Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

But for the past two months, tales of quick riches had been circulating in their circles—stories of sellers getting on the ”Ten Billion Subsidy” channel, buying a BMW in a month, and a villa in two.

This tempted many. Even though Pinbei’s penalties for poor-quality and counterfeit goods were harsh, the allure of earning hundreds of thousands a month drove countless small sellers to flock to the platform.

The Investment Attraction department was swamped. That day alone, over 300 new merchants signed up, and the preliminary review of applications kept them busy past one in the morning.

With this one move, Ali Baba was sending a steady stream of small sellers right to Pinbei’s doorstep.

The reason these merchants didn’t go to Jingdong was that the traffic on Jingdong POP Stores was just as unimpressive as on Taobao C Stores.

「Meanwhile.」

Just as Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng got off the plane and walked out of the arrivals gate, they saw Cao Dahua and Zuo Hongyu waving at them, accompanied by seven or eight security guards.

”Old Cao, isn’t this a bit over the top?”

Chen Yansen teased with a smile.

”Over the top? Boss, you have no idea how many bosses in Shencheng City want to run you over with their cars!”

Cao Dahua said with a completely straight face.

Orange Phone Factory No. 3 was about to start production, and its workforce had reached twelve thousand people.

Every time the Orange Phone Factory hired new workers, the owners of the surrounding electronics factories would curse up a storm.

Faced with an hourly wage of 20 yuan and up to triple pay for overtime, experienced assembly line workers would quit their old jobs without so much as a goodbye.

As for the wages being withheld by their previous factories, some simply abandoned them.

Compared to a job at the Orange Phone Factory, they considered that two or three thousand yuan as charity for the old boss’s family’s medical bills.

”Are you trying to scare me?”

Chen Yansen rolled his eyes and said irritably.

”Heh heh, I knew I couldn’t scare you. But, someone did threaten to break both my legs.”

Cao Dahua said with a cheerful laugh, not a hint of panic or fear on his face.

”So, you hired five, six, seven, eight... eight bodyguards?”

Chen Yansen looked at him with a half-smile.

”They’re mainly here to protect Old Zuo. Protecting me is just a side benefit. Don’t get the wrong idea, Boss.”

Cao Dahua waved his hands, explaining hurriedly.

Chen Yansen glanced at Zuo Hongyu, who wore a helpless expression. Not bothering to waste more time with Old Cao’s nonsense, he led Song Yuncheng into a Mercedes SUV.

”The doors and windows are reinforced. They’re bulletproof.”

Cao Dahua knocked on the car door, showing off with a smug look.

”Who wants to break my teacher’s legs? Tell me. Who’s so arrogant?”

Chen Yansen’s smile vanished, and he asked with a concerned expression.

”The boss of Crown Star Electronics, Song De. But he can’t cause me any trouble now.”

Cao Dahua said slowly, deliberately keeping Chen Yansen in suspense.

Seeing this, Zuo Hongyu kicked his old friend and added, ”Two weeks ago, Song De had his throat slit by a worker who was demanding back pay. I reckon by now, he’s already finished his Meng Po’s Soup.”

Chen Yansen was slightly taken aback. He looked at Cao Dahua and asked, ”Why didn’t you mention this in our calls or work emails?”

”I didn’t think it was very relevant to work, so I didn’t report it,” Cao Dahua replied.

”Old Cao, you’ve really worked hard. Look at you, your belly has even shrunk a bit.”

Chen Yansen reached out and patted Old Cao’s round belly.

Cao Dahua sighed. In just six months, the Orange Phone Factory had expanded from a plant of over 10,000 square meters to over 100,000, and the staff had grown from two people to more than ten thousand.

One could only imagine how much effort that had taken.

”Last week, three electronics factories in Sai Ge Science and Technology Park had workers go on strike, demanding the bosses raise their hourly wage. To be blunt, you could say we started this. So even with Song De dead, I still have to be careful when I go out.”

Cao Dahua explained slowly.

The implication was that he, Cao Dahua, had become a public enemy in Shencheng City’s manufacturing industry.

The Orange Phone Factory’s standard hourly wage was 20 yuan, while many similar electronics factories didn’t even pay 10 yuan, let alone provide overtime pay in accordance with labor laws.