Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 86 Henggang Street
The 2th day of the first lunar month, February 28th.

In an office of the Longgang government, Chen Xuebing stood next to District Chief Huang, holding a business license. The reporters below snapped photos, capturing the moment and freezing District Chief Huang's unresolved work achievements.

Although Chen Xuebing's investment is still undecided, the promises are grand, and the leadership doesn't mind spending some time on these matters.

What if it happens?
The two shook hands.

"Mr. Chen is young and energetic, just like Shenzhen! We welcome you to grow with us!"

"Thank you for the encouragement, District Chief Huang!"

Chen Xuebing appeared more reserved in front of the camera, standing tall when shaking hands, because he knew he would succeed.

He didn't want these photos to one day appear to him as someone who was subservient to power when they were exposed to the media.

At the long table below the stage, a dozen or so government and business figures applauded.

There wasn't supposed to be such a big event today.

This was all thanks to Hong Yongqiang.

The land purchase was done quite quickly. The business license was issued yesterday, and the district government asked us to sign the land purchase contract. After Yu Chunyin signed it, he and Hong Yongqiang booked a flight back this morning to arrange the payment.

Before leaving, Hong Yongqiang said that he wanted the government to pay attention and that it had to be done in a grand manner, so he helped him contact the newly established Guangdong-Chongqing Chamber of Commerce.

The new chamber of commerce wanted to establish a positive image, so they were very supportive, with several members from Shenzhen and an executive vice president representing the chamber to invite Chen Xuebing to join.

Since they were being so kind, Chen Xuebing naturally agreed.

Chen Xuebing was filled with emotion. Four months after his rebirth, at this moment, he could finally call himself a businessman and have an organization.

But when he heard that the chamber of commerce had two executive vice presidents, three executive vice presidents, and twenty vice presidents, he felt somewhat overwhelmed.

He's a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but he didn't even become a director!
The ceremony ended quickly, and as the group chatted, they arrived at the door, where Chen Xuebing expressed his gratitude to each member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Executive Vice President Zhang Guozhi was exceptionally enthusiastic.

"Once we're in Shenzhen, we're all family! My company is on Huaqiang South Road. We deal in electronic components and computer software. Just give me a call if you need anything! We're all from the same hometown, so let's talk!

Chen Xuebing became interested upon hearing this.

If you work with electronic components, you should know a lot of mobile phone manufacturers, right?

He was trying to consolidate some resources to make a quick buck in the upcoming storm.

But considering it was our first meeting and we weren't familiar with each other yet, I just smiled and said:
"President Zhang, I've taken your advice to heart! We're a true brotherhood, we never back down. I'll have my factory manager come to your company to inquire about prices in a couple of days. You really have to give me some discounts!"

Zhang Guozhi laughed loudly: "Don't worry! I'll make sure you leave satisfied!"

……

At the intersection of Shenhui Road and Songbai Road, there is a Henggang Building standing at the intersection.

This octagonal building was built in the 80s. It is located in the central area of ​​Longgang, less than one kilometer from Laoxi Village, and is easily accessible.

During this period, Chen Xuebing inspected many office buildings. There were many high-rise office buildings in Futian and Nanshan, and the rent was roughly 100 to 110 yuan per square meter per month. Most of them required annual payment. To rent a place of more than 100 square meters, you would have to pay more than 100,000 yuan in rent, plus a deposit. It would be impossible to get it down to less than 150,000 yuan.

He doesn't have that much spare money.

I had no choice but to return to Longgang, where I found this place and rented a 160-square-meter ready-made office on the sixth floor.

It's cheap and spacious.

One hall, three rooms, and one bathroom.

The rent is paid every six months, so it's only five thousand a month.

I had a table and chairs, bought two computers and a few potted plants, and that was it. It only cost me a little over 40,000 yuan in total.

Although it is a bit old, it has great development potential, and Chen Xuebing plans to settle down here.

Chen Xuebing visited Henggang Building in later years and even stayed at a hotel there. He remembered the name because he had to enter the place name when taking Didi (a ride-hailing app) during those days.

At that time, Henggang Building had become part of the CBD and was very beautiful.

Moreover, this site shares the same location as the newly acquired plot of land on Shenhui Road. If we have the money, we can also acquire the Henggang Building and develop it ourselves…

An office park, an office building, and a business CBD.

His deep imprint will remain in the Longgang Central District in the future.

On a street in Henggang, Shenzhen, ask around to see who...

He was very satisfied with this idea.

...

"Old Qi!"

Upon returning from the district government, Chen Xuebing entered his office and immediately shouted.

"Yes, yes, yes! Mr. Chen!"

A middle-aged man wearing a director's vest strode out of the inner office, followed by Jiao Gui.

The newly recruited factory manager is called Lao Qi.

Qi Guangming.

He looks a lot like Wei Xiang from Happy Twist.

40 is old.

When Gao Shu asked him to apply for the job, he was working as the deputy technical director of an OEM factory just last month, and he resigned after the New Year.

Being able to do OEM for others means you're at least on a certain scale.

After asking Chen Xuebing three questions, Chen Xuebing decided to keep him around.

How large was the factory before?

Qi Guangming knew that he also pirated goods, so he didn't hold back in his speech.

“In the past, we produced pirated goods, which could produce more than 6,000 units a year. Last year, we started OEM production for Top, which increased our production to 10,000 units. This year, it may be even more.”

"Why did you leave when your business was growing so well?"

"They're going to start selling parallel imports this year."

"You're willing to make pirated goods, but not grey market goods?"

“Those aren’t ordinary smuggled goods! They manufacture the machines themselves, pretend to export them to Hong Kong, get the 17% export tax rebate from the government, and then have them smuggled back to sell from Yuanwang stalls to Zhengzhou and Hangzhou! Piracy cheats foreigners out of their money, this is cheating the country out of their money, how can they be the same? They’ll all be dead sooner or later! The more profit they get, the longer their sentences! When I got out, I didn’t even dare to ask for my last month’s salary!”

The bottom line is very low, but the strength is very high.

In the chaotic Huaqiangbei market, it's not easy to find someone who knows how to protect themselves. Chen Xuebing asked him a few management questions and found that his management skills were average, but Gao Shu said that his technical skills were excellent, from supply and distribution lines to assembly lines, there was nothing he didn't know.

I inquired about his previous salary, and he said that his salary plus bonuses amounted to six or seven thousand.

Of course, these are all Gao Shu and Qi Guangming's side of the story, and Chen Xuebing only decided to believe them for the time being.

So they offered him a salary of 5,000 yuan and a 2% quarterly bonus to keep him on trial for three months. If he proved to be a good person, they would train him gradually.

Judging from the past two days, he seems quite diligent and eager to learn.

Chen Xuebing didn't hide his sales channels from him, nor could he. Upon learning that Chen Xuebing was selling goods online and doing very well, Jiao Gui stayed up all night in the office learning how to use Taobao.

"So, have you learned this way of playing?" Chen Xuebing asked, his hands behind his back.

"I'm so outdated! I'm really outdated!" Qi Guangming slapped his forehead, extremely excited. "President Chen, I really didn't expect so many machines to be sold online! I've seen your order volume, it's increasing month by month! There's great potential!"

Chen Xuebing smiled faintly: "Online sales are just starting out nationwide and are in a period of explosive growth. It's normal for orders to be rising. This approach will soon become popular in Huaqiangbei. Do you have any thoughts after you've learned it?"

The purpose of having him learn this is to enable him to control the competitiveness of the product.

Qi Guangming, however, had other ideas.

"Mr. Chen, there are so many electronic products in Huaqiangbei. I think we shouldn't limit ourselves to mobile phones! We should also sell computers, cameras, and even televisions! Look at how much money they spend on TV shopping on television. What better way to sell them than through this free channel?"

Chen Xuebing immediately raised his hand.

"Don't think about anything else. We don't have that much energy. It would be good enough if we could just make the phones work well. But you're right about one thing: we don't have enough variety of phone models. Just selling pirated versions won't work. We need to bring in those popular Coyote phones."

The "Coyote" phone is actually a counterfeit phone; it has no license, no network access permit, and no quality inspection.

However, the local term "coyote" has a more specific meaning.

The design is unconventional and imaginative, with an outrageous array of functions. Subwoofers and LED lights are just the basics; five-card, four-standby, dual-mode functionality is not uncommon; and there's even a battery giant with an ultra-long standby time of 180 days. The sliding and flip-style design is like a Transformer, complete with all-button digital and English buttons. The genuine product doesn't have this feature, but the counterfeit does.

A few days ago, Chen Xuebing even saw a mobile phone with a built-in screen projector. In 2005, it had developed a function that mobile phones in 2024 do not have.

These underground manufacturers have pushed the external functions to the extreme, but the previous chip conditions were very poor, resulting in a blurry picture. Chen Xuebing had no intention of purchasing them at all, but now that MediaTek is available, it's like adding wings to a tiger, and he feels it's time to make a move.

“I’ve contacted Taobao and got a batch of traffic. Next, I plan to open a few new accounts specifically for the Coyote machine, and the traffic will be directed to these accounts. The factory area still needs to be leveled during this period, so it can’t start work for the time being. Your task and Gao Shu’s task is to connect with some small factories and bring their products in. Jiao Gui, you’ve worked on Taobao before, so please help Factory Manager Qi more.”

Jiao Gui is now a top influencer in Taobao business here, and he can even teach the factory manager. He's incredibly excited.

"Don't worry, bro! I'll handle listing the product! I can even chat on Taobao! My account is currently used by Gou Hongyi, can I use it to work on the Coyote phone?"

Chen Xuebing shook his head: "Forget about making extra money. Hurry up and finish this business and come back to Chongqing with me. You still need to take your driving test. Don't want to drive anymore and work for me?"

Jiao Gui chuckled and said, "Brother, I was just joking."

Chen Xuebing turned and looked at the office.

It's too far out.

"Director Qi, where is Gao Shu?"

"Oh, he said he wanted to look at a few screens for the replica machine. There's a company I have a good relationship with, so I asked him to ask if they have any suitable models."

Chen Xuebing nodded with satisfaction. With Gao Shu and Qi Guangming's help, the local manufacturers' relationships were now established.

"Hmm... I also have a company here. The boss is from the Chongqing Chamber of Commerce. In a couple of days, take Gao Shu to see if there are any useful parts. Try to negotiate the price down. Also, build good relationships with those coyote machine manufacturers and help them sell more. There might be a price drop soon. If the timing is right, we should buy a large batch of machines and stock up on them."

"You want to buy the machines?" Qi Guangming frowned. "Huaqiangbei may not have much of anything else, but it has plenty of goods!"

Chen Xuebing chuckled and said, "You don't need to worry about this. Just do as I say."

"If you want to pick up goods... it would be great if you could open a stall in Yuanwang, guaranteed to make money. Oh, by the way, there's a Feiyang Digital City that's already completed, and they'll probably start negotiating with merchants soon. Do you want to ask them about it?"

Qi Guangming's eyes were full of anticipation. If this General Manager Chen had the ability to secure one or two stalls, coupled with online channels, once the factory opened, he could ramp up production without worrying about sales channels.

Sales volume drives production volume.

He gets paid on commission; production volume equals money!

"Shop..."

Chen Xuebing hesitated for a moment.

Having a stall is certainly good. That Yuanwang stall has an unusually large daily traffic volume, and the goods are not purchased one by one, but in batches.

But I've heard that the transfer fee for a one-meter counter in Huaqiangbei is at least 300,000 yuan, and I don't have enough money!

To get a counter, wouldn't it cost at least five or six hundred thousand?

However, after the Lunar New Year, his Taobao business exploded, and with lower costs but no immediate drop in selling prices, he has already earned nearly 70,000 yuan. After deducting the more than 40,000 yuan in expenses during this period, he actually has more money. With his uncle's 300,000 yuan, his cash on hand is now close to 500,000 yuan.

At the Furong Village construction site, earthwork is already underway, and retaining walls are being built. These are all large-scale projects. If the first phase of the progress report can be delayed, and we can try to get a larger first payment, we might be able to keep some money in hand.

After a moment's thought, he nodded.

"Okay, let's ask. Forget about Yuanwang, we can try Feiyang Digital City."

Chen Xuebing didn't really want to join the Yuanwang team.

Upon hearing this, Qi Guangming smiled slightly: "Is it because of Zhao Wanping?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing gave him a deep look.

"you know?"

Qi Guangming immediately replied, "Of course I know him. Zhao Wanping has business dealings with my old factory! He's always wanted to do OEM business, otherwise how would Xiao Gao know me?"

Chen Xuebing nodded in realization.

Also.

At the same time, something comes to mind, and a flash of inspiration strikes.

"Do you have business dealings?"

"Yes, my old factory's OEM machines will also be sold on Zhao Wanping's counter."

"So...did Zhao Wanping participate in their smuggling operation?"

"Hiss..." Qi Guangming's eyes widened. "It's really hard to say! Shall I ask around for you?"

Chen Xuebing gradually smiled.

"Let's find out!"

……

……

I've been living in Shenzhen for a month now.

March 5th, the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects).

"Beep, tap."

"Beep, tap."

Raindrops on the hotel windowsills and eaves sometimes formed lines, sometimes beads, and the sound of dripping water was particularly pleasant, providing some clues for the people in the room.

Chen Xuebing picked up his pen and began to solve an inequality proof. The first question was surprisingly easy for him.

The proof of 1/a + 1/b + 1/c ≤ a + b + c is complete. I seem to have a better idea of ​​how to approach the second sub-question.

"Knock knock." Someone knocked on the door.

Judging by the voice, Chen Xuebing didn't even look up and said:

"The door is unlocked."

These days, most hotel room doors don't have door closers, so Chen Xuebing doesn't lock them during the day either, just leaves them slightly ajar.

Ren Ying pushed open the door and came in, quietly walking to Chen Xuebing's side and looking at him.

"Yeah, right."

I looked at it again.

"The second question is incorrect. I've already told you that as long as there are positive real numbers for a and b, we should prioritize the basic inequality: a plus b is greater than or equal to 2√ab!"

"Oh."

Chen Xuebing crossed out the answer to the second question, looked up, and saw the newspaper in Ren Ying's hand.

"What's this?"

"I saw it at the newsstand downstairs today. It said that a big meeting was held recently, and it caused quite a stir. They're going to investigate fake cell phones."

Ren Ying handed the newspaper to Chen Xuebing with a worried expression.

Chen Xuebing took it, scanned it, and discovered what Ren Ying had said.

"Four Major Domestic Mobile Phone Manufacturers Join Forces: Whose Interests Are Being Shocked by OEM Manufacturing?"

The first paragraph is the essence: Recently, the "Symposium on the Connection between Production and Sales of Domestic Brand Mobile Phones" held by the Ministry of Information Industry in Tianjin turned into a rally in which several domestic mobile phone giants, including TCL, Bird, Amoi, and Konka, jointly attacked OEM mobile phones, which shocked the leaders of the FG Committee and the Ministry of Commerce who attended the meeting.

It seems they're investigating OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) phones.

Shenzhen was also specifically mentioned above.

Ren Ying added, "Oh, didn't you tell me to keep an eye on the stock market and mobile phone production? Motorola recently announced that it will release an ultra-low-priced mobile phone for less than $40 in developing countries."

"Hmm." Chen Xuebing looked at the newspaper and nodded slowly.

"Also, did the hotel ask for a room extension, or... a week's extension?"

Ren Ying really wanted to persuade Chen Xuebing to rent a place. Two rooms for the two of them would only cost 200 yuan a day, but Chen Xuebing refused, saying that it was quiet here and someone would clean the place, which would be convenient.

The thought of spending another 1400 yuan a week made her heart ache, and she even wished she could share a room with Chen Xuebing.

Chen Xuebing suddenly looked up and put the newspaper away.

"Let's extend it for two more days, then we'll go back to Chongqing in a couple of days."

(End of this chapter)