53: Chapter 53 150 Million Plus Free Factory

"Fine! I agree. General Manager Shen, give me a quote."

General Manager Li Xiangdong gritted his teeth and gripped the table beside him; if he weren't still on the phone, the cup in his hand would have already been crushed to smithereens.

"Rest assured, I know Bird's difficulties, so let's just go with the industry average. 15 yuan per phone, and we only want the good ones; you handle the junk and waste yourselves."

General Manager Li Xiangdong handed the phone to his secretary, signaled for him to leave, and then pounded the table in anger for a while.

This is going too far!

They dug a hole to bury them, and now they want to charge a rescue fee for pulling them out. And 'industry average,' my ass—the highest industry rate is only 15 yuan. It only goes up slightly if the volume is large.

But now, with 10 million units, that's 150 million.

"General Manager Shen, this... this is too..." After a long while, General Manager Li Xiangdong finally took the phone back from his secretary.

"Does General Manager Li think it's expensive?" Shen Fei's tone turned cold instantly.

"Then forget it; we have enough for now anyway. When these phones pile up in the warehouse, the batteries will eventually leak and pollute the environment. When the Environmental Protection Bureau comes knocking, the fines will be much higher than this amount."

General Manager Li Xiangdong instantly recalled the news from last month about an electronic waste processing plant in Guangzhou being fined 30 million, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body.

The stock in his hands was far more than that...

"Wait! General Manager Shen." He squeezed the words out through his teeth. "15 yuan... 15 yuan it is! But you must take all of them at once."

"Can do." Shen Fei agreed readily. "However, General Manager Li, I have one more condition."

"Go ahead..."

General Manager Li Xiangdong snorted coldly again; he wanted to see just how big an appetite this brat had.

"Sell me that processing plant Bird has in Guangzhou, along with the associated production lines, for 1 yuan." Shen Fei said it as if it were only natural, as if he weren't robbing him blind.

"Consider this plant... a discount on the processing fee. After all, the production capacity is quite large, and we are taking on a certain amount of risk."

"What?!" General Manager Li Xiangdong almost dropped his phone.

Although the Guangzhou factory didn't have a huge capacity, it was designed for 3 million units. The key point was that the factory was still very new, and now it was being sold off for 1 yuan...

"General Manager Li is unwilling?" Shen Fei suddenly laughed again. "Then never mind. Oh, by the way, let me remind you. Your company's 200 million loan, it seems you used your Africa business as collateral, right? If the bank's superiors find out that your so-called Africa market is actually an empty shell, then..."

General Manager Li Xiangdong slumped into his chair.

He knew he had lost, lost completely.

From the very beginning, Transsion pausing its recycling was a meticulously designed trap; Shen Fei had calculated that he would greedily take the bait. As for the Africa market, it was likely the same kind of trap...

Shen Fei was far better than his old man.

"I agree." General Manager Li Xiangdong closed his eyes and laughed dryly. "I agree to all conditions."

"A wise choice," Shen Fei said. "I'll have someone send the contract over. Remember, all goods must be transported to the designated warehouse within a week. The transfer of funds and the factory must be completed within three days; for every day of delay, the processing fee will increase by 1 yuan."

After hanging up the phone, General Manager Li Xiangdong sat in his office for a full hour.

Then, he stood up abruptly and dialed the Africa team: "Increase the intensity. At any cost, push our long-battery-life phone to the limit.

It's not just the Tanzania market; this time it's the entirety of Africa. I want to return the humiliation Transsion gave me there tenfold, a hundredfold.

This time, set the price at the bottom line; even if we sell at a loss, we must sell."

His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot.

This was the last attempt; otherwise, Bird would end up like those copycat manufacturers and become history.

...

Meanwhile, in Guangzhou, at the Transsion headquarters.

Shen Fei and Wang Shangzhong were already calculating the value. These phones were all models from the last few years, and the chips were basically all usable.

Even for some older models, after a 'critical hit' boost, they could reach the level of the last two years, so there was absolutely no need to worry about the Africa market.

"General Manager Shen, if we calculate the cost of each chip at 0.5 yuan, the total cost is only 5 million," Wang Shangzhong said, a hint of joy appearing on his face. "And the processing fee we're collecting is 150 million.

That's a net profit of 145 million. Plus the money earned from the Africa market..."

"It's not that little." Looking at Wang Shangzhong, whose eyes were flashing with dollar signs, Shen Fei nodded with a smile as well.

"Screens, batteries, cameras, chips—our supply chain trading company should also be launched."

Shen Fei glanced toward the east: "General Manager Li Xiangdong thinks he only lost in Africa and lost on the recycling deal.

He will soon realize that he never had a chance to sit at the table from the very beginning; this is merely putting an end to the conflicts between the older generation."

"Tell Wang Jing to strive to secure Bird as a major client as soon as possible."

...

But 2009 seemed to be Transsion's destined year; in battery technology research, Wang Mengyang also achieved a similar breakthrough.

Shen Fei pushed open the door to the laboratory, and a familiar scent of chemical reagents rushed toward him.

Over 20 researchers in the lab were wearing white coats and gathered in front of a piece of testing equipment.

"Voltage 3.7V, capacity 4200mAh, energy density... 145Wh/kg!"

A middle-aged man in a white coat excitedly blurted out the data.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

When Shen Fei approached, the man in the white coat with black-rimmed glasses turned his head, saw him, and immediately stood straight: "General Manager Shen."

Wang Mengyang, a Ph.D. in Materials Science and the head of the Transsion High-density battery project; this was also a reward the system had given him some time ago.

As for his identity, the system had also taken care of it: a former materials science professor at a university in the United States who, due to being ostracized by other professors, was eventually persuaded by Huang Tianya's 'money power' to return to the country and join Transsion Technology.

"Dr. Wang, I heard there's good news," Shen Fei asked with a smile.

"More than just good news." Wang Mengyang's eyes sparkled as he took a silver-gray battery from one of his students.

"This is our second-generation sample: energy density 145Wh/kg, cycle life exceeding 1400 times, and at minus 20 degrees, the capacity retention rate reaches 85%."

Shen Fei took the battery and examined it carefully. In appearance, it was similar to the first-generation High-density battery from his previous life, but the energy density was slightly lower.

Fortunately, the cycle life was much higher, and it was equally cold-resistant.

"The test data all met the standards, and even exceeded them."

Wang Mengyang took out a comparison chart: "This is a comparison with mainstream batteries on the market. Samsung's lithium battery energy density is 115, while the ones Apple uses are a bit better, reaching 125.

Ours is 145. With the same volume, our capacity is over 30% higher."

"What about the cost?"