Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

January 14th, Hu City. The top-floor banquet hall of the Pullman Hotel.

After a full morning of detailed discussions, Chen Yansen, along with Wang Zihao, Song Yuncheng, and their finance and legal staff, found no objections to the contents of the investment agreement, shareholder agreement, equity transfer agreement, and employee stock option plan. Only then did they sign their names and stamp the documents with Senhai Technology’s official seal.

A 20% stake in exchange for 560 million in funding, for a valuation of 2.8 billion!

Once this news got out, the entire e-commerce industry would be shaken.

Chen Yansen shook hands with the three investors one by one, exchanging simple pleasantries. ’I’ve barely reached half my net worth from my past life,’ he thought. ’Guess this rebirth wasn’t for nothing after all.’

"President Chen, congratulations! With this funding, FoxTao is sure to make a qualitative leap in talent recruitment, market promotion, and technological upgrades."

Zhang Jiancheng said with a smile, still shaking Chen Yansen’s hand.

His words also served as a subtle reminder that the money had to be used according to the provisions of the investment agreement.

Young entrepreneurs are easily dazzled by money, sometimes using investment funds to buy cars and houses, or establishing third-party companies to embezzle venture capital.

"Thank you for your trust, President Zhang."

Chen Yansen heard the unspoken meaning but paid it no mind.

He’d noticed Chen Yansen wasn’t interested in Lotte and SIG, so he immediately ditched SIG and joined forces with IDG Venture Capital Fund to successfully secure FoxTao’s Series A funding.

’Decisive, unscrupulous, with no bottom line. A man like that will go far.’

"President Chen, could we have a private word?"

Just then, Liu Zhiping walked over and interjected.

Zhang Jiancheng gave a slight smile and tactfully excused himself, leaving them to talk.

He was just an investment manager. He could put on airs in front of small-time entrepreneurs, but Liu Zhiping was a true titan.

He couldn’t afford to offend him.

"Thank you, Brother Martin. If Penguin hadn’t provided a safety net, IDG and Siwei would never have offered such a high price of 2.8 billion," Chen Yansen said in a low voice.

"The higher the Series A valuation, the better it makes Mr. Ma’s judgment look. But if you didn’t have the skills to back it up, it wouldn’t matter how high a price I quoted. Senzai, you really are something else."

Liu Zhiping nodded, switching to a more familiar form of address.

The two of them walked out of the banquet hall and into a meeting room. A business hotel like the Pullman had long since anticipated all sorts of commercial needs; on the same floor, besides meeting rooms, there was also a multimedia hall that could accommodate fifty people.

"Pony wants you to take over Paipai Network," Liu Zhiping said, getting straight to the point as soon as they sat down.

"Brother Martin, I’ve said it before. I don’t want to work for anyone," Chen Yansen said with a faint smile, his refusal firm.

’If Ma Wenteng wanted to come work at FoxTao, Chen Yansen might be willing to save a customer service position for him.’

’As for him working for Xiaoma? Forget it.’

"Don’t be so quick to refuse! Before I came, Pony made it clear: as long as you join Penguin, Paipai Network can operate independently. You’ll have the final say on all matters. The salary is thirty million a year, plus two hundred million in stock options."

Liu Zhiping said, full of confidence.

’An offer like this could easily sway even Zhang Xiaolong, let alone Chen Yansen.’

Chen Yansen was stunned. He hadn’t expected Ma Wenteng to be so determined about e-commerce. After a moment’s thought, he understood. WeChat, the Tier-0 application that Ma Wenteng was betting on, hadn’t been launched yet.

Ma Wenteng, intent on perfecting the Penguin ecosystem, naturally wouldn’t give up on the e-commerce sector so easily.

’Two hundred million in stock options?’

He knew that in 2011, Penguin’s market value was far from its peak. If he accepted, cashing out at a high point ten years later would net him at least 8 billion.

This was a colossal fortune that Chen Yansen had never seen in two lifetimes!

"Brother Martin, I’m sorry, but could you please tell Pony for me that I’m not interested in Paipai Network, nor do I want to join Penguin to run their e-commerce."

Chen Yansen took a deep breath, but still refused.

Liu Zhiping frowned, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He shook his head. "Don’t think there’s a huge gap between two hundred million in options and FoxTao’s 2.8 billion valuation. You should be well aware of the ceiling for the shopping-guide model. Don’t be fooled by Zhang Yong and Liu Qiangdong’s current attitude of needing shopping-guide sites. Once they team up to crush FoxTao, how much of that 2.8 billion valuation do you think will be left?"

Chen Yansen just smiled at that. ’He really is a titan,’ he thought. ’So farsighted.’

In fact, in his previous life, Ah Li had announced new affiliate rules in 2016. All sales generated from redirects from shopping-guide websites would no longer be counted toward Taobao’s monthly sales figures.

Liu Qiangdong was even more ruthless, bluntly stating that shopping-guide sites had no value and were basically highway robbers.

After that, the development of shopping-guide e-commerce took a sharp downturn. Companies either transitioned to a self-operated model or struggled to survive.

To put it bluntly, these platforms had it too easy making money and became too reliant on domestic e-commerce giants, which led to their downfall. If they had pivoted in time and introduced overseas shopping sites, they wouldn’t have ended up in such a passive position.

Having witnessed the ten-year golden age of e-commerce, Chen Yansen was already prepared for Ma Liyun and Liu Qiangdong.

He had no intention of sticking with FoxTao forever. He’d run it for another year or two at most, then find some sucker to take it off his hands, cash out, and walk away.

"I understand the value of those two hundred million in options, and I also have the ability to handle policy changes from the domestic e-commerce platforms."

Chen Yansen replied confidently.

"You’re putting me in a tough spot. Before I left yesterday, I beat my chest and promised Pony I would definitely bring you into the Penguin fold."

Liu Zhiping sighed with a wry smile, full of regret.

He understood Chen Yansen’s style. This refusal wasn’t a negotiating tactic to raise his price; he genuinely didn’t want to join Penguin.

"Penguin is now a major shareholder in FoxTao, so you could say this is just another way of working for Mr. Ma,"

Chen Yansen joked, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"With the backing of a large corporation, you’d get access to unimaginable financial and technical resources. Why bother wasting precious time?" Liu Zhiping couldn’t help but ask again.

If it were him, he would have joined Penguin without a second thought.

"A man has to succeed at least once, even if he fails a hundred times. I don’t want people to say later that all my achievements were thanks to investors, not my own ability."

Chen Yansen thought for a moment and repeated the line he had used in his previous life.

"Come to Shencheng City when you have time. I’ll treat you to tea," Liu Zhiping said, standing up. His tone was neutral as he extended the invitation.

Since they couldn’t reach an agreement, there was no need to waste any more time.

"Brother Martin, I’ll see you out." Chen Yansen followed him and walked him all the way downstairs.

Then, he turned and went back upstairs.

The three investment firms and FoxTao still had a small press conference to get through, followed by a banquet. Even though Liu Zhiping had left, the schedule had to proceed as planned.

At 1:30 p.m., Penguin News Network’s homepage featured the headline: ’FoxTao Completes 560 Million in Funding at a Valuation of 2.8 Billion.’

When they saw the news, the FoxTao team members on the second floor of the Innovation Park erupted in cheers.

In his office, Tang Qingshan mulled it over for the first time: ’Letting FoxTao participate in the university student startup competition in March... wouldn’t that be straight-up bullying?’

In Chunshen, Chen Guobin stared at the news on his phone, lost in thought, completely numb.

Immediately after, the three major web portals and Weibo all reported and reposted the news.

"IDG Leads, Penguin and Siwei Capital Follow—Just How Much Potential Does Shopping-Guide E-Commerce Have?"

"Less Than Six Months Since Its Founding, Core Team Comprised Entirely of University Students, a 19-Year-Old Business Genius Creates a Near-Unicorn Company?"

"Shopping-Guide E-Commerce Leader: As Copycats Swarm, How Will FoxTao Build Its Moat?"

Mogujie, which was supposed to have been founded in February 2011, launched a month early, jumping into the fight for the shopping-guide e-commerce market.

Meili Shuo, founded in November 2009, also announced on the same day that it was adjusting its business to launch an investment attraction plan and a branded flash sale channel.

For a time, the shopping-guide e-commerce model became the hottest ticket in the industry.

During the banquet, Zhang Jiancheng asked, "President Chen, what do you make of the business changes at Mogujie and Meili Shuo?"

"This shopping-guide e-commerce business may seem to have a low barrier to entry, but in reality, the barrier is very high. It’s not something just anyone can do well."

Chen Yansen scoffed, his evaluation dismissive.

Having copycats was a good thing. There were hundreds of millions of internet users in the country, a number that was growing by 100 to 200 million every year. Although FoxTao’s cumulative registered users had already reached over 40 million, more than 90% of people were still skeptical of the cash-back model and hadn’t signed up.

The moves by Mogujie and Meili Shuo would help FoxTao cultivate the market and educate users. Once these users became familiar with shopping-guide e-commerce, they would automatically seek out the industry leader.

All Chen Yansen had to do was buy up traffic with one hand and seize merchant resources with the other to become the final winner in this industry.

Seeing him so confident, Zhang Jiancheng, Lin Chenfeng from Tencent’s venture capital department, and the representative from IDG were all reassured.

The banquet gradually wound down around 8:30 p.m.

"I’m heading back to Xucheng tomorrow," Wang Zihao said. Although Xucheng Academy was already on winter break, the project team still had to keep running.

For the first time, this group of eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds was experiencing the hardships of the working world, their winter and summer vacations a thing of the past.

"What about you?" Chen Yansen asked, looking at Song Yuncheng.

"I have to go back to my hometown for a bit. I’ll probably be back in Xucheng on the afternoon of the 16th," Song Yuncheng said quietly, tightening the collar of her shirt.

"Lucheng? Have you bought your ticket yet?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

"I bought it," Song Yuncheng replied, lowering her head. In truth, she had been so busy preparing the financing documents that she hadn’t had time to think about buying a ticket. By the time she remembered, the student rush for winter break had made tickets even harder to get.

She planned to go to the long-distance bus station tomorrow to try her luck.

"Then you should get back and rest early." Chen Yansen glanced at his watch, his peripheral vision catching the look on Song Yuncheng’s face as he urged her.

They were all staying at the Pullman Hotel.

Back in his room, Chen Yansen stared out at the dazzling city lights and fell into thought.

’Before 4G and smartphones become widespread, I still have two years to prepare.’

’What’s Rebus up to right now? Preparing the Big Rice 1 phone?’

’And Zhang Yiming? Probably still working on his 99fang.’

’Huang Zheng of Pinduoduo is most likely still working at Google.’

’Hey, I’m not so bad myself! Compared to them... besides being richer than me, is Rebus as handsome as I am?’

Chen Yansen thought with a chuckle. When he cashed out in the future, he would have to say the line:

"That year, I was nineteen, and all I had in my bank account was a cold, hard 4 billion."