2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 503 A Simple and Unadorned "Business War"

"Holy crap, it's really snowing heavily! Tell me, who told you this? I didn't know you knew anyone in this field?"

Zhang Xupeng, who was trapped in Beicang by Tan Jincheng, has been busy with the annual meeting these past few days.

FlashTech's frontline employees are mostly single men, but Jinpeng Industry is the complete opposite, with most of them being single women. Boss Zhang spends his days surrounded by women, so he's not as angry about being trapped in Beicang anymore.

After news of heavy to blizzard-like snowfall across the country, including light snow in Guangdong Province, broke on the internet, Zhang Xupeng immediately rushed to the headquarters of Flashspeed to find Tan Jincheng.

The result was that he wasn't there, so they drove back to look for him.

It's childish behavior, but men's behavior is sometimes hard to understand, especially between close friends.

"Don't you need to rehearse anymore? Why did you come back?" Tan Jincheng was looking at stocks at the moment and casually answered him.

After entering January, the Shanghai Composite Index rebounded to a high of 5522 points on the 14th, which was Monday this week. Just when retail investors were still dreaming of 10,000 points, it lost 500 points in three days. It was a really bad drop.

Today, the last trading day of the week, the index barely managed to stay near 5000 points.

However, it seems that the price is not holding up. Today's high point barely managed to close the lower shadow of yesterday's line, and it didn't even dare to touch the five-day moving average. It looks like it's not going to hold.

"No, I'm talking to you. Can you even read these lines?" Zhang Xupeng was a little dissatisfied with Tan Jincheng's perfunctory attitude.

Both of them were quite relaxed at home. It is said that Zhang Xupeng's parents also came to Beicang, along with Zhang Qingliang's family, Lin Yumin's family, and Wu Zhenping's family.

The five families spent the Spring Festival in Ningbo. It was quite lively when they got together, usually when there wasn't much to do; of course, this only happened when Boss Tan's three younger relatives weren't around, otherwise it would affect their performance.

"What's the big deal? We've prepared everything we needed to. You're not going to tell me you ignored what I said, are you?"

"No, I mean, why aren't you surprised at all? Even though we were prepared, such heavy snow is rare. And you're still at home looking at stocks."

"It's still early. We can make arrangements in a few days. The supplies are almost ready."

The reason he wasn't in a hurry was that 2008 was a very special year. He and Zhang Xupeng spent the Spring Festival in Ningbo that year, and the two of them spent a long time playing games in their rented room. He still remembers the weather in Ningbo at that time.

The snowfall caused by the snow disaster was relatively small. If not many employees go home, the Ningbo factory can still maintain a certain level of workforce even during the Spring Festival.

At 1 p.m. on January 18, the National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert for blizzards.

Thirty minutes after the announcement was released, the announcement signed by the president of Flash Group regarding measures to cope with blizzards and freezing rain, ensure the safety of employees returning home for the Spring Festival, and encourage employees to spend the Spring Festival locally was distributed to all subsidiaries.

In addition to the previously announced overtime pay, employees who choose to spend the Lunar New Year locally will receive a subsidy of 600 yuan per person for the holiday. This 600 yuan has attracted many employees.

Subsequently, a similar announcement signed by Orange Technology CEO Gu Qingqing was also sent to Orange Technology employees' email addresses, and Orange Products posted a new express delivery notice.

To reduce the burden on public resources, Orange Technology will postpone delivery and shipping times based on the level of snow and road conditions. Consumers can decide whether to wait for delivery based on their own needs.

If you don't want to wait, you can contact customer service for a refund. Orange Products will also decide whether to stop accepting orders in the relevant areas based on the upcoming weather conditions.

This snow disaster has dealt a heavy blow to online shopping and the express delivery industry. While issuing the announcement, Gu Qingqing also notified SF Express to prepare emergency plans.

However, this didn't need to be reminded; Wang Wei had already noticed it. How could someone in the express delivery and logistics industry not pay attention to weather changes, especially in winter?

Unlike other courier services, Wang Wei had received a vague reminder from Tan Jincheng long ago. In addition, since Qin Junchao was also located in Shenzhen, he had been buying down jackets, electric blankets, heaters and other winter items.

Buying so much might cause those who aren't familiar with Dexian Electronics to miss out, but SF Express not only has a deep partnership with Orange Technology, but also handles some of Dexian Electronics' logistics through SF Express.

Wang Wei asked Qin Junchao about this, but Qin Junchao said that he would purchase a batch of winter supplies in the name of Dexian Electronics and donate them to his fellow villagers in his hometown.

He might believe Qin Junchao's own idea to some extent, but if it was ordered by Tan Jincheng, then he could only be lying to a ghost.

Why do you need to buy this thing electronically first? Wouldn't it be better to use the name of Flash Group or his own name?

Recalling the abnormal climate that Tan Jincheng mentioned in the capital last time, Tan Jincheng had been paying close attention to Dexian Electronics' procurement efforts ever since the discovery, and had been doing so intermittently without stopping.

After news of snowfall in Qingyuan and heavy snow in central China spread, Wang Wei immediately inquired about Qin Junchao's whereabouts. Sure enough, the guy had started buying up winter supplies in the market.

With such a swift reaction, he would never believe it if you told him there were no prior preparations.

After receiving Gu Qingqing's instructions, SF Express quickly activated its response mechanism. Logistics companies usually have their own contingency plans for weather conditions, but based on their past contingency plans, they wouldn't be able to handle it this year. In the early stages of the industry's development, no matter how well they prepared, they wouldn't have anticipated snowfall in the three southern provinces.

FlashDrive acted swiftly. They received the announcement at 5:30, and by 6:00, all of their subsidiaries had begun responding, purchasing large quantities of winter supplies. The pace was astonishingly fast, and the progress was orderly.

That evening, Orange Technology's announcement also appeared on Baidu's trending list, along with FlashDrive's announcement, which caused considerable controversy online.

"What the heck? Why make such a fuss over a snowfall and then encourage employees not to go home for the Lunar New Year?"

"But 600 yuan is still a pretty good deal."

"Snow? You have no idea how much snow fell here today. I don't think there's any problem. Their company charters buses for employees to go home. What if something happens? Of course, they would encourage employees to spend the New Year here."

"Orange Technology has no problem with shipping, but I think FlashDrive is making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Safety is no small matter; how can this be considered making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Speaking of which, is this the first company to respond to the weather forecast? Boss Tan still likes to be the first as always."

"Hilarious! I don't agree with the idea of ​​'rushing to be number one.' Haven't you seen the media questioning whether they deliberately underreported the sales figures for electric vehicles?"

As peers, they quickly noticed the online buzz surrounding Flash. After being thoroughly outmatched by Flash in internet marketing, these traditional companies learned their lesson and began recruiting relevant talent and paying attention to online public opinion.

Bafang Electric is located in Suzhou, and Xinri and Yadi also have related industries there, including their factory in Tianjin. These companies are not far apart, and you can find out what they are up to with just a few inquiries.

The heavy snow continued into the following weekend, and the orderly preparations made by the snowflakes across the region caught the attention of Zhang Congxun and Dong Jinggui, who were very familiar with Tan Jincheng.

Zhang Congxun called immediately: "Tell me, did you prepare in advance? The actions of various places are a bit too fast, aren't they?"

"We did make some preparations in advance. Last time, Mr. Wang from SF Express mentioned that the weather this year was a bit unusual and that he was worried about some unexpected events in the northern region. So we casually mentioned it during our last meeting."

If he said no, Zhang Congxun would definitely not believe such orderly movements; on the contrary, it would arouse his vigilance.

No matter how much FlashDrive strives for high efficiency, it's impossible for them to respond to headquarters' documents within just half an hour.

It's better to tell him a half-truth; he'll be more likely to believe it then.

"So that's how it is. No wonder it was so fast. You're lucky you mentioned it beforehand. Looks like we need to prepare some too."

"Just stock up. This stuff can last a long time anyway, better safe than sorry. It won't cost much, and you, Mr. Zhang, are so rich, you don't need to worry about this."

"Come on, I'm not as rich as you. You got hundreds of millions from Orange, I'm so envious. Next time you have a chance to make quick money like this, take me with you."

Although Sun Tongyu has gone abroad, the secret that he invested in Orange Technology and became one of the major shareholders with a 10% stake is no secret in the internet and electric vehicle industries. At the same time, details that Orange Technology did not disclose have also been dug up.

Wow, these two young people, only in their early forties combined, have hundreds of millions in cash. It's enough to make anyone envious.

For someone in the manufacturing industry, having 100 million yuan in cash on hand would be incredibly satisfying.

"Come on, I didn't avoid you when I was investing in the power battery project last time. You just didn't want to invest."

"Damn, that's considered making quick money? How many years will it take before it can be commercially used?"

"Then we can talk about it next time when there's an opportunity, or you could start an investment company and see if there's a chance to invest some money."

The topic shifted, and Zhang Congxun didn't pay much attention to the supplies they had just discussed. Xiao Tan was right; it was indeed necessary to prepare some in advance. He would arrange for his subordinates to prepare some more after they finished talking.

When Dong Jinggui called, Tan Jincheng used the same script.

After receiving Tan Jincheng's reply, Dong Jinggui's reaction was similar to Zhang Congxun's. They were wary when they weren't prepared, but felt it was normal when they were.

No matter how cunning they are, they can't outsmart our boss, Tan. No entrepreneur could have imagined that this year's snow disaster would be so severe. Tan Jincheng's proactive approach of informing them only makes it easier for the other party to disregard the situation.

Young people haven't seen much of the world, and they make a fuss over a snowfall. But it snows every year!

Chapter 3 today
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(End of this chapter)