One Yuan First Recharge: I'm Actually the Boss Behind a Fortune 500 Company

The order for 300 units was like a stone thrown into calm water, and the ripples it created quickly spread throughout the entire team.

The production side was the first to feel the impact.

When Lin Yongjian received the order notification, he was in the workshop overseeing the debugging of a production line.

He put down the phone, stood at the workshop entrance for a dozen seconds, quickly reviewed the existing material inventory and production schedule in his mind, then turned around and went into the office, opened the production schedule on his computer, and began to replan.

Three hundred units, at their current production pace, would take approximately ten working days to complete if there are no issues with the supply of materials.

But this means that most of the existing material inventory will be cleared out – screens, batteries, motherboards, casings, camera modules, each of which will need to be reordered for replenishment.

The payment terms for replenishment will put new pressure on cash flow.

He picked up the phone and called several core suppliers, confirming delivery dates and payment terms one by one.

At the same time, the office staff also began to run out of manpower.

Sister Wang has to handle finance, administration, human resources, channel order coordination, and logistics delivery all by herself—she's been working overtime for almost two weeks straight.

One night, Wang Hao returned to the company from out of town around 10 p.m. and found the office lights still on. Sister Wang was sitting in front of the computer, holding a phone in one hand to confirm the delivery time with the logistics company, and typing a quotation on the keyboard with the other hand.

He stood at the door for a while, but didn't go in to disturb her.

Back in his seat, he began to consider whether the company's current cash flow could support hiring another person.

After much deliberation, the answer is yes, but it's very tight.

At the morning meeting the next day, Wang Hao announced a decision: to hire two more people.

One is a channel assistant, helping Zhou Haibo with customer liaison and order follow-up; the other is an administrative and cashier, taking over some of Wang Jie's financial and administrative work.

"With our current manpower, handling an order for 300 units shouldn't be a problem," Wang Hao said at the morning meeting.

"But if order volume continues to grow, we must complete the team before the growth arrives."

He spoke calmly, but everyone could tell that he anticipated further growth.

Three hundred units will not be an end point, but rather a starting point.

After Boss Ma's order entered the production process, Wang Hao focused more of his energy on Boss Chen in Ancheng.

Since our last meeting in Ancheng, Boss Chen has not given a clear answer.

Wang Hao knew that for a seasoned businessman who had been doing business in Ancheng for over a decade, the decision to collaborate with a new brand would not be made lightly.

He needs time to observe the sales situation in Lincheng, and he also needs time to assess whether the Xingyue Intelligent brand is worth betting on.

Wang Hao didn't urge Boss Chen. He simply sent Boss Chen a brief message ten days later:

"Boss Chen, the first batch of goods from Lincheng has sold out, and new orders are in production. If you have time, you're welcome to come to the provincial capital and see our production line."

He didn't mention cooperation; he simply extended an invitation and then left the decision to the other party.

Three days later, Boss Chen replied with a message: "I'll be in the provincial capital tomorrow afternoon."

After receiving this message, Wang Hao put down his work and began preparing the reception plan for the next day.

He asked Zhou Haibo to clean up the small office in advance, tidying up the messy samples and documents, and placing two prototype machines and a complete document bag on the table—including product specifications, test reports, certification certificates, a summary of feedback from the first batch of users, and sales data from the Lincheng market.

He also asked Lin Yongjian to prepare a tour of the workshop so that Boss Chen could see the production process firsthand.

"There's no need to make any special arrangements," Wang Hao said to Lin Yongjian.

"Let him see our actual production status. Clean and tidy, with standardized processes, but at the same time, he can also see the true size of a small team."

Lin Yongjian nodded, understanding Wang Hao's meaning—there was no need to hide the size of the team; honesty itself was a strength.

The next afternoon, Mr. Chen arrived as promised.

He drove a black Passat and slowly pulled up in front of the unassuming office building.

Wang Hao came downstairs to meet him—he wasn't dressed in a suit and tie, just wearing a simple dark T-shirt and casual pants.

Boss Chen glanced at him, smiled, and said nothing.

Wang Hao first took him to see the office upstairs. The space, which was more than 40 square meters, contained several desks, product roadmaps and production plan sticky notes on the walls, and several boxes of newly arrived parts samples piled on the filing cabinet in the corner.

Sister Wang and her two colleagues were busy at their respective workstations. When they saw Boss Chen come in, they looked up and nodded politely before going back to their work.

Boss Chen walked around the office, his gaze lingering on the whiteboard for a few seconds—it still displayed the map of the surrounding market drawn by Wang Hao and the red circle marking Lincheng.

"Did you draw this picture yourself?" Boss Chen asked.

"That's right," Wang Hao said. "Our current strategy is to first cultivate the market around the provincial capital, lay a solid foundation, and then expand outwards."

Mr. Chen did not express his opinion, but simply nodded.

Next, Wang Hao took him to Lin Yongjian's workshop.

The workshop is located in an old industrial area on the outskirts of the city, and it looks inconspicuous from the outside.

But after walking inside, Boss Chen's expression changed slightly—the workshop was much cleaner inside than outside, the floor was clean, the workstations were arranged in an orderly manner, and several workers were assembling motherboards at their workstations, wearing anti-static wrist straps, with neatly arranged items on the control panels.

"This environment is better than I expected," Mr. Chen rarely offered such a comment.

Lin Yongjian greeted him and led Boss Chen on a walk around the production line, briefly explaining the procedures and quality control standards for each workstation as they went.

He didn't use overly technical jargon, but instead used plain language to make Boss Chen feel the controllability of the production process.

"Although our current production scale is not large," Lin Yongjian said at the end of the visit.

"But every machine undergoes three rounds of testing before it rolls off the production line—power-on testing after assembly, system function testing, and aging testing before leaving the factory. This process is consistent with the standards of major brands."

After a moment's hesitation, Boss Chen glanced at Wang Hao and asked, "May I see your sales figures from Lincheng?"

"Can."

Wang Hao took him back to his office and handed him a printed summary of sales data.

Mr. Chen sat on the not-so-comfortable sofa, flipping through the pages one by one, pausing from time to time to examine a particular data point closely.

This data covers the sales trend in Lincheng from the first batch of goods to the most recent week, customer repurchase rate, sales distribution of each price segment, and preliminary statistics on channel return rate.

"What about the return rate?" Boss Chen asked.

"The current figure is 1.7%," Wang Hao said.

"The sample size is not large, so this number cannot fully explain the problem, but it is at a normal to low level in the early data of similar products."

What was the return rate a week ago?

Wang Hao was slightly taken aback, realizing that the other party was testing his familiarity with the data—not the content of the paper report.

He paused for a second, then said, "The return rate a week ago was 2.1 percent."

The drop was due to an intermittent Bluetooth disconnection issue discovered two weeks ago; we've fixed the underlying driver issue in the latest shipment batches.

Boss Chen looked at Wang Hao, his gaze now showing a hint of approval after scrutiny.

He closed the data report, placed it on the coffee table, and then looked up:

"Mr. Wang, let me be frank. I've been doing business in Ancheng for fifteen years and have seen too many new brands come and go."

Some products are indeed excellent, but they fail due to supply chain issues; others are mediocre, but they survive because of their well-managed distribution channels.

Your product did surprise me, but what I care about isn't just the product itself. What I care about more is—if your sales go up one day, can you sustain it?

This is the question that Boss Chen really wants answered today.

Wang Hao didn't answer immediately. He paused for a few seconds, poured himself a glass of water, and also poured one for Boss Chen, before speaking:

"Boss Chen, you're right. Many new brands don't die because of their products, but because of their growth."

When production volume increases, the supply chain collapses, quality becomes uncontrollable, and cash flow is disrupted—this is the most common scenario.

I can't guarantee that we won't encounter these problems, because any startup will.

But I can assure you that when these problems arise, we will not run away, we will not shirk responsibility, and we will not transfer the risks to our distribution channels.

He paused for a moment, his tone becoming calmer and more firm:

"We have an office in the provincial capital, a fixed production workshop, and an after-sales network that is being established."

These things may not seem like much, but they represent a real investment. I'm not the kind of person who does one-off deals.

These words contained no grand promises, no boastful pronouncements.

It's more like an entrepreneur's frank confession to another businessman.

After listening, Boss Chen did not immediately express his opinion.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "I'll try getting fifty units next week."

Fifty units.

This number was less than Wang Hao had expected. But he didn't show any disappointment, simply nodding and saying, "Okay."

He could tell that Mr. Chen's fifty units were a test—a test of Xingyue Intelligent's sincerity in cooperation, and a test of their supply capacity and after-sales response speed.

If these fifty units sell well in Ancheng, then larger orders will follow.

But he wasn't in a hurry. Fifty units was just the beginning.

It was past 5 p.m. when Boss Chen left. Wang Hao saw him downstairs, and the two shook hands.

"I'll have someone pick up the goods next week," Boss Chen said, opening the car door and getting into the black Passat.

The car started and drove out of the office building's courtyard, merging into the traffic flow of the provincial capital at dusk.

Wang Hao stood downstairs, watching the Passat disappear around the street corner. He took out his phone, found the entry in his notes that said "Ancheng, Boss Chen, interested," and changed it to "Ancheng, Boss Chen, deal, first batch of 50 units."

He glanced at the entry for a few seconds, then put his phone back in his pocket and turned to walk back.

Inside the office, Sister Wang was still typing something on her computer. Zhou Haibo was on the phone confirming the shipping time with the logistics company. Outside the window, the summer sunset bathed the entire city in a warm golden light.

Wang Hao returned to his seat, turned on his computer, and began preparing the distribution plan for the Ancheng market.

His journey has only just begun.

Fifty machines from Ancheng departed on a Thursday afternoon.

The logistics company was a local freight station that Zhou Haibo found, specializing in the route from the provincial capital to Ancheng, with delivery the next day.

Although the value of fifty machines was not large, Wang Hao still insisted on buying transportation insurance—the insurance value for each machine was based on the ex-factory price, costing him less than two hundred yuan more.

Yu Xinxin felt that the money was a bit of a waste: "Trucks that travel this route have never had an accident."

"You don't buy insurance only after something happens," Wang Hao said. "You can only sleep peacefully after you buy insurance."

Yu Xinxin did not refute. She silently filed the insurance documents and then continued with her accounting.

Wang Hao refreshed the logistics information for this shipment several times before going to bed on Friday night. Only after seeing the system display "Arrived at Ancheng Distribution Center" did he turn off his phone, close his eyes, and go to sleep.

But other things were still on his mind—Boss Chen should receive the goods tomorrow, and given his personality, he would probably unpack and inspect them immediately.

He guessed right.

At 10 a.m. the next day, Boss Chen sent a message:

"The goods have arrived. I unpacked five units and checked them. The appearance is fine, and the system boots up normally. They will be put on the shelves next week."

After reading the message, Wang Hao replied, "Received. Please contact us anytime if you have any further questions."

He didn't press for questions like "When will it sell out?" Distributors hate it when manufacturers immediately ask about sales figures after shipping. He'd learned this tact from Li Desheng and Boss Ma.

In mid-July, three things happened almost simultaneously.

The first thing was that Mr. Ma from Lincheng placed an additional order—after selling out the initial three hundred units, he wanted another five hundred.

This number prompted Wang Hao to redraw a line on the company's simple "sales dashboard".

The signboard was made by Yu Xinxin using a white magnetic whiteboard—the left side read "Monthly Sales Target," the right side read "Actual Sales," and a red line was pasted in the middle with a magnetic strip.

At the beginning of the month, their monthly sales target was 500 units.

It's only mid-month now, and Boss Ma's additional orders have already reached this number.

"This month's goals may need to be adjusted." Zhou Haibo looked at the whiteboard and couldn't help but smile.

"Don't rush to transfer them," Wang Hao said.

"We'll see at the end of this month. The order for 500 units has been signed, but there's a process involved in delivery and payment, so it can't be counted in this month's actual sales figures."

He dared not be too happy too soon. He had seen far too many startups fail because of a seemingly great deal.

Signing an order doesn't mean the money has been received; receiving the money doesn't guarantee the product will be delivered without problems; and delivering the product doesn't guarantee the customer's satisfaction.

Every step has its pitfalls; you must carefully tread each step before moving on to the next.

The second thing was that Mr. Chen from Ancheng called a week after he received the goods.

On the other end of the phone, Mr. Chen's tone was more relaxed than when they last met:

"Mr. Wang, the response from Ancheng is faster than I expected. Of the fifty machines that were put on the counter in four days, twenty-one have already left."

"Faster than expected?" Wang Hao asked.

"Almost double." Boss Chen paused for a moment.

"There's something I feel I need to tell you. Several customers have heard of your brand in Lincheng and came here specifically to inquire about it. It seems your brand has already gained some reputation in Lincheng."

"People in Lincheng are also asking about after-sales service," Mr. Chen continued. "How is after-sales service arranged here in Ancheng?"

Wang Hao had anticipated this problem.

He had already begun experimenting with establishing authorized service stations in Lincheng, and now he could replicate that model in Ancheng.

"We've already contacted a local repair shop in Ancheng and are preparing to sign an authorization agreement," Wang Hao said.

"We'll stock up on spare parts there in advance, so we can handle minor everyday issues locally."

Which repair shop?

Wang Hao gave a name.

After listening, Boss Chen pondered for two seconds:

"I know that company. Their technology is decent, but their shop is a bit small. How about this: if you don't mind the hassle, you can list your after-sales service in Ancheng at my shop."

I have dedicated after-sales service stations in my shop, and the technicians are already available. Authorization is easy to discuss; I won't make money off you, just consider it a boost in customer traffic for the shop.

This proposal surprised Wang Hao. Boss Chen's willingness to open up his after-sales service resources to a new brand went beyond the typical relationship between distributors and manufacturers.

"Boss Chen, this..."

"You don't need to overthink it," Boss Chen interrupted him.

"I've been in business for so many years, I know what I should earn and what I shouldn't."

If your product succeeds, I'll be happy to make a living here in Ancheng. As for after-sales service, consider it a small favor to make friends.

Wang Hao paused for two seconds, then said:

"Okay. I'll have the technical team prepare a set of after-sales training materials and send someone over next week to train your store's technicians."

"OK."