Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”President Chen, you’re not joking, are you?”

Lu Hongbo’s face was cold as he shot back angrily.

Ni Cai’s profit margins might be low, but with nearly ten million units shipped annually, they still made a good amount of money.

Last year, their gross profit alone was two hundred million. Chen Yansen wanted to buy Ni Cai for five hundred million? Wasn’t that just bullying him?

”You think it’s too little?” Chen Yansen leaned back, the corner of his mouth twitching into a mocking smile.

”One billion would be more like it,” Lu Hongbo said defiantly.

”As far as I know, of those more than 6,100 factory stores, only 2,000 are directly operated by Ni Cai. The other 4,000-plus are franchises over which you, President Lu, have no real control. I’d say five hundred million is already generous.”

Seeing that Lu Hongbo wasn’t playing along, Chen Yansen’s words grew even harsher.

”Does President Chen think he has me in the palm of his hand?” Lu Hongbo retorted.

”Then let’s talk again in a month,” Chen Yansen said dismissively.

’Why a month from now?’

Lu Hongbo froze, his mind racing with wild guesses.

”Is President Chen going to launch an even cheaper smartphone?” Lu Hongbo asked reflexively.

”Oh? You truly are the Sect Leader of Ni Cai, seeing right through Orange Technology’s next move. Tell me, President Lu, should I set the price at 399 yuan, or 499?”

Chen Yansen asked with a wide grin.

”You...” Lu Hongbo wanted to curse.

”Once some things are said, they can’t be taken back. President Lu should think carefully.”

Chen Yansen threatened lightly.

Lu Hongbo took a deep breath. He held back for a long moment before swallowing his curses. In a heavy voice, he said, ”President Chen, give me two days to think it over.”

”No problem,” Chen Yansen replied, unconcerned.

He knew that a rough-and-tumble character like Lu Hongbo, who came from a background of coal bosses, might have taken a few EMBA classes, but at his core, he was fiercely defiant and would never admit defeat easily.

In fact, even his ”five hundred million” offer was a carefully calculated number.

The two of them hadn’t even spoken for ten minutes before Lu Hongbo turned and left.

As soon as they were out of the conference room, Yang Rui pressed, ”President Lu, it’s obvious Orange Technology looks down on Ni Cai. They just want to use our channel network.”

”Fuck! So young, yet he talks so damn big.”

Lu Hongbo cursed under his breath.

”So, President Lu...” Yang Rui asked cautiously.

Before he could finish, Lu Hongbo cut him off. ”I’m not selling Ni Cai.”

In his view, even though the thousand-yuan phones from Orange, Xiaomi, and 360 had a negative impact on Ni Cai’s sales, they had also given him a new idea.

He could easily copy the models of the Qingcheng D2, Hongmi 1, and 360 F1, launch a few new products, and slash the price by two or three hundred yuan. He refused to believe they wouldn’t sell.

’Two hundred million in gross profit a year, and sell for only five hundred million?’

’He wasn’t an idiot!’

Holding out for another two years would be more profitable than selling to Chen Yansen.

Yang Rui sighed softly. The day’s events had exceeded his expectations.

The two returned to the main conference hall and sat down, but their minds weren’t on the event.

Lu Hongbo’s mind was filled with counterattack strategies.

Yang Rui, however, was looking further ahead. If the new product Chen Yansen mentioned really existed, then Nicai Mobile Phone wasn’t far from death.

In terms of supply chain command, cost control, and logistics, ten Ni Cais combined would be no match for Orange Technology.

An idea flickered in his eyes, and a different plan began to form in his mind, but it was one he couldn’t share with Lu Hongbo.

The morning passed in a flash, followed by the luncheon.

For most of the invited entrepreneurs, the two-hour luncheon was the perfect opportunity to expand their networks and find investors and business partners.

”Boss, that person next to Lu Hongbo—I had someone look into him. He was formerly the regional marketing general manager for NetEase. He joined Ni Cai two years ago and is mainly responsible for building their sales network,” Gao Weilin, having made a circuit of the banquet hall, returned to Chen Yansen’s side and said in a low voice.

”So, the Ni Cai Factory Store model was actually Yang Rui’s handiwork.” Chen Yansen’s fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop. TAP TAP TAP.

”That’s right,” Gao Weilin confirmed.

”Go book a conference room,” Chen Yansen said quietly, looking at Meng Yun.