orange C3! I’ve always wanted to buy one, but it’s too expensive. It feels great in my hand!”

”The Qingcheng D1S isn’t bad either. It’s only 999 yuan. The processor is a bit weak, but I don’t play games, so this screen is perfect for reading novels.”

”Look! The Moss Smart Speaker is 799 yuan. I heard this thing is super popular abroad!”

Passersby outside, upon confirming that the Orange Intelligent Experience Hall was open, couldn’t help but step inside.

From August 6, 2011, to September 30, 2012, Orange Technology had sold a cumulative total of 30 million smartphones. It had long since completed its user acquisition phase, and there were many potential customers interested in Orange Mobile Phones.

Those who couldn’t get the hang of online shopping before now had a company-owned store, so naturally, they wanted to take the opportunity to experience the performance of the Orange Mobile Phone for themselves.

If there were no problems with the product, they could buy it on the spot and save the time waiting for delivery.

The first batch of directly-operated stores consisted of only 32 locations, mainly distributed in the core business districts of East China, Southern China, and North China. Once the results met expectations, they would continuously expand to surrounding areas until all 149 prefecture-level cities along the Southeast Coast were covered.

On another front.

The number of Cloud Speed Express service stations in places like Huian, Qilu, Sujiang, and Xijiang had also increased from the initial 200-plus to over 600.

They were able to sell ten to twenty thousand Orange Mobile Phones in the town and village markets every day. Although these were mostly low-end models like the Orange D1 and Qingcheng D1S, they also managed to promote Pinbei Mall in the process.

「Chunshen, Shaopei Town, Cloud Speed Service Station.」

Wu Lei and Hu Peng had a clear division of labor and were full of energy. One sold phones while the other taught customers how to download the Pinbei app and get free eggs.

For every new Pinbei user they signed up, the company rewarded them with 8 yuan.

The permanent population of Shaopei Town was over 60,000. Excluding the elderly and children, there were at least 20,000 more target customers.

After a busy morning, Hu Peng took a look and said excitedly, ”Brother Lei, guess how many new users we signed up this morning?”

”Twenty?” Wu Lei guessed randomly.

”Twenty-seven,” Hu Peng said, making the number with his hands.

”Today is market day, so a lot of people from the dozen or so nearby villages came. We’ll be lucky to get ten tomorrow.” Wu Lei sat in his chair, his nose twitched. He was about to light a cigarette, but he immediately remembered the company rules. He pulled Hu Peng outside to continue their chat.

”Ten is not bad either! We’d each get 40 yuan,” Hu Peng said delightedly.

If he had stayed in the county town, where would he find a good deal like this?

He had asked his old colleagues; the Cloud Speed outlets in the county seat didn’t have phone sales or app promotion business.

Wu Lei took out a pack of Huangshan cigarettes, handed one to Hu Peng, then stuck one in his own mouth. After lighting it and taking a deep drag, he said, ”Don’t just think about earning extra cash. The company sent us here to increase our package pickup volume. If our performance isn’t up to par, the service station is at risk of being shut down.”

”Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control. There’s a grain and oil processing plant in town. I’ll pay them a visit tomorrow and persuade them to open a Pinbei shop. If their sales take off, our business volume will be secured.”

Hu Peng leaned against the wall, gazing at Shaopei Middle School across the street, lost in thought. After a few dozen seconds, he finally spoke slowly.

”The grain and oil plant? Okay! You can go give it a try,” Wu Lei said with a nod.

Meanwhile, he was mentally calculating. Tomorrow, he would find time to visit the local agricultural association and encourage them to set up a Pinbei shop. They could get Shaopei’s peanuts, rutin eggs, and salted fish onto the e-commerce platform.

That way, the service station’s package pickup revenue would be stable.