Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”Manager Wu, when will you get that cheaper Qingcheng phone in stock?”

”It’s been on sale online for two days. How come you guys haven’t gotten any in?”

”How about you help me buy one on Pinbei?”

In Anfeng Town, Wu Lei had just opened the doors to the Cloud Speed Service Station when he was surrounded by local residents. The crowd started talking all at once, some making requests, others asking about the arrival time.

”Folks, please come back after the Dragon Boat Festival. I guarantee we’ll have them in stock,” Wu Lei promised, patting his chest.

To the side, Hu Peng grinned, taking big bites of a fried dough stick wrapped in tofu skin. He occasionally sipped some soy milk, rushing to refuel.

There were only the two of them in the entire service station. Usually, they were bored to death, but when it got busy, they were run off their feet.

Unloading, sorting, and organizing packages, they also had to handle pickups and deal with customer inquiries.

Fortunately, the pay was good, and they could earn extra commission by selling phones and getting new users for the app.

”Hu Peng, come here! Install Pinbei for Brother Li, and then help him buy a Qingcheng D2 SE,” Wu Lei called out from the front.

”Coming, Brother Lei.” Hu Peng put down his breakfast, wiped his mouth with his hand, and ambled over with a grin.

This ”Brother Li” that Wu Lei mentioned was actually in his early fifties, two years older than Hu Peng’s own father.

But if you called him ’Uncle,’ he might get offended. Calling him ’Brother’ was much smoother.

”Brother Li, have you set up your online banking?” Hu Peng asked.

”Yes, I did it yesterday at the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Bank on the corner. They even gave me a USB drive... oh, shoot, I forgot it at home.”

Brother Li slapped his forehead, his face twisting into a frown.

”That thing is called a U-Shield. It’s okay if you didn’t bring it. Do you remember your bank card number?” Hu Peng asked again.

”I wrote it down on a piece of paper,” Brother Li replied with a smile.

”Where’s the paper?” Hu Peng asked, taking the man’s phone and holding out his other hand for the note.

Brother Li fidgeted, looking a bit embarrassed.

”You forgot that at home too?” Hu Peng couldn’t help but chuckle, rubbing his forehead.

He went through countless conversations just like this every day.

Brother Li nodded and said with an awkward laugh, ”Xiaohu, can you wait a bit? I’ll go home and get it.”

With that, he dashed out.

”Brother Li, your phone!” Hu Peng shouted at his retreating back, but Brother Li acted as if he hadn’t heard.

The Cloud Speed Service Station had been open in Anfeng for nearly a year, and the local residents knew him and Wu Lei well. It wasn’t as if his phone would get stolen just by leaving it in the shop.

So, even though Brother Li heard Hu Peng calling him, he pretended not to.

After a short while, the customers crowded around the entrance left, their faces full of disappointment.

Since the Qingcheng D2 SE wasn’t in stock, there was no reason for them to wait around any longer.

Seeing this, Wu Lei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He turned, grabbed a warm flatbread, and started wolfing it down.

In another half hour, the delivery trucks from Cloud Speed, Shunfeng, Huitong, and other companies would arrive. There would be at least two or three hundred packages to sort. If they didn’t eat their fill, how would they find the energy to work?

Outside, the sun blazed down. The Chinese parasol trees lining the street were full of cicadas, buzzing insistently.

Just then, a man in his sixties pushed aside the transparent plastic door flap and walked in, his face wreathed in smiles.

”Manager Wu, good morning! Eating a flatbread, I see. I brought you a jar of pickled long beans. I made them myself. Please, try some.”

The man pulled a jar of long beans in chili oil from his pocket and enthusiastically handed it to Wu Lei.

”Uncle Zhou, I couldn’t possibly accept this,” Wu Lei said, trying to decline.

”You let me come here and enjoy the air conditioning every day. Just consider it payment for the electricity bill,” Uncle Zhou said with a stern expression.

”Alright, then.” Seeing the man’s insistence, Wu Lei had no choice but to accept it.

Uncle Zhou lived nearby and often came to the Cloud Speed Service Station to enjoy the free air conditioning. Over time, the two had become familiar.

Although by 2013, the ownership and use of air conditioners had increased significantly, in a small town in Huian, there were still many people who couldn’t afford to buy or run one.

Come summertime, the nearby banks and telecom company lobbies would be packed with elderly people seeking refuge in the air conditioning.

They were all local folks and neighbors, so it wouldn’t be right to chase them away.

Most of the space in the Cloud Speed Service Station was taken up by shelves and the warehouse, but fortunately, there was a little room by the entrance for a few small folding stools.

Uncle Zhou took out an old radio, half-closed his eyes, and enjoyed the cool summer air, a look of contentment spreading across his face.

Wu Lei shook his head with a smile. He stuffed the pickled beans into his flatbread. One bite revealed a crisp, fresh, and fragrant flavor that added a nice touch.

”Brother Lei, from the looks of it, the Qingcheng D2 SE is selling even better than the Qingcheng D2. I really don’t get it. It’s only 200 yuan cheaper, but the performance is a lot worse,” Hu Peng said, looking puzzled.

”200 yuan? Sigh, Xiaohu, I’m not trying to lecture you, but just think about it. How many people in Anfeng Town earn 3,000 yuan a month?” Wu Lei shot him a look and said irritably.

Huian, much like Xijiang, the Central Plains, and Sichuan, was a major source of migrant workers. Over sixty percent of the young and able-bodied population made their living in places like Hu City, Shencheng City, and Jinling.

The people who stayed behind were either filthy rich or dirt poor.

Relying on just a few meager acres of land, they were lucky to even scrape by. And they were supposed to buy a smartphone?

Buy jack shit!

Wu Lei was an Anfeng native, born and raised. He understood the local situation far better than an outsider like Hu Peng.

”Heh, I guess you’re right,” Hu Peng said, scratching his head.

He paused, then added, ”Still, our company’s benefits are great. We have social security and a base salary, and I take home eight or nine thousand yuan a month. It’s exhausting work, for sure, but the pay is high. My high school classmate graduated from college and works in Jinling, but he doesn’t even take home 5,000 yuan a month.”

”That’s for sure. The boss treats his employees really well,” Wu Lei agreed.

”You mean President Liao?” Hu Peng pressed.

”What are you talking about? The one who really gave us a raise was President Chen. Before Cloud Speed was sold to Senlian Capital, I was just a regular deliveryman for them. Forget a base salary and bonuses; the commission per delivery was even ten cents less than at other courier companies,” Wu Lei said with a scoff.

”My younger brother just finished his college entrance exams. He probably only scored around 300, so more school is hopeless for him. I heard they’re building a new factory in Shencheng City. If I could get him a job there, my parents would stop worrying,” Hu Peng added.

”Forget about it. The Shencheng Factory won’t even start production until the end of the year,” Wu Lei said after a moment’s thought. ”I checked the company intranet yesterday. The Southern China Region is hiring Kuai Pao Deliverymen. You could have him try that.”

”A deliveryman? Exposed to the wind and sun... that’s even harder work than ours,” Hu Peng said with a slight frown, looking hesitant.

”You want to make money but you’re afraid of hard work? You should know, this is for a full-time rider. After three months, you even get 500 stock options. That’s a job other people couldn’t get even if they paid for it,” Wu Lei snorted.

The team of Kuai Pao Riders was constantly growing, but the number of external hires was always small, mainly because they prioritized hiring internally.

Under Senlian Capital, it wasn’t uncommon to find entire families working for Chen Yansen. For example, a son might be a Kuai Pao Deliveryman, his father a Cloud Speed courier, and his mother an employee at the Orange Phone Factory.

Of course, some employees’ children were also hired by the company after graduation. Some worked in investment attraction or operations at Kuai Pao, while others became R&D engineers at Cloud Speed, Pinbei, or Orange Technology.

It was all just a matter of proportion.

”Xiaohu, I brought my bank card! Hurry up and help me buy the phone!” Brother Li, who had returned, called out.

Hu Peng finished the last of his soy milk and quickly got up to help him.

「Meanwhile.」

At a street intersection in Jinling’s Liuhe District, a fifty-square-meter shop was being renovated.

Diagonally across from it was a Ni Cai Factory Store with a banner over the entrance that read: ”Clear Prices, Only 10 Yuan Profit.”

’Even Lu Hongbo himself probably doesn’t believe that!’

But the 399-yuan Nicai Mobile Phone had still managed to achieve impressive sales of over 8 million units a year in the lower-tier markets.

The franchise owner narrowed his eyes and said to an employee beside him, ”Big Mouth, go across the street and find out what kind of business they’re in.”

In the last six months, Nicai phones were clearly not selling as well as they did last year. He was thinking of switching to a different business.

’Why rack my own brain when someone else has already made a reliable decision?’

Every time a new store opened, he would send an employee to inquire. If the business seemed promising, he would just find a new storefront with good foot traffic and replicate it for his own success.

”Okay, boss,” Big Mouth replied with a nod.

About ten minutes later, he ran back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ”Boss, I asked. They’re in the fruit business.”

’Fruit?’

’That stuff has a high spoilage rate and requires a cold storage unit. The investment cost is pretty high.’

The owner of the Ni Cai Factory Store sneered and instantly gave up the idea of ”copying their homework.”

「Elsewhere.」

Yang Rui arrived at the Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park to report for duty the day before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

”I’m putting you in charge of Orange Technology’s direct-sale store operations in third- and fourth-tier cities and township markets. There are currently 174 stores under renovation. Read through this file first. The work can wait until after the holiday.”

Chen Yansen pushed a stack of documents toward Yang Rui.

”Boss, I’d like to use the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to check on the renovation progress of some of the stores,” Yang Rui said with a serious expression.

”There’s no rush. Take a couple of days off first,” Chen Yansen said, waving his hand dismissively.

”Boss, I won’t feel at ease unless I go and check on them myself,” Yang Rui insisted, his attitude firm.

He had just joined Orange Technology and hadn’t accomplished anything yet, so of course, he wanted to take the initiative and make a good impression.

”We’ll talk about it after the holiday,” Chen Yansen said, his tone becoming more forceful. He reiterated, ”Orange Technology’s work culture is different from Ni Cai’s. Whether employees work overtime is entirely voluntary.

President Yang, you may want to inspect the stores, but half the people in your department are already on trains or buses heading home.”

’Voluntary overtime?’

Yang Rui was slightly taken aback. He had been navigating the corporate world for many years and had always been ”volunteered” for overtime; he had never experienced a truly voluntary overtime policy.

”Boss, I don’t need to rest,” Yang Rui said after a moment of thought.

He felt a bit uneasy, worried that Chen Yansen was testing him.

”I only have one requirement for you: don’t bring that Ni Cai overtime culture to Orange Technology. Just focus your energy on building the offline sales network. Understand?” Chen Yansen warned.

”Yes, Boss. I understand.”

Yang Rui immediately understood that Chen Yansen wasn’t joking.

’Good pay, less work, and no overtime? This is a dream company!’

He’d grown so accustomed to the rat race that this relaxed environment actually made him feel a bit out of place. He even felt the urge to work a couple of days of overtime.

”I’ve already spoken with the administration department. Go downstairs and pick out an apartment, then go to the garage and choose a car. Once you’re done, you can head home,” Chen Yansen said casually.

After all, as the head of domestic offline channels for Orange Mobile Phone, a house and a car were standard perks.

”Thank you, Boss.” Yang Rui then walked out of the office.

Chen Yansen glanced at his watch. It was 4:26 PM, with just over half an hour left in the workday.

Everyone at Pinbei was busy preparing for the 618 shopping festival. The pre-sale phase had already begun, and everyone was full of anticipation, determined to hit the 10 billion yuan sales target.

They knew in their hearts that, given Chen Yansen’s personality, if they hit the target, getting another 20% increase on their Q2 performance bonuses wouldn’t be a problem.

Chen Yansen leaned against the sofa by the window, looking at Song Yuncheng across from him.

He took out his phone and sent a text: ”I’ll wait for you in the garage.”

”Okay, Master,” Little Orange replied instantly.

Although Chen Yansen disliked the title, he didn’t correct Song Yuncheng.

Ten minutes later, the two of them took a car to Luzhou, where they boarded a Gulfstream G550 at the airport and flew towards Northern Europe.

This was the first time the private jet had been used since he bought it.

Chen Yansen took Song Yuncheng on a three-day trip, visiting places like Reykjavik, Oslo, and Stockholm.

Meanwhile, sales of the Qingcheng D2 SE absolutely exploded!

June 10: 1.071 million units sold nationwide!

June 11: 934,000 units sold nationwide!

June 12: 1.147 million units sold nationwide!

In just five days since its release, a total of 4.62 million units had been sold, generating an astonishing 2.76 billion yuan in revenue.

Combined with the Qingcheng D2, Orange Technology had captured over sixty percent of the market share in the thousand-yuan phone category.

The total sales for both models reached 27 million units. If you included the sales of the Orange C3S, the Yaocheng X1, and sales in the African and Eastern European markets, the total shipments for the year had already exceeded 40 million units.

To put it simply, aside from Samsung and Apple, Orange Mobile Phone’s sales ranking had already jumped to third in the world.

Once the offline channels were fully established, it was entirely possible for annual shipments to break one hundred million units.

It wasn’t until late on the night of the 12th that Chen Yansen returned to the Delta Villa.