Chapter 178: The Telecom Contract Phone, the Overwhelming Chen Nian (Requesting Monthly Votes)

In the private suite on the rooftop garden of Hui Shui West Road, Xu City.

Zhao Maolin raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Yansen; his face flushed and ears red, already tipsy, he grinned: "Young Brother Chen, after this one, let's head to the next spot—Galaxy Star just got a bunch of new girls from the north, those figures, wow…"

"To Brother Zhao's promotion! Bottoms up!"

Chen Yansen smiled faintly but didn't respond to Zhao Maolin's remark—Song Yuncheng was right there.

"If you ever need anything from your brother, don't hesitate to ask."

Zhao Maolin downed the entire glass, then slapped his chest with a hearty laugh.

Having been promoted from general manager of Xu City to general manager of Huian Province, his resources and power had naturally surged, and so had his voice.

Chen Yansen, meanwhile, was the founder of Pinbei and Orange Tech, running mobile and e-commerce businesses, and closely tied to Penguin—never short of money or connections.

Moreover, Chen Yansen had amassed a fortune of ten billion in just over a year; in a few more years, his status would only climb higher.

He might well need Chen Yansen's help someday.

Zhao Maolin spoke with grand bravado, but inside his mind, he was already calculating every angle.

"Funny—I actually do have a favor to ask, Brother Zhao. Orange Tech is launching two new products for the Spring Festival: one is the Orange D1 priced at 1, 00 yuan, the other is the flagship model, Orange C2. We want to use your telecom channels to boost sales."

Chen Yansen turned his glass upside down, shook it gently, and spoke slowly.

"Contract phones or joint marketing?"

Zhao Maolin immediately asked, instinctively.

The former meant telecom and Orange Tech co-developing customized phones, sold to users via "buy a phone, get free airtime" or "top up airtime, get a free phone," usually requiring a fixed plan with a two- to three-year contract.

The latter meant using telecom's physical stores, online platforms, and franchise outlets to sell the phones together, with telecom taking a cut.

"I want both."

Chen Yansen spoke slowly, each word deliberate—children make choices.

"No problem! Also, I think Pinbei could add an entry point for airtime and data top-ups."

Zhao Maolin agreed readily, then casually proposed his idea.

"Alright, I'll arrange it later."

Chen Yansen nodded in agreement.

Relationships last only when there's mutual give-and-take.

Contract phones and joint phone marketing were just a word for Zhao Maolin; adding a top-up center to Pinbei was equally effortless for Chen Yansen.

"Great! One more drink!" Zhao Maolin rolled up his sleeves, tugged at his collar, grabbed the bottle, filled his own glass first, then poured for Chen Yansen.

"Clink." The two glasses met.

Zhao Maolin's assistant watched from the side, wanting to shield his boss from drinking more—but Zhao Maolin had ordered upon entering the suite: "I'll handle the drinking; you just drive."

Song Yuncheng glanced at the three empty bottles on the table and quietly tugged Chen Yansen's sleeve, worried he'd drunk too much.

Chen Yansen turned to her, shook his head slightly, signaling it was fine.

Zhao Maolin looked between them and instantly understood why Chen Yansen had ignored his mention of Galaxy Star—he'd brought his girlfriend.

He knew Song Yuncheng; she'd been the telecom liaison during her time at FoxTao.

"Brother Zhao, have you considered moving SIM card sales online?"

Chen Yansen asked.

"You know about this?" Zhao Maolin's face paled; he wondered: Could Chen Yansen have other contacts inside telecom?

A month ago, headquarters upgraded the online service portal, planning to launch the Tianyi New Portal's public test version tomorrow, even changed the domain, adding services like reserving premium numbers, ordering SIM cards, and broadband applications on top of existing offerings.

Seeing Zhao Maolin's reaction, Chen Yansen instantly guessed most of it.

Telecom had previously ignored online channels because online banking and payment tools weren't widespread—but e-commerce platforms had solved users' payment problems and shown telecom the importance of digital channels.

Taobao's Double Eleven and Double Twelve had cumulatively hit 10 billion in sales—far more shocking than the 500 billion that would come ten years later.

Before this, no one had imagined e-commerce could reach tens of billions in daily sales.

Seeing Chen Yansen smile without speaking, Zhao Maolin slapped his forehead: "Young Brother Chen, how do you want to cooperate?"

"Treat telecom as a merchant on the platform—users can top up airtime, buy SIM cards, and apply for broadband all in one store."

Chen Yansen said directly.

Since telecom already had online SIM sales, convincing Zhao Maolin and his bosses would be much easier.

For telecom, it was just another channel.

"No precedent before, but I don't think it's a problem—I'll get back to you once I've finalized it."

Zhao Maolin replied seriously.

"Thanks, Brother Zhao. Let's drink another." Chen Yansen refilled the glass and raised it.

Amid clinking glasses, the fourth bottle of Maotai was soon empty.

"Little Li, get two more bottles." Zhao Maolin felt he was nearing his limit, but seeing Chen Yansen still sharp-eyed and clear-headed, he felt he hadn't done enough—he needed two more rounds.

"Brother Zhao, a light buzz beats full drunkenness—do you want to send me to the hospital?"

Chen Yansen joked.

His words gave Zhao Maolin an easy way out.

"True enough—then I'll let you off this time." Zhao Maolin laughed heartily, thinking: Drinking with Chen Yansen is easy—enjoyable and satisfying.

Song Yuncheng stood up, apologized, and walked out.

"Little Li, settle the bill." Zhao Maolin's body was unsteady, but he sensed Song Yuncheng's intent.

"This is a farewell drink and your promotion banquet—I must pay today."

Chen Yansen stopped Zhao Maolin with a smile.

Little Li looked at his boss, waiting for instructions; after a long pause, Zhao Maolin sighed and gave up.

He plopped back down and said to Chen Yansen: "Then I'll arrange the next one."

"My girlfriend's here." Chen Yansen made an excuse.

"So Song Director really is your girlfriend? What a mess—I'm glad I didn't say what Galaxy Star really is."

Zhao Maolin chuckled awkwardly, complaining to Chen Yansen.

"Make sure you get Brother Zhao home safely. Call me if anything comes up."

Chen Yansen smiled and instructed Little Li.

"Yes, General Manager Chen." Little Li quickly replied.

Zhao Maolin felt warmth in his chest; he draped his arm over Chen Yansen's shoulder. Their relationship had previously been hollow—mere mutual interest.

But now, Chen Yansen's words made him feel genuinely cared for—he truly saw Zhao Maolin as an elder brother.

In truth, this was due to Chen Yansen's high spiritual value—simple words from him carried genuine warmth, enough to move even Zhao Maolin, a seasoned fox.

Chen Yansen noticed Zhao Maolin's unusual reaction, thought for a moment, and understood the reason.

So spiritual power had this effect too? Isn't that a succubus's special skill?

Chen Yansen smiled inwardly. When Song Yuncheng returned to settle the bill, the group took the elevator down to the first floor.

After drinking, the cold wind hit Zhao Maolin—he collapsed, mumbling incoherent drunken nonsense.

Little Li helped his boss into the car, politely bid farewell to Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng, then drove off.

"How are you? Want to go up and rest?"

Song Yuncheng asked.

Chen Yansen and Zhao Maolin each drank two bottles—that was nearly the limit for an ordinary person; in Song Yuncheng's memory, her father drank too, but never more than two or three cups before passing out.

"Yes! I bought you a gift—let's try it on."

Chen Yansen nodded immediately, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Clothes? Thanks, boss." Song Yuncheng smiled.

Three minutes later.

In the hotel room, Song Yuncheng stared at the Spider-Man cosplay suit on the bed, her face darkening.

"Chen Yansen, what is this? I'm not wearing it." Song Yuncheng refused.

"How about this one—Black Widow?" Chen Yansen pulled out another outfit from the bag.

…

…

East Third Ring Road, Beijing, Fanke Headquarters.

Chen Nian stared blankly at the sales report.

As of yesterday, Fanke's total 2011 sales were only 3. 3 billion—still far from the 10-billion target.

His earlier boasts now slapped him in the face.

He couldn't help thinking of Chen Yansen—who, after selling FoxTao, had launched Pinbei.

He'd learned over dinner with Lei Yijun that Pinbei had surpassed 5 billion in cumulative sales in under a month.

"Why is e-commerce so hard?"

Chen Nian looked miserable.

Back then, when he and Lei Yijun founded Joyo. om, they had little capital and thought e-commerce too costly, so they sold the project to Amazon.

Later, with more funds, Chen Nian founded Fanke with Lei Yijun's investment, hoping to revive his e-commerce dream—but reality was cruel.

After a year of effort, Fanke's performance still fell short of Pinbei's output in just over twenty days.

The gap was too great; Chen Nian couldn't accept it, and refused to admit his abilities were inferior to Chen Yansen's.

After all, when they first met, he'd dismissed Chen Yansen entirely—he'd just secured funding and saw him as nothing.

Yet less than a year later, Chen Yansen sold FoxTao and became a billionaire overnight, while Chen Nian hadn't even reached 10 billion in sales.

"Boss Chen, I heard JD. om has entered Pinduoduo, and on Double Twelve they made 200 million in sales—should we…?"

The assistant beside him, seeing Chen Nian's furrowed brows, whispered a suggestion.

Due to Vancl's blind expansion, with a massive increase in product categories and SKUs, yet performance falling far short of expectations, the warehouse now held 1. 5 billion in inventory.

Chen Nian had once mocked Zhou Jiancheng of Metersbonwe, but when he himself repeated the same mistake and fell into the same trap, he finally understood how bitter it felt.

At Vancl's current sales level, the inventory turnover cycle in the warehouse reached six months, becoming an enormous mountain pressing down on Vancl.

"You go… never mind, I'll call Chen Yansen myself."

Chen Nian sighed helplessly.

But he dialed several times—no one answered.

At that moment, Chen Yansen was still playing a Wolverine vs. Black Widow game with Song Yuncheng, with no time to care about Chen Nian.

(End of Chapter)