Shockingly, a counterfeit factory has produced a 3-nanometer chip.

Chapter 18: Another Move – Cutting Off the Battery Supply!

"No problem." Huang Tianya nodded and made a note of it. These were all minor issues for him.

Just then, Li Qing pushed open the door and left: "President Shen, back in China... some people have noticed us, and public opinion is starting to get a little off."

Shen Fei opened his laptop and pulled up several news reports.

Transsion Holdings: A Deviation from Its Core Business? Or a New Path?

"Playing with beauty filters in Africa: The Decline of Chinese Mobile Phone Manufacturers"

"From China to Africa: Transsion's Dead End"

The article comes from several third-rate media outlets in China, which are not well-known nationwide, but have a decent influence in the south, especially in Transsion's home base and main sales markets...

These articles may have different starting points, but they are all written in the same way: poor sales, collapsed profits; they are transforming because they can't survive; they can't hold on any longer and need to cash out.

Finally, the seller urged everyone not to fall for the scam, explaining that the guarantees offered by these phone sellers only apply as long as the company is still operating; once they go out of business...

Ha ha

Then Li Qing pointed out another piece of news: "When Mr. Xu of Bird was interviewed yesterday, he said that a certain company's trade-in program is indeed a good way to serve the people, so they also chose to follow suit."

However, he also said that some companies try to run away when they encounter difficulties, which is not the attitude of doing business. Many users are now suspecting that our trade-in program is just a way to clear out inventory and prepare to abscond.

In addition, a counterfeit mobile phone factory owner in Guangzhou said: "Transsion can't survive anymore. They've all gone to that godforsaken place in Africa to make a living. It's probably going to go bankrupt soon."

Shen Fei smiled as he looked at these reports.

"Let them laugh," he said. "The happier they laugh now, the harder they'll be slapped in the face later."

"Should we try to do some public relations?"

"No need." Shen Fei waved his hand: "Our main force is not in the country right now, and most consumers won't remember us in two years."

These forms of entertainment are useless; just treat them as a joke.

"Invest all our resources in product development and market expansion. When we achieve annual sales of tens of millions of units in Africa, when our technological barriers are so high that they can't understand them..."

Shenfei closed the webpage: "Public opinion will naturally shift, and some 'smart' media outlets may even write that foreign companies are aggressively entering the Chinese market. I wonder if domestic manufacturers can withstand it."

Those people write whatever's trending, don't worry about it.

Just then, Liu Fang, who was in charge of purchasing, called: "President Shen is in trouble again." Liu Fang's voice sounded a little anxious.

"Our battery supplier suddenly notified us that the production capacity of the T1 batteries we planned to mass-produce next month was fully booked and they could not supply them."

Which supplier?

"Yangcheng Desay Battery said that a major customer has booked all of its production capacity for the next three months and has already paid the penalty for breach of contract."

Shen Fei's expression turned cold. A major client—there are very few domestic companies that can afford to monopolize Desay's production capacity at this time. Could it be that Huaxing Investment is up to something again?

But what could they possibly want from the transmission... Besides those factories, what else was there? The old man didn't seem to have any good stuff in his memory!

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Fei said to Huang Tianya and Li Qing, "It seems someone doesn't want us to have it too easy?"

"Should we check who it is?"

"We don't need to check to know." Shen Fei sneered: "It's either Huaxing Investment, or one of those third-rate mobile phone manufacturers in China like us, or even some more powerful competitors."

Everyone was already struggling, and Transsion was on the verge of collapse, but then they made a strong comeback... If they really become popular overseas and make a strong comeback in China, it won't be a good thing for them.

After all, for people nowadays, things from abroad are indeed better.

"Tianya, immediately activate the backup plan. Acquire a battery factory, quickly. Don't worry about the technology; feature phones don't need advanced batteries."

"clear."

After Huang Tianya left, Shen Fei continued working in the conference room.

In 2008, smartphones were just starting out, and there wasn't even a trace of domestically produced high-end chips. It was still a long way off, and there was still a chance to catch up in terms of lithography machines.

Although every step forward requires overcoming thorns, it is still much easier than being held back in research and development. With him and the system, the only one being held back in this life is the United States.

Of course, the most urgent task now is to contact the pharmaceutical company and acquire their retail division.

It was supposed to be almost finalized by December, but then the financial crisis hit...

Yes, it was the financial crisis. In the previous life, it seems that because of those two companies' price-cutting, Huawei eventually abandoned its sale plan and chose to weather the storm on its own. Since then, it has never mentioned selling its terminal division again.

He couldn't let these idiots ruin his plans.

Just as he was about to contact his friends, his phone vibrated. It was a call from his mother, Zhang Ruyue.

"Xiaofei, your dad can talk today, and he can speak in complete sentences. He asked you where you are."

Shen Fei took a deep breath: "Mom, I'll go back to see Dad tomorrow."

…………

Desay Battery's third factory in Longgang Industrial Zone, Guangzhou.

The factory director's office was filled with smoke. The over-50-year-old factory director, Wang, smoked one cigarette after another, while Liu Fang and Li Qing, whose faces were ashen, sat in front of him.

"Director Wang, we've been working together for three years. Has Chuanyin ever been late with the final payment?" Liu Fang tried to keep her tone gentle, even though she really wanted to curse.

"It's not compliant with regulations to suddenly say that the payment will be suspended starting next month and that we'll have to wait at least three months."

Factory Director Wang smiled wryly, but Liu Fang and Li Qing weren't fools... their acting was terrible.

"Liu Fang, it's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. It's just that I have to listen to the shareholders. You know, back then, in order to develop rapidly... now I'm more like a factory owner than a boss."

The other party directly secured the factory's entire production capacity for the next three months from the major shareholder, prepaid 30% of the payment, and even paid the penalty for breach of contract.

"What can I do alone...sigh...?"

"Who is the other party?" Li Qing finally asked, getting straight to the point.

"This..." Factory Director Wang's eyes darted around. "I can't say because I signed a confidentiality agreement."

Li Qing stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Nokia, Motorola, Coolpad, Bird, or all of these together?"

Factory Director Wang's hand trembled, and cigarette ash fell onto the table; the answer was self-evident.

"Understood." Liu Fang stood up: "Director Wang, Transsion has supplied Desay with no less than 500 million batteries every year over the years, so the cooperation can be considered to be going smoothly."

But I'll remember what happened today.

"General Manager Liu, General Manager Li, I really had no choice!" Factory Director Wang pretended to stand up and explain, but his legs seemed to be weighed down by a thousand-pound iron block, and he couldn't move at all.

After they left, Factory Director Wang spat out a mouthful of phlegm in disdain.

"It's already a miracle that the young master himself spoke up and that he survived."

Back in the car, Liu Fang said anxiously, "Oh no, this is really bad."

The T1 uses a custom-made 1600mAh battery, which is unavailable on the market. If Desay cuts off supply, next month's production schedule will be completely halted...

"The offensive in Africa is still in full swing; if we can't deliver the goods, we're doomed."

Li Qing also sighed slightly. Their move was indeed ruthless, directly cutting off the supply chain. Even if Transsion rose to prominence in Africa, it would be unable to deliver the goods, and the situation it had created would collapse.

If all the initial investment goes down the drain, then you might as well just give up completely.

But with so many counterfeit phones in China, taking down Transsion doesn't seem to make much difference. Could it be that the authorities are about to take some big action?