Chapter 244: First Hour Online, 80,000 Orders! Dingdong Community Established!

April 5, WeChat version 4.0 launched, Moments feature rolled out simultaneously, English version officially renamed WeChat.

Zhang Xiaolong paid tribute to Instagram's album function, launching a trend for Huaguo netizens to share (show off) their lives.

WeChat user numbers soared rapidly toward the 200 million mark!

That afternoon, Laoshou Network announced externally that it had completed Series C financing of 110 million US dollars, restarting IPO roadshow work, obviously intending to raise more funds through listing, thereby forming an overwhelming advantage in the group-buying market.

On the same day, Gening, Lvjian, and Fengyuan Big Pharmacies in Luzhou, as well as Yifeng, Fumei, and Hao Yaoshi Big Pharmacies in Hucheng, high-profilely entered Kuipao Delivery.

From now on, daily medicines or life blockers can be bought at home, delivered by delivery Xiong Xiaoge.

Meanwhile, Kuipao established branch companies in Hangcheng and Jin Ling respectively, doing preparatory work for entering the local delivery market.

……

……

Zhuxianzhuang Technology Park, Building No. 9.

Chen Yansen opened a product document sent by Cao Dahua, which contained two new products in total.

10000mAh Sister Chengzi Power Bank Standard Version, selling price 99 yuan;

10000mAh Sister Chengzi Power Bank Fast-Charge Version, selling price 199 yuan.

Adopting a steel casing design, composed of four 2500mAh 18650 lithium-ion cells, core components supplied by Desay Battery.

The fast-charge version selects 18650 lithium-ion cells with higher charging rates, optimizes circuit design, and adds charging protection functions.

Compared with power banks from brands like Pisen and Aigo of the same specifications, the price of the Sister Chengzi Power Bank can only be considered on par with them, slightly higher by about 20% than ordinary brands.

Chen Yansen glanced at the material costs, pondered for a moment, and changed the prices to 69 yuan and 139 yuan.

Senlian Capital, as one of the core shareholders of Desay Battery, plus the procurement orders from the Sister Chengzi Mobile Phone Factory, accounted for nearly forty percent of the company's business.

The supply price given by Desay was naturally the lowest in the entire industry.

Cao Dahua calculated the cells, circuit boards, casings, packaging, wires, labor, and transportation all together; the cost was not even 50 yuan.

Even if sold only for 69 yuan, there would still be a 40% gross profit margin.

Chen Yansen never thought of making profits from power banks, phone cases, or Bluetooth earphones; these peripheral products were merely means for him to keep the factory running and guarantee workers' income.

The morning passed in the blink of an eye, arriving at noon.

Chen Yansen went downstairs and walked straight into the cafeteria; as soon as he entered, he saw Liang Bo and Wang Teng sitting not far away, eating and chatting.

"The download volume of Jinri Toutiao is truly fierce, topping the charts for five consecutive days; let me say this first, once today ends, tomorrow you'll have to pay for the resource slots on the Sister Chengzi App Shangcheng."

Wang Teng said with a smile.

The boss's support period for Jinri Toutiao is only five days; once the time is up, all free ad slots will be immediately withdrawn.

"Hey, do you think I can't afford it?" Liang Bo retorted.

The launch of Jinri Toutiao was nothing short of perfect; in five days it broke through 15 million downloads, with registered users surpassing 10 million.

The information feed was interspersed with native ads for Pinba, Sister Chengzi Technology, Kuipao, and Kuaide Ride-Hailing; although everyone belongs to subsidiaries under Senlian Capital, the advertising fees still have to be paid.

Jinri Toutiao is not short of money; Liang Bo naturally had full confidence.

Moreover, Jinri Technology also plans to set up an advertising sales department; as long as daily active users are stabilized and users are retained, easily earning 30 to 50 million a month is no problem at all.

Chen Yansen listened to the two's conversation and smiled faintly.

He got his food, did not go over to join the fun, but walked to sit opposite Meng Jie, with Ye Qiuping sitting beside her.

When did this woman get close to Meng Jie?

Chen Yansen sneered inwardly; it seemed the last time he urged Ye Qiuping was not profound enough, causing the other party to develop other thoughts.

Meng Jie, who was burying her head in eating, suddenly felt the light dim before her eyes; subconsciously she raised her head, and upon seeing it was Chen Yansen, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, smiling as she asked, "Want a chicken leg?"

Chen Yansen smiled, pushed his tray over, took the chicken leg, then looked at Ye Qiuping and said, "Director Ye seems very familiar with Meng Jie?"

In the last two days, he often saw the two entering and leaving together in the cafeteria.

"Sister Qiuping is very nice; she taught me a lot." Meng Jie put down her chopsticks, wrapped her arm around Ye Qiuping's arm, and said.

"Is that so? Director Ye, come to my office this afternoon; there are some brand promotion plans that need in-depth communication with you."

Chen Yansen looked at the other party with a half-smile, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Okay, Boss."

Ye Qiuping's expression remained normal, but her heart went "thump," realizing her behavior had caused the other party to misunderstand.

Meng Jie noticed nothing about this, accompanying Chen Yansen to finish lunch.

Half an hour later.

Chen Yansen returned to his office, poured a cup of tea, leaned back in his chair in thought; the No. 4 Mobile Phone Factory in Luzhou is planned to start production next Monday.

Initially, it will focus on OEM orders for Huawei and Xiaomi mobile phones; if the sales of the Sister Chengzi Power Bank can meet expectations, some production capacity can be transferred there.

The Shencheng Factory is only responsible for the production and manufacturing of Sister Chengzi mobile phones, gradually transforming into an integrated comprehensive factory for R&D and manufacturing.

After all, Shencheng has complete supporting facilities and strong ability to attract high-end talent; there is no need to stuff everyone into Xucheng.

"Knock-knock-knock—!"

At this moment, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

Chen Yansen knew it was Ye Qiuping and replied faintly, "Come in."

Ye Qiuping pushed the door open, gently closed it behind her, and hurriedly explained, "Boss, I have absolutely no ill will toward Meng Jie; I just thought since she is your girlfriend, I wanted to be friendly with her."

"I don't believe it."

Chen Yansen stared straight at Ye Qiuping, saying with a light smile.

The twenty-eight-year-old Ye Qiuping, though an old book, had become increasingly plump and mature, bright and lovely; her white shirt, gray suit, and linen wide-leg pants complemented her fierce figure perfectly.

"Then what must I do for you to believe me?" Ye Qiuping sighed helplessly; as a subordinate, currying favor with a potential boss's wife, isn't this very normal?

That's right, in her view, Meng Jie was probably just one of Chen Yansen's many backup options.

Given Chen Yansen's practiced posture, she did not believe the other party had only one girlfriend.

"Pull the curtains shut." Chen Yansen sat in the boss's chair, leaned back, and gave the order in a light, airy tone.

Ye Qiuping's heart lurched in panic; she understood exactly what he meant, but she would rather she hadn't.

An hour later, Ye Qiuping, biting her lip, finally couldn't help asking: "Boss, are you almost done?"

Chen Yansen raised his hand, glanced at his wristwatch, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "Lie down properly!"

……

……

Three days later, April 8th, ten in the morning.

Sister Chengzi Mall, Pinbei, Taobao, Suning, Gome, and Kuaipao Takeout — six channels simultaneously went on sale with the Sister Chengzi power bank.

10,000 mAh, only 69 yuan!

And for comparable power banks, no-name brands were just over 100 yuan, while big-name brands shot straight past 200.

Sister Chengzi Tech's total user count had already reached 20 million; their demand for power banks was by no means low, and at 69 yuan the price really wasn't expensive.

In the first hour after launch, 80,000 orders were sold!

Buyers in Shanghai and Luzhou received their goods in just half an hour.

At this point, Taobao and JD hadn't yet realized the threat that forward warehouses posed to them; they only felt that Sister Chengzi Tech's practice of placing products ahead of time at Yunsu Express warehouses and takeout stations looked rather foolish.

Delivery times had shortened, but warehousing and management costs were too high, making it hard to promote and apply on a large scale.

After learning of it, Ma Liyun didn't take the matter to heart.

Instead, it was Liang Changlin, the boss of Shanghai Yaya Net, who, after buying an order of Sister Chengzi power banks on Kuaipao, was greatly inspired.

He mulled it over: if a neighborhood service station were set up in a central spot where residential complexes clustered, offering users housekeeping recommendations, property-fee payment on their behalf, parcel collection, grocery shopping, and home-appliance repair services — wouldn't that be the equivalent of building an offline 58 Mall?

The more Liang Changlin thought about it, the more he felt the project's prospects were good: it sidestepped online competition with 58 Mall, and he wouldn't have to face Kuaipao head-on either.

Different from the o2o model, he defined this business model as s2c — that is, helping housekeeping, renovation, and appliance-repair personnel sell their skills and services to buyers.

Profit came from two directions: first, sales commission; second, the platform's own-brand products.

Liang Changlin was a veteran by background, and acted decisively. Within two days he had registered the "Dingdong Neighborhood" trademark, and at Zhangjiang Science Park in Pudong, began recruiting R&D and rider personnel.

Meanwhile.

Chen Yansen, taking Gao Weilin and Song Yuncheng with him, drove to Luzhou.

They had just come off the expressway when Xu Minggang's call came in.

"Brother Chen, are you in Luzhou? I've booked a table at Luzhou Fu tonight — let me throw you a welcome dinner."

Xu Minggang laughed heartily, his tone familiar and warm.

"I've invited Secretary Tao — how about joining us?"

Chen Yansen suggested with a smile.

He had no time to socialize one by one with Xu Minggang, Tao Jingwen and the rest; it wasn't as if they hadn't eaten together before.

"Fine, then don't worry about it, I'll arrange it." Xu Minggang took charge with a sweeping wave of his hand.

Chen Yansen promptly hung up the phone.

This trip to Luzhou had two purposes: first, to attend the unveiling ceremony of Luzhou's No. 4 super factory; second, to get a legal license for a taxi company from Meng Yuanzhi.

Within Hui'an Province, only Meng Yuanzhi dared to approve it for him.

One had to understand that Kuaidi Dache was utterly different from traditional taxi companies — drivers joined with their own cars, with not a single operating vehicle registered under the company.

This alternative and peculiar operating license, apart from Hui'an Province, probably no one would recognize at all.

In addition, the number of part-time drivers (i. e., private-car owners) on Kuaidi Dache was also expanding at breakneck speed.

In 2012, Kuaidi Dache had always walked the line between compliant and non-compliant.

(End of this chapter)