Chapter 194: Pinbei and Chopsticks Run—Daily Orders Break 100,000, Pei Yi Time

At the same time.

Chen Yansen left the exam hall and headed downstairs.

He hadn't been stringing Tao Jingwen along—he really had been sitting final exams these past two days. With his current mental stats, a social-science major like journalism posed him no difficulty at all.

He could casually spend ten minutes and easily master a whole semester's worth of material.

Last year he hadn't failed any course only thanks to Tang Qingshan's help. This time was different—purely on his own ability he could get a perfect score.

University finals, especially for liberal-arts majors—teachers basically always mark out the key points, and the exam questions and answers are all in the textbook. Failing was an extremely difficult thing to do.

Unless you were too lazy to even memorize the key points, or you got caught cheating in the exam hall.

"Sen-ge, finally done with exams. Shall we head into the city this afternoon? Dinner, karaoke, bathhouse—the whole package, my treat!"

He had just reached the first floor when he saw Song Yang leaning against a stone pillar of the teaching building, greeting him with a grin.

Wang Zhengqiang stood off to the side, holding a Sister Chengzi c1 in his hands, playing Temple Run. Hearing Song Yang offer to treat, he couldn't be bothered with the game anymore and chuckled, "Can the bathhouse be changed to a foot soak?"

"Sure, I'll record a little video tonight and send it to your girlfriend," Song Yang threatened with a smile.

Wang Zhengqiang's girlfriend attended university in Yicheng; the two were high-school classmates, and she had visited Xucheng once before.

At the time, Song Yang had asked her to confirm whether it was Wang Zhengqiang who had chased her, or she who had chased Wang Zhengqiang.

After all, Qiangzi often bragged in front of the others that he had been a starter on his high-school football team, that a full dozen girls had chased him, and that in the end he had picked the one with the best figure.

But before Wang Zhengqiang's girlfriend could answer, Wang Zhengqiang hurriedly admitted that he had been the one to chase her first, drawing teasing from Song Yang, Meng Xibo, and the others.

Still, jokes aside, none of them actually exposed Wang Zhengqiang.

"Why are you adding my girlfriend?" Wang Zhengqiang's brain worked in strange ways, and he blurted the question instinctively.

"To tattle on you, of course," Song Yang said with a sly grin.

"Sure, no problem." Chen Yansen nodded and agreed readily.

Winter break was only a few days away. Although both Pinbei and Sister Chengzi Tech had year-end parties, Dorm 8302 had no separate gathering of its own.

The three stood at the intersection waiting for a while before they saw Tang Zhenzhe, Xu Xingxing, Meng Xibo, and Zhu Xiaopeng walking over shoulder to shoulder.

Song Yang stepped forward and told them about the afternoon get-together.

"Class monitor, can I come along?" Xu Xingxing looked at Tang Zhenzhe and asked with a smile.

She knew that asking Chen Yansen would most likely get her turned down, but asking Tang Zhenzhe was a different story.

"Uh, is that okay?" Tang Zhenzhe glanced at the others, especially Chen Yansen.

He knew perfectly well that Xu Xingxing's target was Chen Yansen. On top of that, after he had joined the Sister Chengzi Tech branding department, Chen Yansen had become his boss—he didn't dare make any rash decisions.

"The more people, the merrier," Chen Yansen said, unconcerned.

Saying that, he pulled out his phone and called Meng Jie, arranging to meet her at the school gate.

"Sen-ge, you called the sister-in-law? Hold on, I'll make a call too." Song Yang asked, and after seeing Chen Yansen nod, he pulled out his own phone as well.

Tang Zhenzhe, Meng Xibo, and Zhu Xiaopeng exchanged glances and couldn't help cursing, "You two are really heartless!"

Of Dorm 8302, only the three of them were still single.

Generally speaking, there were only three reasons for not being in a relationship by university: first, not taking the initiative; second, being ugly; third, thinking others are ugly.

"Damn it! I'm making a call too!" Tang Zhenzhe cursed, walked over to the flower bed, and started rounding people up.

"Zheng-ge is in a relationship too?" Meng Xibo's face was full of question marks.

"No idea, never heard anything," Zhu Xiaopeng spread his hands and answered blankly.

Ten minutes later, over a dozen men and women were standing at the east gate of Xu Yuan.

Chen Yansen took Meng Jie's little hand, got into a Bentley Mulsanne beside them, with Xu Xingxing and Meng Xibo trailing behind.

Wang Zihao got into the driver's seat of a BMW 750, carrying Tang Zhenzhe, Su Meiling, and Zhu Xiaopeng, and headed toward Fengbo Manor in the city.

Song Yang took the car keys Chen Yansen had given him, got into the Aston Martin Rapide, carrying his girlfriend and Wang Zhengqiang, and followed closely behind the Bentley.

"That guy just now was Chen Yansen?" Song Yang's girlfriend Fu Yin asked curiously.

There was no helping it—Chen Yansen's fame at Xu Yuan had long since eclipsed that of the principal, Tang Qingshan.

A freshman might not know who the principal of Xu Yuan was, but they had definitely heard the name Chen Yansen.

Started a business at eighteen, became a ten-billion-dollar tycoon at nineteen, and by twenty owned two companies each valued at over thirty billion.

Counting part-time customer-service staff, over four hundred students at Xu Yuan were his employees.

When Fu Yin had been chasing Song Yang, she had heard him say that he and Chen Yansen were brothers in the same dorm.

"Mm, that's right," Song Yang said casually, hands on the steering wheel.

"He's even more handsome in person than in photos!" Fu Yin commented with a smile.

"What's that supposed to mean? So I'm not handsome?" Song Yang frowned, a little jealous, his tone displeased.

"You're the most handsome, of course." Fu Yin lifted her chin and praised him in a soft, gentle voice.

Wang Zhengqiang in the back seat hurriedly coughed twice, signaling that there was still a living person in the car—could they show a little consideration?

"Did Qiangzi catch a cold?" Song Yang teased.

"Next time my girlfriend comes, I'll make sure you two get a dose of PDA too," Wang Zhengqiang grumbled.

One was his boss, the other the boss's wife—Wang Zhengqiang's counterattack was feeble, and only made the two of them burst out laughing.

"Xu Xingxing and Su Meiling don't seem to get along. Don't know what Zheng-ge was thinking, specifically inviting Su the secretary. Sigh."

Song Yang thought of this and couldn't help sighing.

"Don't worry, the sister-in-law's here," Wang Zhengqiang said with a smile.

In Class 10 Journalism, many people knew that although Su Meiling and Xu Xingxing lived in the same dorm, they had never gotten along. Outsiders assumed the two simply had incompatible personalities.

But everyone in Dorm 8302 knew the truth—it was because both of them had chased Chen Yansen. How could it be a personality clash? It was clearly a fight over the guy they both liked, which was why they couldn't stand the sight of each other.

It was just that Chen Yansen had announced his girlfriend early on, which had dashed both of their little schemes.

When the group arrived at Fengbo Manor, they gave the restaurant manager quite a fright.

Their restaurant's average per-person spending is just over 100 yuan.

The guests they usually host are college students or white-collar workers; occasionally, a few guests arriving in BMWs or Mercedes are considered rare, yet today three luxury cars have arrived.

A Bentley Mulsanne, an Aston Martin Rapide, and a BMW 750; not a single car is worth less than two million.

The restaurant manager glanced at the license plates and hurried forward to greet them, seeing a tall young man step out of the Bentley's driver's seat.

"Mr. Chen, hello, welcome to Fengbo Zhuang."

The restaurant manager greeted him in a flattering manner.

In the past two years, relying on Fox Tao, Chengzi Technology, and Pinba, along with a net worth exceeding ten billion, Chen Yansen had long become a household name in Xucheng.

Even if the restaurant manager did not know him personally, he could recognize his license plate number.

Moreover, Chen Yansen's follower count on Weibo exceeds twenty million; every Weibo post he makes receives tens of thousands of shares, likes, and comments, and he occasionally posts photos.

It is not strange that the restaurant manager could recognize him at a glance.

"Find me a larger private room, far from the main hall," Chen Yansen replied, giving instructions to the other party.

"Certainly, Mr. Chen, please follow me," the restaurant manager immediately agreed.

Fengbo Zhuang is a "Wuxia-themed restaurant"; the dishes are named after wuxia elements such as the Nine Yang Divine Art, the Bone-Dissolving Soft Palm, and the Great Strength Pill; the decor strives to match the ancient style, and waiters wear cosplaying outfits of shop assistants, moving through the main hall.

After arriving and sitting in the private room, everyone ordered one or two dishes, and only then was the menu handed to the waiter standing nearby.

After brief introductions, they naturally began chatting about university anecdotes.

Chen Yansen took out his phone, opened the Kuai Pao app, switched the delivery address in the top-left corner to Luzhou University City, and only then did the homepage show that he was within the serviceable area.

He casually scrolled through a few screens and found that the merchants offering milk tea, gourmet food, and fresh flowers were fairly complete.

It was evident that Kou Zhen's capabilities in investment promotion and team management were not bad; his lack of results at Laoshou Wang was most likely because his superiors did not protect him.

Afterwards, he opened the Pinba app, logged in with a test account, and the icon area on the first screen of the homepage now featured a cartoon entry for Kuai Pao.

Currently, only users with an IP address from Luzhou could see this module.

With Pinba boasting over twenty million daily active users, Chen Yansen certainly would not waste this; this small display spot was sold to Kuai Pao for 800,000 per day.

In just three days since launch, it added over one million new customers to Kuai Pao, almost sweeping up all the young people in Luzhou; combined with the new-customer subsidy campaign, Kuai Pao's daily orders once surged past 100,000.

However, the cost was that the balance in Kuai Pao's account rapidly disappeared by nearly eight million; according to the current development trend, the daily cost of acquiring new users exceeds two million, and within a week, the funds would be exhausted.

Nevertheless, this was simply one part of Chen Yansen's plan.

After finishing lunch, everyone headed straight for the city's largest KTV; Song Yang paid the bill throughout the entire time, and even for the KTV private room, he chose an extra-large luxury suite with dual screens.

Chen Yansen sat next to Meng Jie; the two acted like brothers, drinking beer and shaking dice.

"I know all these!" Xu Xingxing selected the song "Bad Girl," sang a few lines with great enthusiasm, but seeing Chen Yansen's complete lack of reaction, she secretly felt indignant.

In the corner, Su Meiling accepted the beer handed to her by Tang Zhenzhe and took small sips; she had long given up on Chen Yansen, yet she still refused to accept Tang Zhenzhe.

She was not a fool; she knew early on that while this fellow was pursuing her, he was also being ambiguous with other junior female students, lacking focus, and was most likely a scumbag.

Therefore, she only regarded Tang Zhenzhe as a buddy.

"Brother Sen, what do you want to sing? I'll order it for you!" Song Yang, sitting in front of the song selection console, asked with a smile.

"You Are, You Are Not," Chen Yansen replied; this was the song he had ordered for Meng Jie.

After Wang Zhengqiang, with his tone-deaf voice, finished roaring the song "Even If I Die, I Still Love You," the atmosphere in the private room gradually grew lively.

After all, except for Fu Li and Meng Jie, everyone was in the same class and was already very familiar with one another.

On the other side.

Luzhou, Kuai Pao Headquarters.

"Yesterday's external advertising expenditure and new-customer subsidy costs totaled 2.7309 million, the new-customer increase was 342,000, and the order volume was 109,000."

The person in charge of data reported item by item.

Kang Guodong glanced at Pei Yi, then turned his gaze toward Kou Zhen and the Chief Financial Officer, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Such a situation of rapid development was something he had never imagined.

With Chen Yansen's support, Kuai Pao had indeed reached heights never before seen.

"I think we can approach Mr. Chen to seek a second round of financing," Pei Yi spoke up first.

Exchanging equity for development is the first choice for most entrepreneurs.

Pei Yi did not feel he had betrayed Kang Guodong; in his view, relying on the abilities of the two of them, even when Kuai Pao collapsed, they would never achieve a level of 100,000 daily orders.

"Mr. Kang, Mr. Pei, I have no objection to continuing with financing, but we currently have a more important issue."

Kou Zhen spoke up loudly.

"What issue?" Kang Guodong asked in pursuit.

"Where should Kuai Pao select its next operational city? We must prepare the office, recruitment, training, and logistics teams in advance."

Kou Zhen said with a serious tone.

Having experienced the "Thousand Groups War" at Laoshou Wang, "opening a city" was not unfamiliar to him; he knew deeply that every step forward required facing enormous management challenges.

Upon hearing this, Kang Guodong frowned tightly.

Previously, Kuai Pao's business scope was basically limited to the area near the university city, but after hitching a ride on the fast train of Senlian Capital, he gradually felt unable to cope with managing the company's entire operations.

To put it plainly, he lacked energy; he was good at development, but coordinating affairs across various departments felt particularly exhausting for him.

"Beijing, Shencheng, Hucheng, or Jin Ling would all work," Pei Yi spoke up.

"Hucheng is the stronghold of Ele. me," Kang Guodong reminded.

"Then let's go to Hucheng and crush Ele. me first!" Pei Yi said with a serious expression, not seeming to be joking.

Ele. me has yet to secure financing; what will it use to compete against Kuai Pao?

"I think it is feasible; let's first consult Mr. Chen; if the big boss agrees, we will head to Hucheng after the New Year!"

Kou Zhen also thought Pei Yi's idea was good; heading straight for Ele. me's nest to kill off the competitor, wouldn't the huge cake of food delivery then be left for Kuai Pao to divide up?

This is different from group buying; the competitive pressure is too great, whereas in food delivery, there are only Kuai Pao and Ele. me.

Big Boss?

Kang Guodong blinked slightly, sighed inwardly, and nodded heavily.

The next morning.

Kang Guodong, Pei Yi, Chen Yansen, and Gao Weilin held an online meeting; after brief communication, Senlian Capital would transfer 200 million yuan to Kuai Pao's corporate account next week.

The cost was that both men's equity stakes shrank again: Kang Guodong's holding dropped to 4.2%, while Pei Yi was left with only 1.8%.

"By the way, Guodong, there's something I want to discuss with you—about the CEO position at Kuai Pao, I plan to appoint Pei Yi. I still appreciate and value your R&D abilities."

Chen Yansen spoke bluntly.

He had given Kang Guodong a chance, but the man had failed to rise to it, and there was nothing he could do.

"Chen Zong, I… I accept." Kang Guodong let out a bitter laugh; he had wanted to argue, but after seeing Pei Yi, he chose to give up.

"I'm entrusting the tech department to you. I hope Kuai Pao's intelligent delivery system will earn the word 'intelligent' sooner rather than later." Chen Yansen offered a word of encouragement, then ended the video call.

"Boss Kang, actually…" Pei Yi began to explain, but Kang Guodong interrupted: "Old Pei, maybe Chen Zong is right—you're better suited to be Kuai Pao's CEO than I am."

Pei Yi fell silent and said nothing more.

He knew well that even if Kang Guodong was magnanimous, a crack had quietly formed between them.

(End of Chapter)