Chapter 238: Is a One-Trillion-Yuan Target Too Much?

In mid-March, the Thousand Groups War gradually entered its final phase.

After two years, nearly 6, 00 group-buying websites were reduced by over 5, 00, burning through 7 billion yuan in venture capital.

Leading enterprises began dominating market direction; smaller sites had been abandoned by investors—unable to secure funding or attract users, they could only wait helplessly for death.

The founder of DidaTuan even offered 20% equity for just five million yuan in investment—a bargain price.

Unfortunately, investors weren't fools; in this industry, they preferred adding flowers to brocade rather than coal in snow, choosing to pour money into Lashou, Meituan, Dazhong Dianping, WowoTuan, and Nuomi, refusing to waste a single cent on DidaTuan.

Chen Yansen opened a market report and furrowed his brow when he saw Meituan's market share at 21%, just behind Lashou's 27%.

Wang Xin had still managed to make Meituan the industry's second-largest player!

The remaining slaughter would move quickly: five to four, four to three, three to two—only two or three companies would survive the final lane.

Dazhong Dianping rose with astonishing speed, surpassing WowoTuan and Nuomi's market size in just half a year, leaping from outside the top ten to third place.

Although Lashou still held the top spot, it was growing strained under pressure from Meituan and Dazhong Dianping, its market share plummeting from over 40% to 27%.

Who would ultimately prevail remained unknown!

Meanwhile, "Empresses in the Palace" premiered on television, Weibo users surpassed 300 million, "Titanic 3D" announced its re-release, and Liu Qiangdong activated the IPO preparations for JD. om.

On the eve of the mobile internet explosion, capital flooded in, and bizarre projects thrived wildly on the wind of opportunity.

From "24-hour errand service to buy sanitary pads" to "shared boyfriends," "office pet rentals," even absurd ventures like "Bitcoin mining training" secured angel investment, leaving netizens stunned.

"Tap-tap-tap!"

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

"Come in!" Chen Yansen set down the report and replied softly.

Human Resources Director Wang Xueting entered, stood still, and explained: "Boss, Mr. Huang has arrived—he's waiting in the B6 reception room on the first floor."

"Bring him over," Chen Yansen said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll get him," Wang Xueting turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Three minutes later, an HR specialist from OrangeTech led Huang Zheng to the office door.

"Mr. Huang, welcome!" Chen Yansen rose to greet him with a smile.

"Boss Chen, sorry for the sudden visit. I've brought you some fresh tea from my hometown—a small token, please accept it."

Huang Zheng lifted the gift bag and displayed it openly.

"Then I won't be polite—please sit! What kind of tea do you prefer, Mr. Huang?"

Chen Yansen took the gift, placed it in the tea cabinet, then turned to ask.

"Boss Chen, I don't care much for tea—whatever you choose is fine. Also, you can call me Colin," Huang Zheng said, slightly nervous, waving his hand.

"Alright, Old Huang, let's have Huangya tea—let you taste a specialty from my hometown."

Chen Yansen picked up the tea leaves and returned to the coffee table.

He boiled water, brewed tea, poured tea—each motion smooth and seamless.

Huang Zheng observed Chen Yansen in silence; even though he'd mentally prepared himself before arriving, meeting him now stirred fresh doubt.

Chen Yansen was too young—would following such a boss really be better than starting his own venture?

He'd asked Duan Yongping for advice, but the man had only said: "This decision is yours alone; others' opinions inevitably carry bias."

After receiving Gao Weilin's call, Huang Zheng pondered for five or six days, studying Chen Yansen's entrepreneurial journey again.

In August 2010, he founded Senhai Technology; in September, he incubated the FoxTao project, which became the leader in the guide e-commerce industry within six months;

In March 2011, he founded OrangeTech and assembled a team to develop the AuroraOS operating system;

In August 2011, the Orange C1 phone launched, selling 200, 00 units in just 14 hours on day one;

In September 2011, he sold FoxTao to Ali Baba, cashing out 12 billion yuan;

In October 2011, he founded Pinbei Technology, securing Tencent's top-tier traffic channel and 300 million USD in funding;

In November 2011, OrangeTech received a 1. 5 billion USD strategic investment from DST Capital, optimizing its supply chain in the process.

Across all of Asia, few business geniuses could match Chen Yansen.

Every step he took was steady and sure—whether in promotion, sales, finance, or supplier management, Chen Yansen had never stumbled on any challenge.

"Old Huang, drink your tea!"

Chen Yansen pushed a steaming cup toward Huang Zheng and studied him with interest.

Years later, while few entrepreneurs were widely hated, Huang Zheng was among the most notorious.

"Thank you, Boss Chen," Huang Zheng accepted the cup and replied politely.

"The CEO position at Pinbei remains vacant—I can give it to you. But I have one requirement: within two years, you must raise Pinbei's annual sales to one trillion yuan."

Chen Yansen lifted his cup, sipped slowly, and spoke calmly.

One trillion yuan sounded like an impossible demand!

But given Pinbei's current trajectory, annual sales would surpass 260 billion by year-end.

In his previous life, Pinduoduo had taken four years to reach this goal.

Chen Yansen believed that with Tencent's traffic and OrangePhone's support, if Huang Zheng couldn't achieve it, he had no right to sit as Pinbei's CEO.

Huang Zheng froze, instinctively swallowing hard.

His Leqi agency had generated only 300 million yuan in revenue last year.

What did one trillion yuan even mean?

He'd need to cultivate at least ten thousand merchants with annual sales exceeding one hundred million yuan each!

Ali Baba's total sales in 2011 were only 600 billion yuan!

Huang Zheng stared fixedly at Chen Yansen—his eyes made it clear: this goal was serious, not a joke.

He opened his mouth to protest, but Chen Yansen added: "This demand is high for an ordinary person, but I believe in your ability."

You believe in a ghost!

I don't even believe it myself!

Huang Zheng laughed bitterly, silently cursing inside—but his future boss had spoken; he couldn't let the words hang in the air, so he forced a smile: "Thank you for your trust, Boss—I'll do my best."

There was no choice: Chen Yansen offered too much—generous base salary and stock options, more than he'd ever earn on his own.

Plus, he'd never again have to beg for brand agency contracts or grovel to people daily.

Once he became Pinbei's CEO, aside from a handful of top-tier S- and A-class brands, who would dare not treat him like a godfather?

Chen Yansen smiled faintly—he knew Huang Zheng had accepted the offer the moment he switched to "Boss."

In truth, Huang Zheng was still unknown in the industry; receiving an olive branch from an e-commerce giant like this, how could he not be tempted?

It was like a small-time agency boss with less than ten million in annual profit suddenly meeting Ma Liyun, who invited him to become Ali Baba's CEO.

Huang Zheng had stayed calm only because, under Duan Yongping's mentorship, he'd met many big names and learned to keep his composure.

"Finish wrapping up Leqi quickly—Pinbei's 618 promotion is coming. Do well, and this will be your breakthrough moment!"

Chen Yansen stood, clapped Huang Zheng on the shoulder.

Securing Huang Zheng brought him little satisfaction—he wasn't some multi-billionaire e-commerce tycoon, just a former Google project manager who'd failed twice and still hadn't found his direction.

If Leiyi Army came to serve him, maybe he'd feel a spark of conquest.

"Boss, I sold Leqi to Lan Ting Ji Shi—the handover doesn't require my involvement; I can join anytime."

Huang Zheng said immediately.

The one-trillion-yuan target was daunting, but the salary, equity value, and industry influence of the Pinbei CEO role made his blood boil.

Of course he'd join as soon as possible—to push Pinbei onto a faster growth track.

"Good. I'll take you to Building 8 to meet Pinbei's department heads."

Chen Yansen checked his watch—there was still an hour and a half before lunch, plenty of time.

"Thank you, Boss," Huang Zheng followed Chen Yansen into the elevator.

Meanwhile.

Upon receiving the news, Xiong Li and Zhang Junjie immediately sent meeting notices to all department directors: report to the boss's office in five minutes.

"Li Ge, what's going on? The morning meeting just ended."

Cai Qiming, head of the Design Department, leaned over, curious.

Xiong Li's efficient, forceful style had earned him the nickname "Li Ge."

"We're getting a new boss," Xiong Li shot Cai Qiming a look—this effeminate guy from Wanwan had been told countless times not to call him "Li Ge," yet he insisted.

Zhang Wenbo paused beside them, startled: "Is your wife pregnant?"

"Wenbo, what are you thinking? Boss Chen has just confirmed the new CEO," Xiang Pengfei laughed, amused by Zhang Wenbo's absurd train of thought.

"Oh! Ohhh," Zhang Wenbo rubbed his nose, grinning awkwardly.

Wang Zihao, Song Yuncheng, Zhang Yifeng, Internal Control's Chen Peng, Marketing's Yang Pinglun, Customer Service's Fei Qiwén, Finance, Legal, and others arrived at Chen Yansen's office.

Wang Zihao peered inside and saw Chen Yansen leaning against the conference table, chatting with a thirty-something man in a suit.

"Come in! What are you doing standing outside? Old Huang, this is Wang Zihao, head of Pinbei's advertising team."

Chen Yansen caught Wang Zihao's eye and waved him over.

"Group Leader Wang, we'll need to work closely together—let's hit that one-trillion-yuan sales target as soon as possible."

Huang Zheng stepped forward, extending goodwill.

Before deciding to join Pinbei, he'd quietly researched the backgrounds of its core personnel to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Though Wang Zihao's title was low, he was Chen Yansen's childhood friend and closest ally, and one of Pinbei's first ten employees.

Thus, Huang Zheng was unusually amiable.

Then, each department head greeted Huang Zheng in turn, and everyone took their seats.

"Effective immediately, Mr. Huang Zheng will serve as Pinbei's CEO. All department weekly reports and data team daily reports will be sent directly to him, with a copy to me."

Chen Yansen announced.

"Got it, Boss!" the people in the room replied in unison.

"Regarding the ten-billion target mentioned by Huang Zong just now, it's true—I expect everyone to get it done within two years. After 618, I'll issue a company-wide equity incentive based on sales performance. Keep going!"

Chen Yansen spoke briefly.

So far, fewer than thirty people hold equity in Pinbei; excluding Song Yuncheng, Xiang Pengfei, Zhang Yifeng, Xu Xingxing, and others, the rest are all department directors.

Cai Qiming's eyes lit up, his smile impossible to suppress—he had traveled thousands of miles to the mainland precisely to achieve financial freedom.

Currently, each Pinbei stock option is worth about five U. . dollars; he already held 100, 00 shares, and if the boss went all out, he could gain at least several million more in income.

Instantly, the office erupted in noise, flattery ringing endlessly.

Chen Yansen smiled and shook his head.

Huang Zheng took over the operational reins of Pinbei from him.

On his second day in office, he renegotiated pricing structures with major appliance brands like Haier, Gree, Midea, FOTILE, and Saikang, making subtle price adjustments across identical products based on model, specification, and batch to compete with Jingdong and Suning for home appliance customers.

Liu Qiangdong soon keenly noticed a recent decline in home appliance output, initially assuming it was due to suppressed demand as Suning's 418 mega-sale approached.

But after investigation, he was shocked to find that sales on Jingdong's main platform had dropped—and even Pinbei's Jingdong-owned products were showing signs of shrinking.

"Chen Yansen is being unfair!"

Liu Qiangdong erupted in furious curses.

Huang Zheng's first move after taking office was to strike directly at Liu Qiangdong.

In e-commerce, there is no early or late—only total war!

Leveraging Jingdong, Suning, and Gome's home appliance resources, after accumulating users and merchants, Pinbei finally dropped the pretense and entered the market head-on to compete directly with Taobao and Jingdong for the home appliance sector.

This enraged Zhang Jindong of Suning, because before 618, Pinbei had planned a 418 Home Appliance Day—wasn't that rubbing salt in the wound?

At that time, some of Suning's home appliance orders would inevitably be snatched away by Pinbei.

Meanwhile,

On the streets of Jin Ling, ground promotion staff could often be seen holding laptops with wireless cards plugged in, asking young men and women: "Bro, want a free ride?"

Cheng Wei, after securing 600 million Huayuan in funding, immediately replicated Hangcheng's free-ride model in Jin Ling.

With offline ground teams and online promotion through the Orange App Store and Penguin Push, the service went viral across the entire city on its launch day.

"Who still stands on street corners hailing cabs? Everyone hails rides on their phones, then strolls leisurely to the pickup point."

Jin Ling's youth saw it as a fashion.

Previously, when taxi drivers yelled at passengers, riders could only endure it; now, if insulted, they immediately gave the driver a bad review—the platform deducted a fine from the driver's income and converted it into a user compensation voucher.

Just as Kuai Di was expanding in Hangcheng and Jin Ling, Cheng Wei, who had resigned over half a month ago, also assembled a team in Yan Cheng and was fully developing the Didi Ride app.

(End of Chapter)