18: Chapter 18 The Storm Arrives! Three Thousand Per Unit

Inside the workshop, rows of bike frames stood silent like a forest.

"They need a name."

Chen Xu picked up a piece of chalk and wrote two characters on the small blackboard nearby.

Storm.

Storm.

Next to it, he drew an extremely simple logo.

A sharp pentagram, enclosed by an open circle, with one point of the star piercing through the ring, pointing into the distance.

Xingchen.

Xingchen Machinery.

Chen Xu pointed at the logo and said to Chen Er, "Laser-etch this mark onto the battery compartment cover on the side of the bike frame. Keep it small and low-key."

"Understood."

Everything was ready.

Chen Xu knew clearly that no matter how good a product was, it was just a pile of scrap metal if it stayed cooped up in the workshop.

He didn't choose to cast a wide net, nor did he go looking for high-end distributors.

His goal was clear.

The North Second Ring Road Electric Bicycle Trading Center.

That was the largest electric vehicle trading market in all of Fei City.

"Chen Yi, come with me. Chen Er, Chen San, you two continue assembling the bikes."

"Bring the prototype."

In the back of the old van, a single "Storm" prototype was securely fastened.

The pitch-black bike frame in the cargo hold exuded a dangerous aura.

The van drove into the North Second Ring Road Electric Vehicle Trading Center.

On a weekend afternoon, the place was bustling with noise, and promotional music from various brands was deafening.

Chen Xu skillfully parked the vehicle in front of a shop with a sign that read "dizi Electric Vehicles."

A slightly chubby middle-aged man wearing a floral shirt was lying on a recliner at the entrance.

He was leisurely scrolling through short videos.

Huang Dashan.

The owner of this shop, and a well-known veteran in this market.

Chen Xu jumped out of the van and walked up to him.

"Brother Huang, business is booming, I see."

Huang Dashan lifted his eyelids and saw that it was Chen Xu.

A smile appeared on his face, and he sat up from the recliner.

"Yo, it's Little Chen! Where have you been running off to make your fortune these past few months?"

"I thought your shabby workshop had gone out of business!"

His polite words carried a sting.

Chen Xu didn't mind and opened the back door of the van.

"I made a little money, came up with something new, and wanted to ask Brother Huang to take a look."

Huang Dashan glanced into the cargo hold.

The matte black electric bike inside had cold, rigid lines.

It was full of power and exuded the aura of a beast.

Especially the fully exposed single-sided rear swingarm and the thick frame, which brought a strong visual impact.

Huang Dashan had been in the market for over a decade; there wasn't a bike he hadn't seen.

But this thing... he really hadn't seen it before.

He walked to the front of the bike and ran his finger over the weld seams of the frame.

Smooth, uniform.

He knocked on the main frame beam.

The sound was dull and heavy; it was made with high-quality materials.

Huang Dashan's heart skipped a beat.

This craftsmanship was even better than the most expensive genuine "dizi" in his shop!

Did this kid really make this?

Had he really managed to make something of himself?

Huang Dashan withdrew his hand, his face impassive.

Then he put on a critical expression.

"Little Chen, which small workshop did you get this assembled bike from?"

"The quality is not bad!"

"The appearance is quite intimidating, tell me about it."

Chen Xu smiled. He and Chen Yi unloaded the prototype from the van and stood it in front of Huang Dashan.

"Brother Huang, I won't beat around the bush with you."

"This bike was built in my own factory."

"The range is 30% longer than the bikes currently on the market."

"In terms of power, it doesn't lose speed on inclines, and it accelerates from zero to fifty kilometers per hour in five seconds."

After hearing this, Huang Dashan shook his head so fast it was like a propeller.

"Little Chen, it's not that I, your brother, want to lecture you."

"Young people shouldn't be so unrealistic. Thirty percent more range? Why don't you say it can fly?"

"With the batteries on the market right now, whose motor could possibly do anything fancy?"

"They're all falsified specs, just to fool laymen."

Chen Xu didn't argue with him.

"Wholesale price, three thousand per unit."

"Pfft—" Huang Dashan nearly choked on his own saliva.

"Three thousand?!" He stared at Chen Xu with wide eyes.

"Are you robbing me? The 'God of War' high-copy from the Lubaba Factory in my shop..."

"...looks just as cool, and the wholesale price is only two thousand three hundred!"

"Is your bike made of gold? Or is the battery made of gold?"

The Lubaba Factory was exactly the one owned by Wang Fugui.

"That two-thousand-three-hundred bike of yours..."

"...can it run for one hundred kilometers?"

"Do you dare let a user twist the throttle to the max and run at top speed?"

"Do you dare promise a five-year warranty on the motor?"

Three consecutive questions made Huang Dashan's expression change repeatedly.

He naturally knew the quality of Lubaba Factory's goods; the range was falsified by half.

The motor sounded like a tractor when it ran.

The return rate was frighteningly high.

But he would never admit defeat verbally.

"How am I supposed to believe what you're saying? Just because you say the range is one hundred ten, it's one hundred ten?"

"If I sell it, and the customer runs out of power after seventy kilometers, won't they come back and smash my shop?"

Chen Xu was waiting for this exact sentence.

"Brother Huang, we haven't known each other for just a day or two."

"I'll leave this bike here with you today."

"Find someone to ride it, test it however you like."

"Run the battery dry. As long as the actual range doesn't reach the number I said..."

Chen Xu's face showed powerful confidence.

"...I'll give you this bike for free."

"And I'll pay you thirty thousand yuan as compensation for your losses."

"We can sign an agreement."

Huang Dashan's breath hitched.

Thirty thousand yuan—it wasn't a huge amount, but it wasn't small either.

This kid was either crazy, or he had absolute confidence in his product!

He stared at Chen Xu, then looked at the black "Storm."

The scales in his heart began to sway violently.

The craftsmanship and design of this bike were truly top-notch.

If the performance was really as he said...

Huang Dashan's eyes rolled.

His years of experience in the industry made him cautious.

He retracted all the contempt and skepticism on his face.

He put on an earnest expression that said, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"Little Chen, your bike... the appearance and craftsmanship are indeed not bad."

"The fact that you dare to sign an agreement shows you have a lot of sincerity."

Huang Dashan changed the subject.

"However, there is one most critical issue."

"Does your bike have 3C certification? Is it in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's production license catalog?"

Huang Dashan patted a knockoff Lubaba bike nearby.

"I sell Lubaba bikes; although they are knockoffs and cheap goods, they have all the proper documentation!"

"They can be registered at the vehicle management office, and I have no trouble when the traffic police check!"

He leaned closer to Chen Xu and lowered his voice.

"Your bike, to put it bluntly, is just an unlicensed, unregistered 'electric motorcycle'."

"If I sell one, it's illegal sales. If I get caught, the bike gets impounded, and I get fined!"

"You tell me, do I dare sell it?"

Huang Dashan lay back down on his recliner and picked up his teapot.

He laid all his cards out on the table.

He believed this issue.

Was enough to completely shatter all the confidence and pride of the young man in front of him.