Chapter 152: dst: I Offer 36.6 Billion! Brother Sen, We Just Want to Follow

"Wenbo, what are you thinking?"

In the canteen of the Second Courtyard, Xiang Pengfei and Zhang Wenbo sat facing each other; the ramen on the table was nearly cold, yet neither had touched their chopsticks.

"I... I'm not sure either. To be honest, I'm very grateful for Brother Sen's recognition, but that's Mama Ali's P7 position. If we achieve results at New Fox, we might even be promoted to P8 in three or five years."

Zhang Wenbo looked conflicted.

He was a rational person; from the perspective of career development, choosing Mama Ali was the better decision.

Sister Chengzi Technology was not bad, but it was a mobile phone company focused on R&D; his programming skills would be useless there, and the Sister Chengzi Mall currently had only one product.

If he went to Sister Chengzi Technology, there would be no room for him to display his abilities.

Zhang Wenbo told Xiang Pengfei these thoughts truthfully.

After listening, Xiang Pengfei fell silent for a long time and had no idea either.

On the other side.

Zhang Yifeng, Li Hui, and Yuan Wei sat in a private room of a restaurant outside the school, drinking with their heads down.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Hui suddenly spoke: "I've made up my mind. I'll work with Brother Sen."

He studied sports; he didn't look very smart, but diligence making up for lack of ability was embodied in him to the fullest extent.

"Your commission is over 100,000 a month now. Following Brother Sen, you probably won't get that much. Are you really willing to give it up?"

Yuan Wei put down his wine glass and advised patiently.

"I believe in Brother Sen."

Li Hui was extremely convinced by Chen Yansen, who was two years younger than him.

The other party had successfully completed two projects in just one year; following such a person, enduring hardships in the early stage would definitely yield rich returns later.

Li Hui had a hunch that following Chen Yansen would surely make him rich!

When he first entered Fox Tao, he had no resources, yet he had endured days with a monthly salary of three or four thousand, hadn't he?

At worst, he would start over; he, Li Hui, would not be a coward!

"Brother Feng, what about you? You were the first team leader promoted by Brother Sen."

Li Hui poured wine for Zhang Yifeng and asked with a smile.

"Damn it, don't provoke me, you kid! I'm different from Brother Hao and Sister Yuncheng; one is Brother Sen's childhood friend, and the other is Fox Tao's number one employee. Privately, Brother Sen must have already talked things over with them and will take them along when the time comes."

Zhang Yifeng rolled his eyes, downed a beer in one gulp, paused for a moment, and said: "So many people are clamoring to follow Brother Sen. First, Brother Sen would find it hard to explain to Mama Ali; second, some people haven't thought things through clearly and are just acting on impulse. What if they regret it later?"

Zhang Yifeng narrowed his eyes, analyzing point by point.

Only then did Yuan Wei realize that Zhang Yifeng's sales performance being number one wasn't just due to a head start; his brain was indeed sharper than his own.

"Then shall we go find Brother Sen tomorrow?" Li Hui suggested.

"Alright! Let's drink first, to our net worth breaking one million, hahaha!" Zhang Yifeng raised his glass and said with a loud laugh.

Chen Yansen had treated them well; with the 25,000 vested stock options, each of them could receive over a million in compensation.

Although it wasn't enough for financial freedom, it was sufficient to buy a few houses back in their hometown.

"Brother Wei, what about you? How about we go together?" Zhang Yifeng clinked glasses with Yuan Wei and asked with a probing smile.

"I'm different from you two. Before making a decision, I need to ask my wife."

Yuan Wei wasn't afraid of the two mocking him for being henpecked; he said seriously.

He had worked at YiXun Network for a few years and knew full well Mama Ali's standing in the industry; naturally, he leaned towards joining Mama Ali, and giving it up was indeed very difficult.

Li Hui and Zhang Yifeng exchanged a glance, didn't persuade him further, and just kept raising their glasses to drink.

After the drinking session ended, Yuan Wei returned to his rental apartment and called his wife.

Both were graduates of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and had met on campus.

"Hey! You guessed right last time; the boss sold the project to Mama Ali. Do you think I should ride the wave with Mama Ali or continue following Chen Yansen?" Yuan Wei asked.

"Why did you join Fox Tao in the first place? Did you bet on the project, or on Chen Yansen as a person?"

Yuan Wei's wife didn't answer directly but asked him in return.

"I... I think I bet on Chen Yansen as a person, believing he could make the project succeed."

Yuan Wei thought for a moment and said truthfully.

"Then why are you asking me? Whatever decision you make, I support you." Yuan Wei's wife knew it was hard for him to give up going to Mama Ali.

But she was just guiding Yuan Wei to speak his mind, so that if he regretted it later, he couldn't blame her.

After all, it was his own decision.

Sometimes, couple relationships also require some techniques.

"I understand." Yuan Wei pondered for a moment and formed an idea in his heart.

Early the next morning, the sky was slightly bright.

Chen Yansen slowly opened his eyes, glanced out the window; the surroundings were silent, and the distant horizon faintly showed a fish-belly white; it was still two or three hours until sunrise.

Chen Yansen got out of bed, brushed his teeth and washed his face, picked up a piece of bread, and simply took a bite.

He sat on the sofa, casually opened a book titled "Statistical Physics," and read it with interest.

In just a few minutes, he casually tossed the book onto the coffee table, then picked up another one titled "The Nature of Physical Law."

Just then, 'tada-tada' footsteps came from the stairwell.

Chen Yansen raised his hand to check the time; it wasn't even five o'clock. Who would be walking from outside to the faculty apartment at this hour?

Finally, the footsteps stopped in front of door 0418.

Chen Yansen's hearing was extremely sensitive; he wouldn't have misheard. He thought for over ten seconds, then got up and opened the door.

"Good morning, Brother Sen-Sen!" Zhuang Rui, with two dark circles under his eyes and a weary face, obviously hadn't slept all night.

He had planned to knock again around eight or nine o'clock, but he didn't expect Chen Yansen to get up so early and even notice him at the door.

"Why aren't you sleeping so early in the morning, running over here?" Chen Yansen gestured for him to come in and asked irritably.

"Sen-ge, I want to go with you." Zhuang Rui said solemnly.

"I don't like men." Chen Yansen replied instantly.

"..." Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on and hurriedly explained: "I meant I want to follow you and work—any product role will do."

"Leaving a million-yuan annual salary on the table to follow me—what future is there in that?"

Chen Yansen shook his head, thinking Zhuang Rui must be out of his mind.

If it were him, he wouldn't hesitate at all—he'd have gone home long ago to pack and get ready to head to Hangcheng to start a new life.

"I just feel like following Sen-ge is where the future is." The usually glib Zhuang Rui now looked like a fresh-faced freshman just out of high school, barely able to string his words together.

"Your parents agree too?" Chen Yansen confirmed once more.

"Mm, they told me to decide for myself." Zhuang Rui grinned as he answered.

"The new project isn't set up yet. Take a few days off, and report to Building 6 of the Zhuxianzhuang Tech Park after National Day."

Chen Yansen glanced at Zhuang Rui, saw his resolve, and stopped refusing, letting slip a little information.

A new project?

Building 6?

A flash of surprise crossed Zhuang Rui's eyes—he knew he'd bet right!

He let out a silly chuckle and pressed: "Sen-ge, is the new project still in the e-commerce track?"

"Smart! Don't rush—we'll talk through the early-stage development needs after the holiday."

Chen Yansen patted Zhuang Rui on the shoulder and reminded him with a smile.

"Got it, Sen-ge! Honestly, I was terrified you wouldn't want me!" Zhuang Rui couldn't hold back and said tearfully.

"Alright, cut it out! Get lost and go to sleep. Even if you don't sleep, the teachers around here still want to."

Chen Yansen shot him a look, waved his hand, and gestured for him to scram.

"You got it, I'm gone!" Zhuang Rui trotted off happily from the faculty apartment.

Chen Yansen closed the door, went back to the sofa, and had just turned to the last page of "The Character of Physical Laws" when footsteps stopping at the door came again.

Chen Yansen sighed and pulled open the door.

Hu Yun had assumed Chen Yansen was still asleep; the door suddenly opening gave him a fright.

"Sen-ge, I, I..." Hu Yun stammered.

"October 8th, report to Building 6 of the Zhuxianzhuang Tech Park. Anything else?"

Chen Yansen didn't wait for Hu Yun to finish and gave the arrangement directly.

"Sen-ge, you mean there's another new project?"

Hearing this, Hu Yun stopped being awkward and pressed on with a delighted look.

"Right, tell Zhuang Rui too—his October salary counts from the 1st." Chen Yansen nodded in confirmation.

Zhuang Rui came too? That bastard, why didn't he call me?

Hu Yun grumbled inwardly, planning to go back and give Zhuang Rui a beating.

He didn't recall at this moment that he hadn't called Zhuang Rui either—when the two met, who would be beating whom was still up in the air.

After Hu Yun left, Chen Yansen simply left the door open.

These guys—didn't come last night, but had to come first thing in the morning.

Luckily he slept little, so it didn't really disturb him.

The next hour was much quieter. Just as Chen Yansen thought no one else would come, Chen Xu and Hu Li walked up together.

"Sen-ge!" The two stood in the living room, looking like they were begging to be taken in.

"I can't offer you a thirty-thousand-a-month package. Sure you want to follow me to the new project?"

Chen Yansen looked at the two of them and asked with a smile.

"Sen-ge, I know my own limits. Without the Fox Taobao platform, I couldn't even pull ten thousand a month. Even if you offered me thirty thousand, I couldn't hold onto it."

Chen Xu said cheerfully, his tone relaxed and free.

One knows one's own business—he wouldn't mistake the platform for his own ability.

When he first joined Fox Taobao, he couldn't even pick products, let alone understand brands. It was Song Yuncheng and Chen Yansen who took him under their wing and taught him step by step.

"Sen-ge, please take me in!" Hu Li quickly chimed in.

"Fine, October 8th, report to Building 6 of the tech park." Chen Yansen said directly.

Still, Chen Xu's words were a bit too modest.

After all, having spent a year as a category operations manager at Fox Taobao, he could easily command a base salary of twenty thousand if he went to Mogu Street or Meili Shuo.

Building 6?

Isn't Sister Chengzi's tech company in Building 8?

"Sen-ge, there's a new project?" Chen Xu, quick on the uptake, asked with a smile.

Isn't that plain as day!

Sister Chengzi's tech company is in Building 8, with an office area of just over 3,000 square meters.

The neighboring Building 6—he'd seen it last time he was at the tech park—had a single-floor area twice that of Building 8.

With eleven floors total, the office area was at least over 10,000 square meters.

Roughly four times that of Sister Chengzi's tech company—this was clearly a big project!

"Get ready to pull some overtime! You should still remember what it was like when Fox Taobao first launched, right?"

Chen Yansen said jokingly.

These twenty-something greenhorns showed him a different side of human nature.

Maybe there was an element of gambling in it, but giving up a million-yuan annual salary at Mama Ali's P7 level wasn't faked by even a fraction.

For the first time, Chen Yansen took a fresh look at his relationship with his employees.

"No problem! I love working overtime!" Chen Xu replied without hesitation.

"Take advantage of the National Day holiday to rest well. From here on out, we set off anew," Chen Yansen said.

Chen Xu and Hu Li answered in unison, then left the faculty apartment with beaming faces.

Shortly after, Zhang Yifeng, Li Hui, Yuan Wei, Zhang Wenbo, and Xiang Pengfei arrived at 0418 one after another.

Seeing how resolute they were, Chen Yansen didn't try to dissuade them further and simply told them to report to the tech park after the holiday.

Of Fox Tao's 160-plus people, only a dozen or so were ultimately willing to follow him.

HR's Xu Dan, price-comparison editor Li Bin, testing team's Zhang Yi, design team's Tang Qin, and business-development team's Hu Yongfan — though he had personally recruited them all — had each decided to stay at Fox Tao and join Mama Ali.

After much deliberation, the editing team's Du Yaoyao ultimately chose Mama Ali.

When Tang Qingshan learned of it, he felt it was a pity Fox Tao was moving out of the startup park, but there was nothing to be done.

For those leaving and those staying at Fox Tao, every single day of the last week of September was full of color.

The moment Zhuang Rui got his stock options, he immediately bought a BMW 3 Series — among Fox Tao's members, he was the boldest spender.

Most of the others bought a hundred-thousand-something commuter car, or treated themselves to a new phone.

After taxes, the customer-service staff's compensation came to just over fifty thousand apiece, and they were all busy swapping their phones and buying AJ sneakers.

Once word got out, freshmen were green with envy.

They had originally wanted to join Fox Tao, but after October the project would be moving to Hangcheng.

The interview difficulty skyrocketed several times over!

After the funds from Lotte and Augusta landed, Chen Yansen didn't have Cao Dahua immediately expand the factory's capacity and scale.

Instead, he pulled Gao Weilin aside to study Sister Chengzi Tech's valuation model.

DST's valuation offer was 36 billion!

They used a price-to-sales valuation model, based on Sister Chengzi Tech's 30-day shipment volume of 500,000 units and sales of 1 billion, projecting annual sales of 12 billion from that.

Applying the phone industry's average P/S ratio of 2–4x yielded this valuation.

But Chen Yansen wasn't satisfied!

Because even using Sister Chengzi Tech's projected full-year net profit with a P/E valuation method — and not even accounting for the fact that Sister Chengzi phones were growing at high speed — the valuation was already approaching 40 billion.

After learning Chen Yansen disagreed, Zhou Shouzhi reported the matter once again to DST Capital's boss Yuri.

(End of chapter)