Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 175 The show begins

Jinqiu Jiayuan residential community, Zhichun Road, Haiding District, Beijing.

In a slightly messy residential house, the air was filled with the smells of instant noodles and code.

Zhang Yiming, with his baby face, couldn't contain his excitement. He pointed to the balance of his corporate bank account displayed on his laptop screen and said to Li Angbo, his former roommate from Nanjing University, who was sitting next to him.

"Bozi, look! Chengzi's 800 million arrived in his account half a month ago. It was worth it for the 10% shares!"

Li Angbo leaned closer to the screen, staring wide-eyed at the long string of zeros, and slapped Zhang Yiming hard on the shoulder.

"Damn it! Why didn't you rent a better place? You made me stay in a cheap house for almost half a month!"

Zhang Yiming smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm terrified of being poor, I wouldn't dare waste a single penny!"

You should know that he had to beg his wife to buy him the Apple 4, and the Apple Companion was won in a giveaway by Orange's official Weibo account.

Having seen the "money," Li Angbo felt much more at ease and immediately became full of enthusiasm:
"Now our 'Internal Anecdotes' has enough material! Quick! Hurry up and call Secretary Zhou. The app has been tested and optimized, and it's just waiting to be launched and promoted. Let's strike while the iron is hot!"

"Alright, alright! Let's fight!"

After Zhang Yiming reassured his old classmate by using the balance in the company account, he was also very excited and quickly rummaged through a pile of documents to find that exceptionally high-quality business card.

The eco-friendly matte material with an orange-white gradient has a delicate touch, and the Orange Technology logo is simple yet full of technological sense.

Zhou Yumeng

General Manager's Secretary

Telephone: 1369-XXX-XXXX (Work Hotline)
Email:[email protected]
Address: 12th Floor, Huabeiqiang Electronics Building, Futian District, Shenzhen

He took out his Apple 4, which was covered by an Apple Companion protective case, and hesitated for a moment between the dialer and the email icon.

Li Angbo urged anxiously, "Sending an email is too late, just call! Hurry up!"

Zhang Yiming took a deep breath and dialed the work hotline.

The call was quickly answered, and Zhou Yumeng's clear and capable voice came through: "Hello, this is Zhou Yumeng from the General Manager's Office of Orange Technology!"

"Hello, Secretary Zhou! This is Zhang Yiming, Zhang Yiming from ByteDance!"

Zhang Yiming tried to make his voice sound calmer: "Our Android version of 'Internal Anecdotes' has been fully tested and optimized, and has been officially submitted to App Store for review!"

"Yes! We'd like to trouble you with this. As we discussed with Mr. Chen, could you please arrange some promotional resources for us on App Store?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yumeng's voice sounded more professional and calm after more than two months of adjustment.

"Okay, Mr. Zhang, I have received your message. I will follow up immediately and contact the App Store team to implement the promotion. Please keep your communication channels open, and I will notify you of any progress!"

"Thank you so much, Secretary Zhou!" Zhang Yiming thanked him repeatedly, hung up the phone, and excitedly high-fived Li Angbo in celebration.

Outside the office of the general manager of Orange Technology on the 12th floor of the Huabei Qiang Electronics Building in Shenzhen.

Zhou Yumeng put down the phone, gathered her thoughts, and gently knocked on Chen Mo's office door.

"Enter!"

Zhou Yumeng pushed the door open and said, "President Chen, Mr. Zhang Yiming from ByteDance called. The 'Neihan Duanzi' app has been developed and submitted to App Store for review. He asked when the promotional resources can be launched."

Chen Mo was looking at a report titled "A Panoramic Report on the Evolution of the Domestic Smartphone Market from January to May" provided by Wang Kai of the market research team when he heard this. He looked up and smiled.

"Oh? He's pretty quick. Okay, you can follow up on this. It'll be a good opportunity to practice your cross-company coordination skills!"

He waved his hand, signaling Zhou Yumeng to go ahead and do it.

"Okay Mr. Chen!"

Zhou Yumeng nodded seriously and left the office.

Back at her workstation, Zhou Yumeng swiped her phone and immediately spotted the number of He Jian, the general manager of Chengbao upstairs.

"Hello, Mr. He, I'm Zhou Yumeng." Her voice was clear and bright, carrying a hint of the sharp and capable demeanor she had just displayed.

"The 'Internal Anecdotes' that Mr. Chen previously invested in has just been submitted for review. Mr. Chen specifically instructed that we need to arrange for splash screen ads to be tested on the App Store as soon as possible, as well as promotion in key positions!"

He Jian on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment, his tone revealing a hint of unease: "Secretary Zhou... about this matter..."

He paused, as if considering his words.

"Our new version of the splash screen ad slot went live a week ago, and the schedule is already fully booked. So, the free trial app with splash screen ads that Mr. Chen mentioned has finally arrived?"

The words sounded like a sigh of relief, but the ending carried a complex feeling of "why didn't they come sooner or later," along with a hint of resentment that President Chen had arranged for the splash screen ad resources to be given away for free with just a word. These words drifted over the phone line.

He Jian certainly wouldn't dare use such a tone with Chen Mo, and he could only suppress his dissatisfaction, after all, she was just a "junior secretary."
Zhou Yumeng understood the unspoken meaning perfectly and subconsciously pursed her lips.

Normally, she might have thrown a little tantrum in this situation, but at this moment she maintained a standard professional smile, her tone still gentle yet firm.

"Mr. He, you've worked hard! Mr. Chen values ​​the promotional effect of this project very much. I mentioned reserving a test slot to you half a month ago. Now I can only trouble you to coordinate it again!"

"Alright, alright, I understand!" Knowing he was in the wrong, He Jian sighed, a hint of compromise in his sigh: "I'll think of a way."

The phone had barely rung twice when Zhou Yumeng tapped her fingertip lightly on the table, a hint of smug satisfaction flashing in her eyes. She had managed to get another thing done on her own, without having to ask President Chen to pressure her.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Zhou Yumeng, the little hamster, secretly opened the drawer and rewarded herself with a bag of potato chips!
It has to be said that Zhou Yumeng, the secretary, has really grown a lot in the past two months. From being driven to tears by various tricks by the "executives" of the Orange Group at the beginning, she can now handle things calmly!
As Zhou Yumeng cried and cried, she realized that wiping away tears wouldn't solve the problem, but she didn't want to give up her monthly salary of over 20,000 yuan as the general manager's secretary and go back to working as a receptionist earning 3000 yuan.

So Zhou Yumeng began to study the personalities of the various executives in the Orange Group and how to get along with them.

Mr. He from Chengbao is quite shrewd and likes to shift responsibility to others. As long as he doesn't pursue past responsibilities and just skips over the main issue, the other party will most likely agree!

As for reporting to Chen Mo, even though Zhou Yumeng is rather naive, she understands that President Chen would not fire He Jian for such a small matter. If she still needs to coordinate work in the future, she cannot do that!

It's worth noting that Chen Mo gave her the employee number "009" precisely to help her "keep things under control".

Otherwise, how could a secretary with an actual rank of only "team leader" and no respectable title keep those "regional officials" in check in the Orange Group?
The struggle between the interests of parent companies and subsidiaries is like a power struggle between the central government and local authorities. It's not that the central government can make decisions on everything. When there is a conflict of interest, conflicts will arise.

The more capable a regional official is, the harder it is for the central government to control him; however, if you don't send capable regional officials to manage the subsidiaries, they won't be able to develop.

Just like this time, Orange Investment's "Neihan Duanzi" wanted to give Taobao a week of free splash screen ads, and Chen Mo was just doing a favor.

The price of Taobao's splash screen ad slots has now risen to 120 million yuan per day, and demand still exceeds supply.

In this way, Chen Mo was essentially using Orange Treasure's 840 million yuan in advertising revenue to do favors for Orange's investment projects, and in the end, he didn't actually profit from Orange Treasure.

He Jian, the "regional governor" of Chengbao, naturally harbored resentment.

Thus, what was originally a minor conflict between the parent company and its subsidiaries transformed from an undercurrent between Chen Mo and the subsidiary executives into an open crisis that Zhou Yumeng had to confront.

Those powerful officials from the Orange Group didn't dare to directly provoke Chen Mo, but they naturally didn't give this young girl a friendly look.

Strangely enough, since Zhou Yumeng took office, the tense relationship between Chen Mo and Yuan Cheng Xu Mingyuan has eased considerably.

Chen Mo was also wondering: Could it be that Sister Gong had figured something out and that's why she specifically instructed him to have Zhou Yumeng coordinate the subsidiary's affairs?

From this perspective, Zhou Yumeng, the secretary, may seem to have risen to the top overnight, but in reality, she does thankless and arduous work that is easy to incur resentment from others.

In addition to coordinating with Orange Group executives on a daily basis, I also have to urge them to submit summaries and financial reports every quarter.

Having dealt with these powerful officials repeatedly, they felt that this young girl was "abusing her authority," and they had long harbored resentment towards her.

Even Director Feng of Orange Science and Technology, who came from a long-established state-owned enterprise and was considered relatively "mature," treated her with politeness but also with a sense of distance.

However, what gave Zhou Yumeng some comfort was that within Orange, there were at least three people: Chen Mo, Zhao Tiezhu, and Gong Yun.
Meow meow meow?
Uh... no, it's the four giants backing them up.

Zhou Yumeng enjoys genuine "senior management" treatment, and within Orange's internal headquarters, no one dares to give her a hard time, so she doesn't have to constantly put up with being mistreated.

On the 13th floor of Huabei Power Station, in the Chengbao office on the right, He Jian rubbed his temples and called over the technical director, Wang Teng.

"Wang Teng, the 'test app' that President Chen personally selected has arrived. It's called 'Neihan Duanzi,' a humorous text-based community. If it's approved, check the backend and put it on the splash screen ad and at the top of the text-based app charts. It has the highest priority!"

Wang Teng nodded: "Understood, Brother Jian! It's no big deal, I'll arrange for the technical team to keep an eye on the review progress right away!"

He then changed the subject and smiled.

"By the way, Brother Jian, I have some good news! I've poached that browser team I mentioned to you before. They come with their own projects, and the completion rate is very high. Our 'B' plan (Browser) can be launched immediately, saving a lot of development time!"

When Chengbao was founded, Chen Mo's strategic plan was: to focus on mobile infrastructure applications and use games to provide cash flow.

Mobile infrastructure is categorized into seven types: A, B, C, D, and E by Orange Treasure.

A: App Store (AS)

Orange Treasure already has the highest market share among all apps.

B: Browser (BRW)

To be developed.
C: Communication Services (CS)

There's a QQ chat option, but no plans yet.
D: Dynamic Mapping Services (DMS)

We have Kailide, but there are no plans for it at the moment.
E: E-commerce (ECS)

There is a Taobao baby, but no plans at the moment.
F: Mobile Payment System (FPS)

There is a Fubao product, but no plans to use it at the moment.
G: Global Social Network (GSN)

There's a new wolf on Weibo, but no plans yet.
Currently, among the seven major mobile infrastructure applications (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), only A—the app store—is dominated by Orange App Store itself, while B—the browser—has no major players.

Data from App Store's backend shows that two third-party browsers have appeared on App Store this year.

One is VC Browser, and the other is Opera Browser, with market shares of 19% and 11.4% respectively. Both browsers are growing by 70 users per day. The other is the native Android browser, whose market share is constantly being eroded.

There is no absolute giant among the third-party Android browsers on the market, and the user growth momentum is rapid, which has given Orange Treasure an opportunity to enter the market.

Moreover, the team Wang Teng poached this time came with a mobile browser project. Upon hearing this, He Jian's furrowed brows finally relaxed a little: "Oh? Really? Take me to meet them!"

Wang Teng led He Jian to the conference room, where three programmers were sitting. Their average age was over forty, and what was most striking was that all three of them had shiny bald heads, exuding the calm and composed aura of senior programmers.

"Brother Jian, this is Cheng Kun, the core of the browser project. These two are Niu and Ma!"

Wang Teng enthusiastically introduced, "Brother Cheng, this is He Jian, the general manager of our Chengbao!"

The two sides shook hands and exchanged pleasantries warmly.

He Jian got straight to the point: "Brother Cheng, I've heard so much about you! Wang Teng told me your project is very well completed? Could you give me a brief introduction? VCs and Oupeng are really making waves in the mobile browser market right now, we need to hurry!"

Cheng Kun and the other two exchanged a glance.

As middle-aged people who have been working in the internet industry for many years and have just gone through "optimization", they have their own rhythm of negotiation and will not be as rash as young people, directly revealing their secrets.

Cheng Kun, as the representative, spoke calmly and unhurriedly.

"Mr. He, the project schedule is fine, but before that, we three old guys have a favor to ask: we'd like to discuss job security first!"

He took out a prepared letter of intent.

Long-term employment contract: Requires a contract with no fixed term of 15 years or more.

Additional clause: No layoffs are permitted except for gross negligence.

If the contract cannot be fulfilled due to company reasons (business adjustments, layoffs, etc.), compensation of 2N+3 months' salary for the unfulfilled years must be paid (far exceeding the statutory standard).
Looking at the terms that could be described as "elderly care security," He Jian instantly understood the demands of these three people.

They didn't come here to start businesses and fight for survival; they came with mature projects to "land" and seek stability!
Although the conditions are demanding, the thought of immediately filling the gap in Orange Treasure's mobile browser business is incredibly valuable in terms of saving time and opportunity costs.

He pondered for a moment, then decisively made the decision: "Sure! As long as the project is indeed as you say, can we talk about it now?"

Seeing He Jian readily agree, Cheng Kun and the other two breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Not everyone in their forties has the opportunity to start a second business like Lei Jun.

Cheng Kun and his two companions lacked energy, resources, and connections. If they hadn't been desperate, they would never have started a business. Naturally, they used the "X" project to pledge their loyalty to Cheng Bao and then use it to support themselves in their old age.

Cheng Kun explained: "The project is codenamed 'X'. Its core development concept is minimalism. The installation package is only 1MB. It has built-in ad filtering and script extensions, and focuses on privacy protection and efficient browsing experience."

The team consists of just the three of us. Our core technology is independently developed, has completed testing, and is ready to be packaged and uploaded for review at any time.

He paused, then added, "Oh, by the way, we've already registered two software copyrights for the core privacy mode and ad-filtering engine."

This statement not only showcased the three's technical skills but also subtly reminded Orange not to try and steal the credit.

He Jian and Wang Teng exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

With a file size of only 1MB, it's a killer feature on mobile devices where 30MB of 3G data costs 5 yuan these days!

As for ad filtering
He Jian's heart skipped a beat. This was something that could offend people, but he couldn't worry about that right now.

"The project is fantastic! It perfectly aligns with Orange Treasure's mobile infrastructure strategy!" He Jian immediately approved: "Welcome the three of you to Orange Treasure. The contracts will be signed according to your requirements. Cheng Ge, you will be the team leader of our 'Orange Treasure Browser' project team!"

After signing the weighty "elderly care" contract, He Jian and Wang Teng couldn't wait to experience the "X" project.

As Cheng Kun said, it is indeed compact, fast, and the privacy mode and ad-blocking functions are intuitive and easy to use.

Wang Teng exclaimed, "This 1MB file size will definitely carve out a niche for itself in the market!"

He Jian stared at the "ad filtering" option, his brows furrowing again.

"This thing is a double-edged sword. Let's use it first! If the advertisers sue us, Orange's legal team will cover for us!"

He then thought of a more pressing issue: "But Wang Teng, now there's a problem. 'Neihan Duanzi' is about to have its first appearance on the opening screen, and 'Chengbao Browser' also needs to rush to launch and claim its spot."

"We only have one splash screen ad slot in our app! The category recommendation slots have limited traffic-driving effect and are simply not enough to go around. Every day the browser is delayed, VC and Oupeng's user barrier becomes significantly higher!"

Left with no other option, He Jian had to pass the buck back to Zhou Yumeng, asking her to consult Chen Mo.

With limited resources, should we prioritize promoting "Internal Anecdotes," personally selected by General Manager Chen, or our own strategic mobile infrastructure application, "Orange Browser"?
Orange Technology, General Manager's Office.

Zhou Yumeng reported He Jian's problem and the background of Cheng Kun's team to Chen Mo in detail.

When Chen Mo heard that Cheng Kun's team was attracted by his reputation as a "sucker" who "splurged 800 million yuan on a young upstart" at Lei Jun's party, he was stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Huh? There's such a chain reaction?" He leaned back in his chair, finding this rather interesting.

He was well aware of the potential of that "X" project, especially the mode that made users feel like they had control over their privacy, but was actually just psychological comfort, and its 1MB size.

After a moment's thought, he instructed Zhou Yumeng:
"Tell He Jian to immediately apply for patents and supplementary software copyrights for the browser's two core functions, privacy mode and ad filtering, in the name of Chengbao!"
If their legal team is insufficient, go directly to Lin Junfeng in the company's legal department and ask him to fully cooperate!

Zhou Yumeng quickly jotted it down: "Okay, Mr. Chen, then... what about the priority of promotion?"

Now it was Chen Mo's turn to have a headache.

Zhang Yiming's "Internal Anecdotes" is the seed he planted, with huge future potential. However, the browser is a key link for Orange Treasure to complete its mobile infrastructure ecosystem. VC Browser is gaining momentum, and being a step behind may mean missing a good opportunity.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, weighing the pros and cons.

"How about this!"

Chen Mo ultimately made a decision that seemed like a compromise, but in reality tested his operational wisdom.

"For the next week, the app's splash screen ad slot will push 'Neihan Duanzi' for 12 hours during the day and 'Chengbao Browser' for 12 hours at night."

The ranking positions and category recommendations are also adjusted according to the emphasis of this period.

Let's see the market reaction and data feedback first, then let He Jian handle the weighting himself!

Zhou Yumeng was slightly surprised by the "day and night management" plan, but immediately agreed: "Understood, I will inform General Manager He right away!"

Not long after Zhou Yumeng left, she knocked on the door again and came in to report on the browser's patents and software copyrights.

"Mr. Chen, Manager Lin has given us feedback that it's difficult to apply for patents for interactive concepts like 'privacy mode' and functional logic like 'ad filtering,' as they are easily circumvented."

However, the software copyrights for the two core engines that Cheng Kun applied for earlier are valid.

Supervisor Lin strongly suggested that before vigorously promoting 'Orange Treasure Browser,' Cheng Kun's team must change the copyright holder of these two software copyrights or grant exclusive authorization to Orange Treasure Technology to avoid subsequent ownership disputes and ultimately benefiting others!

Chen Mo nodded; Lin Junfeng had considered everything very thoroughly.

"Yes, that's a good reminder! You should immediately inform He Jian that the software copyright ownership issue must be resolved right away. Before the ownership is clearly transferred to Orange Treasure, promotion can be warmed up, but large-scale resources should be held back for now."

He doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of some companies that used resources to make their applications popular, only to have the core technology founders start anew and sue them.

"Yes, Mr. Chen!" Zhou Yumeng accepted the order and left.

The office fell silent.

Chen Mo stood up, holding the "Comprehensive Report on the Evolution of the Domestic Smartphone Market from January to May" handed to him by Wang Kai, and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the bustling crowds and traffic of the Huabei Qiang Electronics Market downstairs, creating a vibrant and bustling scene.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the scene before him, seeing the Orange 2's June launch and the new elimination rounds it would face in the smartphone market.
In January, Meizu M9 VS HYC G10
In the battle between a cost-effective flagship phone and a high-end business phone, the HYC G10 is slightly outselling its competitors.

Comparison inevitably leads to hurt.
HYC is eliminated!

In February, Motorola ME860 vs. Samsung Galaxy S5830.
Motorola started strong but then faltered, ultimately losing to Triple Crystal.

In March, the Fantasy Music Machine 1S VS the Vivo V1
The remaining stock of the Fantasy Music Machine 1 was given a quick upgrade to the shell to clear out inventory, and then it was brutally beaten by the Blue Factory V1, a ruthless and inexperienced newcomer!

Fantasy Music Machine 1S, out!

In April, Tianyu W700 (Ali Cloud OS) was launched.

This month's only surviving child is a month that many Chinese people find somewhat unlucky in April, but...
The boss of Tianyu is in Macau, the R&D director is in Beijing, and the senior executives with real power are making a last-ditch effort to save the company.

Yes! Tianyu is the first phone to feature the Ali Cloud OS system!
Unexpectedly!

When smartphones were all the rage, Ali Group actually developed a smartphone operating system.

Before the release of the Hongmeng system by Chrysanthemum, the Ali OS system, which is based on Linux, became the only domestically produced mobile system certified by relevant domestic departments.

In May, HYC G14 vs. Zhongxing V880
The knockout stage is underway.
But the result speaks for itself: with billions in subsidies from the operators, Zhongxing absolutely crushed HYC.

HYC, this fence-sitting "three-surname slave," has messed up. Due to being strangled by Microsoft, Google, and 360 in the overseas market, it is losing a lot of money and urgently needs the domestic market to recover!

Last year, the company's differential treatment of domestic and foreign screen manufacturers ruined its public image. It was eliminated from the domestic market in January this year, but it rushed back in May.

What it doesn't know is that every time a manufacturer is eliminated, it causes a group of domestic consumers to hesitate and gradually lose market expectations.

Chen Mo was very cautious, making sure that Orange 2 was ready before going into battle, as the elimination rounds were very brutal.

The Orange 2 mobile phone has entered the mass production stage at the OEM factory and will be officially released in June, entering the fiercely competitive domestic market.

Meanwhile, in the mobile internet arena, "Orange Racing" and "Orange Run" are already ready to be released in conjunction with Orange 2 to showcase the performance of motion-sensing control hardware.

The production lines of Orange Innovation, Yuancheng, and Orange Technology are humming, tirelessly transforming materials, batteries, gyroscopes, and eccentric motors into the "ammunition" for Orange mobile phones that are about to hit the market.

The brothers have paved the way for their big brother. If he doesn't live up to expectations and gets eliminated by the market, what's the point of making smartphones? He should just give up and go to bed. Let the brothers go ahead and sell their stuff.

Under Chen Mo's overall planning and Zhou Yumeng's multi-party coordination, all subsidiaries of the Orange Group were fully mobilized in May, working intensively on the upcoming launch of the Orange 2 mobile phone.

A hopeful smile appeared on Chen Mo's lips.

The orange seeds that were broadcast previously have already sprouted, and the stage has been set up for Orange 2.

The show is about to begin!

(End of this chapter)