Xu Dan delivered the final stack of resumes just before closing.
Half were seasoned professionals, half fresh graduates—all hungry for a spot in business development or operations.
"Phone screen the experienced ones first," Chen Yansen instructed, not looking up as he slid the papers onto his desk. "If they pass your sniff test, we'll bring them in."
Xu Dan nodded and retreated.
"Xu Xingxing! My desk. Now."
The girl was at his side in seconds. "Class President?"
"A new hire is joining late December. An outsider. Go see Director Cao tomorrow—get him a campus access pass. Make it happen."
"On it!" Xu Xingxing chirped, already mentally mapping her route to the administration building. For her, this was a trivial favor.
"You did solid work last month. There's another salary review at year-end. Keep it up." He dangled the carrot casually.
"Another one? Zhang Wenbo said we just got adjusted in October!" Her eyes widened. Her family allowance was generous, but FoxTao's pay was real money. Last month's check bought her a shiny new iPhone 4.
"Year-end bonus too. And the company party. Book the Sky Garden banquet hall for December 31st. The ¥800 per head package."
"The fancy one? Got it!"
"And charter a school bus. Don't let anyone get lost."
"Leave the eating, drinking, and partying to me!" She beamed, thumping her chest.
Chen Yansen dismissed her with a wave and headed downstairs.
After December's books close, I'll take the Q3 financials to Tencent. Another 100 million in funding shouldn't be unreasonable.
The current bottleneck was liquidity. The "zero-yuan cut" and ad models couldn't scale user acquisition yet—the priority was maintaining rock-solid cash flow for user withdrawals. A cashback platform that can't pay out is a ghost town waiting to happen.
If Tencent balks, I'll find another VC. One specialized in e-commerce. I need more than just money; I need their network.
He pushed the thoughts aside as he reached the crossroads of Xuelin and Xuehai Roads. He pulled out his phone, dialed Meng Jie, and invited her to dinner. And perhaps another walk in the grove.
The next morning, chaos.
Chen Yansen reached the second floor to the sound of raised voices. Li Bin, the junior price-check editor, was squared off against Gao Yuxiang, a business development rep.
"You're just an editor! Who do you think you are?!" Gao Yuxiang's face was red.
"Your product pricing is fraudulent. It's not going live," Li Bin shot back, icy calm.
Chen Xu and Hu Li hovered nearby, trying and failing to mediate.
"What is this? A street market? Don't you have work to do?!"
Chen Yansen's voice cut through the noise like a blade. The floor fell silent. He looked from Li Bin to Gao Yuxiang. "Explain. Now."
Li Bin spoke first, precise and cold. "Brother Sen. Among Gao Yuxiang's flash sale submissions is a 'Yu Zhaolin' thermal underwear set. My price-check app shows it sold for ¥49 in October. His 'Super Rebate' price is ¥54.9. A ¥5.90 difference."
He didn't stop. "He claims it's a new product using an old listing. But I cross-referenced JD.com. The same product, same store license, sold for ¥49 on the same day."
Chen Yansen turned his gaze to Gao Yuxiang. The temperature in the room dropped. "You've read the merchant regulations. If a price-check editor rejects a flash sale, it's rejected. What gave you the right to argue? Tell me."
"Brother Sen, I… I confirmed with the merchant! They swore it's a new product!" Gao Yuxiang stammered, sweat beading on his temple.
"Xu Kun." Chen Yansen's voice snapped toward the category ops lead. This product had passed his desk. "Your take?"
Xu Kun swallowed. "Based on the brand image, materials, and overall best-seller rankings… I deemed the ¥54.9 price reasonable for the promotion."
Chen Yansen gave a slow, dangerous nod. Then he turned back to Gao Yuxiang, his voice a low, controlled fire.
"Did the merchant show you screenshots? The product edit logs? You just take their word for it? Who do you work for? The brand, or FoxTao?"
Gao Yuxiang shrank. He had no defense. He'd gambled for the commission, hoping no one would check.
Chen Yansen's anger erupted. "First. You will get that merchant to raise their commission by 10% as a penalty. Second. You will apologize to Li Bin. Now. Third. Your commission rate this month is cut by 1%."
He leaned in, his final words a whisper that carried across the silent floor. "Do it. Or get out."
Pale, then flushing with shame, Gao Yuxiang bowed deeply to Li Bin. "I… I'm sorry. I was wrong. I spoke out of turn."
Li Bin accepted the apology with a curt nod.
Chen Yansen wasn't done. He gestured to Zhang Yifeng. "Gather the whole biz-dev team. Now."
The few onlookers from Room 212 scattered like startled birds.
"Let me be clear," Chen Yansen addressed the huddled team, his voice like frost. "Recruiting isn't about taking whatever scraps merchants throw you. If it were that easy, I wouldn't need you. I'd let the editors do it."
"Go back and memorize the recruitment manual. This is your only warning. Next time, you're fired on the spot."
He dismissed them with a wave. Then he turned to Li Bin, his tone shifting. "You did right. Checking prices is about protecting our users' trust. Consult the category team anytime. You need to know the products better than the salespeople to beat them."
He placed a hand on Li Bin's shoulder. "There's a bonus in your future. I have expectations for you. Don't get stuck in this chair."
"Thank you, Brother Sen!" Li Bin stood taller, the vindication sweet.
The first clash between FoxTao's integrity check and its sales force ended in a decisive, brutal victory for integrity.
Chen Yansen had planted Li Bin for this exact reason. Extreme cost-effectiveness was FoxTao's foundation. If users found cheaper prices elsewhere, the whole edifice would crumble.
Back at his desk, he noted Song Yuncheng frowning at her screen, deep in some problem. He left her to it. She was neck-deep in B2C platform negotiations and JD.com's category day preparations, often skipping meals.
He pulled up the dashboard. The numbers were a beautiful sight:
Daily Active Users: Holding steady at 1 million.
Daily Orders: ~130,000.
Daily Sales: A rock-solid ¥13 million.
The transformation since October was staggering. This was the power of the branded flash sale model.
In the days that followed, FoxTao's Super Rebate became a phenomenon. Merchants used their sales records as a springboard to Taobao's Juhuasuan, double-dipping on profits. Skeptics who'd complained about FoxTao's commissions now scrambled to find high-margin inventory to submit.
Then, December 12th—Double Twelve—arrived.
FoxTao's homepage exploded with over 300 flash sale items. Jiushen.com's Moutai and wine. JD.com's large appliances—AUX A/Cs, Galanz microwaves, Sacon kitchen sets—with cashback rates of 20-35%. Hard-to-find stock, hundreds of yuan cheaper.
Users renovating homes or setting up households went berserk.
The result? FoxTao's single-day sales blasted past ¥40 million.
Winter jackets, quilts, water purifiers, air fryers, braised snacks—all sold out within hours. Chen Yansen immediately ordered the team to switch to pre-sale mode, moving tens of thousands more units.
The momentum didn't die. While Taobao's event ended, FoxTao's brand sales lasted three days. Orders kept pouring in.
The next morning, Chen Yansen was ripped from sleep by his ringing phone.
A smooth, confident voice came through. "Mr. Chen. Zhang Jiancheng, Venture Capital Director at Thinking Capital. I'd like to discuss financing for FoxTao. Are you available?"
Chen Yansen, bleary-eyed and unimpressed, grunted into the receiver. "Not convenient. Call back in an hour."
He hung up.
Let them wait. His plan was simple: use the Q3 reports and the explosive Super Rebate data as leverage. It was only mid-December. He had time.
Whether to raise money, and from whom, was his decision alone.
On the other end of the line, Zhang Jiancheng stared at his phone in stunned silence. In his entire investment career, no founder had ever… hung up on him.
A slow smile touched his lips. Interesting.