I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 257 The Opponent Appears with a Shock: The Northern Expedition! Teacher Luo, let's take a group photo!

As dusk fell at Yanjing Airport, the afterglow faded and night deepened.

Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng walked out of the station exit one after the other, and saw Xiao Jun standing not far away, waving and smiling.

"Boss, the car is ready for you. This is your driver, Wang Teng. He'll be driving for you for the next couple of days."

Xiao Jun took the initiative to greet him, and said with a smile.

Hey!
Another Wang Teng!
Chen Yansen smiled faintly and pointed to Song Yuncheng beside him, introducing him as "Song Yuncheng, Director of the Major Client Recruitment Department of Pinbei".

"President Song, I've long admired your name," Xiao Jun greeted politely.

He wasn't just being polite; Song Yuncheng's reputation in the industry was indeed impressive.

As FoxTao's first employee, he later followed Chen Yansen to Pinbei Mall.

The first e-commerce car marketing campaign on the entire network was written by Song Yuncheng. In addition, he has half of the S and A-level brand resources of Pinduoduo. His status in the industry is no less than that of the president of the purchasing and sales department of JD.com or the head of the business unit of Tmall.

"Mr. Xiao, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Song Yuncheng replied politely.

Perhaps because he followed Chen Yansen and met too many industry leaders, Song Yuncheng now always appears humble, composed, and confident no matter who he meets.

This girl is completely different from the one who, two years ago, bowed her head and begged Chen Yansen in the virtual courtyard to grant her the right to act as an agent for a phone card.

"Let's go."

Chen Yansen said calmly.

The group arrived at the parking lot, and the driver, Wang Teng, jogged a few steps, got into a Maybach, and drove the car to Chen Yansen.

"Boss, I'll head back to the company now. See you tomorrow," Xiao Jun said.

"Yes, I'll be going to Gaode's headquarters tomorrow morning." Chen Yansen nodded slightly, then got into the back seat of the Maybach.

Song Yuncheng sat on the right.

Xiao Jun's pupils contracted slightly, and he instantly understood what was going on. Only after watching his boss's car drive away did he get into a Mercedes-Benz E300 and drive towards No. 18 Changsheng Road.

The street scenes outside the window kept flashing past, and Chen Yansen glanced at the midsummer of Yanjing in 2012.

At that moment, a taxi with the words "Didi Chuxing" on it, located below the windshield, appeared from the left rear.

Didi Chuxing?

Chen Yansen was unsure whether this Didi Chuxing was the same product as the one in his previous life.

After all, the current internet landscape has already been drastically altered by him.

Thinking of this, he took out his phone and called Gao Weilin: "Old Gao, can you help me check if there is an online ride-hailing app called Didi Chuxing in Yanjing? Yes, send it to me as soon as possible."

"Didi Chuxing? I didn't expect that a competitor to Kuaidi Dache would appear in the northern market so quickly."

After Chen Yansen hung up the phone, Song Yuncheng frowned slightly and subconsciously sighed.

"Actually, there was already a ride-hailing app in Yanjing called Yaoyao Zhaoche. Cheng Weixing discovered it last year when he was researching the northern market, but the app's business was mainly car rental, so he didn't pay much attention to it at the time."

"After the New Year, I guess they saw the business model of Kuaidi Dache and switched from car rental to ride-hailing. What surprised me was that, in addition to Yaoyao Zhaoche, there is now another Didi Dache."

Chen Yansen explained slowly.

He knew perfectly well that no matter how niche a business segment was, it was impossible for a single company or product to monopolize it.

"Quick Taxi needs to enter the Yanjing market as soon as possible, otherwise it will be much more difficult to take it back once they have divided up the market completely," Song Yuncheng said softly.

"There's no use in being anxious. Let's wait until Lao Gao has found out the truth before we talk about it."

Chen Yansen said dismissively.

The fiercer the competition, the bigger the ride-hailing market will be!
If Kuaidi Dache were to expand its territory city by city, it would not only have to cultivate the market and users, but also face pressure from transportation associations.

With more competitors, Kuaidi Dache will have to accelerate its expansion.

Half an hour later, the driver parked the car in front of the Delta Hotel.

This place is only a ten-minute drive from the venue where Xiaomi's new product launch event will be held.

After checking in, Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng took the elevator to an executive suite on the top floor.

"I'm going to take a shower. You think about what to eat tonight."

Chen Yansen took off his shirt, revealing his well-defined muscles, and said to Song Yuncheng, "Want to shower together?" only after Song Yuncheng reached the bathroom door.

Despite having seen it countless times, Song Yuncheng still couldn't help but swallow hard, thinking to himself: Master has such a great figure.

“I’ll make a reservation at the restaurant,” Song Yuncheng replied with a smile.

Chen Yansen didn't say anything, and stepped into the bathroom.

When he finished showering and came out wrapped in a bath towel, he received a call from Gao Weilin.

"Boss, I've checked. Xiaoju Technology registered in February and launched its product at the end of April. Its business scope is mainly concentrated in the Yanjing Airport terminal. The number of registered drivers is less than 300, and the number of registered users is less than 10,000. Currently, it has only received one angel investment from Today Capital. The specific amount is uncertain, but judging from Didi Chuxing's promotion efforts, it's at most 3 million."

Gao Weilin spoke slowly.

"Give Cheng Weixing a heads-up and ask him to send a group of people to Yanjing."

Chen Yansen gave the instructions.

“Okay, boss, I understand,” Gao Weilin replied.

"You've worked hard, get off work early."

After finishing his sentence, Chen Yansen hung up the phone and then changed into a casual outfit.

"What do you want to eat?" Chen Yansen asked Song Yuncheng after he finished dressing.

"Cantonese cuisine, the reviews on Dianping are pretty good." Song Yuncheng handed over her phone.

Chen Yansen glanced at it; it was a Cantonese restaurant located in Indigo Mall, very close by, and the prices weren't expensive. He nodded without objection.

While Song Yuncheng was taking a shower, Chen Yansen dialed Zhang Chaoyang's cell phone number: "Old Zhang, I'm in Yanjing. Treat me to dinner."

"Don't call me Lao Zhang. I already said, the gatekeeper at Sohu is called Lao Zhang. Last time I invited you to cross the Weihai Strait, but you didn't go. Now you want me to treat you to dinner? No way!" Zhang Chaoyang refused outright, sounding annoyed.

"I brought you two bottles of good wine," Chen Yansen added.

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements." After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Chaoyang readily agreed.

Chen Yansen smiled and put down his phone.

He was grateful to Lao Zhang; without his intervention, the copyright issue with Toutiao wouldn't have been resolved so smoothly.

Zhang Chaoyang's title as the first-generation godfather of the internet is well-deserved; he has good relationships with the heads of NetEase and Sina.

At 7 p.m., Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng went to the Cantonese restaurant and leisurely ate their dinner.

It wasn't until 8:30 that Zhang Chaoyang sent an address.

"Want to go to the bar?" Chen Yansen asked.

"I haven't been there." Song Yuncheng pursed her lips slightly, not giving a direct answer.

"I'll take you there tonight," Chen Yansen said, putting down his chopsticks.

The two left Indigo Mall and took a car to the bar where Zhang Chaoyang was.

It's hard to imagine that the chairman of Sohu spends his days singing, hiking, swimming, and drinking.

When he arrived, he had just pushed open the door to the private room when he saw a row of pretty girls.

Zhang Chaoyang was about to greet him, but when he saw Song Yuncheng, the smile on his face vanished abruptly, and he thought to himself: Oh no.

Song Yuncheng was slightly taken aback; she hadn't expected this scene.

"Old Zhang, you weren't like this before?" Chen Yansen gave him a look.

"We weren't familiar with each other back then," Zhang Chaoyang replied with a look.

"Mr. Zhang, how about we find a quieter place?" Chen Yansen suggested.

"Okay, actually I don't know any of these girls. I went into the wrong room. Do you believe me?" Zhang Chaoyang chuckled dryly and said shamelessly.

“I believe you. This is Song Yuncheng, the major account management director of Pinbei, and also my…” Chen Yansen introduced.

“I understand, I get it.” Zhang Chaoyang turned around, tossed down two stacks of banknotes, and followed Chen Yansen out of the private room.

The three of them chose a quiet spot on the second floor, where they could see the performance stage on the first floor but it wouldn't be too noisy.

Zhang Chaoyang took the two bottles of wine from Chen Yansen, his eyes lit up, and he said with satisfaction, "You put a lot of thought into this."

Although he claims to the public that he doesn't drink, that's just to fool the media.

In the past two years, his career has been unsuccessful. After several attempts to make a comeback, Zhang Chaoyang finally resigned himself to his fate and gave up.

Screw your job!

Sleeping at the company during the day and getting drunk at bars at night became Mr. Zhang's daily routine.

"Ding Lei called me last night and said that NetEase is also going to make mobile phones. What do you think?" Zhang Chaoyang raised his glass, clinked it with Chen Yansen's, and asked with a smile.

"Great, the success rate is no less than 50%," Chen Yansen grinned.

"Did 360 really sell 40 phones?" Zhang Chaoyang rolled his eyes and then asked.

"To be precise, the total sales volume for the week was 43 units." Chen Yansen took a sip of his drink, savored it for a few seconds, and then spoke the truth.

"That's outrageous." Zhang Chaoyang smirked, speechless.

"The barriers to entry in the mobile phone industry are so high that those who know their stuff can easily jump over them. However, Zhou Hongyi's method is rather clever. He gave up the hardware profits, saving the process of system development, hardware design and supply chain building. If Sohu wants to make mobile phones, I can provide you with technical support."

Chen Yansen said lightly.

A year later, Motorola even came up with the idea of ​​a modular phone.

Simply put, it involves manufacturing components such as the phone's processor, camera, memory, communication, wireless, and battery separately, and then assembling them together using a unified interface.

If users feel the screen is too small, they can simply replace it with a larger one; if they feel the battery capacity is too small, they can also replace it with a larger battery; all the modules are like puzzle pieces or building blocks.

Users can simply purchase the phone modules they need and then assemble them at home.

Companies including Xiaomi have all considered developing modular phones.

Although these products have not been well received by the market and users, it also shows that making mobile phones is really not difficult; it's no different from building with blocks.

The real challenge is how to achieve the highest sales volume in the country, and even the world.

"Forget it, I'm not interested. Let's drink." Zhang Chaoyang waved his hand, looking uninterested.

Chen Yansen raised his glass in response, thinking to himself: It seems that Zhou Hongyi's success has indeed given many people courage.

The two chatted until 10:30, when Chen Yansen got up to say goodbye.

After seeing the two off to their car, Zhang Chaoyang turned around and went back upstairs to continue having fun.

The next morning, as planned, Chen Yansen first went to Gaode Maps and communicated with the heads of various departments one by one. After chatting until noon, he had lunch with Xiao Jun and others at a nearby restaurant.

He then left the Gaode headquarters and took a car to the 798 Art Zone.

When he arrived, it was exactly 1:40, so he wasn't late.

After Chen Yansen got out of the car, he and Song Yuncheng walked towards the conference hall where the press conference was being held. As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw a Xiaomi staff member saying to a dark-skinned, chubby man, "Teacher Luo, let's take a photo together. Yes, if it's convenient, you can help hold up this promotional sign."

Luo Yonghao didn't think much of it, took the advertising sign, smiled slightly at the camera, and took a photo that he would regret for many years.

Huh?
Chen Yansen of Orange Technology?

Luo Yonghao quickly put down the promotional sign, jogged over, and introduced himself: "Hello Mr. Chen, I am Luo Yonghao from Smartisan Technology. May I have two minutes of your time?"

As Chen Yansen was walking, he saw a fat, dark-skinned man rushing towards him from a distance. The man had messy hair, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was panting heavily.

Who?
Luo Yonghao?
Chen Yansen frowned slightly, looking the other person up and down.

(End of this chapter)