Chapter 291: Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors: The Dread of Open Strategy

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao?

Chen Yansen turned to look at the lounge area and saw the two men running toward him, faces plastered with sycophantic smiles, eyes filled with caution and wariness.

"Mr. Chen, sorry for the sudden visit—please forgive the intrusion. I'm Chen Dejun from Shentong Express."

"Mr. Chen, I'm Yu Weijiao from Yuantong Express."

One behind the other, both leaned slightly forward, volunteering their introductions.

Chen Yansen sensed no malice in them and smiled faintly as he shook hands with Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao: "Mr. Chen, Mr. Yu—long time to hear of you!"

Long time to hear of me?

You've nearly killed Shentong!

Chen Dejun silently cursed inside, but he hadn't forgotten his purpose—he cut straight to the point: "Mr. Chen, I want to sell Shentong Express to your company."

"Same here," said Yu Weijiao. Though he'd secured more funding than Chen Dejun, he'd only received 200 million, far too little to keep Yuantong afloat.

"Actually, you two don't need to go through all this trouble—traveling all the way from Shanghai. Just contact Liao Wei."

Chen Yansen said with a smile.

After all, the acquisitions of Yunda and Zhongtong Express had been led entirely by Liao Wei; Gao Weilin had merely lent a team of financial analysts and legal advisors for support.

The proof was in the pudding—Liao Wei's MBA had clearly paid off. At least on acquisition pricing, Chen Yansen was thoroughly satisfied.

Liao Wei?

Just a mad dog. How much authority could he possibly have?

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao exchanged glances, then answered in unison: "We'd like to speak with Mr. Chen in person."

Speak with me?

I'll slash prices even harder!

Chen Yansen smiled inwardly, waved to Tian Tian, and told her to brew tea and fetch Gao Weilin.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Yu, please sit and chat comfortably," Chen Yansen said, leading them into a spacious, well-lit reception room on the first floor.

No sooner had they sat down than Chen Yansen said casually: "I'm not particularly interested in acquiring Shentong or Yuantong. After Yunsu's acquisitions of Yunda and Zhongtong, our transit hubs, sorting centers, and last-mile outlets are all nearing saturation."

"Of course, you two are industry veterans. Since you've come, I should show some goodwill—I can acquire either Shentong or Yuantong."

Chen Dejun froze. He wasn't stupid—he instantly understood Chen Yansen's game: a classic price-cutting tactic.

Yu Weijiao stole a glance at Chen Dejun and immediately regretted coming together. He should've slipped over alone.

Chen Dejun said nothing, absorbing Yu Weijiao's micro-expressions. He snorted inwardly—what an idiot.

Two peaches kill three warriors—such a simple scheme, and old Yu still can't see through it? Where did his usual sharpness go?

"Boss, your tea. Mr. Gao is on his way," Tian Tian entered, placing the tea down.

Chen Yansen nodded, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao.

This was an open strategy—a casual "choose one" had shattered their alliance.

He'd seen through their little scheme from the start: tying Shentong and Yuantong together to inflate their value.

Seeing their silence, Chen Yansen wasn't in a rush. He picked up the teapot, filled both their cups, then sipped slowly himself.

"Tap-tap-tap!" A knock came at the door.

"Come in," Chen Yansen said softly, knowing it was Gao.

"Boss!" Gao Weilin smiled, greeted his boss first, then turned to Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao.

Though unfamiliar with them, he'd already learned the gist from the receptionist before entering.

"This is Chen Dejun, founder of Shentong Express. This is Yu Weijiao, founder of Yuantong Express. Mr. Chen, Mr. Yu—let me introduce you to Gao Weilin, CFO of Senlian Capital."

Chen Yansen sat back, speaking slowly.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Yu—pleased to meet you," Gao Weilin offered a mechanical smile, then sat to Chen Yansen's left.

A year ago, Gao Weilin would never have appeared so calm meeting Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao.

But now, under Yunsu's pressure, both Shentong and Yuantong were shadows of their former glory—their daily parcel volume had plummeted from a peak of 3 million to just 600, 00, even less than Best Express.

The "Three Throughs and One Reach" were already dead in all but name.

Valued under a billion, such acquisitions were handed to subordinates. Gao would only oversee timing and direction—not get involved personally.

So Gao Weilin didn't take Chen Dejun or Yu Weijiao seriously at all.

"Mr. Chen, if you buy only one, the other is doomed," Chen Dejun finally blurted out, his voice pleading, having found no way out.

This was the inescapable nature of an open strategy: built on transparent rules, exploiting inevitable trends and human nature—even if the opponent saw it coming, he could only follow the predetermined path.

"What's your bottom price, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Yansen asked slowly.

He bore no personal grudge against Chen Dejun—this was pure business. If the offer was fair, he had no reason to crush him.

"1. billion," Chen Dejun hesitated for over ten seconds, then cautiously named a figure.

Once a dominant figure in the express industry, he now sat before Chen Yansen, feeling an inexplicable unease.

"Mr. Yu, what about you?" Chen Yansen asked, neither confirming nor denying.

Yu Weijiao instinctively looked up—and met Chen Yansen's gaze.

The man's eyes were deep and bright, radiating quiet authority. Though he knew Chen Yansen was a twenty-year-old sophomore, he still felt his breath shorten and blurted out his true bottom line: "840 million."

Fuck!

What the hell is old Yu playing at?!

Chen Dejun whirled around, glaring furiously at Yu Weijiao.

In Shanghai, they'd agreed: Shentong at 1. billion, Yuantong at 1. 5 billion—giving Chen Yansen no more than 100 million room to negotiate.

"Mr. Gao, what do you think?" Chen Yansen asked Gao Weilin.

"Boss, when we acquired Yunda, their daily volume was 600, 00—same as Yuantong's—and the price was 760 million."

Gao Weilin instantly understood his boss's intent and immediately joined in to pressure the price.

Implicitly: Yu Weijiao's 840 million was too high.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Gao, Yuantong is stronger than Yunda—we have 9, 00 service outlets, over 80 transit centers, and over 4, 00 delivery trucks…" Yu Weijiao rushed to defend himself.

"Mr. Yu, Yunda and Zhongtong also had many outlets—but mostly franchisees. They hold almost no value for Yunsu. We'd need to spend massive manpower and resources to streamline them—cutting at least 70%."

Chen Yansen shook his head, clearly disgusted.

Yu Weijiao fell silent, mouth slightly open, chest burning—he'd spent decades in business, never before been dismissed as worthless.

"Mr. Chen, what price do you want?" Chen Dejun asked coldly.

They were all smart men. Straight talk might work better.

"I'm buying only one. Whoever quotes lower, I'll buy."

Chen Yansen leaned back, pretending not to grasp Chen Dejun's implication, then repeated himself. A faint smile on his face—enraging Chen Dejun, yet leaving him powerless.

He'd considered walking out and turning to Ali, but he knew Ma Liyun wouldn't offer a higher price either.

Otherwise, Ma wouldn't have deliberately delayed investment funds, waiting for Shentong and Yuantong to weaken.

Does the tiger on the east mountain eat people, but not the one on the west?

"Shentong's warehouses, outlets, volume, staff, and delivery vehicles are all 20% higher than Zhongtong's. Is 1. billion unreasonable?"

Chen Dejun slashed his price by 200 million, settling at 1. billion.

Two months ago, Senlian Capital had acquired Yuantong for 980 million. Given Shentong's market share and transport routes, 1. billion was reasonable.

But he'd overlooked one key fact: Chen Yansen could wait. He couldn't.

"1. billion. That's my final offer." Chen Yansen made a token counteroffer.

"Mr. Chen, I'll take 800 million," Yu Weijiao blurted out, terrified Chen Yansen would actually enforce the "choose one" tactic—if he lost, he'd be dead.

Ali might step in—or might not. And when? Yu Weijiao wouldn't risk his future on Ma Liyun.

Seeing Yu Weijiao cooperate, Chen Yansen smiled faintly but said nothing, turning his gaze back to Chen Dejun.

"Fine. 1. billion," Chen Dejun stared straight at Chen Yansen and sighed.

With Yu Weijiao as a traitorous teammate, there was no way to raise the price.

"Mr. Gao, handle it," Chen Yansen rose slowly and instructed Gao Weilin.

Then he walked out.

"Mr. Gao, what did Mr. Chen mean?" Yu Weijiao hadn't caught on yet.

"Of course, we're buying both," Chen Dejun snapped.

"Let's sign a letter of intent first. After financial and legal audits are cleared, we'll initiate the acquisition process and sign the equity transfer agreement. Any objections?"

Gao Weilin declared firmly.

"I have no objections," Chen Dejun said, resigned.

"No problem. We'll follow Mr. Gao's lead," Yu Weijiao nodded, agreeing readily.

Elsewhere.

Chen Yansen left the meeting room, took the elevator to his office. He hadn't pushed the price to the absolute bottom—he feared driving them into Ali's arms.

He opened his computer, logged into the backend, and reviewed daily data from Pinbei, Orange Tech, Today Tech, ByteDance, KuaiPao, and KuaiDi Taxi.

Ten minutes later, he closed the browser and opened a news site.

"Baidu, Kingsoft, 360, Tencent, Sogou, ByteDance—all gathered in Yanjing to draft the 'Self-Regulatory Code for Search Engine Services,' aiming to maintain fair industry competition."

Ma Wenteng's visit to Weicheng was just a detour—his real purpose was attending the meeting in Yanjing.

During the 3B war, Tencent, Kingsoft, 360, and Baidu had gone too far, treating users like dirt.

When the authorities got angry, they all reluctantly patched things up.

Though Sogou and ByteDance hadn't joined the fight, they'd still been summoned.

Qian Du's market value evaporated 12 billion; Fang Zhouzi bombarded 360!

Chen Yansen saw this and let out a soft laugh; Li Yan was quite clever—paying thugs to insult a bully was actually a good tactic.

Taobao browser launched, promoting a safe shopping slogan.

Weibo's mobile share reached 56%, showing significant growth in mobile internet.

Meituan adjusted its group-buying strategy in preparation for its food delivery business.

Li Chen's heart-shaped stone was exposed as having been given to multiple people in identical form.

Internet companies widely practice overtime culture—is the 996 work system right or wrong?

In August 2012, besides the 3B rivalry, Olympic-related reports frequently topped trending lists.

Toutiao specially launched an Olympic column for this.

News such as Sun Yang breaking the world record in the 1500m freestyle, Lin Dan defending his badminton men's singles title, and Chen Yibing's gold medal being unfairly judged all garnered over ten million clicks; the most discussed was still Liu Xiang's withdrawal from the Olympics.

Although the incident had passed a week ago, the comment section remained flooded with insults.

Chen Yansen frowned slightly and let out a long breath.

That afternoon, Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao left Zhuxianzhuang Technology Park together after signing the letter of intent for equity transfer.

"Are you really going to sell the company to Senlian Capital?" Yu Weijiao asked.

You're so inconsistent!

Chen Dejun didn't even have the heart to curse; he glanced at Yu Weijiao and said nothing.

A letter of intent expresses the intention to reach an agreement, not a formal contract—it lacks details like the subject of sale, delivery time, delivery method, or breach clauses, and carries weak legal enforceability; in principle, either party may withdraw freely.

Chen Dejun planned to use Chen Yansen's offer to negotiate with Ma Liyun.

As for that fool Yu Weijiao, what did he matter!

Seeing Chen Dejun's silence, Yu Weijiao's eyes darted, and he began to suspect something.

Their thoughts were nearly identical: both wanted to ditch the other, take Chen Yansen's offer, and approach Ma Liyun.

If Ali's price was higher, they might even make another two or three hundred million.

On the way back, the two parted ways at Jinling service area—one claimed he was heading to Yongcheng, the other said he was going to Huzhou.

Three hours later, their cars arrived one after the other at Ali Baba's headquarters.

Meanwhile.

After being "unemployed," Cheng Wei spent his days wandering the streets of Yancheng, searching for new business opportunities.

Although he still held equity in Didi Chuxing, without controlling interest, he couldn't even interfere in daily operations.

Wang Jin and Xiang Hailong sidelined him completely, leaving him with no position at all—even visiting the company made him nothing more than a figurehead.

At the Wangfujing subway entrance, Cheng Wei leaned against the wall, observing the passing pedestrians and the endless flow of vehicles.

Ride-hailing was out of the question!

Cheng Wei refused to go back to working for others; he kept trying to devise a new business. Rushing white-collar workers passed him constantly, and a row of bicycles of various brands stood parked at the subway entrance—essential commuting tools for nearby office workers.

Bicycles!

A flash of inspiration struck Cheng Wei; his eyes lit up—he had glimpsed a business opportunity.

(End of Chapter)