Chapter 510: Wanxiang's Path to the Top 100

September 1, 2008, Shenzhen.

Li Yaozong had just entered the office when the Telephone on the desk rang.

"President Li, the financial report is out," Finance Director Lao Sun said, excitement in his voice. "The third quarter isn't over yet, and revenue has already surpassed 50 billion."

Li Yaozong held the Telephone and was silent for two seconds.

"How much?"

"523 billion," Lao Sun said, "that's an 87 percent increase over the same period last year."

Li Yaozong hummed in acknowledgment.

"Send the detailed figures to my office in half an hour."

"Got it."

He hung up the Telephone, stood by the window, and looked out at Shenzhen.

The outline of Fenghuang Mountain was faint in the morning mist, and traffic on Shen Nan Avenue had already begun to thicken. The city was completely different from when he first took over.

But today, he had no time for sentiment.

Half an hour later, Lao Sun pushed the door in on time, holding a report in his hand.

Lao Sun spread the report on the desk.

"President Li, these are the detailed figures for each sector."

Li Yaozong lowered his head to look.

Page one: automotive sector.

"After the Olympic champion reward program launched, Fenghuang automobiles saw a surge in sales."

Lao Sun pointed to the numbers. "In the first two months of the third quarter, 230,000 units were sold, nearly 100,000 more than the same period last year. The flagship sedan is the hottest, with orders booked through March next year."

Li Yaozong turned to the next page.

Apparel sector.

"Wanxiang's sports brand rode the Olympic tailwind and made a big splash," Lao Sun said. "Sports apparel sold four million sets, sports shoes six million pairs. Now malls across the country are scrambling for our goods."

Next page.

Mobile phone sector.

"Fenghuang Phone is even stronger," Lao Sun said. "In the first two months of the third quarter, 12.2 million units were sold. Feature phones are still on sale, smart phones haven't launched yet, but feature phones alone have taken more than half the market."

Li Yaozong lifted his head.

"What about home appliances?"

"They've risen as well," Lao Sun flipped to the later pages. "Refrigerators sold 800,000 units, air conditioners 1.2 million, washing machines 600,000. Wanxiang Supermarket's turnover increased by half, and Wanxiang Bank's deposits grew by 30 billion."

He paused.

"Also, Wanxiang's website traffic this month rose fivefold compared to last month."

Li Yaozong finished the last page and closed the report.

"What about the World Top 500 ranking?"

Lao Sun pulled another document from the folder.

"Just released. Wanxiang Group ranks ninety‑seven, its first time breaking into the top hundred."

At nine a. m., the conference room was filled with people.

Chen Feng, Zhao Ming, Zhou Ye, Wang Bo, Liu Yang, Zhang Lei, Fang Wenshan, Lin Jiawen… all heads of core departments were present.

Li Yaozong sat in the main seat, with the 50‑billion financial report laid out before him.

"Everyone," he began, "the third quarter isn't over yet, and revenue has already surpassed 50 billion."

The conference room was quiet for a second, then erupted in applause.

Li Yaozong waited for the applause to subside.

"In the World Top 500 ranking, we're ninety‑seven, our first entry into the top hundred."

Applause rose again.

Li Yaozong raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"These results were achieved together by everyone."

He looked around the room.

"Those who contributed deserve rewards."

Li Yaozong pulled a sheet of paper from the folder.

"Chen Feng."

Chen Feng stood up.

"The Chip Department, in the past six months, completed the third tape‑out of the SoC, boosting performance by 20 percent over expectations, laying the groundwork for next year's smart devices."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Department bonus, 30 million. Your personal bonus, 2 million."

Chen Feng nodded.

"Thank you, President Li."

Li Yaozong continued reading.

"Zhao Ming."

Zhao Ming stood up.

"The Systems Department, kernel stability is solid, application compatibility reached 95 percent. The video team's editing software runs faster on your platform than expected."

"Department bonus, 25 million. Personal, 1.5 million."

Zhao Ming smiled.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Zhou Ye."

Zhou Ye stood up.

"Video Department: the Phoenix Clip has been online for three months, with downloads exceeding fifty million. Users upload an average of three million videos per day, and playback reaches two billion times."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Department bonus: twenty million. Personal: 1.2 million."

Zhou Ye nodded.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Wang Bo."

Wang Bo stood up.

"Ecology Department: the creator revenue‑sharing plan is showing significant results, top creators now earn over twenty thousand per month. After the Olympic special went live, daily active users rose another fifteen percent."

"Department bonus: eighteen million. Personal: one million."

Wang Bo smiled.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Liu Yang."

Liu Yang stood up.

"Screen Department: the new panel's yield rate has risen to ninety‑five percent, and the 90‑Hz refresh‑rate plan has been finalized."

"Department bonus: fifteen million. Personal: 800,000."

Liu Yang nodded.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Zhang Lei."

Zhang Lei stood up.

"Battery Department: mass production of 3,000 mAh batteries, and the fast‑charging scheme has passed testing."

"Department bonus: fifteen million. Personal: 800,000."

Zhang Lei smiled.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Fang Wenshan."

Fang Wenshan stood up.

"Publicity Department: the Olympic incentive program has been planned and executed, the Wanshang sports brand has been launched and promoted, and the Asian Games sponsorship negotiations are complete."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Department bonus: twenty million. Personal: 1.5 million."

Fang Wenshan nodded.

"Thank you, President Li."

"Lin Jiawen."

Lin Jiawen stood up.

"Banking Department: deposits grew by 30 billion, and credit‑risk control is sound. Asian Games sponsorship funds are already in place."

"Department bonus: twenty million. Personal: 1.5 million."

Lin Jiawen smiled.

"Thank you, President Li."

Li Yaozong finished reading and set the paper down.

"The bonuses for each department will be distributed by the Finance Department within a week. Personal bonuses will be paid together with next month's salary."

He looked around the room.

"There is one more matter."

The conference room fell silent.

"Wanshang has entered the top one hundred of the Global 500; this is a historic moment for the group," Li Yaozong said, "I have decided to give every employee an extra month's salary as a reward."

A slight stir arose in the conference room.

Someone began to clap.

The applause grew louder, eventually forming a continuous roar.

Li Yaozong waited for the applause to subside.

"Meeting adjourned."

At two p. m., Li Yaozong had just returned to his office when Fang Wenshan knocked and entered.

"President Li, I have something to report to you."

Li Yaozong gestured for him to sit.

"The Asian Games signing ceremony is scheduled for next Friday. They hope you can attend."

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"Fine. Have them send the procedures over."

Fang Wenshan nodded.

"Also, the second batch of Wanshang Sports products is now online. This time they are the autumn models, with richer colors and a fuller size range. Pre‑sales are excellent; eighty thousand units were ordered within a week."

Li Yaozong gave a hum.

"What about the advertising side?"

The Olympic advertising effect has been tallied. Fang Wenshan pulled out a report from his bag, "Impressions reached 37 billion times, brand awareness increased by 23 percentage points."

He paused.

"Now when people mention Fenghuang, everyone knows it's ours."

Li Yaozong took the report and flipped through it.

"Keep an eye on it. Before the Asian Games, let's roll out another round of pre‑hype."

Fang Wenshan nodded.

"Understood."

Fang Wenshan had just left when Zhou Ye's call came in.

"Director Li, is it convenient to talk?"

"Go ahead."

"Fenghuang Cut just launched a new feature called 'One‑Click Video.' Zhou Ye's voice was excited: 'Users pick a few photos, add a music track, and the software automatically generates a video. In three hours online, it's been used 800,000 times.'"

Li Yaozong grunted in acknowledgment.

"Can the servers handle it?"

"We added fifty more servers; for now there's no problem." Zhou Ye said, "If it keeps blowing up, we'll add more."

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"How are the creators reacting?"

"Pretty good." Zhou Ye said, "Many in the group say this feature is super convenient. What used to take half a day to edit now takes a minute."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Keep optimizing."

"Understood."

At 4 p. m., Wang Bo appeared at the office door.

"Director Li, do you have time?"

Li Yaozong gestured for him to come in.

Wang Bo held a printed data report.

"The creators' revenue share data hit a new high this month."

Li Yaozong took it to look.

Total creators: over 3 million.

Monthly active creators: 1.2 million.

Video uploads: average 4 million per day.

Total creators' revenue share: cumulative 120 million.

"Among top creators, over a hundred now earn more than 10,000 per month." Wang Bo pointed at one figure, "The highest earner got 37,000 this month."

Li Yaozong finished looking and set the report down.

"Pretty good."

Wang Bo nodded.

"There's another matter. For the Olympics special, participation in the prize‑draw quiz has exceeded 20 million. Server load is heavy during each daily draw."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"What does the tech side say?"

"We added caching, optimized queries, and now it's stable." Wang Bo said, "Zhou Ye's team is also cooperating, staggering traffic peaks."

Li Yaozong grunted in acknowledgment.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Wang Bo smiled, turned, and left.

At 6 p. m. in the evening, Li Yaozong prepared to leave the office.

His phone rang.

It was Lin Jiawen.

"Director Li, I have something to report."

"Go ahead."

"The people from the Asian Games Organizing Committee came to the bank today to discuss a custodial plan for the sponsorship funds." Lin Jiawen said, "1.5 billion, to be paid in three installments. They want us to provide a more flexible withdrawal method."

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"What do you think?"

"No big problem." Lin Jiawen said, "Our funds are ample; this amount won't affect normal operations. They want flexibility, so we'll give them flexibility."

Li Yaozong grunted in acknowledgment.

"Then do it as you say."

"All right."

After hanging up, Li Yaozong walked out of the office.

The elevator descended to the first floor, the doors opened, and a few coworkers getting off work stood outside. Seeing Li Yaozong, they nodded and made way.

Li Yaozong walked out and stood on the steps by the door.

The September evening breeze already carried a hint of autumn chill. In the distance, Fenghuang Mountain faded into the twilight, while the lights of the Nanshan R&D Center began to glow.

He stood there a while, then headed toward the parking lot.

Before getting in the car, he glanced back at Wanxiang Dasha.

Thirty-eighth floor, lights blazing.

He knew that under those lights, there were still many people working overtime.

He started the car and drove into the traffic on Shen Nan Avenue.

Behind him, the city's night had only just begun.