Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 114 Orange Walks Her Own Path

The VIP lounge at Shenzhen Airport is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Apart from the buffet staff, you can hardly see any passengers.

Chen Mo was dressed in casual backpacker attire, his sneakers making a rapid "clack-clack" sound as he hurried along.

Lin Junfeng, wearing frameless glasses and carrying a briefcase, was standing beside him in a sophisticated casual suit. He appeared unhurried, but in reality, he was keeping a close eye on him.

The one with high emotional intelligence followed closely; the one with low emotional intelligence said that the tall, handsome guy deliberately slowed down and walked behind Chen Mo to avoid stealing his thunder.

As soon as Lu Qingyue's $1 million arrived, Chen Mo couldn't wait to take action. He planned to go to Yingtian to have a good talk with Lu Laowu of Nietzsche.

This $1 million is equivalent to approximately 6.8 million yuan at the current exchange rate. Adding to this the 1.7 million yuan in cash that Orange Technology can utilize, Chen Mo now has a total of 7.8 million yuan at his disposal.

Although this amount is still far from the minimum valuation of 19 billion yuan for Nietzsche's 1200 directly operated stores, Chen Mo's trip was not to acquire these stores, but to "invest" in and save Nietzsche mobile phones.

After careful consideration, Chen Mo believed that if Nietzsche were allowed to go bankrupt now, Orange Mobile might indeed experience rapid growth in the rural market in the short term, but in the long run, this would not be conducive to Orange's long-term development.

Whether a mobile phone is good or bad is a subjective matter with many conflicting opinions, making it difficult to define clearly.

It needs a visual reference point to highlight its cost-effectiveness through comparison.

Just like many users in rural areas who have actually tried both phones, they say that the Orange phone is only a little more expensive than the Nietzsche phone, but its performance is much better.

This is similar to the marketing strategy of many fast food restaurants nowadays: a small 300ml cup of Coke sells for 3 yuan, and a large 600ml cup of Coke sells for 3.5 yuan. With such a clear comparison, the cost-effectiveness is obvious.

This is precisely the business logic behind the cost-effectiveness of comparing "basic" and "premium" models.

The Nietzsche phone uses the UI logic of Orange OS, so users can switch directly to the Orange phone without changing their usage habits.

Chen Mo's choice to act as a white knight to save Nietzsche's phone has three major benefits for Orange Phone.

Firstly, Nietzsche's direct sales channels can be shared by Orange Mobile, which can directly end the chaotic pricing system of strong channels in North China.

Anyway, the oranges at Nietzsche's direct-sale store in the township sell for 499 yuan each. If you can sell them for more than 499 yuan, then Chen Mo will accept it.

Secondly, Nietzsche can act as a gatekeeper in the rural market, helping Orange Mobile to strengthen its competitive barriers in the rural market and preventing other brands from stealing its market share when Orange Mobile launches a counterattack in the urban market.

If Orange were to target Nietzsche, it would be like a father hitting his son, a decisive blow. But if Orange were to target other unfamiliar brands, the situation would be entirely different.

Third, the Nietzsche phone's system UI logic is the same as the Orange phone's. This is actually cultivating potential users for the Orange phone. When users' economic conditions improve, they will most likely choose the Orange phone, which has the same operating logic as the Nietzsche phone.

Chen Mo led Lin Junfeng into the first-class VIP lounge, guided by the front desk ground staff.

At this moment, a dramatic encounter is about to quietly begin in the VIP lounge of Shenzhen Airport.

After checking in their luggage, Lu Qingyue led her intern assistant, Xiaomin, through security and headed towards the VIP lounge.

Soon, the two groups met face to face.

Lu Qingyue remained calm, her eyes subtly twitching like ripples on a still lake.

She took off her BOSA noise-canceling headphones, straightened her cuffs, and said softly, "Mr. Chen, it's fate that we met. Please sit down and let's chat!"

"Okay!" Chen Mo nodded slightly and chuckled at the reserved Xiao Min behind her, "Come on, let's go together!"

Then, he gestured to Lin Junfeng to follow.

Having lived two lives and witnessed his cousin display such a professional and elite side, he felt a strong sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.

Xiaomin blushed as her acquaintances laughed at her. She lowered her head shyly and gently tugged at the hem of her clothes.

Then, she took a deep breath, forced herself to look up shyly, met Chen Mo's gaze, and tried her best not to laugh out loud.

The designer women's business suit she was wearing was a welcome gift from Ms. Lu.

When the thank-you letters from the founders of the two drone companies arrived, Lu Qingyue, the cold-blooded "female devil" in Xiaomin's eyes, seemed to suddenly have an added halo, more like a wealthy princess who, though aloof, was not without warmth.

Xiao Min only realized what was going on when she overheard Lu Qingyue's phone call with his mother.

It turns out that Lu's mother is actually a senior director of Temasek Holdings in Singapore.

You should know that an executive director is just a high-level employee, while a director is the boss, and a senior director is the big boss who owns the shares.

The weight of this identity made Xiaomin immediately understand Lu Qingyue's natural aura and the occasional "little temper" he revealed.

After all, what princess wouldn't have her own temper?

What Xiaomin truly disliked was never genuine socialites like Lu Qingyue, but rather women who, despite not having the life of a princess, were plagued by princess syndrome.

With some time before boarding, the four of them found a private room with floor-to-ceiling windows, sat down on a champagne-colored sofa, and found an acrylic table in the middle.

Xiao Min suddenly jumped up, her eyes darting around: "How about I go get everyone drinks!" As she spoke, she winked frantically at Lin Junfeng.

Lin Junfeng was incredibly clever. He raised an eyebrow and immediately understood. A gentle smile appeared on his face: "Then I'll go help too!"

He followed Xiaomin out the door, heading in the direction of the refrigerator.
Once inside where they couldn't see each other, Xiaomin started nagging like a little adult.

"Your assistant is so clueless! Didn't you see I was trying to create opportunities for your CEO Chen and CEO Lu?"

Xiaomin clearly saw Lin Junfeng following Chen Mo and assumed he was an assistant like herself.

Lin Junfeng wasn't annoyed. He leaned against the upright freezer full of drinks and asked with a smile.

"You're trying to set up President Lu and President Chen, aren't you?"

"A cold, aloof princess from a top investment bank paired with a tech tycoon—that's how novels always go!" Xiaomin suddenly glared at him. "But you, dressed in a suit and combing your hair, trying to steal the boss's thunder, acting like a simp for the second male lead?"

"Haha! That's interesting, but little assistant, maintaining a good image for clients is my professional duty." He held a black and gold business card between his fingers and handed it to Xiaomin. "By the way, Mr. Chen just prepaid me 300,000 yuan for consulting fees!"

Inside the room, Chen Mo and Lu Qingyue sat facing each other, and the conversation quickly turned to the ever-changing landscape of the domestic smartphone market.

Lu Qingyue swiped her finger across the data model displayed on the tablet: "After the national subsidy policy is implemented, Kupa's market share is expected to reach 38%. What do you think, Mr. Chen?"

This conclusion shows that the data model of Morgan Stanley in Lu Qingyue's hands is actually quite accurate.

If Chen Mo didn't have memories from his past life as a reference, he wouldn't dare to assert that the other party was reaping the benefits by secretly competing with Yu Dong and Dian Xin, playing a double game.

Kupa's share of national subsidies was an exaggerated 42%. Chen Mo also knew that the national subsidies continued for three years, totaling 500 billion yuan, of which Kupa alone received 210 billion yuan. This was a treatment that even its own son, Zhongxing, did not receive.

Chen Mo leaned back on the sofa and chuckled: "After the national subsidy starts, it will definitely last for more than a year. Within the next three years, Coolpad will definitely dominate the domestic market, and the landscape of domestic mobile phones will most likely be 'Coolpad, Fantasy, and China'."

Lu Qingyue pressed further, "What about Orange Technology?"

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Then I guess I can only work in the second tier and small factories!"

He's not in a hurry. Orange's current cutting-edge technology is still too limited to carry the banner of a leading domestic smartphone brand. He'll wait for the second major smartphone market battle, when the era of Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo arrives, and then Orange can slowly catch up.

Lu Qingyue raised her eyebrows slightly: "I think President Chen spoke so casually, as if he didn't take Kopac seriously, but after Morgan Stanley's colleagues investigated, they believe that it is very likely to compete with oranges for a niche."

To put it bluntly, the overflow of production capacity after Kupai Guo's market replenishment could very well overturn Orange Mobile's dominance in the rural market.

“Miss Lu, please don’t be modest. With Morgan Stanley’s expertise, they probably already saw through Kopac’s weaknesses!” As he spoke, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table: “Miss Lu believes Kopac’s Achilles’ heel lies in…”

Their eyes met, and they said in unison, "Retail channels!"

Coolpad's retail channels were already the worst among "China Coolpad". However, this weakness was actually seen as an advantage by the operators, meaning that Coolpad would not slip out of their control.

In this way, after three years of making easy money through operator subsidies, its retail channels will only get worse.

After all, if there's an easy way to make money, who would want to work hard to earn it?
The two shared a deep understanding, one stemming from their market insight, and the other from memories of their past lives.

Lu Qingyue raised an eyebrow and brought up a new page: "Morgan Stanley has two betting options."

On the left and right sides of the screen are the logos of Fantasy and Chrysanthemum, respectively.

"Between domestic PC giant Fantasy and telecommunications giant Huawei, which company does Mr. Chen favor Morgan Stanley to invest in?"

"Nobody's optimistic!" Chen Mo tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Imagine making a mobile phone like Microsoft made a mobile operating system back then."

"You can't even use one-tenth of your full strength!" Lu Qingyue suddenly interjected.

She was already familiar with the shady tactics of Microsoft sending its own executives to Nokia's Cyberport as "undercover agents" only to be betrayed by their own people.

Chen Mo nodded: "This is a common problem for giants crossing over into other industries. They can't escape the constraints of their main business. They imagine they have 10 points of strength but can only use 1 point. Orange may only have 3 points of strength, but it can go all out."

橙子的3分实力：1分抢跑、1分成熟的“橙子4”配置、1分气态锂电池。

"The battle for dominance in the domestic smartphone market has begun. What's needed are pioneers who forge ahead and lead the transformation, while those shrewd speculators will inevitably be ruthlessly eliminated by the tide of time."

"What about Chrysanthemum?" Lu Qingyue suddenly zoomed in on the equity structure diagram of Chrysanthemum's terminal business: "In May of this year, they actively approached several funds to sell 49% of their terminal business equity. JPMorgan once offered 68 billion."

Her fingernails tapped on the bidding documents for Belleville and Silver Lake's acquisition, which had been halted by President Ren: "As long as the money is right, there's no door in this world that can't be opened."

Chen Mo's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed.

Where is the water that Xiaomin went to get?
If Sister Gong were here, that would be wonderful. Her faded canvas pocket is like Doraemon's magic pocket; she can always pull out what Chen Mo wants.

"Ahem!" Chen Mo coughed, then said, "If CEO Ren of Chrysanthemum is truly determined to make mobile phones, he will definitely burn through profits on R&D investment, employee incentives, and building a technological moat."

Lu Qingyue raised an eyebrow: "So... capital can't get a share?"

“When technological leadership becomes the chrysanthemum’s creed, distributing dividends to capital becomes a waste.” Chen Mo looked directly into her cold gray pupils: “It’s like when you were 18 and used a private equity fund to practice, did you want dividends?”

Lu Qingyue turned the tablet screen off, and suddenly the patent page for gaseous lithium batteries lit up.

After taking such a long detour, the test has finally come.

Lu Qingyue pointed to the molecular formula of the ground-state lithium polymer intermediate with her fingertip: "So, should the orange follow the path of the apple? Or the path of the chrysanthemum?"

A passenger opened the lounge door, and the faint hum of an airplane engine could be heard.
"Oranges! They're neither apples nor chrysanthemums; we'll go our own way!"

Just as Chen Mo was about to get up and say goodbye, Xiao Min suddenly pushed the door open and came in.

"President Lu! President Chen! We're ready to board our flight!"

The glass of the two adjacent covered bridges reflected the intersecting figures of two groups of people.

Lu Qingyue suddenly stopped and looked back before boarding the plane, just as Chen Mo, who was above, also looked over.

The two exchanged a glance and then boarded their respective planes.

In the exclusive first-class cabin of the Boon 747, Lin Junfeng handed Chen Mo a latte.

At that moment, Xiaomin was peeking at the other side through the porthole when Chen Mo turned around and saw her. His mood immediately lightened.

"Attorney Lin! You and the little girl went to get water, did you get lost?"

After learning that Lin Junfeng was Teacher Lin's nephew, Chen Mo strengthened his relationship with him. Now, Orange Technology's legal and patent issues are all resolved by this external consultant.

"Haha! She's teaching me how to be a good assistant!" Lin Junfeng swirled his coffee cup, took a small sip, and said with a smile, "Looks like President Chen's date didn't go smoothly!"

Chen Mo looked at the G550 that was already making its way through the bend opposite him and laughed, "Attorney Lin! You really dare to dream!"

I'm far too good for that; as expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Fortunately, although Chen Mo felt somewhat disgusted, he wasn't about to hold a grudge against a woman.

Hmph, that's just how magnanimous I am!

How embarrassing! After being flattered by Lu Qingyue, Chen Mo almost revealed all his secrets.

Fortunately, he managed to regain his composure in the end and salvage some face.

In the instant the clouds swallowed the wings of the G550, he didn't see the confidential Morgan Stanley email that popped up on Lu Qingyue's tablet:
[CC message: ED Miss Lu: Subject: Yuancheng New Energy's gaseous lithium battery has passed the procurement whitelist certification of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, procurement code: CND2010. See details below.]

Boon 747 landed on time, but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, with a light drizzle.

Chen Mo and Lin Junfeng enjoyed exclusive shuttle service as first-class VIPs. Although they were both flying, VIP treatment meant they could leave the airport faster than those in regular economy class.

So, did Bill Gates really not know that flying first class would indeed get you to your destination faster than flying economy?
Oh! He used to travel by private jet. That's fine then.

Outside the reception room at Nietzsche's headquarters, parts suppliers who couldn't get paid were making a ruckus.

Lu Laowu slumped in the leather sofa in the reception area, oblivious to the cigar ash falling onto his Hermès belt buckle.

The moment Chen Mo led Lin Junfeng through the door, he sprang up like a drowning person grasping at a straw.

"Mr. Chen! I'll get those goods in the warehouse right away."

"Production of the OEM 'X' machines will continue as usual!" Chen Mo slammed his hand on the coffee table piled high with debt collection letters: "Orange is saving Nietzsche through cash injection and extended payment terms, with only one condition."

Lin Junfeng quickly opened his briefcase and laid the equity transfer contract on the debt collection letter on the coffee table.

Chen Mo tapped the equity transfer section with his finger: "33.4% controlling stake, I want a shared channel, I want a veto right, and I don't want to interfere with operations!"

Lu Laowu's expression changed drastically, and he finally gritted his teeth: "But Jiang Yongde holds 49% of Nietzsche's shares and has colluded with Duowei."

Before he could finish speaking, his pupils constricted sharply—Chen Mo had actually dialed Lei Jun's number right in front of him and put it on speakerphone.
"Mr. Lei, how about using your seniority as an ammunition depot?" Chen Mo deliberately turned the phone towards Lu Laowu: "Yes! Yes! Bet 10% of Yuancheng's shares."

Lei Jun, who was on the other side, had successfully visited Lu Shiwa three times and was in a good mood. He even teased Chen Mo for once.

"Hey! Mr. Chen! You've already boarded the big Motorcycle ship, and you still look down on my little sampan?"

"Boss Lei! Who leaked the news?!"

"Haha! Mr. Chen is joking! Morgan Stanley has been making a big fuss about investigating the smartphone market in Shenzhen these past few days. Anyone who wants to make phones is eyeing their 'golden goose'!"

Then, Lei Jun laughed heartily and said, "If needed, Shunwei will fully support President Chen and have Attorney Lin draft a supplementary contract for Lao Xu. We'll set the interest rate according to the bank!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo rubbed his temples and smiled wryly.

Who spread this rumor? When did I ever try to climb the social ladder by marrying into Morgan Stanley?

However, now is not the time to think about this. Chen Mo turned around and reached out his hand to the dumbfounded Lu Laowu.

"Now! It's time for us to meet that General Manager Jiang! Oh, and Duowei too!"

(End of this chapter)