Chapter 189: 10 Billion Investment Return: A Plan Two Years in Advance

Even after the lunch ended, Chen Yansen failed to change Zhang Yiming's mind.

At this point, Zhang Yiming became even more convinced that combining a mobile browser with search engine algorithms had enormous potential.

Chen Yansen chuckled silently and finally gave up trying to persuade him.

After a short break, the economic cooperation process began; several offline factories approached Wang Shubin of Shangtongda and signed agency operation contracts.

Song Yuncheng also signed several merchant onboarding contracts, since the factory owners attending this exchange event were naturally no small players.

Thanks to Pinnbei's outstanding performance on Double Twelve, Song Yuncheng didn't have to chase anyone—half the deals came to him on their own.

Gao Weilin was surrounded by numerous entrepreneurs seeking funding; after going around the room, he ended up with a thick stack of business plans.

Chen Yansen checked the time, found the meeting room air too stifling, and pulled Wang Zihao outside for some fresh air.

Soon after, Cheng Weixing from Fan Cheng Technology came over and synced with Chen Yansen on the time and location of the evening gathering.

Seeing how sharp-witted and smooth-talking Cheng Weixing was, and since he had nothing else to do, Chen Yansen chatted with him a bit longer.

"I'm a civil engineering graduate from Zhejiang University. I founded the magazine 'Tech Innovation' in my sophomore year, and Fan Cheng Technology in my junior year. Although 'Magic Classroom' earned me tens of millions, the games I launched over the past two years have made no splash."

Cheng Weixing introduced himself—he downplayed his own achievements, but left Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao with a distinctly positive and proactive impression.

Compared to Chen Yansen, Cheng Weixing's resume was practically a textbook novel protagonist template.

He was already a millionaire before graduating college.

To be honest, Lei Yijun, who was the same age, certainly didn't have this much money in his pocket.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, thinking: in China's gaming industry, decision-making power would gradually concentrate in the hands of the top giants.

With Tencent, NetEase, and Perfect World as three towering obstacles, newcomers found it nearly impossible to break through.

If Cheng Weixing could see the situation clearly and pivot in time, he might still have a chance at resurgence.

Chen Yansen stayed silent, silently evaluating.

"So, I'm using Fan Cheng Technology's resources to develop an O2O ride-hailing app based on LBS technology—in simple terms, using GPS to locate both passengers and taxis, so passengers can hail a ride anytime, anywhere, while drivers reduce empty mileage and increase earning efficiency."

Cheng Weixing said with a smile.

Ride-hailing app?

Chen Yansen paused slightly, then asked curiously: "What's the name of your product?"

"I haven't settled on a name yet, but I heard you invested in a food delivery platform called Kuai Pao. I think the business models are very similar—why not call it Kuai Di? The fastest taxi!"

Cheng Weixing replied casually.

Kuai Di?

The founder of ride-hailing?

Chen Yansen knew that over a decade later, the dominant ride-hailing giants in China would be Didi, Kuai Di, and Uber China, backed by a tangled web of over a dozen domestic and foreign investment firms.

But who was Cheng Weixing?

Chen Yansen had no recollection—he only knew Didi's founder was Chen Wei, and its successor was Liu Qing.

He also understood what Cheng Weixing was hinting at: he wanted investment, or to leverage Senlian Capital's reputation in the industry.

Was this Kuai Di the same Kuai Di that would later trigger the subsidy war with Didi?

Chen Yansen was puzzled, but he liked Cheng Weixing and didn't overthink it—he smiled and asked: "Sounds good. Does this project need funding?"

In reality, Cheng Weixing wasn't short on money—he had enough capital to scale Kuai Di to over five million users.

But he knew a new market needed massive funding to cultivate demand, just like the food delivery industry.

What he feared was running out of capital later and facing a cash flow collapse.

Cheng Weixing had gone to great lengths just to hear Chen Yansen say that—calmly, he replied: "Thank you, Mr. Chen. If needed, I can provide a more detailed business plan."

Did this even need a business plan?

Just burn cash and seize the market!

Chen Yansen muttered inwardly, nodded slightly on the surface, and added: "Talk to Gao Zong at Senlian Capital about this."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen," Cheng Weixing said again, grateful for the clear response.

Backing Senlian Capital would instantly boost Kuai Di's name in the investment circle.

Take Kuai Pao: before Chen Yansen invested, not even an investment advisor would bother with Kang Guodong and Pei Yi.

Now Tencent, DST, and Jinsha Venture had all expressed interest in investing in Kuai Pao.

In just two months, had the food delivery industry undergone a revolutionary change?

Cheng Weixing knew it hadn't—it was simply because Chen Yansen had invested in Kuai Pao, and Tencent, DST, and Jinsha Venture were following Chen Yansen's lead.

Often, investment firms operate like romantic relationships: if no one else wants it, I don't want it; if everyone else is fighting over it, I must join in.

Chen Yansen smiled, then learned Cheng Weixing had already registered the trademark—he was certain now: this Kuai Di was the exact same ride-hailing app that would later wage the subsidy war against Didi.

As for Cheng Weixing, he'd likely be kicked out by capital after his equity got diluted.

Even Chen Wei of Didi couldn't hold onto his CEO position—Cheng Weixing, though sharp and with five or six years of entrepreneurial experience, was clearly no match for the Liu family and big capital.

Chen Yansen told Wang Zihao to go back into the meeting room and fetch Gao Weilin.

Two minutes later, Gao Weilin hurried over; after hearing Cheng Weixing's pitch, he stepped forward Zhudong to shake hands.

Since the boss himself had approved the investment, he didn't need to overthink—just complete the follow-up and secure the most equity for the least money.

Cheng Weixing's smile never faded—he hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.

Earning Chen Yansen's approval was a huge encouragement, reinforcing his belief that Kuai Di was a promising project.

He'd originally planned to use Fan Cheng Technology's team to first develop the Android version of Kuai Di—but now that he was about to secure funding from Senlian Capital, he immediately decided to quickly build Kuai Di's own tech team and focus more energy on the new product.

"Mr. Chen, excuse me for a moment—I'll host you properly tonight."

Cheng Weixing bowed slightly and left with a cheerful grin.

"Senior Sen, these people are insane—they can even think up products like this! I think this has huge potential. Take students from the Virtual Academy: they can only take buses or black cabs when going into town—fixed price, take it or leave it. Once Kuai Di launches, let's see if those bastards dare to be so arrogant."

Wang Zihao watched Cheng Weixing's back and sighed.

"Insane? Insane my ass! Gao, what do you think?"

Chen Yansen sneered dismissively.

"Mr. Wang, actually, this kind of O2O ride-hailing app already existed two years ago in the U. . it was called Uber; there's also a similar product in South America called EasyTaxi, popular in Brazil."

Gao Weilin explained with a smile.

There aren't that many geniuses in this world—it's just about being higher up and seeing more, profiting from information asymmetry.

Ma Liyun's Taobao copied eBay;

Ma Wenteng's Tencent copied ICQ;

Youku Tudou copied YouTube;

Didi copied Uber;

Group buying copied Groupon;

Xiaohongshu copied Instagram.

Even Chen Yansen's Fox Mall copied Ebates.

The entertainment industry has translators; the internet and business world have their own copycats.

"So that's how it is," Wang Zihao realized, feeling how little he knew.

"Improve your English. When browsing foreign sites, watch less porn and study more foreign products."

Chen Yansen teased with a smile.

"Senior Sen, don't slander me—I don't even know who Aoi Kanna, Ozawa Maria, or Akari Mizuki are."

Wang Zihao chuckled, deliberately saying this.

"Zihao, your viewing habits are outdated—those three are long out of fashion. Aihara and Mizukawa Jun are the real classics."

Gao Weilin draped an arm around Wang Zihao and chatted openly as if no one else was there.

Chen Yansen shook his head with a smile and walked toward the banquet hall—it was getting late, time to call Song Yuncheng to wrap up.

After dinner, he still had to return to Xucheng—the next day was Orange Tech's product launch, and he couldn't miss it.

Ten minutes later.

Chen Yansen and the others, along with Zhang Yiming, headed to the small bar Cheng Weixing had reserved.

Zhang Yiming had flown to Hangcheng—he owned a car worth over 200, 00, but left it in Yanjing.

Along the way, they returned to discussing entrepreneurial projects; Zhang Yiming still couldn't let go of his mobile browser idea.

"I suggest you first study the market and competitors before deciding. Since you don't want to join Pinnbei, have you considered co-founding a new company? You be CEO; Senlian can provide funding and network support."

Seeing this, Chen Yansen looked seriously at Zhang Yiming.

"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Chen—I have no objections to cooperation."

Zhang Yiming quickly agreed.

In age, he was older than Chen Yansen; in achievement, he was far behind.

With Chen Yansen's wealth and status, he could sit equally with Ma Wenteng, Li Yanhong, and Ding Lei.

If he refused now, he'd be ungrateful.

Besides, he held some admiration for Chen Yansen—being noticed and supported by Chen Yansen filled him with pride.

When they arrived at the bar, only their table was occupied—Cheng Weixing had paid to rent out the entire place to host Chen Yansen and the others.

"Mr. Chen!" As soon as Chen Yansen appeared, the men inside stood up and rushed forward to greet him.

Cheng Ou from Ju Mei Youpin, Lin Qi from Youzu Network, and Wang Shubin from Shangtongda.

In the business world, respect is earned by strength.

Though Chen Yansen was the youngest, no one dared to underestimate him.

Chen Yansen glanced at the three and smiled: "Mr. Cheng, Mr. Lin, Mr. Wang—please sit!"

Behind him, Cheng Wei star turned to pick up the menu.

This was a private little restaurant—small in size but exquisitely decorated; even the chairs beneath their buttocks were made of red sandalwood.

No sooner had they sat down than Cheng Wei star walked over, carrying two bottles of yellow wine and a menu.

Chen Yansen took the menu, casually ordered a few dishes, then passed it to Lin Qi.

In short, none of them knew each other well; their opportunities for collaboration outweighed competition, so Chen Yansen had no need to put on airs—he appeared relaxed and easygoing.

Cheng Ou and Lin Qi exchanged glances, having assumed Chen Yansen, young and impetuous, might be hard to deal with.

But this casual demeanor of his made them realize a truth: someone who had amassed such wealth by age twenty could not possibly lack emotional or intellectual intelligence.

After several rounds of toasting, Cheng Ou smiled and asked, "Chen Zong, does Ju Mei have any chance of joining Pinbei?"

Cheng Ou was extremely envious of Pinbei's traffic; he knew Pinbei would poach brand resources from partners, yet he still couldn't resist asking outright.

"Of course no problem—but I'll say this upfront: Pinbei doesn't oppose low-priced goods, but its tolerance for counterfeits is zero; platform penalties are severe."

Chen Yansen set down his wine cup and looked at Cheng Ou with a warning.

"Rest assured, Chen Zong—if we find any counterfeits, I'll pay tenfold compensation."

Cheng Ou replied with a smile.

Clearly, at this moment he believed his control over suppliers was absolute and felt confident no issues would arise.

"Yuncheng, give Cheng Zong your business card—you'll handle the coordination."

Chen Yansen instructed Song Yuncheng.

"Of course, Cheng Zong, here's my card—have your company's marketing department contact me directly."

Song Yuncheng pulled a business card from his bag and handed it to Cheng Ou.

Cheng Ou accepted it politely; he had heard of Song Yuncheng's name—the number-one employee of FoxTao and Pinbei, the one holding all resources for KA brands and platform merchants.

Thinking of this, Cheng Ou raised his wine cup to toast Song Yuncheng.

"Apologies, Cheng Zong—I still have to drive my boss home afterward. I'll drink tea instead—I wish us a fruitful partnership and continued success for Ju Mei."

Song Yuncheng explained calmly, then lifted his tea cup.

"Alright, I'll rely on your guidance in the future."

Cheng Ou didn't mind—he downed the wine in one gulp.

Lin Qi from Youzu Network, seeing this, had his assistant hand Song Yuncheng a business card as well.

Although his company's products were primarily online games, the trend in mobile gaming was too significant to ignore.

Lin Qi naturally had plans to develop mobile games; like other game companies, what they lacked most was access to smartphone manufacturers like Orange Tech.

A single game could earn substantial revenue simply through pre-installation on phones or aggressive promotion in app stores.

This was precisely why Xiaomi, Penguin, and Orange Tech could take over 50% of revenue shares in game partnerships.

The latter half of this meal ended with the exchange of business cards and discussions of collaboration.

Gao Weilin stayed behind, planning to visit Cheng Wei star's company the next day to get an initial sense of Kuai's ride-hailing development progress, preparing for the next investment evaluation.

Chen Yansen, Wang Zihao, and Song Yuncheng got into the car and headed toward Xucheng.

On the way back, Chen Yansen felt this trip hadn't been wasted.

Meeting Zhang Yiming and Cheng Wei star, and preliminarily agreeing on cooperation terms—once these two investments were finalized, they would at minimum generate hundreds of billions in returns for him.

But the ride-hailing industry ran deep; if he wanted controlling stakes, he'd have to not only contend with Ali and Penguin, but also directly confront the Liu family.

"Before the 4G licenses are issued, mobile apps won't be mainstream—there are still two years to prepare; it should be fine."

Chen Yansen mused inwardly.

(End of Chapter)