Chapter 129: This Was the Most Absurd Interview of My Career

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Outside the window, bird calls grew more urgent as summer approached, occasionally mixed with the chirping of cicadas.

Chen Yansen walked to the balcony, where, in the distance, golden waves of wheat stretched endlessly, swaying gently in the morning light.

Suddenly!

Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes and, over a thousand meters away, spotted a young couple hidden deep within the wheat, passionately kissing.

He instinctively checked the time—it was only 5:30 a.m. The dormitory gates weren’t even open yet. Had they been kissing in the wheat field all night?

Even Chen Yansen, with all his experience, couldn’t help but be taken aback, thinking: Young people really are tough—don’t they mind the ground being so hard?

A cheap hotel across from campus wouldn’t cost much for one night.

After glancing at them twice, Chen Yansen turned and went back inside, picked up a copy of *Advanced Financial Management*, and sat on the sofa to flip through it.

Since his spiritual power surpassed 10, his sleep time had grown shorter—he now only needed four hours a night. When awake with nothing to do, he either watched movies or read books that interested him.

During the Aurora System’s development, Chen Yansen had offered many practical suggestions and often pulled the system architect aside to demonstrate code live using the fully equipped development environment.

Only then did everyone realize: Chen Yansen didn’t just understand theory—he was also highly skilled in programming.

Several engineers who had previously delayed development progress grew anxious, fearing Chen Yansen would give them low Q2 performance ratings, and immediately changed their work attitudes.

They voluntarily approached their team lead and shortened the original development cycle by 20–30%, and no one dared slack off during overtime anymore.

After all, the boss understood technology and knew exactly how much work each module and component required—if they slacked off too much, their jobs would be in jeopardy.

Although Orange Tech’s base salary was comparable to other domestic smartphone manufacturers, the monthly 20% housing allowance made them exclaim: “So good!”

Moreover, overtime pay here was calculated by the minute: 1.5x on weekdays, 2x on weekends, and 3x on holidays—far outpacing Coolpad, Gionee, Meizu, and others by miles.

To be honest, before joining Orange Tech, they’d never even seen what overtime pay looked like.

As for overtime?

Isn’t that just you staying behind voluntarily because you didn’t finish your work?

Chen Yansen quickly flipped through over a dozen books and watched a movie to kill time.

Only at 7:30 a.m. did he go downstairs to the cafeteria.

After breakfast, he strolled slowly toward the startup park.

Xu Dan had hired two specialized HR managers specifically to recruit mobile hardware and industrial design engineers.

One was from an electronics and information background, formerly an HR at Xiaxin Mobile; the other was an industrial design graduate she poached from ZTE Mobile.

Over a dozen offers had already been sent out, but Chen Yansen was still deliberating on the location of the R&D center.

Unlike operating system development, mobile hardware and industrial design required multiple testing devices—logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, laser cutters, CNC machining centers, and 3D printers.

Add in office space, meeting rooms, rest areas, and a kitchenette, and they’d need at least 500 square meters of office area.

The startup park simply couldn’t accommodate it!

Unless they cleared out the bubble tea shops, print shops on the first floor, and Song Yang’s courier point, they’d barely have enough space.

“Looks like we’ll need to rent an office building.”

Chen Yansen weighed the options in his mind and made up his mind.

Entering the startup park, on the left side of the first floor was the Aurora System R&D team—few people were at their desks.

Up on the second floor, about a dozen people had arrived, mostly customer service staff.

Chen Yansen sat down, opened Eclipse with the ADT plugin installed, created a new project, and quickly typed code to design the Aurora System’s file storage architecture.

After 8:40 a.m., more FoxTao members began ascending to the second floor; many carried breakfast, sitting at their desks while checking data.

Once everyone arrived, Xu Dan called over a young HR assistant and told her to gather everyone outside for a meeting.

The second floor layout of the startup park had offices on both sides and a 100-square-meter corridor and rest area in the middle.

Hearing Xu Dan’s reminder, Chen Yansen stood up, stretched, and walked outside.

FoxTao now had roughly 160 members, standing shoulder to shoulder in a dense crowd, leaving just enough space for Chen Yansen to speak.

“Next month is June 18. Taobao will also be participating—this event’s scale matches Double Eleven. Everyone must take it seriously, especially the merchant acquisition team. Let me be clear: if you want to make money, June is your chance.”

Chen Yansen smiled slightly and first outlined the project team’s June plan.

After securing $1.5 billion in funding, JD.com began declaring war on Taobao and Suning.

Zhang Yong wouldn’t coddle Liu Qiangdong. You want to seize market share?

Then I’ll play along!

He deliberately chose June 18 to challenge JD.com.

June 18 is JD.com’s exclusive major promotional day—Taobao’s move this year was unmistakably provocative.

Chen Yansen didn’t care about the “Cat vs. Dog War.” He only knew: the fiercer the competition between the two, the more prosperous FoxTao, as a shopping guide site, would become.

Hearing this, the Super Rebate and Key Client Acquisition teams exchanged knowing smiles, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Top performers like Zhang Yifeng, Song Yuncheng, Li Hui, and Yuan Wei earned at least 50,000 yuan per month.

Learning that both Taobao and JD.com would participate in June 18, they immediately realized this was the perfect chance to break the 100,000-yuan monthly income barrier.

“When June ends, we’ll conduct our Q2 performance review. The top three will receive three months’ bonus—your performance decides it. Also, I can confirm clearly: all rumors about FoxTao preparing for sale are false.”

Chen Yansen first discussed the quarterly bonus, then briefly debunked the rumors.

His confident tone put many at ease.

After working for a while, these employees gradually realized FoxTao’s benefits were practically divine.

For roles like editors, merchant acquisition, and category managers, who frequently interacted with merchants, they learned that brand operations staff, channel managers, and platform store owners often worked unpaid overtime.

They received not a single cent in overtime pay.

Moreover, FoxTao enforced an eight-hour workday—including two hours for lunch and rest—while other companies claimed the same eight-hour workday but excluded meal and break time.

The hourly wage difference became glaringly obvious!

If Chen Yansen sold the project, could the new company offer such benefits?

Everyone knew the answer: no way could it be as comfortable as this!

After speaking, Chen Yansen gathered department heads and entered the conference room for the weekly business meeting.

Others dispersed one by one, returning to their desks with smiles.

Their stock options unlocked 25% every six months—they naturally hoped the company would successfully go public in two years, making them millionaires or even billionaires.

Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed.

Chen Yansen had told not a single truth—he planned not only to sell FoxTao but to bundle the entire team and project together for a higher price.

…

…

One week later.

On the second floor of the startup park, Chen Yansen met Gao Weilin again—for the first time in two years.

Including Wang Zihao, this was the second “dead man” he’d encountered since his rebirth.

Chen Yansen studied Gao Weilin: the man was in his early thirties, still lean, his hair glossy, dressed in an expensive suit, radiating an elite aura.

Gao Weilin was also observing Chen Yansen.

According to what he knew, Chen Yansen was nineteen, a freshman in journalism at Xucheng College, who’d earned his first fortune by reselling campus phone cards.

He then launched a shopping guide website, invested his entire fortune in its first week, and within days grew registered users to 100,000, successfully launching the product.

He followed up with “Zero-Yuan Bargain” and “Super Rebate” features—one to drive traffic, one to generate profit.

Every step was precise, flawless, without a single error!

In less than a year, he’d raised the company’s valuation to 16 billion yuan!

Gao Weilin thought, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the door. These college students and a few hired employees—fewer than 200 people—were generating 1 billion yuan in monthly sales. It stunned him.

He also desperately wanted to ask Chen Yansen: with so many financial experts in Hong Kong, why had he chosen him?

“I’ll call you Lao Gao. Your salary and benefits were already discussed by the headhunter. I want you to join as soon as possible. Any questions?”

Chen Yansen spoke with casual familiarity, skipping the interview entirely.

“Huh!?” Gao Weilin froze. He hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to be this direct—were inland internet company bosses really this style?

Although HR had interviewed him, he knew that for a CFO position, the boss’s interview was the decisive one.

“Mr. Chen, I actually have an English name—you can call me Dylan.” Gao Weilin, uncomfortable with “Lao Gao,” stubbornly gave his English name.

“Alright, Lao Gao. Any other questions? When can you start?”

Chen Yansen nodded and pressed on.

“Mr. Chen, do you really trust me that much?” Gao Weilin stiffened, hesitated, then couldn’t help asking.

“What do you think of yourself?” Chen Yansen countered.

“Top-tier skills, absolutely trustworthy character.” Gao Weilin automatically praised himself.

“If you’re this outstanding, why wouldn’t I hire you?”

Chen Yansen raised an eyebrow, amused as he looked at Gao Weilin.

He knew this guy had a thicker skin than a city wall.

Typically, a company’s CFO is chosen for both professional competence and impeccable character.

Chen Yansen knew Gao Weilin’s abilities and character well—he was greedy, but only earned money legally and reasonably.

In the short term, he truly couldn’t find a better replacement.

“Mr. Chen, this is the most absurd interview of my career—but I’m honored to join Senlian. Thank you for your trust.”

Gao Weilin extended his hand solemnly.

“Here’s your first task: southeast of Xucheng College is a tech park. I need to rent a 2,000-square-meter office space. Handle it for me.”

Chen Yansen responded, assigning the task in the same tone he’d used during their past life.

"Boss, I haven't officially started yet?" Gao Weilin reminded him.

"Your salary starts from today," Chen Yansen said, glancing up at him with a flat tone.

"Got it, Boss, I'll get to work right away," Gao Weilin immediately corrected himself.

He had grown up on Hong Kong Island and lived by the principle: "You pay me, I do the work."

Since Chen Yansen was willing to pay, Gao Weilin didn’t care whether he was officially hired—he just saw it as extra income.

"Then I’ll leave it to you," Chen Yansen said, standing up and clapping Gao Gao on the shoulder.

Gao Weilin stood one meter eighty, yet still stood a few centimeters shorter than Chen Yansen.

…

Not long after.

Tang Qingshan received the news that Chen Yansen planned to move Orange Tech’s R&D team to the nearby Zhuxianzhuang Technology Park; he exhaled in relief, yet felt a tinge of melancholy.

He knew Cao Dahua had stayed in Shencheng to help Chen Yansen liaise with equipment suppliers; with a little thought, he guessed Chen Yansen intended to build phones.

Too bad the startup park was small and located on campus—it simply couldn’t accommodate expansion.

As more hires came in through social recruitment, Tang Qingshan felt increasing pressure, fearing something might go wrong and he couldn’t handle the fallout.

Fortunately, the Aurora System’s R&D team would only occupy the startup park for a little over a month.

"With FoxTao on the left and Orange Tech on the right, won’t the top prizes in provincial university startup competitions be yours for the taking?"

"Given how much I’ve supported him, won’t he have to agree to hire a hundred graduates from Xu Academy every year?"

Tang Qingshan smiled broadly, convinced his investment in Chen Yansen was worth every penny.

(End of Chapter)