Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

’I really should study and recharge!’ Liu Qiangdong thought to himself with a sigh.

”Oh, right. When we were having dinner earlier, Wang Xin called me. He wanted me to pass on a message: he wants to sell Meituan to you,” Zhang Chaoyang said suddenly.

Chen Yansen shook his head and said dismissively, ”Why would I buy Meituan? Wang Xin is too naive!”

According to the December report on the Group Buy industry, Meituan had already fallen to fourth place. It couldn’t even compare to Dianping and Lashou Network. Acquiring Meituan was completely worthless.

After losing Shan Jiawei, Meituan had become mediocre again.

Besides, Pei Yi had spent a full three months preparing to topple Meituan Takeout and Qian Du Delivery. How could Chen Yansen possibly leave Wang Xin a way out?

’Better to just finish him off with one blow!’

’Wang Xin wants to cash out and walk away? It’s not that easy!’

”From what I know, Shen Nanpeng of Redwood Capital has been pushing for a merger between Meituan and Dianping, trying to reshape the local life services industry through capital integration,” Liu Qiangdong added.

He had heard Xu Xin from Today Capital mention this, but neither Wang Xin nor Zhang Tao was willing to back down. Neither of them wanted to be the subordinate, so the matter was put on hold.

”They’re probably just trying to huddle together for warmth, right? The subsidy war in the Group Buy industry has been burning since 2010, for a full two years. The venture capital firms behind them lost their patience long ago. If Qian Du hadn’t jumped in to stir things up, it would have ended ages ago,” Chen Yansen said nonchalantly.

Ding Lei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’This kid is so thick-skinned and ruthless,’ he thought. ’As if Kuai Pao isn’t in the Group Buy business itself.’

”If you’re willing to shell out the cash to buy Dianping and Meituan, or acquire them through a stock swap, I estimate Ah Li, Redwood Capital, Google, and Today Capital would all raise both hands in approval,” Zhang Chaoyang said, his eyes narrowed.

The implication was that if Chen Yansen wanted to conquer the Group Buy market quickly, buying out the competition was the smart choice.

”I have no desire to pay for the failed investments of Ma Liyun, Shen Nanpeng, and the others,” Chen Yansen rejected the proposal.

There was no need to spend unnecessary money. Besides Dianping and Meituan, there was still Lashou Network.

Anyway, whether Kuai Pao fought one company or three, it was all the same. It could be done easily.

When competing against Lashou, Dianping and Meituan would naturally be eliminated when they couldn’t hold on, which would also save him a sum of money.

”Just drinking is boring. How about I call over a few female celebrities?” Zhang Chaoyang leaned back and suggested in a low voice.

After speaking, he looked at Chen Yansen, as if asking for his opinion.

Last year, Sohu had invested in several movies and also participated in the *Hua Country’s Voice* project. With his status, he could easily summon a few starlets from the entertainment industry.

Chen Yansen waved his hand dismissively. He found them ”dirty.”

Seeing this, Zhang Chaoyang had no choice but to drop it. The men continued to drink and chat.

Chen Yansen took the opportunity to bring up the Aurora Future OS. After listening to his description, Lei Yijun, Ding Lei, Liu Qiangdong, and Wang Xiaochuan readily agreed to release AFOS versions of their products, helping to supplement Orange Technology’s app ecosystem.

After a few rounds of drinks, a red-faced Zhang Chaoyang pulled over a chair, sat in front of the standing microphone, and began to sing his signature song.

”♫ The reed organ in the classroom, ding-dong, ding-dong, it chimes ♫”

”♫ Like the sound of your confession, always so gentle... ♫”

Liu Qiangdong grinned and mentioned his plans to go to the Lighthouse Country for a while to study and rest.

Chen Yansen opened his mouth, wanting to remind him to record and take pictures before doing the deed, to avoid any disputes afterward.

But the words died on his lips. Handsome Dong was also a seasoned veteran in the field of romance; his experience was no less than his own. When a schemer targets an unsuspecting person, it was normal to stumble and fall.

’Good luck to him!’

”Xiaochuan.”

”Brother Sen, go ahead.”

”I wasn’t kidding earlier. Are you interested in coming to Senlian Capital?” Chen Yansen asked with a grin, draping an arm over Wang Xiaochuan’s shoulder.

Wang Xiaochuan instinctively glanced in Zhang Chaoyang’s direction and gave an awkward laugh. ”Brother Sen, don’t test me. I’m quite comfortable at Sogou. Charles has given me plenty of trust and a good package.”

”You’re thirty-five, not young anymore. It’s a shame to stay at Sogou. Old Zhang is a good big brother and a good boss, but he can’t give you a bigger stage,” Chen Yansen said unhurriedly.

”Contentment brings happiness, right? Let’s not talk about this. Brother Sen, let me toast you! The recommendation engine technology in Lingxi Browser and Lingxi Search is amazing. What kind of algorithmic logic does it use?” Wang Xiaochuan smiled and quickly changed the subject.

With his boss right there, Chen Yansen’s invitation made him feel a bit like he was having an affair.

When Zhang Chaoyang finished his song, sparse applause echoed through the private room.

”Old Zhang!”

Chen Yansen beckoned to him.

Zhang Chaoyang walked over, beaming, plopped down into a seat, took a sip of alcohol, and then asked, ”What’s up?”

”Not bad,” Chen Yansen replied.

”Of course. I’ve practiced,” Zhang Chaoyang said proudly.

”It’s getting late. I’m heading back to the hotel,” Chen Yansen continued.

”It’s only nine-thirty. What’s your hurry?” Zhang Chaoyang glanced at his watch, suddenly displeased.

”I have an interview tomorrow,” Chen Yansen lied casually.

”Don’t try to fool me. The interview taping is in the afternoon. Are you bored with just drinking? I think so too. How about we take my private jet to Australia Island and have some fun?” Zhang Chaoyang said enthusiastically.

”Forget it. By the time we go and come back, it’ll be morning. I brought you a few cases of wine. I had my driver store them at the bar for you. Take your time drinking them,” Chen Yansen said.

”What about sea fishing, then? It’s the perfect time for it.” Zhang Chaoyang was in high spirits for fun. Seeing that Chen Yansen wasn’t interested in gambling, he changed his tack.

Nighttime is when the big fish are active, especially large sea fish. They’re most likely to bite then.

”Alright,” Chen Yansen said helplessly. Just as he had told Song Yuncheng, Zhang Chaoyang was something of a friend to him, and he couldn’t just turn him down again and again.

”Change of plans! How about we go sea fishing?” Zhang Chaoyang turned to persuade the other four.

Ten minutes later, the group filed out, took a car to the airport, flew to Jinmen, and then took a boat out to sea.

In less than an hour, the group had traveled from the bustling center of Yanjing City to Bohai Bay.

Chen Yansen picked up a lure rod and taught Song Yuncheng how to fish for sea bass and sea bream.

It didn’t matter if the fish underwater weren’t biting. With his Spiritual Power, any fish that swam past him would have to obediently bite the hook.

Zhang Chaoyang watched as Chen Yansen, with his arm around the girl, pulled in fish one after another. He had wanted to show off his sea fishing skills, but now he was just dumbfounded.

Lei Yijun, Liu Qiangdong, Ding Lei, and Wang Xiaochuan had all been sea fishing before, but they had never seen fish being caught at such a speed.

Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng didn’t get back to the hotel until three in the morning.

Song Yuncheng flopped onto the bed, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

”Go take a shower first,” Chen Yansen said, shaking her head gently.

”I can’t... I’m too sleepy,” Song Yuncheng mumbled drowsily.

But Chen Yansen wasn’t one to spoil her. In a flash, he had peeled the eggshell clean and carried her into the bathroom.

A short while later, the sound of splashing echoed through the empty luxury suite.

「The next day at dawn, the sky was gray and dim.」

Chen Yansen picked up the phone from his bedside table and saw that he had only slept for an hour and a half. His sleep duration had shortened again.

Song Yuncheng had been thoroughly worn out and was lying limply on the bed.

He lifted a corner of the blanket, slipped on his slippers, walked out of the bedroom, and went straight to the desk to sit down.

He opened his computer and logged into the data backend.

Orange Pay’s daily active users had soared to 39 million!

The cumulative number of users who had collected all five ”Fu” cards reached 1,941, with each person set to receive an average of 43,000 Hua Yuan.

The price of the ”Dedication Fu” card had been dropping steadily, falling from 6,000 yuan to 2,700 yuan each.

Thanks to this event, the daily active user data for products like OFO bikes, Pinbei, Kuai Pao, and Toutiao all showed significant growth.

Yu’e Bao’s fund size had stabilized at 230 billion Hua Yuan!

Then, Chen Yansen opened his email to check the work report sent by Mao Chaorong. Mimo Short Video’s cumulative registered users had exceeded 20 million, with daily active users around 8 million. Its advertising revenue for the month was 4.6 million US Dollars.

Mimo’s development was even smoother than he had imagined.

Although Twitter had spent a fortune acquiring new users for Vine, its retention rate and user experience could never match Mimo’s.

Vine’s daily active users were just over 1 million, making it merely a niche short video app by comparison.