Chapter 1001
The Food Delivery Association is Established, and the Tang Imperial City is Established
Less than 48 hours after the Xuanwu Battery Global Procurement Negotiation Conference ended, Galaxy Energy's sales department was inundated with calls.
The $30 billion in tentative agreements were just the beginning; the real tsunami was about to hit them one after another in the days that followed.
Those companies that hesitated for a moment in the meeting and did not raise their bids immediately held board meetings overnight after returning home.
The video conference lasted from the early hours of the morning until dawn. CFOs were pulled out of bed to calculate procurement budgets, and the legal team worked through the night to revise contract terms.
The next morning, emails flooded into Liao Qingfeng's office system, one after another, piling up in the inbox like snowflakes.
The email from Mercedes was the first one to arrive.
The sender was the Vice President of Global Purchasing at Daimler AG. The email body was only a few lines long, but every word carried the decisiveness of the Wolfsburg headquarters: "The entire S-Class pure electric platform is locked in with the second-generation Xuanwu battery. The initial order is worth one billion US dollars. Please confirm the priority production rights for subsequent models. If possible, we would like to send a technical team to Tangdu within two weeks for adaptation and handover."
After reading the email, Liao Qingfeng forwarded it to Liu Ping with only one comment: "Have the Rongcheng factory reserve an S-level production line."
Immediately afterwards, BMW's purchasing director sent an email with even more urgent wording.
The board of directors at the Munich headquarters were clearly also working late into the night, stating bluntly in an email: "The release date of the i-series flagship facelift depends entirely on the battery delivery schedule. If the second-generation Xuanwu battery can be delivered on schedule, our new car launch plan will be brought forward by a full quarter."
Audi's Frankfurt headquarters didn't even have time difference; they held an emergency supervisory board meeting overnight and faxed the signed procurement framework agreement to Tangdu the next morning.
The Legal Department added a handwritten note at the end of the agreement: "This agreement shall take effect immediately upon receipt of your confirmation reply, without waiting for a formal signing ceremony."
On the consumer electronics front, Sony's Vice President of Purchasing added a handwritten note to the email, the handwriting being dark blue fountain pen ink so hard that it left dents on the back of the paper: "The Xperia flagship series needs the Xuanwu Battery to define the industrial design language for the next decade. Sony is willing to work with your company to develop even better products."
Dyson went even further, with founder James Dyson himself sending an email, without going through any secretary. The subject line read "A personal request from James," and the body of the email stated that the next generation of cordless vacuum cleaners and air purifiers would be fully equipped with Xuanwu battery cells, in an extremely sincere and earnest tone.
The medical device sector responded just as quickly, but with an even deeper sense of urgency.
Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson’s implantable medical devices divisions sent technical consultation letters almost simultaneously, requesting an evaluation of the compatibility of the second-generation basalt battery with pacemakers and neurostimulators.
Philips' medical imaging division has its sights set on the application prospects of basalt batteries in mobile CT and portable ultrasound equipment.
In an email, Philips' technical director wrote a passage with a more solemn tone than that of car manufacturers and mobile phone manufacturers: "These devices need to operate around the clock in disaster areas, battlefields, and remote mountainous regions. The low-temperature performance and cycle life of the battery are directly related to the accuracy of clinical diagnosis. In some places, a battery that can provide stable power is a life."
Siemens' energy division even sent a technical cooperation proposal that was dozens of pages long.
This is not a letter of intent to purchase, but a complete technology roadmap with only one core objective: to integrate the Xuanwu battery into Siemens' utility-grade energy storage system for frequency regulation and peak shaving across the entire European power grid.
At the end of the proposal, the head of Siemens' energy division wrote in his own hand: "Your company's Xuanwu battery may be the only product that can meet our needs on both the technical and economic dimensions. This is not just a business deal; it is the future of the European power grid, and even more so, the future of electricity for mankind."
Domestically, Wei, Xiaoli, and the other two emerging companies almost simultaneously issued letters of intent to purchase.
NIO's email carried a clear sense of urgency. The letter, personally signed by Li Bin, stated, "The battery solution for the ET7 upgrade must be locked in for a certain period of time. Please clarify the delivery schedule as soon as possible." Although the word "please" was used, the entire letter was a plea.
Xiao Peng acted even more urgently. He Xiaopeng personally led a technical team to Tangdu. Without even booking a hotel, he went straight to the Galaxy Energy headquarters after getting off the plane, opened his laptop and started discussing the solid-state battery and Xuanwu second-generation hybrid power solution for the flying car project.
The email from Li Auto was as simple as a single sentence: "Xuanwu Battery and Li Auto are a match made in heaven!", followed by a long list of vehicle models and technical specifications.
Within just one week, the signing room of Galaxy Energy's sales department was constantly full.
The sales department colleagues posted a handwritten "Contract Signing Reverse Schedule" in the break room. Every morning, they update it not with the date, but with how many remaining time slots are available.
The salespeople's voices became hoarse from talking, and empty boxes of Jin Sang Zi throat lozenges piled up like a small mountain in the trash can.
The Ministry of Justice's printer overheated due to continuous operation, so they had to set up an industrial fan to blow on it.
Liao Qingfeng moved the originally scheduled sales strategy meeting forward by two full weeks. The amount of new orders was jumping in real time in the internal system. Every time the number jumped up, it meant that a giant in a certain industry in the world was firmly locked into the supply system of Xuanwu Battery.
Liu Ping's schedule is even more outrageous.
He flew between Tangdu's headquarters and the three new factories in Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Chongqing for more than half a month. Every time he landed and turned on his phone, there was a string of unread messages, all from buyers urging him to place orders, sending follow-up emails, and voice messages asking, "Mr. Liu, when can you call me back?"
Once, he was squatting on the construction site of the factory in Rongcheng, eating his boxed lunch, when his phone rang again. He glanced at the caller ID, sighed, and answered, "No matter how much I urge you, it won't be at this speed. Your battery packs are already in production. I'm more anxious than you are."
Several engineers nearby couldn't help but laugh, but everyone knew that he wasn't unhurried. He was anxious because he was being chased by production capacity, anxious because he was being pushed forward by orders, and excited because he was being driven by an unprecedented career prospect.
Just as the global supply chain was being thrown into turmoil by Xuanwu Battery, another piece of news came from Beijing.
The National Food Delivery Industry Association has been officially established.
The news broke in the morning and became a trending topic by noon.
The inaugural meeting was held in an inconspicuous conference center in Beijing. There was no red carpet or celebrities, but the media present crowded the entrance.
On the stage sat the relevant person in charge of the food delivery industry association, next to representatives of several leading platforms.
A row of rider representatives dressed in rider uniforms from various platforms sat in the front row below the stage. Some sat upright, while others nervously rubbed their work pants on their knees. Everyone tried to maintain a calm expression, but their eyes betrayed them. There was a light in those eyes, the kind of light that comes from waiting for many years and finally getting something.
The industry standard white paper released at the founding conference silenced the entire internet for a moment.
The core clauses of the white paper were projected onto the screen one by one. The font was small and the wording was standardized, but each line was like a pebble thrown into the water.
The platform must set an upper limit on its commission rate, with the highest commission rate for each order not exceeding a certain percentage. This must be made public and transparent to merchants, and no hidden fees may be used to indirectly increase the commission rate.
Merchants must not be required to use exclusive clauses when joining a platform, nor may they be required to choose between different platforms.
The most important thing is yet to come.
The labor relations of food delivery riders must be clearly defined. All riders on the platform, whether full-time or part-time, must sign labor contracts in accordance with the law and pay for work injury insurance and medical insurance.
Delivery times are subject to both algorithmic and manual review, and riders must not be forced to complete deliveries within dangerous timeframes.
No penalty will be imposed for exceeding the time limit during severe weather.
The minimum hourly wage for riders is based on a certain percentage above the minimum wage standard of their city, with additional subsidies for deliveries during inclement weather and at night.
High-temperature subsidies, low-temperature subsidies, and triple pay on statutory holidays are all incorporated into a systematic management system, automatically calculated by the system. Riders can check their earnings at any time on the app, and no one is allowed to deduct any pay for any reason. Representatives from Huangtuan and Ele.me also attended the founding ceremony and signed the white paper.
At the moment of signing, a reporter in the audience took a picture of Huang Tuan's lips pursed, and the pen in his hand paused for a full five seconds before landing on the paper.
The pen tip hit the paper hard, and the ink bleeds out in a small patch.
But he ultimately signed it because he knew very well that this wasn't a company setting the rules.
This standard was developed based on the proven model of Pinhaofan. After more than a year of actual operation and verification, it has been shown that protecting riders' rights and improving service quality are not contradictory, but can actually form a positive cycle.
Moreover, this standard carries a clear top-level will, which is something that no single platform can withstand.
If you don't sign, you'll be excluded from the entire industry standard; your riders will vote with their feet, and your merchants will vote with their feet too.
When the news of the association's establishment spread online, the comment section was quiet for a few seconds before flooding out like a dam had been opened.
"Pinhaofan has been doing so much hard work for so long, talking to merchants one by one from the bottom up and standardizing the delivery process one by one. At first, we were criticized for putting on a show and for burning money on subsidies that were unsustainable. But now, the whole industry has to follow suit. This is the real dimensional reduction attack."
"The self-regulatory convention for the food delivery industry that was signed in Tangdu last time was just a rehearsal. This time it's a national industry association with rules, regulations, standards, and penalties. It's not a joke."
"I checked the labor contract for the riders several times to make sure I didn't misread it. After so many years since the food delivery industry was founded, it's finally treating riders like human beings."
"I work as a delivery rider in Beijing. This morning, when the station manager sent the app update notification to the group, the entire group of more than fifty people was silent for several minutes. They simply couldn't believe it was real."
One of the most popular comments was pushed to the top of Weibo's trending topics.
The user ID was a string of gibberish, and the profile picture was the system's default gray silhouette, but her words brought tears to the eyes of countless people: "My brother used to be a food delivery driver. He broke his leg when he was late for work in the snow. The platform said it was a part-time job and didn't count as a work injury. If that rule had existed back then, he might still be alive."
Douyin is even more lively.
The personal account of "Pinhaofan rider Fan Chuang" gained over a million followers on the same day.
He recorded a video of himself crying and laughing in front of the camera after watching the association's news. There were no subtitles or background music; it was just a video of him wearing a rider's uniform sitting on an electric scooter.
He stared at his phone screen for a long time, opening his mouth several times but unable to utter a word. Finally, he wiped his face hard, grinned at the camera, and said only, "From now on, I'm a person with a contract too," his voice hoarse and his eyes red.
He lowered his head to wipe away his tears, then looked up and said, "I have to go pick up orders. It's raining today, so the subsidies are high." He then started his electric scooter and disappeared into the rain.
This video was pushed to the top of the national trending list by Douyin's algorithm, and the number of likes quickly soared to tens of millions.
The top comment in the comment section was just four words: "Brother, drive carefully."
Just as the national media was still dominated by the food delivery industry association, another major move by Tangdu City quietly came to an end.
The Tang Imperial City project, from its groundbreaking to the present, is a cultural tourism complex rebuilt according to the regulations of Chang'an during the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The main construction has now been completed.
The news was personally delivered to Wang Donglai by the director of the Tangdu City Culture and Tourism Bureau.
The person on the other end of the phone was so excited that they couldn't contain themselves, saying that all the main city gates had been completed, and the Tang-style commercial street and themed hotel complex inside the city had been completed simultaneously.
Each stone slab on Zhuque Street was restored according to archaeological data, and even the paving pattern was reviewed by experts from the Shaanxi History Museum.
The buildings on both sides of the street are in the style of Tang Dynasty architecture with upturned eaves and corners. The wooden structure is entirely made using traditional mortise and tenon techniques. The team of ancient building masters invited from Zhejiang Province lived on the construction site for a year and a half, going up to the scaffolds before dawn and not coming down until it was completely dark.
The lanterns on the city gate tower have been hung up. Each one is hand-painted, with auspicious cloud patterns drawn in gold powder on the vermilion surface. When lit up after nightfall, the outline of the entire city is outlined by warm yellow light, and from a distance, it looks like a magnificent Tang Dynasty night scene cut out from the Dunhuang murals.
Overnight, the homepage banner, splash screen ads, and top placement of the city channel on the Douyin platform were all replaced with promotional materials for Tanghuang City.
It's not just an advertisement, but a complete, multi-dimensional matrix of urban content, with each layer fully packed with information.
The aerial camera travels northward from the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, past the clouds and mist of the Zhongnan Mountains, past the shimmering waves of the Han River system, and across the modern skyline of Tangdu New City. The glass-walled skyscrapers gleam silver in the morning light, and then slowly pull back.
A complete Tang-style city stands on the plain, with majestic city walls, upturned eaves, and lights as bright as day.
The soundtrack for "Morning Bell and Evening Drum" is a live recording, featuring real bells and drums from the Bell and Drum Tower of the Tang Dynasty Imperial City.
The virtual idol "Tang Xiaofei" under Galaxy Entertainment Group performed a Rainbow Feather Dance in front of the Vermilion Bird Gate.
The stage was not a film studio, but an actual shooting location in front of the Zhuque Gate of the Tang Dynasty Imperial City. The lighting team started setting up equipment at four o'clock in the morning, and the photographer lay on the city wall to find the right angle. Even the moss growing in the cracks between the city bricks was captured in the shot.
The moment her skirt was lifted by the night wind, thousands of lanterns lit up in the background, and the screen was instantly flooded with comments.
"Is this special effects or real footage?", "Every frame of this video is burning my wallet.", "Tang Du, you really know how to do this.", "I've already booked my plane ticket, no one can stop me.", "Can we let Tang Xiaofei stay in Tang Imperial City? I'm willing to buy a ticket to go in and watch her dance."
Another longer documentary, "The Longest Day in Chang'an: A Complete Record of the Construction of the Tang Imperial City," is co-produced by Galaxy Pictures and Douyin. It consists of twelve episodes, each thirty minutes long.
The film crew spent a year on the construction site, filming from the very first brick fired in the city wall.
The camera captured footage of brick kilns at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, where experienced craftsmen, shirtless, added firewood to the kilns, and the brick blanks were fired until they turned a bright red.
The document shows ancient building craftsmen taking a midday rest on the scaffolding during a heavy snowfall. They each held an enamel mug and drank hot tea, their safety helmets covered with a thick layer of snow. No one wanted to get down, fearing it would delay the construction schedule.
The video captured the hottest part of summer, showing several young carpentry apprentices learning mortise and tenon joints from their master. They didn't complain even when their hands were blistered; they would just put on a band-aid and keep working.
On the night the final episode aired, the backend curve of Douyin's data center showed a vertical line, and the topic "Tang Imperial City" achieved more than 2 billion views in a single day.
The Tangdu City Culture and Tourism Bureau has opened up all publicity channels.
The billboards at subway stations, airports, and high-speed rail stations have been replaced in a concentrated manner, and the large screens in commercial complexes have changed from 30-second quick clips to immersive long videos.
A huge miniature model of the Tang Dynasty imperial city has been erected in the arrival hall of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, allowing tourists to see the entire city before even leaving the airport after disembarking.
The underground passage at Tangdu High-Speed Railway Station has been transformed into a "time tunnel." The walls on both sides feature a timeline photo exhibition of the Tang Dynasty Imperial City from its foundation laying to its completion. Passengers dragging their suitcases through this tunnel feel as if they are walking through the past and present of this city.
The promotional slogan, consisting of eight characters, was rolled out across all channels, from official announcements to bus stop signs on the streets: "A day in Chang'an, a glimpse of the Tang Dynasty." (End of Chapter)