Chapter 204: Liu Qiangdong: He eats and drinks with employees, then I

"Brothers of Yun Su, let's drink together!"

Chen Yansen took off his suit, changed into a Yun Su Express work uniform, stood at the center of the stage, and said loudly.

The delivery workers below all wore smiles; they had originally assumed that a young entrepreneur like Chen Yansen would, like Ye Yizhi, look down on them mud-legged folks from the bottom of his heart.

But Chen Yansen not only put on the same windbreaker as everyone else, he also called them "brother" at every turn.

The distance closed in an instant!

"Thank you, boss!"

"Cheers!"

Over a thousand people responded in unison.

Even the boss was drinking, so they couldn't bring themselves to slack off either; they tipped their heads back and drained their glasses in one go.

"Have you all received your year-end bonuses?"

Chen Yansen wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth and asked with a smile.

Yun Su Express had no quarterly bonuses; under his instruction, Liao Wei issued year-end bonuses ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 yuan to the delivery workers based on their business performance.

Compared with Sister Chengzi Tech and Pin Bei, the benefits were a bit lacking.

But for these delivery workers who used to earn only 3,000 to 5,000 yuan a month, it was already a considerable sum.

One had to remember that before Sen Lian acquired Yun Su, there had been no year-end bonus, no social insurance and housing fund, not even accident insurance.

"Boss, got it!"

"I got five thousand!"

The employees below answered loudly.

"Good that you've got it. Let me apologize to everyone first — because this year-end bonus was only a temporary decision, so there won't be one next year."

Chen Yansen said in a calm tone.

No more?

Although the sum wasn't large, for many people it was over a month's living expenses for the whole family, half a year of university tuition and living costs for their son.

They had assumed it would come every year, but never expected only one year — they were instantly disappointed.

Liao Wei remained impassive, taking in every expression on the delivery workers' faces around him, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

"Starting from the first quarter — that is, January through March — there will be a quarterly bonus evaluation every quarter. Based on everyone's work performance, you'll receive a bonus equal to one to three months' salary."

Chen Yansen paused, then continued.

Although the base pay for Yun Su delivery workers was mostly only 3,000 to 4,000 yuan, if bonuses were paid four times a year, the guaranteed minimum would be just over ten thousand yuan.

The entire banquet hall instantly erupted, shouts rising without end!

"These people are pretty easy to satisfy."

Chen Yansen chuckled inwardly.

"Everyone eat well and drink well — on the premise of staying healthy, tonight we don't stop until we're drunk!"

Chen Yansen raised his glass again and said with a smile.

Apart from some staff staying behind at the headquarters building, basically all of Yun Su's delivery workers, sorters, inventory clerks, forklift operators, operations, warehouse managers, IT, customer service, and finance personnel in Hu City were here.

Sixty percent of them were frontline delivery workers.

Chen Yansen stepped down, handed the stage over to the host — there were still performances and a lucky draw to come.

"Boss, have some food first — drinking on an empty stomach hurts the body." Liao Wei said ingratiatingly with a smile.

"How's your recovery going?" Chen Yansen nodded, picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, then asked with concern.

"As long as I don't do anything strenuous, another two months of rest and I'll be fine. If you hadn't stopped me from going after Chen Feilei, even if he was hiding in prison, I would have ruined him."

Liao Wei took a deep breath — although he had half-killed Su Feng, he still felt it was unsatisfying.

"You think this is ten years ago? You could ruin him, and the next day he'd come back for revenge. Is it worth it? Just do business properly. Rich people have different ways of fighting. You drive Su Feng into bankruptcy, Chen Feilei comes out of prison with nothing — isn't that more satisfying than ruining him?"

Chen Yansen shook his head with a smile and began to counsel him.

Liao Wei had the ability and the brains, but his rough-and-tumble habits were too heavy; his style was still stuck a dozen years ago.

His management and operations skills were all self-taught wild paths; although he'd had a few years of schooling, it was only a junior college diploma.

"Yes, yes, I'll listen to the boss. After all, I'm a legitimate businessman now."

Liao Wei said with a sheepish grin.

"Sign up for an MBA course later. I don't want you to fall behind Yun Su's growth, understand?"

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and instructed unhurriedly.

MBA?

Why the hell would I learn that stuff?

Yun Su's operations center is full of MBA masters — couldn't I just hand the work over to them?

Liao Wei was about to refuse when he suddenly felt his elbow being nudged by Zhai An.

He caught on immediately, his slight drunkenness vanishing in an instant. He mulled over Chen Yansen's last line — "I don't want you to fall behind Yun Su's growth."

Put plainly, the big boss felt his management level wasn't up to par — either learn and improve, or get lost.

"Got it, boss, I'll study seriously." Liao Wei set down his glass and answered with a solemn expression.

Seeing that he'd understood, Chen Yansen laughed and patted Liao Wei on the shoulder: "I'm not an ungrateful person, but business is business, friendship is friendship. As long as you have the ability, the Yun Su CEO position will always be yours."

"Boss, I understand. I won't let you down."

At this moment Liao Wei was like a fresh recruit, hurriedly assuring him.

Chen Yansen acknowledged it and said no more. Liao Wei was, after all, Yun Su's current top person in charge — as long as the other party understood, there was no need to keep repeating it.

As cups clinked back and forth, a bottle of baijiu on the table was soon emptied.

"Come on, Old Liao, walk a lap with me."

Chen Yansen let out a breath of relief and stood up to speak.

One round?

Liao Wei glanced at the eighty-plus tables around them. If they actually drank at every one, they'd end up in the hospital on the spot.

Zhai An sensibly stood up as well, planning to drink on behalf of the two.

Chen Yansen smiled. He naturally saw through Zhai An's intention and didn't object.

"Drink a little less." Song Yuncheng knew she couldn't talk Chen Yansen out of it, so she only offered a careful reminder.

"Don't worry, it's fine."

With Chen Yansen's freakish constitution, the most he'd ever drunk at once was three jin, and to him it felt like a single bottle of beer—not even close to a pleasant buzz.

Liao Wei and Zhai An followed behind him, wine glasses in hand.

"Chen Zong, this side is the Finance Department's team."

Zhai An handled the introductions.

Chen Yansen stopped, exchanged a few pleasantries with the employees at this table with a smile, raised his glass to clink with everyone, and downed it in one go.

Next came the Operations Department, Customer Service Department, Legal Department, Tech Department, and so on.

Further back were the couriers from the Xh District station, Pudong station, Jiading station, and Minhang station.

"How much was last month's pay?"

Chen Yansen asked a courier.

"Boss, last month was 9,300 yuan before tax. Mainly because I signed two online-shop merchants, so the pickup business is pretty steady."

The courier answered honestly.

"Keep at it. Housing prices in Hu City aren't high these past two years—save up more, and if you get the chance, buy a place in Pudong or Jiading. It'll be easier for the kids to go to school in the future."

Chen Yansen glanced at the man's age. Judging by his accent, it wasn't hard to guess his family situation.

"Thanks for the boss's concern, but the housing prices in Hu City—how could people like us ever afford them?"

The courier scratched his head and forced a wry grin.

In reality, living in an era of runaway housing prices, many people saw the wealth potential hidden in Hu City's property market, but more often than not, they had the will but not the means.

For ordinary people, the best window to get on board was before 2014.

Once that was missed, settling in Hu City for good would be beyond the reach of most ordinary people.

Chen Yansen said nothing. He knew where housing prices were headed, so he wouldn't spout nonsense like "Stick with Yun Su for five or ten years and everyone will be able to afford a home."

"Then buy a few more places back in your hometown."

Chen Yansen said with a teasing smile.

"Thanks for the advice, boss." The courier smiled and replied, but in his heart he was thinking: If even a tycoon like the big boss thinks Hu City's housing prices will rise, maybe I should go home and talk it over with the wife, grit my teeth and put down a down payment.

But he heard that buying a home in Hu City also required two years of social security.

Sigh, forget it then.

After some thought, the urge to buy a home that Chen Yansen had stirred up quickly faded.

Chen Yansen continued on to the next table.

"Chen Zong, I'm Cheng Jie, the station head for Xh District. This is my daughter, Cheng Guo."

Cheng Jie said, pointing to the little girl beside him.

Yun Su's annual party allowed each employee to bring one family member, and most chose to bring their children.

"Hi, big brother! You're so pretty!"

The little girl wasn't shy at all and greeted him with a beaming smile.

Cheng Guo?

Chen Yansen bent down and took a good look at this little girl called Cheng Guo. Finally, between her brows, he spotted a red mole the size of a sesame seed.

It really was her!

Chen Yansen gave a slight start.

More than a dozen years from now, that soft, cute girl who was skilled in all sorts of moves and had bought dozens of cosplay outfits for her wardrobe—he was meeting her again.

Chen Yansen looked at Cheng Guo, who was only six this year, and finally pulled out a red envelope and pressed it into her hand.

"Guoguo, aren't you going to thank the big brother?"

Cheng Jie, seeing the boss seemed to like his daughter, rubbed her head and reminded her with a smile.

"Thank you, big brother." Cheng Guo squinted her eyes, looking perfectly obedient.

Chen Yansen gave a small nod and drank a glass with Cheng Jie.

After one full round, Chen Yansen was fine, but Liao Wei and Zhai An were already drunk and stumbling all over the place.

The Administration Department director saw this and quickly found a few people to take Liao Wei and Zhai An to the hospital to get an IV drip of glucose and saline.

Seeing that things were wrapping up, Chen Yansen called over Xiao Li and walked out with Song Yuncheng, planning to head back and rest.

Just as they stepped out of the banquet hall, he saw Ye Yi standing ramrod-straight at the door.

"Chen Zong, today I was blind. Could you show mercy and let me off?"

The moment Ye Yi spotted Chen Yansen, he hurried over, looking meek and submissive, and pleaded pitifully.

"I'm just a country bumpkin, a nobody. Whatever Boss Ye said, I didn't understand a word."

Chen Yansen teased him with a playful tone.

"Chen Zong, I'm begging you. I've spent half my life hustling in Qipu Road. If you drive me out, I won't have a way to survive."

Ye Yi, who could bend and stretch as needed, dropped to his knees with a thud.

Chen Yansen watched him with an amused look, walked straight past him, and headed for the elevator.

Ye Yi tried to chase after him, but was stopped by Xiao Li, whose face had gone cold.

How could there be such a cheap thing in this world?

Act cool, apologize, and that settles it?

Are you coaxing a child?

Chen Yansen wouldn't care about Ye Yizhi's life or death; it had nothing to do with him.

Leaving the Pullman Hotel, speeding along the Hu-Min Elevated Road, the five-colored lights of Hu City in the night made one unconsciously lose oneself in them.

At the same time.

A photo of Chen Yansen, wearing a Yunsu Express uniform and holding a wine glass, drinking heartily with delivery staff, after double review by the Brand Department and the Marketing Department, was published on the Weibo account.

The number of comments, reposts, and likes quickly exceeded fifty or sixty thousand.

"Whoa! This is the first time I've seen a billionaire CEO so down-to-earth."

"Being handsome is just powerful; even in a work uniform, President Chen looks so good!"

"Didn't you notice that the average monthly salary of Yunsu Express delivery staff is over 7,000 yuan?"

The comment section was filled with all kinds of discussion voices.

Liu Qiangdong, who was surfing the internet at high intensity, having just clashed with Su Ning's Zhang Jindong, saw Chen Yansen's Weibo post.

"Damn! Chen Yansen is indeed a marketing genius; I must study this tactic of his carefully."

Liu Qiangdong felt his eyes light up, instantly feeling he had found a good idea for promoting JD and JD Express.

The JD annual meeting is scheduled for three days later; if I pull off something like this too, would there be suspicion of plagiarism or imitation?

Liu Qiangdong felt a bit embarrassed about losing face; after struggling for a while, a sudden flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Chen Yansen eats and drinks with delivery staff; if I go directly to deliver packages myself, wouldn't that effect be even more awesome!

(End of this chapter)