Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Undercurrents churned beneath the azure surface of the sea as flecks of golden sunlight danced on the waves. The sea breeze, thick with the salty tang of the ocean, blew against them.

Song Yuncheng stood on the starboard side of the boat, holding a rock fishing rod like a pro. She was fishing for black porgy and sea bass near the reefs.

Gao Weilin sat in the lounge area, sipping a glass of whiskey with ice and a lemon slice.

As Chen Yansen’s new assistant, Meng Yun was also aboard Zhang Chaoyang’s yacht. He remained silent, keeping a low profile.

”From the beginning to the end of May, Qian Du Network’s market cap evaporated by six billion US dollars. It’s a good thing Li Yanhong isn’t attending the Mobile Internet Conference. Otherwise, you’d need to bring a few more bodyguards.”

Zhang Chaoyang leaned back in his chair, sunglasses on, and chuckled teasingly.

”Qian Du Search can’t even hold on to 50% of the market share anymore. What mood could he possibly be in for a conference? But Zhou Hongyi has been even more ruthless than me, frantically poaching Qian Du’s agents in the North China, East China, and Southern China regions. At this rate, Qian Du’s Q2 advertising revenue will likely fall by over 15%.”

Chen Yansen shrugged, his tone nonchalant.

He swirled his glass, then raised it to the sky.

For a moment, the blue sky and white clouds were tinged with a champagne-colored halo through the glass.

”Robin is still too naive. All he thinks about is expanding his business’s frontiers. Doesn’t he understand that the bigger the business, the more enemies you make?”

Zhang Chaoyang took a sip of his drink, smiling and shaking his head.

He paused, then looked at Chen Yansen. ”Except for you, kid. Everything you touch turns to gold.”

”Well, business is like rowing upstream—if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling back. Qian Du has spread itself too thin. It looks like a jack of all trades, but it’s a master of none.”

Chen Yansen said with a slight sneer.

”Only you would dare to say something like that. Search, long-form video, app distribution, big data—in which of those fields isn’t Qian Du a top industry player?”

Zhang Chaoyang set down his glass, clearly disagreeing with Chen Yansen’s assessment.

”Besides search and cloud services, what does long-form video really have to do with Qian Du? They acquired iQiyi one minute and bought PPS the next. It’s not like Li Yanhong built that business from the ground up.”

”And as for app distribution, that’s all thanks to 91 Assistant. Spending 1.9 billion US dollars on an Android app store... talk about having more money than sense and just throwing it into the sea.”

Chen Yansen mocked, a playful sneer on his face.

”Different fields are worlds apart. Most entrepreneurs are destined to succeed only in the areas they excel at. You think everyone’s like you?” Zhang Chaoyang grinned. Though he was arguing, his tone held a hint of praise.

”What’s Sogou Search’s market share right now?” Chen Yansen asked casually.

”8.6%. I’m quite satisfied with that,” Zhang Chaoyang said nonchalantly, picking up the bottle and refilling his own glass.

He didn’t even bother to ask about Lingxi Search’s market share.

’CNZZ will release the data sooner or later anyway!’

The ”3SB” war in Hua Country’s internet industry had long attracted attention from all over Asia, and even Europe and America. Giants, including Google, were constantly monitoring the market share fluctuations of the top search engine companies.

Thanks to its ”Moss” plug-in, Lingxi Search had boosted its market share to 17.1%, nearly surpassing the combined share of 360 and Sogou Search.

”What about the Fox Card?” Chen Yansen asked.

”We sold 740,000 in half a month, with a 93% activation rate. I just don’t get it. Sohu has products in video, news, social media, and gaming, so why are our phone card sales falling short of the Starshine Card?”

Zhang Chaoyang said with a frown.

Sohu had recently launched a social chat app called ”Fox Friend,” but its popularity was lukewarm. It only had seventy to eighty thousand registered users, with fewer than ten thousand daily active users.

”You can always compare yourself to the Ali Treasure Card and the Penguin King Card.”

Chen Yansen replied.

’The implication was clear: We’re not in the same league. There’s no comparison.’

”COUGH! COUGH—!” Zhang Chaoyang choked on his drink, breaking into a violent coughing fit. His face turned beet red.

It took him a moment to recover. He glared and said, ”I really want to throw you overboard to feed the fishes. You and that silver tongue of yours.”

Chen Yansen just smiled without a word, then swept his Divine Sense across the ocean.

A large black porgy, weighing over three pounds, happened to be swimming nearby.

To the fish’s utter confusion, its body suddenly went rigid. Its mouth opened slightly, and it swam right onto the hook.

Seeing the tug on the line, Song Yuncheng immediately reeled it in.

”Whoa! President Song, your skills are getting better and better! That black porgy must be at least four pounds.”

Zhang Chaoyang set down his glass and came over for a closer look.

”We can have steamed fish for dinner tonight,” Chen Yansen added.

After speaking, he glanced at his watch. ”It’s getting late. We should head back to port.”

”We haven’t finished the drinks,” Zhang Chaoyang said, clearly not having had his fill of fun yet.

He had many friends, but very few like Chen Yansen.

”We can save it for tonight,” Chen Yansen said.

”Alright, one more hour. Let me have a few casts,” Zhang Chaoyang said with a grin.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, not objecting.

For the next while, with nothing better to do, he decided to practice his Spiritual Power by taking turns hooking fish for Old Zhang and Song Yuncheng.

”Quick! This sea bass is putting up a huge fight!”

”Holy shit! Another bite!”

Zhang Chaoyang started to feel like something was off. The bites just kept coming. Before long, the livewell was stuffed with porgy, sea bass, and mackerel.

Song Yuncheng lasted for thirty minutes before quickly putting down her rod. She rubbed her sore, aching arms, not daring to fish any longer.

Zhang Chaoyang, on the other hand, was ecstatic, not looking at all like a man approaching fifty.

It wasn’t until the clouds painted the sky and the sun sank below the horizon that he finally collapsed onto the deck, panting for breath.

Chen Yansen had wanted to return to Yanjing earlier, but Song Yuncheng whispered, ”I want to watch the sunset.” As a result, Zhang Chaoyang was forced to stay for another hour and a half.

The group returned to the marina, rested for a bit, and then took a private jet back to Yanjing.