Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 61 Split up
The morning sunlight slanted across Orange Technology's simple "Orange Technology CZ" signboard.

After Chen Mo designed the minimalist orange logo that day, Zhao Tiezhu brought over paint and a ladder.

On that mottled iron plate of the signboard, a simple orange logo was added.

Although there is some color difference, the crooked orange paint lines are like a ray of light piercing through the gloom, heralding Chen Mo's rebirth.

In his previous life, Chen Mo didn't have that many skills; he couldn't even handle details like a logo on his own.

In other words, the difference between newcomers and veterans lies in the information gap.

In his previous life, Chen Mo didn't know that there were ready-made tools for making logos. He just had the OEM factory randomly print a circle and a dot on the back cover to represent Orange's logo.

As for the operating system used by the phone, there was no attempt to hide it; it was directly Android. It would have been a miracle if Orange 1 phone hadn't died in my previous life.

The Orange 1 phone in its previous life lacked the good touch control of a smartphone's capacitive screen, as well as the mature functions of a feature phone. On the contrary, it had a Chinese character input method that was anti-human for smartphones. In reality, it was an ugly and difficult-to-use feature phone.

After his rebirth, Chen Mo lowered his stance and no longer acted as aloof as he did in his previous life, directing Zhao Tiezhu to find parts, find manufacturers, and find distribution channels.

In this life, after he began to personally do some "trivial matters" within his ability, he finally gained some insight.

The end of the paper is so shallow that I know that this matter must be carried out.

It's such a simple truth, but no one will truly understand it until it happens to them.

People can't teach people, but experience teaches people. You'll remember something after you've suffered a loss once.

Zhao Tiezhu rushed in like a whirlwind, carrying a tin box. The loose parts in the large pockets on both sides of his work pants jingled with each step.

"Brother Chen! This time, getting the goods was so frustrating! The distributor didn't give us a single penny of discount, not even an extra spare chip!"

Without looking up, Chen Mo drew tiny dotted lines on the drawing board with a pen, marking the parameters of the packaging box.

"You act like you've been cheated when you didn't get a good deal in business. Who will want to do business with you in the future?"

After drawing the parameters for the individual packaging boxes, he got up and kicked Zhao Tiezhu's shin, then took out a train ticket from the drawer and slapped it on the table.

"I've got a great job for you—go on a business trip to Dongguang!"

"Dongguang!" Zhao Tiezhu's eyes lit up instantly, and he snatched the ticket. "I'm going! I'm going! I've been wanting to see that... uh... electronics market over there for ages!"

It's not even been 14 years yet, and there are already quite a few beautiful women in Dongguang. Zhao Tiezhu, this little man, hangs out with old men like Lao Zhang who talk dirty all day long, so naturally he's longing for them.

Now that Brother Chen wants him to go on a business trip to Dongguang, Zhao Tiezhu's soul is practically flying away.

He leaned closer to Chen Mo and placed the chip on the table: "But Brother Chen, what do you want me to do over there? It can't just be for us to wander around... you know, right?"

"Get serious!" Chen Mo slapped the phone case mold drawings and packaging box design drafts onto his chest: "Get these two custom-made."

Although Dongguang was famous for its beautiful women 14 years ago, its packaging factories and mold-making technology were among the best in the country.

From injection molding precision to color reproduction in screen printing, striving for excellence is key to Chen Mo's success in building the reputation of the Orange 1 mobile phone.

Paying more attention to detail than your competitors doesn't guarantee success, but neglecting details makes you vulnerable to exploitation and, with the added pressure from your rivals, easy failure is likely.

Chen Mo pointed to the metal box containing the chip that Zhao Tiezhu had brought back: "Now that the core components are in place, and the spare parts can be supplied at any time in Huabei Qiang, I need to go and keep an eye on battery production."

"Batteries?" Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow, letting down his rolled-up work sleeves. "Then we'll at least need to find a factory to cooperate with, right? Should I go and inquire first, and help you sort out the factory matter before I leave, Brother Chen?"

"No need!" Chen Mo smiled mysteriously, his fingertips tracing the small-scale gaseous lithium battery manufacturing process flowchart scattered on the table: "It's just a little over a thousand gaseous lithium batteries, there's plenty of free labor willing to help!"

Then, he took out a stack of cash that he had withdrawn that morning from the drawer of his desk, which was still in an envelope provided by the bank.

"I bet you're out of money again!"

Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head pretentiously, chuckling, "Brother Chen! You have a good eye for people!"

"Ha!" Chen Mo laughed and kicked him, then tossed him the bank envelope: "I really didn't know your money was being wasted by some young girl again."

"I'm giving you an advance of 10,000 yuan for travel expenses this time. Any overpayment will be refunded and any underpayment will be collected. The deposit and final payment will be transferred to your company account once I hear from you!" The moment he received the money, Zhao Tiezhu's eyes widened. This was the first time he had ever had more than four figures in his hands.

He carefully stuffed the banknotes into his inner pocket, then went to his workstation and pulled out a small notebook to scribble a few notes.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen! I, Zhao Tiezhu, am always reliable. I'll put this expense on your tab and issue you an invoice!"

"Ha!" Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh: "Why bother with invoices? This is my own money. Just make sure you don't overspend. And remember to bring the goods back in a week!"

Zhao Tiezhu patted his chest and assured everyone that it would not delay anything. Then he said that time was of the essence, whether he was afraid of delaying official business or delaying his trip to the electronics market to broaden his horizons, it was unclear.

He hurriedly went to "borrow" a backpack from his neighbor, Xiao Zheng.

"Oh, Zheng! Why bother?"

"Let go of me, this is my bag!"

"I didn't say it was mine! I'm just borrowing it for a bit, it'll be quick!"

The two were pulling at the bag.

"Tell me, are we still brothers? The way you take apart batteries, you throw out seven or eight smoke bombs a day, polluting the air. I've never said anything to the neighbors, have I?"

Zhao Tiezhu kept talking about their friendship.

"If I hadn't taught you how to remove the battery, Boss Li would have fired you, you clumsy brat!"

"You," Xiao Zheng was at a loss with the unruly Zhao Tiezhu, so he could only say something conciliatory and take the bag back first: "Then let me take the things out of the bag first, okay!"

Afterwards, Xiao Zheng retrieved his backpack, quickly returned to the counter, and, under the cover of the counter, took out the communication and monitoring equipment.

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly leaned forward and peeked inside. Xiao Zheng abruptly kicked the equipment under the counter and threw the bag to him.

"Didn't you want the bag?" Xiao Zheng waved his hand, looking a little annoyed. "Just grab it and leave, it's so annoying!"

This backpack was bought by Xiao Zheng with his own salary; it's a Decathlon brand.

Zhao Tiezhu, that overly friendly fellow, is constantly "interfering" with my mission to protect the target.

As a national security field officer, who would want to learn how to disassemble batteries? It's you who insists on teaching me, isn't it?

"hey-hey!"

In Zhao Tiezhu's view, what could an innocent young man possibly be hiding? His eyebrows swayed like seaweed as he moved closer to Xiao Zheng and spoke in a low voice.

"Little Zheng! That thing is so boring. Why don't you ask Old Li for a week off, and I'll take you to Dongguang to have some fun? A real man does real combat. Talking on paper is so boring!"

Speechless, Xiao Zheng pointed the soldering iron at him and said, "Get out! If you don't leave, give me back my bag!"

Zhao Tiezhu jumped back a step with a cheeky grin, and once out of the attack range, he chatted intimately with Xiao Zheng about "relationship tips," solidifying their friendship.

"Little Zheng! This is all based on my experience. Handsome guys like us shouldn't be too naive. If we only talk the talk, we'll end up getting swindled out of our money and our bodies by girls sooner or later!"

Xiao Zheng's lips twitched. "You call yourself a brother? Don't you know how old you are?"

Besides, who am I? Would I be fooled by a young girl and have my money and my virtue taken?
Seeing that Xiao Zheng seemed to have gained some insight, Zhao Tiezhu thought to himself that he had done another good deed. He then took Xiao Zheng's designer backpack back to the rented room and packed two clean changes of clothes.

Before leaving, Zhao Tiezhu came to the small workshop again to say goodbye to Brother Chen. He also made sure to greet Old Li, who had just come to the stall, and asked him to look after Brother Chen.

He was going on a business trip for a week, and he didn't know if Brother Chen would encounter any trouble he couldn't handle.

"Nice bag! Newly bought?" Chen Mo patted his backpack, then emphasized again, "Have you got the blueprints and all? Playing around is fine, but don't let it interfere with your work."

"I know, I know!" Zhao Tiezhu shook the backpack behind him, deliberately making an exaggerated two-finger salute: "Don't worry, boss! I guarantee I'll return in a week with the coolest phone case and packaging!"

(End of this chapter)