2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 126 The lover is not satisfied
On a hot summer day, the No. 783 bus heading towards Beicang was filled with elderly men and women returning from a stroll in downtown Ningbo. Their chattering voices echoed throughout the bus.

Gu Qingqing, Qin Siyu, and Zhao Xianbo sat side by side in the last row. Unlike last time, they were smarter this time. If they sat in the front row, the old men and women would ask them to give up their seats.

Standing for more than an hour to reach Beicang was truly an unpleasant experience.

It's not a big deal for elderly people to go to the city center; it's just that public transportation is free for seniors, so they can stroll around, have breakfast, or buy groceries.

But they seemed to be walking unsteadily on their way back.

If Gu Qingqing had told Tan Jincheng about this experience last time, Tan Jincheng would have just laughed it off. This is probably a unique feature of bus route 783, as such things happen every day between Beicang and the city center.

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng often took this bus and frequently encountered similar situations. Once, while waiting to get off at the bus door, an elderly woman who rushed off the bus cut his finger with a hard object, causing blood to gush out instantly.

As soon as the old lady saw the accident, she ran away. In the end, a roadside cleaner helped Tan Jincheng stop the bleeding, and he then went to the hospital to get several stitches.

"Hey, Qingqing, I have something to tell you. Zhao Xianbo and I would like to invite you to dinner after we get back today," Qin Siyu said, nudging Gu Qingqing who was lost in thought.

“Yes, Gu Qingqing, Qin Siyu and I would like to invite you to dinner to thank you for helping us find jobs.” Zhao Xianbo nodded in agreement, but he didn’t dare to call Gu Qingqing by her full name like Qin Siyu did.

Gu Qingqing smiled and said, "Next time, I guess Boss Tan will treat us to dinner tonight."

"Oh, we're eating at their company cafeteria again? Then let us know we have something to do tonight and will be leaving without eating."

Last Sunday was the same. After filming, it was quite late, so Boss Tan had the cafeteria cook a few dishes. After dinner, he drove the three of them back.

Gu Qingqing just smiled and didn't say anything; this time was different. Last time it was probably a last-minute arrangement, but this time Boss Tan clearly said that they would have dinner together, so naturally they wouldn't just have a casual meal in the cafeteria.

Gu Qingqing had previously mentioned to Qin Siyu that all future costume photography work would be handled by her. If she was too busy, Qin Siyu would temporarily fill in. Logically, Gu Qingqing no longer needed to come along, especially in this sweltering heat.

But for some reason, Gu Qingqing couldn't help but want to come and see for herself, and the excuse she made was simply to learn how to operate the business from the customer service staff on site.

Thinking of this reason, Gu Qingqing felt a little embarrassed. It was simply because Tan Jincheng said that he would be on a business trip for a long time, from next week until the end of the month. Tan Jincheng himself did not know how long the business trip would last.

It could be ten days or half a month, or it could be more than a month; in short, it will be a very long time before we see each other on weekends again.

For no apparent reason, Gu Qingqing felt a sudden pang of panic.

Even though she was blinded by her own feelings, Gu Qingqing knew that she had developed feelings for Tan Jincheng. Was it love? Gu Qingqing wasn't sure, but it was the first time in her life that she had felt affection for a boy.

It wasn't because he was rich. If we really talk about net worth, Gu Qingqing's family assets were not much worse than Tan Jincheng's, and even a bit higher. At this time, Tan Jincheng really couldn't compare to her in terms of actual valuation and rent for a whole half-floor of shops in the International Trade City.

What attracted Gu Qingqing was Tan Jincheng's contradictory temperament. In life, he was gentle and refined, but at work, he had a powerful presence. In Tan's words, it was a contrast—a big boy with a very strong sense of contrast.

Since she had developed feelings for him, she decided to face it directly. Unlike most people, Gu Qingqing was the type who dared to love and hate. Having already decided what she wanted, she would let them get to know each other better to determine whether she had truly fallen for this young man or if it was just a liking that went beyond that of ordinary friends.

"More than friends, less than lovers; sweet yet troubled, joyful yet chaotic; I can't wait to know how we'll become."

SHE's "Not Yet Lovers" was playing in her headphones at just the right moment, seemingly expressing Gu Qingqing's current feelings.

"I wonder how Boss Tan feels about me? I suppose he doesn't dislike me?"
-
"Hey, Mr. Zhang, yes, yes, we'll be there the day after tomorrow, which is Monday; no need, no need, just send us the exact address then, and we can navigate there directly, it won't take long, right?"

"Okay, okay, then it's settled. Thank you, Mr. Zhang."

"That's all for now, I won't bother you any longer, Mr. Zhang."

After hanging up the phone, Tan Jincheng took a bottle of mineral water from the small refrigerator in his office and handed it to Gu Qingqing, who was sitting on the sofa.

"It must be uncomfortable taking the bus in this heat, right?" Tan Jincheng asked with a smile. The girl had only been inside a short time when she received a call from Boneng to confirm her itinerary and how many people were going. It seemed they took this site visit quite seriously.

Based on the information obtained, Boneng currently has around 400 employees, making it a solid medium-sized enterprise. Tan Jincheng roughly understood why the other party valued it so much. The future battery orders from an electric vehicle company with a designed annual production capacity of over 30,000 units would be quite attractive to a medium-sized enterprise.

An electric vehicle is equipped with more than one battery. In addition to the battery that is normally installed on the electric vehicle, there will also be a trade-in program. The Shanchi series Tan Jincheng plans to use a 72V20Ah high-power lead-acid battery.

Currently, the procurement cost of such battery packs from major brands is around 650 yuan for brand new batteries. Second-hand batteries are correspondingly cheaper. If possible, Tan Jincheng would like to keep the price below 600 yuan, and it would be even better if it could be negotiated to 500 yuan.

However, it seems unlikely. For under 500 yuan, you can only buy 60V and 48V models, which involves reducing the configuration. We will not consider the 48V model for the time being. Currently, due to the design of the frame and plastic parts, we are only considering the 60V and 72V models for the Flash series.

After testing and comparison, the cost of purchasing the seven core components was calculated to be approximately 1060 yuan, with the battery accounting for the largest share. The 1060 yuan figure is based on the assumption that the battery price can be controlled within 600 yuan.

"We can try to reduce the price further, even by just 10 yuan. Ideally, we should keep the procurement cost of the seven core components below 800 yuan. That would be the best approach."

With a cost of around 800 yuan, plus other additional costs, and miscellaneous expenses kept to around 1000 yuan, the final retail price is set at 1999 yuan, resulting in a gross profit of 100%.

To go even further, they could do even more. For example, they could use refurbished batteries, which consumers wouldn't normally be able to tell the difference. Or they could sell the empty car and buy the battery separately, thus making a profit on the electronics and increasing the total price to over 1999 yuan.

However, since the goal is to build a brand, such unethical practices are unacceptable. With a 100% gross profit margin from cost to retail, there is already ample room for the company to expand its market.

The cost price is 1000 yuan, the wholesale price to the terminal is reduced to 1500 yuan or 1600 yuan, and then you sell it for 1999 yuan. There is a profit margin of 400 to 500 yuan. That's not enough for you to make a profit.
Of course, you can't reveal your hand at the beginning. You have to talk things over first, even if it's just to reach 1650 yuan.

Designed with a production line capable of producing 36000 units per year and an ex-factory price of 1500 yuan, the annual output value is 54 million yuan. Once we have established a firm foothold this year, we can add another production line next year. In this way, by 2006, Shanchi Automotive will be able to achieve a real annual output value of 100 million yuan.

But all of this starts with conquering Boneng; next week's visit cannot afford to fail.

In reality, Tan Jincheng had no way back. The procurement plan for some small parts had already been finalized, and 50% of the mold making cost for the exterior plastic parts had already been paid to Zhang Mingcan. In the future, more than 60% of the orders for plastic parts would also be given to Zhang Mingcan.

One advantage of purchasing plastic parts from Zhang Mingcan is that once the order volume reaches a certain level, Zhang Mingcan will refund the mold-making fee. The mold-making fee for a set of electric vehicle exterior parts is not cheap.

As for the remaining 40% of the plastic parts production capacity, Tan Jincheng plans to do it himself. These days, workers' wages are cheap. He can have a machine operator lead a few day and night shift workers, install some robotic arms on the plastic press, and design the molds to use semi-automatic demolding methods as much as possible.

The machines run 24 hours a day, and a single day can produce enough plastic products for almost half a month's use. Flash Automotive has its own plastic presses, although they are all second-hand, but they are from the Haitian brand. They can completely solve the production capacity problem for some simple plastic products.

While reducing the procurement cost of plastic parts, it also allows for the employment of a group of workers, preventing dependence on others at critical moments. In addition, Tan Jincheng also put a little thought into the plastic parts. Normally, for plastic parts that do not have special quality requirements, PP material is used.

When making the product, you can add some recycled material. Also, the wall thickness of the product can be changed from 2mm to 1.8mm. Although the difference of 0.2mm will make it a little softer, you can just design it to look nicer.

"What? The mudguard broke after just one impact? There's no such thing as an unbreakable mudguard. Treat it like a car bumper. As long as the frame is okay, it's fine."

How much does it cost to replace a mudguard?

"Let's talk about this."

Well, maybe those motorcycle and electric bike repair shops will even thank themselves.

"Come on, let's take a look around the workshop. I'll show you how a design is transformed from plastic into a product," Tan Jincheng said to Gu Qingqing with a smile.

There seems to be nothing to do in the office. Today, Zhang Mingcan brought over a few molds for testing. The factory doesn't have any days off, especially since today is Saturday. Tan Jincheng has never seen a factory in Beicang with two days off a week, not even administrative staff!

That's two chapters for today. I've had a headache for several days now, and I can't keep up with updating 10,000 words a day.



(End of this chapter)