Chapter 99

It is hard to imagine that a deputy director of the Foreign Business Committee could embezzle so much money.

By this standard, Deputy Director Guo would at least face life imprisonment.

As for Guo Hong, his sentence would start at ten years.

However, Lin Yi had already lost all interest in this matter;

knowing the outcome was enough.

Yet, the next day, Lin Yi received a call from Deng Deng Weiming.

It turned out that the Shanghai municipal government had approved that 700-mu plot of industrial land,

charging only a symbolic fee of 60,000 yuan per mu.

In other words, for just 42 million yuan, one could acquire 700 mu of land in Songjiang District, Shanghai.

This could be described as a dirt-cheap price.

Keep in mind that in 2015, the average price for industrial land in Shanghai ranged between 325,000 and 500,000 yuan.

The fact that Fengyi Technology could secure land at such a low cost

certainly indicated it held a unique weight in the eyes of the Shanghai municipal government.

However, this meant the funds on Fengyi Technology's books seemed somewhat insufficient.

Originally, the company had over 70 million yuan on its books.

But after Lin Yi purchased the Maoming Mansions,

only over 30 million yuan remained in the company accounts.

This amount was no problem for covering the company's daily operations,

especially since recently, Lin Yi had begun using those overseas funds to establish a remotely controlled trading company,

dedicated to acquiring minerals such as lithium, nickel, and manganese.

By feeding resources back to Fengyi Technology in this manner, the company's production costs would be reduced to an extreme low.

Fortunately, through the introduction of District Chief Deng,

Lin Yi met a branch president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Shanghai; upon learning it was Fengyi Technology,

the other party immediately offered a credit line of 200 million yuan.

This greatly resolved Fengyi Technology's urgent financial needs.

On December 7, Fengyi Technology once again made a sensational announcement,

releasing news about the production launch of the "Super 18650" cobalt-free lithium battery and the blade battery featuring the new lithium manganese iron phosphate technology.

Instantly, the domestic battery industry was thrown into a state of panic.

This shockwave even spread abroad.

With Fengyi Technology's release of the "Super Power 18650" battery,

its performance parameters instantly shocked both domestic and international circles.

The entire capacity range for ternary lithium batteries leaped directly from the market's existing 800mAh–2600mAh to

4000mAh–13000mAh.

This is five times that of other ternary lithium batteries on the market.

Additionally, its unique fast-charging technology operates at 5V, compared to the standard 3.7V of ordinary ternary lithium batteries.

The Super Power 18650 reaches 5V, enabling flash charging at up to 5A.

Of course, this requires a dedicated fast-charging chip and a successful handshake via a fast-charging protocol.

To this end, Fengyi Technology commissioned a manufacturer in Pengcheng to produce DRP (Dual Role Port) fast-charging protocol chips.

Due to its excellent performance, the moment the "Super Power 18650" appeared,

it was eagerly sought after by countless merchants.

Unlike mobile phone batteries, which cater solely to handset manufacturers,

the 18650 has far broader applications.

These include chargers, digital cameras, opera-playing machines, fascia guns, face-slimming devices, POS terminals, portable lighting equipment, and various other products.

Although this battery from Fengyi Technology had not yet officially entered mass production,

order volumes had already exploded.

Merely two days after its release, the 18650 battery secured orders exceeding ten million yuan nationwide.

According to Dr. Zhao's cost estimates, the material cost per 18650 battery does not exceed three yuan,

and even including labor and other expenses, it remains around four yuan.

However, Fengyi Technology priced the minimum 4000mAh model at twenty Chinese yuan.

This pricing was calculated based on the market rate for Panasonic's 3300mAh 18650, which sells for approximately fifteen Chinese yuan.

The 6000mAh model is priced at forty Chinese yuan.

The 8000mAh model sells for eighty Chinese yuan.

Prices increase proportionally thereafter.

Yet even at these prices, enterprises across the nation flocked to it eagerly.

This situation drew the attention of major manufacturers including BYD, CATL, Foster, and Tianpeng.

With no other choice but to accelerate mass production of the 18650 battery,

Lin Yi had to lease an additional factory facility at the Songjiang Entrepreneurship Center,

importing a used production line to rapidly commence manufacturing.

Consequently, Fengyi Technology frequently made headlines across various regions.

This was especially true after the Songjiang District granted Fengyi Technology seven hundred mu of industrial land at a price that was half purchase, half gift.

Fengyi Technology and the Shanghai municipal government held a grand celebration for the groundbreaking of this new factory.

Even Lin Yi, District Mayor Deng Deng Weiming, and Shanghai's Vice Mayor in charge of economics

jointly poured the first shovel of earth for the new factory.

"Congratulations, Lin Zong!"

the Vice Mayor said after the groundbreaking ceremony.

"Vice Mayor Zhou, you are too kind!"

Lin Yi replied.

"Secretary Wang originally intended to come, but unfortunately was delayed by other matters,"

Vice Mayor Zhou remarked.

From this statement, one could clearly understand the level of importance the municipal government placed on Fengyi Technology.

"Please assure Secretary Wang that Fengyi Technology will firmly establish itself in Shanghai and create a flagship brand for China's real-economy technology!"

Lin Yi stated with neither humility nor arrogance.

"Excellent! Secretary Wang and I will wait eagerly to see it happen!"

Vice Mayor Zhou nodded, then instructed his secretary to hand Lin Yi a business card.

"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, call this number; Secretary Wang and I will do our utmost to help resolve them!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi immediately accepted the business card.

It could be said that at this moment, Fengyi Technology had secured powerful backing in Shanghai.

Coupled with its cooperation with the military, it would now be virtually impossible for anyone without significant influence to harm Fengyi Technology.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Boss Jia of LeEco, reading newspapers and online media reports praising Fengyi Technology,

realized that his hope of acquiring a stake in this company was now utterly impossible.

Fengyi Technology now held over a hundred patents related to cobalt-free solid-state lithium batteries,

already establishing itself as a leading force in the battery industry; were it not limited by production capacity,

many existing battery enterprises on the market would likely be struggling to survive.

How much would such a company be valued at?

Ten billion? Twenty billion? Or perhaps even more?

Old Jia felt he simply could not afford it.

Nevertheless, his dream of electric vehicles would not be extinguished.

— Author's Notes —

(PS: New book seeking flowers, tips, and review tickets; your support is the author's motivation!)