Chapter 126: I Don

May 17, Shencheng, Futian District.

Chen Yansen leaned against the Mercedes, tugged at his tie, exhaled deeply, and turned to Cao Dahua: "Call Lao Zuo. Why isn't he here yet?"

"Don't rush, I just called—he's on his way!" Cao Dahua patted his belly and wiped sweat from his brow.

Wang Zihao got out of the car, took two bottles of mineral water from the trunk, and handed them over.

Cao Dahua accepted the water, thanked him, and thought: After all these years away, I'd forgotten how humid and sweltering Shencheng's May weather is.

Chen Yansen waved his hand, turned back to the rear seat, adjusted the air vent, and let the breeze blow across his face.

Song Yuncheng glanced out the window, saw Wang Zihao chatting with Cao Dahua and not paying attention inside, and handed him half-drunk mineral water: "Here."

Chen Yansen didn't refuse, took it, and tilted his head back to gulp down a large mouthful.

He'd originally planned to bring only Wang Zihao and Song Yuncheng, but Cao Dahua heard he was going to Shencheng to set up a factory and insisted on coming along, claiming he was a mentor at the entrepreneurship park and ought to help Chen Yansen oversee things.

After landing, the four rented a Mercedes ML500 from a car rental and drove straight to the address provided by Zuo Hongyu.

Unexpectedly, Zuo Hongyu had suddenly flaked out, arriving a full half-hour late.

"Tap-tap-tap—" Wang Zihao turned and knocked on the car window.

Chen Yansen looked toward the intersection and saw Zuo Hongyu stepping out of a car, running over breathlessly, face flushed with apology, followed by another man.

Though displeased, he got out and smiled to greet him.

"Manager Chen, I'm truly sorry—I was held up last minute." Zuo Hongyu's face burned red with embarrassment.

"Let's go see the factory first," Chen Yansen said without elaboration.

Cao Dahua stood to the side, glaring fiercely at Zuo Hongyu.

At that moment, the man behind Zuo Hongyu spoke: "Mr. Chen, I'm Zhou Jinling from Ouhan Mobile. Lao Zuo's delay is entirely my fault."

Chen Yansen looked up and saw a man under forty, dressed in a blue suit streaked with visible dust, half his hair white—far too gray for his age.

"Little Zhou? You're Little Jiangxi?" Cao Dahua rubbed his eyes, hardly believing it.

"Brother Hua, long time no see," the man replied with a bitter smile.

Chen Yansen smiled—he hadn't expected these three to be old acquaintances. He checked his watch and suggested: "There's a tea shop over there. Let's sit and talk slowly."

Chen Yansen glanced between Zhou Jinling and Zuo Hongyu, sensing something had happened between them before they arrived.

"How did you get so old?" Cao Dahua couldn't hold back and asked outright.

He was four years older than Zhou Jinling, yet Zhou looked ten years his senior.

"Brother Hua, let's go over there and talk," Zuo Hongyu pulled Cao Dahua toward the direction Chen Yansen had indicated.

Song Yuncheng also got out of the car and followed behind.

After sitting down, Zuo Hongyu glanced at Zhou Jinling, saw he wasn't speaking, and volunteered: "This morning, Little Zhou threatened to jump off a building. I talked to him for a long time before he finally came down."

"Factory shut down, wife left, kid isn't mine—I truly felt like giving up."

Zhou Jinling shrugged, took over the story, and laughed bitterly.

Fuck!

So miserable!

No—worse, he's just unbelievably unlucky!

Chen Yansen leaned back, afraid of catching his bad luck.

"Little Zhou, I heard from Lao Zuo you were doing pretty well these past two years—how did you suddenly end up…?"

Cao Dahua frowned, puzzled.

"Two months ago, the authorities launched a crackdown targeting counterfeit phone manufacturers like Ouhan. Now, less than one in ten knockoff phones remain in Huaqiangbei—either shut down or jailed. I was lucky—I paid the fine and got released."

Zhou Jinling sighed, offering a hollow smile.

Chen Yansen took the lemon tea Song Yuncheng had bought, sipped it slowly, listening indifferently.

There were far worse off than Zhou Jinling—what did it matter to him?

If not for Zhou Jinling being an old acquaintance of Cao Dahua's, he'd have left long ago—this was pure waste of his time.

Zhou Jinling quietly observed Chen Yansen's expression, his heart sinking—he realized this man was a typical businessman: no compassion, no morality; everything he said was just noise to him.

"What's a 'crackdown'?" Wang Zihao asked curiously from beside them.

"Intellectual property infringement and manufacturing/selling fake or substandard goods—anyone caught is finished. Big Pineapple got lucky and switched fast; even though it was a knockoff phone, its tech licensing and supply chain were traceable, so it wasn't affected."

Zuo Hongyu explained slowly.

Zhou Jinling nodded, filled with regret—he'd been warned by Zuo Hongyu but hadn't taken it seriously.

Three months ago, he was a top boss worth over a hundred million, driving luxury cars, tipping waitresses at karaoke bars with at least five hundred yuan—now he was like a rat on the street, terrified of being recognized.

Chen Yansen stayed silent, glanced at Zhou Jinling, and thought to himself: No wonder lately more and more knockoff phone manufacturers have been approaching FoxTao for cooperation, offering commission rates of nearly 80%.

They're all just clearing out inventory!

"But you made a fortune in previous years—why would you even think of jumping?" Cao Dahua blinked, then asked.

"After the factory collapsed, I saw Apple phones selling well in China, so I hired an agent to become a distributor—but he was a scammer and ran off with tens of millions."

Zhou Jinling's expression was numb, as if recounting someone else's story.

Wang Zihao unconsciously shrank back.

He wasn't superstitious, but this guy was just too unlucky—like a walking curse.

The wife leaving and the kid not being his? That was the final blow.

"Do you all think I'm the unluckiest person alive?" Zhou Jinling looked up, smiling bitterly.

The group exchanged glances, unable to utter a single lie.

"But before this, my life was smooth sailing. Five years ago, I, Brother Yu, and Brother Hua all entered the phone industry. Brother Hua's factory collapsed within a year. Brother Yu joined Big Pineapple. I chose to start my own business."

"In just three years, I pushed Ouhan into the top tier of Huaqiangbei—sold products across Southeast Asia and Africa, earning a hundred million a year…"

Zhou Jinling lowered his head, listing his past glories.

Cao Dahua rolled his eyes and cursed inwardly: This kid is really underhanded — if you're going to brag, then brag, why step on me while you're at it?

Chen Yansen had heard of Zhou Jinling and his crew; during the years when Shanzhai phones were rampant, they'd made quite a fortune.

The sharp-witted ones pivoted in time, escaped the disaster, and with the capital and supply chains they'd accumulated earlier, switched to making smartphones. Among the standouts was the Little Chili phone brand, founded a year later — its boss had also gotten his start from Shanzhai phones.

The slower ones, like Zhou Jinling, had been sailing with the wind; once they hit rock bottom overnight, their mindset collapsed.

Judging from how he'd been swindled out of tens of millions, the man was shallow and simple-minded. That he'd made money before was only because he had a streak of boldness and happened to ride the crest of the times.

From start to finish, Chen Yansen said nothing.

He understood what Zhou Jinling was implying, but he wasn't some savior — there was no reason to help Zhou Jinling.

Zhou Jinling kept talking to himself: over the past two months, not a single project he'd invested in was reliable, and his savings were nearly wiped out.

His wife sued for divorce and took another chunk of money with her.

As she left, that beautiful, well-educated ex-wife said outright: don't bother thinking about your son either — he's not yours anyway.

Hit after hit made Zhou Jinling lose his grip for a moment, and the thought of jumping off a building took root in his mind.

"President Chen, I think Little Zhou is quite capable — more than enough to be a factory manager. He has wide connections and abundant resources in Shencheng, so I took the liberty of bringing him to see you."

At this point, Zuo Hongyu turned to Chen Yansen and said.

"When the great roc rises with the wind and soars ninety thousand li, do you think that's the wind's doing, or is it because the roc itself has the ability?"

Chen Yansen asked with a smile.

In his view, Zhou Jinling might have some ability, but most likely couldn't keep up with the present — or the future.

A man like that, forget factory manager — he'd struggle even as a workshop supervisor.

Zhou Jinling's heart sank at once; the flicker of hope Zuo Hongyu had lit in him was snuffed out in an instant.

"President Chen, could you give me a hand? I don't want to lose — I want to win, just once."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Jinling suddenly dropped to his knees before Chen Yansen, pleading desperately.

He had nothing now — he only wanted to make a comeback!

Zhou Jinling, white-haired all over, knelt on the ground weeping. The scene made Song Yuncheng, Wang Zihao, and the others feel a pang of pity.

Zuo Hongyu and Cao Dahua hadn't expected Zhou Jinling to do this and hurried to pull him up, but he was dead set — he had to have Chen Yansen take him on.

Chen Yansen gave a cold snort in his heart and said evenly, "If you're willing, start from the assembly line. If you really have the ability, I believe you can earn the factory manager's seat."

The meaning was plain enough: he could let Zhou Jinling stay, but he'd have to start by screwing in screws.

Zhou Jinling froze on the spot. He'd assumed that with Zuo Hongyu's help, he'd at least land a department manager position — he hadn't expected Chen Yansen to leave him no face at all.

"I-I'll think about it." Zhou Jinling slowly got up and sat back down.

"Old Zuo, it's getting late — let's go look at the factory."

Chen Yansen stood up. Those ten-plus minutes wasted had already given Zuo Hongyu plenty of face.

"Yes, President Chen." Zuo Hongyu patted Zhou Jinling's shoulder, was at a loss for words for a moment, then hurried after him.

Once in the car, Cao Dahua thought it over and still added a word of caution: "Little Chen, Old Zuo's just like that — he definitely didn't mean anything by it."

Cao Dahua had been around the Xu Dan compound for a few years and knew Chen Yansen's mind. If Zhou Jinling hadn't been brought by Zuo Hongyu, Chen Yansen might well have offered him a workshop supervisor post.

"It's fine — no impact either way."

Chen Yansen signaled Wang Zihao to drive.

Zhou Jinling did have a few good points — at least he could bend and stretch. This morning he was making a fuss about jumping off a building; by afternoon he was on his knees begging for a job.

Being familiar with the low-end phone markets of Southeast Asia and Africa was of some use to him, but not a great deal — it didn't matter much either way.

If Zhou Jinling could really work his way up from the assembly line step by step, Chen Yansen didn't mind giving him a chance, lending him a hand.

But to brazenly ask for the factory manager post right off the bat — that was simply a pipe dream.

Song Yuncheng listened to the exchange between Chen Yansen and Cao Dahua, lost in thought, seeming to grasp Chen Yansen's thinking.

"You used to be a factory manager too? The money from selling 991 navigators — I'm guessing you lost all of it?"

Chen Yansen looked at Cao Dahua and asked out of the blue.

"You brat, stop prying!" Cao Dahua's face turned awkward.

He figured he had to shut Zuo Hongyu up first — otherwise how was he supposed to keep playing it cool in front of Chen Yansen from now on?

Chen Yansen smiled slightly, took out his phone, gave Xu Dan a few brief instructions, and hung up.

The Zhou Jinling incident served as a reminder: though most Shanzhai phone makers had gone under, the sales channels they'd built over the past few years could be revived as long as he recruited the right people.

These rough-and-ready types might be hard to manage, but in terms of ability, they far outstripped ordinary business staff.

Zhou Jinling, left behind on the spot, fell into self-doubt — he wasn't sure whether he actually had the ability.

If he said he did, he was now a complete mess.

If he said he didn't, back in the day he'd come to Shenzhen with nothing and built himself up to a net worth of hundreds of millions.

Before coming, Zhou Jinling had already researched information about Chen Yansen.

He'd entered the business at eighteen and, in just one short year, joined the ranks of billionaires. Following a boss like that, there'd be no shortage of chances to rise.

Too bad the man simply didn't think much of him.

Zhou Jinling sighed and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Shencheng, looking for all the world like a homeless vagrant.

(End of chapter)