Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 78 Not worth mentioning

The conference room at Duowei.

"By the way! Has HYC been skirting the line with Doppler all this time? Have they made any moves lately?"

“They’ve abandoned their sub-brand and are preparing to enter the mainland market under the full name HYC.” Wang Kai pointed to the words “entry-level smartphone” on the report: “The configuration is very low, with a Snapdragon 4 series chip that’s been phased out in North America and 512MB of RAM, and it’s selling for 999 yuan. They’re clearly aiming to grab the lower-tier market.”

Before Mr. He could speak, Wang Kai added another sentence.

"There's something even more mysterious I have to tell you all. Lei Jun from Xinshan has recently been visiting various mobile phone factories in the Pearl River Delta, looking at production lines and reviewing R&D materials. I heard he even had a meal with Lu Shiwa, who recently switched jobs."

"Lei Jun? Isn't he going back to the internet industry?" Mr. He frowned. "What is he planning to do?"

"Rumors in the industry say he wants to make mobile phones and is looking for technology investors everywhere." Wang Kai lowered his voice: "Someone saw him spend a whole day in Huabeiqiang, chatting enthusiastically with a small workshop owner, the one who sells orange phones in Huabeiqiang."

Mr. He shook his head, then suddenly noticed Wang Kai's hesitant expression.

"Is there anything else you haven't said? Get to the point."

“Actually,” Wang Kai licked his dry lips, “Huabei Qiang’s Orange 1, although it’s from a small workshop, has had a strangely high shipment volume this week.”

"I checked through some channels, and their order volume with screen manufacturers, OEMs, and even CATL has increased exponentially recently, and even the patent office has increased."

"Enough!" General Manager He stood up abruptly, the model machine making a crisp sound as it hit the table. "What kind of trouble can a small, inexpensive factory in North China cause?"

"Are they using removable batteries?!"

Wang Kai nodded silently.

Mr. He's gaze swept over the group of people sitting below, all of whom were elites and technical backbones supported by the parent group.

"Our Duowei is backed by 26 core technologies from its parent group, and we've firmly established ourselves in the women's market. I'll take responsibility for any failures. What are you afraid of?"

He grabbed the configuration report from the table and slammed it onto the conference table.

"Look at our specifications: metal body, ultra-narrow bezels, non-removable battery, the phone is even thinner than the iPhone 4, and it also has an exclusively developed camera 'beauty mode'. Women want good looks, not some 'removable battery'!"

"I made a guarantee to the chairman that if you don't have confidence in our Duowei D1, you can submit a report to me at any time to withdraw!"

Wang Kai nodded hurriedly: "President He! We have confidence in the Duowei D1 and believe that this machine will definitely open up the women's market," his eyes fixed on the small print in the corner of the last page of the report.

Huabei Qiangchengzi Technology's shipments increased by 320% week-on-week, suspected to be due to the adoption of a new battery technology.

The words pierced Wang Kai's eyes like needles, reminding him of the scene he witnessed the day before yesterday when he went to Huaqiangbei to investigate, where he saw several young girls crowding in front of a stall, excitedly taking pictures with a simple "Orange 1" phone.

Will this orange really not cause any trouble and become a future competitor to Duowei?

In Orange Technology's small workshop, a brand-new chair has been added to the inner side of the long table, serving as the workstation for Gong Yun, the shipping clerk.

Since both Chen Mo and Zhao Tiezhu require a lot of hands-on experience, the narrower side of the long table facing the door was reserved for Gong Yun.

The two of them, on the contrary, became Gong Yun's left and right protectors.

Zhao Tiezhu sat at his workstation, his hands trembling slightly as he held the new black orange iPhone 1. On the screen was Lei Jun's Baidu Baike (Chinese Wikipedia) profile.

"Wow!" Zhao Tiezhu slammed his hand on the table excitedly. "Brother Chen! This guy is the real CEO of Xinshan and Zhuoyue!"

"Former! Former CEO!"

He shoved the screen close to Chen Mo's eyes: "Look at this photo, it's exactly the same as that guy who was bragging to you a few days ago!"

As Zhao Tiezhu's finger traced the phrase "net worth over 100 million," his Adam's apple bobbed as if he had swallowed an egg, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"He wasn't bragging, he really does have a hundred million!"

Chen Mo shook the white Orange 1 packaging box in his hand, which still had half a piece of transparent tape stuck to it. When he opened the box, he accidentally tore off the outermost protective film.

"Right now, Lei Jun has so much money in his pocket that it could circle Shenzhen three times. He buys companies like we buy popsicles, by the 'one' at a time! Why would he need to brag to you?"

"Brother Chen!" Zhao Tiezhu looked at him curiously: "That's a hundred million! You could never spend it all in a lifetime! Do you regret it?"

Chen Mo suddenly chuckled and tapped Lei Jun's photo on the screen with his fingertip.

"What's there to regret? They asked for 30% of the shares right off the bat. Once we really make it big, will that 30% be a stepping stone for them or a shackle for us?"

Zhao Tiezhu leaned back in his chair, turned off the mobile data, shoved the black phone into his pocket, and casually put his hands behind his head, leaning back. "That makes sense, huh? Our place is too small to accommodate such a big shot. It's not impossible for him to bully us!"

This is not just something Zhao Tiezhu made up on the spot. With Lei Jun's current prestige, once he invests in Orange, it's uncertain whether Chen Mo or Lei Jun will be in charge!

"Alright! Stop worrying about it, it's all in the past!" Chen Mo patted his shoulder: "Come with me to the bank to deposit money later, and while we're at it, we'll also buy a safe with a combination lock."

He looked at the safe that was chained to the window frame: "The wholesaler stuffed cash into it yesterday, and it almost filled up the safe."

At this point, a transaction fee will also be charged for the transfer.

The wholesalers at the stalls all have big bellies and carry waist bags, truly "rolling in money".

Therefore, most of the deposits Chen Mo received this week were in cash, amounting to tens of thousands of yuan.

It was only because Gong Yun went to buy two money counting machines the day before yesterday that Chen Mo would still have to count by hand and add with a calculator, which would have been too much trouble.

A short while later, Gong Yun returned carrying the little yellow cat. Zhao Tiezhu instinctively felt a chill and sat up straight.

"Mr. Chen! I've already got the employee badge ready!"

She placed her canvas bag on the table, took out three identical name tags, and kept one for herself.

"Here, this is for you!"

Chen Mo took the sky-blue employee badge. The frosted card had a simple orange logo printed at the top, with gold lettering below.

Orange Technology
Chen Mo
Employee ID: CZ-0000001
A seven-figure sum—this is Chen Mo's expectation for the future of Orange Technology.

Gong Yun turned her head to face Zhao Tiezhu, held up her sky-blue employee badge in front of him, raised her eyes slightly, and spoke with a mischievous smile.

"Little Zhao~ Yours!"

She deliberately dragged out the word "small," making the last syllable curl, like a fine feather brushing against Zhao Tiezhu's eardrum.

Seeing him reach out to take it, she suddenly raised the name tag above her head, the toe of her canvas shoe gently brushing against his shoe surface.

"Call me 'sister,' or I won't give it to you!"

Zhao Tiezhu blushed and stole a glance at Chen Mo's expression, only to see that he was studying the seven-digit employee number on his name tag and was not looking this way at all.

He gritted his teeth and forced out the words, "Sister, sister."

"Ah~ That's a good boy!" Gong Yun chuckled, slapping the employee ID card into his palm, her fingertips deliberately tracing a sensitive spot on the inside of his wrist: "002, such an auspicious number, it matches your 'two' perfectly!"

When Chen Mo came to his senses and looked up again, he just happened to see her turn around.

Gong Yun's smile hadn't faded yet, but it had already been replaced by a gentle and graceful curve as she gently smoothed the wrinkles on the edge of her name tag lanyard with her fingertips.

"Mr. Chen! Your employee number is the starting number, which has a very good meaning."

She pulled out another miniature tag from her canvas pocket and hung it on the little yellow cat. The tag still had the orange logo at the top, and below it, in gold lettering, were the words:

Orange Technology
Little Mimi
Employee ID: CZ-0000004
Gong Yun lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, petting Xiao Mi: "Xiao Mi will be Orange's No. 4 employee from now on, aren't you happy?"

The kitten rubbed its tail against her palm, and she ran her fingertips along the flea scar behind its ear. When it looked up, its eyes were clear.

"Xiao Mi, you have to work hard! If Mr. Chen promotes you and gives you a raise, Xiao Zhao will have to call you Manager Mi!"

Xiaomi chose its own name.

Chen Mo saw that its color was yellow, like the color of a yellow pear blossom, and clapped his hands and called it "A Cat", but it didn't come over.

Zhao Tiezhu, relying on the fact that he had fed it many times, tried to call this snob "Zhao Cai" (meaning "bring good fortune"), but the little yellow cat ignored him completely.

Finally, Gong Yun lowered her eyes and smiled gently, opening her arms, and the little yellow cat jumped into her arms.

Alright! Gong Yun said, let's call it Xiaomi!
A simple name can make its future path easier.

Chen Mo and Zhao Tiezhu did not object, so it was decided that Xiaomi would become the fourth employee of Orange Technology.

(End of this chapter)