Chapter 68: Min Zong, I

Chen Yansen was just about to return to his seat when Zhang Yifeng led a middle-aged man over: “Sen-ge, let me introduce you—this is Min Jie, General Manager of Meites’s online channels. Min Zong, this is my boss, Chen Yansen, founder of Fox Tao .”

“Min Zong, a pleasure!” Chen Yansen extended his right hand, shaking the man’s firmly.

Min Jie, in his thirties, wore a navy-blue jacket, sported a neat short haircut, had a stern expression, and a hint of worry in his brow.

“Chen Zong, Yifeng told me Fox Tao made 20 million in sales this Double Eleven—congratulations! You’re a true young talent; at your age, I didn’t even know what a computer was.”

Min Jie held Chen Yansen’s hand, his words laced with flattery and deference.

“Min Zong, you’re too kind. You entered the industry early and have deep experience—chatting with you is a blessing for us young people.”

Chen Yansen squinted, thought for a moment, then signaled for them to find a private place to talk.

In 2010, Meites was struggling—blind expansion, plus a late winter, had piled up inventory; 30% of the company’s total assets were just clothes sitting in warehouses.

To ease inventory pressure, headquarters pulled over 300 people to build their own e-commerce platform—Meigou.com—with Min Jie as the project lead. He came to the channel conference mainly to seek external traffic.

He’d just heard Zhang Yifeng say Fox Tao had over one million daily active users, so he became interested and volunteered to meet Chen Yansen.

The group left the hall and entered a private room.

“Chen Zong, our group’s self-operated e-commerce platform launches mid-next month—we’d like to integrate your company’s CPS interface…”

No sooner had they sat down than Min Jie got straight to the point.

At this time, guide-type e-commerce sites partnering with B2C platforms must first integrate a CPS interface to enable ad-link redirection, order data transmission, performance tracking, and accurate commission settlement.

“Min Zong, opening the CPS interface isn’t a problem—but have you set the base commission rate for the mall? Different rates mean Fox Tao allocates different traffic resources.”

Chen Yansen agreed readily, then asked in return.

He naturally welcomed shopping cooperation requests—this fast-fashion brand had once burned from Jinling Road in Husheng all the way to remote towns; though now in decline, it still had many fans in tier-three and lower cities.

But you match the pot to the lid—if Min Jie wouldn’t give up margin, Chen Yansen would at most place the shopping link on a secondary page, not tilt any extra resources.

“For all categories, I’ll give you a 10% universal commission.”

Min Jie fell silent for a long while before speaking slowly.

“Min Zong, let’s try a different model. Clothing is a visual product—ample exposure boosts orders. Why not start with your Taobao flagship store and co-host a brand-exclusive event? I’ll directly funnel you a million-level traffic flow.”

Chen Yansen smiled but said nothing to Min Jie’s offer, instead pivoting to propose a new cooperation model.

A million-level traffic flow?

A brand-exclusive event?

Min Jie frowned, pondering deeply. Chen Yansen’s proposal thrilled him—but he knew there was no free lunch; the other side must have harsh conditions.

“What are your requirements, Chen Zong?” Min Jie looked up, meeting Chen Yansen’s gaze directly.

“Yuncheng, show Min Zong the brand team’s supporting resources,” Chen Yansen said, not answering directly, but turning to Song Yuncheng.

Song Yuncheng nodded, pulled out a laptop from his bag, opened a PPT file on the desktop, and walked Min Jie through the brand team’s resource package.

Website pop-up, once daily, average daily PV exposure 1 million, average daily clicks 300,000, listed price 600,000 yuan;

Website floating banner, displayed all day, average daily PV exposure 800,000, average daily clicks 240,000, listed price 400,000 yuan;

Brand-specific activity page, displayed all day, average daily PV exposure 800,000, average daily clicks 240,000, listed price 500,000 yuan;

…Plus search page, personal center, and secondary page slots—add them all up, total advertising cost: 2 million yuan.

Min Jie sucked in a sharp breath, his face darkening—he hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to be this ruthless, quoting 2 million yuan outright.

“Chen Zong, Meigou is a startup—we need money everywhere. I can afford 2 million, but you must convince me it’ll generate 10 million in sales.”

Min Jie paused, then spoke calmly.

“I won’t charge you the 2 million—I’ll treat it as making friends with Min Zong. But for the event’s scale, I’d like to see your sincerity,” Chen Yansen waved a hand, generously.

“I understand the brand team’s model—I’ll give 90% commission on ten limited-edition items, make up the remaining 10% with direct payment to hit 2 million total value; for all other regular items, set commission at 30%.”

Min Jie paused, then replied.

Fox Tao ’s brand-themed event, in essence, meant dumping traffic onto the activity page—the page split into bestsellers and regular items, with bestsellers drawing traffic and regular items generating profit via long-tail effects.

“For regular items, I want 70% commission.”

Chen Yansen shook his head—he wasn’t satisfied with Min Jie’s reply.

He’d come down himself, waived the entire 2 million in ad fees—what good was 30% commission?

If they only sold two or three million, Fox Tao would lose face—and the brand team project might collapse.

“70% is too high. Add in inventory, labor, and logistics costs—we won’t even cover production cost. Maximum 40%.”

Min Jie shook his head, but didn’t shut the door completely.

“Min Zong, I’m here to help you! Clothes sitting in warehouses are worthless trash—sell them for cash, or Meites dies.”

Chen Yansen leaned back, speaking casually.

Meites’s inventory pressure had nearly reached a brand’s breaking point; for the next decade-plus, Meites would steadily decline, never recovering.

He was counting on exactly that.

Through this partnership, he’d make the brand team’s model and method famous.

Min Jie fell silent, staring down for a long while, then sighed deeply: “New items can’t possibly offer 70% commission—old stock might, but I can’t decide that.”

“Min Zong, anything from three or five years ago is fine—I don’t care. But quality and cleanliness must be guaranteed,” Chen Yansen said, understanding his position.

“Give me a moment—I’ll step out to make a call,” Min Jie rose abruptly, excused himself, and left with his assistant.

Once Meites’s team had left, Zhang Yifeng couldn’t wait: “Sen-ge, do you think Meites’s boss will agree? 70% commission—that’s a 30% discount across the entire store.”

“I wanted 80% commission originally, but held back considering Min Jie’s rank and authority. Don’t worry—brands with this much inventory have no choice but to cut flesh or die,” Chen Yansen smiled confidently.

“I used to watch ‘Meteor Garden’ and thought Meites was some international brand,” Chen Xu chuckled.

“A dying camel’s still bigger than a horse—they still do billions in annual sales. If not for management blunders causing this inventory mess, calling them China’s leading casual apparel brand wouldn’t be wrong,” Chen Yansen remarked objectively.

If they didn’t mess up, how could he snatch the opportunity?

Users wanted quality branded products at good prices—overstock was the perfect choice.

After a long while, Min Jie returned with his team.

“Chen Zong, wishing us a successful partnership! My superiors approved your commission terms,” Min Jie raised his palm upward.

“A pleasure to partner! Choosing Fox Tao is undoubtedly your wisest decision this year.”

Chen Yansen gripped his hand, speaking with quiet confidence.

Min Jie smiled, then summoned the Taobao flagship store’s operations manager to reconfirm with Chen Xu, Zhang Yifeng, and others on product selection, launch timing, rollout pace, after-sales, payment terms, and deposit.

After all, B2C mall commissions relied entirely on finance transfers—if the other side delayed payment, Fox Tao could only sue, and a year or two of delays was common; meanwhile, user rebates still had to be paid, draining more and more capital, easily leading to being swindled.

Plus, this brand event’s projected order volume was huge—without a deposit, if Meites suddenly changed prices, ended the event early, or had quality issues, user experience would be severely damaged.

So even though Min Jie argued for hours, Chen Yansen held firm, insisting on an 800,000-yuan deposit—if the other side tried anything, he’d use the money to compensate users per contract terms.

“Chen Zong, you’re impossible to argue with. The event’s set for November 28th—everything after that’s your responsibility.”

Min Jie sighed helplessly, conceding.

“Min Zong, I know Taobao platforms run many events—but price protection must be solid. Otherwise, I won’t hold back—I’ll deduct the price difference from your deposit and pay users directly.”

Chen Yansen rose, walking and talking with Min Jie.

“Don’t worry—I’ll arrange it properly,” Min Jie immediately assured, reading from Chen Yansen’s expression that he wasn’t joking.

“After the event, Chen Zong, please come to Husheng—I’ll treat you as host, and we’ll have a proper drink,” Min Jie said warmly.

“It’s a deal! Don’t let your phone go dead then!” Chen Yansen teased.

Min Jie laughed, slinging an arm around Chen Yansen’s shoulder, and they returned to the banquet hall, chatting and laughing.

That night, Fox Tao , as Taobao’s largest external channel for Double Eleven, won the Annual Best Partner Award.

Chen Xu, Zhang Yifeng, and Song Yuncheng held the trophy, grinning foolishly for photos.

“Stingy bastards—no real benefits offered,” Chen Yansen muttered under his breath, eyeing Zhang Yong and Hu Zhilong on stage.

Still, this trip wasn’t fruitless—his partnership with Meites reignited his entrepreneurial passion.

The next day, the four split in Hangcheng—Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng followed Min Jie’s group back to Husheng: first to select products offline, second to control quality, third to learn industry experience.

They were quick learners, but to go deep in the industry, they needed to reach the supply chain’s source—understanding fabric materials, prices, and quality was essential.

Chen Yansen took Song Yuncheng to a hot spring hotel in Jinling for a day—after two straight days of business travel, he deserved some relaxation.

Too bad Song Yuncheng refused outright to change into a swimsuit—his biggest regret of the trip.

Only on the night of the 17th did they return to Xu City College.

“Dorms are locked—what’ll you do? Crash at mine for the night?” Chen Yansen suggested.

“Boss, can I stay at a hotel?” Song Yuncheng pushed his suitcase, asking cautiously.

“Sure—then I’m heading home,” Chen Yansen waved and turned to leave.

“Huh!? Boss, no reimbursement?” Song Yuncheng hurried after him.

“You’re dreaming! The trip’s over—still trying to milk the company?”

Chen Yansen shot her a look, annoyed.

Song Yuncheng stood still, her mind wrestling—then she followed Chen Yansen.

Paying for a hotel herself? That would kill her!

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(End of Chapter)