Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

At 1:00 PM, inside the recording studio for the show *Dialogue*.

The studio, over eight hundred square meters, was bright and spacious. Lights poured down from above, illuminating the stage area with a crystal-clear brilliance.

Between two light-gray armchairs sat a waist-high coffee table, on which were displayed a Moss Smart Speaker, an Alexa Smart Speaker, an Orange C3, a Qingcheng D1S, an Orange Pad 1, and a MagicBook, among other products.

This was also the main reason Chen Yansen had agreed to participate in the recording.

”Mr. Chen, this is the interview agenda and script. It includes various data points for Senlian Capital’s subsidiaries. Please take a look, and if everything is in order, we can begin.”

The host, Chen Hongwei, politely handed over the documents and explained with a smile.

The invitation for Chen Yansen had been settled over a month ago. The higher-ups had given the order: they wanted to build him up as the benchmark for entrepreneurs born in the ’90s and establish a public image for Hua Country’s businesspeople.

’It can’t be helped; President Chen is just too perfect for the role!’

’Young, handsome, and full of vigor!’

’Twenty-one years old, with a net worth of over fifty billion US dollars, he completely eclipsed Facebook’s founder, Zuckerberg. Using him as their promotional face was undoubtedly the best choice.’

”Alright.” Chen Yansen nodded slightly, taking the file and casually flipping through it. It was only seven or eight pages long.

In the blink of an eye, he had committed it all to memory.

To one side of the stage was the tiered audience section, currently filled with over a hundred undergraduate and graduate students from universities like Tsinghua, Peking University, Yancai, and Huamin.

Song Yuncheng sat in the front row, her gaze fixed fervently on the man in the spotlight.

In that moment, it was as if Chen Yansen was glowing, his silhouette deeply searing itself into her heart.

”He’s even more handsome in person than in his photos!”

”How tall is he?”

”Lingxi Encyclopedia says he’s six-foot-one, but why do I feel like he’s six-foot-three?”

”His proportions are amazing!”

A few elites from the Qingbei Business School listened to the chattering around them, their expressions darkening. They couldn’t help but complain inwardly: ’Chen Yansen’s greatest strength is his business achievements, so why is everyone just talking about his looks?’

Two camera jibs focused their lenses on the center of the stage, positioned to capture the micro-expressions of the host and guest. Behind them stood a massive LED screen, ready to switch its background at a moment’s notice.

In this studio, Chen Hongwei had interviewed top figures from various fields, such as Liu Chengzhi, Bill Gates, Buffett, Ma Liyun, Ma Wenteng, Cao Wang, Jin Yong, and Cameron.

In terms of wealth, industry influence, and global fame, Chen Yansen wasn’t at the absolute top, but he was the youngest.

While double-checking the script, Chen Hongwei secretly sized up Chen Yansen.

’A second-tier university, and he built a net worth of over fifty billion in just over two years. Not even a novel would dare to be this bold. Could he have some kind of cheat?’

’No wonder the higher-ups had specifically requested him for a show. Just based on his image and demeanor, he was already dozens of times more impressive than other university-student entrepreneurs his age.’

「Twenty minutes later, all preparations were complete.」

Chen Yansen sat on the sofa to the right, and Chen Hongwei took a seat as well. Facing the camera, the host began his opening remarks:

”Good evening, friends and viewers, and welcome to this episode of the *Dialogue* interview series. In today’s era of booming internet development, Hua Country has seen the emergence of a number of globally influential tech companies.

And our guest today is a leader among them. He is an entrepreneur who, at the young age of twenty, founded a business empire valued at over one hundred billion.

He led his team to successively launch well-known products like Pinbei, the Orange Mobile Phone, Orange Pay, and Kuai Pao, changing the lifestyles of hundreds of millions of our citizens. Let’s welcome the chairman of Senlian Technology, Mr. Chen Yansen!”

The moment he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience section!

Chen Yansen waved to the camera and, at the same time, joked with a smile, ”There’s a slight error in that information. I’m actually twenty-one this year.”

”It doesn’t count until your birthday,” Chen Hongwei insisted.

”No way. I have to ask Moss. Moss, look up Chen Yansen’s age.” Chen Yansen abruptly changed the subject, speaking the wake word for the Moss Smart Speaker.

”Of course. I have found the relevant information. Chen Yansen’s age is twenty-one full years,” Moss replied.

Chen Yansen spread his hands and looked at Chen Hongwei.

”It seems I really was mistaken.” Chen Hongwei shrugged, admitting it readily.

The audience below smiled knowingly, naturally seeing that this was a soft ad for Orange Technology.

”Let’s get back on topic. President Chen, I heard you started your first business right after you began university. Why did you choose the internet sector at that time?” Chen Hongwei tossed out the first question.

”Strictly speaking, my first pot of gold didn’t come from the well-known FoxTao, but from peddling MP3 and MP4 players in small towns,” Chen Yansen said truthfully.

”MP3s and MP4s?” Chen Hongwei feigned a look of surprise.

After all, it was 2013. With the popularization of smartphones, MP3 and MP4 players had already been rendered obsolete by the times.

”That was during the summer vacation of 2010. Due to an overproduction of MP3 and MP4 players in Yangcheng, the wholesale price was extremely low—just 22 yuan for an MP3 player and 116 yuan for an MP4. Although in first and second-tier cities the demand for MP3s and MP4s was shrinking by the day, in the eighteenth-tier towns, they were still best-selling electronics. Also, I sold them at a very low price.”

Chen Yansen spoke eloquently.

”So President Chen’s first bit of startup capital was earned through such hardship. In the heat of August, traveling to different towns every day...” Chen Hongwei added.

Chen Yansen thought for a moment. Back then, he had sat in the car with the AC blasting while Wang Zihao was in charge of sales and Meng Jie handled the money. ’Yes, it was really tough on me,’ he thought.

”As your first startup project, FoxTao’s valuation reached over ten billion in just one year. Do you have any secrets to success you can share with the audience?” Chen Hongwei continued to ask.