In the days that followed, Chen Yansen split his time between two pursuits: reading in the startup park by day, and reading in his bedroom by night.
Meng Jie felt that her relationship with Chen Yansen had accelerated dramatically over the past two days. The unease she had felt earlier had completely vanished.
Both were young. Both were at their peak.
Often, they would stay up all night and not rise until eleven or noon the next day. After two days of adjustment, Meng Jie had transitioned from passive to active, her skills becoming increasingly proficient.
It wasn't until school resumed on the sixth that the teachers upstairs and downstairs finally realized the restless cat had quieted down. They could finally get a full night's sleep.
Chen Yansen, however, was far from idle.
Over the past few days, he had not only finished Android Heroes, In-Depth Linux Kernel Architecture, Android Design Pattern Source Code Analysis, Clean Code, and Android System Source Code Scenario Analysis—he had also thoroughly digested the new books Wang Teng had recommended.
Most of these textbooks came with source code files, making it convenient for him to practice.
His mental strength of 8.43 made learning feel like cheating.
Chen Yansen discovered that his exceptional mental fortitude made absorbing languages, literature, history, and social sciences almost effortless.
But he didn't pursue that path. Instead, he poured his energy into operating system principles, programming languages, data structures, and algorithms. The progress was rapid.
The code produced by the Aurora R&D team became his best learning material. Whenever he had questions, he could simply ask the relevant engineers for clarification.
Through repeated practice and refinement, Chen Yansen's experience and skills grew exponentially. Previously, he could only track development progress through product documentation. Now, a single glance at the code was enough to grasp the project's status.
The second week after the holiday, Chen Yansen had just entered Room 206 when Song Yuncheng greeted him with a wide smile.
"Lashou.com has offered twenty million yuan per month in marketing expenses to sign an exclusive cooperation agreement with FoxTao."
Twenty million?
Lashou had always been generous, but never this extravagant.
Chen Yansen's eyes narrowed. His mind raced. He immediately understood what was happening. He asked Song Yuncheng for confirmation.
"Lashou completed its Series C funding?"
Only that would explain why they would spend twenty million to buy out FoxTao's partnership.
"Yes! It was announced last night. Seven institutions—including Mayfield, Richemont, and GSR Ventures—jointly invested one hundred and ten million US dollars for a ten percent stake in Lashou."
Song Yuncheng nodded slightly, looking at Chen Yansen with anticipation.
If this partnership went through, even after deducting half as commission, the remaining half would still generate ten million in revenue. From commissions alone, she could earn five hundred thousand.
But it all depended on Chen Yansen's approval.
"How much gross profit did Lashou, Gaopeng, Meituan, and Wowo generate in March?" Chen Yansen asked.
"About 13.7 million. With new customer rewards around 7.2 million, total just over twenty million." Song Yuncheng had come prepared. That was why she brought this to Chen Yansen personally.
"Agree to it. Monthly contracts."
Chen Yansen pondered for a moment, then nodded and gave his instructions.
"Okay. Understood."
Song Yuncheng breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, Lashou had also requested monthly contracts. Signing long-term would put too much pressure on their finances.
The other side was willing to spend twenty million to compete for market share. Once Lashou crushed its competitors, they certainly wouldn't want to keep pouring money into shopping guide websites.
Hence, Chen Yansen's emphasis on monthly contracts.
Will this change history? Chen Yansen wondered as he walked toward Room 206. Maybe Lashou will win the group-buying war at the end of the year instead of Meituan?
Meituan's ground sales team was powerful, but under the combined assault of funding and traffic—especially with Wang Xin currently lacking funds and not yet backed by Alibaba—could they still have the last laugh?
Who cares? Chen Yansen smiled faintly. Whoever pays the most gets the Super Cashback slots.
He set aside his distractions and returned to his seat to read.
Meanwhile, Gaopeng, Meituan, and Wowo—who had planned to sign up for April's Super Cashback program—suddenly received word that all April slots were full. They would have to wait until May.
But the group-buying market was volatile. Who knew if any of these platforms would even survive until next month?
Everyone was surviving on venture capital funding. FoxTao, with over two million daily active users, had become a key player in this power struggle.
Zheng Yun, marketing director of Gaopeng, reacted fastest. He called Chen Yansen directly.
Chen Yansen bluntly told him that Lashou had paid twenty million to fill all April slots.
To appease his investors, he had no choice but to agree.
Zheng Yun didn't believe a word. Internally, he cursed: Damn it! It's just about money! You, Chen Yansen, received over a hundred million in investment from Tencent—you're practically one of Gaopeng's allies. And for money, you turn your back on us?
Frustrated and fuming, Zheng Yun hung up and immediately went to his boss to demand more funding.
Meituan and Wowo also inquired. Learning of Lashou's move, they could only mutter curses under their breath.
At this point, no one could match Lashou's financial muscle.
Wang Xin of Meituan was also actively seeking funding—reaching out to the Fujian Chamber of Commerce on one hand, and the rising star Alibaba on the other.
After careful consideration, Wang Xin proactively contacted Ji Gang of Alibaba's investment department. He expected lengthy negotiations. To his surprise, Ma Liyun met with him personally and generously invested fifty million US dollars.
Wang Xin was deeply moved.
Of course, that didn't prevent him from later betraying Alibaba and joining Tencent.
Chen Yansen hadn't expected his interference to push Meituan's Series B funding forward by two months.
With the money in hand, Wang Xin immediately spent twenty-four million to book FoxTao's May group-buying special schedule—catching Lashou completely off guard.
The remaining funds weren't thrown into advertising. Instead, Wang Xin used them to expand his offline sales force.
His reasoning was simple: the platform connects users and merchants. On-the-ground promotion was the rope binding merchants to the platform. It deserved priority investment.
Thus, Wang Xin poached talent aggressively, while other platforms focused their efforts on traffic—hiring celebrity endorsements, blanketing subways, buses, television, buildings, and outdoor spaces with ads.
Several group-buying platforms tore into each other, spending investors' money with reckless abandon.
Chen Yansen profited handsomely. He sold June's schedule for a staggering thirty million yuan.
FoxTao, in turn, only needed to plan two brand group-buying events and allocate some resource slots. Easy money.
On April 10th, FoxTao announced that its registered user base had reached 120 million (in reality, it was just under 110 million) and planned to launch a Super Sale Day on April 22nd.
Users at level F3 and above would enjoy extra rebates.
For example: a pair of Nike sneakers originally priced at 399 yuan would normally rebate 79.8 yuan. But F3 users would receive an extra 5 yuan, F4 an extra 15 yuan, and F5 an extra 40 yuan.
This essentially returned the commission difference to F5 users after deducting Alibaba's technical service fees and taxes.
As soon as the news broke, orders surged—all from existing users upgrading their levels.
Chen Yansen had the event team pre-promote certain items on secondary pages.
These were brands acquired through Q1 recruitment that had clearance sales needs.
Pond's masks: 10% off.
Metersbonwe clothing: 20% off.
Knock-off phones: 30% off.
Hannshu lotion sets: 40% off.
Induction cookers, rice cookers, electric kettles: 50% off.
Sportswear, suitcases, snacks: 60% off.
Lighting, furniture: 70% off.
Air conditioners, televisions, computers: 80% off.
All categories. Major brands. Huge discounts.
Some items were flash sale products negotiated by the recruitment team. Others were advertising projects negotiated by the major accounts team.
For example, Acer computers: they received five million yuan and were required to achieve fifteen million in sales, all included in the Super Sale Day event.
Chen Yansen was reading as usual when his phone rang. It was Liao Wei.
"Mr. Chen, this business is viable. I've done my assessment. Warehousing costs in the US aren't high. Labor costs are a bit steep, but that can be passed on to users."
Liao Wei reported his findings the moment he stepped off the plane.
Over the past ten days, he had visited Amazon's warehouses and several logistics and warehousing companies in the US. After weighing his options, he concluded that the path Chen Yansen had pointed out was indeed promising.
Less competition. Higher profits.
Even excluding shipping costs, the processes of packaging, sorting, reinforced packing, warehousing, and exchange rate differences would generate substantial revenue.
And he wouldn't have to worry about orders—Chen Yansen had agreed to entrust him with all of FoxTao's cross-border e-commerce business.
"I suggest you separate this business from Yunsu Express. Also, FoxTao contributing its business as equity—a forty percent stake isn't unreasonable, is it?"
Chen Yansen asked for forty percent of the shares without investing a single yuan.
Liao Wei was stunned. He hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be so... ruthless. Forty percent for nothing?
But he didn't dare refuse. Chen Yansen could have chosen anyone for this project. Liao Wei was merely the errand boy.
"It's not unreasonable. Leave it to me." Liao Wei gritted his teeth and agreed.
"It'll be registered under Senlian Capital," Chen Yansen added.
Liao Wei's heart skipped a beat. He immediately understood the shrewdness behind this move. No wonder this man, at such a young age, could run such a successful business. His mind alone was far sharper than Liao Wei's.
"Mr. Chen, don't worry. I'll keep my mouth shut." Liao Wei quickly assured him.
"Mr. Liao, work hard for me, and I won't treat you unfairly. The bigger the pie, the more valuable your share will be." Chen Yansen reminded him with a smile.
"I understand. I'll arrange the new company registration immediately. I've found two warehouses in the US. Preliminary preparations should take two to three weeks. I'll report back once everything's finalized."
Liao Wei was a smart man. He knew how to read the room. This time, he genuinely wanted to work for Chen Yansen.
Chen Yansen smiled and hung up.
In 2011, overseas forwarding companies were still a blue ocean market—capable of supporting several logistics companies, some with annual revenues reaching billions. Far more promising than Yunsu at the time.
Under the siege of STO, YTO, ZTO, and SF Express, Yunsu faced certain death if it didn't adapt.
While Chen Yansen buried himself in system development research, the war among group-buying websites intensified—escalating even to physical confrontations in the fight for merchants.
Wowo Group poached two hundred people from Lashou.com, directly paralyzing Lashou's East China operations.
Users on FoxTao reported that their purchased group-buying vouchers weren't being processed.
Lashou scrambled, mobilizing teams from other cities to reinforce the East China market.
The companies tore into each other relentlessly, creating endless chaos.
After investing in Meituan, Ma Liyun announced that Juhuasuan was officially entering the group-buying business—aiming to grab a share of the O2O market.
This immediately put both Lashou and Meituan on edge.
Perhaps at this moment, Wang Xin sensed uncertainty from Ma Liyun. Simultaneously, he grew wary of Shan Jiawei, the head of Alibaba's supply chain team.
Wang Xin, too, aspired to lead. He was unwilling to be subordinate.
In his view, Shan Jiawei was there to seize power—not to get things done.
A rift was beginning to form between Meituan and Alibaba.