Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”Not quite,” Lin Chenfeng replied with a chuckle. ”Mr. Ma’s stance is still a 10% cash and 90% equity payment.”

’Fuck!’

’Does he really think I’m some kind of garbage picker?’

Suppressing his displeasure, Liu Qiangdong asked calmly, ”Then what’s the good news you have for me, President Lin?”

”Mr. Ma has approved the Jingdong investment proposal. It will be brought before the board of directors next week, and there shouldn’t be any surprises. I wanted to touch base with you, President Liu, to schedule the financial and operational data review, so we can lock down the valuation and equity percentage as soon as possible.”

Lin Chenfeng explained slowly.

”Is that right? The whole company is busy preparing for the big Singles’ Day promotion right now. It might be... inconvenient.”

Liu Qiangdong casually made up an excuse, trying to stall for time.

’Ma Wenteng doesn’t treat me with a shred of respect, so there’s no need for me to be upfront with him.’

Liu Qiangdong knew perfectly well that Lin Chenfeng wouldn’t believe whatever nonsense he spouted.

It wasn’t that he was refusing to negotiate—he was just delaying. He would negotiate, but slowly, methodically, and on his own terms.

Lin Chenfeng instantly understood what Liu Qiangdong was getting at. ’We’re both old foxes,’ he thought. ’Who do you think you’re fooling with these games?’

’He’s just found another investor and decided to put Penguin on the back burner.’

Lin Chenfeng chuckled, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then hastily ended the call to go report to Liu Zhiping.

On the other side.

After Liu Zhiping learned what had happened, he relayed the information from Lin Chenfeng to Ma Wenteng.

”Pause the investment plan for Jingdong. He wants to stall for time? I’ll let him.”

Ma Wenteng waved his hand dismissively.

’He could stand others up, but that didn’t mean they could do the same to him. Investing in Jingdong was an option, not a necessity.’

’As for Liu Qiangdong, he wasn’t qualified to be negotiating terms with him. Best to let him hang out to dry for a while!’

Liu Zhiping nodded, understanding Ma Wenteng’s plan. He was going to wait for Liu Qiangdong to come begging at his door.

’With the two traffic aces, QQ and WeChat, in its hand, how could Penguin not be able to handle a mere Su Beilao?’

The two men exchanged a knowing smile. Though no words were spoken, they had reached a mutual understanding.

For the foreseeable future, Penguin’s main play in the e-commerce sector would continue to be Pinbei.

The streetscape flew past the window. The sycamore trees of high summer were lush and verdant, and the urgent chirping of cicadas could be faintly heard.

Five minutes later, the Mercedes-Maybach 62S carrying Ma Wenteng pulled up to the entrance of the Sky Garden.

The parking lot was a sea of luxury cars, and the first-floor lobby was packed with people. Inspectors patrolled inside and out, maintaining order and ensuring the safety of the attending guests.

After all, given Orange Technology’s status in the mobile phone industry, more than thirty top-tier international suppliers had been invited to attend.

The group of industry peers included Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, Coolpad, Xiaomi, 360, and NetEase, among others. It was a mix of established telecommunications companies and internet phone manufacturers, and the executives attending the press conference were all immensely wealthy.

On top of that, there were large crowds of news media and fans.

Although the largest banquet hall on the top floor could accommodate over a thousand people, it seemed inadequate for the occasion today.

As soon as Chen Yansen got out of the car, Wang Teng came up to him. ”Boss, we really should move. Otherwise, we’ll have to keep going to Luzhou, Hu City, or Jinling for our new product launches.”

”Another two years,” Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

Construction on the Luzhou Headquarters had just started; there was no way it could be finished in under two years.

”Are Lei Yijun and Zhou Hongyi here?” Chen Yansen asked.

”They’re here. Director Ye received them. We’ve seated them six places apart, so there shouldn’t be any trouble,” Wang Teng replied instantly, knowing what his boss was truly asking.

”Good. I’ll go on up and take a look,” Chen Yansen said, feeling slightly relieved.

The public might not know, but he was well aware: those two had actually gotten into a real-life fistfight. For the past six months, Zhou Hongyi had even been training in freestyle combat.