Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”Chairman Zheng, a pleasure to meet you!” Chen Yansen said with a faint smile, seemingly unaffected, as he stepped forward to greet him.

Zheng Shengyu looked up, sizing up Chen Yansen from head to toe, and finally said with a smile, ”There aren’t many young men like you.”

Clearly, Zheng Shengyu was very pleased with Chen Yansen.

From a macroeconomic perspective, over 6,000 couriers from the Three Passes and One Reach had lost their jobs in the last three months. But these same people put on new uniforms and, in a flash, became Cloud Speed Express employees. The number of people paying into social security had also increased by 6,000.

So, if it weren’t for the price-cutting by the Tonglu System companies, which had led to a flood of complaints and affected the Postal Association’s own interests, Zheng Shengyu couldn’t have been bothered to intervene.

”You flatter me, Chairman Zheng. I’m just following labor laws,” Chen Yansen said with a shrug.

Zheng Shengyu nodded, patted Chen Yansen’s shoulder, and then walked to the podium.

He scanned the room and saw that aside from Shunfeng, the bosses of the remaining 30-plus major express companies invited were all present.

Zheng Shengyu frowned. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he saw Wang Wei walk in with his people.

”Since everyone is here, let’s begin. First, I’d like to thank all of you for your contributions to Hua Country’s express delivery industry in 2011.”

”Last year, the total volume of express deliveries reached 4.29 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 37.8%. Of this, intra-city deliveries accounted for 23% and inter-city deliveries 73%. The eastern region accounted for 81.9%, the central region 10.5%, and the western region 7.6%. The industry’s revenue reached a high of 85.53 billion yuan.”

”The growth rate in the first quarter of 2012 has once again exceeded the Postal Association’s expectations, with daily volume reaching as high as 20 million parcels. The total for the year is projected to break the 6 billion parcel mark. However, it’s worth noting that revenue per parcel is constantly declining, service quality has plummeted, and some express company employees have even been selling customers’ private packages at will...”

As Zheng Shengyu spoke, he directed his criticism toward Shentong and Yuantong.

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao had cut the dispatch fees again and again, leaving couriers unable to make a living. As a result, their service attitude took a nosedive, and lost parcels became a common occurrence.

An investigation revealed that the couriers were selling them as ’mystery boxes.’

”I don’t care how you compete, but the income of the couriers on the ground cannot be affected. In three days, Shentong and Yuantong must raise their delivery fee for parcels under 1 kilogram to 1.5 yuan.”

Zheng Shengyu called out Shentong and Yuantong by name, urging them to raise their prices.

Yu Weijiao was indignant. Why didn’t Zheng Shengyu step in when Cloud Speed was cutting prices? But as soon as Shentong and Yuantong cut theirs, he had to intervene.

”If you refuse to make corrections within the deadline, your business licenses will be revoked directly.”

Zheng Shengyu stared at Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao, warning them bluntly.

Chen Yansen turned his head and shot a provocative glance at Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao.

He had calculated long ago that a per-parcel price of 1.5 yuan could cover all costs while also guaranteeing stable income for the couriers.

When Shentong and Yuantong had dropped their price to one yuan, his reason for not letting Liao Wei follow suit was also based on this consideration.

Chen Dejun and Yu Weijiao exchanged a look. ’This is big trouble,’ they thought. ’We tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice used to lure it. That old bastard Zheng Shengyu doesn’t care if we live or die.’

Wang Wei of Shunfeng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although the price was only being raised from 1 yuan to 1.5 yuan, it was still good news for Shunfeng.

Otherwise, in the long run, no matter how wide Shunfeng’s ”moat” was, it would eventually be breached by the Three Passes and One Reach and Cloud Speed.

He was even tempted to suggest restricting the minimum price per parcel to over 3 yuan, but it wasn’t his turn to speak yet.

Before long, Zheng Shengyu finished his speech and walked off the stage.