Chapter 265: Campus and Corporate Rhythms

East Morning Star Advertising office.

Xu Chen lounged half-reclined on the sofa, popping grapes into his mouth while leading a phone conference with Tiancheng.

The ‘Chenfeng Ice Power’ design scheme had gone through several revisions and was now in its final confirmation stage.

Afterward, Guo Liang would take it for market research to gauge user preferences.

They’d test four design schemes in total, all from the same design firm they’d selected earlier.

This firm had also worked on the latest electric vehicle products in Jiangsu Province and had experts in technology and manufacturing alongside their industrial design skills.

That made the schemes more practical to implement…

Among the four designs, one was modified under Xu Chen’s guidance.

It was the ‘luxury model’ with pedals, styled in a neutral aesthetic.

Drawing from the ‘Ice Power’ name, it featured ice-blue elements and a dynamic, streamlined shape.

Xu Chen had asked Sun Aimi for her input; she was thorough, tweaking the images in PS and sending them back optimized…

After some discussions, the four designs were pretty much set, and Guo Liang would have user research feedback within a week.

They were in a rush; they needed to lock in the design scheme quickly.

The production line in the park was basically debugged and ready.

Core electric vehicle parts like motors and batteries had already been ordered.

Other components such as frames, lights, and decorations would wait until the design was finalized.

Yang Congxin had lined up all the suppliers, so production could start as soon as the scheme was confirmed.

On the first production batch size, Xu Zhiquan was still discussing with Yang Congxin, Fang Jun, and Guo Liang without a final decision.

There were too many factors to consider.

Things like cost control, production capacity, and sales potential all played a role.

In a private chat, Xu Zhiquan had talked it over with Xu Chen once; their plan was to aim for ten thousand units initially.

They based this on the overall sales of the Tianjin electric vehicle factory across the northern regions.

The first batch would go on trial sale in Tiancheng and the provincial capital; hitting ten thousand units would be a major milestone.

For markets and sales channels, Guo Liang had already laid out a preliminary plan.

He integrated the old factory sales team and brought in two top performers from his pharmaceutical days.

The initial launch was set for the provincial capital and Tiancheng.

In the provincial capital, two electric vehicle dealerships were on board after several meetings; they’d partner first.

In Tiancheng, they’d go with a direct operation, setting up their own sales stores.

Guo Liang still had a mountain of work ahead.

Once things scaled up, they’d need to handle distribution and after-sales networks across the northern market and even nationwide.

It was pressure, but Guo Liang was clearly thrilled about it.

…

According to Xu Chen and Xu Zhiquan’s overall strategy, the goal was to finalize the product design quickly and aim for complete vehicle prototypes next month.

Then, in November and December, they could roll out a batch for trial sales.

After the December Asian Games, leveraging Xie Bingran’s fame, they’d kick off a large-scale rollout of ‘Chenfeng Ice Power’ in the north.

The timeline was tight, the challenges huge.

But it wasn’t impossible…

Another reason for the rush was the funding situation; they couldn’t afford delays.

A few days ago, when Fang Jun was in Shanghai, he mentioned this to Xu Chen.

“Chenfeng Technology” needs products in the market fast to secure loans and maybe squeeze more funds from the bank.

Even though Xu Chen wasn’t in Tiancheng, he could feel the buzz at the “Chenfeng Technology Park”.

Xu Zhiquan had probably hung up banners again, like “Work Hard for 100 Days, Embark on a New Journey”.

…

…

Compared to that, Xu Chen’s university life was relaxed and enjoyable.

He’d spruced up the East Morning Star Advertising office with extras, turning it into a cozy space.

In the rest area, he added a microwave and a steamer, so he could whip up meals during overtime.

He picked up a few decent red wines and stashed them in the manager’s room cabinet; he’d already opened one and polished off half.

In his past life, he enjoyed red wine now and then.

The old world’s wines always tasted too tart and overpriced.

The ones he chose now were from the new world—smooth yet rich, perfect for casual sipping.

In the manager’s room, he set up a pair of speakers to play music during work for some downtime.

He was even thinking about adding a desktop computer for entertainment; desktops were just more convenient.

He could ask the computer whiz Hong Xiaoqiang for help.

But no rush; he’d handle it after this busy period.

…

Xu Chen carried his plate of grapes back to the manager’s room.

Wan Qing’s “Qinhuangdao” played from the speakers.

The trumpet solo hit hard, stirring deep emotions.

It was a niche track these days; most young people were into Hong Kong and Taiwan pop.

“Qinhuangdao” had just released and barely anyone online was listening.

A couple of days ago, while browsing online, Xu Chen stumbled upon an old post about Xie Bingran’s National Games on Tianya Forum.

Remembering her tough training in Qinhuangdao, he felt a wave of longing and concern.

That brought back memories of a song called “Qinhuangdao” from his past life.

Luckily, it was released in 2006, so he tracked it down and had it on repeat for two days.

It was his way of sending distant thoughts.

…

…

Around nine in the evening, Xu Chen wandered back to dormitory 3103.

His roommates were all there.

Chen Wenyi strummed a guitar, playing what sounded like a Mayday song, though the name escaped him.

Hong Xiaoqiang fiddled with his new computer, wiping dust off it every few minutes—he clearly treasured it.

Jiao Tianbo stared at his screen, a stack of books on his desk.

As Xu Chen passed by, he glanced over and saw Jiao was deep into advertising competition research.

He was totally absorbed, dead set on winning.

Xu Chen yawned, sat at his desk, grabbed his towel and shower gel, and headed for a shower.

Jiao Tianbo suddenly turned and said:

“Xu Chen, you’re entering the university advertising contest, right?”

Xu Chen smiled: “Yeah, I’ve got the time.”

Jiao Tianbo: “Great, what’s your topic?”

Xu Chen thought for a moment: “I haven’t decided yet…”

Jiao Tianbo nodded and said:

“I’ve got mine figured out—I’m going with the solid teeth toothpaste and Baidu Knows.”

He paused: “If you haven’t picked, you could do these too.”

I’ve looked into it; video or interactive web stuff would take too long, so we’re stuck with print and copywriting categories.”

“Among those, anti-smoking ads and lottery ones have been done to death; it’s hard to come up with fresh ideas. So solid teeth toothpaste and Baidu Knows are solid choices…”

Xu Chen nodded: “Sounds good; I glanced at them and my thoughts align.”

Jiao Tianbo: “Perfect, we can tackle the same topics and see who takes the prize.”

Xu Chen chuckled; Jiao Tianbo, the academic star, always wanted to compete with him on everything.

Still, Jiao’s straightforward nature was likable.

He might lack social skills and say blunt things, but he was genuine without any hidden agendas.

Xu Chen joked:

“Whoever wins buys dinner!”

Jiao Tianbo: “Deal.”

Xu Chen grabbed his toiletry bag, slipped on flip-flops, and headed to the bathroom.

The public hot shower was a bit of a walk from the dorm.

It was a chance to stroll the cool campus.

Thinking about the contest topics, Xu Chen agreed with Jiao; solid teeth toothpaste and Baidu Knows were the way to go.

Gao Solid Clean and Baidu were the sponsors, so they had specific projects.

Gao Solid Clean offered a toothpaste focused on strengthening teeth, needing a set of print ads.

Baidu Knows, launched last year under Baidu, was a Q&A search product requiring ad slogans.

There were plenty of angles for ad creation, but for winning, they’d need to focus on what judges liked.

Xu Chen had skimmed the judge chair’s book on creative thinking and got a sense of their preferences and methods.

In that book, the chair promoted a ‘quality transcendence’ approach, similar to wordplay like puns…

For solid teeth toothpaste, he could apply that thinking.

But Xu Chen needed time to brainstorm…

For Baidu Knows’ slogan, he already had some ideas from his past life.

Back then, Baidu was battling Google for the search market with some killer ads…

Though Baidu Knows didn’t get its own big push, adapting those old ads could work for a slogan.

Of course, for the contest, it needed that competitive edge.

Xu Chen also figured Baidu’s marketing team might be judging, so entering could build connections.

In the next decade, China’s internet scene would boom, and tackling this Baidu project might open doors for East Morning Star Advertising in the digital world.

Looking further, as the electric vehicle industry shifted to smarts, networking in tech was key.

…

Xu Chen checked the timeline; he had a few days to think, no need to rush.

He could wait until after the autumn outing to draft and submit.

Plus, he had a rough plan for the Kunlun Mountain scheme.

Once back from the outing, he’d carve out time to write it up and meet with Nie Fei.

…

…

The autumn outing was all set.

The class split into four groups, scattering the eight guys across them.

With some heavy lifting involved, having two guys per group made sense.

Xu Chen and his roommate Chen Wenyi ended up in the same group, which included Su Rong—the girl Chen Wenyi clearly had a crush on.

Chen Wenyi was over the moon about it, barely hiding his excitement.

The group also had other girls: Liu Mei, Lan Jingjing, Jiang Han, He Sisi…

Xu Chen didn’t know them well; names and faces hadn’t clicked yet.

At the group meeting, Su Rong was voted leader.

This rich girl from Jiangsu seemed too nice and agreeable, not great at saying no.

Each group needed a performance, and it looked like it would fall to Su Rong, who played piano and danced.

Seeing her hesitate, Xu Chen knew she was swamped as a class rep and had no time.

He suggested letting guitar-playing Chen Wenyi handle a performance.

When Su Rong glanced at Chen Wenyi, he jumped at the chance, promising to prepare ten songs that night for the group to pick.

That explained why Chen Wenyi had been practicing guitar non-stop lately.

He wanted to impress in front of Su Rong and the class, so the pressure was on—dark circles under his eyes showed it.

…

…

The outing was on Saturday.

By Thursday, Huang Qiqi and Xu Chen, in charge of supplies, had the list ready and were heading out.

Since it involved group activity props, Su Rong joined in.

Xu Chen scanned the list; there was a lot to buy.

As the only guy, he’d probably end up carrying everything.

He roped in roommates Chen Wenyi and Pei Qian.

Of course, he mentioned Su Rong would be there.

They tagged along eagerly, acting super grateful to him.

It was hilarious.

The items were numerous and varied; Huang Qiqi had five shopping spots planned.

Xu Chen streamlined it to two.

First, IKEA for disposable tableware, tissues, foil paper, and all the odds and ends in one go.

The big supermarket next to IKEA handled snacks like chips and biscuits easily.

Then, they hit the activity supplies street near Fuzhou Road for balloons, flags, kites, and other props.

They wrapped up by lunchtime—efficient as could be.

For water and drinks, Xu Chen suggested grabbing them from the campus store on the day; no point hauling heavy loads for a few bucks saved.

The shopping went smoothly and fun, especially with the extra hands.

On the way back, Huang Qiqi said:

“Xu Chen, you’re a lifesaver! Your ideas are spot-on. I thought we’d be wiped out all afternoon!”