Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

It was mid-spring in April. Along the Banglu Expressway, the golden rain trees were lush and verdant, their branches clustered with small, star-like yellow flowers.

A Gusteau sped toward Chunshen. Chen Yansen gazed out the window at the distant mountain scenery for a few seconds before looking away.

”Pre-orders for the Starburst Card have already surpassed two million. After speaking with Zhao Maolin, we’ve added a tiered promotion on top of the original plan. For an initial top-up of 100 yuan, out-of-plan data will be 1 yuan per 600MB. For a 300 yuan top-up, it’s 1 yuan per 800MB, and for 500 yuan, it’s 1 yuan per GB.”

Ye Qiuping, sitting beside him, said slowly.

She paused for a moment before adding, ”We’ll get a 20% commission on all top-ups for the first three months.”

Normally, with Senlian Capital’s market influence, securing a 50% to 70% commission wouldn’t have been difficult. However, Chen Yansen had refused to pay a single cent toward the targeted data fees, so it was already a testament to Ye Qiuping’s formidable negotiation skills that she managed to secure 20%.

”The Starburst Card was the right move. Someone influential is most likely backing Kang Yiping; otherwise, China Telecom wouldn’t have budged. It seems the government’s push to increase connection speeds and lower fees is becoming more and more obvious.”

Chen Yansen commented lightly, leaning back in his seat.

”Mobile data rates are too high; they’ve definitely constrained the growth of the mobile internet.” After taking over the Starburst Card project, it had only taken Ye Qiuping a few days to grasp all its intricacies.

”President Ye, you’ve got a mind as sharp as any young person’s. If I didn’t see your ID, I’d never guess you were almost thirty.”

Chen Yansen teased.

’Son of a bitch! I’m only twenty-nine!’

Ye Qiuping shot daggers at Chen Yansen, fuming but not daring to talk back. All she could do was curse him in her head.

In reality, Senlian Capital had also approached China Mobile and China Unicom. With other internet giants like Penguin, Ah Li, NetEase, and Sohu also entering the fray, Kang Yiping had been forced to up the ante. He planned to make the Starburst Card a massive, instant success to bolster his case for a promotion.

After all, if he hadn’t agreed, Chen Yansen might have just turned around and partnered with China Mobile and China Unicom instead. The staggering sales figures—two million cards in two days—had also given Kang Yiping a taste of Senlian Capital’s dominance and influence in the internet sector.

He was afraid that China Mobile and China Unicom would play dirty and secretly offer a better deal. To solidify the partnership, he simply instructed Zhao Maolin to concede a portion of the profits to Senlian Capital.

”Boss, were we enemies in a past life or something?” Ye Qiuping demanded indignantly.

She had the distinct feeling that whenever Chen Yansen was ”bullying” her, the smile on his face was one of pure contentment and relaxation.

’Ruling out the possibility that he was some kind of sadist, the only thing left was that they really were enemies in a past life.’

”Perhaps,” Chen Yansen replied ambiguously, understanding her implication.

”...” Ye Qiuping sighed, too exasperated to say anything more.

The journey from Xucheng to Chunshen was less than two hundred kilometers. Xiaoli got them off the expressway in just two hours and headed toward a cemetery to the north.

A short while later, a hillside covered in pear and peach blossoms came into view.

”Xiaoli, pull over,” Chen Yansen instructed.

He had spotted a paper offering shop at the intersection, fully stocked with joss paper, Netherworld Coins, and paper Yuanbao.

’It’s not often I get to visit Mom, so I should burn a little extra for her.’

”Yes, Boss.” True to his taciturn nature, Xiaoli said no more, slowing the car to a stop in front of the shop.

”A Little Golden Man? My god, a Rolls-Royce! We have someone this incredible in our county?”

The owner of the paper offering shop was lying behind the counter, scrolling through Toutiao. Hearing the commotion outside, he looked up, his jaw dropping in shock. The cigarette in his mouth nearly fell out, but he managed to clamp down on it just in time.

”Sir, you even have paper versions of the Qingcheng D2, Orange C3S, and Yaocheng X1?” Ye Qiuping asked, the first to enter, as she pointed at the paper phones.

”You have to burn some modern things for the ancestors, right? Care to buy a few? These are best-sellers,” the shop owner said, quickly getting to his feet and launching into an enthusiastic sales pitch.

’They came in a Rolls-Royce, they have to be buying a ton of offerings, right?’

’A whale!’

”The workmanship is pretty good. It looks just like the real thing,” Chen Yansen said with a laugh as he followed her in, picking up an oversized model of the Yaocheng X1.

”But of course! They’re all authentic, and the quality is perfect!” the shop owner grinned, lying through his teeth.

’Authentic?’

’Since when did Orange Technology’s business expand into the Netherworld?’

Chen Yansen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He just lowered his head and started picking out paper models of phones, computers, and tablets, along with Netherworld Coins and joss paper.

”You even have US Dollars?” Chen Yansen was slightly taken aback, looking at the Netherworld bank notes made to look like US currency, with a face value of one quadrillion. Burning a stack like that would be enough to trigger a financial crisis in the Underworld.

”Got to keep up with globalization, you know. Want a whole box?” the shop owner said with a perfectly straight face.

Chen Yansen nodded, not objecting.

The shop owner was ecstatic. He hurried over with an unopened box of paper offerings and placed it on the counter.

He glanced reflexively at Chen Yansen. But when he got a clear look at the man’s face, he froze. His voice trembled with excitement as he asked, ”P-President Chen... are you Chen Yansen?”

”I am,” Chen Yansen replied calmly. ”And get me another box of Netherworld Coins from the Heaven and Earth Bank.”

”President Chen, could I get a picture with you?” the shop owner asked, holding up his own Qingcheng D2.

The unspoken message was clear: *President Chen, I’m a fan!*

”Here? It doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

Chen Yansen gestured with his chin, indicating the funeral wreaths, paper effigies, and mountains of joss paper all around them.

”Right, right, you’re right. How about we go outside?” the shop owner suggested, smoothing down his hair with a broad, eager smile.