Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Mao Chaorong asked cautiously.

In reality, Qu Fang was the one spearheading the Little Red Skirt project.

Although their romantic past had ended unpleasantly, he was still grateful for Qu Fang’s support.

’In six months, Instagram clones will probably have popped up all over the country. Rather than letting some stranger get the opportunity, he might as well give it to Qu Fang. Consider it a form of compensation.’

"You can," Chen Yansen agreed readily.

Did Little Red Skirt have commercial value?

Of course it did!

After all, the app it was based on, Instagram, had sold for 700 million US dollars with only 40 million users.

In his eyes, with sufficient funding and user traffic, there was no reason Little Red Skirt couldn’t become a hundred-billion-dollar internet company three to five years ahead of schedule.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of the Sky Garden.

Chen Yansen led Mao Chaorong into the elevator and up to a private room on the top floor.

The meeting didn’t end until 10:30 PM. Mao Chaorong saw Chen Yansen to his car, then turned and returned to his hotel.

Slightly tipsy, he lay on his side on the bed, then pulled out his phone and called Qu Fang.

RING... RING... RING...

Just as Mao Chaorong was thinking she wouldn’t pick up, he heard a CLICK from the receiver.

"What is it?" Qu Fang asked bluntly.

"I accepted an offer from Today Technology," Mao Chaorong said. "I’m heading to Los Angeles in three days."

"You’re giving up on your startup?" Qu Fang asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

"It’s too hard for people like us, with no connections, to raise capital. I’ve given up. By the way, I mentioned Little Red Skirt to Chen Yansen, and he’s willing to invest. You should do it. Fulfill the dream we both had."

Mao Chaorong gazed out the window at the dazzling neon lights, took a deep breath, and said with a sigh full of emotion.

Compared to the average person, he and Qu Fang were a cut above the rest. One was a top student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, the other a small-town academic prodigy from Hu City Jiaoda. Both had studied abroad and worked for foreign enterprises.

Yet in the eyes of men like Chen Yansen and Ma Wenteng, they were still insignificant.

"You took the job in exchange for this funding opportunity?"

After a moment of silence, Qu Fang couldn’t help but press him.

"While Today Technology might not be on par with Orange Technology or Pinbei Mall, it’s backed by Senlian Capital. Besides, the title and compensation package are excellent." Mao Chaorong didn’t answer her directly.

"Thank you." Qu Fang hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

For one, she had poured her heart and soul into the business plan for Little Red Skirt.

For another, she desperately needed a job to cover her living expenses.

"Okay, that’s all for now. And next time, lay off the four-letter words. They don’t really suit your refined temperament."

Mao Chaorong said with a teasing laugh.

Qu Fang gave a knowing smile and hung up.

「The next morning: November 27.」

The Orange Pad 1 and MagicBook debuted in the Orange Intelligent Life Halls, adding an offline sales channel and boosting sales.

That same day, Mao Chaorong made his second visit to Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park. He signed his employment contract and stock option agreement for the position of General Manager of the Mimo North America Division, reporting to Chen Yansen.

"Liang, let me introduce you. This is Mao Chaorong."

Chen Yansen said, calling Liang Bo over and gesturing toward Mao Chaorong.

"President Mao, hello," Liang Bo said with a smile, extending a hand in greeting.

In truth, he had already anticipated Chen Yansen’s decision.

"President Liang, a pleasure to meet you," Mao Chaorong responded immediately. "I’ll be relying on your support for our expansion efforts in the North American Region. I’m counting on you."

"I’ll let you two chat. By early December, I want to see Mimo on the live download charts of the iOS and Android app stores."

Chen Yansen interjected.

The short-video industry in North America was a blue ocean at the time. While Vine’s six-second video design saved users’ data and facilitated market expansion, the six-second limit was too short, severely curtailing the user experience.

Mimo, on the other hand, had a fifteen-second video limit and used algorithmic recommendations as its core to provide users with personalized video content.

When it came to recommendation engine technology, Today Technology and Byte Technology had accumulated vast project experience and technical depth from products like Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, and Lingxi Search. They were in no way inferior to Amazon or Netflix—in fact, they were a major step ahead.

Liang Bo led Mao Chaorong out, intending to give him a tour of the Today Technology offices.

Chen Yansen turned on his computer and opened his work email.

An email had arrived from Liao Wei. In addition to Shunfeng, Guotong, Tiantian, and Best Express, a number of third-tier delivery companies like Yafeng, Jiaji, Longbang, Rufengda, and Xingchen had also joined the Cloud Speed Express Alliance.

Now, Yunsu Express Service Stations were spread throughout the entire East China Region, totaling 1,200 locations. As for the remaining townships, they either had too small a population or were too vast and sparsely populated. For cost reasons, Liao Wei had temporarily put expansion there on hold.

After a two-month trial period, the Yunsu Express Service Stations had found a clear business model and path to profitability.

Therefore, Liao Wei was asking for permission to accelerate expansion by replicating the model in the North China, Northeast, Southern China, and Central China regions.

"We’ll do it in stages, step by step. Classify the townships into three tiers based on population, consumption potential, and coverage area. Start with the first tier."

Chen Yansen replied in the email.

After defeating the "Three Passes and One Reach," Cloud Speed had become the undisputed leader of the private express delivery industry.

Its daily package volume reached as high as 12 million, accounting for fifty to sixty percent of the entire country’s business. This, combined with its digital waybill technology and network of Cloud Speed lockers, cemented its status as the top dog in the industry.

Though Shunfeng was strong in the time-sensitive delivery sector, its daily volume was only 2.6 million parcels, giving it a market share of just one-fifth of Cloud Speed’s.