April 17th, Shanghai International Exhibition Center.
At 8:30 AM, at the entrance of the newly decorated exhibition hall, a large banner hung:
"Step into 'Bicycles', Enjoy a Healthy Life!"
The 16th International Bicycle Exhibition, with this as its theme, will officially open here today.
"Holy crap! Why are there so many people?"
Tan Jincheng couldn't help but curse when he saw the scene before him, having just stepped into the exhibition area.
Mr. Dong from Yadi, who was accompanying him, couldn't help but laugh and say,
"Of course. This exhibition has over 900 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions, and its 85,000 square meters exhibition area is also the largest ever. Mr. Tan has attended the Canton Fair; you can think of this as the Canton Fair for two-wheeled vehicles."
"So that's how it is. This is my first time attending, so I'm a bit ill-informed,"
Tan Jincheng said, scratching his head.
"Haha, it's not just electric vehicles, but also bicycles, motorcycles, and even parts manufacturers exhibiting. Smaller companies, if they're lucky, won't have to worry about a year's sales."
Hearing Mr. Dong's words, Tan Jincheng also smiled at the staff of Shanchi Technology behind him and said,
"Did you hear that? Perform well, and if we're lucky, this year will be easier for us."
"Mr. Tan, you're being modest. There aren't many electric vehicle companies nationwide with actual total sales exceeding 100,000 units. I heard your company's slogan this year is 200,000 units. How can that be considered a small company?"
"Haha, that was just bragging after too many drinks at the annual meeting. It was just talk, Mr. Dong, no need to take it too seriously."
Sly fox, Dong Jinggui couldn't help but think to himself.
Shanchi had already released news to the media a few days before the exhibition began, stating that its total electric vehicle sales had officially surpassed 100,000 units.
This was clearly pre-exhibition publicity.
Using total sales instead of this year's sales for promotion, the 100,000 figure certainly caught people's attention.
These figures also reminded people of Xinnri, the top seller in the electric vehicle industry last year, who shamelessly linked themselves to being number one, truly cunning.
Xinnri is probably having a headache right now, too?
Furthermore, the exhibition setup was shrouded in such mystery, with announcements not only that its brand ambassador Liu Yifei would attend, but also that a mysterious guest would be present, creating immense hype.
The exhibition hadn't even started, yet it had already attracted attention from all sides.
How could this seem like a company exhibiting for the first time?
This was also one of the reasons Dong Jinggui was curious and wanted to meet this young fellow townsman.
By now, Dong Jinggui had come to realize it; even he himself had become curious, demonstrating how successful Shanchi Technology's publicity was.
It was possible that this exhibition would bring an unexpected surprise to their peers.
This truly is "new waves push forth old waves."
"Mr. Dong!"
Just as Dong Jinggui and Tan Jincheng were chatting, a clear, strong voice came from not far away.
Dong Jinggui looked up, smiled, and waved, saying,
"Mr. Zhang."
Then he smiled again at Tan Jincheng, who was standing beside him, and said,
"Come, let me introduce you. Mr. Zhang Congxun from Xinnri is here."
Tan Jincheng looked in the direction the voice came from and saw a middle-aged man in a well-fitting suit, with the same crew cut as himself, striding towards them.
Behind him were also some accompanying personnel.
Zhang Congxun, who had walked over quickly, stood beside the two of them.
Instead of rushing to catch up with Dong Jinggui, he smiled and scrutinized Tan Jincheng from head to toe.
After a moment, he said,
"If I'm not mistaken, this must be Mr. Tan Jincheng, CEO of Shanchi Technology?"
"Hello, Mr. Zhang,"
Tan Jincheng said, smiling and extending his hand.
The three men were of similar height.
Dong Jinggui was also wearing a suit, while only Tan Jincheng was dressed casually.
In terms of physique, Tan Jincheng appeared somewhat leaner compared to the other two, who were already showing signs of middle-aged weight gain.
Compared to Dong Jinggui, who started his business at 31, Zhang Congxun, who began entrepreneurship in his teens after junior high and navigated society, had a stronger presence after 20 years in business, with piercing, bright eyes.
"I've long heard of your esteemed name, Mr. Tan. Last year, our marketing director even thought about poaching you, but we didn't expect you to poach several talents from our R&D department instead."
Tan Jincheng clasped his hands together and smiled,
"My apologies, my apologies. Next time, I'll poach from Mr. Dong's company instead. Mr. Dong, you wouldn't mind, would you?"
Dong Jinggui smiled, pointed a finger at Tan Jincheng, and said nothing.
In fact, the three of them were just using this topic to start a conversation.
In this industry, poaching each other's employees, not to mention mid-level talent, but even key generals from rival companies, is unavoidable.
Even if they aren't poached, talented individuals might leave to start their own businesses.
To retain talent, there's no other way than to work on oneself.
As a boss, being too concerned about this would be petty.
"Mr. Tan, your company has been making significant moves recently. Are you preparing to make a big splash at the exhibition?"
Zhang Congxun asked with a smile.
Like Dong Jinggui, he was also very curious about Shanchi Technology's publicity moves.
"I do have some ideas, but for now, let your humble junior keep it a secret. The exhibition is about to begin, so you two seniors will find out then."
"Haha, then we'll wait and see."
Dong Jinggui, 36, Zhang Congxun, 37, and Tan Jincheng, 21, stood together chatting, with groups of people standing behind each of them, a dense crowd.
Such a scene was quickly noticed by media reporters waiting outside.
Unlike Tan Jincheng's low profile, Dong Jinggui and Zhang Congxun frequently attended public events, making them easily recognized by industry reporters.
So, a reporter quickly pressed the shutter, capturing this moment.
Two rising figures in the electric vehicle industry, dressed in suits, one of whom was last year's sales leader, stood on the left and right, while in the middle was a casually dressed young man.
Their stances formed a triangular formation.
"Hey, who's that young man? Does anyone know him?"
the reporter who pressed the shutter asked the person next to him.
The reporter's intuition was to photograph first, regardless of whether they recognized him or not.
"Don't know him. Let's go and ask around."
"Okay."
Zhang Congxun, being the most camera-savvy, was the first to notice that they had attracted reporters' attention.
He then said to Dong Jinggui and Tan Jincheng,
"Let's go, let's head inside. Reporters are coming."
Dong Jinggui also noticed, and likewise nodded.
It was not appropriate to get entangled with reporters at this time.
With two industry seniors speaking, Tan Jincheng naturally had no objections; besides, he didn't like facing cameras.
"Damn, they ran off so fast. Should we chase after them and ask?"
"We definitely have to chase, but with so many people around them, we wouldn't be able to get through even if we did. Let's find an opportunity later."
"Sigh, that's all we can do. Still a bit curious about who that young man is."
"Probably also a staff member from some electric vehicle company? So young, yet not losing out in presence when standing with two seniors. Must be a relatively high position, right?"
"I actually thought of someone, but I don't know if it's him."
"Who?"
"The chairman of Shanchi Technology. I heard he's very young, only in his twenties, but I haven't seen him, so I don't know if it's him."
"It's possible. The news about Shanchi Technology's total electric vehicle sales exceeding 100,000 units has been trending these past few days. It's perfectly normal for the two seniors to catch him for a chat."
"Let's go, let's go. We'll know if we check out Shanchi Technology's exhibition booth."
Zhang Congxun and the others evaded the reporters.
Like Dong Jinggui, both he and Zhang Congxun simultaneously sent their accompanying staff to their respective exhibition areas, while they followed Tan Jincheng to Shanchi Technology's exhibition area.
"Now we can unveil it, Mr. Tan?"
Dong Jinggui said, smiling at Tan Jincheng.
Tan Jincheng smiled and waved his hand.
Zhao Xinyi quickly walked over to arrange the unveiling.
The black curtain was slowly drawn open.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a row of Shanchi's Fengchi series electric vehicles.
These were nothing special, just Shanchi's currently marketed products.
However, when the two saw a row of electric vehicles with golden bodies, their pupils involuntarily contracted!
They had never seen this vehicle before!
The entire vehicle featured a light gold body, complemented by black dial handlebars and black tires.
The seat cushion was also gold, just a shade darker than the body color.
The front and both sides of the rear were emblazoned with Shanchi's lightning logo.
This vehicle could be described as incredibly cool, possessing an aesthetic that surpassed its era.
"A new model?"
Zhang Congxun asked in a solemn, deep voice.
He was an expert.
Such a cool model, with its perfect streamlined design, clearly indicated a high price.
It was obvious this model was Shanchi Technology's move to penetrate the high-end electric vehicle market.
As the current dominant force in the high-end electric vehicle market, this model would be a significant competitor in the future.
"That's right, we've named it the Fengchi Guanneng series,"
Tan Jincheng said proudly.
The development of the Guanneng's exterior molds was, of course, not yet complete.
These were a batch of 20 samples "hand-made" by the technical department and workshop using 3D printing, at Tan Jincheng's request.
As for accessories like headlights, interior parts, motors, and seat cushions, those were easy to solve.
Some were readily available, while others were urgently produced samples.
It was entirely feasible to process 20 samples in over a month.
Since the exterior parts were 3D printed, they were a bit unsightly and not as perfect in function as those produced by molds.
However, with repairs and touch-ups, minimizing gaps, and then painting, they were perfectly fine for exhibition samples.
"Fengchi Guanneng?"
Zhang Congxun murmured to himself, his steps unconsciously moving towards the Guanneng series area.
The same was true for Dong Jinggui.
Yadi currently had no significant achievements in the high-end market, but his understanding of this model was the same as Zhang Congxun's.
For some reason, upon seeing this model, Dong Jinggui felt a pang of heartache:
"Why isn't it Yadi's?"
Approaching the vehicle, both Dong Jinggui and Zhang Congxun could easily discern that the casing was 3D printed, suggesting that mold development hadn't kept pace.
But what did it matter?
The samples were already displayed here, indicating that their product was mature.
This was already one step ahead.
"Guanneng? Guanneng?"
Zhang Congxun muttered softly, unusually flustered.
At this moment, he couldn't help but have the same thought as Dong Jinggui:
"New waves push forth old waves."
As for the promotional photos in the center of the booth, depicting several old men riding electric vehicles, with images of their younger selves also in the frame, they had no time to pay attention.
(End of Chapter)