Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 23 Two Pieces of Good News

In Orange Technology's somewhat rudimentary and cluttered workshop, Chen Mo fanned himself by pulling at the collar of his T-shirt as he stepped over the stairs.

"I want a kiss~ I want a kiss."

Zhao Tiezhu hummed a tune that was out of tune, holding the two probes of a multimeter in his hand, fiddling with an FPC flexible board.

"Brother Chen! I have some good news to tell you!"

"Tiezhu! I have some good news to tell you!"

Their eyes met, and they opened their mouths almost simultaneously, shouting that they wanted to share the good news.

"Brother Chen! You're finally back!" Zhao Tiezhu put down the probe and proudly waved the FPC flexible board in his hand: "Guess who gave us this flexible board for free?"

Chen Mo's lips curled up as he pulled over a chair and sat down: "Don't try to beat around the bush with me, kid. You're telling a story here!"

Zhao Tiezhu understood Chen Mo's personality; he liked to get straight to the point.

Zhao Tiezhu rubbed his fingers together and chuckled, his smugness practically overflowing.

"I'm just happy today, so I wanted to keep you in suspense!"

Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head, making his messy hair look even more like a bird's nest.

"It's Lao Zhang! He helped us close that resistive touchscreen deal, and feeling good about it, he thought he'd give us a little extra support, so he sent this FPC flexible board over for free!"

Yes! I'm Lao Zhang. I'm genuinely happy about this and I'm thinking of giving Orange Technology, this little workshop, a little more support.

It was definitely not because that unruly kid Zhao Tiezhu was stubbornly occupying the stall and affecting my business that I had to send him away with the 20 sets of FPC flexible boards that Lao Wang sent.

"Old Zhang also said that Orange Technology has a lot of drive and may become a big player in the future, so let's make a good connection first."

Yeah! In other companies, it's all about the boss making empty promises to the employees.

But with Orange Technology, it was the other way around. Zhao Tiezhu was making empty promises to Chen Mo, fearing that if Chen Mo, the boss, couldn't hold on, Orange would fail and he would lose his "high salary" of 3000 yuan.

This was all so abrupt and confusing that Chen Mo was completely baffled.

"Wait a minute! Why would Old Zhang give you an FPC flexible board for free?"

"Hehe!" Zhao Tiezhu's eyebrows danced with excitement. He slammed his hand on the table, startling even the multimeter. "Brother Chen! We sold all ten boxes of our high-quality 3.5-inch resistive touchscreens for a whopping 18 yuan each!"

This made Zhao Tiezhu incredibly proud; he held his head high, with an expression that said, "Look how awesome I am!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Chen Mo's eyes. They had sold out in just half a day, and at the market price.

It's important to know that high-end vendors who produce counterfeit phones typically have their own stable supply channels and don't usually buy from external sources.

Therefore, those who can use such high-quality resistive touchscreens are all from scattered high-end parts transfers and repairs. Even if you mark up one or two pieces to 20 yuan each, there are still plenty of people willing to take them.

But if it's a high-quality resistive touchscreen costing over 1000 yuan, the business of ordering and repairing such screens is so small that there are only a few orders a day, so it's not worth stockpiling them.

Therefore, Chen Mo predicted that even if Zhao Tiezhu sold the goods at a price lower than the market price, it would still take at least three or four days to distribute them.

I never expected this; I underestimated this kid.

"Wow! You're really something! You cleared out the stock in such a short time, impressive!"

Zhao Tiezhu was somewhat pleased with the praise, while Chen Mo rarely praised anyone.

So he continued to keep everyone in suspense.

"Brother Chen! Aren't you going to ask me who I sold it to?" Chen Mo couldn't help but smile, and considering that the kid had exceeded his task requirements, he cooperated and asked, "Who did you sell it to?"

Zhao Tiezhu slammed his hand on the table, startling the multimeter, which then jumped up. He grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

"This morning, I was squatting at the convenience store drinking a soda when that old rascal, Old Wang, suddenly appeared like a ghost and followed me right behind me."

"Wait! You sold Old Wang?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo instinctively frowned. One thing is one thing.

"Yes, yes!" Zhao Tiezhu asked疑惑地问道, "Is there a problem with Brother Chen?"

Although he had some conflicts with Lao Wang, it didn't mean he could just watch Zhao Tiezhu pass off inferior goods as superior ones or use tricks to cheat the other party.

"You didn't sell our resistive touchscreen to Old Wang as an original part, did you?" Chen Mo asked, his tone slightly serious.

After all, in business, reputation is the foundation of one's success.

Perhaps realizing that his tone was a bit harsh, Chen Mo then earnestly explained the reason.

"Tiezhu! We don't need to ruin Orange Technology's reputation just to vent our anger on Lao Wang."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tiezhu's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.

"Brother Chen! How could that be! Even if I, Zhao Tiezhu, am a scoundrel, I still have my bottom line! The goods are all genuine, and the prices are in accordance with the market."

"I just took advantage of Lao Wang's suspicious nature and used a little trick to make him take the bait."

"You know, he used to always go against us. This time, I thought we should let him experience what it's like to be manipulated, and also make some money for our company."

"But I swear, I absolutely did not tamper with the goods. If I'm lying, may I be hit by a motorcycle taxi and die as soon as I step outside!"

Zhao Tiezhu quickly raised his hand and swore an oath, recounting in detail how Lao Wang had followed him and how he and Lao Zhang had discussed "cooperation."

After hearing this, Chen Mo's expression turned strange. This matter was indeed not a scam; the goods were genuine and the price was fair.

It can only be said that Zhao Tiezhu cleverly grasped Lao Wang's intention to oppose Chen Mo, and it was a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.

However, Zhao Tiezhu's behavior is getting wilder and wilder. How did such a simple and innocent young man on the train become like this?

Chen Mo was truly afraid. He feared that even if he left Zhao Tiezhu at Orange Technology in this life, Zhao would eventually stray back onto the crooked path he had taken in his previous life.

His temples throbbed, his face was tense, and he raised his hand as if to knock Zhao Tiezhu on the head.

"You better remember this: we're a legitimate company. Don't try anything underhanded. From now on, we're doing honest business!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Although he didn't understand why Brother Chen was angry, Zhao Tiezhu played the innocent card, quickly raising his hands in surrender and swearing to the heavens and the earth: "Brother Chen! I'm honest and fair, the goods are genuine, and the contract was processed according to procedure!"

"That's right. Old Wang's grandson is paranoid. He thinks we're hoarding materials and deliberately delaying our construction schedule, so he rushed to place the order."

He suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Brother Chen! When Lao Wang comes here to show off those resistive touchscreens, you have to keep a straight face and don't laugh out loud. You have to put on a heartbroken and dramatic performance!"

"Stop, stop!" Chen Mo rolled his eyes at Zhao Tiezhu, annoyed. "Go away, go away. You call that an acting show? I'm not an actor, and Lao Wang didn't buy a ticket. Why should I give him a friendly face?"

"But with Old Wang's personality, he'll probably get carried away. You should play along and act it out so he won't trip you up again later. That way, things will stay quiet for a while!"

"On another note, although you didn't do anything reckless this time, you'd better discuss this with me beforehand if something like this happens again, and don't mess things up on your own."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tiezhu realized that Brother Chen's words meant that he had done the right thing before. He immediately beamed with joy, thinking that the matter was over and he would do it again next time.

(End of this chapter)