Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”I want you to say it yourself,” Liu Muyan said, her face deathly pale as she bit her lip.

”She’s my girlfriend, and you’re my fiancée. Any other questions?” Zhou Yuwen shot a glance at Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao and replied arrogantly.

Tears welled up in Liu Muyan’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She could never have imagined that the man she’d grown up with, her childhood sweetheart to whom she was engaged, would betray her.

Chen Yansen didn’t say a word. With the mentality of a spectator watching a good show, he smelled the scent of a kindred spirit on Zhou Yuwen.

”Zhou Yuwen, we’re over!” Liu Muyan broke down, squatting on the floor and sobbing loudly.

”Oh. Then we’re over,” Zhou Yuwen said with a heartless smile. With that, he put his arm around the long-haired girl and went into the private room.

Seeing this, Wang Zihao lunged after him, ready to beat him up.

Chen Yansen grabbed him and stopped him, then pointed toward the crying Liu Muyan.

Wang Zihao deflated instantly, standing there at a loss for what to do. After a long moment, he remembered to take out a packet of tissues and offer it to Liu Muyan.

Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes and sauntered back to the banquet hall.

...

...

「Shencheng City. Penguin Headquarters.」

”Are you saying that the 10 million from two months ago has now become 100 million?” Ma Huateng asked, looking at Liu Zhiping across from him.

”Perhaps even more. I hear that SIG Asia Venture Fund and Lotte are both urgently evaluating FoxTao’s business model. It’s possible the valuation could even hit 300 million US dollars,” Liu Zhiping said with a faint smile, pushing up his glasses.

”Could what that kid said really be true? That we don’t have the DNA for e-commerce? He took a garbage niche like shopping guides and turned it into a top-tier business. What if we let him take over Paipai Network?”

Ma Huateng’s voice trailed off, and he ended with a sigh.

He was a smart man. How could he not understand that an ambitious young man like Chen Yansen would never be content working for someone else?

How many precedents had he broken just to get Zhang Xiaolong to join Penguin?

’Am I supposed to break the rules again?’

From their last interaction, Chen Yansen’s conviction seemed even stronger than Zhang Xiaolong’s.

”It’d be difficult. If he wanted to join Penguin, he wouldn’t have rejected Zheng Chunbin’s invitation,” Liu Zhiping said with a chuckle, shaking his head gently.

”That 10 million wasn’t an investment in the FoxTao project; it was an investment in him as a person. And as it turns out, my investment was very successful. But how do I get a return on it?”

Ma Huateng stared intently at his old friend, as if waiting for an answer.

”Offer him the same package as Zhang Xiaolong?” Liu Zhiping asked tentatively.

”For FoxTao’s Series A financing, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip in person. Help me relay a message to Chen Yansen. As long as he’s willing to help Penguin improve its e-commerce division, I’ll give him an annual salary of 30 million and 200 million worth of stock.”

Ma Wenteng pondered for a moment before making a firm decision.

He hadn’t paid much attention to what Chen Yansen said last time, but once FoxTao’s valuation broke the 1 billion mark, he started taking it seriously and mulling it over.

When a person has no power, no one believes them even if they speak the truth. But once they hold power, people will call their farts fragrant.

This was precisely Ma Huateng’s mentality.

”Alright.” Liu Zhiping didn’t refuse. He was also curious how this young man, Chen Yansen, had taken a new project from zero to tens of millions of users.

Every one of the man’s steps had been flawlessly precise. That level of precision was frightening.

”Mi Chat is already online. How much longer for Zhang Xiaolong’s side?” Ma Wenteng asked after they finished discussing Chen Yansen.

”Xiaolong said he still needs to polish the details,” Liu Zhiping said with a frown. He understood Ma Huateng’s impatience.

”Give him half a month. It must go live!” Ma Huateng’s gaze was sharp, his tone severe.

WeChat was supposed to be Penguin’s next Tier 0 communication app, but Mi Chat had beaten them to the punch. This displeased him greatly, and he had no patience left to wait.

’What details? As long as it works, it’s fine!’