Chapter 198: First Meeting with Meng Yuanzhi: Zhang Liaoyuan

"Tap-tap-tap—!"

Tao Jingwen raised her hand and knocked three times, lightly but with perfect timing—each knock spaced half a second apart, as if muscle memory.

"Enter!"

A low voice echoed from inside.

Tao Jingwen pushed open the door and led Chen Yansen inside.

The office was small, sparsely furnished: a desk, a bookshelf, two chairs, and a potted wen pine by the window.

A man over fifty, wearing a gray jacket, revealed an elegant inner lining at the collar—made of fur.

Chen Yansen thought: no wonder, in the depths of winter, the man wore only what looked like a thin shirt and jacket.

Others might miss such details, but to Chen Yansen, Meng Yuanzhi's attire, micro-expressions, even the trajectory of his finger movements, were all laid bare.

Chen Yansen had read many books—*The Body Language Code*, *Reading People*, *What Everybody Is Saying*—yet on Meng Yuanzhi, he gained almost no useful information.

It meant the man concealed his true emotions with extreme precision; no facial expression, gesture, or posture gave away his inner state.

At the same time, Meng Yuanzhi was observing Chen Yansen.

He'd met many young entrepreneurs, but never one as young as Chen Yansen.

Even someone as powerful as Shi Yuzhu took five years to make the Forbes billionaire list.

Chen Yansen, in just one year, had matched Shi Yuzhu's twenty-year achievements, leaving seasoned giants like Lei Yijun, Huang Guangyu, and Wang Chuanfu far behind.

"Mr. Meng, hello."

Chen Yansen smiled slightly and greeted him first.

With this big shot's backing, the Orange Phone Factory's relocation to Lucheng would sail through every bureaucratic hurdle.

"Sit down." Meng Yuanzhi nodded, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Chen Yansen didn't hesitate—he plopped down.

Tao Jingwen silently left the room and closed the door softly behind her.

"You're from Zhoulai—why did you choose to attend university in Xucheng?"

Meng Yuanzhi didn't mention the Orange Phone Factory or the JD equity swap; his tone was like a university advisor.

"I missed the second-tier cutoff by one point and got in through the supplemental list. I originally wanted to apply to Huake University, but didn't make it."

Chen Yansen answered seriously.

Even with Meng Yuanzhi's deep composure, he couldn't help laughing at Chen Yansen's audacity.

For one, Huake University doesn't offer liberal arts programs; for two, being one point below second-tier means you're still tens of thousands of students away from Huake's admission threshold.

Unless Huake increased its enrollment to one million, Chen Yansen had no chance.

"If you'd gotten into a university in Lucheng, we might've met last year."

Meng Yuanzhi chuckled teasingly.

"It's not too late now. Timing matters—sometimes being too early or too late is just as bad."

Chen Yansen shrugged, noncommittal.

Aside from young, pretty girls, university held no appeal for him—he studied only to satisfy Chen Guobin and his unseen mother.

"Lately, KuaiPao has grown rapidly in Lucheng. Food delivery volume rose slightly in December, but electric scooter traffic violations have surged too."

Meng Yuanzhi spoke slowly, his tone turning more probing.

"Speed is the core metric for any food delivery platform. KuaiPao's 29-minute delivery promise already accounts for traffic light waits, and we've purchased accident insurance for riders. Any individual rider's violations are punished under internal regulations."

Chen Yansen replied seriously.

Every delivery rider was his cash-printing machine—he couldn't afford to lose them.

"Good that you understand. I heard you pay five insurances and one fund for all your delivery riders, couriers, and factory workers—that's tens of millions extra per month. Don't you mind?"

Meng Yuanzhi asked again.

This was also his main reason for pushing this deal: once the Orange Phone Factory starts production, Lucheng gains ten thousand new social security contributors.

"Actually, I earn more."

Chen Yansen smiled. Their base salaries were peanuts—if you removed overtime, commissions, and housing subsidies, labor costs could drop over 50% monthly.

"If Lucheng had more young people like you, my job would be much easier."

Meng Yuanzhi sighed, genuinely impressed.

Chen Yansen smiled but stayed silent—he wouldn't fall for the flattery.

Just like his negotiation with Xu Minggang: business is business. If you want something, show real sincerity.

Seeing Chen Yansen say nothing, just nodding with a "big shot's right" expression, Meng Yuanzhi paused, muttered "little fox" under his breath, then continued:

"Xucheng lacks Lucheng's talent pool and transportation convenience. Why not move Orange Tech and Pinbei Mall here? I'll handle the office space. If you want to build your own, I can provide commercial or industrial land."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Meng, but I have no plans to relocate—I'm still studying at Xuyuan, and it'd be inconvenient to manage remotely."

Chen Yansen refused, with solid reasoning.

Meng Yuanzhi studied him, saw his firm stance, and dropped the idea.

In truth, Xucheng had produced only one Chen Yansen amid its agriculture and coal industries—if Meng Yuanzhi dared move Orange Tech and Pinbei to Lucheng,

Xu Zhenhui wouldn't dare curse him to his face, but behind his back, he'd bury him.

Still, if Chen Yansen agreed, Meng Yuanzhi wouldn't care about Xu Zhenhui's opinion—Lucheng's reputation as the "Magnetic Stone of Hui'an" was already solid.

"The land in Luyang District—just over 100, 00 square meters—was the old site of Hé Steel Plant No. 3. Last year, they relocated to a new zone; water, electricity, and network infrastructure are all ready."

Meng Yuanzhi changed the subject, his gaze fixed on the Lucheng map on the wall.

Chen Yansen followed his eyes—the factory site bordered a high-speed overpass, with roads radiating in all directions, yet it was indeed remote.

It was fifteen kilometers straight-line distance from the city center, over half an hour by car.

"Looks good. Thank you, Mr. Meng."

Chen Yansen politely thanked him.

After all, it was free—saying a few extra thanks cost nothing.

"What else do you need?" Meng Yuanzhi asked.

"Interest-free loans, tax breaks, talent recruitment policies—I need all of them."

Chen Yansen smiled in reply.

He had no shame—this was his moment. If he didn't ask now, who knew if Meng Yuanzhi would still care once the factory started production?

This kid's got guts!

Meng Yuanzhi laughed in disbelief, then replied: "Interest-free? Forget it. I can approve a 1-billion-yuan low-interest loan at 2. %. The corporate income tax rate for the first three years can be lowered to 15%. Talent recruitment? No problem—see Tao Jingwen afterward, he'll handle it."

One billion?

Just enough for five fully automated phone production lines—or twelve semi-automated ones.

But for a 100, 00-square-meter factory, equipment alone would cost nearly 3 billion yuan.

Chen Yansen looked at Meng Yuanzhi, saw his calm expression, and dropped any thought of haggling.

They talked another half-hour, until Meng Yuanzhi's gaze drifted casually to the door—Chen Yansen immediately understood and stood to leave.

As he stepped out of the office, Tao Jingwen was waiting.

She led him back to the same conference room.

"Boss, it's settled: 3% equity in Orange Tech exchanged for 6% equity in JD Oriental. Director Zhou of DST has been informed."

Gao Weilin stood, stepped forward, and reported.

"Good. I've always trusted your work." Chen Yansen patted Gao's shoulder and smiled.

"Mr. Chen, meet at Lucheng Government at 6 p. ."

Xu Minggang reiterated before leaving—clearly, his earlier words weren't empty flattery; he genuinely wanted to connect with Chen Yansen.

"Understood, Mr. Xu."

Chen Yansen smiled back, already planning to bring two fine bottles of liquor.

All three parties scheduled the formal contract signing for tomorrow.

Wang Qingsheng, humiliated by Chen Yansen, left without even saying goodbye.

They left the Central Office and returned to the hotel.

Chen Yansen sent Gao Weilin out to buy wine, while he took Meng Jie back to their room to rest.

"Ah, even a worker's life is a life."

Gao Weilin rubbed his aching lower back from sitting all morning, turned, and headed straight to a nearby upscale mall.

When he returned, he carried two bottles of Maotai 80-year vintage.

He knew mainland bosses rarely drank whiskey or wine—they adored baijiu.

He rested in the hotel all afternoon.

Only at 5: 0 p. . did Chen Yansen and Gao Weilin leave for the dinner.

The meal with Xu Minggang was simply about understanding Lucheng's broader landscape.

"Mr. Chen, don't mind Wang Qingsheng—he's just like that, a dog's brain. With Meng Yuanzhi watching over you, he won't dare sabotage you behind your back—maybe just bark a couple times."

After three cups of wine, Xu Minggang, flushed, cursed.

Clearly, he and Wang Qingsheng had long been at odds—otherwise, he wouldn't have so openly insulted Wang in front of Chen Yansen.

"Does he have connections above?" Chen Yansen pressed.

"A little, but not much—if he had real backing, he'd have walked out this morning instead of gritting his teeth till the end of negotiations."

Xu Minggang didn't hold back—he whispered two sentences, laying Wang Qingsheng's entire background bare.

Chen Yansen instantly felt no more concern.

The two men exchanged drinks, and after three rounds of wine, they walked together toward the restroom.

"Boss Zhang, look across the way—is that Chen Yansen, the boss of Pinbei?"

At that moment, in the private room next door, a young man nudged his boss.

"Pinbei?"

Hearing this, Zhang Liaoyuan's drunkenness instantly cleared by half; he stared hard and immediately confirmed his assistant had not mistaken the man.

In mid-December last year, he spent all his savings, with funding from several bosses, and founded Sanzhi Squirrel.

He planned to focus on online channels!

Now the big shot was right in front of him—how should he go about building a connection?

Zhang Liaoyuan's mind raced as he watched the two men leave the restroom and prepare to return to their private room.

He didn't have time to overthink—he jumped up and rushed out!

(End of Chapter)