Chapter 67: The Man Who Refused 400 Million (37k Big Chapter)

"Yifeng, Chen Xu, I've already looked into this channel recognition event in advance. When the time comes, some top-tier Taobao merchants will be attending. Your two tasks are: first, get your faces known; second, exchange contact info, and take the chance to promote Fox Taopin's daily active users and average order value…"

A Mercedes-Benz Viano sped along the highway. Sitting in the back row, Chen Yansen carefully gave instructions to Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng.

Once the merchant backend system went live, Chen Yansen planned to bring in a batch of brand partners, build a benchmark first, and make some big news.

"Got it, Brother Sen." Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng nodded in reply.

"Do you have a driver's license?" After finishing the details, Chen Yansen turned and asked Song Yuncheng.

"No." Song Yuncheng answered honestly, a little puzzled.

Having been through the Penguin visit last time, Song Yuncheng didn't resist going to Hangcheng with him this time. Besides, Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng were coming along, so naturally she felt more at ease.

"Learn it when you get back. Have Teacher Liu reimburse the cost."

Chen Yansen arranged it directly.

These days, from Xucheng to Hangcheng was several hundred kilometers, and there wasn't even a bullet train to take. Chen Yansen had no choice but to rent a business van and hire a full-time driver.

"Oh." Song Yuncheng didn't ask more this time.

She knew that if she asked, Chen Yansen's next line would be, "Believe it or not, I'll dock your pay." Better to just do as she was told.

Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng exchanged glances. As Fox Taopin's employee number one, Song Yuncheng clearly received different treatment in front of the boss. The two of them kept quiet and played with their phones.

With outsiders around, Chen Yansen didn't dare get handsy, so he boredly scrolled through the news.

The 3G network could only load pictures and text. Chen Yansen couldn't help but miss the summer of 2018, when opening a short video app meant the screen was full of girls in cool outfits, and scrolling through your phone felt just like an emperor flipping through name cards.

Too bad the three major carriers hadn't even gotten their 4G licenses yet, and Lei Buts's Da Mi 1 phone probably hadn't even finished its design drawings. Entertainment in 2010 really was a lot more monotonous.

Because it was a weekday, traffic on the highway was sparse. Chen Yansen dozed for a while, and when he opened his eyes again, the car had already driven into downtown Hangcheng.

At this time, Hangcheng was lined with skyscrapers. Finance, conventions, and trade were all developing rapidly, and with the presence of Mama Ali and Ali Baba, the city had gained another label: e-commerce capital.

Mama Ali's channel conference was held at the Xinyao Holiday Hotel, not far from headquarters. As soon as Chen Yansen and the others walked into the lobby, they saw Mama Ali's sign-in desk.

"Hello sir, may I have the full name of your company? Let me register you first," the reception staff asked politely.

"Senhai Technology. Our product is called Fox Taopin," Chen Yansen answered briefly.

"Which Sen in Senhai? You're the Fox Taopin representative? Welcome to Hangcheng!" The staff had been looking down at the roster, but the moment they heard the words "Fox Taopin," they immediately beamed and handed over a conference badge, then quite courteously explained the next day's agenda to Chen Yansen.

It wasn't because anyone had given special instructions. It was because, adding in Fox Taopin's Double Eleven results, they had just hit the 10-billion target the group had set, and their year-end bonus was secured—so they looked at Chen Yansen with extra warmth.

"It's still early. If you two get bored staying at the hotel, you can go stroll around Xihu on your own. Just remember to attend the evening networking session." Walking into the elevator, Chen Yansen said softly.

"Thanks, Brother Sen. Halfway here, Brother Feng and I were still discussing whether to ask you for time off, hehe." Chen Xu grinned, looking excited.

Chen Yansen hummed in acknowledgment and said nothing more.

The elevator doors opened slowly. The group took their room cards and went to their respective rooms.

Chen Yansen sat by the window with his laptop, going over the Fox Taopin pitch PPT that Song Yuncheng had made. The content mainly emphasized the metrics merchants cared about most: daily unique visits, cumulative registered users, and monthly order count.

The first page of the PPT read: Fox Taopin | One-Stop CPS Performance Marketing Platform!

"Damn, it's just missing a typical case study. Going out to attract merchants without any confidence," Chen Yansen cursed under his breath.

Still, he'd tweaked the numbers. For instance, Fox Taopin's cumulative registered users were 4 million, but on the PPT it became 10 million; daily active users went from 600,000 to 1 million; daily order volume jumped from 70,000 to 150,000.

When you're out on the road, not multiplying the data by ten is already being polite. Doing business honestly is what fools do.

Hype it up first. Locking down that first wave of merchant resources is the top priority.

"Come to my room. The PPT needs some changes." After confirming all the details, Chen Yansen sent Song Yuncheng a message.

Song Yuncheng got the text, instinctively grabbed her laptop, but just as she reached the door she turned back, picked up a palm-sized brick of a phone, and only then walked out of her room feeling fully secure.

"Knock knock knock—"

The knock came, and Chen Yansen opened the door.

Song Yuncheng walked in carrying her laptop. The boxer briefs on the bed instantly came into view; the cute printed pattern left her not knowing whether to laugh or cry. A blush rose on her cheeks and she quickly turned her head away.

"Which parts need changing?" Song Yuncheng sat down at the desk, opened her laptop, and asked.

But the pattern on those underwear kept flashing through her mind, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath to suppress the embarrassment.

"Here, add a zero after this number. Add another 50,000 to the daily new customer increase. Bump the conversion rate by 10%…" Chen Yansen stood behind her, pointing at the screen and going through them one by one.

"Isn't that a bit exaggerated?" Song Yuncheng asked softly.

"Just change it boldly!" Chen Yansen shot her a look and said irritably.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll change it right away!" Song Yuncheng shrank her neck and agreed against her better judgment.

Chen Yansen sat on the edge of the bed, breathing in her scent, and looked Song Yuncheng up and down.

Compared with Wang Ziyan's freakish talent, Song Yuncheng's growth was clearly much slower. But compared with the other members of Fox Taopin, her intelligence, emotional quotient, and ability to take charge were all above average.

He didn't know how she'd done in her previous life, but in Chen Yansen's eyes, after graduation it wouldn't be hard for Song Yuncheng to land a job at a mid-sized or larger design firm. If she was lucky enough to join a company in its early stage, there was a seventy or eighty percent chance she'd work her way up to UED manager.

"I'm done." Not long after, Song Yuncheng turned her head and said. Seeing Chen Yansen staring at her fixedly, she immediately felt uneasy, and her guard went up at once.

"Mm, come out for a walk with me, and we'll grab lunch on the way." Chen Yansen stood up and said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Song Yuncheng had no choice but to obediently follow behind him. Chen Yansen found a Cantonese restaurant, ordered a few dishes at random, and the two sat with a view of Xihu, eating and chatting.

"Mr. Chen, why not eat at a local restaurant?" Song Yuncheng asked curiously.

"Hangcheng food isn't good," Chen Yansen said, popping a piece of beef into his mouth and shaking his head.

After the meal, the two strolled along Xihu for a while, then walked into a dessert shop. They sat by the window, watching the traffic outside, eating sweets and drinking milk tea.

Setting aside their identities, the two of them looked just like a couple.

Chen Yansen did it on purpose. Song Yuncheng felt something was off, but she'd never been in a relationship, so she assumed this was just normal interaction between boss and subordinate.

It wasn't until 5 p. m. that the two took a taxi back to the hotel.

After a short rest, Chen Yansen called Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng, and the group walked into the banquet hall hosting the e-commerce networking session.

The thousand-plus-square-meter hall was resplendent, packed with people, all dressed to the nines. Most of the women wore casual blazers; the men were basically in black, white, or gray suits, their hair slick and shiny, as if they'd slathered on two ounces of hair wax.

The moment Chen Yansen's group entered the banquet hall, they drew quite a bit of attention.

Even though the four of them were dressed appropriately, they were just too young. Compared with the other attendees, they looked as if they belonged to a different generation.

"Daniel, the boss of Fox Tao has arrived," the assistant sitting beside Zhang Yong whispered in reminder.

Following the direction the assistant pointed, Zhang Yong recognized Chen Yansen immediately.

Although Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng tried hard to steady their minds, the sense of unease on their bodies was obvious to the eyes of an old fox like him.

Song Yuncheng's momentum was steady, radiating confidence, but his posture as a little lackey was too obvious.

Only Chen Yansen walked with head held high and a light smile on the corner of his mouth, showing not a shred of nervousness; his entire aura seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

"Such young men are rare!" Zhang Yong commented inwardly.

After a moment of thought, he slowly stood up and went forward to welcome them, accompanied by his assistant and Hu Zhilong, the person in charge of the Mama Ali alliance.

Chen Yansen was not unfamiliar with Zhang Yong, the future successor designated by Ma Liyun, but in his previous life, the two had never crossed paths.

When the other party was at the height of his power, Chen Yansen had just entered the industry; by the time Chen Yansen was full of vigor, the other party had long been beaten into a wretched state by Pinduoduo.

"Zhang Zong, you are a senior in the industry; I should have come over to greet you first."

Seeing Zhang Yong and his group, Chen Yansen had no time to think carefully and hurried forward to offer his greetings.

There was no choice; he could ignore Ma Wenteng, but he absolutely could not offend Zhang Yong.

Don't look at Mama Ali in 2010; its reputation was not prominent before going public, but within the e-commerce circle, it was a solid top dog, suppressing Paipai. com, JD, and Amazon as if beating children.

"You are Chen Yansen, right? Just call me Daniel. You are more excellent than I imagined."

Zhang Yong held Chen Yansen's hand and nodded in satisfaction.

As a big shot, judging people is the first lesson; just from Chen Yansen's behavior and conversation, one could judge this person's general capability.

"You flatter me. Fox Tao's development to this day relies entirely on leaning on the big tree of Mama Ali..." Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

"Are you interested in joining Mama Ali? I can personally approve the acquisition of your project; at that time, it will merge with Yitao, and you will be in charge of this business line." Zhang Yong spoke directly.

Zhang Yifeng and Chen Xu were stunned, secretly feeling proud in their hearts; the boss was indeed amazing, as even a big shot of Zhang Yong's level treated him differently.

Song Yuncheng's reaction was much calmer; last time at Penguin, Zheng Chunbin of Paipai. com had used almost the same tone.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your appreciation, but I am too scattered and cannot stand the life of clocking in for work." Chen Yansen casually made up a reason to refuse.

"I heard you received ten million in venture capital from Penguin, and your current valuation is around 200 million. I will give you 400 million; Mama Ali can package and merge your project into the group. As for you, I can offer you a P8 rank; after achieving results, I guarantee you will be promoted to P9 within three years." Zhang Yong frowned and continued speaking.

If Chen Yansen agreed, wouldn't he become a Mama Ali employee?

Without even needing an interview, entering Mama Ali by a roundabout route!

Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng exchanged a glance; to say they weren't tempted would be a lie.

Chen Yansen shook his head, his eyes firm; he had said it before, he would absolutely never work for others in this life.

"It seems Mr. Chen has high ambitions, so I will not force you." Zhang Yong was very magnanimous; although rejected, he did not show the slightest displeasure on his face, still looking as refreshing as a spring breeze.

"Mr. Zhang speaks too highly; the interests of Fox Tao and Mama Ali have always been consistent." Empty pleasantries that cost nothing were something Chen Yansen could spit out with his mouth wide open.

'Wait until I make a fortune first, then I'll change the model and fight you; by then, I'll fight until you're screaming, and we'll see if you can still pretend!' Chen Yansen smiled on his face while cursing inwardly.

"Zhilong, interact more with young men like Chen Yansen; you two chat, I'll excuse myself for a moment." Zhang Yong patted Hu Zhilong's shoulder, dropped these words, and then politely took his leave.

Hu Zhilong had a strange expression, thinking Chen Yansen was really too young; after exchanging contact information, he stood up and left.

"Brother Sen, 400 million! You actually just refused it!" Chen Xu said in a low voice, looking as if his flesh was hurting.

"It's only 400 million; is it worth getting like this? Let's go, let's go over to the merchants' side." Chen Yansen spoke with a tone of disdain, and after finishing, he led the way forward.

He didn't know a single hair of the representatives of those top merchants, yet he casually went forward to greet them one by one, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng silently watched, trying hard to learn Chen Yansen's communication skills.

Brand merchants who were originally unfamiliar with Chen Yansen and Fox Tao, upon learning that Zhang Yong had offered a price of 400 million to acquire the other party, immediately became highly interested and left their business cards one after another.

After one round, he had collected a basket full of business cards.

This was just the first step; Chen Yansen didn't expect that with a few words, he could make the other party cry and beg for cooperation.

Establish communication channels first; later, a cooperative opportunity will surely be found.

(End of this chapter)