Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 204 Individual Progress

The restaurant on the second floor of the west gate of Shenzhen University is the "old spot" private room where Chen Mo contacted Teacher Lin.

As soon as the door opened, Chen Mo saw Lin Heming already sitting at the table, with a table full of steaming dishes.

"Have you finished your thesis yet?" Lin Heming asked bluntly, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo's handbag.

Chen Mo smiled and nodded, then took out a stack of printed graduate theses and handed them over.

"It's finally finished! Teacher, please take a look!"

When Lin Heming received the paper, his fingertips were a little nervous, afraid that he would not understand the student's research on gaseous lithium and lose face in front of the student. His mind was also quickly going through the gaseous lithium knowledge points he had crammed before.

Seeing his solemn expression, Chen Mo couldn't help but smile and took a sip of the tea on the table.

When Lin Heming adjusted his glasses and saw the title of the paper, "Chen's gaseous lithium capacitor enhancement effect based on MOF-honeycomb structure," his brows furrowed instantly.

"Xiao Mo, your paper is so weak!"

"Haha!" Chen Mo put down his teacup and laughed. "What else can I do, Professor Lin? I can't just reveal the core of the third-generation gaseous lithium booster technology just to make a name for myself in academia, can I?"

Lin Heming paused, his hand holding the thesis pausing, and his tone became more serious.

"But you've gone too far with this! In the future, the expert reviewers for the Yangtze River Scholars Program will check your bachelor's and master's theses as well as your research achievements. You can't just fool them like this!"

This opportunity to be selected as a Yangtze River Scholar is something Liu Mingzhen would work desperately for, but Chen Mo really doesn't want it!

"Sigh," Chen Mo shook his head with a bitter face, "Professor Lin, I'm so busy with work at my company that I'm practically running around like crazy. I really have no intention of moving into academia!"

"Who told you to go into academia?"

Lin Heming sighed softly and offered earnest advice.

"The higher-ups saw that you've built such a large business at such a young age, so they wanted to give you the title of 'technical scholar.' It's not that they want you to go into academia, but they're worried that if you encounter trouble in the future, having multiple identities will give you something to rely on!"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, understanding the situation, but still feeling uneasy.

"But this paper... you know... it can't let me reveal the core technology of gaseous lithium, can it?"

"Who asked you to leak it?" Lin Heming laughed: "You are the developer of gaseous lithium, no one will question your research results, you can write a summary review of gaseous lithium!"

As he spoke, he pulled Chen Mo aside and began to teach him how to "refine" his thesis.
This was less a revision and more a rebuilding of the framework, and soon a review article entitled "Research on the Regulation Mechanism of Chen's Gaseous Lithium" was taking shape.

This paper not only provides a high-level overview of the regulation mechanism of Chen's gaseous lithium, but also avoids revealing any core technologies, perfectly circumventing Chen Mo's concerns.

When leaving the restaurant in the evening, Chen Mo didn't let his driver, Xiao Zheng, drive, taking the rare opportunity to go for a walk.

Chen Mo walked all the way back to his apartment from the west gate of Shenzhen University without running into Xiao Yu, the sharp-tongued girl wearing an angel hat.

He couldn't help but smile. It seemed that coincidences weren't something you could just have whenever you wanted.

I had a specific intention to bump into someone today, but I didn't manage to.

That's not surprising, after all, that little girl should have already started preparing for the college entrance exam in her second year of high school!
Three days before the defense, Chen Mo submitted the final version of his thesis and defense PPT to the college's academic affairs office, and received the "Degree Application Form" and defense file folder, which officially finalized the defense arrangements.

Soon it was time for the second batch of master's thesis defenses at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, to be held in the third-floor lecture hall.

The hall was packed with second-batch and extended-graduation master's students, each holding their materials and nervously memorizing their notes; the air was thick with anxiety.

Just then, a particularly eye-catching figure appeared.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and Chen Mo was wearing a formal suit from Valentine [Orange], which was of excellent quality and made him look extraordinary. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell from the material of the clothes that it was a high-end luxury brand.

This was specially made by a senior designer from the Shenzhen Longhua Clothing Group, commissioned by his second sister, Chen Lan. Chen Mo now wears Valentine Orange as his "spokesperson" for the brand.

Of course, the "work clothes" of Orange Group's executives are now also uniformly designed by Valentine [Orange], to facilitate the promotion of this luxury brand!

Behind Chen Mo, his secretary Zhou Yumeng, dressed in a business suit, was steadily holding his defense materials.

Looking around at the other graduates, most of them were struggling to hold their own documents. In comparison, he stood out even more from the crowd.

"Holy crap! Chen Mo's here? Is he defending his thesis today too?" someone exclaimed in a low voice.

"That can't be right, I remember he dropped out of graduate school halfway through!"

"Maybe it's a part-time graduate program?"

Several graduates nearby who didn't recognize Chen Mo looked bewildered: "Hey bro! Who's Chen Mo? Is he famous?"

The classmate who knew the truth immediately laughed and patted him on the shoulder to explain.

"The owner of Orange Phone! The universally acknowledged leader of the third generation of Chinese entrepreneurs, and the developer of gaseous lithium! Are you living in a village without internet access?"

"In the past, our school only had one famous alumnus, Little Ma. In the future, Chen Mo will definitely be added to the list. Just wait and see!"

Chen Mo, with his sharp ears, overheard the discussions. He didn't mind the gossip and greeted the "students" from the School of Materials Science and Engineering with a gentle smile, showing no airs of a big boss.

Because the company had urgent matters to attend to, Chen Mo had already informed Lin Heming and arranged for his defense to be the first one.

Soon, the defense officially began.

The first step was the opening. Lin Heming, as the chairman of the defense committee, first stood on the stage and briefly introduced the process, and then introduced the five judges, including two external experts.

Chen Mo, dressed in formal attire and holding the final draft of his thesis and his defense file, walked onto the stage, bowed to the judges, and then began his presentation.

The PowerPoint presentation progressed from slide to slide, starting with the research background.

Chen Mo began by mentioning the major trend of global warming, then discussed the urgency of developing new energy sources, naturally leading to the strategic significance of gaseous lithium research, which immediately captured the judges' attention.

The core content revolves around "Chen's regulation mechanism of gaseous lithium," and is divided into three levels: supercritical theoretical model, hierarchical experimental method, and step-by-step performance optimization, with a very clear logic.

When presenting key charts, he only showed the curve of conductivity versus temperature, concealing all specific parameters and revealing no part of the core technology.

During the presentation of innovative points, Chen Mo focused on the two core advantages of gaseous lithium: safety and energy density.

At the same time, it specifically compares the limitations of traditional solid-state lithium and liquid lithium in terms of insufficient stability and limited energy storage, highlighting the technological advantages of gaseous lithium through positive and negative comparisons.

After the presentations, it was time for the judges' questions.

Lin Heming spoke first, his tone guiding: "Can your control mechanism be applied to other alkali metal systems?"

Chen Mo immediately responded: "Currently, only the lithium system has been verified, but the methodology is universal. Researchers in the academic community who are interested can try to explore the gaseous compatibility of sodium and potassium!"

Next came questions from external experts, which were more focused on practical applications.

"If industrial production is scaled up, how do we solve the problem of container pressure stability?"

Chen Mo was prepared and calmly replied, "The MOF honeycomb structure not only strengthens the shell, but the multiple honeycomb structures also help maintain the stability of the container under high pressure. This is a mature product that has been proven in our market!"

After all the questions were answered, the judges went into a small room to conduct their closed-door deliberations.

Not long after, Lin Heming brought out the evaluation results, cleared his throat, and announced, "Chen Mo's thesis fills a gap in the history of human scientific development in the basic research of gaseous lithium. The technology is groundbreaking. The defense committee unanimously recommends awarding him a master's degree!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for a moment, then applause erupted.
Chen Mo not only passed his defense smoothly, but Lin Heming also added special notes.

"Furthermore, after a unanimous vote by the defense committee, we agree to recommend Chen Mo's thesis as an outstanding thesis of our school in 2011!"

At this point, Chen Mo's master's degree was basically secured.

As for the tassel-turning ceremony a few weeks later, he declined it without even thinking about it. There were still a lot of things waiting for him to go back and deal with at the company, so how could he have time to attend the ceremony?

That afternoon, Chen Mo took his secretary, Zhou Yumeng, back to the company.

The master's thesis defense was like completing a task assigned by his superiors, and he quickly put it out of his mind. After all, there was a much broader market waiting for Orange to explore.

Lanzhou, in the west.

Three months ago, the struggling 12-story hotel building in the city was auctioned off and acquired by Lin Xiaoxia on behalf of Orange for 6000 million yuan.

This building has a total area of ​​approximately 1.5 square meters, with a unit price of 3333 yuan per square meter, making it extremely cost-effective.

Immediately afterwards, she joined forces with local design institutes and state-owned construction companies to launch a large-scale renovation project.

This building is no ordinary flagship store; rather, it is a strategic foothold for Orange's expansion in western China, designed to integrate modern commerce with Ganjong's local culture, creating a comprehensive landmark that combines brand display, logistics hub, and commercial value.

The renovation and remodeling are finally finished, and the trial operation has officially begun.

Lin Xiaxia, dressed in a formal suit, strode into the building, her face bearing the resolute expression honed by the northwest winds and sands, showing no trace of the naivety she had shown when she first arrived.

The project manager from Party B accompanied him respectfully, followed by several senior project executives. The group walked steadily, clearly there for the final acceptance inspection by Party A.

The person in charge led the way, pointing to the building and explaining the design details to her, his tone full of pride.

"Mr. Lin, as you can see, the design of the first and second floors of the base is inspired by the flying ribbons of the Dunhuang flying apsaras. The glass curtain wall is inlaid with an orange gradient grid, which is like the ribbons of the Silk Road and also shows the brand vitality of oranges!"

"Floors 3 to 8 simulate the Danxia landform of the Hexi Corridor, with ochre-red terracotta panels and horizontal metal strips. Look at these orange-red stripes, they're so distinctive!"

"The top 9-12 floors are inspired by the Jiayuguan Fortress. The cantilevered steel structure is designed in the shape of an orange slice. When the LED lights are turned on at night, it will definitely be the most eye-catching landmark in Lanzhou!"

Lin Xiaxia nodded, secretly smiling to herself.

To put it nicely, this building is "distinctive," but to put it bluntly, it's a three-story sandwich tower that's so ugly it's unforgettable.

But being ugly doesn't matter; being unique and memorable is the effect she wants.

Besides its appearance, the functional areas of the design also contain clever ideas.

The flagship store on the first floor features a water feature resembling Crescent Lake at its entrance, while the interior ceiling is designed to resemble the caisson ceiling of the Mogao Grottoes, complemented by orange lighting. The display area is laid out as a "Silk Road station," making visitors feel as if they are walking through the history of Lanzhou.

Floors 2-8 are reserved for flexible property space, with each floor having an independent viewing terrace. The exterior facade also has reserved advertising space, which is now used to display Gansu Province's intangible cultural heritage patterns such as painted pottery patterns and bronze galloping horses.

The 9th floor is an intelligent warehousing area, equipped with an automated sorting system, and the exterior wall features an art wall depicting a map of the ancient Silk Road.

Floors 10 and 11 are open-plan office areas themed "Oasis on the Sandbar," featuring green walls and wooden partitions, making working feel like taking a break in an oasis.

The top 12 floors have been transformed into a starry sky observation deck, offering panoramic views of most of Lanzhou.

Lin Xiaoxia did not simply copy Chen Lan's flagship store operation model in the mountain city. In her opinion, each flagship store should carry the soul of the local area.

Just like the sustainable design of this building, the roof is equipped with solar panels, echoing the "wind and solar" energy advantages of Lanzhou. The atrium introduces natural ventilation and also draws inspiration from the "earthen kang-style" underfloor heating of the Northwest folk houses, which is both environmentally friendly and down-to-earth.

The public area also features an "Orange Silk Road Corridor," where digital screens continuously play short documentaries about Gansu's history and the introduction of orange brands to Lanzhou, hoping to increase local residents' sense of identity.

As evening fell, the Orange Building in Lancheng lit up with a light show for the first time, instantly transforming the entire building.
The orange grid of the base glows with a warm light, like a bonfire at the end of the Silk Road. The Danxia landform in the middle is clearly layered under the light, as if the sunset of the Hexi Corridor has been brought up to the building.

The steel structure at the top, shaped like an orange slice, shines with a cool white light, complemented by LED light strips, making it look like a palace suspended in the night sky from a distance.

The street vendor selling roasted lamb skewers looked up in astonishment, his fan still in his hand: "Wow! Why is this building so bright? It's like a palace in the sky!"

The students who had just finished school gathered around to watch, chattering excitedly.

"Look at that, doesn't it look like a sliced ​​orange? How cool!"

An auntie taking a walk remarked to her husband, "This hotel used to be dilapidated, but now it's been renovated and looks so nice. It's a great place to go for an evening stroll!"

"A new landmark in Lanzhou! The light show at the Orange Building is amazing, and the Crescent Lake-shaped entrance is also stunning!"

Young people passing by took out their phones to take pictures and posted them on Weibo with captions.

"Orange waves ripple by Crescent Moon Spring, and stars hang from the caisson ceiling like jade pendants!"

Lin Xiaxia stood at the intersection of the building, watching the crowd that had been drawn to her, and couldn't help but smile.

Whether it's ugly or not, nobody cares anymore. People remember the Orange Building, which is equivalent to remembering Orange phones.

The Orange Tower in Chongqing is stunning both day and night thanks to its location and design. The building in Lancheng, on the other hand, is a stark contrast. It looks like an "ugly three-story tower" during the day, but transforms into a "celestial jade palace" when lit up at night. Each has its own unique charm.

Sure enough, as the Orange Building lit up, Orange's brand awareness in the western region soared.

Many locals may not have heard of the popular mobile phone brand Wheat, but they do know that there is now an Orange Building in Lancheng, which houses a flagship store selling Orange mobile phones.

More importantly, Lin Xiaoxia validated the "landmark Orange Building + directly operated stores" model, which is a direct-sales channel solution that can be replicated in various regions.

The news quickly reached Chen Mo's ears through Zhao Tiezhu. He excitedly came to the office to report and even made a special trip to Lin Xiaoxia to praise him.

Although Zhao Tiezhu had always worried that Lin Xiaoxia would take his position, he never hesitated to report his achievements.

This is also why Chen Moming is willing to tolerate his occasional indulgence: at least he has a bottom line and won't hinder the company's development.

Chen Mo laughed after hearing this and gave instructions to Zhao Tiezhu.

"Go and tell Lin Xiaxia to focus on building the staff structure of the Lancheng flagship store and leading the team well. The company will not treat her unfairly!"

Zhao Tiezhu chuckled, raising the scar on his right eyebrow: "Brother Chen, are you going to promote Lin Xiaxia?"

“She deserves it!” Chen Mo nodded, his tone very certain.

"You know Lancheng, it has a very special business environment and geographical environment."

She neither complained in her report nor made any extra demands on us, yet she managed to build the flagship store and the western direct sales channels with just twelve people.

Lin Xiaxia isn't just a data-driven genius; she's now been tested in real-world applications. I trust her to take over your job in the future!

Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow, then chuckled, "Brother Chen! That's right! With someone as capable as Lin Xiaxia helping you manage the marketing department, I feel much more at ease going to school!"

"Don't give me that crap!" Chen Mo slapped him. "It's just going to study for a few years, don't make it sound like a life-or-death situation. When you come back, Chengzi will give you plenty of opportunities to shine!"

(End of this chapter)