Chapter 571 - 410: 10 Billion Advertising Fee! Ma Liyun: What, You Want My Life Too?

Orange Mobile Phone, Pinbei, Orange Pay, Toutiao...

While the surrounding amenities were just average, his first impression of Senlian Capital was one of formidable strength.

Orange Mobile Phone: number one in shipments nationwide, sixth globally.

Pinbei Mall: 300 billion in annual sales, the second-largest e-commerce platform.

Orange Pay: a cumulative 160 million registered users, a stable 31 million daily active users, over 300 billion in its Yu’e Bao fund, and over 100,000 merchants using its payment codes.

Toutiao: 43 million daily active users, placing it among the top three apps in the news and information sector.

Tiangong Technology: a glance at its client list, which included the Huake Science Association, Apple, Huawei, and ZTE, was enough to prove its considerable strength.

And beyond Xucheng, there were products like Cloud Speed, Kuai Pao, Fast Taxi, Gaode Map, Ofo Bike, Mimo, and Xiaohongshu—all leaders in their respective industries.

This wasn’t just about catching the prevailing trends; it was as if he’d pocketed the source of the winds itself. He succeeded in every venture he touched, enough to make Lao Ma burn with jealousy.

Dressed in a crisp suit with polished leather shoes, Chen Yansen was showing Ma Liyun a great deal of respect.

After all, the man was here to line his pockets, so the treatment was naturally on another level.

President Chen had always been a pragmatist.

"Mr. Ma, welcome," Chen Yansen called out with a smile.

"It’s certainly quiet here," Ma Liyun remarked. "You call it a Software Park, but with no other companies around, it’s no different from having your own private headquarters."

"This place is too small. Once our Luzhou Headquarters is complete, you must come for a cup of tea, Mr. Ma," Chen Yansen said, guiding Ma Liyun as they strolled toward Building 9.

"Of course, but make sure you have good wine waiting, not just tea," Ma Liyun joked.

"This is the headquarters for Orange Technology. It primarily houses our R&D, marketing, operations, and e-commerce departments. Shall we take a look around first?" Chen Yansen asked.

"I don’t know much about the technical side, so let’s not waste your time. Let’s just go to your office and get down to business," Ma Liyun said with a wave of his hand.

He might have sounded humble just then, but back at Ali Headquarters, his attitude was completely different.

In reality, business tycoons are no different from ordinary people: they treat you based on your status.

If you had wealth, status, and influence, even the likes of Xiaoma and Lao Ma would have to shamelessly suck up to you.

Even if you were spouting nonsense, they would find a way to make it sound reasonable.

Conversely, if you had no status or position, no one would give you the time of day no matter how well you spoke—in fact, you’d be lucky not to get chewed out.

Chen Yansen smiled. He was more than happy that Lao Ma was focused on efficiency.

The Market Department had long since prepared promotional materials with the advertising rate cards for products like Mimo, Toutiao, and Lingxi Browser.

Of course, the quotes were typically inflated by 50 to 100 percent. They would give some ground to those who haggled and seize the opportunity to fleece those who weren’t concerned about the cost.

Standard procedure, nothing more.

Ma Liyun wanted to boost Ali Baba’s transaction volume one more notch before its IPO. This was in hopes of securing a higher valuation, which would make it easier to raise capital from the North American stock market.

As a result, Lao Ma wasn’t a tough negotiator. Chen Yansen easily secured an annual framework agreement worth 10 billion Hua Yuan—8 billion in advertising fees and 2 billion in e-commerce commissions.

This business would be split among Mimo, Toutiao, and Lingxi Browser.

"Mr. Ma, don’t be in a rush to leave this afternoon. I’ll arrange another round of entertainment for tonight," Chen Yansen said generously.

’For a client worth 10 billion, another dinner is hardly a loss.’

’What, are you trying to kill me?’

Ma Liyun shook his head, refusing while grumbling to himself.

The reason he gave was that he had to return to Hang City that afternoon for a high-level executive meeting.

Seeing this, Chen Yansen had no choice but to drop the matter and personally walked Lao Ma to his car.

’I could use a dozen more clients like that!’

Eyes narrowed in satisfaction, President Chen returned to his office and resumed his work improving the architecture of the Celestial Craft A100, occasionally calling in Mike and Wu Shengyu to discuss the plans.

But less than two days later, word reached Liu Qiangdong on the other side of the ocean that Ali and Senlian Capital had signed an annual advertising agreement worth over ten billion.

’President Chen, I thought we were supposed to be brothers in arms!’

Handsome Dong was utterly dismayed, so furious it felt like a punch to the gut.

’Jingdong could already barely compete with Ali. With Senlian Capital’s user traffic thrown into the mix, how could they possibly stand a chance?’