Chapter 376: Old Ma, I

Zhuxianzhu Technology Park, Building 9.

Xu Zhenhui frowned, his brow knotted as he wrestled with Chen Yansen’s demand.

While interest-free loans to specific enterprises have precedent, the amount rarely exceeds one hundred thousand.

But Chen Yansen was asking for one billion outright—leaving him feeling utterly powerless.

“Mr. Chen, even Lucheng probably can’t provide a one-billion-yuan interest-free loan, can it?” Xu Zhenhui countered.

“But constructing an A-class data center in Xucheng is outside Orange Tech’s original plan,” Chen Yansen shrugged.

Xu Zhenhui fell silent for a moment, then looked Chen Yansen squarely in the eye: “Two hundred million in interest-free loans, and the remaining eight hundred million as low-interest loans—I can personally negotiate the rate down to 2.1%. Additionally, I’ll secure another two hundred million in dedicated funding to support you on broadband taxes, income tax, power subsidies, rent relief, and revenue subsidies. Mr. Chen, please believe in Xucheng’s sincerity.”

Hearing this, Chen Yansen dropped his smile and began to think seriously.

Compared to Meng Yuanzhi, Xu Zhenhui’s support was clearly more generous.

As a coal and power base, Xucheng had abundant, low-cost electricity—greatly reducing data center operating costs.

Later, a multi-tiered power assurance system could be built using dual municipal power lines, diesel generators, and UPS uninterruptible power supplies—ensuring operations wouldn’t be disrupted even during regional grid failures.

“Mr. Xu, Xucheng’s agricultural and sideline products, papermaking, and light textile and footwear industries have deeper roots. Even if Pinbei Mall relocates, support won’t be reduced,” Chen Yansen weighed in.

“Mr. Chen, Xucheng’s rice paddies have been farmed for thousands of years—can we really keep living off the land forever?” Xu Zhenhui chuckled bitterly.

Only with data centers and cloud computing industries could quality capital, technology, and talent be drawn to Xucheng.

“Old Zhou, pick someone to handle the coordination,” Chen Yansen sighed, turning to Zhou Shouzhi.

“Understood, Boss,” Zhou Shouzhi nodded.

“Mr. Chen, you agree?” Xu Zhenhui smiled, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“You said it yourself—I’m half a Xucheng native. Of course I should contribute to my hometown,” Chen Yansen teased with a grin.

“What about the interest-free loan?” Xu Zhenhui probed.

“Not a single yuan less,” Chen Yansen said sternly.

Xu Zhenhui smiled helplessly, secretly relieved—but his smile carried a touch of bitterness.

In his view, Senlian Capital had originally been nurtured by Xucheng, only to have its fruit snatched away by Lucheng.

Then Chen Yansen invited Xu Zhenhui to his office for tea, leaving the preliminary cooperation details to Zhou Shouzhi and Xu’s secretary to finalize.

Meanwhile.

In a conference room of Building 6, next door, Pinbei’s headquarters.

Song Yuncheng, dressed in a light gray business suit, spoke calmly: “Let’s review the number of major client signings, GMV contribution, industry share, and contract fulfillment status for early and mid-February.”

After two and a half years of workplace training, Song Yuncheng handled her work with effortless ease.

Before Chen Yansen, she was the sweet, juicy orange—but to her subordinates, she was the sharp, formidable Director of Major Client Acquisition.

“As of February 19, we added 12 new KA clients, against a monthly target of 15—progress is 12% ahead of schedule; major client transaction volume reached 1.33 billion, accounting for 8.3% of the platform; among newly signed KA clients, three failed to meet their first-month exposure targets, with a shortfall of 300,000 UVs…”

A department member, formerly from Ali, reported.

“Coordinate with Product and Events teams—add five new slots on the first screen of Brand Selection to make up for the missing traffic.”

Song Yuncheng immediately decided, flipping through data sheets—January KA client GMV analysis, competitor KA policy comparison, and Q1 acquisition target breakdown—as she spoke.

“Understood,” the subordinate replied immediately.

“Continue,” Song Yuncheng waved her hand.

If observed closely, her mannerisms and tone mirrored Chen Yansen’s almost exactly.

With her current industry resources, connections, and capabilities, even if she left Pinbei, she could land a million-yuan-a-year job at Ali, Tencent, or JD.

In fact, headhunters had privately approached her many times, offering even better packages than Pinbei—but she had never considered leaving.

In her heart, Pinbei was home, and Chen Yansen was her life’s direction.

Though the bastard was terrible—he always made her pose in embarrassing ways and wear strange clothes—if Chen Yansen liked it, she was willing to do it.

She remembered clearly: it was Chen Yansen who handed her a stack of SIM cards and gave her the chance to join Fox Taobao.

He taught her step by step how to select products and negotiate deals, pushing her to where she stood today.

On the other side.

After dealing with Xu Zhenhui, Chen Yansen saw him off at Zhuxianzhu Technology Park and returned to his office, where he received a call from Ma Liyun.

“Mr. Chen, I heard KuaiPao is about to launch its Series B financing…” Ma Liyun chuckled.

“Who told you that? Pure rumor,” Chen Yansen cut him off.

Ma Liyun froze, thinking: What’s your game? You don’t want Ali on board?

Ali did have a food delivery business and had tangled with Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou—but that’s no excuse to reject me?

Ma cleared his throat and forced a laugh: “Mr. Chen, Ali and Senlian Capital have always had a pleasant cooperation. Personally, I’m very optimistic about KuaiPao’s prospects.”

“Oh? Then why did Juhuasuan bring in Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou—but left out KuaiPao?”

Chen Yansen sat down heavily on the sofa and asked coldly.

Investing in a sector while backing two or three players was standard for internet giants—Chen Yansen understood that.

But when Pei Yi approached Juhuasuan for cooperation, Ali always stalled, treating KuaiPao as a rival—how could Chen Yansen give Ma a good face?

If you won’t play with me, I won’t bother with you either!

KuaiPao had made strides in group buying, food delivery, and grocery shopping—with over six million daily orders and an average daily cash flow of one hundred million yuan—it didn’t lack investors.

“Mr. Chen, there must be some misunderstanding—I’ll personally follow up and fix it immediately,” Ma Liyun dodged.

“No need. KuaiPao differs from Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou—it doesn’t rely heavily on Juhuasuan,” Chen Yansen refused firmly.

Ma Liyun was stung, his face darkening: “Mr. Chen wants to kick Ali out?”

Chen Yansen didn’t answer: “Isn’t it Ali that’s trying to suppress KuaiPao?”

Ma Liyun, caught off guard, felt embarrassed—he’d thought a few words would suffice, but Chen Yansen gave him no room.

“Mr. Chen, Ali has no intention of suppressing KuaiPao. I can guarantee that. Recent adjustments in Juhuasuan’s partnerships are purely based on platform strategy and business priorities—no targeting intended. If you’re willing, I can immediately arrange for our teams to discuss resource sharing and mutual gains in group buying and food delivery.”

“What about Taobao Food Delivery? Are you giving that up, Mr. Ma?” Chen Yansen pressed.

“There are only six hundred million internet users nationwide. Once you hit traffic limits, customer acquisition costs and difficulty rise geometrically. Ali needs to complete its ecosystem—using food delivery’s high-frequency scenario to boost user retention. If Pinbei can do it, why can’t Ali?” Ma Liyun spoke frankly.

“Ali could simply embed KuaiPao into Taobao’s app. You want an O2O ecosystem—I handle the business. Why not cooperate for mutual gain?” Chen Yansen said bluntly.

Pfft!

Do you even have a sense of shame?

Ali holds only 4% of KuaiPao’s equity—why should you get Taobao’s top-tier traffic entrance?

“I’d love to agree, but other shareholders won’t accept it,” Ma Liyun declined politely.

“If Ali heavily bets on food delivery and group buying, directly competing with KuaiPao, have you considered how much money you’d need to capture just 20% market share? Wouldn’t investing that money in KuaiPao yield higher returns?” Chen Yansen urged.

“A 4% equity stake isn’t enough to convince other shareholders,” Ma Liyun mused.

Ali was powerful, but Senlian Capital wasn’t weak—it had pressured Baidu in the ride-hailing industry.

Ma knew clearly: if he went to war with Senlian Capital, monthly cash burn wouldn’t be less than three hundred million yuan—half a year would cost nearly two billion.

Ali could afford it—but what was the point?

“I can promise: for KuaiPao’s Series B and Series C financing, Ali will receive at least 5% equity each round,” Chen Yansen threw down his card.

“If I refuse, will Ali be excluded from KuaiPao’s Series B financing?” Ma Liyun asked.

“Yes. And I’ll raise five billion yuan to fight you to the end. Be my friend—or my enemy. You decide, Mr. Ma.”

Chen Yansen replied solemnly.

Five billion?

Ma Liyun paused, stunned—he felt for the first time how seriously Chen Yansen took the O2O space. He replied: “Give me two days.”

“No problem,” Chen Yansen agreed readily.

He was just shooting in the dark—testing the waters.

Maybe he could scare Ma off?

After all, Ali was preparing for its IPO—whether it could commit to a full-scale war with Senlian Capital remained uncertain.

Three minutes later, Chen Yansen hung up.

The domestic market was large—but the competition was fiercer.

If Ma didn’t get it, then make him hurt.

Far away in Hangcheng, Ma Liyun leaned back in his chair, lost in thought, then summoned Lu Zhaoxi, Zhang Yong, and Tang Yongbo, and sent a video conference invite to Cai Xin in Hong Kong.

“That’s the situation. Chen Yansen clearly values local services like food delivery and group buying—how should Ali respond?”

After explaining the context, Ma spread his hands and asked for opinions.

“From cost-benefit, ecosystem synergy, and competitive landscape, acquiring Meituan is currently the optimal strategy—it would grant instant access to group buying and food delivery markets. Atlantic Capital’s $100 million only keeps Meituan afloat for a few more months, and Wang Xin already wants to sell. Let’s wait.”

Cai Xin spoke first—he was from investment banking, focused on ecosystem synergy. Acquiring Meituan would integrate it into the group’s local services segment, avoiding redundant investment and filling strategic gaps to achieve “1+1>2.”

Of course, the better option would be to take over KuaiPao—but Chen Yansen would never agree.

“Meituan’s group buying is declining. Its food delivery has some results, but daily orders are under 100,000—it lags behind KuaiPao in logistics, delivery algorithms, and merchant resources. Even with lower prices, its value is low.”

Ma Liyun spoke harshly, tearing Meituan apart.

After all, Wang Xin had been playing him.

Zhang Yong and Tang Yongbo exchanged glances—they understood their boss’s true intent.

Tang Yongbo smiled bitterly: Taobao Food Delivery had only launched months ago—and now faced the same tragic fate as Koubei.

Lu Zhaoxi sat quietly, saying nothing.

KuaiPao was good—but it wasn’t their own “son.” How much would Chen Yansen give up?

But spending five billion to compete with Senlian Capital? Even Ali might not come out ahead.

And if this massive investment failed, it would strain Ali’s cash flow and possibly delay the group’s IPO.

Rather than both sides suffering heavy losses, it would be better to shift tactics—use capital cooperation to secure long-term mutual gains, perhaps even carving out a larger share of the market pie.

“Comrade Ma, how much equity is Chen Yan willing to offer?” Lu Zhaoxi asked softly.

“A minimum of 5% per round,” Ma Liyun replied.

“10% would be more reasonable,” Cai Xin said in a low voice, adjusting his glasses in the video.

“It’s not impossible to negotiate—Chen Yan probably doesn’t want to compete head-on with A Li. Five percent is his bottom line, not his ceiling.”

Zhang Yong chimed in.

The group debated fiercely, each speaking in turn.

……

……

Beijing, Meituan Headquarters Building.

Wang Xin stared at the takeout business data in silence. Since the negative public opinion erupted at the start of the year, Meituan Takeout’s popularity had never waned—it had become synonymous with “dirty, messy, and poor.”

Daily orders had dropped to just over fifty thousand, hard to imagine this was the total volume across all of North and Northeast China.

Most of its part-time delivery riders had switched to Baidu Takeout and Kuai Pao Takeout.

Judging by the results alone, Meituan’s entry into the takeout market had been a disastrous move.

“Old Wang, scale back the takeout business. Save your resources for group buying—first stabilize the core.”

After a long silence, Wang Xin raised his hand and spoke to Wang Huiwen.

To his surprise, just as he abandoned takeout, Zhang Tao of Dazhong Dianping had assembled a team in Shanghai and officially launched a takeout service.

New users received a 15-yuan discount immediately; returning users received random takeout red packets of five to eight yuan daily.

Another company had entered the takeout industry, following Meituan and Baidu.

Pei Yi cursed under his breath and immediately counterattacked, adjusting subsidy policies for new and returning customers while poaching staff from Dazhong Dianping’s delivery team.

First, cripple Dazhong Dianping’s logistics system!

“Idiot!” Wang Xin muttered silently upon hearing the news.

In the 2013 takeout industry, you couldn’t play without money!

The more Zhang Tao struggled, the faster he’d die!

(End of Chapter)