Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Innovation Park, Room 206.

"Hu Yun, have the daily active users and order volume recovered?"

Chen Yansen asked, leaning against a desk with a cup of water in his hand as he looked at Hu Yun from the data team.

"Brother Sen, the data returned to normal yesterday. We had 1.06 million daily active users, 140,000 orders, and a total single-day sales volume of 13.7 million yuan across the site," Hu Yun replied instantly from across the room.

Beside them, Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, Zhuang Rui, Zhang Yifeng, Meng Xibo, and the others all beamed. They knew they had finally weathered the fake wine scandal.

"Bo Bo, you’re the head of the customer service team. For failing to promptly report the customer complaint situation, your December bonus is forfeit, and you won’t be included in the year-end salary review. Any objections?"

Chen Yansen said, looking at Meng Xibo.

In reality, Meng Xibo had sent a work email, but he’d treated it as a routine complaint and forwarded the user’s request directly to Wine God Network for processing. This was what had infuriated the customer who bought the fake wine.

"Brother Sen, I bear a great deal of responsibility for this. I understand. I’ll be sure to handle situations like this with more caution in the future."

Meng Xibo couldn’t help but sigh in relief after hearing his punishment. He had thought he was going to be fired. Chen Yansen had been lenient, and now his heart was filled with a mix of discomfort and guilt.

"Brother Sen, three customer service reps, one person from merchant acquisition, and one editor resigned a couple of days ago. Considering the high frequency of daily updates required for our Super Rebates feature, we’ll need to hire about ten more people. Here is the recruitment plan for each team," Xu Dan explained, handing him a document.

"Understood." Chen Yansen nodded slightly, his expression calm.

’These people who left were just worried the fake wine incident would affect their studies and resumes,’ he thought.

’If they want to leave, let them.’ Chen Yansen wasn’t bothered.

"Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Next Friday, we’re holding FoxTao’s first annual party at the Sky Garden. By the way, Xu Xingxing, tell everyone what prizes you’ve prepared."

Chen Yansen said with a smile, looking at Xu Xingxing.

"Twenty Apple iPhone 4s, thirty cash prizes of 2,000 yuan each, and thirty supermarket gift cards worth 1,000 yuan each."

Xu Xingxing took a step forward and announced loudly.

"So, I hope everyone can make it. If you’re not there, you won’t be eligible for the prize draw, you know."

Chen Yansen teased with a smile, then continued, "Next week, I will be adjusting salaries for all positions based on FoxTao’s current progress. Furthermore, with the exception of the Merchant Acquisition team, everyone will be eligible for a quarterly bonus of one to three months’ salary based on performance."

A salary adjustment?

A quarterly bonus?

Zhang Wenbo and the others exchanged excited smiles. They knew they had made the right bet. Following a boss like Chen Yansen, they would definitely never be short-changed on compensation.

The Merchant Acquisition team didn’t react as strongly. They lived on commission. If their performance was outstanding, they could make fifty or sixty thousand yuan a month from commission alone, so they didn’t really care about a bonus of a few thousand.

"Additionally, to accommodate professional hires like our new teammate Yuan Wei, I’ve decided to add an extra 20% on top of everyone’s base salary as a housing subsidy."

"Later, Xu Dan will post the new employee handbook in the project group chat. From now on, weekday overtime will be paid at 1.5 times the normal rate, calculated down to the minute. Weekend overtime will be double pay, and holiday overtime will be triple pay."

Chen Yansen continued to add.

"Class President, will the work hours be calculated based on a 6-hour or 8-hour day?" Xu Xingxing pressed.

This was the question that concerned Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, and the others most.

Whenever they were rushing to meet a project deadline, the tech department had it the worst, often working from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. before they could go home.

"It’s calculated based on an 8-hour day, but the two-hour lunch and afternoon break are included in those eight hours. So the actual working time remains the same," Xu Dan answered on Chen Yansen’s behalf.

’So it’s still a 6-hour workday?’

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise. They were all dazed by the barrage of sweet deals Chen Yansen had just thrown at them.

"Meeting adjourned!"

After finishing his announcements, Chen Yansen waved his hand at the small group.

The team leaders, grinning from ear to ear, returned to their workstations and shared the new benefit policies Chen Yansen had announced with their team members.

Instantly, the second floor erupted in continuous cheers.

Even Xu Xingxing, who had the lowest salary, could now make 5,000 yuan a month before taxes when factoring in the housing subsidy, meal allowance, quarterly bonus, and overtime pay.

And that was before the salary adjustment. After the adjustment, she could make over 6,000 yuan pre-tax.

This level of income was considered upper-middle class even in first-tier cities.

To put it bluntly, some professors at Xucheng Academy didn’t even make this much.

As for technical staff like Zhang Wenbo and Xiang Pengfei, their income would be even higher.

After everyone else had left, Wang Zihao came over and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Wang Zihao stared at Chen Yansen, his eyes showing no joy about the salary increases, only worry for his best friend.

"It was just the Inspection Institute. Going in there is like going home for me," Chen Yansen joked, his heart warming as he patted Wang Zihao’s shoulder.

"The moment you get back, you’re adjusting salaries, giving out quarterly bonuses, and adding housing subsidies. You don’t have to bleed this much cash just to boost morale, do you?" Wang Zihao felt the pinch on his friend’s behalf.

"You’re overthinking it. Go take a look at some recruitment sites when you have time. You can’t attract talent if you’re not willing to spend the money. Xu Dan has been recruiting for a month and only got one person, Yuan Wei. Do you know how much an Ali Waiter makes a month?"

Chen Yansen smiled, putting an arm around Wang Zihao’s shoulder and leading him to the window as he spoke seriously.

"Fine, you’re the boss anyway," Wang Zihao said with a thoughtful grin.

"Money is the kind of thing you have to spend to make more back." Chen Yansen breathed on the glass pane and traced the word ’Money’ in the condensation with his finger.

After speaking, Chen Yansen left Room 206 and turned into Cao Dahua’s office.

Normally, Old Cao would have already gone home by this time, but today he was still on the sofa, drinking tea.

"You’re back." Cao Dahua heard the noise, looked up, and greeted him.

"Old Cao, thanks." Chen Yansen plopped down, picked up the teapot to pour himself a cup, and took a small sip.

"Let’s go, the principal is waiting. Thanking me is useless. Principal Tang is your real benefactor," Cao Dahua said, deflecting the credit and quietly reminding Chen Yansen.

"I know."

Chen Yansen nodded in acknowledgment.

The two went downstairs and walked toward Tang Qingshan’s office.

On the way, Cao Dahua asked, "Why was it so noisy just now?"

Chen Yansen told him the truth, explaining FoxTao’s new salary adjustment plan.

"Xiaochen, this salary plan of yours is very, very bad."

Cao Dahua sucked in a breath of cold air and clutched his chest, a pained expression on his face.

"Is there a problem with it?" Chen Yansen asked in return.

"It’s liable to hurt my pride," Cao Dahua said, covering his face in mock grief.

’My take-home pay is just over 8,000 yuan a month, and this bunch of students... their salaries are about to surpass mine! Isn’t that a slap in the face?’

"Look, what can a professor like me do? How about I just quit and come work for you?" Cao Dahua said, half-joking, before Chen Yansen could react.

"Old Cao, stop kidding. Your job is priceless," Chen Yansen said, ignoring him and walking straight ahead.

"I’m serious, I’m not joking with you." Cao Dahua stuck out his belly and quickened his pace to catch up.

"Well... FoxTao is looking for a doorman. What do you think?" Chen Yansen pretended to think for a moment before saying with a grin.

"Get lost! You little rascal!" Cao Dahua burst out laughing and shook his head helplessly.

The two of them bantered all the way to Tang Qingshan’s office.

Before Chen Yansen could even express his thanks, Tang Qingshan said, "You are a student of mine, Tang Qingshan. Of course I had to bail you out. Besides, you didn’t do anything wrong. I would have done the same for any other Xuyuan student."

Standing behind Chen Yansen, Cao Dahua secretly pursed his lips.

’Knowing Principal Tang’s style, if I hadn’t pulled a few strings, he wouldn’t have decided to help get him out so quickly,’ he thought.

Chen Yansen gave a shy smile and seized the opportunity, calling him "Professor" over and over until Tang Qingshan was beaming.

About ten minutes later, Tang Qingshan raised his hand and looked at his watch.

Chen Yansen immediately took the hint and politely excused himself. After leaving the office, he dragged Cao Dahua to the Shuangqing Restaurant off-campus for dinner.

The two drank and toasted, and in no time, they had finished six or seven bottles of beer.

Cao Dahua took off his jacket and rolled his sweater up to his chest, revealing his round belly.

The air conditioning in the room was powerful, and the cold air made his face flush red.

"Back in the day, I jumped into the business world right at the start of the first internet boom. But I wasn’t really interested in money. I felt that teaching and educating people was the only way to realize my life’s purpose, so I later joined Xucheng Academy."

Cao Dahua recounted his past with a completely straight face.

Chen Yansen just responded with a series of "uh-huhs," "ahs," and "You’re the man, Old Cao," not believing a single word he said.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Yansen hailed a taxi, instructed the driver to take Cao Dahua to his destination, and then slowly walked back toward the campus himself.

’Since I’ve decided on the raises, it’s time to take the next step: start recruiting from the public and speed up FoxTao’s development,’ Chen Yansen mused to himself.

「Meanwhile.」

Xu Dan had posted FoxTao’s new salary plan on the campus forum, mainly to facilitate recruitment.

The 6-hour workday, meal allowance, overtime pay, housing subsidy, and quarterly bonuses left the university students, who had yet to even graduate, completely mesmerized.

Everyone was acting like they were on steroids, frantically editing and submitting their resumes.

That night, Xu Dan’s email inbox was flooded with hundreds of applications.

Many fourth-year students who were originally preparing for the spring recruitment season switched their target company to FoxTao.

Previously, FoxTao’s compensation package was only competitive on campus, or perhaps within the province. Some fourth-year students who wanted to make good money still prioritized job hunting in top-tier megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

But now, FoxTao’s benefits were in no way inferior to those in the big cities.

「In a certain men’s dormitory.」

Gao Yuxiang was scrolling through the latest updates from FoxTao, feeling absolutely sick to his stomach. He had just resigned, and now FoxTao was giving its employees a raise.

’Aren’t they doing this on purpose just to spite me?!’

Gao Yuxiang cursed angrily. The moment the fake wine incident was exposed, he had submitted his resignation, terrified of being implicated.

"Yu Xiang, I’m so jealous of you. FoxTao’s benefits are amazing. I just submitted my resume. If I pass the interview, we can be colleagues again!" his roommate said with a cheerful laugh.

Gao Yuxiang’s expression froze. He forced an awkward smile. He hadn’t told anyone he’d resigned from FoxTao. If he had, even if people didn’t say anything to his face, they would curse him for being disloyal behind his back.

At the same time, the few customer service reps who had quit were also filled with regret when they heard about FoxTao’s salary increases.

One girl, who was particularly shameless, wanted to message Xu Dan to say she wanted to come back to work at FoxTao, only to find she had already been blocked.

For Xu Dan, hiring customer service staff was a piece of cake; she could recruit dozens in a single day. Her core task right now was to find experienced category managers and merchant acquisition personnel for Chen Yansen.

She was in no mood to deal with a few fair-weather customer service reps who had bailed at the first sign of trouble.