Chapter 111: Investing in Suppliers

Wang Yongjun put the check into his briefcase, looking much more energetic. With a big smile on his face, he asked, "Then let's continue the topic we were on just now. Boss Zhou, will this new type of mobile phone of yours still use the previous accessories?"

"Mine this..."

Knock knock knock!

Just as Zhou Chen was about to reply, there was a sudden knock on the door outside.

Liu Chen immediately went to open the door.

It was Qi Hang and Li Qiushui.

Qi Hang, who was already a bit on the thin side, looked even more haggard at the moment. His eye bags were swollen and his pupils were bloodshot, which showed that he hadn't had much sleep in recent days.

Li Qiushui walked into the office, her face livid. She said, "Chairman, Sun Jiang's payment for goods has been settled. He threw out some harsh words, saying that he would make it impossible for us to buy mobile phone chips forever!"

This was the first time she had dealt with suppliers since she started working.

There had been some unpleasantness between the boss and Sun Jiang just now. She had expected that Sun Jiang would terminate the subsequent cooperation, but she didn't expect that he would throw out such harsh words.

Isn't it said that even if a deal doesn't go through, there should still be kindness and righteousness?

All being enterprises in Jiangzhou, why did he have to be so aggressive?

Liu Chen, with a worried look on his face, explained: "Fengxing Company has already established itself in the semiconductor industry in Jiangzhou. It has crushed more than ten semiconductor companies in just two years. At present, the number of orders is increasing geometrically. This is the capital he is proud of. If he really targets us, it's quite possible that he will make other semiconductor companies refuse to supply us!"

The several suppliers looked at each other, and then all focused their eyes on this young boss at the same time.

The mobile phone processor is equivalent to the human brain. Without a processor, it's indeed impossible to make a mobile phone.

They wanted to see how this young boss would handle this crisis.

"Just make the chips ourselves!"

Qi Hang suddenly spoke up at this moment. His voice was a bit hoarse as he said spiritedly, "Our mobile phone system is too advanced. There isn't any chip in the world that can drive our system. We have no choice but to develop our own chips!"

Li Qiushui laughed wryly and said, "According to the concept of the chairman's plan, the chips we need are at least five years ahead of the present. With the current lithography level, it's impossible to produce them!"

The several suppliers were completely confused!

Chips that are five years ahead of this era?

What kind of mobile phone on earth is this young boss planning to make?

Zhou Chen leaned back on the sofa chair, with his hands on his abdomen, half-closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Li Qiushui had summed it up quite accurately!

His plan was to develop SOC chips on his own, but it wasn't the time yet.

To manufacture the chips he had in mind, an extremely advanced lithography machine was needed.

Currently, the chips produced by the lithography machines on the market are still at the micrometer level.

Although he had the memory of future chips and could provide the concepts, it was still as difficult as climbing to the sky to develop the chips.

Secondly, regarding the lithography machine, even if it were possible to develop chips four or five years ahead, there wouldn't be a suitable lithography machine to produce them.

Unless we build the lithography machine ourselves...

Thinking of this, Zhou Chen himself was amused by this idea.

In his previous life, he lived until 2016, and by that time, high-precision lithography machines hadn't even been developed in China yet.

Zhou Chen sighed to himself in his heart, and then pressed his hand down and said, "Please sit down first. I'll figure out another way for the chip issue. Let's talk about other hardware matters first!"

Qi Hang and Li Qiushui pulled up chairs and sat down.

Only then did Zhou Chen look at the three suppliers and said, "Our new mobile phone is a product that will subvert the era. So I need you to upgrade your company's hardware products!"

Wang Yongjun said with a bitter smile, "If we could upgrade our products, we would have done it long ago. Take our mobile phone screens for example. There are more than two hundred companies in the whole Hunan Province and over a thousand in the whole country. The competition is too fierce. We can only lower the prices. As a result, the profits are low. Without enough profits, how can we have the money to develop new products and upgrade equipment and processes?"

The other two suppliers nodded in empathy. The difficulties Wang Yongjun faced were also theirs.

Zhou Chen smiled faintly and said, "What if I invest in you?"

As soon as these words came out, the three of them were immediately stunned.

The industry competition is fierce.

There are countless peers who are better than them.

This also causes most venture capital companies to exclude them from their investment scope.Unless they develop iterative products, no venture capital company is willing to invest.

If Zhou Chen had sufficient funds, he could have chosen better suppliers. Why would he choose to invest in their own companies?

Zhou Chen continued, "I plan to support the development of your companies to facilitate our long-term cooperation in the future. You can also understand it as me customizing accessories from you. However, the technology and accessories you currently have are not worthy of my mobile phone. So I want you to upgrade your products, and I will provide the funds for upgrading the products."

Wang Yongjun turned his head to look at Zhou Jinbao and Wang Cewen.

The two of them gulped, with an incredulous expression on their faces.

What Zhou Chen meant was that he would bear all the risks.

This was no different from a pie falling from the sky!

Zhou Chen then said, "The premise is... I want to hold the controlling stake."

Wang Cewen took a deep breath and asked "Boss Zhou, how about... I just sell Shenju Company to you directly?"

There are quite a lot of mobile phone camera companies.

Especially now, many camera-producing companies are also producing mobile phone cameras.

Their camera-making techniques far exceed those of his own company...

Shenju Company is running at a loss and is almost on the verge of bankruptcy.

He wants to withdraw from this market...

Wang Yongjun stomped on Wang Cewen's leather shoes hard and leaned over to whisper, "Are you stupid? Boss Zhou is bearing all the risks. What are you afraid of?"

Wang Cewen sighed, "I'm old and can't afford to take risks. We these eighteenth-tier brands can't compete with those first-tier brands!"

Hearing Wang Cewen's words, Zhou Jinbao beside him also had the same idea as him.

Zhou Chen said faintly, "Which first-tier brand didn't achieve success after going through a fierce battle? Isn't the competition in the mobile phone industry fierce? Haven't I also jumped into the fray?"

After hearing Zhou Chen's words, Zhou Jinbao immediately dismissed the idea that had just come to him and nodded resolutely: "Boss Zhou is right. How can one see the rainbow without going through the storm? I've been in the battery industry for sixteen years and really don't want to give up just like that. I accept your investment and holding of the controlling stake."

Wang Yongjun chimed in: "I'm willing too!"

As he said that, he didn't forget to nudge Wang Cewen with his knee.

Wang Cewen took a deep breath, looked up at Zhou Chen and said: "Since Boss Zhou is so bold, then I'll take a gamble with you!"

Zhou Chen smiled slightly and looked at Li Qiushui and Qi Hang and asked: "Have the mobile phone blueprints been designed?"

"Currently, there's only a draft of a concept drawing..."

Li Qiushui took out a folded piece of draft paper from her bag.

Zhou Chen took it, opened it and took a look.

Full screen with semi-circular corners.

The size was similar to that of the first-generation iPhone.

Three buttons were retained at the bottom of the screen.

These three buttons were the dial key, the home menu key and the return key respectively.

The lower part of the back of the mobile phone had a battery compartment.

This was the appearance of the removable battery of the earliest Android mobile phones.

Overall, the blueprint was already close to what Zhou Chen had expected.

Li Qiushui asked, "This is the initial version. We'll continue with the design next. Later, we'll select the best model from ten versions!"

Zhou Chen nodded and said, "The design is very good. It's pretty much what I expected!"