Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chen Yansen had no idea how much psychological damage Orange Technology’s branding department’s move would inflict on their competitors.

After all, the total smartphone shipments in Hua Country in 2012 were just over 200 million units, and the Qingcheng D2, with just a single model, had accounted for 10% of last year’s total sales.

So what about the Orange C3S and the Yaocheng X1?

Orange Technology hadn’t announced the numbers, clearly wanting to wait until they broke the 10 or 20 million unit mark before releasing a battle report.

Outsiders didn’t know, but Chen Yansen knew the exact figures.

The Orange C3S had sold 4.109 million units and the Yaocheng X1 had sold 1.171 million. Including other models like the Orange C3, Orange C2, and the Qingcheng D1, they had sold a cumulative 5.417 million units, bringing in 33.94 billion Hua Yuan in revenue.

This detailed data report was sitting on his desk right now.

Judging by the data, both the Orange C3S and the Yaocheng X1 showed significant sales growth, but their market performance could only be described as average, or even subpar.

This indicated that phones priced above 2,500 Hua Yuan were, in the end, a bit too expensive for consumers.

This was also the main reason why phones from Ni Cai, Da Kele, and Blue Demon could survive.

Some users had extremely low requirements for a phone; as long as it could make calls, send texts, and chat on WeChat, that was enough. As for apps for gaming, entertainment, or work, those weren’t even a consideration.

On the way back, Chen Yansen pondered for a long while and decided to develop a new low-to-mid-range model priced around 1,500 Hua Yuan to fill the product gap in that price segment.

He had originally planned to use the Orange C1 as a substitute, but with advancements in chip, camera, screen, and battery technology, the Orange C1’s specs were no longer up to the important task of capturing the thousand-yuan phone market.

Anyway, he just needed to make a few tweaks to the Orange C1’s base design. It wouldn’t require too much time or energy.

Apple, Mountain Star, Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi—which one of them didn’t do the same thing?

Milking the product line... he could do that too!

Back at the Delta Villa, Chen Yansen summoned the system panel.

He synthesized 290,028 strands of Human Dao Fire into 29 strands of Immortal Dao Fire, then allocated them all to his Spirit, raising the value to 101.05.

Although it was only a 1% increase, Chen Yansen discovered after some testing that the diameter of his Divine Sense’s detection range had grown by three meters. Compared to the original thirty meters, that was a full 10% increase.

The weight limit of his telekinesis also increased from over 330 pounds to around 375 pounds.

The activation duration of his [Planck Clock] talent extended from three seconds to four.

The circular hash marks in his eyes seemed to have widened slightly, emitting a cold, metallic luster. Mixed in with his dark brown irises, one would never notice them without looking very closely.

’It’s not just three seconds anymore!’

Chen Yansen let out a long sigh and nodded in satisfaction. He stood before a mirror, studying the faint circular hash marks, and had a strange feeling that even though a smile was on his face, his expression was utterly cold.

’This damn system doesn’t even come with a manual!’

After mulling it over for a short while, Chen Yansen couldn’t help but curse softly.

But President Chen’s moods came and went quickly. He immediately pulled out his phone and sent a text message.

’Consider it a celebration for the Qingcheng D2 selling 20 million units!’

「Meanwhile.」

Far away in the Shencheng City R&D lab, Lin Qingbai sat at his computer, finishing the final adjustments on the Orange wristband. He muttered to himself, ”I hope the boss stops tormenting me. This is the seventh version already. If he’s still not satisfied, I’m gonna pack my bags and quit tomorrow.”

Lin Qingbai couldn’t help but recall his work experience at Foxconn. Although he worked more overtime there, it was nowhere near as mentally exhausting as working at Orange Technology.

If it weren’t for the money, he really wanted to chew out Chen Yansen in an email.

Of course, that was just a thought.

From the huge success of the Moss (Alexa) Smart Speaker, the Orange Bluetooth headset, the Orange Pad 1, and the Orange MagicBook, every product demonstrated that his boss possessed a unique aesthetic sense and a forward-thinking market vision when it came to industrial design.

If he went back to Foxconn, he’d never be able to design a signature product like the Moss (Alexa) Smart Speaker.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Lin Qingbai heard the noise from outside the door and turned his head. It was Cao Dahua and Zuo Hongyu.

Without a second thought, he got up and walked out.

”Lin Gong, still haven’t clocked out? It’s already ten-thirty. Come on, Old Zuo and I are getting a late-night snack. You’re in.”

Cao Dahua said, putting his arm warmly around Lin Qingbai’s shoulder.

”President Cao’s treat?” Lin Qingbai asked tentatively.

The last time they went to the Golden Era, Cao Dahua had slipped away by pretending to use the bathroom, leaving him to pay the bill.

”Of course,” Cao Dahua said, puffing out his stomach.

Compared to the Spring Festival, his waistline was several sizes smaller. When others told him to lose weight, it went in one ear and out the other. But after Chen Yansen said a few words to him, Old Cao started taking it seriously.

Whenever he had free time, he would spend half the day at the swimming pool and control his diet. He quickly lost over twenty pounds.

”President Cao, that bill from the night of May 25th... can I get you to reimburse me for it?” Lin Qingbai, heartbroken over his private savings, boldly asked.

”What bill? I don’t remember.”

Cao Dahua waved his hand, quickly changing the subject.

Zuo Hongyu, standing to the side, grinned. He was long used to Cao Dahua’s shameless behavior. Whenever Old Cao invited him out to eat, he wouldn’t even bring his wallet and would instead carry a feature phone in his pocket.

”Just so you know, my phone’s dead,” Lin Qingbai reminded him.

”Who do you take me for? It’s my treat tonight. If anyone else tries to pay, they’ll have to answer to me.”

Cao Dahua said with a stern face.

’Yeah, right!’

Lin Qingbai rolled his eyes, switched off the light, and headed with Cao Dahua and Zuo Hongyu toward a late-night food stall near Zhongsha Village.

A white minivan followed closely behind them.

Halfway there, Lin Qingbai asked, ”President Cao, don’t you find it a hassle bringing four bodyguards with you every day?”

Cao Dahua replied, ”Actually, I’m not afraid of dying, nor am I afraid of losing an arm or a leg. I’m just worried that I won’t be able to work for the boss anymore.”

Lin Qingbai swallowed and really wanted to spit in Cao Dahua’s face. ’If you’re scared of dying, just say so. Stop making excuses. Ptooey!’

The summer nights in Shencheng City were muggy and hot. There were quite a few old gourmands out foraging for food, and the lively food stalls were packed to the brim, the air filled with the aroma of beef offal and roasted meats.

...

...

The next morning, the sky was cloudless and as clear as if it had been washed clean.

A Cloud Speed Courier stuffed a palm-sized package into a Cloud Speed Express locker in the Delta Villa District.

The moment it was placed in the locker, Yang Rui called Chen Yansen. ”Boss, your item is in the express locker.”

”When can you start?” Chen Yansen asked in return.

He didn’t show much concern for the data on Ni Cai’s more than 6,100 factory stores, instead asking about Yang Rui’s start date.

The subtext he was conveying to the other party was: ’I value you, the person, more.’

”Boss, I’ve already spoken with Lu Hongbo. I’ll officially resign on June 10th, so the earliest I can start is June 13th.”

The corners of Yang Rui’s mouth curled up, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Latching onto a powerhouse like Senlian Capital was, naturally, something to be happy about.

After all, even Ding Lei was sucking up to Chen Yansen to get into the phone manufacturing business.

Yang Rui certainly didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he was doing.

”Don’t you need to rest for a few days?” Chen Yansen asked.

”The boss’s business is more important,” Yang Rui immediately declared.

He had been navigating the treacherous waters of the workplace for over a decade, serving several big bosses in succession. When it came to rhetoric, he would never give anyone the slightest reason to find fault.

”I’ve already prepared the manpower for you. When the time comes, I’ll also hand over management of the first and second-tier direct-sale stores to you. Don’t disappoint me,”

Chen Yansen said in a slow, deliberate tone.

”Boss, you can rest assured. I might not be an expert in online channels, but when it comes to building offline channel networks, I’m more familiar with it than anyone,” Yang Rui guaranteed, patting his chest.

”Alright, that’s all for now. We can talk in more detail once you’re at the company.”

Chen Yansen gave a few perfunctory replies and then ended the call.

He put his phone away and, passing by the kitchen, saw Ye Qiuping dressed in a Pikachu cosplay outfit, standing at the stove cooking lunch.

Chen Yansen didn’t say anything. He walked through the garden, left the villa, and retrieved the item Yang Rui had sent.

He tore open the outer packaging. Inside was an encrypted USB drive.

As for the password, the main reason Yang Rui had just called was to give him that piece of information.

He held the USB drive and smiled faintly.

He first ran a scan and, after confirming there were no viruses, plugged it into his computer.

He entered the password and opened the document.

The content inside was densely packed. It contained collated core information on 6,137 Ni Cai Factory Stores, including not only store addresses but also local market size, population figures, consumer spending power surveys, and more.

There were also reports on market layout analysis, store density assessment, consumer service convenience, logistics and distribution, operations, renovation, and rental costs.

With this data, Orange Technology could absorb all of Ni Cai’s experience, optimize warehouse locations and delivery routes, and consequently reduce logistics costs.

This would also help in analyzing store operating costs, such as rent, labor expenses, and losses, since rent varies significantly between different locations.

Chen Yansen thought for a moment, deleted some of the non-essential fields, and then sent it to Zhou Shouzhi.

In the future, by compiling the costs of Orange Mobile Phone’s direct-sale stores in third and fourth-tier cities and rural markets and comparing them with Ni Cai’s data, he would be able to see if the people below him were skimming money off the top.

It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but at least he wouldn’t be completely deceived.

”Boss, lunch is ready.”

Ye Qiuping wiped the sweat from her forehead and called out softly.

Working for Boss Chen to earn money on weekdays, coming over to cook on Sundays, and then having to attend to him at night.

Master Ye felt that her monthly base salary of 100,000 Hua Yuan was not the least bit excessive.

Chen Yansen put away the USB drive, locked it in his safe, and then headed downstairs.

「On the other side.」

Lu Hongbo hadn’t even finished making the phone yet, but he had already taken high-definition pictures of the Qingcheng D2 and had the Market Department create a promotional poster.

The Ni Cai Da Qingcheng D2 Mobile Phone, priced at 599 Hua Yuan!

It was obvious he intended to ruthlessly piggyback on the Qingcheng D2’s popularity.

On the poster, Wang Baoqiang was holding a Ni Cai Da Qingcheng phone, with a caption to the side that read: ”A hundred-yuan, large-screen, dual-core 3G smartphone. Lower price, stronger performance.”

”Nicai Mobile Phone, we only ever make a 10 Hua Yuan profit, because we are a factory store.”

But as for the screen size, chip, memory, and camera specs, there was no information to be found on the poster.

The main strategy was to swindle people; every person they could trick was a win.

In fact, to earn a commission, Ni Cai’s low-level salespeople would even dare to make a vow: ”If this phone isn’t good, may my boss get hit by a car and die the moment he steps outside!”

That night, Chen Yansen received an email from Yang Rui. After a quick glance, he frowned and cursed, ”This son of a bitch is just asking to die!”