Chapter 517 - 380: Lao Ma, I’ll Put Up 5 Billion to Fight You. Friends or Enemies?

Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park, Office Building Nine.

Xu Zhenhui had a troubled expression. Faced with Chen Yansen’s demand, his brow furrowed, and his mind raced.

While there was a precedent for providing interest-free loans to specific enterprises, the amount usually didn’t exceed one hundred thousand.

But Chen Yansen was asking for a billion right off the bat, making him feel willing but powerless.

"President Chen, I doubt even Luzhou could offer a one-billion interest-free loan, could they?" Xu Zhenhui retorted.

"But building a Grade-A data center in Xucheng is an unplanned project for Orange Technology," Chen Yansen said with a shrug.

Xu Zhenhui pondered for a moment, then looked at Chen Yansen seriously and said, "Two hundred million as an interest-free loan, and the other eight hundred million as a low-interest loan. I can personally negotiate to lower the interest rate to 2.1%. In addition, we can provide another two hundred million in special funds to support you with broadband taxes, income tax, electricity subsidies, rent subsidies, and operating revenue subsidies. Mr. Chen, please believe in Xucheng’s sincerity."

Hearing this, Chen Yansen’s smile faded, and he began to think seriously.

Compared to Meng Yuanzhi, Xu Zhenhui’s support was clearly more generous.

As a coal and power base, Xucheng had abundant and cheap electricity, which could effectively reduce the operating costs of a data center.

They could then build a multi-layered power guarantee system with dual-circuit municipal power, diesel generators, and a UPS uninterruptible power supply. Even in the event of a regional power grid failure, the equipment’s operation wouldn’t be affected.

"Mr. Xu, Xucheng has a strong foundation in agricultural by-products, papermaking, and the light textile, footwear, and apparel industries. I imagine your support for this project wouldn’t diminish even if Pinbei Mall were to relocate," Chen Yansen said, weighing his words.

"President Chen, Xucheng has been planting rice for over a thousand years. We can’t rely on farming forever, can we?" Xu Zhenhui said with a wry smile.

After all, only with a data center and a cloud computing industry could they attract high-quality capital, technology, and talent to gather in Xucheng.

"Lao Zhou, pick someone to be in charge of liaison work," Chen Yansen said to Zhou Shouzhi with a faint sigh.

"Yes, Boss," Zhou Shouzhi replied with a nod.

"President Chen, does that mean you agree?" Xu Zhenhui asked, a smile on his face and a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"Just as you said, Mr. Xu, I’m practically half a Xucheng native myself. Of course, I should contribute to my hometown," Chen Yansen joked with a smile.

"Then, about the interest-free loan...?" Xu Zhenhui asked tentatively.

"Not a single cent less," Chen Yansen said with a straight face.

Xu Zhenhui gave a helpless laugh, but he was secretly relieved, though his smile was tinged with a bit of bitterness.

In his view, Senlian Capital was an internet giant originally nurtured in Xucheng, but Luzhou had snatched the fruit of their labor.

Afterward, Chen Yansen invited Xu Zhenhui to his office for tea, leaving Zhou Shouzhi and Xu’s secretary to handle the preliminary details of the cooperation.

「Meanwhile.」

In a conference room at the Pinbei headquarters in the adjacent Building Six.

Song Yuncheng, dressed in a light gray business suit, began slowly, "First, let’s review the number of major clients signed in the first and middle ten days of the month, their GMV contribution and industry share, and the contract fulfillment status for key clients."

After two and a half years of professional experience, Song Yuncheng was completely at ease in her work.

In front of Chen Yansen, she was the sweet and juicy Little Orange, but in the eyes of her subordinates, she was the shrewd and formidable Director of Key Account Investment Attraction.

"As of February 19th, we’ve added 12 new KA clients against a monthly target of 15, putting our progress 12% ahead of schedule. Major client transaction volume reached 1.33 billion, accounting for 8.3% of the platform’s total. Among the newly signed KA clients, three have not met the contracted first-month exposure, with a shortfall of 300,000 UV..." a department member who had been poached from Ah Li reported.

"Coordinate with the Product and Events departments. Add five more slots to the first screen of the ’Brand Select’ section to make up for the missing traffic."

Song Yuncheng made the decision on the spot, flipping through data reports like the January KA Client GMV Analysis, the Competitor KA Policy Comparison, and the Q1 Investment Attraction Target Breakdown as she spoke.

"Understood," the subordinate replied immediately.

"Continue," Song Yuncheng said with a wave of her hand.

If one were to observe closely, they would find that her mannerisms and tone of voice were remarkably similar to Chen Yansen’s.

With her current industry resources, connections, and professional abilities, even if she left Pinbei, she could easily secure a job with a million-yuan annual salary at Ah Li, Penguin, or Jingdong.

In fact, quite a few headhunters had tried to poach her, offering even more generous packages than Pinbei, but Song Yuncheng had never once considered them.

’Pinbei is my home, and Chen Yansen is the direction of my life.’

’That guy can be the absolute worst, always making me strike all sorts of embarrassing poses and wear strange outfits, but as long as Chen Yansen likes it, I’m willing to do it.’

She remembered it clearly: it was Chen Yansen who had handed her a stack of phone cards and given her the opportunity to work at FoxTao.

He had personally taught her product selection and business negotiation, pushing her to the position she held today.

「On the other side.」

After dealing with Xu Zhenhui and seeing him out of Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park, Chen Yansen had just returned to his office when he received a call from Ma Liyun.

"President Chen, I hear Kuai Pao is about to start its Series B funding round..." Ma Liyun said with a chuckle.

"Who told you that? It’s just a rumor," Chen Yansen cut him off directly.

Ma Liyun’s expression froze. ’What’s this kid playing at? Does he not want to let Ah Li on board?’

’Ah Li did indeed launch a food delivery business, and they’ve been cozying up with Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou Network, but that’s no reason to refuse me, is it?’

Lao Ma cleared his throat and gave a dry laugh. "President Chen, the cooperation between Ah Li and Senlian Capital has always been very pleasant. I’m personally very optimistic about Kuai Pao’s development."

"Oh, is that so? Then why did Juhuasuan bring in Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou Network, but leave out Kuai Pao?"