Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Xucheng. In front of Office Building No. 9 at the Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park.

A jet-black Maybach glided to a stop. With a soft CLICK from the hinge, the door swung open, and a man in his thirties stepped out.

He wore a white shirt, a dark red tie, and a royal blue suit. His leather shoes were polished to a mirror shine, and a distinctive tuft of white hair hung over his forehead.

An assistant and a bodyguard followed close behind.

The other two cars carried the rest of his entourage—Jingdong’s business negotiation team.

Seeing this, the Pinbei employees by the windows couldn’t help but crane their necks for a better look.

Even though Pinbei had already completely surpassed Jingdong in daily active users and sales figures, Liu Qiangdong was, after all, a long-established figure in the e-commerce industry. Now that he was visiting their company, many were filled with curiosity, sizing up the Jingdong founder from a distance.

Chen Yansen stood his ground, not moving a single step.

This was the first time he’d met with Liu Qiangdong alone since Pinbei and Jingdong had their falling out during the 418 Home Appliance Festival.

Compared to their last encounter, Handsome Dong’s smile was noticeably brighter, especially after securing $1.1 billion in financing from the OTPP and Saudi Kingdom Capital.

Money in your pocket puts your mind at ease.

This held true even for Liu Qiangdong, a man with a net worth in the tens of billions.

Liu Qiangdong’s smile was warm and enthusiastic. But when he saw Chen Yansen standing perfectly still, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly, ’This kid really knows how to hold a grudge.’

Chen Yansen, the man who ”repays every slight.” There are misgiven names, but never a misgiven nickname.

”President Chen,” Liu Qiangdong began with a warm smile as he walked up, ”it seems Xucheng is truly a blessed land, to have produced two internet tech companies like Orange Technology and Pinbei Mall, each worth over a hundred billion.”

”Just a tiny bit of luck, that’s all. We just happened to catch the tailwinds of the smartphone and e-commerce booms,” Chen Yansen replied modestly.

”I wish I had your kind of luck, President Chen. My ten years of hard work can’t even compare to what you’ve accomplished in one.”

Liu Qiangdong was laying the flattery on thick, though subtly.

He hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his visit. First, to restore his cooperative relationship with Senlian Capital and get Orange Technology back on Jingdong. Second, to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Pinbei to jointly seize e-commerce market share from Ah Li. Third, to sign annual advertising framework agreements with Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, and the Orange Application Mall.

Even Ah Li had to pay for traffic, and Jingdong was no exception.

Currently, Toutiao had over 120 million registered users, with 40 million daily active users. Lingxi Browser had 64 million total downloads and 29 million daily active users. And the Orange Application Mall reached a user base of over 40 million.

As a result, Senlian Capital had become a pivotal source of traffic in the internet industry.

This was another reason why Handsome Dong was willing to humble himself before Chen Yansen.

”President Liu, shall we head to my office for tea first, or would you like a tour of the Pinbei building?” Chen Yansen just smiled, sidestepping the flattery and changing the subject.

”Let’s see Pinbei,” Liu Qiangdong joked, though only half in jest. ”I’d like to see for myself just who President Chen has on his team that managed to beat Jingdong.”

”This way, please.”

Chen Yansen led Liu Qiangdong straight into Building No. 6, where Pinbei was headquartered.

Just inside the entrance, the first floor housed the customer service center and the administration department.

A massive LED screen mounted on the white wall to the left displayed Pinbei’s sales data, updating in real time.

”Nine forty-seven a.m. Daily sales volume: 290 million Hua Yuan.”

Liu Qiangdong looked up, his gaze lingering on the number. Based on his experience, he judged that Pinbei’s total daily transaction volume wouldn’t be less than a billion.

In other words, Pinbei’s daily sales were double Jingdong’s.

After the Singles’ Day Grand Promotion, Jingdong’s daily sales had risen from 400 million to 500 million, but Pinbei’s appeared to have grown even more.