The 20 million yuan in stock options had one purpose: to lock down top talent and ensure the team stayed solid.
In a couple of years, every startup would be dangling "equity" like candy. Once Mogujie and Meilishuo got rolling, they'd be poaching mercilessly. This move would make his core team harder to steal and more expensive for rivals to target.
People like Yuan Wei, Zhang Yifeng, Chen Xu, and Hu Li would get options worth roughly 500,000 yuan each. If a competitor wanted them, they'd have to beat that number just to start the conversation.
From customer service reps to team leads—everyone got a slice, vested over two years in four 25% chunks. To get it all, you had to stick around.
After the meeting, Chen Yansen held back Yuan Wei and Zhang Yifeng.
"Starting February," he said, looking them over, "your base salary goes to 4,500. You're both team leads for the investment group. New hires get split between you."
"Thanks, Brother Sen!" Their faces lit up.
Yuan Wei, the veteran, felt a chill. This boss doesn't miss a trick. He'd have to be careful.
The investment group had 26 people but no clear leaders—by design. Promoting these two was a signal: perform well, and you'll rise.
Later, Chen Yansen had the drafted option agreements reviewed by Teacher Wang Jing for legality, then sent the final version to Xu Dan to distribute, sign, and file.
Walking down Xuelin Road, he texted Meng Jie while planning FoxTao's last pre-Spring Festival event: the Home Improvement Festival on January 18th.
Kitchenware, appliances, bathroom fixtures, lighting, furniture—70 merchants, over 500 products. Big names like Red Star Home Furnishings, Fotile, and TOTO were joining.
The preview page had already hit 100,000+ clicks, pulling in 800,000 yuan in ad revenue alone.
Need two more event planners, he noted. Product channels are key, but we can't skip seasonal campaigns.
"What's on your mind?" A voice broke his concentration. Meng Jie had tiptoed up behind him.
"You," he said, smiling as he slipped his arm through hers. They walked toward the gate like a pair of "bros."
The next morning, Xu Dan brought a thick stack of documents to the conference room.
Song Yuncheng was first. The agreement was in triplicate: employee, company, and VC files.
"100,000 shares?" Song Yuncheng's eyes widened.
"You were FoxTao's first employee. Designed the brand image. Headed design, customer service, and ops. Brought in 13 B2C platforms..." Xu Dan listed her contributions.
Based on the Series A valuation, FoxTao had 500 million total shares at 5.6 yuan each. These 100,000 shares were worth at least 560,000 yuan—and would rise with future valuations.
"25% vests every six months. If you leave early, the company may repurchase vested shares, or the buyback might wait until Series B or an IPO," Xu Dan explained.
"I understand." Song Yuncheng signed without hesitation.
Next came Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, Meng Xibo, and others. Their grants varied—generally over 30,000 shares, some hitting 100,000. Category leads got more than sales; sales leads got more than reps; customer service got the least but still 5,000 shares each (20,000–30,000 yuan worth).
The Home Improvement Festival launched at 10 AM.
Day 1 sales: 6.7 million yuan. Average order: 890 yuan. 7,520 orders. 70%+ were return customers—loyal users who trusted FoxTao's picks and prices, buying everything from kettles to fridges.
Day 2: 4.1 million. Day 3: 2.3 million.
Three-day total: 15.3 million yuan, gross profit 1.84 million. Zhang Yifeng and Yuan Wei were ecstatic, promising post-holiday feasts for everyone.
They'd each driven nearly a million in sales. At the top 5% commission rate, that was ~50,000 yuan each from this event alone. With daily brand group sales, hitting 100,000 yuan a month was within reach.
This lit a fire under the other merchants. Even factory-direct sellers, with workers on holiday, were pushing bosses to join the Spring Festival pre-sales.
A week later, on Lunar New Year's Eve, FoxTao closed for the holiday.
As Chen Yansen was about to leave, Song Yuncheng slid a small box toward him.
"What's this?"
"A birthday gift." Her voice was soft, almost secretive. His birthday was February 4th, during the holiday, so she was giving it early.
He'd reminded her once when she used his computer. She didn't dare forget.
He opened it. A black MCM wallet, probably over 1,000 yuan.
"Spending so big? Giving up on eating?" he teased.
"Don't want it? I take returns. Seven-day no-questions-asked." She held out her hand.
"I love taking advantage of the poor." He swapped his cards, ID, and cash into the new wallet, tossing the old one to her. "Here."
"Then… happy new year in advance." She paused, lips pursed.
"Miss me, just text."
She stared, silent.
He picked up his laptop and left.
Two hours later, Chen Yansen was in the back of a BMW 750 with Meng Jie, Wang Zihao driving them toward Chunshen.
"Damn it! Do I not exist? I'm full just watching you two!" Wang Zihao complained loudly.
"Zihao, I heard you're chasing your teacher. Bold!" Meng Jie teased, leaning on Chen Yansen.
"No! Don't listen to Brother Sen! Teacher Liu and I are just student and teacher!" Wang Zihao protested.
"Tch—" Chen Yansen scoffed. Since Liu Muyan lost her fiancé, Wang Zihao had been "studying" awfully hard.
Buzz— His phone rang. Not Song Yuncheng. He answered. "What?"
"Mr. Chen, Cai Yuhao and three of us started a game studio. Wondering if you'd consider investing?" It was Liu Wei, sounding hopeful.
They'd met briefly in Shanghai. After hearing about FoxTao's ~600 million Series A and ~3 billion valuation, they realized Chen Yansen wasn't a fraud—he was the real deal.
The four had some savings, but game dev was expensive. They remembered Chen Yansen's offer to invest.
"How much?" Chen Yansen agreed instantly.
Mihoyo hadn't raised much early on. Getting in now was a golden opportunity.
"You… you agree?" Liu Wei was stunned. They'd spent a week prepping a business plan and game proposal. He hadn't even heard it.
"Want me to say no first, then yes after your plan's ready?" Chen Yansen joked.
"No! That's fine!" Liu Wei laughed nervously.
"Name your number. Draft the equity agreement. My lawyer will contact you."
Chen Yansen knew Mihoyo's future value could hit 200 billion, but now it was just a tiny workshop. Liu Wei and Cai Yuhao would likely ask for a few million at most—the limit of their imagination.
"How about… 2 million for 10%?" Liu Wei ventured cautiously.
"20%," Chen Yansen countered.
He had money, but he wasn't foolish. A newborn Mihoyo wasn't worth 20 million.
On the other end, Liu Wei conferred with his partners. Cai Yuhao shook his head. Luo Chenghao gestured to agree. Jin Zhicheng mouthed 15%.
"Mr. Chen, we can only give 15% max. Otherwise, we'll find other investors," Liu Wei said seriously.
"Fine. 15%."
After pleasantries, Chen Yansen hung up and immediately called Sun Tongbo, a lawyer from Wang Jing's network.
"Mr. Chen, for commercial contracts, my rate is 5,000 per case," Sun Tongbo stated professionally.
"No problem. Handle this for me, Attorney Sun." You get what you pay for. Sun Tongbo worked at Tiancheng Law Firm, one of Shanghai's top ten.
"I'll keep you updated."
After specifying contract details, Chen Yansen hung up.
"Brother Sen, you're investing in a game studio?" Wang Zihao asked, having overheard.
"A few grad students from Shanghai Jiao Tong. Their game concepts are solid," Chen Yansen lied smoothly.
In his mind, he was already planning a separate investment company to hold his stakes in Yunsu and Mihoyo. Using his personal name was messy; putting them under Senhai's umbrella was worse.
Wang Zihao changed the subject to Spring Festival class reunions.
"Brother Sen, you going?"
"Who goes to those? You going?"
Wang Zihao grinned. "I'm a respectable person."
Clearly, he wasn't going either.