Chapter 610 - 436: 461,000 in a Single Day, Initial Success for Offline Channels! Ma Liyun: I’m Not Interested in Money

On June 19th, after two straight weeks of high temperatures, Xucheng finally welcomed a downpour that washed the plane trees lining the roads clean.

The air was filled with the earthy smell of rain, and visibility in front of the car was less than ten meters.

Lao Huang gripped the steering wheel and consciously slowed down, driving slowly toward the Science and Technology Park.

As they passed the East Gate of Xuyuan, Song Yuncheng glanced at the puddle, which had long since been filled in.

Chen Yansen followed her gaze, instantly understanding what she was thinking. He chuckled and teased, "I’ll come dig a hole tonight."

"Then I’ll just have to stand by the edge of the puddle," Song Yuncheng said softly, turning around to fix Chen Yansen with a fiery gaze.

"What if it’s dark and I can’t see? Instead of running over the puddle, I run you over instead. What then?" Chen Yansen asked with a mischievous grin.

"..." Song Yuncheng rolled her eyes and asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Would President Chen have the heart to do that?"

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, took Song Yuncheng’s hand, and placed it in his own palm.

As for whether he had the heart, the answer was in his own.

Summer rain comes and goes quickly. Before they even reached the entrance to the Science and Technology Park, the sky had cleared up again. He rolled down the window, and a gentle, warm breeze blew in.

Lao Huang parked the car in the underground garage.

Chen Yansen took the elevator to the top floor and pushed open his office door. He had just sat down when Zhou Shouzhi came looking for him, a document in his hand.

"Are the first-day sales figures for the directly-operated stores in the East China Region in?"

Chen Yansen motioned for Lao Zhou to sit down, then leaned back and asked unhurriedly.

"In the third- and fourth-tier cities, we have 174 small directly-operated stores, which sold a total of 214,000 units yesterday. Combined with the 107 large directly-operated stores in first- and second-tier cities, the cumulative sales were 461,000 units. The Qingcheng series accounted for 71%, the Orange series for 23%, and the Yaocheng series for 6%."

After giving this brief summary, Zhou Shouzhi put the document down.

"And the user count for the Aurora Future System?" Chen Yansen asked.

"About 21.7 million, mostly concentrated in third- and fourth-tier cities and rural towns," Zhou Shouzhi replied.

"Talk to Old Cao about gradually reducing production of the Qingcheng Mobile Phones running the Aurora Future System. This will force users to adopt the new system.

You can test the specific pace and ratios slowly. We need to maintain sales volume while also increasing the market share of the Aurora Future System."

Chen Yansen said slowly.

"Understood, Boss. The sales launch for the Western Europe market is set for June 21st. Our local colleagues have already confirmed the marketing campaigns and promotional methods with the carriers. The main models will be our new products."

Zhou Shouzhi nodded.

"In the early stages, focus on building our channels. Shipment volume is secondary for now. Compared to Apple and Mountain Star, Orange Technology is just entering the Western Europe market. I can accept it even if we have trouble adapting or sales performance is poor, but we must speed up our progress. We can lose a battle, but we can’t lose the war."

Chen Yansen instructed, looking at Zhou Shouzhi.

"Boss, I won’t let Orange lose," Zhou Shouzhi replied, meeting Chen Yansen’s gaze with firm determination.

"It’s good that you’re confident. I believe in your abilities."

Chen Yansen gave a slight nod and offered a smile of encouragement.

He paused, then asked, "What’s your take on Yang Rui?"

"He’s methodical, very experienced in operating offline sales channels. He’s a good talent."

Zhou Shouzhi thought for a moment before giving his serious assessment.

"As long as he works well for you, that’s what matters. Once this busy period is over, I’ll give you a week off to get some proper rest," Chen Yansen said.

When it came to internal competition and overtime, Zhou Shouzhi was undoubtedly the king at Orange Technology.

He was always either on a business trip or visiting clients. With the title of Chief Financial Officer, he was doing the work of both a CEO and a CFO.

He took less than one day off each month, making him the king of all workaholics.

"Alright, thank you, Boss." Zhou Shouzhi didn’t refuse, accepting with a smile.

He understood Chen Yansen’s temperament.

’Some things, once said, are meant to be executed, not negotiated.

He understood this more clearly than Yang Rui did.’

"Care for some tea?" Chen Yansen suggested.

Zhou Shouzhi instinctively glanced at the time. He was obviously much busier than Chen Yansen, but he couldn’t very well refuse his boss’s request.

"Boss, please, sit. I’ll make the tea." Lao Zhou didn’t stand on ceremony. He got up, walked over to Chen Yansen’s tea cabinet, and selected a canister of the Yellow Bud tea that Chen Yansen liked best.

While the two were drinking tea, Ma Liyun was staring blankly at Lu Zhaoxi and Zhang Yong.

"Mr. Ma, the 618 sale is a lower-priority promotion within the group compared to Singles’ Day. The resources invested in preparation and execution were less than for Singles’ Day, so it’s normal that we didn’t hit 20 billion," Lu Zhaoxi said.

"Singles’ Day is our main battlefield," Zhang Yong added.

"I’m not concerned about the results of the 618 sale. I’m concerned about the potential threat I see from Pinbei and Jingdong,"

Ma Liyun said with a frown.

’According to his plan, low-end users should go to Taobao, while mid- to high-end users should go to Tmall Mall.

But the reality was that mid- to low-end customers went to Pinbei, and high-value users went to Jingdong.’

Although Ah Li’s platform transaction volume was also growing, the growth rates of Pinbei and Jingdong were just as astonishing.

"What are the recent daily orders for Kuai Pao through the Taobao portal?" Ma Liyun asked.

"It fluctuates between 700,000 and 800,000, including food delivery, Group Buys, and grocery services," Zhang Yong immediately replied.

"And Taodian?" Ma Liyun continued.

"A daily average of... 9,600 orders," Tang Yongbo answered awkwardly from the side.

There was nothing he could do. Ma Liyun was unwilling to increase the marketing budget. ’Going up against Kuai Pao and Qian Du empty-handed, of course they were no match.’

After hearing this, Ma Liyun’s brows furrowed, and he secretly pondered: ’Should we fully commit to the local lifestyle services sector, or abandon it completely?

His original instinct, of course, was to do it himself.’

Although Ah Li and Senlian Capital were currently in their honeymoon period and cooperating happily.

’But even marriages end in divorce, let alone a partnership between two companies.’

But the thought of competing head-on with Senlian Capital and Qian Du Network made Lao Ma feel a sense of retreat.

’It’s too damn expensive!

Last year’s ride-hailing war, this year’s O2O battle—the main players were always Senlian Capital and Qian Du Network.’

During the most intense period of competition, which lasted no more than three months, the two companies had collectively invested as much as seven to eight billion Hua Yuan.

Even though Ma Liyun considered Ah Li to be powerful and well-equipped, he couldn’t help but cringe at the cost.

After a long moment of contemplation, Lao Ma sighed. He neither abandoned the local lifestyle business nor dared to completely sever ties with Senlian Capital.

’Let’s just drag it out for now!

We’ll deal with it after Ah Li goes public!’

Ma Liyun thought to himself.

「Meanwhile.」

Lu Hongbo held the materials his subordinate had collected, his face as grim as still water. According to incomplete statistics, Orange Technology had opened over 170 small directly-operated stores in the East China Region in one fell swoop. The second batch, located in the North China, Northeast, and Central China regions, was already under renovation, with an estimated 300 more to come.

It might not seem like many, but Orange Technology’s current head of offline channels was that bastard Yang Rui.

’Didn’t Chen Yansen poach him specifically to build an offline sales network?’

Therefore, Lu Hongbo knew full well that these 170-plus small stores were just an appetizer.

He turned to look at the Ni Cai "Big Qingcheng" phone on his desk and thought: ’Tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice. Not only did I fail to ride their coattails, but I also provoked retaliation from Orange Technology.’

He had ordered the factory to halt production after a total of 200,000 units were made.

’This thing will definitely sell. After all, there are plenty of fools out there.

But sales will definitely be slow!’

Lu Hongbo didn’t dare to make a big gamble, so he was cautious with production.

「At the same time.」

Several top leaders in the battery industry, relying on their personal connections, had slowly gathered some information.

First, the Deep Blue Battery was a lithium-sulfur battery.

Second, its patent was classified as a sensitive technology patent.

The battery’s energy density, cycle life, and safety were currently unknown. All they knew was that its endurance was double that of current lithium batteries.

In reality, they weren’t concerned about energy density.

Everyone knew that lithium-sulfur batteries already had high energy density. Experimental data in China a year ago had reached 400 watt-hours per kilogram, and R&D results from Europe and America were comparable.

But the core problems were how to overcome issues like the shuttle effect, lithium dendrite formation, and short cycle life, as well as how to solve mass production processes and cost reduction.

Now, Deep Blue Battery was poised for commercialization, having secured two production bases in one go, totaling one million square meters.

The initial investment cost could exceed 5 billion Hua Yuan!

Who would just throw money away for fun?

It was obvious that Deep Blue Battery had mastered a complete technological solution.

The bosses of companies like BYD, Ningde Era, Xinwangda, Desai, and BTR immediately wanted to obtain the relevant patent licenses.

Outright theft was definitely not an option. Senlian Capital was not a rootless entity in the country.

’It seems the only way is to pay up!

But would Senlian Capital be willing?’

Some gave up after a moment’s thought, while others pulled strings to get Chen Yansen’s private contact information and tentatively made the call.

...

...

Chen Yansen politely refused them one by one, then hung up.

’If he talked prices now, no one would offer a high price, even if he hyped the product to the moon.

Only when Deep Blue Battery launches and secures half the orders in fields like mobile phones, electric vehicles, and drones will companies like BYD, Ningde Era, and Xinwangda be forced to show real sincerity.

Otherwise, everyone who came calling would just be a bunch of opportunistic speculators trying to get a free ride.’

Chen Yansen wasn’t in a hurry. He had plenty of time to wear down his domestic and international peers.

He didn’t have any other grand ideas. He just wanted a few more people to call him "Daddy" and to take in a few "dear sons" from different parents.

As soon as it hit five o’clock, President Chen left work on time.

「Three hours later.」

The first episode of the entrepreneur reality show—with Chen Yansen, Ma Liyun, and Liu Chengzhi as mentors, and people like Lei Yijun, Wang Xiaofei, and Li Xiang as trainees—aired on Lizhi TV.

The show was originally scheduled to air at 10 PM every Monday, but because Chen Yansen joined, the time slot was moved to primetime on Wednesday.

"Startups die for two reasons: one, they run out of money, and two, they run out of confidence."

"Young people should make money first, then start a business. If you don’t give it a shot, you’ll never know just how fast money can disappear."

Chen Yansen’s comments on the show were brutally honest, yet very down-to-earth.

Many people started using his quotes as their QQ signatures.

Some even posted clips of the show on YouTube, since he had tens of millions of fans overseas.

Ma Liyun, on the other hand, dropped lines like ’I’m not interested in money’ and ’I’m very popular with girls,’ successfully capturing the entire internet’s attention and overshadowing Chen Yansen’s popularity.

The Sect Leader of Ah Li, a billionaire, saying he had no interest in money really messed with the netizens’ minds.

Even though Chen Yansen was thick-skinned, he couldn’t bring himself to say something like that.

But regardless, driven by the two of them, the show surprisingly became a hit reality series.

Both Senlian Capital and Ah Li gained a considerable amount of exposure and traffic.