Chapter 702: 3 Million US Dollars for a Top-Tier Talent? That's Way Too Cheap! Making Money by Imperial Decree

Chen Yansen spent the morning in a conference room at the Central Bureau before taking a car back to his hotel.

The core topic of the symposium on new energy vehicle subsidies was the “2014 Notice on the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles,” jointly issued by the ministries of Finance, Science and Technology, and Industry and Information Technology.

The notice included adjustments to passenger vehicle subsidies, raising the maximum amount from 60,000 to 100,000 yuan. The underlying principle remained the same: the greater the driving range, the larger the subsidy.

Specifically, hybrid vehicles with a driving range over 100 kilometers would receive a subsidy of 35,000 yuan per car.

For all-electric vehicles, the subsidy was 35,000 yuan for a range between 100 and 200 kilometers; 50,000 yuan for 200 to 300 kilometers; 60,000 yuan for 300 to 800 kilometers; and 80,000 yuan for a range over 800 kilometers.

First-time buyers would receive an additional 20,000 yuan.

It was obvious to any discerning observer. Although the document never directly mentioned the battery industry, let alone Deep Blue Technology, traditional power batteries could hardly achieve a range of over 800 kilometers while still maintaining a balance of handling and vehicle weight.

Unless one used a Deep Blue Battery!

Wasn’t this just handing Chen Yansen free money?

Furthermore, battery factories that met the document’s requirements were eligible for a non-repayable grant equivalent to 2% of their project investment.

Deep Blue Technology was even mentioned by name during the meeting.

The implication was clear: only companies with the license to manufacture Deep Blue Batteries would be considered compliant.

Additionally, the maximum subsidy for all-electric buses was set at 150,000 yuan. For all-electric special-purpose vehicles—such as those used for postal services, logistics, and sanitation—the subsidy was calculated at 2,000 yuan per kilowatt-hour, capped at 150,000 yuan.

Half of the new subsidy policies existed because of Deep Blue Technology!

Chen Yansen understood that this was partly because the Deep Blue Battery’s performance was just that good, and partly a move by the higher-ups to return a favor.

He had previously licensed the Deep Blue Battery’s technological patents to the military-industrial complex at a low price, which had seemed like a loss. Now, less than four months later, the government had made it up to him through the new subsidy regulations.

At the symposium, the heads of BYD, Ningde Era, Jinmen Power God, and Xingheng Power Supply were all staring at Chen Yansen, their eyes red with envy.

They were just scraping by to earn a hard living, while Chen Yansen was practically making money by imperial decree.

Meanwhile, the heads of automakers like Jianghuai, SAIC, Great Wall, and BAIC breathed a secret sigh of relief, as they had all secured the right to purchase Deep Blue Batteries.

However, they also faced a problem: the batteries were so expensive they could only be used in high-end electric cars, making them unsuitable for mid- and low-range models.

For a model with a 200-kilometer range, for instance, the battery alone would cost seventy to eighty thousand yuan, pushing the total vehicle price to an unavoidable two hundred thousand.

To turn a profit, they would either have to follow Tesla’s lead and price their electric cars in the millions of yuan to create enough of a profit margin.

Chen Yansen couldn’t be bothered with the worries of the various automakers.

‘After all, the Deep Blue Battery has only been out for a short while. This is prime time to make money, and orders aren’t a problem. I can’t just drop the price to 300 or even 200 US Dollars per kilowatt-hour for the sake of the new energy vehicle industry’s development, can I?’

A representative from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had tried to sound him out on the matter. Chen Yansen had politely declined, stating frankly, “Our R&D costs are too high. Without sufficient profits, how would Deep Blue Technology fund the development of its next-generation products?”

At that, the representative resentfully fell silent.

‘The Deep Blue Battery’s price will certainly come down in the future, but now is definitely not the time.’

‘Besides, the country’s EV infrastructure isn’t even fully developed yet. Most users still see electric cars as ‘big toys,’ so public acceptance is low. There’s really no need to adopt a strategy of low margins and high volume.’

Twenty minutes later, Chen Yansen returned to his hotel.

He rested briefly, not setting out for the Sohu Headquarters Building in Zhongguan Village until three in the afternoon.

When Chen Yansen arrived, Zhang Chaoyang was waiting to greet him outside the first-floor lobby, smiling and accompanied by several Sohu executives.

Chen Yansen looked up, taking in the sight of the Sohu Network Mansion before him.

‘Two floors underground, thirteen above, with a total area of 41,000 square meters. In the future, this building will probably be worth more than Sohu’s entire market cap.’

‘It couldn’t be helped. After all, Zhang Chaoyang was a man who spent his time at bars, skiing, climbing mountains, or deep-sea fishing. The company was full of people slacking off, earning it the nickname “the Zhongguan Village Retirement Home.”‘

“If you’d gotten here any later, I’d have already clocked out for the day,” Zhang Chaoyang teased, warmly taking Chen Yansen’s arm as they walked inside.

“What time do you get off work?” Chen Yansen asked casually.

“I usually tell the media I get off at six.” Zhang Chaoyang chuckled, adding before Chen Yansen could press him, “But really, I’m out of here at four on the dot.”

‘In his opinion, there was no real difference in quality of life between being worth a few billion and a few hundred billion.’

‘Instead of killing yourself to make more money, you might as well enjoy life while you can.’

‘Otherwise, what’s the point of earning tens or hundreds of billions if your body has already given out by then? Even if you met a beautiful girl, all you could do is talk and maybe hold her hand. How boring would that be?’

So, privately, Old Zhang was quite envious of Chen Yansen. At twenty-one, he was in the prime of his life.

‘If it were me, I might have three new girlfriends in a single day.’

“I get off at five,” Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Zhang Chaoyang holed up in his office and did no work, whereas Chen Yansen was incredibly efficient. Outside of meetings, he could handle all of the company’s daily administrative tasks in just an hour.

Zhang Chaoyang pulled him into the elevator. Their first stop wasn’t the office, but the set for *Loser Man 3*, where Da Peng was in the middle of a scene with Yoshizawa Akiho.