Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Seeing Li Yanhong’s firm attitude, Xiang Hailong knew better than to argue. He was well aware that his boss was already dissatisfied with him; a few more words and his job might be on the line.

In the Qian Du Headquarters Building, there might be someone better suited to be CEO of DiDi Dache, but so what?

’Looking out for my own interests is far more important than the company’s!’

He wouldn’t be giving up his position unless Li Yanhong himself ordered it.

After leaving the office, Xiang Hailong returned to Digital Valley and gathered the heads of all departments and major regions to redeploy DiDi Dache’s Q4 development plan.

Meanwhile, after securing 300 million in Series A funding, Cheng Wei unhesitatingly went into overdrive.

The total number of DiDi Bikes deployed in Yanjing quickly increased from 1,000 to 3,000. At the subway exits and in commercial districts with the highest foot traffic, the shared bikes were everywhere.

Seeing this, a local couldn’t help but remark, ”Whoa! Holy cow, I haven’t seen this many bicycles in years. This is really something else!”

The fee for a DiDi Bike was one Hua Yuan for the first 30 minutes. After that, it was an additional one Hua Yuan for every 15 minutes, with no upper limit.

But what Cheng Wei hadn’t expected was that as the number of deployed DiDi Bikes increased, so did the number of stolen bikes.

Out of a total of 3,000 bikes, a count yesterday revealed only about 2,860 remained.

had vanished into thin air!

Cheng Wei couldn’t help but think of the old man with the angle grinder on the first day DiDi Bike launched.

It wasn’t hard to imagine where these bicycles had gone.

’We have to install GPS tracking devices on the bikes,’ Cheng Wei thought to himself. ’Otherwise, once the number of deployed bikes reaches 10,000, just finding them will be a huge problem.’

Furthermore, the first-generation mechanical locks had too many bugs. It was pure self-deception; because each bike’s combination was fixed, users only had to memorize it to ride for free as much as they wanted.

If that continued, how was DiDi Bike supposed to make any money?

At this thought, Cheng Wei made up his mind to replace the mechanical locks with smart locks.

In fact, a third-party company had already offered a technical solution, but he had shelved the idea, considering the cost too high.

Now, if he didn’t make a change, it wouldn’t matter how many bike retrievers he hired.

Without GPS tracking, where would they even look?

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「Hang City, Panzhou Technology Headquarters.」

This was a bicycle factory with an annual output of up to 8 million units. It was equipped with four independent bicycle production lines and painting lines, primarily as an OEM for brands in Europe and America.

”President Hu, a pleasure! And this is?”

In the first-floor lobby, Yuan Zhen, the boss of Panzhou Technology, greeted Hu Weiyi enthusiastically while shaking her right hand.

She was the CEO of OFO Bike. That title alone was enough to earn his utmost respect.

The business model for shared bikes had long since spread throughout the industry. Whoever could land a purchase order from a shared bike company was set to make a fortune.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by production contracts for millions of units at a time?

”Hello, Boss Yuan. I’m Wang Zihao, the COO of OFO Bike.”

Wang Zihao, dressed in a sharp suit, introduced himself with calm composure.

Although he was only twenty this year, his dark complexion and sturdy build made him look older than his age—like he was twenty-six or twenty-seven.

”President Wang, hello! Welcome, welcome. Let’s head upstairs and talk,” Yuan Zhen said, beaming.

He had to be cautious when dealing with a major client.

”President Yuan, please,” Hu Weiyi said with a nod.

Following behind the two of them were several colleagues from the business department and two lawyers to provide support for the upcoming collaboration.

Unlike DiDi Bike’s low-cost strategy, Hu Weiyi’s requirements for the OFO Bike were that its components—the frame, tires, seat, brakes, and so on—had to be sturdy and durable, with the cost controlled to under 400 Hua Yuan.

This was because after being equipped with electronic devices like a smart lock, solar panel, embedded chip, GPS module, and SIM card, the cost would soar to over 500 Hua Yuan.

After hearing Hu Weiyi’s requirements, Yuan Zhen looked troubled.

The old saying ”you get what you pay for” was especially true in manufacturing.