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

Chapter 411 100 Billion Yuan Advertising Fee! Ma Liyun: What, do you want to kill me?
"Old Wang, have the heads of the five major regions—Northeast, North China, East China, Central China, and South China—submit a list of layoffs by next Wednesday, with a reduction of 30%."

Wang Xin remained silent in his seat for a long time before suddenly speaking.

He originally intended to say 40%, but changed his mind at the last minute.

He didn't want to admit defeat, but the industry report in March made him lose all his strength and resources in an instant.

In terms of financial strength, market expansion capabilities, and team cohesion, Meituan is no match for Kuaipao, and it is even inferior to Qiandu Group Buying and Dianping.

He then realized how important Shan Jiawei was to Meituan.

“30%? That’s a bit too much, Brother Xin. How about we cut only 10% each round? That would have a smaller impact and wouldn’t cause a backlash,” Wang Huiwen suggested.

"Cutting flesh with a knife is the most painful! A short pain is worse than a long one. If it's 10% each time, three times in a row, will the ground sales force still have any fighting power?"

Wang Xin frowned and shook his head in denial.

"My main concern is that if employees file for arbitration en masse, it will be difficult to explain to the labor association. If someone pulls a banner and causes trouble, it could easily generate negative public opinion," Wang Huiwen explained.

"Those who are willing to leave will receive compensation; those who are unwilling will be reassigned and will only receive the minimum wage each month," Wang Xin said coldly.

Isn't it easy to force employees to resign voluntarily?
He has plenty of tricks up his sleeve!

"Brother Xin, I understand." Wang Huiwen opened his mouth, then sighed and nodded emphatically in agreement.

Under the nest, have the eggs finished?
After receiving funding from General Atlantic, Meituan's monthly transaction volume ranked last for two consecutive months and continued to decline, with total revenue in March reaching only 2.4 million yuan.

Kuai Pao, ranked first, leads by a wide margin with sales of 23.7 billion yuan.

Baidu Group Buying reached 10.1 billion yuan, a slight decrease.

Dianping's revenue was 5.7 million yuan, nearly halved compared to its peak in Q4 2012.

The market share was completely snatched up by KuaiPao and QianDuTuanGou. The former ate the meat, the latter gnawed on the bones, while Dianping could only drink the dish water.

As for Meituan, they won't even have water left to drink after washing dishes.

"In addition, we need to adjust our business focus, increase the exposure of vertical categories such as tourism, weddings, and fresh food, and introduce e-commerce models. We need to avoid the core business areas of Kuaipao and Qiandu Group Buying to form a differentiated competitive advantage."

Wang Xin thought for a moment, then continued.

Advantage?

Wowo Group took this path before it died!
Wang Huiwen muttered to himself, but he didn't have any better ideas.

KuaiPao and QianDuTuanGou's strategies seem to lack any skill, relying entirely on price wars and traffic advantages, but often the simplest tactics are the most effective.

If the marketing strategy is too flashy, it will make it easier for Wang Xin to exploit the loopholes.

With a powerful and relentless attack, Meituan suffered a series of defeats, losing 70% of its market share and on the verge of repeating the mistakes of Wowo.

General Atlantic, which invested in Meituan, is in a complete panic, as its $100 million investment may be lost entirely.

They never imagined that Meituan's decline would be so rapid, like an avalanche, and they were so angry that they cursed loudly!

After Wang Huiwen left, Wang Xin stared blankly out the window.

He doesn't understand!

Why did I fail nine times in my nine attempts to start a business?

What makes Chen Yansen so successful in every battle?
Is this even fair?!

How many people did he beg for help to attract investment? How much alcohol did he drink? How much grievance did he endure?
What he didn't realize was that if he didn't treat his lower-level employees and delivery riders as human beings, they naturally wouldn't work hard for him.

If there were no other options, Meituan might still have a chance to succeed.

However, comparisons are inevitable. For most employees, Meituan is merely a stepping stone, tempted by the high salaries and benefits offered by Kuaipao.

In an instant, Wang Xin had the idea of ​​selling Meituan again, and Ali was undoubtedly the best candidate.

Late the next night.

In a private room on the top floor of the Sky Garden in the virtual city.

On the two-meter-diameter mahogany round table, there were many exquisite dishes. The three bottles of Moutai were already empty. Ma Liyun's face was flushed. He threw his small wine glass aside, picked up the decanter, and started drinking with Chen Yansen.

His assistant, Cheng Wei, was anxiously waiting. If he tried to persuade Ma Liyun, he was afraid of being scolded; if he didn't, he would be scolded afterward if Ma Liyun ended up in the hospital from drinking too much.

After all, Lao Ma is almost fifty years old. Even if he has a good capacity for alcohol, he is no match for Chen Yansen.

Cheng Wei secretly glanced at Chen Yansen. The other man's face was not red and his heart was not skipping a beat. His eyes were bright and clear, obviously not even slightly drunk.

"Mr. Ma, let's stop here."

Chen Yansen swirled his wine glass, downed the last drop, and said with a smile.

Drinking Ma Liyun to death and ending the e-commerce dispute ahead of time is certainly a good thing, but he knows very well that no matter how loudly Ma Liyun shouts, if he opens two more bottles of wine, the other party will definitely run away.

They're here to discuss cooperation, not to die!

Disguise is a fundamental skill for businessmen.

"Cheng Wei, go open another bottle." Ma Liyun was dizzy, but he was the type of person who refused to admit defeat; he wouldn't lose face even if he lost the fight.

"Okay, Mr. Ma." Cheng Wei readily agreed, but his hands moved hesitantly.

"Mr. Ma, don't forget, we still need to visit the science park tomorrow. We can't let it interfere with our business."

Chen Yansen waved his hand to stop, giving Ma Liyun a way out.

"Oh, okay, then let's continue tomorrow, and skip today." Ma Liyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He could drink two jin (1 kg) of liquor in one sitting without getting dizzy, and he wasn't afraid to go to Northeast China to do business. But Chen Yansen drank one and a half jin (0.5 kg) and was like nothing had happened. He was afraid that if he drank another half jin (250 kg), he would have to be carried back to his room.

“Okay, I wish Mr. Ma’s Ali Treasure Card great success.” Chen Yansen said meaningfully.

Ma Liyun's trip was ostensibly because he wanted to learn from Senlian Xingyao Card's business model, so he made a special visit to say hello.

In reality, they were interested in Mimo's overseas traffic and wanted to sign an annual advertising cooperation agreement with Chen Yansen.

In addition, the exposure of products such as Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, Orange and Aurora Future App Store, and Xiaohongshu also made Lao Ma quite interested.

Ultimately, Ali is a traffic intermediary; buying and selling traffic are part of its daily operations.

Chen Yansen wanted to improve the profitability of the products, while Ma Liyun wanted to acquire more third-party resources. The two hit it off immediately and did not hesitate to cooperate despite the competition in the e-commerce industry.

Both sides are purely driven by self-interest, without any personal emotions involved.

The night outside the window was deep, and the lights were dim.

Accompanied by her assistant, Ma Liyun staggered back to the hotel, quickly washed up, and went straight to sleep.

The phone on the bedside table kept ringing, but Lao Ma was snoring loudly and didn't notice at all.

Not answering the phone?

Wang Xin frowned and decided to call it again tomorrow.

the other side.

Chen Yansen got into the back seat of Ghost's car and instructed Lao Huang, "Back to Delta."

Huang Boxiang nodded silently and focused on driving.

In the past few days, he has met with Meng Jie, Song Yuncheng, and Ye Qiuping.

At first, Lao Huang was a little shocked, but after getting used to it, he felt that Chen Yansen had too few girlfriends.

But he forgot that before becoming Mr. Chen's driver, he despised men who were fickle and unfaithful in relationships.

The current thought is that Mr. Chen is young, rich, tall, and handsome, so three isn't too many.

People always change!
When gratitude is magnified to an extreme, Chen Yansen's shortcomings become insignificant quirks in Huang Boxiang's eyes.

"If only the Star Card could be patented, at least Sohu and Ali informed us. There are definitely more copycats who started copying it without saying a word," Song Yuncheng sighed helplessly.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, I've copied Ali's electronic payment and Tencent's social communication software. The internet is all about copying each other. Nobody should feel wronged."

Chen Yansen said dismissively.

In his view, success depends on human effort, and implementation is always more important than creativity. Creativity determines the upper limit, while execution ensures the lower limit.

Just like Wang Xin once 'borrowed' Facebook's blue and white theme and product features to launch Xiaonei.com, but did he succeed?

Ultimately, the product was sold to Chen Yizhou for $200 million. He simply changed the name and readjusted the product direction, and in just a few years, the market value reached several billion US dollars.

Liang Changlin also copied Nextdoor's community app model, but he ended up with nothing to show for it.

When selecting project leaders, Chen Yansen first looks at execution ability, which is the foundation; strategic planning, risk decision-making, communication skills, and innovation are secondary considerations.

Being able to boast isn't a bad thing, but if all you can do is boast, then you're in trouble.

"I have some good news, take a guess." Song Yuncheng smiled and didn't take Ali and Sohu's plagiarism to heart, instead changing the subject and asking.

"Got it?" Chen Yansen teased with a mischievous grin.

"What do you mean, 'I've got'?" Song Yuncheng was taken aback at first, not understanding, but she reacted quickly, her face and earlobes instantly turning red, and she whispered reproachfully, "You just love to talk nonsense, I bought a house."

"Congratulations, how many sets did you buy?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

“Five apartments, all in Luzhou. I plan to live in one myself, and rent out the remaining four to offset the mortgage payments,” Song Yuncheng said with a grin, opening his right hand.

She did whatever Chen Yansen told her to do.

"That's fine. Next time I can't call you Little Orange anymore, I'll call you Landlady instead," Chen Yansen teased.

“You can call me Mom.” Song Yuncheng smiled without saying a word, silently adding in her mind.

As night fell over the virtual city, a thin mist rose imperceptibly, and the car headlights cast orange-yellow spots as it sped towards the villa area.

The next morning, a pleasant spring breeze was blowing.

Last night's mist turned into dew, condensing on the newly sprouted buds of the camphor trees, where sunlight refracted and created an iridescent glow.

A Mercedes-Benz 62S with a Hangzhou license plate slowly drove into Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park. Inside the car, Ma Liyun looked preoccupied.

In the morning, he received a call from Wang Xin, who asked him directly if he was interested in buying Meituan for only 2 million US dollars.

Not expensive!

If Ali can integrate Meituan's food delivery and group-buying businesses, it will no longer need to rely on Kuaipao in the local services sector.

But when it came to confronting Senlian Capital head-on, Lao Ma hesitated slightly.

Previously, Ali and Senlian Capital had also had minor conflicts in the e-commerce and food delivery markets, and Ali did not gain any advantage whatsoever.

The climate for Senlian Capital is ripe; it has no shortage of funds, terminal equipment, or traffic.

In its battle with Senlian Capital, Ali faces limitations at every turn.

Ma Liyun was conflicted. He knew that once he acquired Meituan and made a large-scale foray into the O2O field, Chen Yansen would most likely turn against him.

The advertising partnership between the two companies will also fall through!

He wouldn't be willing to give up if he didn't buy it.

Even Baidu has established an LBS business unit, so why can't Ali do the same?
"Ma Liyun, you don't even have electronic navigation maps, how are you going to build Ali's O2O ecosystem?"

"If you don't have one, you can buy it; if you can't make one yourself, is an electronic navigation map really that difficult?"

Two completely opposite thoughts suddenly popped into my mind.

"Boss, we've arrived," the assistant reminded him.

Ma Liyun snapped out of her daze, looked up and gazed outside, and saw more than a dozen office buildings, each with a different logo on its exterior wall.

Orange Phone, Pinduoduo, Orange Pay, Toutiao...

Although the surrounding facilities were average, Senlian Capital gave him a strong first impression.

Orange mobile phones rank first in China and sixth globally in terms of shipments.

Pinduoduo Mall boasts annual sales of 3000 billion yuan, making it the second largest e-commerce platform.

Orange Pay has accumulated 1.6 million registered users, with a stable daily active user base of 3100 million. Its Yu'ebao fund has a scale of over 3000 billion yuan, and more than 10 merchants use its QR code payment system.

Toutiao boasts 4300 million daily active users, placing it among the top three news apps in the industry.

Tiangong Technology's client list alone reveals its formidable strength, including the China Association for Science and Technology, Apple, Huawei, and ZTE.

Beyond the virtual city, there are also many other products such as Cloud Speed, Kuaidi Dache, Kuaidi Dache, Gaode Map, OFO Bike, Mimo, and Xiaohongshu, all of which are industry leaders.

This isn't just catching the wave of the times; it's practically pocketing the opportunity. He's excelled in every field he entered, making Old Ma green with envy.

Chen Yansen was impeccably dressed in a suit and his shoes were gleaming, showing Ma Liyun a great deal of respect.

People came to bribe him, so of course he was treated differently.

Mr. Chen has always been very pragmatic.

"Mr. Ma, welcome," Chen Yansen said with a smile.

“It’s quite quiet here. It’s called a software park, but there are no other companies here. It’s no different from your own headquarters,” Ma Liyun said.

“It’s too small. Once the Luzhou headquarters is completed, Mr. Ma must come over for a cup of tea.” Chen Yansen pulled Ma Liyun along and strolled towards Building No. 9.

“No problem, but good wine is a must,” Ma Liyun joked.

"This is the headquarters building of Orange Technology, mainly housing R&D, marketing, operations, and e-commerce departments. Shall we take a look around first?" Chen Yansen asked.

“I don’t know much about technology, so I won’t take up any more of your time. Let’s go to your office and talk business first,” Ma Liyun said, waving his hand.

Despite his humble tone, his attitude towards people at Ahri headquarters is completely different.

In reality, business tycoons are no different from ordinary people; they all adapt their strategies based on the circumstances.

If you are wealthy, have a high status, and great influence, even the young and old horses will have to fawn over you.

Even if you talk nonsense, the other person can always cover it up for you.

Conversely, if you have no status or position, no matter how well you speak, no one will pay attention to you, and you might even get a scolding.

Chen Yansen smiled; he was even happier that Lao Ma pursued efficiency.

The marketing department had already prepared advertising rate cards for products such as Mimo, Toutiao, and Lingxi Browser.

Of course, the quoted price is usually 50% to 100% higher. If you encounter someone who wants to bargain, you can give in. If you encounter someone who doesn't care about money, you can take the opportunity to rip them off.

It's just basic stuff!

Ma Liyun wanted to raise Alibaba's transaction volume to a higher level before the IPO in order to obtain a higher valuation, thus making it easier to raise funds in the North American stock market.

Therefore, with Lao Ma's loose tongue, Chen Yansen easily negotiated an annual quota of 100 billion yuan, of which 80 billion yuan was for advertising fees and 20 billion yuan was for e-commerce commissions.

This business will be shared by Mimo, Toutiao, and Lingxi Browser.

"Mr. Ma, don't rush to leave this afternoon. I'll arrange the second session tonight," Chen Yansen said generously.

A client worth 100 billion, it wouldn't be a loss to treat them to another meal.

What, you want to kill me?

Ma Liyun shook her head in refusal, secretly thinking to herself.

His reason was that he had a high-level meeting with senior executives of the group in Hangzhou that afternoon.

Seeing this, Chen Yansen had no choice but to give up and personally helped Lao Ma into the car.

We'd love to have a dozen more of these kinds of customers!

Mr. Chen squinted and returned to his office with satisfaction. He then continued to improve the architecture of the Tiangong A100, occasionally calling Mike and Wu Shengyu to discuss solutions.

However, just two days later, Liu Qiangdong, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, learned that Ali and Senlian Capital had signed an annual advertising agreement worth over 10 billion yuan.

"President Chen, we're brothers on the same side!"

Handsome Dong was heartbroken and so angry that his liver ached.

Already no match for Ali, and with the added influence of Senlian Capital, what can Dong possibly use to compete with Ali?
(End of this chapter)