Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 108 The Gaze of Capital

Downstairs from the rented apartment.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

After Zhao Tiezhu squeezed into the back seat of the Mercedes-Benz S (W221), he shoved a piping hot steamed bun into Chen Mo's hand without saying a word, and then tapped the back seat of the driver in front.

"Xiao Li! Take me to the company first, then take General Manager Chen home!"

Then, Zhao Tiezhu turned his head with a grin.

"Brother Chen! Once I get my pilot's license, I'll fly my plane to pick you up every day!"

"You should get your lousy driver's license sorted out first, then I'll have Sister Gong get you a car!"

"Pshaw! I don't care about learning to drive a car. I'd rather learn to fly a plane!" Zhao Tiezhu took a bite of his steamed bun and asked curiously, "By the way, Brother Chen! Why don't you take a plane back?"

Chen Mo's eyelids twitched as he looked at the oil stains on the boy's hands, which dripped onto the brown carpet at his feet.

"There are no direct flights to our area!" Chen Mo was speechless. "Your hometown is thousands of miles away from Shenzhen and you still have flights, but my hometown is only 700 kilometers away and I still don't have any. Where can I complain about this?!"

Zhao Tiezhu grinned carelessly: "Then you can take the high-speed rail!"

"It's not even finished yet! How am I supposed to take the high-speed rail?" Chen Mo said helplessly.

At that time, the special train for cattle and horses from his hometown to Shenzhen was still under construction.

Zhao Tiezhu sipped his soy milk and mumbled, "Shenzhen isn't connected to your hometown by plane, and there's no high-speed rail either? What kind of lousy planning is this!"

He suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "When I'm rich in the future, I'll buy you an airline and open a special route to your hometown!"

A soft chuckle came from the driver's seat, followed by a quick return to a serious demeanor as he focused intently on driving.

"Why not buy a private jet?" Chen Mo sighed, "Your employees are always trying to make empty promises to the boss, you're really something else!"

After dropping Zhao Tiezhu off at his company, driver Xiao Li drove Chen Mo back to his hometown.

Chen Mo sometimes really doesn't understand why some people work so hard driving for two or three days, only to go back and show off. Aren't they tired?
He is more like the type of person who is high-profile in his work but low-profile in his personal life.

Just then, Chen's mother called: "Son, your second aunt said that Xiaomin also arrived at the provincial capital train station today. Didn't you say that someone would drive you back? Why don't you go and pick her up on your way?"

Chen Mo said it was no problem and told Xiao Li to take a detour to the provincial capital's train station to pick someone up.

Amidst the crowds at the provincial capital's train station, Chen Min stood out like a thorny white rose, exuding an aloof and unapproachable aura. Even the aunties soliciting customers wouldn't give her a second glance.

"Let's go, Xiaomin!"

She stared at the Mercedes logo for three seconds.

Chen Mo snapped the suitcase shut and put it directly into the trunk.

"Thank you for your trouble, Third Brother!" Her voice was even colder than the car's air conditioning.

Chen Mo tried to lighten the mood: "Are you getting used to life at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics? How about..."

"I've graduated!" she interrupted, swiping her phone screen to show a photo: "Internship offer from Morgan Stanley."

Chen Mo's words, "Come work for my company after you graduate," stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them out loud.

Is this the first academic achiever in the Chen family to get into a 211 university? He's definitely not from the same planet as this good-for-nothing who dropped out of graduate school halfway through. He can get into a Fortune 500 company by working hard.

As the car drove along the bumpy county road, Chen Mo saw her secretly rubbing her palms, which were red from being squeezed by the suitcase.
Well! This is the cute little girl with a slightly stubborn streak that he remembered!
Under the locust tree at the village entrance, Chen Mo had just told the driver, Xiao Li, to leave when Xiao Min suddenly spoke up.

"Third brother! Are you worried that poor relatives will try to take advantage of you?"

Before Chen Mo could explain, she answered her own question: "I understand, I would have done the same!"

The two walked into the village along a shortcut with rice stubble on both sides of the paddy field. Chen Mo stared at her white canvas shoes. This girl, who was going to intern at a Fortune 500 company, still had bits of rice straw on her feet.

The aroma of cured meat wafted from the Chen family's kitchen.
Having lived two lives, Chen Mo had almost forgotten how long it had been since he had returned home. Standing at the door, he felt a mix of emotions, both familiar and apprehensive, and hesitated in front of the courtyard, carrying local specialties.

It wasn't until Chen's mother called out "Baby" and rushed over that Chen's father, limping, hid behind the stove in the smoke.

"Mom! What's wrong with Dad?"

"Your dad!" Mother Chen laughed through her tears, patting her apron. "It's all because of you. The village was having a dragon boat race, and the big boss who sells soy sauce said he'd give 20,000 yuan to any pickpocket if our village came in first, so your dad went."

"And then you hurt your foot?"

"Where? They sank the dragon boat and were forced to kneel in the ancestral hall. Your father twisted his ankle there, but the doctor said it's nothing serious and he'll be fine in a couple of days!"

Hearing that everything was alright, and that he had twisted his ankle while kneeling in the ancestral hall, Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle.

Mr. Chen's face flushed red, and he tried to explain, but it only made things worse: "Your mother is making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm fine. She just has to take me to the doctor and make a big fuss about it."

When Chen Mo's eyes welled up with tears, his mother mysteriously pulled out an account book.

"Your dad secretly paid off more than 60 yuan of the 6 yuan you borrowed from your relatives this year. My dear, you're shy, don't be afraid of being chased for repayment. Let's go home when it's time. Your dad misses you, even though he doesn't say it!"

Chen Mo was both touched and proud: "Mom! Dad! I've already made hundreds of millions. I'll pay off all the debts when I come back this time. I will never let you lose face in the village!"

Chen's mother thought he was just trying to save face, so she gently tapped him: "Little rascal! Stop bragging!"

"I really made a fortune! I've made nearly a hundred million from making mobile phones!"

Chen's mother joked, "Alright, alright! I believe you, my dear. You give us some first, so we can benefit from your generosity! Haha!"

"Okay! Mom! Give me the passbook. I'll go to town tomorrow to transfer money to your passbook and also withdraw some to pay off the debts of our relatives!"

Seeing Chen Mo speak so confidently, Chen's parents looked somewhat skeptical.

The next day.

Chen Mo stared at the glaring green signboard of the mobile phone store in town, where people were queuing up.

What brand is this phone? Is it selling so well?
"We are a factory direct supplier of Nietzsche smartphones. Each one is only 399 yuan, and we only make 10 yuan profit on you. Buying it is a steal!"

Amidst the cacophony of loudspeakers, Chen Mo grabbed a demo unit to try it out.
Uh... isn't this just an Orange branded "X" machine?
Chen Mo was afraid he had made a mistake and caused a misunderstanding, so he turned the machine back on to check.
If you swipe the desktop with your fingertip, it's only about 60% as smooth as the Orange 1. The phone system is indeed based on a simple logic of desktop → application, and they haven't even fixed the battery reserve bug yet!
The shop assistant in the green uniform waved her phone in front of Chen Mo, who was staring blankly into space: "Sir! Would you like to buy something?"

Um... if I'm not mistaken, the salesperson was using a white Orange 1.

Chen Mo couldn't help but ask, "Where did you buy this orange phone?"

The shop assistant pointed to the green storefront sign above.
"Then I'll buy a Nietzsche phone. Tell me where in town I can buy an Orange 1!"

"Sir! Would you like a stylus?"

Chen Mo exclaimed in surprise, "I definitely want this resistive touchscreen!"

"The phone is 399, the stylus is 99, and the total is 498."

Chen Mo was speechless. It was normal for a OEM machine with a cost of 199 to sell for 399, but a pen with a cost of 2 to sell for 99 was...
What a profiteer!
But he still readily paid.

The shop assistant, who received a commission from Chen Mo, told him, "If you want to buy an Orange phone, you have to go to Hualian Supermarket!"

Chen Mo first went to the credit union, transferred one million yuan to his family's savings account, then withdrew more than one million yuan in cash and put it in his backpack before going to Hualian Supermarket in town.

The supermarket counter was crowded with people.

"Oranges, 1,699, no bargaining!" the salesperson said arrogantly.

Chen Mo heard the middle-aged woman, who was already slicing through an orange, mutter, "This orange is good! Ten times more fluent than that Nietzsche, it's worth it!"

Chen Mo squeezed to the front and asked curiously, "It only sells for 499 in Shenzhen, why are you selling it for so much more?"

The salesperson waved his hand impatiently: "Our oranges are high-end and in high demand. If you think they're too expensive, go buy a Nietzsche orange!"

High-end goods?
Chen Mo was full of questions. When did Orange Phone become a high-end product? How come I, the boss, didn't know?
He wanted to ask more questions, as this was related to the future sales of Orange phones and his own research and development.

"Hello! Isn't this Orange phone positioned as a mid-to-low-end product? How come it's considered a high-end product? Hello."

Unfortunately, the sales clerk ignored Chen Mo completely because he was only looking and not buying.

Chen Mo also splurged, slapping a stack of 30,000 yuan in cash on the counter: "Give me thirty units!", which immediately drew the salesperson's attention.

"There are only twenty-five units left. Would you like to leave a deposit?"

"Then twenty-five units!"

Chen Mo simply paid the money and continued to ask for the reason.

The teller then revealed the truth:

The Orange 1 sells so well that their supermarket can sell over a hundred units a week. They then mark up the price when getting the goods from wholesalers, and with shipping and warehousing costs, they can't make any money unless they sell it for 699.

Furthermore, this so-called "high-end product" is entirely due to the contrast provided by its counterpart, "Nietzsche," a smart device gatekeeper.

Chen Mo fell silent for a moment. It seemed that if he wanted to standardize the price of Orange phones in the future, he would have to establish his own vertical channel!

At this moment, a customer came to buy oranges, but upon learning that Chen Mo had bought them all, he had no choice but to leave his phone number and deposit with the salesperson.
Chen Mo suddenly realized that when the stall owners in Huabei Qiang used the mission he had given to Orange 1 as a "bargaining chip," this high-tech phone equipped with a gaseous lithium battery was trapped in a price cage drawn by others.

Those affordable, cutting-edge technologies that should have been aimed directly at the opponent's throat have become "dull" due to the markups by layers of intermediaries, making them unable to deliver a devastating "technological destructive" effect in rural markets.

Look at Nietzsche, which has its own stores. It sells resistive screen phones and styluses for 498 yuan, and it still thrives in rural markets.

Expecting the middlemen selling oranges to have any integrity and earn a limited profit for themselves is just ridiculous!
It seems we still have to build our own distribution channels. We have to do it, otherwise all our hard work in controlling costs to create affordable, high-tech smartphones will just be a waste of time and effort for others.

When technological advantages meet channel constraints, Chen Mo has to think of more ways to break the deadlock.

The cost of physical stores is too high; how about we try e-commerce channels instead?

Although Orange Technology has now formed a three-person e-commerce operation team, which can sell more than 4000 mobile phones a week, it is not even a fraction of the 5 units shipped per day by the strong distribution system in North China. At best, it can only be considered a channel that is better than nothing.

Call ~
Opening physical stores???
We just found a new owner for Yuancheng and fixed our cash flow, so we don't have any spare money to spend a lot of money and effort building offline stores.

Chen Mo held the Nietzsche phone, which he had just unpacked. This piece of junk cost less than 200 yuan to produce, yet these people managed to make more money than Orange by maintaining a uniform price through their offline stores. Where could he possibly reason with that?
As he pondered the future distribution channels for Orange Phones, he walked back to his own courtyard.
Before entering the house, he shook his head.

Forget it! Let's deal with the distribution channels later when the company has more funds.

When seven zeros appeared out of nowhere in Chen's father's bankbook, the enamel mug crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

"Slurp~" Chen Mo unzipped his backpack and handed it to his mother.

Looking at the stacks of cash in her backpack, she asked, her hands trembling, "Son! You...you robbed a bank!" Chen Mo gestured to his arm, somewhat speechless, "Mom, why would I rob a bank like this?"

"My little one! What do you make in your little workshop that's so profitable?" Chen's mother asked curiously.

She simply couldn't understand what business, besides robbing banks, could earn hundreds of millions in just two months.

Chen Mo pulled out an Orange 1 and handed it over: "Here, this is the phone I made!"

Chen's mother suddenly exclaimed, "We saw this phone at the supermarket in town. It cost 699 yuan. So it was made in your little workshop, my son. Your father said it was too expensive when he went to the market and didn't buy it. You can just get a Nietzsche phone from now on."

Chen Mo was even more speechless. You are my parents. Why don't you use your own Orange phone and instead use another brand? Is that reasonable?

“That Nietzsche model is also one I made, I just put someone else’s brand on it, the cost was only 170,” Chen Mo handed her the Nietzsche model as well.

Her hand trembled as she poked the screen with the stylus: "You made Nietzsche too?"

"Well, I guess that counts!"

Upon receiving Chen Mo's affirmative reply, Chen's mother couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Son! The profit margin in the mobile phone business is so high, no wonder you said you made hundreds of millions. Your dad and I thought you were joking!"

Chen Mo wanted to say that oranges weren't as profitable as Nietzsche's, but he was afraid of worrying his parents, so he could only nod against his will.

"We're riding the wave of smartphones right now, and those who are early adopters are sure to make money easily. We just don't flaunt our wealth, so we'll keep a low profile."

Mr. Chen finally spoke up: "Doing business is like making money today and losing money tomorrow. We'll keep this money for you to make a comeback. Focus on your business and don't worry about things at home!"

Chen Mo patted the backpack containing the money and waved his hand.

"Mom! Get the account book and tell the relatives that I paid back the money today!"

Chen's mother immediately laughed and joked, "That's great, it saves your father from worrying about balancing the accounts every day."

When they heard that Chen Mo was repaying his debts, all the relatives who had lent him money came to visit.

As Chen Mo dumped the million-dollar cash onto the octagonal table in the courtyard, his father suddenly swung his cane to shoo away the chickens and called to his mother.

"Shufen! Shufen! Close the door! Close the door!"

As dusk fell, yellowish light bulbs illuminated the courtyard.

Chen Mo patted the mountain of banknotes on the octagonal table, and every move he made captivated everyone's attention.

"I will pay back all the money I owe you this time, with interest!"

Holding up a brand-new Orange 1 mobile phone, he said, "For those who are willing to leave their money with me, I will set up a family investment fund when I have more money in the future, and distribute dividends to you every year according to your investment ratio."

Favor debts are the hardest to repay.

Chen Mo has already set the rules, so whether you make a profit or a loss in the future depends entirely on your personal choices now, and no one can blame you.

"The ledger! I have the ledger here. Everyone come to me to check it before you collect your money!"

Holding the ledger, Chen's mother felt a pang of regret at the exorbitant interest rate. After all, even loan sharks only charge 14% these days, while theirs was a whopping 66%. But to save face for her son in front of others, she readily paid the money.

"My third aunt borrowed 18,000 yuan, and Old Chen counted out 29,880 yuan for her."

Relatives immediately flocked over, lining up in front of the eight-immortal table to receive their money.
"Third Aunt! Do you have any twenty yuan in change?"

Chen's mother was doing the accounting, while Chen's father was counting the money for everyone.

In the courtyard, after receiving the money, the relatives didn't forget to praise Chen Mo for being successful. He then handed him an orange and a cell phone, which made the relatives smile even more broadly.

Auntie hesitated for a moment, then stuffed the IOU from Chen's father back into Chen Mo's hand: "Sanwazi, I trust you, so I'll exchange the money for your dividends!"

Chen Mo casually handed his second aunt an Orange 1 mobile phone and comforted her with a smile.

"Second Aunt! Don't worry! You won't have to worry about Xiaomin's dowry from now on!"

Although Chen Mo was unsure how much the family fund would distribute as dividends in the future, he was certain that investing in Orange Group companies would be a sure-fire way to make money.

"Xiao Chen! How is this supposed to be Nietzsche?!"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Uncle! This is my last one, give it back if you don't want it!" as if he was about to take it back.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the uncle quickly took back, saying, "This is a token of your appreciation as a junior. If I don't accept it, wouldn't that be disrespectful to you?"

"Haha!" He chuckled and looked up. His uncle was as fond of taking advantage of small things as ever.

At that moment, Chen Mo happened to see Xiao Min holding her second aunt's arm behind the crowd, the light illuminating the fleeting smile on her lips.

When my second uncle passed away, my younger uncle tried to seize their house, and that's how the feud between the two families began.

Think back to how formidable Xiaomin was when she was little, biting off half of her uncle's flesh in one go. She'll definitely be even more formidable when she grows up, and plenty of people will be able to handle her.

"Son! All the debts, principal and interest, have been paid off!"

Chen's mother handed him the ledger containing a pile of IOUs.

"There's still so much left!"

Chen Mo noticed that the money on the table was still there, and slapped his thigh with the ledger.

"We'll slaughter a pig tomorrow and invite the whole village, young and old, for a feast. There'll be plenty of meat!"

Immediately, everyone in the village was talking about who was richer, him or the owner of the soy sauce factory in town, but no one could say for sure what kind of business his small workshop in Shencheng was doing.

Three days later, Chen Mo had dinner and took a walk along the ridges of the river. The setting sun dyed the river surface an orange-red.

"Whose kids are you? What time is it? Why are you still in the water? Get home right now!"

Chen Mo snatched a thin stick from the group of children, chased them away from fishing in the river, found a relatively clean patch of grass to sit down and enjoy the breeze, and then turned around...
"Wow! Our Chen family's future elite of Wall Street is even personally carrying manure to irrigate the fields?"

Xiaomin put down the manure bucket by the edge of the field, sat down on the grass next to him, and put her hands on her knees.

"Back when you were cornered in the alley by thugs, who came to your rescue with a brick in hand?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and casually plucked a blade of grass, chewing on it.

"When Little Fatty came to warn me, wasn't I just trying to rescue you? Who knew you'd already run away, you little brat? You used to be so cheerful, why do you always have such a cold face now!"

A gentle breeze ruffled her bangs, and she suddenly looked at the distant mountains on the opposite bank of the river: "If you have a cold face in Shanghai, you can't survive."

Ok!

Chen Mo bit off a blade of grass: "If you can't make it here, come to Shenzhen and find me. I'll make you the chief financial officer."

"Haha! You care about orange trees?" She finally laughed, the river breeze ruffling her bangs.

The next day, Chen Mo asked his driver, Xiao Li, to pick him up at the village entrance, and also gave Chen Min, who was leaving home, a ride.

Two days later in Shanghai.

In a Morgan Stanley conference room, a young woman lightly tapped the table with her crescent-white fingernails in the cool light of the projector.

"Miss Lu, welcome to Shanghai!" the blond man, Eric, said with a smile.

“Eric Wilson!” The young woman threw the documents on the table: “On behalf of the board of directors, I am relieving you of your position as Vice President of the Asia Pacific TMT Group—your holding of TouchPal shares on behalf of others and abusing your power for personal gain is enough to send you to jail. From today onwards, I will take over your work.”

"NO! NO! Those vultures on the board shouldn't be treating me like this!"

Eric, devoid of his usual gentlemanly demeanor, roared and slammed his fist on the table, displaying his incompetent rage.

In this contest, Li Gan of Chu Bao won with Liang Jiawang, and Eric lost. It's that simple.

The young woman remained unmoved, raising her hand and waving: "Now! Pack your things and leave!"

Eric, the vice president in charge of the TMT group for the Asia Pacific company, has been removed from his post. Miss Lu, an executive director parachuted in from Wall Street, will be in charge of the Asia Pacific TMT group – the smartphone and new energy technology industry group, leading the IPOs, strategic investments and cross-border technology mergers and acquisitions of early-stage technology companies in this sector.

Although she is only 25 years old, she is one of the youngest executive directors (EDs) promoted by MS through exceptional promotion. She is known as Miss Iceberg by her peers on Wall Street. In the past three years, she has participated in projects with a total investment of over 30 billion US dollars.

Now, a golden opportunity has presented itself to these newly arrived interns. Miss Lu, a newcomer, needs an intern assistant familiar with domestic affairs.

Outside the door, Chen Min watched the intern running away crying, clutching the file folder tightly, feeling a little nervous.

"Next!" A cool female voice came from the office.

Chen Min quickly got up, knocked on the door, and went inside.

“I don’t care what your name is. Connections, resources, special abilities, anything goes.” Miss Lu tapped the file on the table with the nib of her pen: “Prove your worth in three sentences.”

Xiaomin hugged her file folder, pursed her lips, and suddenly recalled the boasting her third brother had told her by the river.

"The Orange phone, which features super-fast charging, sold over one million units in twenty days, with a gross profit margin of 13.7%!"

She suddenly took out her phone, turned on the screen, and saw a photo of her and Chen Mo taking place by the river at sunset.

"The owner of Orange Phone is my cousin!"

Miss Lu suddenly closed the file: "Okay! You've been accepted. Go book your plane ticket now."

She lightly tapped the table with her crescent-shaped white fingertips: "Tomorrow we'll go to Shenzhen to investigate the domestic smartphone market, and while we're at it, we'll also check out that Orange Phone company you mentioned."

The glass curtain wall reflected Xiaomin's taut back and her hands, which trembled slightly with excitement: "Okay! Miss Lu! I'll get right on it!"

"At the company, you can call me General Manager Lu; at other times, you can just call me Miss Lu!"

"Okay! Mr. Lu!" Xiaomin's spirits lifted immediately; she had succeeded.

Internships and vice president assistant internships at Morgan Stanley may seem similar, but their job levels and compensation are worlds apart.

Ordinary interns are merely peripheral figures who handle documents and serve tea and water, acting as the most inconspicuous cogs in the massive financial machine.

The vice president's intern assistant, on the other hand, gets direct access to core projects, attends high-level meetings, and participates in confidential business discussions. Not only is their salary and allowance doubled, but their recommendation letters for future promotion are also highly valuable, making them a golden stepping stone to getting a permanent position on Wall Street.

　I forgot to pay the electricity bill yesterday, and the power went out at 1 a.m.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)