2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 500 "The boast is about to come true!"

Xie Junhong was still somewhat dazed when he walked out of the Flash Motors headquarters.

It was really just a discussion about the company's development next year, but I'm overreacting. I'm really getting a bit overwhelmed by this kid's and the media's reactions.

However, this trip was worthwhile. I heard about Flash and even Orange's plans for next year, which is something that is usually hard to find out immediately.

In reality, he still hasn't given up on Orange Technology's shares, but he knows there's little chance left. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there shouldn't be any further changes in Orange Technology's shareholding structure.

The only possibility of acquiring shares in Orange Technology lies in getting through to Cheng Hao, but that won't be easy either. Cheng Hao isn't stupid; he can earn more after the company goes public, so why would he sell to you in advance?

Although they only talked about next year's work plan, it did seem like they were up to something, and this was actually a great thing for Beicang City Investment.

Once Xie Hongjun arrived at the top-floor conference room, the casual conversation could no longer continue.

"Let's talk about oranges first. You're busy on your end, so I won't take up any more of your time. Assistant Gu, please take some meeting minutes."

The big shots were chatting just now, and Gu Yanning, a nobody, didn't say a word. She had no say in anything. I was wondering why they called her up to this chat session. Turns out she was waiting here.

She was responsible for taking meeting minutes at Orange Technology, while Zeng Jixiang was responsible for taking minutes at Flashpoint.

"Okay, let's begin. Talk about next year's plans. Keep the rest confidential."

They started talking about serious business, and the relaxed atmosphere from before vanished, especially for Cheng Hao, the technical director of Orange Technology, who was now increasingly convinced of his layman boss's abilities.

A good product manager is really important. If this product manager is also particularly good at marketing, then that's absolutely amazing.

"Orange Technology's core culture is small and beautiful. To achieve this, we must have our own advantageous businesses and maintain an absolute advantage in the same category of niche projects."

"I'll just mention the general strategy; you can fill in the rest yourselves. Orange Technology's core business consists of three parts: one is the development of social mini-games, including Android and iOS systems; the other two are fresh fruits and vegetables and branded clothing sales."

"The investment in fresh fruits and vegetables is relatively large. We need to pay attention to the selection of products and improve the preservation technology. The products we sell to consumers can't be given away for free anymore."

Gu Qingqing smiled upon hearing this. To protect the reputation of Happy Farm, the launch of the fresh produce business was rather rushed, and many problems arose in the early stages. SF Express is very professional in logistics, but after all, they don't have much experience in this area.

The quality of the fresh produce delivered to players was slightly lower, but since it was free, players could accept it as long as the quality wasn't too bad. Also, the after-sales service was quite good; if the quality was too poor, Orange Technology could resend it.

By leveraging the advantage of being free and experimenting on gamers, Orange Technology's fruit and vegetable preservation technology has made significant progress. Currently, there are not many companies in China that produce this type of product, and Orange Technology is definitely at the top level in the industry.

In Tan Jincheng's view, the online fresh food business is definitely a very difficult area, but the market is huge and the profit margin is not low. If you do it well, you can make a lot of money. At the same time, with the name of helping farmers, this thing is a protective charm.

Happy Farm remains incredibly popular, and it has actually affected the normal lives of many people. Getting up in the middle of the night to steal vegetables is no longer news. Just like in the previous life, many media outlets have criticized Happy Farm.

In its previous form, Happy Farm was forced to revamp due to media criticism, and the promotional slogan was changed from "stealing vegetables" to "harvesting vegetables." The game immediately lost its original flavor, resulting in a large loss of users.

Little Ma also got a bargain from this, buying it for a few million. It's impossible to say that he didn't contribute anything in the process.

In his previous life, the company that ran Happy Farm was just a small game studio with no background. It was naturally difficult to keep such a gold mine, as Orange Technology was much stronger than him.

In addition, with the agricultural assistance project as a shield, whenever there is any negative news or harsh criticism, Orange Technology will find a few farm owners or farmers to cooperate with the interview. This tactic of moral blackmail is really effective.

"After this competition with Taobao, we should realize that although online shopping is a huge market, the competition is also fierce. So I only have two requirements for Orange Technology: quality and service. I just want you to survive in the market."

Tan Jincheng, as the actual controller of Orange Technology, made demands on the company. At this time, both Cheng Hao and Gu Qingqing were his subordinates and had to listen quietly.

"Understood." Gu Qingqing, who was listening attentively, nodded.

"Alright, that's all for now. There's no need to say more. You can handle the other aspects of incubation yourselves. Just focus on these three points: accumulating users."

After that, Orange Technology had nothing to do with the rest. Cheng Hao and Gu Yanning went back to work. Gu Qingqing was also planning to leave, but Tan Jincheng kept her there.

The most important thing—the arrangements for this year's snow disaster—have not yet been announced.

"Flash has had good results this year. It seems very likely that our actual sales will be number one. However, when we announce it to the public, let's report less and let ChipDay continue to be number one."

Lin Yumin, who came from the petrochemical sales department, has been in charge of the daily operations of Flash Technology for some time now, and the results have been surprisingly good. Flash Technology is well managed by him. It's a waste of talent for such a capable manager to be working in the sales department of a petrochemical company.

Wu Zhenping is quite capable, but he was a little less lucky than Lin Yumin, losing to him in the first competition. However, he managed the marketing department very well. "No problem," Lin Yumin said without giving it much thought.

On the contrary, he admired his boss's shrewdness in dealing with people. He had only just emerged last year, and this year he had taken first place. Next year, he would definitely be everyone else's shoe. It would be better to let Xinri continue to be number one.

Incidentally, this would also do a favor for Chipstar. Like Flashpoint Technology, Chipstar has also planned to go public this year, seeing the booming stock market. Compared to Flashpoint, they have some advantages in going public.

In a sense, Xinri and FlashCar have started competing again, and the market still recognizes the title of the first listed company in the electric vehicle industry.

"What I'm about to say is quite important, and we ask that you, including Mr. Xie, not spread this around: Flash's IPO plan has been launched."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the conference room seemed to be breathing a little rapidly.

Everyone present has an inseparable connection with Flashpoint Technology. Wang Qinghua, who took time out of his work to come here, even owns 5% of Flashpoint Technology's shares.

The wealth-creating myth of Ali's IPO is still fresh in everyone's memory. If Flashcar wants to go public, it will definitely have to implement an employee stock ownership plan. If it can successfully go public, it will be a great opportunity for everyone present to increase their wealth.

The three most excited people were probably Lin Yumin, Wu Zhenping, and Sun Yuming, as their personnel relationships belonged to Flash Technology.

"Maybe you can retire when you're in your early forties."

Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping recalled the casual remark Tan Jincheng had made to them. One of them was born in 1970, and the other in 1971; the oldest of them was only 37 years old this year.

The normal listing process for a company takes several years, and by the time it completes the normal listing process, it will be around 40 years old.

At first, I thought it was just a pie in the sky or a boast from Mr. Tan, but I never expected that it would become a reality in just two years.

As if they had thought of the same thing, Tan Jincheng smiled and said to Lin and Wu after he finished speaking, "President Lin, President Wu, the boast I made to you back then is almost coming true."

Whether from the perspective of financial condition, sales volume, or social contribution, FlashTech is a high-quality company. In addition, it is in an industry in the growth stage, which fully meets the listing requirements and may even have some support.

The only thing lacking is the company's operating years, which is one of the reasons why Tan Jincheng wanted to use a backdoor listing. Backdoor listings are not only simpler in terms of procedures, but also simpler in terms of the review of listed companies.

Spending hundreds of millions, or even billions, always requires buying some benefits.

“We never thought Mr. Tan was just bragging. All the plans you mentioned back then are being realized step by step,” Lin Yumin quickly stated.

Sun Yuming was also very excited. He was the actual manager of the Tianjin branch. He would definitely get shares when the company went public. Three years ago, he was nothing and could only afford to buy second-hand electric vehicles.

Will he become a millionaire or even a multi-millionaire in three years?

Three years ago, he wouldn't have even dared to think about this.

"Alright, I won't go into the specifics of the listing plan here. Just keep that in mind. If we need your cooperation next year, please do your best to cooperate."

"It's my duty," Xie Junhong quickly replied.

This was the most satisfying thing he had heard all day. If Flash Technology could go public earlier, the pressure on him from missing out on Orange Technology would be much less. Going public means that the company will have to undergo shareholding reform, something he was very familiar with.

"Thank you in advance. I hope Mr. Wang will cooperate as well."

"No problem, this is a good thing for me and Bafang Electric too."

Wang Qinghua was also happy. During the time he was sharing his past experiences, he also talked about how he was somewhat resentful about being acquired, but now he felt completely relieved.

He still has the final say on how Bafang Electric is run, and he also managed to acquire some shares in the planned listed company.

What was President Tan saying again?

Oh, right, I've won so much!

There will be another chapter tonight.

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(End of this chapter)