Chapter 139: Blacklisted, Blocked, and the Internet Xu Kezheng (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

"Youpu Battery? Fine, I understand. Send me their KA client list. For the new battery supplier, choose Desay or BYD."

Chen Yansen listened to Zuo Hongyu's explanation and gave instructions in a calm tone.

Business is just like this—even if you don't go out of your way to provoke others, trouble will come knocking on its own.

"Understood, President Chen. This time I'll personally follow up and oversee the whole process. I'll re-inspect all the other electronic components to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Zuo Hongyu hurriedly promised over the phone.

Chen Yansen gave a slight smile and hung up.

Mid-sized battery suppliers like Youpu mainly supply domestic second-tier phone brands and some first-tier phone brands.

And most of these phone manufacturers use stock Android 2.3, or a reskinned OS modified from Android 2.3.

They have no good solution for memory management and clearing fragmented junk, so the phones lag after long use.

The moment Sister Chengzi Technology's generational garbage collection algorithm appeared, it greatly alleviated this problem.

Since Wang Hongde of Youpu wanted to play, Chen Yansen would play along with him and see who dies first?

Before long, Zuo Hongyu got his hands on Youpu Battery's KA client list and sent it to Chen Yansen's email.

Chen Yansen opened the attachment and scanned it from top to bottom.

He then took out his phone, called Chen Xu, the category lead for Super Return, and briefly instructed: "From now on, we won't cooperate with brand teams for Bird and Tianyu—even the brand owners themselves are off-limits."

Chen Xu didn't ask further and synced Chen Yansen's requirements to the Key Account Merchant Recruitment Group and the Super Return Merchant Recruitment Group.

Brand teams whose slots were already scheduled and waiting to go live were also sent back their registration forms under some random pretext by the category team.

Immediately after, Chen Yansen called Sun Huiping, head of Jin Li's phone marketing department. He first approved their patent licensing application, then shifted the conversation, casually mentioning Youpu Battery, and finally set the signing date for the licensing contract one week out.

Sun Huiping, who had been around the industry for years, immediately caught the unspoken meaning behind Chen Yansen's words.

After hanging up, he immediately had someone make inquiries.

Half an hour later, Sun Huiping learned that Youpu Battery had pulled a fast one on Sister Chengzi Technology in their supply dealings.

Only then did the realization dawn on him!

After thinking it through, he immediately reported the situation to Jin Li's boss Liu Rong.

"Between Youpu Battery's batteries and Sister Chengzi Technology's algorithm patent, which is more important to Jin Li?"

Liu Rong asked rhetorically.

"Boss, it's definitely the algorithm patent. If our Autumn new arrivals lack the cleanup algorithm, consumers probably won't buy."

Sun Huiping answered without hesitation.

AuroraOS (Aurora System) downloads now total 20 million, but actual users are far more than that—the digital shop owners who help with offline flashing have contributed quite a bit to the install numbers.

Put plainly, an Android 2.3 system embedded with Sister Chengzi Technology's garbage collection algorithm runs at least 50% smoother than the stock system.

"Tell Old Li in the Procurement and Sales department it's my request—terminate the partnership with Youpu Battery as soon as possible and find a new supplier."

Liu Rong deliberated for a moment and decided to cut ties with Youpu.

Jin Li was currently transitioning from feature phones to smartphones, and the Jin Li GN205, which he pinned his hopes on, was the key product for the second half of the year.

He didn't want Youpu to cost Jin Li the patent license, leaving the system inherently a step behind the competition.

Meanwhile.

Wang Hongde was still secretly pleased with himself for having outfoxed Zuo Hongyu, but over the next few days, he received one after another cancellation and non-cooperation notice from phone manufacturers.

At first he thought it was an isolated case, but when several companies did the same in a row, he grew suspicious.

No matter how he tried to salvage things, the supply chain procurement directors at these phone brands were dead set on never using Youpu batteries again.

In just a few days, Youpu had lost thirty percent of its KA clients.

No matter how slow he was, by now he understood someone was gunning for him from behind.

Could it be Sister Chengzi Technology?

Before making his move, he had looked into Sister Chengzi Technology's background—just a small e-commerce boss from the north, rumored to be a freshman in college.

He did have some money, but no connections in the phone industry.

He figured dealing with someone like that was like playing with a child!

He hadn't expected the retaliation to come so fast and so fierce.

With no choice, he could only do his best to hold on to the remaining important clients, but the sharp drop in business still made his heart ache.

Chen Yansen learned that Wang Hongde still hadn't pulled out the batteries—clearly intending to see it through to the bitter end.

So he stopped being polite and put the word out: from this day forward, Fox Tao and Sister Chengzi Technology would no longer cooperate with any of Youpu Battery's clients.

When Wang Hongde heard, he curled his lip in contempt and cursed, not taking it seriously at all—after all, Fox Tao and Sister Chengzi Technology had limited influence in their respective fields.

He didn't think Chen Yansen's blockade could cost Youpu much.

In the booming phone supply market of 2011, losing a few clients meant new replacements could quickly be found.

But what Wang Hongde didn't expect was that from mid-July onward, every deal his business team brought in was for Shanzhai and feature phone battery orders.

Compared to the smartphone battery business, the profit margins were far lower.

"F**k your mother! These bastards—do they really need to cut off Youpu just for some Sister Chengzi Technology?"

Wang Hongde burst out cursing.

He simply didn't understand how important Sister Chengzi Technology's memory cleanup algorithm was to phone manufacturers during the transition to smartphones.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered developing their own generational garbage collection algorithm—after all, it was just a common technology.

But after trying, the R&D engineers could only admit helplessly that building a similar algorithm wasn't hard, but matching Sister Chengzi Technology's performance was extremely difficult.

Even Xiaomi and Meizu chose to purchase patent licenses, and seeing this, other phone manufacturers also reached out to Sister Chengzi Technology one after another to sign licensing agreements.

Before anyone realized it, Youpu Battery had landed on every major phone manufacturer's blacklist.

Even without Chen Yansen targeting them, manufacturers were unwilling to work with such a supplier.

After all, no one wants to gamble their own products.

If Wang Hongde's batteries fail to meet the design specifications, even if liability can be pursued, the lost customers won't return.

By late July, apart from a handful of second- and third-tier smartphone brands, all of U-Power Battery's customers were manufacturers of counterfeit phones.

Shencheng is playing a double game; these bosses of counterfeit phone manufacturers ship their devices to Africa and Southeast Asia, where they still sell like hotcakes.

Wang Hongde glanced outside the door; the production floor was still bustling.

The order volume hadn't dropped, but the gross profit margin had fallen by 7%; compared to the industry's 15%–20% gross profit margin, every penny he earned now was hard-won.

"Sigh, we can only cut costs to boost profits—after all, those African guys are tough-skinned and thick-fleshed; as long as the battery doesn't explode, the lower the price, the better."

Wang Hongde muttered to himself, and for the first time, he felt he'd been too impulsive—not to have pressured Orange Tech on supply.

People like him, who rode the wave of the times, had little real talent but plenty of cunning.

Acting without considering consequences could sometimes bring accidental gains.

But this time, he lost badly.

……

……

Wang Teng rushed into Chen Yansen's office, grinning: "Sen-ge, the network access permit has been approved!"

"Alright, got it."

Chen Yansen gave a slight nod, a hint of joy also spreading across his face.

Before a smartphone could be sold, it needed three certifications: the CCC certification, the network access permit, and the radio transmission equipment model approval.

Thanks to the connections behind Tang Qingshan and Zhao Maolin's bosses, Orange Tech submitted applications as soon as its first batch of engineering prototypes was produced.

The CCC certification and radio transmission equipment model approval were the fastest to process.

But the network access permit required approval of the phone's radio transmission frequency, band, transmission power, and other spectral parameters—it took nearly a month.

This was still fast thanks to connections; otherwise, it would've taken much longer.

"Sen-ge, when do we announce it to the public?" Wang Teng asked after sitting down.

"August 6th. We'll partner with Fox Taobao to release 200 engineering units first on Orange Tech's official channel, then gauge market response."

Chen Yansen thought for a moment and gave a cautious reply.

It wasn't a lack of confidence in the product—market demand was fickle; a good product didn't guarantee sales.

Like Nokia's upcoming Lumia 920, with its stunning UI and design, yet it failed to win user favor.

Moreover, the material cost of one Orange phone was already 1,100 yuan; if sales were poor, Chen Yansen still had room to adjust.

If he produced hundreds of thousands of units without checking the market, losses could reach hundreds of millions.

"Alright, I'll go talk to the branding department."

Wang Teng nodded and hurried out again.

Chen Yansen put down his copy of *Fundamentals of Algebraic Topology*, stood up, and went to the second-floor lounge.

The sky was overcast, a light rain drizzling.

Chen Yansen sat beneath the sunshade, pondering the upcoming product launch.

The venue could be in the city center, inviting media and online outlets—even self-media—each a traffic entry point, beneficial for Orange Phone exposure.

Resources from the *Huian Daily* and *Huian Youth Daily* should also be leveraged; after all, Orange Phone was a local product of Huian Province and deserved strong promotion.

Last time he gave an interview, he'd specifically kept the host's and producer's contact details.

The branding department needed someone capable to take the lead; the three current employees weren't particularly outstanding.

Chen Yansen needed a smooth, clever person—but such people were usually the backbone of a company and hard to poach.

On one hand, the salary had to be high enough; on the other, the project had to have promise—the smarter the person, the pickier they were about jobs.

Xu Dan and the headhunters had sent him several candidate resumes; after interviews, he wasn't satisfied with any—so the matter was put on hold for now.

……

……

Beijing.

In a small office, Ye Qiuping received a call from a headhunter.

After a brief exchange, she hung up without refusing outright.

She didn't want to leave JD. com; rather, someone like her needed to stay competitively active to climb upward.

Liu Qiangdong had just secured 1.5 billion U. S. dollars in funding; JD. com had entered its high-speed growth phase.

But these developments brought Ye Qiuping little benefit.

Because in 2011, JD. com was essentially an offline retail store disguised as an e-commerce platform, with an internal structure centered on procurement and sales—radically different from Mama Ali's operational model.

After weighing her options, Ye Qiuping decided that if a better opportunity arose, she'd switch jobs immediately.

"Orange Tech, Director of Branding, monthly salary 60,000 yuan, plus a housing allowance equal to 20% of salary—totaling over 70,000 yuan per month, plus an equity incentive plan…"

In her mind, Ye Qiuping recalled the headhunter's words, her eyes brightening with interest.

At this point, her annual income was barely over 400,000 yuan.

As for JD. com's stock options, profitability was still far off—those options were essentially worthless paper.

Learning that Orange Tech's boss was Chen Yansen, Ye Qiuping decided to give it a try.

She knew that in rapidly growing projects, one could gain more resources and benefits.

At JD. com, unless she could attach herself to Liu Qiangdong or switch to procurement and sales, she'd have no equal opportunity.

(End of Chapter)