Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Never mind the brand or performance, just look at the specs and price!

Consumers would even accept knock-off phones, let alone ones from Aliyun, NetEase, Shanda, and 360 Mobile Phone.

For Xiaomi, with Orange Mobile Phone blocking its path ahead and a crowd of other internet phone brands flanking it from behind, coupled with Lei Yijun’s unwillingness to abandon the MIUI operating system, it was no surprise that its market performance fell short of 360’s.

Chen Yansen paid no mind to the words of Yu Chendong and Lei Yijun. He simply turned around, launched Cadence Spectre, and got busy with the analog circuit design for his self-developed chip.

Whenever he got stuck, he would instantly activate his one-second [Planck Clock] ability, and in that moment, all his problems would be solved with ease.

By midnight that day, total sales for the Orange Pad 1 reached 79,000 units, and the Orange MagicBook sold 34,000 units, for a total transaction value of 302 million.

If user feedback was positive, the Shencheng Factory would ramp up production in hopes of capturing a larger market share.

...

...

The next morning, Chen Yansen slowly woke up in Ye Qiuping’s bed, a familiar milky fragrance wafting to his nose.

Nowadays, the side effects from using his [Planck Clock] ability had become his best sleeping aid.

Chen Yansen sat up and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. It was 6:20 AM, and the sky outside was just beginning to brighten.

It was Monday, and there was a morning meeting.

Also, Li Guoqing from Dangdang Network and Huang Zheng had scheduled a meeting for today to discuss a business partnership between Dangdang and Pinbei in depth.

As the big boss of Pinbei, Chen Yansen naturally had to make an appearance.

He then slipped on his slippers, ambled over to the living room sofa, sat down, and began his usual routine of looking through scanned documents on his phone.

Meanwhile, his mind was mulling over the overseas market expansion plan submitted by Liang Bo. The short-video app he needed had been completed last week; all that was left was to launch it.

But in the past two months, not a single candidate recommended by the HR department had satisfied him.

Liang Bo wasn’t a good fit, for one, and for another, he was already responsible for Toutiao’s daily operations.

’Give it to Zhou Shouzhi?’

Chen Yansen knew perfectly well that Lao Zhou was more than capable, but he had joined Orange Technology, not Today Technology.

Zhou Shouzhi could only take it on as a concurrent role!

After some thought, Chen Yansen decided that if he couldn’t find a suitable person to lead the project, he’d just have Lao Zhou take on the extra work for a while.

「Two hours passed in a flash.」

In the bedroom, Ye Qiuping slowly woke up. She kicked off the down comforter, relaxed for two minutes, then picked up the silk nightgown from the foot of the bed and unhurriedly put it on.

The hour hand on the wall clock was pointing directly at the number ’8’!

Ye Qiuping walked out of the bedroom and immediately spotted Chen Yansen on the sofa. She took small, mincing steps and sidled up to him.

"Boss, what would you like for breakfast?" Ye Qiuping asked in a soft, gentle voice.

"A hamburger," Chen Yansen said, looking up with a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"Stop it!" Ye Qiuping protested coquettishly, subconsciously pressing her legs together as she leaned over and draped herself across Chen Yansen’s lap.

"Are you hungry?" Chen Yansen shot back.

Ye Qiuping tilted her head up, pretending not to understand. She fluttered her long eyelashes, looking tantalizingly seductive.

"Stop it! We have the morning meeting soon," Chen Yansen said seriously, but his hands didn’t stop their roaming.

Ye Qiuping giggled and let herself fall into Chen Yansen’s embrace.

A short while later, the wind chime on the balcony began to tinkle.

It wasn’t until 9:30 AM that the two of them went downstairs, one after the other.

SMACK!

Chen Yansen audaciously turned the tables. "Making your boss late for work. That’s a 100-point deduction."

Ye Qiuping rubbed her rear and asked in a sultry voice, "100 times?"

Chen Yansen stared at Ye Qiuping and thought to himself, ’You haven’t changed one bit!’

SMOOCH! Ye Qiuping stood on her tiptoes and gave Chen Yansen’s lips a little lick, just like a kitten.

Chen Yansen chuckled, pulled open the car door, and plopped down inside.

Just as Ye Qiuping was about to squeeze in with him, she saw his expression slowly turn cold. She gave an awkward laugh, closed the car door for him, and then muttered under her breath, "Jerk."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and signaled for Xiaoli to drive.

Only after his car was some distance away did Ye Qiuping get into her own BMW and follow at a leisurely pace.

Before long, the Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park came into view.

Chen Yansen got out of the car. Just as he was about to head into Building 9, he heard Huang Zheng call out to him from across the way.

"Boss!" Huang Zheng waved.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed sharply in a suit, looking every bit the successful businessman.

’Gong Zhangli?’

Chen Yansen stopped and strode toward them.

Li Guoqing’s expression changed. He felt a heavy, overwhelming aura crash down on him like a tidal wave.

’So this is Chen Yansen?’

Li Guoqing was inwardly alarmed. He was the same age as Ma Liyun, making him one of the first-generation veterans of the internet industry. He had co-founded Dangdang Network with his wife in the same year Ah Li was established.

He had met his fair share of titans in the business community, but this was the first time he’d ever encountered an entrepreneur in his twenties with such a powerfully oppressive presence.

In his eyes, Chen Yansen was full of spirit and razor-sharp, like a newly unsheathed sword that sent a chill down one’s spine.

"President Li, I’ve heard so much about you! I’ve been meaning to pay you a visit, but I never found the chance."

Chen Yansen said, exchanging pleasantries politely.

"President Chen, you’re too kind," Li Guoqing said with a smile as he shook Chen Yansen’s right hand, his face devoid of any arrogance.

Of course, he didn’t take Chen Yansen’s words at face value.

Although Dangdang Network had been founded much earlier, its valuation wasn’t even a fraction of Pinbei’s.

To say nothing of their respective industry status and influence!

Otherwise, why would he have traveled all the way to Xucheng to visit in person?

Li Guoqing adopted a very low posture, practically wearing a humble expression that said, ’You can just call me Qingzi’.

One hand washes the other. Since the man was showing him face, Chen Yansen didn’t put on airs and showed him sufficient respect in return.

The three of them went to Huang Zheng’s office together.

Huang Zheng invited Li Guoqing to sit down so they could talk at a leisurely pace.

Chen Yansen picked a box of tea leaves from the cabinet and gestured for Huang Zheng to get the tea set.

A moment later, the water on the coffee table came to a boil, and Chen Yansen poured it into the teapot.

Huang Zheng took the teapot, first pouring a cup for Li Guoqing as the guest of honor, then one for his boss, and finally a cup of hot tea for himself.

In 2012, Dangdang Network was not having an easy time.

Qingzi’s troubles came from Handsome Dong. Last year, Jingdong had entered the book industry and adopted a zero-profit strategy, battering Dangdang Network mercilessly.

Because of this, Li Guoqing had no choice but to expand into new product categories, establish a partnership with Gome, and simultaneously open storefronts on Tmall and Pinbei Mall.

"President Chen, let me use this tea in place of wine to thank Pinbei for its support of Dangdang Network," Li Guoqing said, taking the initiative.

Books were a weak category for Pinbei Mall, so the partnership was mutually beneficial.

"That won’t be necessary. Let’s have Mr. Huang arrange something for tonight. We can have a few drinks, and I’ll fulfill my duties as a host."

Chen Yansen raised his teacup, tapped it against Li Guoqing’s, and replied with a smile.

"Excellent. I hear Huian has many famous liquors, so I’ll have to take this opportunity to try some," Li Guoqing readily accepted.

"President Li, regarding the partnership between Pinbei and Dangdang, I believe..." Huang Zheng began in a slow, deliberate manner.

The whole point of partnering with Dangdang was to gain access to their publisher and book distributor resources.

Li Guoqing was well aware of this, and Huang Zheng knew that Li Guoqing could see right through his intentions.

But as long as both sides stood to profit, even if the benefits were short-lived, no one would be so tactless as to point it out.

This was business!

Chen Yansen held his teacup, savoring the tea, and did not intervene in their conversation.

Just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

"Excuse me, President Li, I have to take this."

With that, Chen Yansen stood up, walked out of the office, and answered the call. "Martin, what’s up?"

"I have a lead on that matter you asked me about. The guy was a member of Penguin’s Summer Entrepreneurship Camp. Zhang Xiaolong thought he was very capable and recommended him to Pony, but he’s a bit too ambitious and refused to join Penguin. That’s why I’m introducing him to you," Liu Zhiping explained slowly.

Penguin’s Summer Entrepreneurship Camp was similar to the Lake University that Ma Liyun would later establish.

To put it bluntly, it was a channel for recruiting top talent.

It was also one of the best ways for young entrepreneurs to secure funding.

"If he looks down on even Penguin, what makes you think he’d give Senlian Capital the time of day?" Chen Yansen pressed.