Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 253 Lead by example
The night of the murder was quiet.

Before Chen Xuebing convened a meeting with the bigwigs of Huaqiangbei, more than 100,000 feature phones from small manufacturers had already been gathered in the hands of Qidian Technology by the end of June. After being "specially processed" by Lin Bin's software team, they were resold to various stalls in Huaqiangbei by a dozen backpackers at a 10% discount.

When Chen Xuebing finished the meeting, Qidian Technology had no more counterfeit phones in stock.

On the morning of July 2nd, as soon as Yuanwang and Feiyang markets opened, Qidian Technology's store signs had all been changed.

It has been changed to "Spreadtrum Communications Shenzhen Office".

And advertising boards were erected at all the entrances:

Multifunctional internet-enabled mobile phone with 3G upgrade, 40 yuan/unit.

诺基亚N70/三星SGH/摩托罗拉RAZR V3x/索尼K800i翻新，3G芯片加装，30元/台。

(A TD/GSM/GPRS baseband chip worth 180 yuan is included as a gift)

When the store opened, the passing wholesalers and other stall owners all had question marks on their faces.

Where's the singularity? Why is it closed?

3G upgrade?

There's no 3G network! What's the point?
Before anyone could figure it out, a large group of people carrying all sorts of multi-functional mobile phones rushed into the store.

In addition to the fifteen people who decided to follow the big boss of Qidian, there were also some manufacturers who originally relied on Qidian's sales channels for survival.

Singularity also held a "future promotion meeting" for these small manufacturers who were originally on good terms with each other. They were even more shocked than the big bosses. If they want to produce 3G mobile phones in the future, they will need more financial support from Singularity. Moreover, now that Singularity is no longer selling goods, they still have to rely on the big bosses of the "Singularity Spreadtrum Alliance" to help them ship their products.

Naturally, they were extremely obedient.

The market is gradually becoming lively again.

Curious stall owners kept coming over to ask acquaintances for information.

"Huh? You guys spent money to upgrade to 3G phones, and you're planning to raise the price?"

"Nonsense! 3G licenses will be issued soon!"

"Spreadtrum's new chip is a genuine 180 yuan apiece, but now they're only charging for labor; the chip installation is free!"

"I heard it's a government subsidy, only one million yuan!"

"Install these machines and stockpile them. Once the 3G licenses are issued, the price will immediately increase by 200 yuan!"

"Are you stupid? Add 200? Boss Chen said it's a uniform 300!"

Those who frequent Huaqiangbei are seasoned veterans who deal with all sorts of people every day, and they are somewhat hesitant when they hear these sales pitches.

"Huh? How do I get this 3G phone registered with the network? We don't have 3G network registration services in Huaqiangbei, do we? And what about OEM phones that go through official channels?"

"That's easy! Just register as a 2G phone! After completing the registration process, insert the SIM card and turn on the phone, then dial *##6600##* to activate 3G!"

There was a lot of noise at the entrance, but the Spreadtrum staff inside the store didn't come out to promote their products. Instead, they carefully examined each phone that had been brought in to have 3G installed.

"Your E210 doesn't even have internet access; installing 3G won't help! It can't be fixed!"

"We don't want phones with only a GPRS module! Only phones that support GSM (2.5G) and have internet access can be modified!"

Some business owners, upon hearing that there were requirements to receive this "benefit," began to pay attention.

Moisturizing is silent.

SEG Plaza, 58th floor. (Hereinafter referred to as SEG 58)

Chen Xuebing, Lu Weibing, Kan Zhidong, and Zhou Chengyun were drinking tea.

"Chairman, this is a bit slow. We've only processed a little over 6000 cars this morning. Should we open a few more modification shops?"

"No rush, no rush." ​​Chen Xuebing leaned back on the sofa, waved to Lu Weibing, and said leisurely:

“We are providing genuine 3G chips and real subsidies. Over time, people will recognize their value. It costs one million yuan, and we've already received 300,000 orders. I'm still worried it won't be enough. We'll take it slow and carefully select the best ones. We don't want those older models to benefit from this. What we need are one million feature phones that can access the internet.”

Zhou Chengyun wasn't worried about being too slow; on the contrary, he felt it was too fast.

Spreadtrum's cost price for these chips is 100 yuan each, not even including R&D costs. They would actually sell for 180 yuan each on the market. Now, the National High-Tech R&D Program has agreed to subsidize 80 million yuan in R&D expenses, which can only cover 8000 chips. If 100 million chips are sent out at once, Spreadtrum itself will have to subsidize 2000 million yuan.

He thought for a moment, then said with a hint of unease:
“I went to the market and saw that many people were installing these machines with the intention of stockpiling them. These machines are just sitting in the warehouse and not being used. How can the Ministry of Information Industry see the inventory in the market?”

Chen Xuebing chuckled easily, "You're worried they're hoarding stock, but they're actually more anxious than you are. The phones are money in their hands; they'll sell them sooner or later. What they're waiting for is a signal. As soon as the news that '3GTD will soon be realized' spreads nationwide, the price of these phones will skyrocket. Given the sales volume in Huaqiangbei, they'll all be sold out in less than half a month."

As he spoke, he patted the armrest of the sofa: "I'm afraid we'll have to be the ones to send this signal. Old Kan, do you have any connections at the Ministry of Information Industry that you can talk to?"

Kan Zhidong pondered for a moment and shook his head: "I'm in finance, so I can't contact the Ministry of Information Industry. But if I were to promote 3G, I would find a way from other places."

"Tell me about it?" Chen Xuebing straightened up, his interest piqued.

"Your trump card, the government's industrial guidance fund, have you forgotten?" Kan Zhidong crossed his legs, rested his hands on the armrests of the sofa, and laughed.
“You are currently outnumbered and lack resources. You need to find a way to bring in more capable departments. Aren’t you going to support domestic mobile phone parts suppliers?”
"I heard from General Manager Lu that mobile phones involve many categories, including batteries, screens, semiconductors, optical lenses, electronic components, precision manufacturing, and automated equipment. Our country's industry can do a lot of things! We can't support just one company!"

"I think we should set up a TD Industry Fund, which would invest in supplier companies using a model of government guidance, industrial capital, and social funds. With the profitability of Changzheng Capital plus some of its own funds as collateral, and with priority, mezzanine, and subordinated exit options, we can attract banks and state-owned capital to participate."

"Commercial bank wealth management funds are the priority exit, while government funds and policy banks are in the mezzanine, obtaining fixed income, while we bear the main risks. The cycle of these funds is relatively flexible, and the term can be negotiated for five or seven years."

"As long as you are confident that you can make money, I can help you with this. Banks and the government will all get involved, and there will be plenty of people who will speak up for you."

Chen Xuebing's eyes lit up as he listened, but then he hesitated again: "The banks are nationwide, but there aren't many local governments that dare to invest in funds. Hefei is already an exception, and local governments don't have much say in the Ministry of Information Industry. What good would it do to force a few companies in? I can't exactly ask the State Council to invest in me, can I?"

Kan Zhidong laughed: "You're both smart and stupid. It's right that you thought of the government! The government can't invest directly. Doesn't the government have investment departments under its jurisdiction?"

Chen Xuebing instantly opened up the top of his head.

"Oh, the social security fund!"

This is great, this is really great!

The social security fund can even invest in the stock market, focusing on a stable investment approach, and several public funds are also involved in its management.

Social security cannot be neglected. With their involvement, the things that 3G is promoting will truly have connections at higher levels.

Kan Zhidong nodded and said, "I'll speak to the National Council for Social Security Fund on your behalf. It's a win-win situation, with you, the God of Wealth, helping to make money and promoting the progress of the state-owned TD industry. There's no reason for the higher-ups not to agree. Also, let Cai Zhijian contact Central Huijin. Doesn't he have connections? As long as the National Council for Social Security Fund agrees to join, the resistance will be much smaller. Central Huijin controls foreign exchange, so let them invest in US dollars. This way, the foreign exchange problem will be solved for suppliers who need to import equipment. We should also try to bring in the local governments where those supply chain companies are located. It's such a big deal, the more people there are, the more effort we can make."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Chen Xuebing clicked his tongue in amazement, beaming with delight: "Old Kan, you're a genius! When it comes to scheming against the country, you've got every single detail covered!"

"This is called scheming? This is trust!" Kan Zhidong's mouth twisted in disbelief: "The trust our generation placed in the organization is something your generation will never understand."

Chen Xuebing chuckled dryly.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you." He said, then, as if remembering something, he added, "..."
"Also, let's open another fund and attract funds from Huaqiangbei as well."

"Mr. Kan, we need to be more high-profile now. Fund No. 1 is definitely number one in the country, and Fund No. 2 can also be in the top five. BOE, which the TMT fund invested in, is now worth more than 4 yuan, right? The unrealized profit is close to doubling. Let Changzheng Capital participate in more private equity fund rankings, and let more people know about our profit data."

"Mr. Lu, you should spread the word that only companies that join the Spreadtrum Singularity Alliance can receive investment."

"This fund has no investment period or lock-up period. It is open for redemption two days a week, so that companies that join later also have investment opportunities. While we make money, we can control these companies."

Kan Zhidong laughed upon hearing this: "That's right. We need to use capital to deal with these shrewd people in Huaqiangbei. We need to control them from the outside. The group's accounts are almost empty. We should free up our own money as soon as possible and use it for serious business. When should we arrange the dividend distribution?"

Of the more than 60 million yuan in the group's accounts, 50 million yuan has already been loaned out to bond-bearing companies, leaving only more than 10 million yuan.

Qidian spent 16 million yuan on renting buildings and buying advertising space, but only 20 million yuan remained in operating funds.

Gu'an Construction is currently building a 17000-square-meter deep foundation and underground parking garage, which is costing them a fortune and their funds are about to run out.

Money is scarce everywhere.

However, after the stock market decline in June, it once fell to 1550 points.

Gu'an has a large amount of capital and holds more than 50 stocks at the same time. Its gains and losses are almost in sync with the A-share market, only the fluctuations are a little larger. When the market is not doing well, Chen Xuebing is naturally unwilling to sell.

The market has finally rebounded, breaking through 1700 points and showing signs of climbing to new heights.

Before Kan Zhidong came to Shenzhen, Cai Zhijian had communicated with him, asking him to have the chairman withdraw some of his own funds to maintain the group's turnover.

He only spoke to Chen Xuebing because he saw that the market had improved in the last couple of days.

Chen Xuebing thought for a moment and said, "Alright, we can withdraw half of the positions from the recent small peak. The second fund now has 3.2 million, right? The profit is 1.2 million. Our share is about 4800 million. The money from Southwest Securities also has a profit of 1500 million. Let's discuss with the investors and withdraw it all to hold on for now. Don't touch the money in the first fund. We need a top fund to maintain our ranking."

Fund No. 6.4 now has more than 11 million yuan. It has grown from 1.55 million yuan in early November to now, exactly 8 months ago. More than 3000 million yuan of funds were withdrawn in the middle of the period, which is more than four times the amount and more than three times the return.

From the peak in early May to the fluctuations in June, the annualized return rate has declined somewhat, but it has remained above 500% so far.

The second-place Jinglin Steady only has 181%.

The Long March 1 rocket has set historical records and is well-known throughout the private equity industry.

So far, the only publicly disclosed return is that of individual speculator Yang Yongxing, who achieved a 10-fold return in a real-money trading competition, surpassing the Long March 1 rocket.

It's just a small amount of money; making a few million is nothing to brag about.

Perhaps only that Alliance Leader Xu can rival him in terms of the same financial scale.

After the battle with BOE, retail investors on various forums believe that Changzheng's strength has surpassed that of Xu Xiang. However, Changzheng's investment methods are too scattered, and he rarely appears on the list of top investors, so he cannot help everyone make money. Therefore, he still does not receive as much attention as Xu Xiang.

However, in the private equity industry, Changzheng's approach is a model that everyone should seriously study. Now, there are many people in the financial circles of Shanghai and Shenzhen who want to get to know Changzheng, and many small circle meetings have sent invitations to him.

Kan Zhidong also became a beneficiary.

After the news of his appointment as president of Changzheng was released, his personal reputation began to recover, and he received a constant stream of calls from old friends.

So when he saw Chen Xuebing so readily agree to withdraw part of the funds, he was actually somewhat disappointed.

Chen Xuebing's grasp of the market trend is incredibly accurate; his moves are always precise – one move and the market rises, one move and it falls. It's simply outrageous. His decision to exit at this moment indicates that he is not optimistic about the current market trend.

"The Shanghai Composite Index is currently testing the 1750-point mark. Shouldn't it hold?" Kan Zhidong asked tentatively.

Seeing Old Kan's conflicted expression, Chen Xuebing couldn't help but laugh: "You keep telling me to back down, and then you tell me to stand up. Should I back down or stand up? Give me a straight answer."

The real and solid upward trend started in August, around 1600 points. He is well aware of this, so the current so-called surge will definitely be followed by a pullback. It's just that it's hard to say whether we've reached a short-term peak yet. Moreover, the dawn is just around the corner. Large-scale buying and selling will also result in losses, so it's up to him or down to him.

Kan Zhidong coughed lightly: "I'll listen to you."

Chen Xuebing smiled.

"Retreat, retreat to half your position, and then buy back the rest when the price drops to 1600 points. You can tell this to your friends."

"Hiss, so accurate?" Kan Zhidong was somewhat incredulous.

He had inquired with Xu Jin and learned that Chen Xuebing used to only give instructions at the last minute. He had thought that Chen Xuebing had some special talent for chart reading, but now he was surprised to find that Chen Xuebing could actually predict things to this extent.
Chen Xuebing shook his head: "It may not be accurate. On July 5th, the Bank of China, this behemoth, will be listed on the A-share market. It may surpass Sinopec to become the top stock in the overall market. With a market capitalization of several hundred billion yuan, it will definitely drain some liquidity. I guess the momentum of other stocks will be affected, which may cause a decline in sentiment, but it should be short-term."

Old Kan needs some "insider information" to stabilize his position in the underworld, so Chen Xuebing casually made up a reason to act as a charlatan, just to help him out.

This is the last time I'll act as a charlatan.

After August, Long March Capital will have only one core strategy:
buy buy buy.

Kan Zhidong received Chen Xuebing's approval, and after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it made some sense, which made him somewhat happy.

This is going to be a real treat!
"Alright! I see you've been working tirelessly for two months. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Take a good rest! We generals can handle the rest. Just wait for the battle reports!"

Chen Xuebing waved his hand and said, "The battle isn't over yet, so there's no time to rest. I came to Shenzhen prepared to lead from the front."

Kan Zhidong laughed: "Leading by example, does that mean always running ahead and charging the troops? That's foolish. As the old marshal, if you're going to lead by example, you should first go and survey the battlefield before the troops even enter the position, figure out how to fight, and then wait for the orders to be given. Once the troops arrive on the battlefield, the division commanders, brigade commanders, and regimental commanders will take care of the rest. You, the old marshal, should go to sleep. That's the way of management!"

Chen Xuebing was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"According to you, my mission is now complete?"

“Not too much, not too little, just right.” Kan Zhidong looked at Lu Weibing and said, “President Lu, you’ve been managing Qidian for the past six months. Shouldn’t you report to the group, go over the accounts, and do some financial planning?”

For the past six months, Chen Xuebing has never ordered an audit of the accounts, nor has he wanted to show any distrust of Lu Weibing.

The main reason is that Lu Yiwen and Gou Hongyi have already been placed in positions, so checking the accounts again would seem too calculating.

Cai Zhijian felt that something was amiss and discussed the matter with Kan Zhidong.

Old Kan spoke with an air of authority, and as soon as he mentioned it, Lu Weibing felt some pressure and immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I've been busy, I should ask President Cai for instructions."

Kan Zhidong then smiled and said, "President Cai just happened to need help with the fund's affairs. You guys are also busy with work, so let me give him a call and ask him to bring a team over."

Lu Weibing dared not say another word and immediately agreed.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing leaned back and fell into thought.

The group has grown big.

Some path dependencies in the previous management should be removed.

Some things need to get back on track; the old, makeshift methods are no longer viable.

"When we go back, I'll have Lu Yiwen come back to the Chongqing headquarters with us. Mr. Kan, please take good care of him for me."

(End of this chapter)