Chapter 667: Penguin and Sohu Video Merging? Expanding the Southeast Asian Market, Ah Zhe: Getting a Shampoo is Great

The Pinbei HR specialist asked.

“I can type, but I haven’t tested my speed,” Zhang Yang said truthfully.

“Give it a try.” The Pinbei HR specialist handed over their laptop, motioning for Zhang Yang to demonstrate on the spot.

Zhang Yang took the laptop. The screen showed a typing software with a passage of text on the left and an input box on the right.

He had played similar typing games in his high school computer class, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with it. His fingers flew across the keyboard.

In no time, he finished typing the 100-character paragraph.

71 words per minute!

The Pinbei HR specialist glanced over.

‘Not fast, but not slow either. An average speed. At least it’s good enough for a customer service role.’

“The part-time positions we have at Pinbei are in customer service, operations, and content moderation. The pay is 12 yuan an hour for all of them. You have to work a minimum of two hours a day and guarantee 50 hours a month. Operations is the most difficult, followed by moderation, with customer service being the easiest. Which department are you interested in?”

The Pinbei HR specialist asked.

‘Same pay, different difficulty?’

Most people would choose customer service, but after a moment of thought, Zhang Yang decisively chose operations.

“Not afraid of the hard work?” the Pinbei HR specialist asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s more difficult and has a higher barrier to entry, so the potential for future raises must also be the highest,” Zhang Yang said with conviction.

“You guessed wrong. For part-timers, there’s a difference in roles, but not in pay. Unless the big boss himself gives you a raise, you’ll be making 12 yuan an hour until you graduate,” the Pinbei HR specialist said with a teasing smile.

“What about after graduation?” Zhang Yang pressed.

“Not bad, you’re a smart one! The starting salary for a full-time operations position is much higher than customer service or moderation. If you’re skilled enough, you could be earning twenty or thirty thousand a month within a year or two,” the Pinbei HR specialist praised him.

“Thanks. I’ll take the operations department, then.” Zhang Yang’s eyes lit up, knowing he had made the right bet.

“Take this form, and download the Cloud Ship office software later. Someone will add you to a group chat. Your part-time schedule will be arranged around your classes, so you don’t need to worry about it affecting your studies. I hope we can become official colleagues in four years.”

the Pinbei HR specialist said with a smile.

Zhang Yang took the new hire orientation form, thanked them profusely, and then happily scurried back toward his dorm.

‘Fifty hours a month is 600 yuan.’

‘A hundred hours a month is 1,200 yuan.’

‘In his view, adding that to the living allowance from his parents, he’d have more money than he could ever spend. He couldn’t possibly spend it all.’

In just three days, Senlian Capital selected 300 part-time workers from the freshman class.

Although it was a large number of people, they were barely noticeable once dispersed among the various projects, departments, and teams.

In addition, Chen Yansen specifically set aside 100 part-time positions for students from low-income families, with teachers from each department responsible for submitting nominations.

Meanwhile, the recent university graduates who had entered Senlian Capital through spring recruitment had also begun to arrive at their posts.

Subsidiary companies like Orange Technology, Pinbei, Kuaipao, Cloud Speed, Gaode, and Byte had each recruited hundreds, or even thousands, of new employees.

A portion of these new hires were assigned to Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and the North American Region to handle market expansion for Orange Mobile Phones or operations for Mimo Short Video.

After paying his final year of tuition, Tang Zhenzhe dragged his suitcase and left Xucheng. Along with more than twenty other Orange Technology employees, he boarded a direct flight to Hanoi.

After they landed, their local colleagues led them to a high-rise apartment building leased by Orange Technology. The complex was equipped with elevators, security, a parking lot, a swimming pool, and a gym.

‘These accommodations are so much better than the school dorms!’

Tang Zhenzhe nodded in satisfaction. He took his key, returned to his room, took a shower, and changed into a set of fresh, clean clothes.

He was in Xucheng in the morning, and by afternoon, he was in Hanoi.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!

Just then, a knock came from the door.

Hearing the noise, Tang Zhenzhe immediately pulled on a pair of boxer briefs, ran to the door, and looked through the peephole. Only after seeing who it was did he open the door.

“Brother Bao!”

Tang Zhenzhe waved and gave Zhang Yubao a goofy grin.

“Took you long enough to open the door. Were you busy with some ‘handicrafts’ in there?” Zhang Yubao’s lips curled into a smirk as he teased him.

He was the business manager for the An Nan District. He was previously a channel director at ZTE, but when a headhunter told him Orange Technology was willing to give him a 30% raise, he immediately jumped ship.

A 30% raise might not seem that high, but Orange Technology offered overtime pay, quarterly bonuses, and stock options, with a guaranteed 16-month salary per year.

If his performance was outstanding, getting a 24-month salary each year wasn’t out of the question.

All told, his annual salary could easily break a million yuan!

“Brother Bao, you love to joke. I had a dozen girlfriends in college alone. Why would I need to rely on my hands?”

Tang Zhenzhe grinned, refusing to be outdone.

‘A dozen?’

Zhang Yubao was dumbfounded for a second, then chuckled. He muttered to himself, ‘This kid’s too thin-skinned; he just loves to brag.’

As an old hand, he could tell at a glance that Tang Zhenzhe was a “craftsman.”

But he didn’t call him out on it.

After all, the young man was the big boss’s classmate and roommate. Since the boss had entrusted him to his care, he naturally had to cultivate him well.

“Put on some pants. I’m taking you out to dinner,” Zhang Yubao said.

“Just the two of us?” Tang Zhenzhe asked.

He was a smart guy and knew exactly where Zhang Yubao’s enthusiasm was coming from.

“Wang Yajun, who’s in charge of online channels, is coming too,” Zhang Yubao replied.

He was the general manager for the An Nan Region, and he also handled market development for offline business. For example, he was in charge of communications with Mobile World and cooperation matters with Viettel and Vinaphone.

The former was An Nan’s largest offline retail chain, controlling 40% of the country’s mobile phone market share. If they successfully broke into this channel, Orange Technology would have a solid foothold in the local market.

The latter were An Nan’s most powerful telecom operators, who had their own physical stores and accounted for half of all smartphone shipments.

As for online channels, An Nan’s native TiKi platform was just starting out, and its output was limited.

“Alright, give me two minutes,” Tang Zhenzhe readily agreed.

He knew the other man was doing this for Chen Yansen’s sake, but Chen Yansen was his ‘sworn brother’ from another mother, and that connection was a part of his own strength.

‘No need to feel inferior, and definitely no need to be melodramatic about it!’

Immediately after, Tang Zhenzhe changed into a T-shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops. Led by Zhang Yubao and Wang Yajun, they expertly navigated to a barbershop.

“Ah Zhe, let’s get our hair washed first, then we’ll go for a big meal. It’s my treat tonight,” Zhang Yubao said with a grand wave of his hand.

Tang Zhenzhe looked up and felt his face flush.

Three young, beautiful women stood before him, wearing white tank tops and hot pants. He hadn’t spent a dime, but he was already getting half the show.

“Brother Bao, is this place legit?” Tang Zhenzhe asked in a low voice.

“Who comes to the legit ones?” Zhang Yubao said with a straight face.

“Hanoi, a man’s paradise. Just enjoy it,” Wang Yajun said, patting Tang Zhenzhe’s shoulder.

Three minutes later, Tang Zhenzhe braced himself and lay down, only to see two mountain peaks moving closer and closer.

“Getting your hair washed is great!”

Ah Zhe quickly grew to love getting his hair washed.

On the street outside, beautiful, lightly-dressed women would occasionally walk by. Tank tops, flip-flops, and electric scooters were practically the standard uniform in Hanoi.

The next day, Tang Zhenzhe followed Zhang Yubao into the Mobile World headquarters and met with their general manager.

Similar scenes were playing out in Siam, Jawa, and Luzon.

Along with them, Orange Technology’s direct-sale stores and after-sales teams also poured into Southeast Asia, entering a head-to-head confrontation with companies like Mountain Star, Apple, and LG in the overseas market.

The Qingcheng, Orange, and Yaocheng series corresponded to the low-end, mid-range, and high-end markets respectively. By relying on channels through telecom operators and digital retail chains, Orange Technology quickly established a presence in Southeast Asia.

Local users gradually began to develop a sense of trust in the Orange Mobile Phone.

…

…

「September 5th.」

The Xiaomi 3 was released, still priced at 1,999 yuan. It offered a choice between a Snapdragon 800 or Tegra 4 processor, and either the Aurora Future OS or Aurora OS. It was also equipped with the Deep Blue Battery, boasting a capacity of 4800 mAh, which could last over 16 hours under heavy use.

On the day of its release, sales broke the 300,000-unit mark!

Seeing this, many Orange Technology fans flooded Chen Yansen’s Weibo comment section, asking, “Where’s Orange’s new fall product? It’s almost winter!”