Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 104 The Visitor Who Touches the Treasure
Upon arriving at Chen Mo's general manager's office, Zhao Tiezhu, who was usually carefree and irresponsible, suddenly appeared somewhat bashful.

"Brother Chen," he rubbed his fingers together, his Adam's apple bobbing, "could you lend me some money?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Didn't we just give you eighteen months' worth of bonuses? You've already squandered them all?"

This kid's bonus over 18 months is almost 60,000 yuan, which is a lot of money!
Zhao Tiezhu didn't reply, but suddenly his eyes reddened: "My dad was diagnosed yesterday and needs surgery; there's really no other way."

Chen Mo remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "Is two million enough?"

"Huh?" Zhao Tiezhu looked up abruptly, his eyes flashing with shock. "That's too much! I have a little too, two hundred thousand would be enough."

"Cut the nonsense!"

Chen Mo interrupted him, grabbed the phone, and called the branch manager.
"Here's a 500,000 yuan transfer to you, kid. I'll give you a week off. Get on a plane and get the hell out of here. Don't leave me with those two cat pees dribbling around!"

Zhao Tiezhu instantly burst into laughter through his tears, rubbing his hands together and chuckling, "Brother Chen, you're like my own brother! From now on, if you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to chase a dog, I'll never chase a chicken."

"Stop it." Chen Mo waved his hand helplessly: "I'd be grateful if you didn't cause any more trouble outside."

Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head: "How could that be! Now that I've broken up with Sister Tian, ​​she'll turn on me as soon as I mention borrowing money."

The world of middle-aged people is just this realistic: feelings can be discussed, but lending money is out of the question.

"Sold out?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you want. By the way, who will take over the marketing department after you leave?"

Zhao Tiezhu immediately became serious: "Zeng Baifang, who came from Orange, is familiar with the supply chain and can handle it."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, thinking: "These parents gave him a name that sounds like 'earn a hundred directions,' almost making him a millionaire."

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes filled with trepidation: "Brother Chen, is it really okay for the company to come up with this money now? I see there's a lot of inventory piling up in the warehouse!"

"The company account has no money. I do have some!" Chen Mo tapped the table: "You think I'd embezzle money from company funds for you? You've got some nerve!"

Zhao Tiezhu stuck out his tongue and was about to turn around when Chen Mo suddenly called out to him.

"Who else besides you knows about the company's finances?"

Zhao Tiezhu was startled and hurriedly waved his hand: "Brother Chen! I didn't just ask around, I guessed it from the inventory in the warehouse!"

"Don't explain, just say who knows?" Chen Mo frowned and pressed.

"The cashier does daily and monthly reconciliations, and Sister Gong manages logistics, so I'm sure they both know the details. I really don't know about anyone else!"

Chen Mo leaned back in his office chair, tapping his fingertips on the table for a moment before saying, "Alright! You can go now!" He waved for him to leave quickly.

Chen Mo watched Zhao Tiezhu leave, humming a tune, and then turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling window—the North China Electronics Market was still bustling with people in the sunset, the roar of trucks unloading goods mixed with the shouts of merchants.

He ran his fingertips along the wood grain of the table corner, suddenly remembering the five million bonus in his personal savings account.

Even if all of it were poured into the company's account, it would only be a small fraction of the 30 million cash pool. Moreover, the dividends from the catalyst project wouldn't be available until the end of the year, which was far from enough to solve the immediate problem.

Chen Mo tapped his knuckles on the table and suddenly smiled.

Since this path is blocked, let's try three paths at the same time: financing, collecting payments, and negotiating orders.

At the same time, we have to grit our teeth and build a management framework for Orange Technology first—even if it's a makeshift team, we have to establish rules for finance and supply chain first.

At least they can buy themselves some breathing room before they can improve their cash flow.

The knocking on the door interrupted Chen Mo's thoughts.

"President Chen, it's time to take a group photo!" Gong Yun knocked lightly on the office door, and after receiving permission, she poked half her body in, holding a freshly ironed team T-shirt in her hands.

Chen Mo took the T-shirt from her hand, smiled and stood up: "Sister Gong, you go and get ready first, I'll be right there after I change!"

In front of the Orange Technology logo wall, warm yellow lights make the simple "CZ" metal letters shine brightly.

Suddenly, the little kitten in Gong Yun's arms let out a "woof" and its paws began to paw restlessly at her employee ID card.

"Everyone stand still!" Zhao Tiezhu stood on tiptoe to adjust the camera tripod. "The guy on the left in the second row, move your head closer to the middle!"

The marketing department's disassembly guy scratched his head and moved to the middle, with testing tools still tucked into his work pants pocket.

The logistics department interns lined up neatly behind Gong Yun, their T-shirts adorned with brand-new name tags.

Chen Mo, who arrived late, changed into the same T-shirt and quietly stood next to Gong Yun in the first row.
"When I count to three, everyone shout 'Orange!'" Zhao Tiezhu shouted at the top of his lungs, and then pressed the time-lapse button heavily.

The moment the red countdown lit up, he rushed back to Chen Mo's side like a whirlwind, grabbed his shoulder, and grinned, revealing his signature big white teeth.

"one two three!"

"Orange!" x20
Click~
The moment captured in this family portrait that is destined to be recorded in the history of Orange Company:

The kitten in Gong Yun's arms was startled by the sudden noise and its fur stood on end; the marketing guy was trying so hard not to laugh that his ears turned bright red; the logistics intern almost knocked over a plant in the chaos, and only half of his face was visible when he reached out to steady it.
Chen Mo, in the center position, had a slightly stiff smile on his lips, but the fleeting worry between his brows was precisely captured by the camera.

Years later, when this faded old photo went viral on a short video platform, netizens tried to understand the meaning of Chen Mo's image in the low-resolution video.

"Look at Mr. Chen's furrowed brow! Orange 1's monthly sales have already exceeded one million, and he still has such a sense of crisis. No wonder he's successful!"

Unbeknownst to anyone, at the moment the shutter clicked, the young leader of Orange Technology was preoccupied with: Where should he go tomorrow to find a "stepmother" to nurse Yuancheng back to health? The money-burning speed of the early production line debugging of this wasteful thing was almost draining Orange, its biological mother, dry!
When Chen Mo returned to the office wearing an orange T-shirt with the orange logo, there were still a few strands of fur that Xiao Mi had rubbed against the collar when they took the family photo.

The phone vibrated as soon as it was placed on the table, and the name of "Wang Teng (Touchbao)," the technical head of Touchbao Technology, jumped urgently on the screen.

"Mr. Chen, a colleague and I are currently in Shenzhen!" Wang Teng's voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat hesitant. "We'd like to visit your company sometime. Do you have the time?"

Chen Mo brushed the cat hair off his collar and raised an eyebrow.

Although Orange and Touchbao had previously collaborated on input method licensing, Chen Mo was still somewhat surprised that the other party suddenly showed up in Shenzhen today, saying they wanted to pay a visit.

However, since he was already here, Chen Mo didn't mind meeting the other party; he needed to know what it was about.

“It’s getting late today!” He glanced at the digital clock on the wall; the hands had just passed six in the afternoon. “Which hotel are you staying at? I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow.”

Wang Teng thanked him repeatedly and gave the hotel name. In the suite, He Jian was leaning against the window smoking.

After Wang Teng hung up the phone, he flicked off his cigarette ash, turned around, and asked, "How did it go?"

"They said they'd send a car to pick us up tomorrow!" Wang Teng tossed his phone onto the bed, stared at the ceiling, and sighed. "Brother Jian, do you really think Chengzi is willing to invest in us? Why don't we stop waiting and just pool our money and do it ourselves?"

He Jian silently stubbed out his cigarette; the frosted glass ashtray already contained five or six cigarette butts.

“We just settled the licensing fee of 60 last month,” he tapped the faxed cooperation agreement on the bedside table with his fingers: “We get 5 cents per unit, and based on the other party’s mobile phone shipments, they must sell at least 120 million units per month—a company like that shouldn’t mind this small investment!”

Seeing that Wang Teng was still hesitating, he lowered his tone and said, "I've already reached an agreement with Liang Jiawang. Let's part ways amicably. Listen to me, don't use your hard-earned money to start a business. There have been too many bloody lessons to be learned."

Wang Teng stared at the neon lights of the city outside the window, his Adam's apple bobbing but no sound coming out, and lit a cigarette for himself.

The next morning, Gong Yun and her driver parked a gleaming Buick GL8 minivan in front of the hotel.

The chrome car emblem gleamed in the morning light. Gong Yun got out of the car and walked briskly towards He Jian and Wang Teng on the steps. She gestured and said, "Hello, I am Gong Yun, the logistics manager of Orange Technology. General Manager Chen arranged for me to pick you up."

After a brief self-introduction, she turned to the side and pointed to the Buick GL8: "Please get in, we'll set off now." As she spoke, she opened the sliding door, and a faint fragrance of perfume wafted out of the car.

After the two got into the car, Gong Yun closed the door and returned to the passenger seat. After fastening her seatbelt, she told the driver to start the car. "Want some ice water?" Gong Yun took out two bottles of ice-cold mineral water from the car's mini-fridge, with tiny water droplets condensing on the bottles. "Shenzhen is hot and humid lately, it's easy to get heatstroke."

When Wang Teng reached out to take it, his fingertips accidentally touched her wrist, and he jerked his hand back as if he had been burned.

"I'm sorry!"

Gong Yun smiled gently and handed the water over again, not paying attention to this small detail.

He hurriedly caught the bottled water, his ears turning bright red. He stared down at the label on the bottle, his throat bobbing twice before he managed to stammer out, "Thank you." He then quickly turned his face away, his nose almost touching the car window, staring blankly at the scenery along the street.

The car stopped at the building entrance. Gong Yun rolled down the window, greeted the security guard, and drove into the underground parking garage.

"We've arrived!" Gong Yun got out of the car. "Please follow me, both of you!"

The four of them took the passenger elevator straight to the 12th floor.
At this time, the office area of ​​Orange Technology was a little deserted. Most of the marketing department was focused on the suppliers in the supply chain, and the only two field sales representatives were also expanding their local channels.

As for Zhao Tiezhu, after handing over his work to Xiao Zeng yesterday, he flew back to his hometown.

Chen Mo hasn't made up his mind to put the brakes on orange production yet, so he still has to keep an eye on the suppliers in the supply chain. Otherwise, it's easy to reduce production capacity in the short term, but it won't be so easy for the contract manufacturers to line up later.

Since Apple sparked the smartphone revolution, more and more people have noticed this blue ocean market, and countless companies have flocked to it, ensuring that contract manufacturers have no shortage of orders.

The moment the elevator doors slid open, He Jian and Wang Teng exchanged a glance, and their steps unconsciously faltered.

Gong Yun stepped aside to lead the way, pointing her fingertip to the logo wall at the front desk.

"Gentlemen, this entire 1200-square-meter floor is our Orange office, including the office area, storage area, and cultural and leisure area, all of which are independent."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Teng suddenly pointed to the first double-layered golden flower basket on the left side of the elevator entrance and exclaimed, "That's Lei Jun's signature!" The words "Respectfully presented by Lei Jun" were clearly visible on the ribbon of the flower basket, and the golden signature gleamed under the light.

He turned to look at Gong Yun, his eyes shining: "This was sent by Lei Jun, the Lei Jun from Xinshan?" His Adam's apple bobbed with excitement, and his toes unconsciously rubbed against the floor.

Gong Yun raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly: "Indeed, it was sent by President Lei through someone." Her fingertips brushed against the ribbon on the flower basket, her tone casual.

In fact, Lei Jun has not only sent people to deliver housewarming gifts—last month, this bigwig personally visited Orange Technology's old 20-square-meter office in North China, offering 100 million yuan for 30% of the shares.

At that time, Orange 1 had just made a name for itself and only had one production line. It was all thanks to Lei Jun finding out about Orange's gaseous lithium battery from someone that the other party decided to invest.

Wang Teng's fingers trembled slightly on the signature banner, as if touching the warmth of some kind of spiritual totem.
The man who once worked day and night in Zhongguancun, emptying all of Xinshan's savings to create the world's first set of office components and raising the banner of domestic software, ultimately failed due to a lack of skill, becoming a tragic hero whose efforts were ultimately in vain. Now, his fingertips touch across time and space in the form of a gilded signature.

Lei Jun was unaware that after the failure of the Pangu Project, he was depressed for half a year and became addicted to BBS forums. While chatting and exchanging ideas with netizens, he had already gained a little fan.

Lei Jun truly deserves the title of "succubus," as his power has even transcended time and space to affect Wang Teng.

Looking at the three characters "Lei Buss" on the ribbon, and then at Gong Yun's calm and collected demeanor, He Jian felt even more excited.

People have their own social circles, and big shots usually only associate with people of similar stature.

"Lei Jun! Hehe~"

Seeing Wang Teng's "silly look," He Jian coughed lightly and nudged his ribs with his elbow without leaving a trace.

The young man snapped back to reality, noticing the curious gaze of Manager Gong beside him, and his ears turned bright red.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just too excited. Mr. Lei is a guiding light in my life. I chatted with him on a BBS forum when I was in junior high school, and I learned programming by reading the books he wrote in my dormitory during college."

“I understand!” Gong Yun smiled gently. “Please follow me!” She turned and continued to lead the way.

She led the two through the open-plan office area, and as they passed the tea room, a cool breeze carrying a hint of coffee aroma wafted over them.

In the more than 800 square meter space, the workstations are neatly arranged, and the glass-partitioned meeting room lets in bright natural light.

Since the two were visiting on behalf of Chu Bao, Gong Yun gave them a brief tour and introduction.

Gong Yun pointed to the empty workstations and explained, "The left side is my orange's marketing department and supply chain team. They've been busy monitoring the supply chain and distributors lately, so all the staff have been sent out."

Then, she raised her hand to her right: "That's the storage area, with constant temperature and humidity 24 hours a day. It mainly stores the company's electronic products."

As Wang Teng passed by "Xiao Mi's Home," his eyes were drawn to the meowing Xiao Mi.

Gong Yun chuckled, waved at it, and introduced it to the two of them: "This is our Orange Company's mascot, employee number 4, Xiaomi. It's saying hello to you!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Teng immediately waved to Xiaomi: "Xiaomi! Hello!"

Xiao Mi tilted its head and licked its paws, ignoring Wang Teng, this "stranger".

"Haha! It seems Little Mimi is a little shy!"

With a gentle smile, Gong Yun led the two to the conference room, where a celadon teacup tapped softly on the solid wood table.

"Please have some warm water to soothe your throats!" She ran her fingertips over the rim of the cup, and the hot water steamed gently. "Please sit for a moment, I'll go and fetch Mr. Chen right away."

As Gong Yun turned around, her high heels tapped rhythmically on the floor before she thoughtfully closed the conference room door.

In the general manager's office.

Today, Chen Mo was going to receive Chu Bao's guests, so he specially wore a suit and tie to show that he was taking it seriously.

He rubbed his temples: "Thank you for making this trip, Sister Gong. This job should have been done by Zhao Tiezhu, but who knew something would happen to his family!"

Gong Yun waved her hand: "President Chen, you're exaggerating. This is just my job, don't say it's hard work!"

"What's the situation with those two?" Chen Mo leaned back in his office chair, twirling his pen.

“That He Jian is quite cunning and hard to fathom!” Gong Yun paused. “Wang Teng is interesting. His eyes lit up when he saw the signature on President Lei’s flower basket. President Lei is his idol.”

"Wang Teng?" Chen Mo paused, raising an eyebrow.

The red wheat one?

But that's not right. Before that kid joined Wheat, wasn't he Lei Jun's little black dog?

Seeing Chen Mo remain silent, Gong Yun added, "In short, He Jian seems like a businessman, while Wang Teng seems like a young man with a pure heart!"

Chen Mo understood her subtext: He Jian was shrewd, while Wang Teng was just a novice.

He straightened his tie and stood up.

"Okay! I'm confident now. I'll go and meet them."

As the hem of his suit jacket brushed against the office chair, Chen Mo suddenly chuckled—if this really was the "Red Wheat King Teng" from later generations, the scene would be quite amusing.

The arrival of Touchbao's CTO and product manager reminded him of the news of the founding team's split in his previous life.

When Wang Teng came alone, he couldn't figure out his intentions. Now that the two of them have come all the way from Shenzhen to visit him, saying it's to find a treasure, they don't even believe it themselves.

Unfortunately, Orange Technology's cash flow in its corporate accounts is tighter than its tie knot.

What if you want to keep employees, but you don't have any money in your pocket?
Chen Mo tapped his fingertips on the table. "Why don't we just make empty promises first? It doesn't cost any money anyway. Let's keep them here first."

(End of this chapter)