Chapter 153: Little Ma Wants a Stake

On National Day itself, the campus was deserted.

Most of Xucheng Academy's students came from within Hui'an Province; half went home, the other half went sightseeing nearby with their boyfriends or girlfriends.

Only a handful of lonely singles huddled in their dorms playing games, or lay in bed.

Inside room 0418.

Chen Yansen summoned the system panel and looked at the Human Torch column; this many Torch values was a first for him.

Counting the remaining 63 wisps from August, there were 3,483 in total!

Of those, Sister Chengzi Tech contributed 500 wisps, the Sister Chengzi phone factory contributed 960 wisps, Fox Tao's September wages, quarterly bonus, and n+1 severance contributed 760 wisps, and the final 1,200 wisps came from the option compensation of Zhang Wenbo and others.

"Synthesize!"

Chen Yansen recited silently in his heart.

Thousands of wisps of white mist, thin as hair strands, appeared out of thin air. Under Chen Yansen's gaze, they twined together one by one, and in the blink of an eye transformed into golden mist as thick as a chopstick, which shot straight into his brow.

In just a few seconds, his Spirit stat had risen to 10.83!

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, changed into a pair of light gray casual pants, put on a white shirt, and headed straight outside.

He picked up the car on the first floor and drove all the way to the east gate before stopping.

Meng Jie had gone back to Chunshen to attend her cousin's wedding and had originally wanted to drag Chen Yansen along, but he said he had to go on a business trip to Hucheng, so she had to drop it.

Gao Weilin had gone back to Hong Kong Island.

The second floor of the startup park was now empty too; the former bustle had turned cold and quiet in an instant.

In this acquisition, roughly 90-plus people successfully joined Mama Ali Ali Baba.

Their job levels and packages ranged from p5 to p7. Bear in mind, this was 2011, two years before Mama Ali's IPO; future earnings would only rise.

"Tap-tap-tap—!"

Knocking came at the car window.

Chen Yansen rolled down the window and saw Song Yuncheng standing beside the car, wearing a little white tee with a pale blue plaid shirt over it, and a pair of wide-leg jeans below, her figure's curves faintly visible.

"Chen Yansen, are you even human? Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei and the rest all get to take time off, yet I still have to go on a business trip with you."

Song Yuncheng raised her little fist; looking at the grinning Chen Yansen, she really wanted to smash it into his face.

"You're my employee number one; how could Wenbo and Pengfei compare to you?" Chen Yansen said with a smile, casually handing the car keys to Song Yuncheng.

Song Yuncheng's eyes went wide—Xucheng to Hucheng was nearly 600 kilometers, and Chen Yansen actually wanted her to drive.

"What are you looking at? The company paid for your driving school tuition; is it wrong for me to charge a little interest?"

Chen Yansen said, a touch annoyed.

After speaking, he got into the passenger seat on his own, patted the seat beside him and said: "Boss Song, get in the car!"

"Yes, Chen Zong!" Song Yuncheng took the car keys, obediently sat in the driver's seat, and headed toward Hucheng.

"Why didn't you buy a car?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

"On business trips I can take taxis and get reimbursed; on campus I don't need to drive, and every year I'd still have to buy insurance and do maintenance. Buying a car costs too much."

Song Yuncheng answered seriously.

"So even though you look like you've got over a million in savings, you actually live worse than a customer-service rep. You have to spend the money you earn; otherwise it just sits in your bank card and is no different from toilet paper."

Chen Yansen lectured Song Yuncheng on his view of spending while resting his hand on her thigh.

"If you're going to talk, then talk—doing that will distract me while I drive." Song Yuncheng's cheeks flushed red as she scolded him.

"Relax, I'm just leaving it here, I won't move it around." Chen Yansen told a barefaced lie—his mouth said he wouldn't move, but his hand kept moving nonstop.

Too bad she wasn't wearing a short skirt; touching it didn't feel like much.

After playing around for a while, Chen Yansen didn't keep teasing her and pulled his hand back.

"Is our new project a general e-commerce platform or a vertical e-commerce platform? Min Jie from Mei Te Si invited you to visit Hucheng a year ago, and you never agreed, yet you're going to Mei Te Si's headquarters at this time. I'm guessing it's vertical category products—you're planning to follow Vancl's model?"

Seeing that Chen Yansen had calmed down a bit, Song Yuncheng finally spoke up to ask.

"You've gotten a lot smarter, but that Vancl path—even Chen Nian himself walked it into a dead end. Why would I repeat the same mistake?"

Chen Yansen gave a light snort, rejecting Song Yuncheng's guess.

"Then…" Song Yuncheng was full of curiosity. Although she'd given up joining Mama Ali, she still wanted to know the rough outline of the new job.

"I'll tell you tonight." Chen Yansen leaned in and said softly.

Song Yuncheng's earlobes turned red; some shy images flashed through her mind, and the corners of her mouth curved up unconsciously.

Watching Song Yuncheng gradually flush red, Chen Yansen smiled, stopped teasing her, opened the e-book he'd pre-scanned, and flipped through it casually.

Meanwhile.

The Sister Chengzi phone factory in Zhongsha Tech Park was still busy.

Overtime during the first three days of National Day paid triple wages per hour; ever since everyone's base pay had risen from 15 yuan to 20 yuan, the workers' enthusiasm had surged.

In the past, some people used to curse the big boss as crazy; now if anyone dared badmouth him behind his back, they'd likely get beaten up by their coworkers.

This freaking guy is the God of Wealth!

He's the one who clothes and feeds everyone!

In the packaging workshop, Li Yunzhu carefully placed phones and accessories into boxes one by one, working with extra focus.

"Brother Zhu, are you really planning not to rest for a single day?" a coworker beside him asked.

"Rest if you want to rest, don't bother about me!"

Li Yunzhu gave a brief reply, his mind entirely on the work at hand.

The first three days of National Day: 8 hours a day at triple wages, earning 480 yuan a day; the next four days: 8 hours a day at double wages, earning 320 yuan a day.

Working 7 days could earn 2,560 yuan, only 8 hours a day—earning money this easy, and you still want to take time off?

Only a fool would rest!

Li Yunzhu didn't even bother to say anything harsh; he just felt that this coworker of his had only enjoyed a few good days and already forgotten the bitterness of being a worker.

He had heard that the company had rented the neighboring A1, A2, A4, and A5 zones, planning to increase production capacity by four to five times.

By then, with more employees, it wouldn't be as comfortable as it is now.

Perhaps by next National Day, even wanting to work overtime would require an application.

So, while he can still earn more money now, he dares not slack off even a bit.

Last month, his pre-tax salary was 6,920 yuan; after deducting the five social insurances and the housing fund, he still had over 6,500 yuan remaining.

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to dream that with four days off per month, twelve-hour workdays on weekdays, and only eight hours on Saturdays, he could earn nearly 7,000 yuan.

Nowadays, the treatment at Sister Chengzi's factory is known to everyone in Huaqiangbei.

Everyone knows that Sister Chengzi's factory will continue to recruit over 5,000 new employees in the fourth quarter; some people even bribe the HR specialists just to get a job here.

Upon learning this, Zhang Jing only warned the two HR specialists who took the money, ordering them to return the money to the interviewees.

She didn't want to lose her job over such a small matter; after all, if the big boss treats ordinary employees this well, then for middle-level managers like them, the base salary alone is twenty or thirty thousand.

Although charging a 300 to 500 yuan referral fee per worker would net over a million yuan from 5,000 workers.

But after pondering, Zhang Jing still didn't dare to do it; with so many people and loose lips, if the matter got out, she would have to serve several years in prison.

Even when subordinates suggested finding an intermediary company to help collect the money, Zhang Jing didn't dare to try.

After all, Cao Dahua and Zuo Hongyu had been struggling in Huaqiangbei for many years and were extremely shrewd; unless she could get them both involved, she absolutely wouldn't dare to act rashly.

At this moment, Chen Yansen, who was rushing to Hu City, didn't know that his decision to raise employee salaries had made some people entertain crooked thoughts.

Chen Yansen wasn't truly a beast; when the car reached Jin Ling, he voluntarily switched to the driver's seat.

"How about we spend a day in Jin Ling first?" Chen Yansen suggested.

"No, let's handle business first." Song Yuncheng shook her head and refused.

"Alright."

Chen Yansen gripped the steering wheel and drove toward Hu City.

In his past life, he had stayed in Hu City for over ten years, but in this life, he had only come once; it wasn't that he didn't want to come, but rather he felt the timing wasn't right.

Big cities offer many opportunities; for both workers and entrepreneurs, they are a better choice.

Three hours later, Chen Yansen exited the highway and drove along the Middle Ring Road to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel by the Bund.

After parking the car, he led Song Yuncheng through the check-in process with practiced ease, took the elevator to the river-view room on the 22nd floor.

At 3,200 yuan per night, when it came to enjoying life, Chen Yansen never shortchanged himself.

It was a suite with a living room, with a total area of over 100 square meters, featuring classical decor; even the landline phone by the bed was in a retro style.

A two-meter king bed stretched across the bedroom, with a crystal chandelier hanging overhead, and the bathroom was equipped with a circular bathtub 1.8 meters in diameter.

This point, President Chen liked very much.

"Tomorrow we go to the Metersbonwe headquarters; staying one night at the Bund today, do you want to take a bath?"

Chen Yansen pointed to the glossy, glazed bathtub and asked with a smile.

"How about we go out for a stroll first? I'm a bit hungry." Hearing this, Song Yuncheng unconsciously clamped her legs together and quickly changed the subject.

"That works too." Chen Yansen readily agreed.

"Vrrrrr—!"

Just then, Chen Yansen's phone rang.

Song Yuncheng was startled; she stood on tiptoe to glance at the caller ID before finally relaxing.

Chen Yansen picked up the phone and said, "President Lin, still thinking of calling me during the holiday?"

The caller was none other than Lin Chenfeng from the Penguin Venture Capital Department; the two had met a few times and gradually grown familiar.

"Sorry, President Chen! I didn't want to disturb your vacation, but Brother Martin is pressing hard."

Lin Chenfeng let out a dry laugh and explained.

"Oh? So you have a problem with Brother Martin?"

Chen Yansen walked to the balcony, plopped down on the sofa, and teased with a smile.

"President Chen, don't play with me! By the way, let's get to business; Brother Martin heard you've established a new company, with e-commerce as its main business, so he asked me to inquire if you need investment?"

Lin Chenfeng smiled bitterly and asked tentatively.

Does Chen Yansen lack funds?

Of course not!

Lin Chenfeng asking this was actually trying to sound out Chen Yansen's stance, to see if he was accepting or resistant to Penguin's financing request.

"Sure, if Penguin wants to invest, I certainly have no objection; I want a first-level entry point on both WeChat and QQ, can you agree to that, President Lin?"

Chen Yansen agreed decisively.

With nearly 200 million daily active users on QQ, a first-level entry point guarantees exposure of at least 100 million; even with only a 5% click-through rate, that's 10 million traffic daily.

As for WeChat, since launching the "Shake" feature, its daily active users have soared, approaching ten million.

Chen Yansen couldn't help but sigh; shaking is truly humanity's productivity.

In just two months, WeChat's user base grew from 15 million to 50 million; the influence of "Shake" is evident.

Hearing Chen Yansen's request, Lin Chenfeng's expression stiffened; he smiled bitterly and said, "President Chen, I will certainly convey this request to Brother Martin."

What does a first-level entry point on WeChat and QQ mean?

An entry point on the core tab bar is a first-level entry point.

At this time, even Penguin's own QQ Weibo is placed on a second-level entry point; Chen Yansen is asking for a first-level entry point right off the bat; this is no small request.

Lin Chenfeng simply couldn't make the decision!

"Alright, let's talk later then." Chen Yansen smiled and hung up the phone.

He knew Lin Chenfeng couldn't make the call; raising this request was merely using Lin Chenfeng's mouth to pass the message to Brother Ma.

As for whether Brother Ma would agree, he didn't worry at all; in business, as long as you can sit down and talk, there is hope.

As far as he knew, three years later both JD. com and Paipai. com would enjoy this treatment.

Chen Yansen didn't want to waste too much time in the project's initial stage; leveraging Penguin's resources would let him run faster and farther.

Equity only has value once the business is up and running!

Sister Chengzi Tech's profitability was too weak; he had to find a new, highly profitable path, and only by expanding into other fields later would he have more confidence.

Beside him, Song Yuncheng quietly watched Chen Yansen.

Behind them was the night view of the Bund just as the lights were coming on, the glow falling across Chen Yansen's sharply defined face, making her heart skip a beat.

This man — everything about him was perfect, except he was a bit of a scumbag!

(End of chapter)