Chapter 159: Xiaomi

At six in the afternoon, the sky grew dark.

Chen Yansen looked at the first draft of the Pinbei UI design submitted by the Design Department and smiled in satisfaction.

Its functional blocks resembled FoxTaobao, centered on a product waterfall display, with a top-level category bar added above the page.

The mobile interface retained only three buttons at the bottom: Home, Get for Free, and Personal Center—extremely minimalist.

Users could set delivery addresses and complete payments directly on product pages, supporting Orange Pay, Alipay, and online banking.

The shopping cart, checkout, and payment pages were entirely removed to drastically shorten the user purchase flow.

After all, every extra step lost some users.

Chen Yansen had initially positioned Pinbei as a discount group-buying site, so users couldn't be given too much time to hesitate.

He attached his revision notes to an email and sent them to the Design Department.

"Tap-tap-tap!"

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," Chen Yansen replied coolly.

"Boss, I've coordinated the DST visit itinerary with all departments and hired a Russian interpreter from the Foreign Languages College."

Ye Qiuping handed him the plan, placing it on Chen Yansen's desk as she explained.

"Alright, got it," Chen Yansen nodded, flipping through the plan—it was a standard investor reception protocol, no oversights.

Ye Qiuping glanced at him, then turned and left.

Ten minutes later, Chen Yansen left his office for the first floor, casually picked up an Aston Martin Rapide, and drove toward Xu Yuan.

His license plate was already registered with the gate guards—he passed through without delay.

He parked the car beneath the faculty apartment building and went straight to the cafeteria for dinner.

He'd planned to borrow a few new books from the library, but when passing the Music College, he noticed a small stage set up outside, surrounded by a crowd.

Chen Yansen then remembered—it was again the annual club recruitment season; below the stage, a sea of freshman boys crowded to admire legs and listen to songs.

"Big Bro Sen, you here to appreciate music too?"

At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind.

Chen Yansen turned and saw Tang Zhenzhe winking, wearing an expression that said, "I get it."

Beside him were Song Yang, Meng Xibo, and Zhu Xiaopeng—only Wang Zhengqiang was missing.

"This music isn't white enough, nor long enough. You guys enjoy. I'm heading to the library."

Chen Yansen chuckled as he commented.

"Aqiang went to buy beer and snacks. We're planning to play cards on the lawn. Big Bro Sen, join us?"

Tang Zhenzhe grinned enthusiastically.

Play cards?

Chen Yansen paused, realizing they meant the real game, then waved his hand. "You guys go ahead."

With that, he walked toward the library.

Tang Zhenzhe watched his back, clicking his tongue. "Big Bro Sen is truly my Tang Zhenzhe's boss—not only rich, but rich and still obsessed with studying."

After joining Orange Tech's Brand Department, Tang Zhenzhe finally ended his brown-nosing days.

Now, besides managing his 10 News class duties, he spent all his free time at the tech park and resigned as deputy head of the Student Union.

From Chen Yansen and Song Yang, he learned one truth: school titles meant nothing in the real world; a man needed money.

When Chen Yansen returned from the library, he indeed saw Tang Zhenzhe and the others sitting on the lawn, drinking beer and chatting, a deck of cards scattered on the grass.

Chen Yansen walked straight toward Building 0418 without joining them.

The next morning.

After finishing the books he'd borrowed the night before, Chen Yansen lay on the sofa scrolling news, quietly waiting for 8 a. .

Today was November 1st—the payday for employees under Senlian Capital.

Unlike last month, Yunsu Express was now included, adding to his anticipation.

Taobao's Double Eleven had already begun its preheating; Orange Tech's e-commerce division had completed its Ruzhu on Taobao Mall last week.

The store currently carried only one product, which would also join the promotion.

Juhuasuan had launched the slogan "Group-Buy an Air Hostess," leaving Chen Yansen stunned—he clicked in only to realize he'd been fooled by clickbait.

It turned out to be a marketing campaign by Taobao and China Southern Airlines: users paid 517 yuan for a bracelet to win a chance to buy a Mercedes-Benz Smart for one yuan and have lunch with 111 air hostesses.

The pioneer of borderline marketing—crass yet wildly popular, drawing tens of millions of views with remarkable results.

JD. om and Taobao's competition intensified further; JD's Zhang Yonghao challenged Ma Liyun: "Within five years, B2C will surpass Taobao."

But Ma Liyun didn't respond—likely out of disdain.

Meanwhile, JD announced its participation in the Double Eleven promotion, clearly retaliation for Taobao's disruption of Singles' Day.

"Next year, Pinbei must join both Singles' Day and Double Eleven."

Seeing this, Chen Yansen muttered under his breath.

In his memory, Taobao's Double Eleven sales this year broke 5 billion yuan—4 billion more than in 2010.

A sign that China's e-commerce industry was about to reach its peak!

For the next decade, both express delivery and e-commerce would explode in growth.

Chen Yansen's Pinbei and Yunsu Express were both ready, waiting for the arrival of the e-commerce golden age.

At exactly 8 a. ., the Human Dao Fire began to trickle in.

One minute later, Chen Yansen pulled up the system panel and saw the Fire value—he smiled faintly.

Orange Tech, Pinbei, Orange Phone Factory, and Yunsu Express had collectively contributed 4, 60 strands of Human Dao Fire; adding the remaining 83 strands, the total was 4, 43 strands.

Chen Yansen synthesized them into 42 strands of Divine Dao Fire and added them to his Spirit attribute.

Within moments, his Spirit attribute rose to 11. 5!

Compared to six months ago, it seemed only a 1. 5 increase—but Chen Yansen clearly felt his memory and comprehension had improved far beyond that simple number.

From an energy perspective, this 1. 5 had consumed over ten thousand strands of Human Dao Fire; yet when he raised his Spirit from 1. 2 to 10, he'd used only 800 strands—more than ten times less.

Chen Yansen's learning efficiency had become terrifyingly greater than six months ago; complex subjects like math and physics felt no harder to him than "1+1=2."

A new language? He needed only to read its dictionary once, then watch one original-language film, and he could deduce its pronunciation logic and grammar, mastering it completely.

It wasn't learning—it was talent.

This effortless understanding made Chen Yansen enjoy absorbing new knowledge simply to pass the time.

Meanwhile.

Leiyi Army hosted representatives from Qiming, Temasek, and Qualcomm Capital in Yanjing; after two days of negotiations.

Xiaomi ultimately accepted its Series B funding: 160 million USD, with a valuation of 2 billion USD.

The news spread, and Xiaomi phone sales immediately rose.

Though Xiaomi phones had many shortcomings compared to Orange Phones, they remained an excellent product in terms of cost-performance.

At least in the 2, 00-yuan price tier, aside from Orange Phones, there were almost no rivals.

When Chen Yansen heard this, he didn't care.

His rivals were never Xiaomi—they were Apple and Samsung.

For Orange Tech, this was merely the beginning.

Chen Yansen left the faculty apartment and drove to Zhuxianzhuang Tech Park.

He first went to Building 8, held a morning meeting with Wang Teng, Gao Weilin, Zhang Cong, Zhou Ze, and others, then went downstairs to Building 6, where Pinbei was located.

"Boss, good morning!" Xu Xingxing was briefing a new receptionist, Zhang Yi, on first-floor duties; she turned and smiled at Chen Yansen.

Zhang Yi was a graduate of Xu Yuan's Hotel Management program—tall, beautiful, and quickly added, "Boss, good morning!"

"Morning," Chen Yansen nodded and stepped into the elevator.

"Group Leader Xu, does the boss have a girlfriend?" Zhang Yi whispered.

"Don't even think about it—his girlfriend works right across at Orange Tech."

Xu Xingxing glanced at Zhang Yi and spoke honestly, to shatter any unrealistic fantasies.

Chen Yansen stepped out of the elevator into the Design Department's workspace and noticed Song Yuncheng was there too.

"It's work hours—why aren't you at your post?"

Chen Yansen walked up and asked suddenly.

"Jiang Xuejie started today—I came to say hello," Song Yuncheng turned, saw Chen Yansen, and smiled in explanation.

"Chief Chen, hello again," Jiang Ruo looked nervous, her speech halting.

She never imagined the freshman who once sold phone cards on campus a year ago had now become her boss.

Honestly, with her resume, she'd never have gotten into Pinbei Tech without Song Yuncheng's internal referral.

"Boss, good morning!" At that moment, Design Department Director Cai Qiming stepped forward with a smile.

He was from Taiwan, had moved to the mainland five years ago for livelihood, previously served as Design Director at JD. om, and was poached by Xiong Li with a high salary.

"Has the product identity design for Pinbei been finalized?" Chen Yansen asked Cai Qiming.

Cai Qiming spoke softly, was highly competent, and had high emotional intelligence; since joining, he'd already uncovered the backgrounds of over a dozen veterans.

So even though Jiang Ruo's design skills fell slightly short of the standard, Cai Qiming still approved her hiring through HR.

After all, Song Yuncheng was Pinbei's #1 employee, brought over from FoxTaobao by the boss himself, and still headed the Major Client Acquisition Department.

Cai Qiming was happy to grant that favor.

"Boss, I prepared four design options—I've emailed them to you. If you need adjustments, just let me know."

Cai Qiming, familiar with mainland bosses' working style, replied with a smile.

"Alright." Chen Yansen nodded.

Then he brought Song Yuncheng back to the office, sat down, and asked: "Have the group-buy products for Metersbonwe, Jiushen Network, and Senma been finalized?"

"There are 47 items total, priced 5% to 20% lower than Fox Tao 's final price. Also, Yunsu sent people to Metersbonwe's headquarters factory—future Metersbonwe orders on Pinbei, if shipped via Yunsu, will have a minimum order value of just 3 yuan."

These external coordination tasks are currently handled by Song Yuncheng.

"What about Tencent?" Chen Yansen asked next.

"The integration is complete; we're just waiting for the products to go live," Song Yuncheng replied immediately.

"Yifeng, Yuan Wei, and Li Hui have reached agreements with local agricultural associations in western Guangdong. They'll start with navel oranges: fruits under 7 cm in diameter, 3 jin shipped free for 9. yuan; 7–8 cm diameter, 3 jin shipped free for 13. yuan; over 8 cm diameter, 4 jin shipped free for 19. yuan; 8 jin size at 36. yuan."

Song Yuncheng didn't wait for Chen Yansen to ask—he continued reporting on the business development team's status.

"What's the lowest price per jin for secondary-grade fruit from the origin?" Chen Yansen pressed after listening.

"0. yuan per jin," Song Yuncheng answered.

"Fruit cost is 1. yuan, Yunsu's agricultural support shipping is 3 yuan, three-layer corrugated cardboard fruit boxes cost 2. to 3 yuan, plus labor for packing—all under 8 yuan total. Tell Yifeng to cut the price by another 3 yuan."

Chen Yansen said after a brief pause.

Chen Yansen wasn't unwilling to let farmers profit—he knew Pinbei's multi-SKU design was perfect for using low-priced secondary fruit to draw traffic, then boosting margins with high-priced premium fruit.

It looked like they weren't making a penny, even losing money on labor.

But Chen Yansen knew that once sales volume rose, users buying the low-priced small packages rarely exceeded 30%.

"6. yuan for 3 jin, free shipping?" Song Yuncheng blinked, surprised at how harshly Chen Yansen was cutting prices.

In 2011, e-commerce prices were nowhere near as cutthroat as they'd be over a decade later—this price, thrown into the market, would be a bombshell.

(End of chapter)