Reborn: Billionaire in College

Chen Pingjiang handed over the Dawang Card business to Li Xi.

Some other applications, such as games, videos, and music, need to be added before implementation.

Games are an easy problem to solve, but unfortunately Renren has not yet started to develop its entertainment industry, which is also the next focus of the group.

In the following days, Chen Pingjiang visited some ministries and met with leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Everyone has the same attitude. The three major operators and WeChat will coordinate whether to charge or how to charge. Generally speaking, neither side will help the other.

Having achieved this, Chen Pingjiang was satisfied.

Overall, this trip to Beijing was quite rewarding.

Right now, Renren's payment system, Caifutong, has reached the testing stage. Once the first batch of mobile payment licenses are obtained next year, it can be directly embedded in WeChat and WeChat Pay can be developed.

Then, we opened up channels for WeChat Pay to JD.com and Renrengou, and part of the strategic layout was completed.

JD’s traffic entrance also needs to wait for WeChat to continue upgrading and develop mini-programs, and then place JD’s mini-programs in WeChat-My Services.

On the other hand, AutoNavi will withdraw its listing application after restructuring its board of directors and focus on being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renren.

…………

Orange Mobile has moved. The design, R&D, and management departments have all moved out of the Twin Towers and moved to the Qingshan Lake terminal base, 12 kilometers away.

The entire Qingshan Lake terminal base covers an area of ​​1200 acres, which is five times larger than Renren’s headquarters.

Wujiang District has also invested a lot of money. After all, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb.

The entire terminal base is built around the lake, with a total area of ​​90 square meters.

This will become the design, R&D, sales and logistics headquarters of Orange Mobile. In addition, the Orange Mobile Dongjiang factory will also be located here.

Phase I was just completed.

There are no buildings higher than ten floors at the Qingshan Lake Terminal Base, and construction is being carried out simultaneously at multiple locations, so the construction is very fast.

Part of the money Chen Pingjiang cashed out from Renren will eventually be used to pay for construction costs.

The construction cost of the first phase of Qingshan Lake Terminal Base reached 1 billion yuan.

The entire base is divided into four areas. To the northeast is the area where the design and development personnel are located, to the northwest is a series of public facilities such as the canteen, shopping mall, gym, football field, basketball court, etc., to the southwest is the Dongjiang factory, and to the southeast are rows of employee dormitories.

Basically, you can live your daily life without leaving the park. Except for the lack of schools and hospitals, everything else is no different from living outside.

That is to say, he came early, and there were still large areas of vacant land in Wujiang. Ten years later, this area would have been occupied by developers, and it would not have been Chen Pingjiang's turn at all.

This area is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has rich ecological resources. There is a lake on the left and the Yangtze River more than ten kilometers away on the right. It has an excellent geographical location.

When this plot of land was chosen, there was a lot of noise in Wujiang District. Everyone knew that it would make a lot of money if it was sold, but in order to keep Orange Mobile, the Wujiang District Government rejected all objections and gave it up with great reluctance.

In Chen Pingjiang's view, Qingshan Lake may not be worse than the later Songshan Lake base.

In terms of transportation facilities, the city also sits on the golden waterway of the Yangtze River, and the expressway is not far away.

According to the plan, the research and development, sales and value-added services related to Orange mobile phones and future PADs, electronic watches, headphones and other terminals will all be located here, in addition to a training center and a mobile software center.

The Wujiang District Government estimates that once the base is completed, it will be able to radiate to the entire Yangtze River Delta region and attract more than 70 surrounding upstream and downstream supporting enterprises.

"Mr. Chen, Secretary Yan, and all the leaders. Our factory uses the ultra-precise MPM dual-track fully automatic solder paste printer, the world's leading Camelot dispensing precision glue dispenser, the fully automated arm-controlled whole machine test, and the streamlined equipment consisting of six fully automated manipulators."

"The process of producing mobile phones includes surface mounting, single board functional testing, assembly, whole machine testing, packaging and other links. As the production line requires extremely high precision, we had to change into dust-proof and anti-static work clothes, shoes and hats before the visit."

Lin Bin was the keynote speaker and personally came on stage to introduce the event.

Accompanying them were not only Chen Pingjiang and Yan Liming, but also a group of senior executives of Renren and officials from the Wujiang District government.

The people from Renren came to join in the fun. After arriving, they were so envious that they didn't want to leave. They jokingly accused Chen Pingjiang of being biased.

"Mr. Chen, why don't we have such a good environment at Renren? It's surrounded by mountains and rivers. It would be amazing to build a house here."

"The air here feels better than where we are. It must be very pleasant to work in a place like this every day."

Chen Pingjiang rolled his eyes: "I'm not partial. Renren.com is a river view room. Are you still not satisfied?"

After saying that, Chen Pingjiang looked at Yan Liming with a smile: "Secretary Yan, how is it? Did it live up to your expectations?"

This is the first time that the father-in-law and son-in-law attended the same event.

The identities of the two have long been no secret to the outside world.

Yan Liming nodded with satisfaction: "The super factory is now in operation, and we can finally solve the problem of insufficient production capacity of Orange Mobile phones."

After changing into work clothes, the group was able to truly enter the mobile phone assembly workshop.

The entire assembly workshop was brightly lit, with nearly a hundred people busy running up and down on one production line.

Lin Bin continued to introduce: "The entire production line is 120 meters long. After the initial equipment commissioning and personnel training, it is now ready for operation."

"Do you see the shelves opposite the entrance of the production line? The neatly stacked materials are the materials for mobile phone production. When the PCB enters the production line, a barcode will be laser engraved first, so that it has an "identity card". In the process of flowing through the entire production line until it becomes a mobile phone, each component will be scanned with a barcode, and the materials used in each mobile phone can be traced back to which upstream manufacturer provided them. Only through such rigorous processes and strict tests can the quality control of mobile phones be raised to a high standard."

"We will develop a considerable part of the equipment on the subsequent production lines by ourselves or use alternative domestic brands. Currently, there are 37 production lines in total, and the monthly output of mobile phones can reach about 150 million units. There will be another 30 production lines in the second phase, which means that if the two phases are used only to produce mobile phones, they can reach 300 million mobile phones per month. At the same time, we can also use part of the production capacity to produce other terminals such as notebooks and PADs."

After leaving the factory, the group arrived at the commercial area.

"It's done well here." Yan Liming said with a smile.

"Yes, at the beginning of the design, Mr. Chen asked us to put the physical and mental health of employees first. In addition to supermarkets, well-known brands such as KFC and Miaocha have also settled in here. There are four canteens. They can provide meals for more than 6 people in the entire park at the same time. In addition, we also have a swimming pool, a gym, an indoor badminton hall, a standard football field, and basketball courts."

Don’t think that 20,000 people is a lot. Compared with large OEM factories such as Foxconn and BYD, it is already a small number.

Those large OEM factories have 1.5 to employees. In comparison, Orange Mobile's super factory has only employees, and the rest are in other positions such as R&D and sales.

Each factory has a different positioning. Dongjiang Factory only produces terminal equipment for itself, and will only look for other OEM factories to cooperate when the production capacity is insufficient. Other professional OEM factories are like a hundred families.

After passing through the commercial area, everyone arrived at the R&D base.

This is where the Orange Mobile Central Laboratory is located.

Yan Liming pointed at the security equipment at the door with interest and asked, "What is this for?"

Lin Bin introduced: "Because it involves scientific research secrets, no photography or video can be brought in without permission. In addition, personnel from other departments are not allowed to enter the central laboratory." "We just came all the way here. In fact, the distance from the commercial area to the R&D base is quite far. It takes about ten minutes to walk. Isn't it inconvenient?"

Lin Bin said: "It's not a big deal. R&D personnel need to move around after working for a long time. If you really don't want to go out to the cafeteria, you can order food through our Renrengou mobile app and have it delivered by our Blue Riders. If you think the journey is too far, there are free bicycles at the door, and there are even buses in the park."

Chen Pingjiang's investment in all aspects of the Qingshan Lake base has reached his personal best, and he has spared no effort to make these employees feel comfortable at work.

"This is our thermal technology laboratory. To put it simply, they are working to solve the problem of chip heat dissipation. There are about 80 people in the entire laboratory, one-tenth of whom are foreign employees. The reason why mobile games are lagging is because the chip generates heat when it is running. But if the heat dissipation is not good, the protection mechanism will forcibly reduce the operating frequency, which will cause lag."

"This is our structural material laboratory. Other manufacturers have almost no such laboratory. We mainly study the structure of mobile phones. Our internal code names "Qinglong Structure", "Suzaku Glass" and ceramic bodies are all research directions. Although we are just getting started, once the research is completed, our Orange phones will be extremely resistant to drops."

After leaving the Central Laboratory, Chen Pingjiang took his men to visit the three research institutes A1A2A3.

Each institute has different responsibilities.

For example, A1 is responsible for wireless communication technology; A2 is responsible for operating systems; A3 is responsible for software development and technical services, which is also where the largest number of software engineers are located.

Not far from the R&D base is the office base.

The administrative, personnel and financial departments are all located here, including Lin Bin.

The employee dormitories of Orange Mobile are also extraordinary.

According to the level of employees, they are divided into single rooms and double rooms. The conditions for factory employees are worse, but they are also four-person rooms, and the area is larger than that of ordinary university dormitories.

It is equipped with a washing machine, separate toilet, shower room, water dispenser and living balcony.

"Considering fire safety, we cannot cook in the dormitory. The company also recommends that everyone eat in the cafeteria. We provide at least four meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snack. This is convenient for factory workers who work in two shifts and R&D center employees who work overtime."

After a round, Chen Pingjiang couldn't help but sigh that the money was not wasted.

For such a large base, even if the land is purchased at a 10% discount, the total cost is astronomical, plus the ground buildings, underground parking lots, commercial facilities, equipment, and production lines.

You can calculate it, but no one says anything.

If Chen Pingjiang had not cashed out his Renren shares, he really could not afford it.

Yan Liming smacked his lips and said, "We originally estimated that you would be able to invest 5 billion in five years. I didn't expect you to invest so much in just over a year."

Chen Pingjiang smiled and said, "If we only count the factory, production line, commercial facilities and employee dormitories, it's about the same. The main thing is that we have invested a lot in research and development. This is also the difference between our Orange mobile phone and other manufacturers. One of our important internal principles is that research and development comes first. Otherwise, I would just follow other manufacturers and build a few office buildings and be done with it."

"Mobile phone assembly is always done by OEM, and R&D centers are not needed at all, as it is just assembling and branding. It is just saving money, but there will be a day when it will backfire."

Having said that, Chen Pingjiang pointed to a large open space in the distance.

"Do you know what that place is for?"

"?"

"That is the reserved headquarters for chip design companies. Unfortunately, there is not enough space. Otherwise, I would have put the wafer factory in Qingshan Lake as well."

An executive deputy district mayor who was listening at the side suddenly became alert.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen, not having enough space is not a big deal. There is still a lot of vacant land around. Just grant us a few hundred acres more."

The deputy district chief was an expert in the business. When he heard the word "wafer factory", his heartbeat began to quicken.

It’s definitely high-tech!
Zhou Guangping smiled and said, "In Mr. Chen's plan, he will definitely build a wafer fab, but there is no definite plan yet because it is too difficult and too expensive. AMD only spun off its own Fab last year. Now fabless semiconductor companies are a popular trend."

Chen Pingjiang nodded and continued, "AMD and Nvidia, for example, are both fabless semiconductor companies. These companies focus on the design, development, application and sales of semiconductors, and outsource wafer manufacturing to foundries to improve their core capabilities. Other well-known foundries include TSMC, MediaTek, Samsung, and SMIC."

"Even if I want to, it's really not easy to build a wafer fab. A production line costs billions of US dollars, and the threshold is too high. How can ordinary people afford it? The technical barriers are also high, and this thing is a winner-takes-all game, and there is not enough room for a few companies in the world. I dare not say that our wafer fab is definitely better than Samsung and TSMC. If we spend money and it fails, it will be a complete waste of money."

Two foxes, one big and one small, have been complaining in order to negotiate terms with the Wujiang District Government.

Sure enough, after listening to the speech, the deputy district chief thought about it and said nothing more. It seemed that he had already put the matter to heart.

Wafer foundry is of course a good business, and Chen Pingjiang must do it to prevent being strangled in the future. But this requires a big family and a big business to afford it, and also to have enough foresight.

If you fail to do it, you will suffer a pure loss. If you succeed, you will just be able to count money without doing anything.

Just think about how a small island like Taiwan is making a lot of money thanks to TSMC, and you will realize how much money it makes.

Semiconductors are divided into advanced processes and mature processes, and the dividing line is 28 nanometers.

There are only a few companies with advanced processes, but there are quite a few with mature processes.

But since Chen Pingjiang is running a wafer fab, isn’t his goal to go for the high-end and make advanced processes?
If the purpose is just to make it mature, then why bother?
A great wafer factory will never lack orders. At that level, upstream chip design companies will beg you to produce.

Owning one's own wafer fab not only ensures product supply, but also helps control costs.

Nvidia once complained that TSMC could not meet all of its 28nm orders, so it put pressure on TSMC and even said that it would consider building its own fab. Now that TSMC has given them enough production capacity, isn’t there any noise? When you have an order, the fab is too late to produce it for you, which directly affects your revenue.

Of course, Nvidia only dared to spread the word. If they were really asked to build it, they might not dare to do so even if they were given eight hundred courage.

Under the influence of Moore's Law, in order to ensure their competitiveness, wafer fabs have to continue to invest money, build new plants, and develop new processes. In order to have so much money to invest, they must sell more products and maintain a high profit margin. Otherwise, the money earned is not enough to cover expenses, the model will not be sustainable, and operations will have problems.

If Chen Pingjiang was a foreigner, he would definitely not bother to build his own wafer factory, after all, even Huawei can't do it.

But Chen Pingjiang saw through the fog of the future and knew how the country would be blocked in the near future.

We must build a wafer factory as soon as possible, otherwise it may be too late to wait a few more years.

This time we are spreading the word, hoping that the Dongjiang Municipal Government and even the national level can provide some financial or other support.

Chen Pingjiang does not need any support at all for terminal devices such as mobile phones, but it is really different for wafer fabs. It would be very difficult without national will.

It is very likely that even if Chen Pingjiang sold all of his Renren shares, he would not be able to start the business.

How many years have Samsung and TSMC been around?

How can a new factory like you catch up in just a few years?
Even a strong company like SMIC was unable to produce 19nm chips and guarantee the yield until 14.

This is a large factory that started production in 2000, and it relies on Liang Mengsong and Zhang Rujing, both of whom also came from TSMC.

"It would be good if we could poach these two people. After all, SMIC is a company that people both love and hate," Chen Pingjiang sighed.

The grudges between master and apprentice and the constant internal strife are all its labels. (End of this chapter)