[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp":3,"chapter-i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-chapter-343":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Get Stronger Every Payday—With One Billion Employees!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2264556,4419,"Chapter 343","i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-chapter-343",343,"\u003Cp>“Damn! Meituan’s market share is far behind Dianping! Wang Xin still thinks he’ll take control after the merger? What a toad puffing out its chest—what audacity!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Hucheng, outside a private club’s VIP room, Zhang Tao, ignoring Shen Nanpeng’s attempts to stop him, strode out, eyes blazing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss Zhang, don’t rush. Both Meituan and Dianping are valued around one billion U.S. dollars. It’s normal the talks haven’t clicked yet. Let’s sit down, talk it out slowly—we’ll find the best solution.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Nanpeng held onto Zhang Tao, patiently urging him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From ancient times to now, every vast historical record boils down to four characters: vie to be emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The business world is no different!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As founder of Sequoia Capital, Shen Nanpeng pushed hard for Dianping and Meituan’s merger—but the headache was that both Zhang Tao and Wang Xin wanted absolute control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From an investor’s standpoint, he leaned toward backing Zhang Tao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wang Xin refused to give up power—making things difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Zhang Tao saw Meituan’s valuation at roughly $970 million, with Wang Xin and the founding team holding 57.7%; Dianping’s valuation at $1.24 billion, with his own stake at 62.2%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the merger, logic dictated he should be CEO, Wang Xin his subordinate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a full morning of talks, the core issue remained unchanged: who would be the boss?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss Shen, I have no objection to the merger—but if Wang Xin can’t see the situation clearly, this deal is off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing outside, chilled by the wind, Zhang Tao’s anger cooled somewhat, his tone softening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Implicitly: unless Wang Xin bows to him, there’s no talking merger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Nanpeng stared at Zhang Tao for several seconds—he understood: neither Meituan nor Dianping had been cornered by Kuai or Lashou yet; no amount of talking now would help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I get it.” Shen Nanpeng exhaled deeply, looking utterly defeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second attempt at merging Meituan and Dianping had entered negotiations—but still failed to reach consensus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The parties parted on bad terms!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the room, Wang Xin and Wang Huiwen exchanged a glance, instantly reading each other’s minds: crush the market with cash, boost monthly GMV, and gain leverage for future funding or merger talks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Tao refused to let Wang Xin be CEO—wasn’t it because Meituan’s market share was too low?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in Wang Xin’s eyes, Dianping was nowhere near Meituan’s strength. If not for Kuai and Lashou’s interference, could Dianping even dream of sitting atop the industry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Wang, Meituan must learn from Kuai. Beyond food, leisure, movie tickets, and travel, we must keep expanding our boundaries, diving deep into local life services, building Meituan’s own ‘T-shaped’ strategy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xin idly swirled his wine glass, eyes fixed on his friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss Wang, the bigger the operation, the higher the payroll and marketing costs. I’m worried Sequoia’s latest investment won’t even carry us to next Q2.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Huiwen frowned, voicing his concerns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the road gets tough, a way always appears. Ali and Sequoia have invested $130 million total—I don’t believe Ma Liyun or Shen Nanpeng would let that money go to waste.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xin smirked, lips crooked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The relationship between investors and entrepreneurs is symbiotic—and always a game of chess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several funding rounds, he’d lost some equity—but Ali and Sequoia were now more deeply tied to Meituan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their sunk costs already reached hundreds of millions. If Meituan kept fighting, Ali and Sequoia had no choice but to keep throwing money in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Capital had shackled the entrepreneur—but the entrepreneur was just as much dragging capital forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the subsidy war between Kuai and Didi, Li Yanhong, unable to find a suitable investor, ended up paying out of his own pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Ali didn’t participate in Meituan’s last funding round. I think Ma Liyun might be abandoning us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Huiwen adjusted his glasses, analyzing seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Wang, don’t worry. Since Chen Yansen’s $50 billion fortune went public, and the three e-commerce giants hit $30 billion in sales on Double Eleven, capital from Europe, America, and Australia is all watching China. With Meituan’s market position, who wouldn’t invest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xin dismissed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I get it, Boss Wang.” Wang Huiwen smiled knowingly, raised his glass, clinked it with Wang Xin’s, eyes gleaming with delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xin narrowed his eyes, thinking: Ali and Baidu are strong—but Meituan isn’t weak. Who wins? Still up in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe Kuai or Lashou could swallow the entire national group-buy market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subsidy wars can’t last forever. In the end, it all comes down to business fundamentals: service and quality decide victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after seeing Zhang Tao off, Shen Nanpeng returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Wang Xin, Shen said nothing more, exchanged a few polite words, then left with his assistant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard Kuai’s Hucheng branch is nearby.” Wang Xin asked suddenly—he knew Pei Yi was stationed in Hucheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of it, he actually wanted to visit the rival’s office, meet his opponent face to face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>JD announced it had completed a new $700 million funding round, with investors including OTTP (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) and Saudi Capital, post-money valuation at $10.5 billion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just two months, Liu Qiangdong had raised $1.1 billion total, with JD’s valuation surging from $6 billion to $10.5 billion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brokers in Hong Kong and Nasdaq grew increasingly enthusiastic about JD.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Liu Qiangdong turned them all away—since JD wasn’t short on cash, the IPO plan was shelved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Double Eleven over, Double Twelve loomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s thought, Liu Qiangdong pulled out his phone, found Chen Yansen’s private number, and dialed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen received the call from “Pretty Boy Dong,” understood his intent, and replied cheerfully: “I’ll get some good wine ready. Wait for you to come over, Boss Liu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qiangdong wanted to “carry thorns and beg forgiveness”—Chen Yansen had no reason to shut the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orange Tech’s exit from JD had cost Liu dearly—but he’d also lost a major online sales channel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when “Pretty Boy Dong” spoke up, Chen Yansen gladly gave him a face-saving exit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Pinduoduo and JD’s biggest rival right now was Ali—first bring down Taobao and Tmall’s market share.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See you Monday.” Liu Qiangdong hung up with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen put down his phone and returned to CPU architecture R&D.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hours passed. His desk phone suddenly rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen picked it up—it was Cheng Weixing. He pressed answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, Ali has entered the food delivery market.” Cheng Weixing had spotted a new “Taobao Waimai” icon on Taobao’s homepage and immediately reported it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen pulled out another phone from his drawer, opened Taobao app—but saw no such channel. He understood: not officially launched yet, still in gray testing. Cheng Weixing’s account had just been added to the test group. “Ali hasn’t even gone public, and Ma Liyun’s already throwing homepage resources at it—his ambitions are huge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I warned Pei Yi,” Cheng Weixing added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s expansion going in South China and Northeast?” Chen Yansen replied, shifting topic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Northeast region: daily orders 503,000, active drivers 77,000, order completion rate 85.9%, average response time 37 seconds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“South China region: daily orders 905,000, active drivers 132,000, order completion rate 89.4%, average response time 36 seconds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Weixing paused, then added: “Including East China, North China, and Central China, Kuai’s daily orders total 7.1 million. Didi’s estimated at just over 600,000.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen considered: with 2012’s internet and smartphone penetration, the national daily ride-hailing order ceiling was roughly 9 to 11 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, half a year of subsidies had activated 70–80% of potential riders—even expanding to remote county towns wouldn’t add much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Kuai’s daily platform revenue reached 150 million CNY, commission rate raised from 10% to 15%, monthly revenue over 670 million—but due to high operating costs, gross margin was under 5%. Add marketing expenses, Q4 losses still hovered around 1 billion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Profit was still a distant dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Didi had been quiet the past month, playing low-key, Li Yanhong might restart a price war any day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen chatted with Cheng Weixing for a few minutes, then ended the call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ali’s move into food delivery was expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, in Hangcheng right now, besides Kuai and Taobao Waimai, there were also Aidingfan, Dianwoba, and other competitors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Kuai Waimai ended its subsidies, online food delivery platforms sprouted overnight across East China, centered on Hangcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yansen knew: becoming #1 was easy. Achieving 100% monopoly? Impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Yunsu Express, Kuai only needed to be the strongest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day before December, Meituan and Dianping’s second negotiation collapsed. Ali entered food delivery. WeChat was working overtime to develop WeChat Pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 8:30 p.m., Chen Yansen drove an Aston Martin Rapide along Xucheng Avenue, racing back to his new home in Sanjiaozhou Villa District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A three-story villa with a basement, featuring a 200+ square meter open garden. The ornate iron gate slowly swung open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He parked in the garage, pushed open the living room’s wooden door. A six-meter-high foyer greeted him, a crystal chandelier hanging down, walnut wood flooring beneath his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slipping on slippers, he dropped onto the sofa, then summoned the system panel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Human Dao Firewood column read: 170,179.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough to synthesize 1,701 strands of Divine Dao Firewood!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Yunsu Express, Orange Mobile Factory, Kuai, and other companies growing, monthly labor costs alone exceeded 1.7 billion—over 20 billion annually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Synthesize. Add points!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thought, golden mist surged through the air, darting into his brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, his physical stat rose to 64.48!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this rate, in just two months, his physique would break 100, unlocking his next talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After strengthening, Chen Yansen couldn’t sleep—energy surged through him. After brief thought, he sent Ye Qiuping a text: “Make me some sweet soup.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qiuping instantly understood Chen Zong’s hint. She rushed into the room, pulled out a lace-trimmed maid outfit, slipped it on, tied black silk ribbons into bows around her bare neck and thighs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hangcheng, Ali Headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss Ma, Taobao Waimai’s test results are excellent. Daily Hangcheng orders surged from 60 to 1,000. Merchant sign-ups near 300…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Yongbo, project lead for Taobao Waimai, reported one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the large office, besides Ma Liyun, there were Lu Zhaoxi, Zhang Yong, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where’s the data for the riders?” Ma Liyun asked casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Total registered users: 420, with an online rate of 27%,” Tang Yongbo responded immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The average daily order fulfillment per rider is less than ten? As far as I know, Kuai Pao  delivery personnel handle over fifty orders daily, and top performers reach up to a hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhaoxi interjected with a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The pricing, system, and dispatch capabilities of TaoBao riders are similar to Meituan’s, primarily relying on outsourced models, while Kuai Pao ’s logistics department is mainly composed of full-time, in-house staff—the underlying logic is different.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Yongbo turned his head and explained to Lu Zhaoxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does this have a positive impact on the TaoBao business?” Zhang Yong pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the person in charge of Taobao Mall and TaoBao C-stores, he only cared whether giving TaoBao such a massive food delivery traffic entry had boosted e-commerce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High-frequency drives low-frequency; low-cost acquisition of traffic!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the effect is strong, the losses from food delivery are negligible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Zhang, from the data perspective, users have indeed opened the app more often, but online shopping orders show no significant growth. Of course, it’s also possible that user volume and order scale are too small—we need to expand the test range to collect more direct and effective feedback.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Yongbo answered with extreme caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Ali held a 4% stake in Kuai Pao , it could not stop Ma Liyun’s determination to enter the food delivery market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it meant offending Chen Yan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking back at Ali’s investment history, it may seem scattered, but if you view AliBaBa as an advertising company, Ma Liyun’s intentions become clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>E-commerce itself cannot generate much traffic; Taobao Mall and TaoBao rely on external third-party traffic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since AliBaBa’s founding, ad spending has never stopped—Ma Liyun is a super KA client for Baidu, NetEase, Sohu, Sina, Today’s Headlines, and others; this is also why Ali planned to invest in Weibo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Scale user volume up to 20%,” Ma Liyun said after a long pause, instructing Tang Yongbo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ali urgently needed to stabilize user retention, and the food delivery industry—with its high-frequency consumption—entered Ma Liyun’s field of vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood, Mr. Ma,” Tang Yongbo nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although everyone in the room knew that Ali’s entry into food delivery would directly clash with Kuai Pao ,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Liyun and the others had no choice—China had only 600 million internet users, and Taobao, established over a decade ago, had already hit its traffic ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difficulty of acquiring new users had increased geometrically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This problem was also the challenge facing Huang Zheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PinBei had Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, Lingxi Search, and other products to funnel traffic; Ali had no such variety of traffic supplements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Ma Liyun copied PinBei’s business model while turning his attention to Weibo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2161,"2026-06-19T19:17:19.606Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bd44c1fd16be467cbee85c66a6929230f9171e461d3f34020fd7e5241edf548e","i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-chapter-344","i-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-chapter-342",387,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-get-stronger-every-payday-with-one-billion-emp-cover.jpg"]