Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 187 Intercepting and Cutting in Line
In Room 3006, Building 2, Henglong Plaza, No. 1366 Yingtian West Road, Shanghai, the office of Shen Nanpeng, founder of Hongshan Capital, is filled with the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee beans.

He was intently using the tamper to evenly press the finely ground coffee powder into the filter basket of the espresso machine, his movements precise and ritualistic.

Suddenly, the office door was pushed open almost impolitely.

Li Ming, the investment manager in charge of this project at Hongshan, rushed in with Sun Jiang, the founder of Qiandaifu, looking anxious.

Knowing that President Shen detested subordinates losing their composure, Li Ming immediately suppressed his rapid breathing and reported in a calm but fast-paced tone: "President Shen! There's been an unexpected situation with the payment license!"

Shen Nanpeng seemed not to hear, and calmly put the filter bowl on the machine and started the extraction.

Watching the dark brown coffee slowly flow into the cup like honey, forming a rich layer of crema, he then picked up the perfect espresso, turned around, and walked back to sit on the sofa in the reception area.

He took a small sip, savoring the rich aroma of the coffee crema, then gently placed the cup on the coffee table. Only then did he raise his gaze, sweeping over the two tense-looking people standing in front of him.

Li Ming remained relatively calm, though beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Sun Jiang, the founder of Qianbao Pay, seemed somewhat at a loss under Shen Nanpeng's seemingly calm yet extremely oppressive gaze.

"Tell me, what happened to the payment license?" Shen Nanpeng's voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

"President Shen, our spot has been snatched away!" Li Ming said, forcing himself to speak.

"Oh?"

Shen Nanpeng leaned forward slightly, his previously lazy gaze instantly turning sharp, like a sleeping tiger suddenly awakening.

He gently brushed away non-existent dust from his hands, his tone remaining calm yet carrying an invisible pressure.

"You mean, three days ago, after QianDaiPay submitted its application, you were still reporting to me that the qualification review was progressing smoothly through industry connections, and now you're telling me that the license is going to be lost?"

Under the leadership of Shen Nanpeng, Hongshan Capital's Zhonghua Group had long recognized the scarcity and strategic significance of third-party payment licenses and made early investments in the internet payment sector.

He instructed Li Ming to acquire Qianbaopay, a small payment company, so that he could legitimately obtain one of the first batch of licenses.

Seeing that the cooked duck was about to fly away, even Shen Nanpeng got really angry.

Li Ming's sweat beaded even more, and Sun Jiang clenched his fingers even more nervously.

Shen Nanpeng's gaze lingered on the two faces for a few seconds before he suddenly leaned back against the sofa, his imposing aura instantly vanishing.

The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's going on? Which company hijacked our deal? A state-owned enterprise with strong backing?" Shen Nanpeng asked.

"President Shen, it's not a state-owned enterprise!" Li Ming quickly replied, handing over a hastily prepared document: "It's a private company! The only internal information is that... someone from above gave the order!"

He tried to salvage the situation: "We discovered that this hijacker recently had an equity connection with a local bank in Shenzhen, but its payment business is currently in a state of 'three no's'—no actual application scenarios, no core business, and no real transaction volume!"

"We can immediately draft a professional report through our partner law firm, pointing out the deficiencies in their qualifications, and at the same time, jointly submit an objection to the central bank with several closely related investment institutions such as IDG."

After listening, Shen Nanpeng tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, but ultimately shook his head: "No need."

Li Ming instinctively wanted to argue, but knowing President Shen's decisive nature, he swallowed his words.

On the contrary, Sun Jiang, who had been somewhat weak-willed, became anxious. For the sake of the future of his QianDaiPay company, he mustered up the courage to speak up.

"Mr. Shen! If we fail to get the first batch of payment licenses, Qianbao Pay will miss at least two years of golden window of opportunity. We must now join forces with other investors to submit an objection, or put pressure on them through media outlets with which we have good relationships!"

Shen Nanpeng looked at the anxious Sun Jiang and smiled, revealing a rare gentle expression. He reached out his palm and pressed down, signaling him to calm down.

"Little Sun, I understand how you feel."

But don't worry, even if the first batch of licenses falls through, with Hongshan's strength and resources, it's fully capable of assisting Qianbaopay in acquiring one from other companies that have already obtained licenses but don't urgently need them for their own business!

What Shen Nanpeng didn't explicitly tell the two was: how could a company with such obvious qualification flaws manage to squeeze out Hongshan's reserved spot? What does this mean?
The waters are too deep; it's not suitable for Hongshan to create an unknown, potentially extremely powerful enemy just for the sake of this license.

The two eventually left the office somewhat dejectedly.

Shen Nanpeng poured the now-cold coffee into the sink, then slowly and methodically ground, tamped, and extracted the beans again, making a new cup.

He held a steaming cup of coffee, but didn't drink it immediately; instead, he gazed at the cityscape outside the window.

Coffee needs to cool down slightly for the best flavor.

Shen Nanpeng is also waiting, waiting for the final announcement results a week later.

He wanted to see who had the ability to snatch this piece of meat from Hongshan's mouth.

If the other party is a truly strong person, then perhaps they are not an enemy, but a friend worth making.

If it's just a lucky, weakling, then this license will eventually return to where it can be most valuable—like in the hands of Hongshan.

A week later, the People's Bank of China officially announced the list of the first batch of 27 companies that obtained the "Payment Business License".

The list of 21 mainstream companies is too long to list here, but 6 private companies are particularly noteworthy:

Zhifubao (Shanghai - Mayi Group - actual controller Ali Ma)

Fortune Connect (Shenzhen – Tencent Group – Actual Controller: Tencent Penguin)

Kuaiqianfu (Beijing - Wanda Group - actual controller Wanda Wang)

Lakafu (Beijing - Fantasy Group - Actual Controller: Fantasy Liu)

Huizhifu (Shanghai - Tonglian Group - actual controller Tonglian Zhou)
Orange Payment (Shenzhen - Orange Subsidiary - Actual Controller: Orange Chen)

"OrangePay!"

The name stands out conspicuously.

The reason is simple: almost no one has heard of this payment company, let alone used its services; it seems to have appeared out of nowhere.

When Shen Nanpeng saw the name, he was slightly taken aback at first, then a playful smile appeared on his face, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Chen Chengzi is interesting!" he muttered to himself.

Back in August of last year, after "Chen's gaseous lithium" caused a stir in the global academic community, Shen Nanpeng of Hongshan Capital happened to be in Shenzhen to investigate the domestic mobile phone market.

At the time, Southern Metropolis Daily reported: Breaking news! Shen Nanpeng's itinerary at Redhill Capital has been exposed.

The article mentions that a reporter photographed Shen Nanpeng, the head of Hongshan Group in China, making a low-key appearance at the Shenzhen National New Energy Laboratory within 48 hours after the relevant paper was published—this is an important participating institution in the paper.

Furthermore, within 72 hours, they completed due diligence on the startup team for the core materials of gaseous batteries, demonstrating an astonishingly fast decision-making speed.

Faced with heated public debate, Shen Nanpeng had to come forward to refute the rumors, saying that he was just there to investigate the domestic smartphone market. It was during this controversy that he first noticed the young tech entrepreneur who was at the center of the storm.

By September of last year, Chen Mo had offended both Fantasy Liu and Ali Ma, and was also being suppressed by others who took advantage of the situation. Shen Nanpeng thought at the time that this young man was probably going to suffer a setback.

Unexpectedly, this young man not only survived, but also went a step further, giving Ah Li Ma a couple of sharp blows and earning his business nickname "Orange Chen".

In fact, in May of this year, he was elected as one of the 32 directors of the China Entrepreneurs Club.

So at the board meeting of the China Entrepreneurs Club, Shen Nanpeng casually did the youngest director a favor, but he did not expect that Chen Mo's foundation and power were far deeper than he had anticipated.

This incident further fueled Shen Nanpeng's interest in Chen Mo himself and the rapidly growing Orange Group companies under his control.

Meanwhile, in Shenzhen, on the right side of the 13th floor of the Huabei Qiang Electronics Building, is the office of Chengbao Mobile Internet.

Just as the dust was settling on this license dispute, another protagonist, Chen Mo, was overwhelmed with work as a "supervisor" at Chengbao Company.

The office was filled with smoke. Don't ask why, just know that Chengbao's programmer culture is inherited from Xinshan!

The general manager is He Jian, who came from the VV PS project, and the technical director is a fan of Lei Jun. This kind of inheritance is embedded in Chengbao's corporate culture.

Wang Teng, the technical director of Chengbao, had huge dark circles under his eyes, and his fingers were practically sparking as he typed on the keyboard.

"Wang Teng! Wang Teng! Are you done yet? Hurry up!" Chen Mo's voice urged.

"Almost there, Mr. Chen!" Wang Teng said hoarsely without looking up, "But this is practically a half-finished product! It can barely go live, it's riddled with bugs, and it's completely unusable!"

"Who told you to actually use it!" Chen Mo waved his hand: "As long as the registration function works, you can just pop up a 'binding failed' message when users try to bind their cards!" "Hurry up and put it on the App Store! It has to be listed before the end of the public notice period, so as not to give people the impression of 'having a license but no app'!"

Chen Mo breathed a long sigh of relief as Wang Teng finally successfully launched the incredibly rudimentary "Orange Payment" app.

Okay, anyway, it's compliant in form.

As for user experience?

That's not important for now!

Anyway, a year later, Orange Pay will have no need to worry about having its license revoked, thanks to the transaction volume of the Orange Group.

Fun fact: Of the first batch of licenses, five were revoked because they were "not in use or had insufficient cash flow," meaning they were stuck with these licenses.

At this moment, the secretary, Zhou Yumeng, walked in wearing a mask and coughed slightly from the smell of smoke in the room.

She suppressed her discomfort, but her tone carried a hint of excitement: "President Chen! Good news from President Xu! The Ministry of Information Industry has officially sent a letter, asking Yuancheng to submit the technical materials for applying for new energy vehicle subsidies!"

"Okay, I understand!" Chen Mo nodded, then noticed that Zhou Yumeng was wearing a mask, and suddenly remembered the customer service girls who had been temporarily assigned to Chengbao's office.

He immediately felt a pang of guilt and patted Wang Teng, who was squinting and almost falling asleep in his seat.

"By the way, where did you put all of Orange's customer service girls? You bunch of old smokers are always smoking so much, haven't you ruined the girls' breath?"

Wang Teng pointed weakly to a small fan working hard in the corner of his workstation: "President Chen, it's a misunderstanding! They're in the large conference room next door with its own independent fresh air system. Look at us, we're being quite gentlemanly by relying on this to keep ourselves going!"

Chen Mo was relieved, and his guilt lessened slightly.

He patted Wang Teng on the shoulder: "You've worked hard, Wang Teng! I remember what I promised you. Next time I go to Beijing, I'll definitely take you to meet your idol, Lei Jun!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Teng, who had been listless, suddenly brightened up and almost jumped up from his chair, as excited as a child.

Chen Mo smiled and didn't bother him any further.

He beckoned to Zhou Yumeng, then quietly walked to the outside of the large conference room next door and gently pushed open a crack in the door.

Inside, more than twenty customer service girls were wearing headsets, busily answering calls and handling various inquiries and complaints.

Although it was busy, the environment was noticeably cleaner and tidier than outside, and there was no pungent smell of smoke.

A girl who had a moment of free time noticed Chen Mo outside the door and was about to greet him when Chen Mo gently stopped her with a gesture.

He gently closed the door and instructed Zhou Yumeng, "Xiaomeng, tell Sister Gong to give each of these customer service team members a 'remote work allowance'!"

"Huh?" Zhou Yumeng blinked blankly, then subconsciously looked down at her feet: "Does living upstairs or downstairs count as living in different places?"

"Yes!" Chen Mo nodded firmly. "The environment has changed, and it's harder now, so we should get a subsidy!"

Zhou Yumeng understood Chen Mo's good intentions and smiled, "Okay, Mr. Chen, I will have Sister Gong make it clear that this was specially approved by you!"

Chen Mo smiled and waved to her.

"Let's go, let's go. Now that things are settled here, let's go check on Yuancheng. I finally managed to get them on the last train for subsidy applications, so we can't let them fail at this crucial moment!"

“Okay, Mr. Chen!” Zhou Yumeng immediately followed.

Chen Mo strode out of Chengbao's office, with bodyguard Xiao Zheng appearing out of nowhere like a shadow, following closely behind.

In the underground parking lot of the Huabei Qiang Building, a low-key yet undeniably luxurious black Mercedes-Benz S600 (W221) slowly drove out, followed by several inconspicuous but ever-vigilant vehicles, and sped towards the Yuancheng New Energy Base in Longhua District.

A policy endorsement for the commercialization of Far Orange Future's honeycomb power batteries is about to begin.

BTD Group headquarters, founder's office.

Wang Chuanfu's office exudes a pragmatic style, without excessive luxury decorations, but every item appears to be valuable and is in its proper place.

He was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling factory area below, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking about something.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and then his deputy, General Lian, walked in with light steps, a subtle, enigmatic smile on his face.

"President Wang!" President Lian spoke, his voice as steady as ever: "There's news that the official document regarding new energy subsidies has been delayed and is expected to be issued in November!"

The boatman suddenly turned around, his face filled with surprise and confusion.

"Postponed? Wasn't it already said that it was settled and would be issued in early August? You and I both know how long this process has taken!"

He seemed somewhat excited, counting the steps of the long and meticulous process on his fingers, as if confirming a script he already knew by heart.

Last April, four ministries jointly convened the "Joint Meeting on the Development of the New Energy Vehicle Industry," which clearly stated in black and white the hard threshold of "battery energy density ≥ 80Wh/kg!"
At the time, the only ones that met the criteria were our lithium iron phosphate blade battery and Ningde's ternary lithium Qilin battery, right?

His tone carried a sense of certainty, as if it were a done deal.

Standing to the side, President Lian nodded in perfect agreement with a well-placed smile: "Yes, President Wang, our two companies were the most suitable at the time!"

Once Wang Chuanfu received affirmation, he continued to pour out his grievances: "Last June, people from the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Information Industry came down and completed the preliminary review of the technical parameters we submitted, such as energy density and cycle life, right?"

President Lian nodded with a smile.

“Last September, the Power Battery Standardization Committee under the Automotive Technology Research Center conducted a set of critical safety tests, focusing on the nail penetration test and thermal runaway. We passed them, right?”

Wang the boatman raised his voice slightly, as if the thrilling test scene was still right before his eyes.

Mr. Lian continued to smile and nod, as if he were the perfect straight man.

"In January of this year, the liquid lithium battery technology route (lithium iron phosphate vs. ternary materials) that the experts of the Ministry of Science and Technology's 863 Program had been debating endlessly was finally approved by us, right?"

President Lian continued to smile and nod.

"In March of this year, the Department of Economic Construction of the Ministry of Finance calculated the subsidy amount, and the principle was to compensate 30%-50% of the battery cost."

The standard has also been set: lithium iron phosphate batteries ≥80Wh/kg will receive a subsidy of 3200 yuan, providing strong support!
Why? Because our localization rate is high!

Ternary lithium batteries ≥100Wh/kg, subsidy of 2800 yuan, restrictions apply!

Why? Because safety is controversial!

"That's not wrong, is it?" Wang the boatman spread his hands, seeking approval.

President Lian nodded with a smile.

"It's already May, and I've already attended the council meeting of the China Flower Entrepreneurs Club. The four ministries jointly reviewed the local pilot applications and selected the first batch of 25 pilot cities!"
This month, you told me personally that it had been submitted to the Central Academy for final approval, and we were just waiting for the official document to be issued in early August!

Wang the boatman's voice was filled with frustration: "Now you're telling me it's going to be postponed until November? We're at the very last minute, what's going on now?"

Seeing his boss's somewhat agitated expression, President Lian couldn't help but smile. He elegantly adjusted the shiny button on his suit cuff, his tone carrying a hint of knowing mockery.

"Mr. Wang, don't get angry. Rules are rules, but people are flexible. Someone cut in line. We're only waiting three months; the higher-ups are already working incredibly hard to meet the deadline!"

"Someone cut in line?" Wang the boatman was startled and repeated the question instinctively.

Immediately, as if he had been awakened, his pupils contracted slightly, and a look of realization and surprise flashed across his face, finally turning into a complex understanding.

He murmured, "I knew it."

Apart from Yuancheng New Energy, which emerged with its second-generation gaseous lithium technology and whose technical specifications are said to crush all existing solutions.

Who else could pry open a crack at such a seemingly insurmountable moment, making the entire industry make way and even delaying a major policy that had been in the works for over a year?
A brief silence fell over the office, broken only by the sound of Wang Chuanfu's fingers unconsciously tapping on the table.

Originally, BTD and Ningde were the pioneers in the field of power batteries, but the balance of competition seems to be quietly shifting.

Yuancheng's honeycomb power battery, based on second-generation gaseous lithium technology, has an energy density of 92Wh/kg, which has already crossed the subsidy threshold of ≥80Wh/kg. Whether it is parameters, safety verification, or expert discussion routes, it is excellent.

Final subsidy standard:
Gaseous lithium batteries ≥92Wh/kg, subsidized 3800 yuan, strong support! (Domestically advanced technology)
Lithium iron phosphate batteries ≥80Wh/kg are eligible for a subsidy of 3200 yuan. (High domestic production rate)
Ternary lithium batteries ≥100Wh/kg are eligible for a subsidy of 2800 yuan, but this is subject to restrictions (safety is controversial).

(End of this chapter)