Room 206, Startup Park.
"Hu Yun, have the daily active users and order volume recovered?" Chen Yansen leaned against a desk, water glass in hand, as he asked the data team's Hu Yun.
"Brother Sen, the data normalized yesterday: 1.06 million daily active users, 140,000 orders, and a total daily transaction volume of 13.7 million," Hu Yun stood opposite him and reported without hesitation.
Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, Zhuang Rui, Zhang Yifeng, Meng Xibo, and the others nearby all showed expressions of relief. They knew the counterfeit wine crisis had finally passed.
"Bobo, as head of the customer service team, you failed to report user complaints in a timely manner. Your December bonus will be deducted, and you won't be eligible for the year-end salary adjustment. Any objections?" Chen Yansen addressed Meng Xibo.
In truth, Meng Xibo had sent a work email, but he had treated it as a routine complaint and simply forwarded the user's request to Jiushen.com for handling, which angered the customer who had purchased the fake wine.
"Brother Sen, I bear significant responsibility for this. I understand, and I will definitely handle such situations more carefully in the future."
Upon hearing the penalty, Meng Xibo breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought he might be fired, but Chen Yansen had shown leniency. He felt terrible and guilty.
"Brother Sen, three customer service staff, one business development staff, and one editor resigned a couple of days ago. Considering the high frequency of daily updates required by Super Rebate, we'll likely need to recruit about ten more people. This is the recruitment plan for each team." Xu Dan handed over the documents and explained.
"Got it." Chen Yansen nodded slightly, his expression calm.
These students who resigned were simply worried the counterfeit alcohol incident would affect their studies and future resumes.
Let them go. Chen Yansen didn't care.
"Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Next Friday, we'll hold FoxTao's first annual gala at the Sky Garden. By the way, Xu Xingxing, tell everyone what prizes you've prepared?"
Chen Yansen smiled and looked at Xu Xingxing.
"20 iPhone 4s, 30 cash red envelopes of 2,000 yuan each, and 30 supermarket shopping cards worth 1,000 yuan each," Xu Xingxing stepped forward and announced loudly.
"So, I hope everyone can attend. Those who aren't present won't be eligible for the draws," Chen Yansen joked with a smile. He continued, "Next week, based on FoxTao's current development, I will adjust salaries for all positions. Additionally, except for the sales team, each quarterly bonus will be equivalent to 1-3 months' salary, depending on performance."
Salary adjustment?
Quarterly bonuses?
Zhang Wenbo and the others exchanged excited smiles. They knew they had bet on the right person. Working for a boss like Chen Yansen meant they would never be shortchanged on compensation.
The sales team didn't react much. They relied on commissions; with outstanding performance, they could earn 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a month from commissions alone. A few thousand in bonuses wasn't a big deal to them.
"Furthermore, considering the addition of experienced hires like Yuan Wei, I've decided to increase everyone's base salary by 20% as a housing allowance."
"Xu Dan will send the new employee handbook to the project group later. From now on, weekday overtime will be paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate, calculated to the minute; weekends at double time; holidays at triple time."
Chen Yansen continued.
"Team Leader, is the workday calculated as 6 hours or 8 hours?" Xu Xingxing pressed.
This was the question Zhang Wenbo and Xiang Pengfei were most concerned about.
Whenever project deadlines were tight, the technical department suffered the most, often working from 8 AM to 10 PM.
"It's calculated as 8 hours, but the two-hour lunch break is included within those 8 hours, so the actual working hours remain the same," Xu Dan answered for Chen Yansen.
A 6-hour workday?
Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with astonishment. Chen Yansen's series of sweet promises had left them stunned.
"Meeting adjourned!"
With that, Chen Yansen dismissed the group with a wave.
Several team leaders, beaming, returned to their workstations and shared the new benefits announced by Chen Yansen with their team members.
Instantly, cheers erupted from the second floor.
Even Xu Xingxing, with the lowest salary, could now earn 5,000 yuan per month before tax, including housing and meal allowances, quarterly bonuses, and overtime pay.
And this was before the salary adjustment. After the adjustment, it would be over 6,000 yuan before tax.
This income was considered upper-middle class, even in first-tier cities.
To put it bluntly, some professors at Xucheng University didn't even earn that much.
Technical staff like Zhang Wenbo and Xiang Pengfei would earn even more.
After everyone else had left, Wang Zihao approached with concern. "Are you alright?"
Wang Zihao stared at Chen Yansen, his eyes not showing the joy of a raise, but only worry for his best friend.
"It's just the inspection station—once you're in, it's like coming home," Chen Yansen said jokingly, patting Wang Zihao's shoulder, a warmth spreading through him.
"You come back and immediately start handing out raises, quarterly bonuses, and housing allowances. Do you really need to spend so much to reassure everyone?" Wang Zihao felt sorry for him.
"You're overthinking it. Spend more time looking at job boards. You can't attract talent if you're not willing to spend. Xu Dan spent a month recruiting and only managed to get Yuan Wei. Do you know how much an Alibaba 'Xiao Er' earns in a month?"
Chen Yansen smiled, put his arm around Wang Zihao, and walked to the window, speaking earnestly.
"Alright, you're the boss anyway." Wang Zihao grinned, seemingly convinced.
"Money—you have to spend it to earn more back." Chen Yansen breathed on the glass and wrote the character for "money" on the condensation with his finger.
After saying that, Chen Yansen left Room 206 and headed to Cao Dahua's office.
Normally, Old Cao would have left work by now, but today he was still sipping tea on the sofa.
"You're back." Cao Dahua heard the noise and looked up to greet him.
"Old Cao, thanks." Chen Yansen plopped down, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.
"Let's go. The Dean is waiting. Thanking me is useless; Dean Tang is your real benefactor," Cao Dahua quietly reminded Chen Yansen, not wanting to take credit.
"I know," Chen Yansen nodded in response.
The two went downstairs and headed toward Tang Qingshan's office.
On the way, Cao Dahua asked, "What was all that noise about earlier?"
Chen Yansen told him the truth, explaining FoxTao's salary adjustment plan.
"Xiao Chen, your salary adjustment plan is really terrible," Cao Dahua gasped, clutching his chest in mock pain.
"What's wrong with it?" Chen Yansen retorted.
"It's probably going to hurt my self-esteem." Cao Dahua covered his face in feigned anguish.
He only earned a little over 8,000 a month, while these students... their salaries were about to surpass his. It was a blow to his pride.
"What's the point of being a teacher? Maybe I should quit and come work for you." Before Chen Yansen could react, Cao Dahua added, half-joking.
"Old Cao, don't be silly. Your job is priceless." Chen Yansen ignored him and walked straight ahead.
"I'm serious, I'm not joking with you." Cao Dahua, with his protruding belly, quickened his pace to catch up.
"FoxTao is short a security guard. How about that?" Chen Yansen pretended to think for a moment, then smiled and said.
"Get lost, you little rascal!" Cao Dahua laughed and shook his head helplessly.
The two chatted idly all the way and soon arrived at Tang Qingshan's office.
Before Chen Yansen could even express his thanks, Tang Qingshan said, "You are my student, Tang Qingshan's student, so of course I have to protect you. Besides, you haven't done anything wrong. If it were any other student from Xucheng University, I would have done the same."
Cao Dahua stood behind Chen Yansen, secretly pursing his lips.
Knowing Tang Qingshan's style, he was aware that Tang wouldn't have moved so quickly to get someone released unless he had pulled some strings.
Chen Yansen smiled shyly, then pressed his advantage, calling Tang Qingshan "teacher" repeatedly, which pleased Tang greatly.
About ten minutes later, Tang Qingshan glanced at his watch.
Chen Yansen immediately understood and politely took his leave. Outside the office, he took Cao Dahua to Shuangqing Restaurant off-campus for dinner.
The two drank and chatted, quickly finishing six or seven bottles of beer.
Cao Dahua took off his coat and pulled his sweater up to his chest, revealing his round belly.
The air conditioning in the room was strong, making his face flush.
"Back then, I started my own business, just in time for the first wave of the internet boom. But I wasn't interested in money; I felt that teaching and nurturing students was the only way to realize my life's value, so I later joined Xucheng University."
Cao Dahua recounted the past in a serious tone.
Chen Yansen merely responded with "uh-huh," "ah," and "Old Cao's bragging again," not believing a single word.
After a satisfying meal, Chen Yansen hailed a taxi, instructing the driver to take Cao Dahua to his destination before leisurely walking back to campus.
Since the decision to raise salaries had been made, he decided to go all in, fully launch external recruitment, and accelerate FoxTao's development.
Chen Yansen pondered to himself.
Meanwhile,
FoxTao's salary adjustment plan was posted on the university forum by Xu Dan, primarily to facilitate recruitment.
The 6-hour workday, meal allowances, overtime pay, housing allowances, and quarterly bonuses captivated the students still on campus.
They were all incredibly enthusiastic, frantically revising and submitting their resumes.
That very night, Xu Dan's inbox was flooded with hundreds of job applications.
Many graduating seniors preparing for spring recruitment shifted their job search focus to FoxTao.
Previously, FoxTao's compensation was only competitive within the university or province; some seniors looking to make money preferred top-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
But now, FoxTao's compensation was comparable to that of major cities.
In a male dormitory,
Gao Yuxiang scrolled through FoxTao's latest updates, feeling incredibly frustrated. He had just resigned, and FoxTao was already raising employee salaries.
"Isn't this deliberately targeting me?!" Gao Yuxiang cursed angrily. He had resigned the day the fake alcohol scandal broke, fearing repercussions.
"Yuxiang, I really envy you. FoxTao's compensation is really good. I just submitted my resume; if I pass the interview, we can work side-by-side again," his roommate said with a smile at that moment.
Gao Yuxiang's face stiffened, and he gave an awkward laugh. He hadn't told anyone he had resigned from FoxTao; otherwise, even if people didn't say it to his face, they would curse him behind his back for being disloyal.
At the same time, several former customer service representatives, upon hearing about FoxTao's salary increase, were also filled with regret.
One thick-skinned girl wanted to message Xu Dan to say she wanted to return to FoxTao, only to find she had already been blocked.
For Xu Dan, recruiting customer service representatives was a piece of cake—she could hire dozens in a day. Her most important task now was to find experienced category operations and business development personnel for Chen Yansen.
She had no time to deal with a few timid customer service reps.