Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Xiang Pengfei instinctively stood up and looked toward the sound.

”Brother Sen!”

Recognizing who it was, Xiang Pengfei hurried forward to greet him, only to stop short.

He had wanted to ask Chen Yansen why he had suddenly gone back on his word after promising he wouldn’t sell the project.

But the words caught in his throat. He felt the question was too childish, so he just stared at Chen Yansen, at a loss for what to say.

”What’s wrong? You’re not happy to see your boss make a fortune?”

Chen Yansen said with a friendly laugh, patting Xiang Pengfei on the shoulder.

A year ago, they had all pulled long hours together, working on features like ”Bargain to Zero” and the launch of FoxTao 2.0.

As Chen Yansen’s net worth soared, Xiang Pengfei and the others found it increasingly difficult to call him ”Brother Sen.” Some, like Zhang Wenbo, had already started following the lead of the Orange Technology employees and were calling him ”Boss.”

”Not at all. We’re all happy for you,” Xiang Pengfei said, forcing a smile. His words rang hollow.

These one hundred-odd people had built FoxTao from the ground up, step by step.

’How could I not be upset now that it’s been sold?’

”Xu Dan! Get everyone together for a quick meeting!”

Chen Yansen called out to Xu Dan, who wasn’t far away.

After extensive negotiations, it had been decided that the FoxTao employees would be transferred to Ali.

Aside from the customer service team, Ali was willing to take on the other groups. The Investment Attraction, Category Management, and Key Accounts teams—FoxTao’s core assets—were priority targets for integration.

FoxTao members filed out of their offices, spread across more than a dozen units in the building. They gathered in the open space on the second floor, all eyes fixed on Chen Yansen.

Some of them wanted to ask Chen Yansen why he had deceived them at the beginning of the month, but even after all 160-plus employees had assembled, no one dared to speak up.

”I’m sure you’ve all seen the news. The online reports are more or less accurate.”

Chen Yansen began, bluntly confirming the sale of FoxTao.

He paused, then continued, ”Ali will be sending people to FoxTao next Monday. Team leads should prepare for the handover. I know everyone is concerned about what will happen to your salaries and benefits after the acquisition.”

Pausing for a moment, he went on, ”First, Ali will be relocating FoxTao to its headquarters in Hang City this October. Anyone unwilling or unable to move to Hang City will receive an N+2 severance package.”

”For those willing to join Ali, starting in October, team leads—with the exception of those in Investment Attraction and Editing—will be compensated at Ali’s P7 grade. The former head of Yitao, Dongxie Wu Ming, will serve as the general manager of the new FoxTao business division.”

Chen Yansen held nothing back, laying out every detail of the deal he had negotiated for them.

Forty percent of FoxTao’s staff were recent graduates or experienced hires from outside, and they were quite happy with the news.

After all, given their academic credentials, passing Ali’s competitive interviews was a long shot—a one-in-a-hundred chance at best.

The chance to get into the e-commerce giant Ali Baba through this indirect route had them raising both hands in approval.

College seniors made up another 20%. They perked up when Chen Yansen added that regular team members joining Ali would start with a monthly salary of 16,000.

Although they would lose the 20% monthly housing subsidy and their four quarterly bonuses would be replaced by a single year-end bonus, faced with the much higher base salary, most still wanted to join Ali.

The remaining 40%, primarily customer service staff and editors, were considered highly replaceable. Ali was only willing to accept the editing team.

However, most of these employees were sophomores and juniors in college, so they couldn’t give up their studies for a job.

”Brother Sen, can I transfer to Orange Technology? I just want to stick with you,” Xiang Pengfei stepped forward and said, his expression earnest and his tone sincere.

”Do you have any idea what Ali’s P7 grade means? A monthly salary starting at 30,000. Factor in the stock options, and you’re looking at an annual income of nearly a million,” Chen Yansen said with a slow smile.

”Thirty thousand a month?”

”A million a year!”

”Ali’s really being generous, giving a team lead that kind of package!”

His words caused an immediate stir, and the crowd erupted in a flurry of hushed discussions.