Chapter 62 - 61: The Outrageous Rumor Is Actually True
The next evening, a young man and woman got out of a taxi and walked toward the East Gate of Xucheng Academy.
"Here’s the key to 0418. Help me put the suitcase in the living room. I’m heading back to the Innovation Park first."
Chen Yansen instructed Song Yuncheng.
"I’m not your personal assistant..." Song Yuncheng glared at Chen Yansen, puffing her cheeks. She was about to refuse when she vaguely read his lips forming the three words, ’dock your pay.’ A smile immediately plastered itself on her face as she replied, "Okay, boss."
When they reached the intersection, one headed for the faculty apartments, while the other ambled toward the Innovation Park.
The moment Chen Yansen set foot on the second floor, Wang Zihao turned to look at the top of the stairs as if he had a sixth sense.
"Brother Sen!" Wang Zihao shot to his feet, waving his arm and shouting.
"Brother Sen!" ×9!
"Boss!" ×9!
Hearing the commotion, the others stopped what they were doing and subconsciously gathered around.
"Brother Sen, did Penguin really invest 10 million in us?" Zhang Wenbo asked, pushing up his glasses, his face flushed with excitement.
"Yeah, just 10 million."
Chen Yansen shook his head slightly, a look of dissatisfaction on his face.
"We’re rich!" Zhuang Rui grabbed Chen Yansen’s arm, grinning from ear to ear.
He was a senior this year and should have been looking for an off-campus internship, but his work experience at FoxTao made him feel that staying might lead to a brighter future.
"Everyone, quiet down! I have two announcements. First, FoxTao has secured its first round of angel financing from Penguin Investment, for a total of 10 million. The funds are expected to arrive within three business days. Second, I want the inventory for our ’Bargain Down to Zero’ event increased tenfold. The external advertising team’s daily budget will be raised from 40,000 to 100,000!"
Chen Yansen announced loudly, standing in the middle of the crowd.
"Yeah! Class President, that’s so awesome!" Xu Xingxing jumped up and down in excitement, pumping her fists. The way she was shaking her head back and forth scared everyone into immediate silence.
All eyes immediately snapped to her.
"Uh... aren’t you guys happy?"
Xu Xingxing stuck out her tongue and quietly slipped back into the crowd.
"Alright! Payday!"
Chen Yansen spoke up to ease Xu Xingxing’s embarrassment, then tossed a bag full of cash onto a table.
"Zhang Wenbo!"
Chen Yansen called out. Since Song Yuncheng wasn’t there, he started paying salaries from employee number two.
"Salary, overtime, and bonus... a total of 6,000." After receiving the money, Zhang Wenbo immediately counted it and was secretly astonished.
"Human Dao Fire +0.6!"
A familiar string of characters flashed before his eyes. Chen Yansen thought, ’This is probably the last time I’ll be paying salaries in cash. Once Penguin’s finance personnel are on-site, everything will have to follow proper procedure.’
FoxTao was no longer a ragtag operation!
Compared to last month, the number of employees had doubled, yet he only paid out 70,000 in wages. This was because half of the new hires were customer service staff, whose salaries weren’t high.
"System! Allocate my points!"
Chen Yansen focused his mind on the constitution attribute. The bone-chilling cold washed over him again, and it felt as if the muscles, bones, and flesh in his body were greedily devouring the white mist.
In the blink of an eye, his constitution value changed to ’1.49’. According to the system, 3 was the limit for an ordinary human. Chen Yansen was now close to half that, and he had indeed felt a significant improvement in his strength, endurance, and stamina.
"All department heads, go back and think on it tonight. Tomorrow, submit a recruitment plan to Xu Xingxing for consolidation. Also, at the investor’s request, we need to compile a list of names for social insurance and housing fund contributions. Any seniors who don’t plan on taking the civil service or graduate school entrance exams can give their names to their department head."
Chen Yansen added, then paused for two seconds before continuing, "Before this Friday, I will be conducting a company-wide salary review based on everyone’s performance in October. I’ll confirm the details with each of you then, so please prepare for your performance reviews."
"Class President, what’s a performance review?" Xu Xingxing raised her hand and asked. Several other customer service staff members looked just as puzzled as she was.
"Simply put, it’s about discussing the work you did in October, your highlights and shortcomings, and any suggestions you have for optimizing your role’s workflow. FoxTao is growing quickly, and I hope you all see this as a promising career, not just a part-time job."
Chen Yansen said with a faint smile, his tone sincere.
Salary adjustments!
Social insurance and housing fund contributions!
A 10 million investment!
One bombshell announcement after another left everyone stunned. Zhuang Rui, Hu Li, and Zhang Wenbo were the most deeply moved by Chen Yansen’s words. They knew in their hearts that after graduation, the salary and benefits at other companies would likely not be better than FoxTao’s.
And FoxTao only required them to work six hours a day!
Anything beyond that was paid overtime!
The conviction of this group to make FoxTao bigger and stronger was even firmer than Chen Yansen’s.
「Meanwhile.」
After dropping off Chen Yansen’s luggage at 0418, an exhausted Song Yuncheng finally returned to her dorm room. Flying from Shencheng City to Peng City, then taking a taxi back to Xucheng—even though she hadn’t walked much, the mental fatigue was crushing.
She dropped her bag, not even having the strength to climb into bed. She plopped into her chair and flopped limply onto her desk.
"Little Orange, you’re back from your trip! Was Shencheng City fun?"
Her roommate by the balcony asked, turning her head.
"Whoa! Little Orange, is that outfit from the new Ports autumn collection? A set like that must be 5,000!"
Another roommate leaned in, about to speak, when she caught a glimpse of the brand logo on the back of Song Yuncheng’s collar.
"How much did you say?"
Song Yuncheng shot up, her fatigue instantly gone. Her mouth hung slightly open as she asked in disbelief.
Chen Yansen had clearly told her the outfit only cost a few hundred.
"Look, the price is listed on the official Ports website—4,999 yuan. And I see you’re wearing their inner shirt, too. That piece has to be close to a thousand."
This roommate loved studying mid- to high-end women’s fashion and planned to pursue a degree in clothing design, so she recognized it at a glance.
"Chen Yansen, you’re such a spendthrift!" Song Yuncheng was so angry she almost fainted, her face turning pale with heartache. ’It would have been so much better if he’d just given me the cash!’
’An outfit worth 6,000 yuan! That’s two months of my salary!’
’Wait!’
’There were those white leather shoes, too. They probably weren’t cheap either!’
"Little Orange, you definitely didn’t buy this yourself, right?" the roommate probed cautiously.
In the past, Song Yuncheng would often just mix the free soup from the cafeteria with her rice. She was the type to pinch every penny, so how could she possibly bring herself to buy such an expensive suit?
"Chen Yansen bought it. He said my clothes were too embarrassing for our trip to Penguin Headquarters," Song Yuncheng said truthfully, her head lowered.
"Quick, tell us! What happened at Penguin?" The other roommates gathered around too. After all, in their eyes, Penguin was a tech giant in the internet industry.
"It wasn’t that big of a deal, really. We first met the president of Paipai Network, then we ran into Ma Wenteng and another man named Liu Zhiping, whom Chen Yansen called Martin."
Song Yuncheng was still agonizing over the price of the outfit, so she kept her explanation brief.
"You met Ma Wenteng!!!" her roommates exclaimed in unison.
"I looked it up! Liu Zhiping is also one of Penguin’s top executives, a true bigwig! Little Orange, I’m so jealous of you!" one of her roommates said, holding her laptop.
"By the way, Little Orange, is FoxTao still hiring? You should get us in. Aren’t you the head of the customer service and operations teams?" someone asked with a fawning smile.
"But... Chen Yansen has the final say. My word doesn’t count for anything." Song Yuncheng was a little embarrassed by her roommates’ request. Seeing their disappointed faces, she added, "If any positions open up at FoxTao in the future, I’ll let you know right away so you can submit your resumes."
"Hee hee, we knew you were the best, Little Orange," her roommates said with a laugh.
DING—
Song Yuncheng pulled out her phone and opened the text message: "Remember to wash my shirt. And give me a recruitment plan for the design, operations, and customer service teams tomorrow."
"You guys can get your resumes ready!"
Song Yuncheng reminded them with a light laugh, looking up.
...
...
The autumn wind was cool, wrinkling the surface of Pearl Lake.
Under the night sky, Xucheng Academy was lit by a few dim yellow streetlights. On the basketball court, five or six shirtless guys were playing an intense game under the faint light.
CLANK!
A three-pointer, sunk with precision!
"Nice shot, man! Another one!" The guy under the basket was stunned for a moment before tossing the ball back to Chen Yansen.
CLANK!
Another three-pointer!
Seeing that the other guy wanted him to keep shooting, Chen Yansen pointed to Meng Jie, who was standing nearby, and gently shook his head.
"I’m Zhang Yifeng from the School of Business, a senior. What’s your name, man? Add me on QQ, we can play together sometime."
Zhang Yifeng nodded in understanding, but seeing Chen Yansen’s tall build—he was surely a great rebounder—combined with his terrifying three-point accuracy, he couldn’t resist striking up a conversation enthusiastically.
"Journalism, Class of 2010. Chen Yansen."
Chen Yansen added him on QQ and, after a brief introduction, beckoned to Meng Jie and led her toward Liu Xi.
Not long after he left, it dawned on Zhang Yifeng. He turned to his companions and said, "Holy shit! That guy is a legend at Xucheng Academy, and I didn’t even recognize him! I have a roommate who works part-time at his company, FoxTao. Guess how much his monthly salary is?"
"Two or three thousand, right? I heard someone mention it before," someone in the group replied.
"Four thousand, with weekends off, and only a six-hour workday," Zhang Yifeng said, waving his hand dismissively. He enunciated each point clearly.
He had been planning to go for an interview tomorrow, but he’d unexpectedly run into Chen Yansen tonight.
"That much?" Someone was skeptical. College students might be naive, but they weren’t idiots. If a job posting said 2,000-4,000, the salary was always 2,000.
"In any case, FoxTao is hiring soon. I’m going to give it a try," Zhang Yifeng said, his expression firm.
At the same time, the news that Chen Yansen had secured 10 million in financing from Penguin spread like wildfire among the students and faculty.
"10 million in financing? From Penguin?"
Guo Dongchen, who was at home studying for his doctoral exams, was completely dumbfounded. His first reaction was that it had to be fake news. But then he asked a few students who worked as customer service reps at FoxTao and finally confirmed that the ridiculously unbelievable news was actually true!