Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

The two traded a few more barbs, then shared a knowing smile and a burst of hearty laughter before getting back to their respective tasks.

Pei Yi began coordinating with Cheng Weixing while simultaneously conquering market share across Huian Province.

Meanwhile, Kang Guodong gathered the key members of the product and technology departments to reorganize Kuai Pao’s page layouts and draw up a development schedule. The plan was to launch Kuai Pao’s Group Buy channel by late July.

At that moment, Wang Xin of Meituan, Zhang Tao of Dianping, and Shan Jiawei of Lashou Network had no idea that before they could even make a move on the food delivery industry, Kuai Pao was already launching an assault on the Group Buy sector.

After finishing his work, Chen Yansen leaned back in his executive chair, leisurely flipping through a copy of *Microelectronic Circuits*. Aided by the examples and exercises, he quickly grasped the basic principles and design methods of the field.

When it came to knowledge of the semiconductor industry, Chen Yansen’s philosophy was: ’You don’t have to be in the business, but you can’t afford to be ignorant of it.’

Having been an employee and a subordinate himself, he was well aware of the bad habit employees had of trying to pull the wool over their boss’s eyes.

Of course, bosses had their own nasty habit of making empty promises to their employees.

The morning passed in a flash. Chen Yansen glanced at his watch, then put down his book, pulled out his phone, and started scrolling through the news.

’Ali Baba to Delist from Hong Kong Exchange After 5 Years, Paving Way for Full Group IPO.’

’Group Buy Transaction Volume Fell 23% in June to Only 2.08 Billion Yuan Nationwide; Industry Enters a Deep Freeze.’

’Apple Drops Google Maps in iOS 6.0 for In-House 3D Maps; Google Stock Tumbles.’

’Pop Idol Su Xing Assaults Teammate Backstage at Awards Show, Gets Blacklisted by Agency, Career in a Nosedive...’

Chen Yansen skimmed the headlines. Nothing particularly noteworthy.

Just then, a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK came from the door.

”President Chen, the cafeteria made fried bean curd cakes and stir-fried beef today. I brought an extra portion up for you,” the young receptionist explained with a sweet smile, holding a takeout container.

”Okay, just put it there,” Chen Yansen replied.

As the number of employees at Orange Technology and Pinbei grew, even though the cafeteria had doubled its serving windows, the wait time was still around twenty minutes.

Chen Yansen found it too much of a waste of time, so he stopped going to the cafeteria and simply tasked the administration department with fetching his meals.

He was just about to pick up his chopsticks when a call came in from Ma Liyun.

”Mr. Ma, what can I do for you?” Chen Yansen asked, feigning ignorance.

”Wang Wei from Shunfeng, Chen Dejun from Shentong, and Yu Weijiao from Yuantong have all agreed to the plan to form Cainiao Logistics. President Chen, what’s your take on it?”

Ma Liyun began slowly.

”I have no objections, but who’s going to be the CEO of Cainiao Logistics? And who’s getting the majority stake?” Chen Yansen countered.

Ma Liyun’s expression froze. ’I’m the one who came up with this plan, so who the hell do you think is going to be CEO?’ he thought.

But he didn’t dare say that out loud, afraid of angering Chen Yansen. After all, Cloud Speed Express accounted for half of the entire private express delivery market. So, forcing a smile, he asked, ”Does President Chen have someone in mind?”

”Cainiao’s solution for last-mile delivery is flawed. Establishing Cainiao Network stations is an effective method for townships and especially rural markets. But for counties and for first-, second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities, setting up service stations near residential areas is a completely user-unfriendly move.”

Instead of answering directly, Chen Yansen steered the conversation toward the shortcomings of the Cainiao Logistics plan.

Take office workers in places like Luzhou, Jinling, and Hu City, for example. After getting off work, they’d have to go hundreds of meters out of their way just to pick up a package. Where’s the convenience of online shopping in that?

It’s the same as setting up food delivery lockers in residential communities—a completely redundant and pointless exercise.

But Cainiao wasn’t without its merits.

It had real value, at least when it came to solving the last-mile delivery problem in rural markets.