Chapter 56: Pitfall (Two Chapters in Total, 5,000 Words)

Chen Feng finished washing and left the bedroom. Boss Zhen was already drinking morning tea in the living room.

Unlike Chen Feng who was hungover after a crazy night, Boss Zhen was wearing a loose linen Chinese-style white shirt and felt refreshed. He has a bracelet on his left hand and a bracelet on his right hand. If he hadn't witnessed the joyous scene last night, he would have looked like a man with a pure heart and few desires.

Seeing Chen Feng, Boss Zhen asked his aunt to put breakfast in the courtyard, and the two of them drank morning tea while enjoying the morning breeze of early summer. The sun casts mottled shadows through the sycamore trees, and the lake breeze blows. It really smells like money.

Chen Feng ate the freshly baked croissant and the tender fried sun-coated eggs with a knife and fork, while Boss Zhen sucked on a bowl of noodles and smelled the strong sour smell.

Not to mention, the taste really made Chen Feng a little greedy. People with hangovers have a bad appetite. Vinegar sobers up the alcohol, and the smell of it makes the stomach twitch and give you some appetite. Coupled with the fried half-charred and half-tender meat dumplings, a plate of garlic cloves, and a handful of chopped chives, it looks really good.

Zhen Chong stopped sucking the noodles and raised his head: "Mr. Chen, would you like a bowl of noodles?"

Chen Feng stopped cutting the eggs and put down his knife and fork:

"Mr. Zhen, you are really greedy here."

Complimenting other people's taste is an important way to get closer. As the saying goes, "Everyone likes this taste." Especially when praising special foods in special circumstances, as long as you use it wisely, you will have the opportunity to imprint your voice and smile the next time the other person eats that kind of food.

This trick is also applicable when picking up girls.

Zhen Chong waved to his aunt: "Bring Mr. Chen a bowl." Then he smiled at Chen Feng and said, "I also specially prepared Western food for you, a big turtle."

Chen Feng twisted a garlic clove and put it in his mouth: "I have lived abroad for a long time, and I miss this one at home even more."

Classmates from the same school and from the same hometown are an important basis for forming cliques in the workplace. Especially when the backgrounds of two people are very different, a returnee from overseas and a coal boss from the same hometown can not only bring them closer together, but also create a sense of pride and belonging when both parties are doing well. But remember that the relationship between the two cannot be competitive, otherwise it will increase the competitiveness, because both of them will want to be "the most handsome boy in their hometown."

Zhen Chong laughed loudly: "We Hexi people are all good at noodles!" Look, one kind of food, one belonging to the same place, the same raccoon dog.

Soon, a bowl of steaming noodles with a sour taste was served. Chen Feng was not polite, picked up his chopsticks and started eating, but he ate gracefully. Zhen Chong looked at it and stopped making slurping noises. He slowly rolled the noodles and put them in his mouth.

"Mr. Chen must have been the top scorer in science in the Hexi College Entrance Examination back then." Zhen Chong said slowly while chewing the noodles, and a trace of fishy noodles flew out.

Chen Feng pretended not to notice, took a sip of tea, swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and nodded:

"Ahem, it happened many years ago."

"Mr. Chen is so humble. He is the top scorer in the college entrance examination, a Ph.D., and a financial expert on Wall Street. I, Zhen Chong, have not read much in my life. What I admire most are professionals like you who read a lot."

This sentence is true. Although Zhen Chong's family has a mine, his inferiority lies elsewhere.

I didn't realize it before, but when this stall was about to be launched, I found that there were suddenly more returnees from famous schools around me. Although I was proud of myself for a while, the overseas returnees from prestigious schools did not work for me honestly.

But every time we are overwhelmed in terms of cognition, vision, structure, and expertise, this pride becomes even more obvious. Unlike ordinary rich people, Zhen Chong quickly adjusted his mentality after being satisfied for a short period of time.

If he wants to become bigger and stronger, he must have these people around him. Not only must he use their expertise, he must also learn and master the necessary knowledge and skills.

"Academic qualifications are just the product of exam-oriented education. Real skills are in practice. Mr. Zhen, you are the winner in this aspect of life." In other words, I can only take exams. This is a step for Zhen. But my Wall Street skills are also real, which is a euphemistic expression of ability. The last sentence is a must-have rainbow fart.

Zhen Chong took advantage of this sentence. Coming from a rainbow fart who has been criticizing the public for many years, it is precious.

I personally served Chen Feng more tea.

Chen Feng also tapped his fingers to express his gratitude:

"Mr. Zhen, I read the news a few days ago and it seems that Huanshi is making smart phones. Your market is getting bigger and bigger!"

The smile on Zhen Chong's face froze for a second, then she nodded:

“Yes, the market is huge, and Huanshi has content advantages, so it can make differentiated smartphones.

We launched the first 4-inch screen model to serve this concept. "

This is actually a suggestion given by the brokerage. After all, the smartphone market is very large and has just started to emerge, so there is unlimited room for imagination in the future.

With this story as a concept, Huanshi Video has an additional point of hype, which can support several times or even dozens of times more market value.

Chen Feng immediately caught the moment when Zhen Chong's face froze, and immediately realized that there was something wrong with this!

As long as there is a problem, his opportunity will come!

Therefore, don’t think that two middle-aged people are just eating noodles leisurely. Both of their brains are working at a high level.

In a shopping mall, eating is never just about eating.

"Mr. Zhen, is your mobile phone self-developed or a solution manufacturer?" This question is not impolite, because almost all domestic brand mobile phones are from solution manufacturers. If Huanshi is self-developed, it can still continue to be a rainbow. Fart it out.

"Self-developed, we hired a team from Taihe."

Taihe is a well-known solution company.

But Chen Feng had a taste of it. As far as he knew, Taihe had not yet developed a complete smartphone solution. In other words, Huanshi had no ready-made products to copy, so it really had to do it itself.

But Taihe's more than 200 people had not yet been assembled, and digging a team might not be able to develop it that fast.

The last time a mobile phone brand manufacturer announced that it would release a mobile phone on November 1, it meant that other solution companies would also be able to ship at about this time, while Huanshi's self-developed product was one month ahead of schedule.

As for Damai, people have been working hard on it for a year.

Huanshi smart phone, this thing feels a bit unreliable...

So Chen Feng tried to probe: "Taihe is good, with strong R&D capabilities. President Zhen directly let the experts take charge, this time he is going to do a big job. How many units are planned to be released this year?"

Zhen Chong pinched a sip of tea, pursed his lips and said:

"We have just entered this market, and the supply chain is still being sorted out. There are only three months from the release of November this year to the end of the year. The first batch is estimated to be 100,000 units, and the total this year is about 500,000."

Chen Feng nodded:

"This is not a small amount. After all, 4-inch screens are not mainstream now, and the suppliers are estimated to start slowly.

I don’t know which screen President Zhen uses? I have a classmate at Polaroid, and they have a line making 4-inch screens.

If President Zhen needs it, I can help introduce it. The quantity is not a big problem."

Polaroid is the largest company in China that makes mobile phone LCD screens. It is a very good resource for smartphone manufacturers. Especially now that the production of 4-inch screens is not large, and the production capacity is basically occupied by Peach and Eight Stars and Eight Arrows.

For new mobile phone manufacturers, it is a great thing to be able to get Polaroid's goods. Chen Feng threw out this resource, Zhen Chong couldn't help but be tempted.

But this question is another pit.

Asking how much a company has shipped, you can say anything, and Zhen Chong's hundreds of thousands of goods scattered in the channel can't even make a few bubbles. It's too easy to falsify numbers.

But, if you ask how many suppliers' materials you need. This is different, because how much you have made depends on how much you have bought. This is not just about modifying the report. You have to spend money to purchase in order to make the account not too ugly, and you have to cooperate with the supplier.

Moreover, now 4-inch mobile phone screens are in short supply, and you must pay cash on hand, and the cost of falsification is even higher.

If Zhen Chong said that he didn't need Polaroid's resources, then this matter would be obviously unreliable, and 4-inch screens are too scarce in the market.

If he wants it, Chen Feng only needs to ask at that time to know how many smart phones Huanshi Video has made.

Chen Feng's words made it difficult for Zhen Chong to brag again.

Sure enough, Zhen Chong did not respond immediately, but hesitated.

This further confirmed Chen Feng's idea that there was something wrong with Huanshi's smartphone research and development!

"Thank you, thank you, we really need such supplier resources." Zhen Chong did not expect Chen Feng to introduce Polaroid to him. An investment bank actually had such resources.

In fact, it would be fine if he just introduced Polaroid. After all, he was doing business with his door open, and he knew many people who could introduce him.

But the key is that 4-inch screens are in short supply now, and there is no stock everywhere. And Huanshi Video is not an important customer for a big company like Polaroid. Even if there is a relationship, it is difficult to supply it.

The 4-inch screens of Huanshi's batch of smartphones are actually parallel imports purchased from Zhaidu. If you want to grow in the future, you must have a serious supplier.

Moreover, Chen Feng's tone is very firm. It is not the kind of I will just connect you and you can talk by yourselves, but I can help you get the goods.

Having resources is a great thing, but it also means that it is a bit difficult to cover up the problem of Huanshi mobile phone development in front of Chen Feng...

Zhen Chong hesitated for a while before saying:

"I wonder if Mr. Chen has any familiar smart phone development experts?"

Chen Feng was born in technology and returned from a prestigious university. His network of contacts is not the same as his. I have resources in the film and television industry. Although I know a lot of people in EMBA, it is really not the same circle as technology, and I don't understand it. Although headhunters can also recruit people, I am not in that circle, so my ability to identify is limited.

Hearing this, Chen Feng pulled the chair under him closer to Zhen Chong: "Is Mr. Zhen's development encountering difficulties?" His eyes were very sincere. I thought to myself, as expected, Zhen Chong knows nothing about mobile phone development!

If a CEO does not understand what his subordinates do, he will be easily fooled, because you have no way to judge whether it is good or bad, and you have no way to control the progress.

Zhen Chong made his fortune by mining coal. After the coal bosses have money, they either like to make games or shoot film and television works.

Boss Zhen belongs to the latter. He spent a lot of money on the little stars in his backyard, and they were all well-known in the film and television industry.

At that time, domestic Internet video platforms were still learning from Youtube, and they followed the model of users uploading works, so the copyrights of film and television dramas were not valuable at all.

Not only that, except for a few that can be purchased by TV stations every year, the films produced are basically rotting in the library. The same is true for movies. Those that can be scheduled to be played by theaters are just the tip of the iceberg.

Copyrights are not valuable, and a large number of film and television dramas are rotting in their hands. The film and television industry is miserable.

But, they have Boss Zhen, and Boss Zhen has a mine at home!

The hotbed was warmed by toasting, and Boss Zhen felt very comfortable with the licking, so he bought a large number of film and television drama copyrights to solve the difficulties of the brothers and sisters.

As a result, Boss Zhen is no longer a minor celebrity in the film and television industry, but has become famous. Everyone came one after another to sell the copyright.

Gradually, Boss Zhen felt that his purchase of a bunch of junk goods was detrimental to his integrity, so he made a big move and bought the copyrights of many classic movies and TV series to decorate the storefront.

Although it is a classic, because it has already been broadcast, just like out-of-season clothes, they are still quite cheap after being discounted again and again.

Gradually, Boss Zhen became the largest copyright owner of film and television dramas in China.

There are a huge amount of movies that I can’t even watch at home. It’s better to enjoy alone than to enjoy together. In addition, the Internet seems to be more advanced than the entertainment industry. Boss Zhen wanted to catch up and directly made a Huanshi video to let everyone know. Let's all watch a movie together.

Immediately afterwards, the country began to issue Internet video broadcast licenses, and copyright became a serious legal issue. Moreover, the leading online video platforms have found that long videos of film and television dramas are better at attracting and retaining traffic than users’ own DIY works.

Then, the vast purchase of film and television dramas began. The top video platforms are either companies that have been listed in the United States, or their parent companies have been listed. In any case, they are all owners who are not short of money.

Under fierce competition, the copyrights of film and television dramas are increasing steadily. In just two years, the cost of copyright procurement has soared from less than 10% of revenue to 40%.

Boss Zhen became the biggest winner here. Not only did he spend less on his own copyrights, he could also make money by selling them.

Therefore, Huanshi Video has become the only Internet video company in China that does not lose money and has a considerable net profit.

Relying on copyright to make Huanshi videos is a smooth process. But if you join in the fun and make smart phones, you don’t know your own merits.

Seeing the constipated look on Zhen Chong's face, Chen Feng knew that he had to fall into the trap!

Zhen Chong waited for a while before nodding: "There is something wrong. The progress of research and development is not as good as expected."

Not only was it not as good as expected, the entire team that was headhunted with high salaries and hired for options was simply brought down!

But there is no way, under the urging of the brokerage, the awesomeness has been blown out.

Why don't you sell it first before others have officially shipped it, and get a seat? When all products are shipped next year, you, as a new manufacturer, will have no chance.

Why ship in October? There are only three months to follow. Even if the volume is not large, it doesn't matter. The concept comes first. When the market matures next year, if your concept shipments cannot increase, no one will pay for your concept.

What, there is still the Spring Festival anyway, and the factory will not start work until after the Lantern Festival. Everyone knows that the first quarter is the off-season, and the performance of your smartphone will not be too high. Add it all up, and from October to next March, you actually have a half-year honeymoon period.

The reasons given by brokers are many and very convincing. Zhen Chong was moved by this.

Moreover, he originally had two preparations, one was self-research, and if this could come out, it would certainly be the most advanced one. There are basically no domestic manufacturers that can really develop their own smartphones, and even less listed companies. This must allow you to make a lot of money in the stock market. If it doesn't work, there is a backup plan, just go to the solution manufacturer to buy the goods directly.

But the result is that barley is in trouble, TT is in trouble, giant lions are stirring up trouble, and brand manufacturers are swarming in to fight. Solution manufacturers have taken sides! It was originally promised that the goods would be delivered, but under the joint pressure from brand mobile phone manufacturers, I could only say sorry to him. If you really want the goods, let's schedule them. They are all lined up until May next year.

An honest man who came from a coal mining background was bullied like this. Zhen Chong has been holding in his anger and has nowhere to vent it!

After being frustrated, he could only find money to vent his anger. He planned to spend a lot of money to add people to the R&D team, hoping that he could build something with the headcount.

As a result, the R&D director told him that technical issues cannot be solved by adding more people. He was so angry that he wanted to replace the R&D director, but he couldn't find someone to take over the mess. Moreover, if the R&D team is eliminated at this juncture, what will the outside world think? How will these people who go out attack him?

It's so frustrating. I still have to blame myself. Seeing that the company is about to go public, I feel dispirited!

Seeing that Chen Feng seemed to have the resources in this area, he didn't feel ashamed to ask. After all, he is a fellow villager. After all, everyone loves to eat noodles. After all, you were happy at my house last night. It's not worth it if you continue to deceive others.

But Zhen Chong was still an old man after all, so he didn't drag him out directly, he was just looking for help.

When Chen Feng heard this reply, he immediately understood. He pondered for a moment, frowned and said sincerely:

"Mr. Zhen, we are fellow villagers, so I'll tell you the truth. This mobile phone research and development is really not easy, and it's normal for the progress to be slower than expected. Do you think it will be a little difficult to launch on November 1?

Please tell me the bottom line, the best and worst case scenarios, and when will it be released? I would also like to evaluate what type of talent you need and how many people you need. "

This is a very considerate thing to say, and you are really considering the issue from your own side. Zhen Chong has been anxious about this matter for several days, and there is no one who can give advice.

If you don’t go out and do bad things, you definitely can’t tell outsiders. The idea came from the securities firm, and there was no way to discuss it with them. My own team knows nothing. Immediately, I felt that Chen Feng was a good person. There was indeed affection between fellow villagers, and his abilities were very complementary to mine.

After a moment of deliberation, he said, "If everything goes well, it will probably be postponed for a month." This time was obviously heavily modified by Zhen Chong, "If not, it will probably be after New Year's Day." In fact, this is the most optimistic scenario. The worst scenario is that nothing can be made useful at all!

Chen Feng saw that Zhen Chong had not yet told the truth, but still nodded, "The situation is not too bad," but he did not intend to continue playing Tai Chi here, "I have an idea, tell me and you can correct me."

Zhen Chong straightened up, he had a hunch that this idea would be crucial.

————

(The main text is full of 5,000 words, and the number of words below is not within 5,000)

This plot is written in detail. Friends who have read my old books know that I don't like to waste words. The reason for writing in detail is to explain people and things clearly and lay the groundwork. In the ten-year development history, many characters have emerged. It is not good or bad, but they are all worth spending a little time on, not to mention that many people will become Cao Shen's teammates, opponents or stepping stones in the near future. This is Cao Shen's entrepreneurial history, and it is also a group portrait of characters.

I wrote about the business process of other characters, hoping that when Cao Shen breaks through, you can write some book reviews for me! Don't let Cao Shen fight alone, let's all fight together.

In addition, some industry knowledge will be described in more detail, because the tone was set when writing this article. Although this is a novel, I hope to keep it as professional as possible. Let everyone read some useless knowledge points while having fun, so that they don't feel that they are wasting time. You can also mention the industries you are interested in in the fields of TMT, investment, and finance.

All industry knowledge involved in the full text can ensure professionalism unless the author specifically states it at the end of the article. Don't jump out and spray blindly when you know a little bit. I'm too lazy to write a paper to slap my face.

I was so angry about being sprayed a few days ago that I set a fan value greater than one to speak. Now I'm not angry anymore and I think it's a good setting. Anyway, this book should be on the shelves this weekend. Friends who have been reading until they subscribe are more or less accustomed to the style of this book, and those who just started reading may jump out and BB at a little bit, which makes me upset.

Friends who stay here represent those who can accept this style. We are all “birds of a feather” and we chat with each other using words.