Chen Yansen had never heard of Yunsu Express. A small fry like that would either go bankrupt or be swallowed by the giants within a few years.
It told him everything: Liao Wei had no powerful backer. How else could someone in the express business die right before the e-commerce boom?
Understanding Liao's plea, Chen waved a dismissive hand. "Mr. Liao, there's nothing to discuss. Your employee switched the Moutai. FoxTao suffered real losses."
"Mr. Chen, I accept full responsibility and will compensate all damages," Liao Wei said, his face strained. "But your daily Weibo posts… you're crippling my business."
With 3.7 million followers, Chen Yansen's routine was simple: promote flash sales for Brand Group, and eviscerate Yunsu Express's management failures. For Yunsu, it was a death sentence.
The legal battles with Dionysus.com and FoxTao would drag on for months. By the time they concluded, Yunsu might already be a memory. Reports were already flooding in—merchants were blacklisting Yunsu, fearing courier fraud would tank their store ratings.
"I'm just stating facts," Chen shrugged, unmoved.
A boss like Liao, from a rough background, might try dirty tricks. But Chen was now Tang Qingshan's protégé at Xucheng Academy, a star student entrepreneur in Huian Province. If Liao tried anything here, on campus, he'd be the one leaving broken.
"Name your price, Mr. Chen. I'll meet it. Just please, let Yunsu go." Liao nearly choked on the words, forcing his tone to remain soft, rehearsed.
"Withdraw the lawsuit? What's in it for me?" Chen looked down at him, his voice cool.
"Immediate transfer of the compensation specified in your lawyer's letter. And for any future FoxTao express needs, Yunsu will be your dedicated partner."
Empty promises, besides the cash.
"How many vehicles? Stations? Couriers?" Chen asked, eyebrow raised.
Confused but compliant, Liao answered, "About 100 heavies, 300 mediums, over 400 stations, and… more than 3,000 employees."
Over three thousand people.
A spark ignited in Chen Yansen's mind. Three thousand employees meant thousands of points in monthly humanitarian aid. FoxTao's lean model grew fast but created few jobs. Express companies were employment engines—STO, YTO, ZTO, JD, SF, each with tens of thousands.
The express delivery industry… I want in.
"Forget the cash compensation," Chen said after a moment. "Let's be friends. Convert the damages into Yunsu shares."
Liao's hopeful smile froze, his face locking in stunned silence.
FoxTao's lawsuit claimed six million in losses from the fake wine scandal—reputation, valuation, profits. In reality, it might settle for one or two. Now Chen wanted that potential settlement turned into equity… for free.
The problem wasn't willingness, but valuation. Give too little, Chen refuses. Give too much, it's a hemorrhage.
"How… how much does Mr. Chen want?" Liao finally stammered, passing the burden back.
"I don't have time for games." Chen's tone turned cold.
"Two percent?" Liao ventured. Yunsu's assets were ~150 million, valued by VCs at 270 million. 2% was 5.4 million—better than cash.
"I'll also make the lawsuit with Dionysus.com disappear," Chen said, shaking his head.
"Three percent!" Liao gritted his teeth. Every share given felt like carving out his own flesh.
"Deal! Three percent it is. Mr. Liao, we're partners now." Chen's demeanor flipped instantly, all smiles as he clapped Liao on the shoulder.
Nineteen? Is this kid really nineteen? Liao forced a smile, cursing internally.
With terms set, Chen became the gracious host, ushering Liao into his office for tea and a thorough grilling on the express industry landscape.
Half an hour later, Chen had the picture. In private express, SF was king. STO, YTO, ZTO were second tier. Yunsu was a struggling third-tier player, barely surviving.
No wonder I never heard of it past 2013. Squeezed out before the real boom.
His fleeting thought of helping Liao with resources vanished. Let the weak drown. The goal was a bargain acquisition when Yunsu was at its weakest.
They finalized the equity transfer, agreeing to meet with legal and finance teams the next day at the startup park.
"Your first time in Xucheng, Mr. Liao! Dinner is on me tonight," Chen said, the picture of warmth now that he'd gotten what he wanted.
"I wouldn't miss it! Until tonight," Liao laughed, slinging an arm around Chen as they walked out. To any observer, they were old comrades.
Liao consoled himself: losing 3% hurt, but gaining Chen Yansen as a friend was worth it. Better a friend than an enemy.
After seeing Liao off, Chen returned upstairs and called Wang Zihao over.
"Galaxy Star tonight?" Wang Zihao's eyes lit up with a familiar, mischievous grin.
"Yeah. Introducing you to Liao Wei, boss of Yunsu Express." Chen gave him the brief.
"Brother Sen… feels like a bad deal," Wang Zihao muttered, comparing the 6 million lawsuit to the 3% stake. In his mind, those shares weren't worth that much.
"Six million? We'd be lucky to get one in court." Chen rolled his eyes, citing several commercial defamation cases where maximum enforceable claims rarely exceeded 20% of the demand.
"Oh…" Wang Zihao nodded, beginning to understand. Chen wasn't after the 3%. He was buying a ticket into the express delivery game.
That night, Chen and Wang Zihao treated Liao to the Sky Garden, then moved the party to Galaxy Star.
Several rounds in, Liao was thumping his chest, calling Chen "brother," and loudly promising to show them the "imported talent" from the north on their next trip to the capital—a promise that made Wang Zihao's eyes gleam.
They partied until dawn, when Liao's assistant finally hauled him, staggering, back to his hotel.
The next morning, the third day of the New Year holiday, Chen Yansen—in his personal capacity—spent a symbolic 10,000 yuan to formally acquire 3% of Yunsu Express.
The FoxTao-Yunsu conflict dissolved. Chen deleted the critical Weibos, withdrew the lawsuit. The fake wine scandal was buried in a quiet exchange of benefits.
With that handled, Chen turned his focus to refining FoxTao's business plan: model, market, team, projections. For most his age, it would be a complex nightmare. For Chen Yansen, a veteran of multiple funding rounds and an IPO, it was just a matter of adapting his old blueprints.
While other FoxTao sellers scrambled for Lunar New Year promotion traffic, Brand Group's flash sales were multiplying.
On January 9th, 100 new brand sale events launched, featuring 300 flash sale items—a volume rivaling major shopping festivals.
Chen immediately decided to shift some lower-discount items to an 8 PM slot. Super Cashback would now have two daily flash sales: 10 AM and 8 PM.
However, nighttime traffic was thinner. Competition among merchants for those precious slots grew vicious, all desperate for traffic and sales volume.
An AUX air fryer, list price 499 yuan, started with a 45% commission. After several rounds of merchant bidding wars, the commission shot to a staggering 70%. Users would pay only half price.
Chen knew the game. These merchants were playing for two things: a spot on the Juhuasuan equivalent, and a boosted sales ranking in their Taobao category. The top organic search result for "air fryer" could bring tens of thousands of free visits daily.
Losing money on FoxTao could be recouped ten or a hundredfold on Taobao. Plus, Super Cashback's rebate model meant the user's visible payment was the official price, protecting brand value—a irresistible combo for merchants.
"Brother Sen, a JD.com store selling Sacon range hoods is offering 100,000 for the top slot in a Super Cashback flash sale," Zhang Yifeng reported as Chen finalized the business plan.
Super Cashback was barely a month old. The project team had never priced these ad slots before.
"Not for sale." Chen refused without looking up.
100,000 was tempting, but selling the prime real estate would sacrifice user trust and long-term platform revenue. A short-term loss.
Zhang Yifeng was visibly disappointed. His potential commission from that ad fee just vanished.
"Change the approach. Talk to more stores. Beyond range hoods, get small kitchen appliances, large appliances, bathroom fixtures, furniture. Build out the category. Let's launch a 'Home Renovation Festival,'" Chen said, glancing at him.
The kid had ability and drive, but his inexperience limited his vision.
"On it, Brother Sen!" Zhang Yifeng's spirits soared. If this worked, even half the success of the Metersbonwe sale (over 40 million) would mean a life-changing commission.
Money was the best motivator. Zhang Yifeng charged out, pulling Yuan Wei—who had the deepest merchant contacts—into a conference room.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the fake wine scandal had an unintended benefit: FoxTao's reputation in e-commerce circles skyrocketed. Combined with commission-based recruiting, high base salaries for category managers, and fat bonuses, a flood of resumes poured in.
Many were seasoned industry veterans. Some came for the high salaries, others because rumors swirled that FoxTao was about to close its Series A round. They came for the ground floor.
The tech team onboarded several engineers for search and algorithms. They streamlined the underlying architecture and implemented a data-driven ranking algorithm for the Super Cashback product pool, refreshing every 15 minutes to minimize human bias.
The merchant recruitment team exploded from 10 to 26. One new face was Hu Yongfan, the guy Chen knew from the gym. He'd shown up to the interview with his girlfriend in tow. Amused and annoyed, Chen hired him anyway.
The category operations team grew to 11, with nearly every major category now having a dedicated owner.
More people, but the same amount of traffic. The number of brand sales each person could launch daily shrank. Competition among merchant recruiters turned fierce.
Letting recruiters hold too much power wasn't ideal. This internal pressure cooker? Chen Yansen had engineered it.
A week later.
After internal deliberations, Tencent, IDG Capital, and Thinking Capital jointly decided to participate in FoxTao's Series A financing.
The news instantly sent shockwaves through the e-commerce world. Everyone was now asking the same question:
Just how high would FoxTao's valuation soar?