Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

The next morning, just as Chen Yansen was sleeping soundly, he was woken up by his phone ringing.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Chen Yansen groggily pressed the answer button without even checking the caller ID and mumbled the question.

"Student Chen Yansen, this is Guo Dongchen, your counselor."

In the past two months, the number of times Guo Dongchen had seen Chen Yansen in a classroom could be counted on one hand. Perhaps fearing Chen Yansen had forgotten him, he made sure to emphasize who he was.

"Old Guo, the sun isn’t even up yet, and you’re calling me? Don’t tell me you want to ask me for a morning run?"

Chen Yansen wasn’t fully awake yet, and his words were all jumbled.

Guo Dongchen was speechless. He glanced at the time; it was already 7:30 AM.

He took a deep breath and patiently explained, "Principal Tang heard you got 10 million in funding from Ma Wenteng and is insisting on visiting the Innovation Park this morning to inspect your work. You brat, you made the principal wait for half an hour last time. No matter what, you have to be prepared in advance today."

"I didn’t take it willingly. Mr. Ma insisted on giving it to me."

Chen Yansen flatly denied it. The distinction was a huge one.

If Ma Wenteng had forced the money on him and he had eventually accepted, it meant he was doing the other party a favor. But if word got out that he had *asked* for 10 million from Ma Wenteng, wouldn’t that make it seem like he was the one begging?

"..."

Guo Dongchen really wanted to hang up, but the dean’s instructions came to mind, so he continued, "Remember to prepare a proper welcome. And don’t forget, I’m still the one holding your attendance record."

After saying that, he hung up with a BEEP, giving Chen Yansen no chance to respond.

’That old geezer!’

’I hope you fail your PhD entrance exams!’

Chen Yansen rubbed his eyes, threw off his blanket, and reluctantly went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

As for Guo Dongchen’s threat, he didn’t take it to heart at all. He knew very well that Tang Qingshan desperately needed him as a golden-lettered signboard. Forget skipping class—even if he failed his courses, he could still get awards and honors.

’When you’re strong enough, everyone else is just a scrub in front of you!’

After washing up and getting dressed, Chen Yansen took a quick glance in the mirror. After several point-allocation enhancements, his height was now 186 cm. He wore a pure black shirt, paired with black-striped casual pants. He had the build of a model—broad back, narrow waist, long legs—and was brimming with vitality and energy.

’In this life, I’m never taking little blue pills again!’

Chen Yansen pushed open his door and headed for the Innovation Park.

Along the way, he thought to himself. He needed to hire another batch of people to fill out the HR, administration, legal, and operations departments. He also had to pick reliable leaders for the operations and customer service teams. It wasn’t a long-term solution to have Song Yuncheng handle everything.

It wasn’t that he disliked her work, but a person’s energy is finite, and with too much to do, mistakes were inevitable.

Before he knew it, Chen Yansen had arrived on the second floor of the Innovation Park.

Passing by Cao Dahua’s office, he deliberately peeked inside and saw the man leisurely sipping his morning tea.

"Teacher Cao, enjoying your tea!"

Chen Yansen nudged the glass office door open with the tip of his foot and walked in with a smile.

"Well, if it isn’t Student Chen Yansen! Come on, sit down! Try this year’s new tea from my hometown. I wouldn’t bear to share this with just anyone."

When Cao Dahua saw it was Chen Yansen, he straightened up with a broad smile and enthusiastically poured him a cup.

"Then I’m in for a treat. Thank you, Teacher Cao." Chen Yansen blew on the tea and took a small sip. Without beating around the bush, he got straight to the point, "Teacher Cao, could I trouble you to find the keys for Rooms 202 and 210 for me?"

"Hiring again?"

Cao Dahua was startled and asked as a reflex.

"We’re short-staffed right now, especially on the development side. I can’t have them pulling all-nighters and working overtime every day, can I?"

Chen Yansen spread his hands and explained with a wry smile.

"That’s true. The monthly electricity bill for your rooms—206, 208, and 204—is higher than the twenty-some startup offices downstairs combined," Cao Dahua joked with a laugh.

Having dived into the business world and started his own company when he was younger, he naturally understood the difficulties of running a business. Yet for the young man before him, Chen Yansen, launching projects seemed as easy as eating and drinking. In just two short months, he had managed to create a thriving enterprise.

"Don’t worry about the keys, I’ll bring them to you later. I’ll also get a few students to help you move the desks up. However, we’re really out of water coolers. You’ll either have to buy one yourself or wait for the higher-ups to allocate funds for more."

After the joke, Cao Dahua said seriously.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you, Teacher Cao." Chen Yansen thanked him, drank two more cups of tea, and then unhurriedly made his way out.

"Morning, Brother Sen!"

"Morning, Boss!"

A few members of the back-end team waved and greeted him.

Chen Yansen nodded, and as soon as he sat down, he started giving instructions to Song Yuncheng. "Principal Tang is coming for an inspection at 10:30 AM. You’ll be in charge of briefing him on FoxTao’s current development. By the way, do you know how to play the victim?"

"Play the victim?"

Song Yuncheng, clutching a vegetable bun in her hand, froze for a moment and asked with a completely baffled expression.

"If the principal asks what difficulties our project is facing, you lay it on thick. For example, a shortage of funds, not enough computer equipment, incomplete office supplies, and how it’s affecting our studies, that sort of thing."

Chen Yansen casually listed a whole bunch of things.

’Affecting our studies?’

’Can we really say that to the principal?’ Song Yuncheng’s face was full of doubt.

’Besides, everyone knows you got 10 million in funding from Penguin. The topic is still trending!’

’Would the principal even believe it?’

"What are you looking at me for? This is for your own good. You guys are cooped up in the Innovation Park all day. What if you don’t have enough credits to graduate?"

Chen Yansen rolled his eyes and said irritably.

"Why don’t you say it? Why do I have to be the one to play the victim?" Song Yuncheng thought for a moment before asking again.

"I’m the boss. I have an image to maintain," Chen Yansen replied perfunctorily.

"Tch—" Song Yuncheng was contemptuous. Just as she was about to pout and retort, she saw Chen Yansen pull out a thick wad of cash.

"Thank you, Boss! I wish you great fortune soon!" Song Yuncheng’s expression changed in an instant. She took the money—her salary—with a fawning smile, her words as sweet as honey.

"I really don’t get you. Do you love money or not?"

Chen Yansen said with a sigh, his interest waning.

Song Yuncheng looked at the hint of disappointment in his eyes, and her heart clenched. It was a bit painful, a bit sour. Just as she was mustering the courage to explain, Xu Xingxing came over. "Class President, I brought you some glutinous rice cakes. Want to try them?"

"Sweet or savory?" Chen Yansen didn’t take them, asking with a smile.

"Savory. It has a crispy crust and salted duck egg yolk," Xu Xingxing replied cheerfully, holding out the cakes.

"Then I can’t eat it. I like sweet ones," Chen Yansen said, shaking his head in refusal.

"Actually, Class President, I bought a sweet one too." As if she had anticipated this, Xu Xingxing unhurriedly took out another portion.

"Never mind. A person has to be brave and try new things. I’ll eat the savory one."

Chen Yansen snatched the savory glutinous rice cake and said cheekily.

’There’s definitely something wrong with those two!’ Song Yuncheng didn’t say a word, her eyes sweeping over them as she concluded silently in her heart.

Before long, most of FoxTao’s members had arrived.

Just then, Cao Dahua was directing several students as they carried desks and chairs upstairs.

"Wenbo, get a few people to go lend a hand," Chen Yansen saw what was happening and shouted to Zhang Wenbo.

"You got it, Brother Sen." Zhang Wenbo called over a few classmates from the front-end team. Together, they made several trips to the storage room until Rooms 202 and 210 were filled to the brim.

Xu Xingxing took a few bottles of drinks from the refrigerator, thanking the students as she handed them out.

At 10:20, Tang Qingshan arrived upstairs at a leisurely pace, accompanied by several deans.

"Hello, Principal Tang!" ×23!

The synchronized greeting left Tang Qingshan very satisfied. He waved his hand, signaling for everyone to return to their workstations. He was just here for a casual look, and he absolutely couldn’t delay everyone’s work.

"Principal Tang, things were rushed last time, so I didn’t get to introduce you. This is Song Yuncheng, FoxTao’s employee number one. She handled the financing-related communications. If you want to know the details, just ask her. She knows them best."

Chen Yansen pushed Song Yuncheng forward. He understood Tang Qingshan’s intentions—the principal just wanted to see how FoxTao was developing, whether it could be used as a model case of student entrepreneurship to be shared (read: shown off) at the provincial university alliance.

He couldn’t be bothered to repeat all the data-related details. Besides, Song Yuncheng was experienced enough in this area. She had confidently presented the project’s progress to Ma Wenteng, so handling Tang Qingshan would be even less of a problem.

Cao Dahua stood by, belly out, accompanying them the whole time.

An hour later, Tang Qingshan and his entourage left. Cao Dahua came over with a long face. "You brat, with all this commotion, I have to rewrite my research report again."

"It’s just a matter of changing a few numbers. With Teacher Cao’s skills, that’s nothing to worry about," Chen Yansen said lightly.

"That’s true! Back in my younger days, I was making my way in Shencheng Electronic Port. I’ve seen it all," Cao Dahua’s lips curved into a smile, a nostalgic look on his face.

"Oh? So Teacher Cao also started a business before? What kind of product did you make?" Chen Yansen chimed in at the right moment.

"Ah, never mind. Let’s not talk about it. That’s all ancient history. You were probably still in elementary school back then." Cao Dahua’s smile froze, and he gave a dry laugh, skipping the topic.

He then turned around, ducked back into his office, and went back to patching up his report.

Tang Qingshan’s visit wasn’t for nothing. To put it simply, the academy planned to allocate 100,000 yuan as a startup grant for FoxTao, but on one condition: Chen Yansen had to participate in the inter-collegiate entrepreneurship competition early next year.

They would also provide 20 business-grade office computers, one printer, and several desks, water coolers, and refrigerators, all free of charge.

These things might not seem like much, but all told, they were worth several hundred thousand yuan. It was better than nothing.

Chen Yansen smiled faintly. He moved his mouse and clicked open the hiring plans for each team. He skimmed through the ones that looked fine, made corrections where necessary, and after confirming everything was in order, he sent the plans back to Xu Xingxing to post the recruitment notice.

As soon as the hiring information was posted on the bulletin board, someone shared it on the campus forums and Tieba.

This time, it attracted even more people. Graduating students who were originally preparing for the autumn recruitment season started revising their resumes, getting ready to head to the Innovation Park for interviews the next day.

To go from zero to a million users in just two months and secure a ten-million-yuan venture capital investment from Penguin—for the students of Xucheng Academy, this was no small project. Coupled with a salary that was slightly higher than the market rate, Xu Xingxing’s inbox was flooded before the end of the workday.

She printed out the resumes one by one and handed them over to the respective team leaders. Only after an initial screening would the applicants be invited to the Innovation Park for an interview.

Even so, there were still two hundred candidates who made it to the second round of interviews. After some consideration, Chen Yansen had Xu Xingxing extend the interview schedule to three days.

The next morning, Chen Yansen walked into Room 202 with a stack of resumes. Outside the door, Xu Xingxing was in charge of organizing the order of the candidates.

"Hello, interviewer. My name is Xu Kun, and I’m a senior..."

The first interviewee began his self-introduction with a smile.

After he finished, Chen Yansen asked curiously, "Is your surname Cai?"

"Huh!? No, my surname is Xu," Xu Kun said, stunned for a moment before correcting him seriously.