Chapter 255: The Billionaire's Exciting Show! I Know How to Train Dogs

The next afternoon, Gao Weilin left Beijing, taking with him an equity transfer agreement; from this day forward, Senlian Capital officially became the largest shareholder of Byte Technology, holding a stake as high as 60%.

By dusk, the Lingxi Browser had landed on the homepage spotlight of Sister Chengzi's Shangcheng App Store, with hourly downloads easily surpassing one hundred thousand.

Moreover, content resources from Tencent, NetEase, Sohu, and Sina could be used freely; once the copyright contracts were signed after the holiday, the Lingxi Browser could even skip the crawling step, accessing information from major news platforms directly through API interfaces.

In the blink of an eye, Lingxi was brought back from the dead!

The difference between having a boss to back you up and not having one is truly huge.

At this moment, Zhang Yiming no longer fretted over equity ratios and controlling rights; after reflection, he understood a truth: the tighter you grasp some things, the faster you lose them.

……

……

On April 30, the first batch of fifty thousand 360 G800 Pro Shiny units arrived smoothly at the North China, East China, and South China warehouses of Yunsu Express.

After receiving the news, Zhou Hongyi simply set the sales launch time for May 1st.

The failure of the Haier W910 had left him with considerable psychological trauma; he urgently needed a new phone model to prove that 360 could also manufacture phones.

If the sales figures were outstanding enough, and he could snatch some orders from Xiaomi, he would be even happier.

After the battle at Chaoyang Park last time, Lei Yijun had smashed his glasses, leaving him with a grudge to this day.

Not long after, news that 360 phones were about to go on sale shot to the top of the trending searches.

"What! 360 phones? As a victim of the Haier W910, I just want to say: anyone brave enough to buy them is a warrior!"

"Freeze warning! Auto-restart warning! Black screen warning!"

"In the domestic phone industry, the only phone that can surpass Xiaomi in terms of temperature is the Haier W910, which can fight it!"

"Last time I bought a Haier W910, Mr. Zhou pre-installed twelve non-uninstallable 360 suite apps on my phone; the degree of lag made me question life itself."

The comment section's "positive reviews" flooded in like a tide; seeing this, Zhou Hongyi's eyes went black, and he hurriedly explained: "For this pre-installed software, except for 360 Phone Guard, everything else can be uninstalled."

"Look! Unrepentant! Friends who love ads, go ahead and buy; this ad player is worth having."

Netizens immediately retorted.

"Did you notice? The design company for the 360 G800 Pro Shiny is Huawei, and the OEM is Sister Chengzi; I suppose quality control won't be too bad!"

"Damn! The 360 phone still runs the latest AuroraOS 1.3 operating system from Sister Chengzi Technology; how much money did Zhou Dapao stuff into Chen Yansen's pocket?"

"To be honest, a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB+4GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera; with these specs selling for only 1299 yuan, the price is really tempting!"

"Should we trust Mr. Zhou one more time?"

Some netizens returning from the 360 Shangcheng, upon learning the specs, price, design firm, and manufacturer of the 360 G800 Pro Shiny, suddenly felt some interest again.

"If it doesn't work well, seven days no-reason refund, even after opening the package!"

Seeing this, Zhou Hongyi gritted his teeth and promised.

"Zhou Zong, I am a user of the Haier W910; can I get a refund? It keeps showing a black screen, and after-sales won't solve it for me!"

A netizen, seizing the opportunity, hurriedly chased after Zhou Hongyi to ask.

Refund! Refund! Refund!

Refund my ass!

Zhou Hongyi spat inwardly, but to avoid affecting the sales of the 360 G800 Pro Shiny, he still had 360 staff contact the person, verify the order information, and intended to refund the money.

Curious netizens compared the 360 G800 Pro Shiny with Xiaomi phones, stating bluntly that the 360 phone had a larger screen, identical memory specs to Xiaomi phones, yet was 700 yuan cheaper, obviously offering better value.

This remark instantly exploded the Xiaomi user base, who replied one after another: "Phones can't be judged solely on hardware specs; quality from different suppliers also varies."

The implication was that the 360 G800 Pro Shiny would likely skimp on materials.

Zhou Hongyi immediately replied: "This 360 phone is a masterpiece, using the same supply chain as Sister Chengzi phones, and its performance crushes that 'Mi'."

Of course, Old Zhou only selectively stated part of the truth, shamelessly riding the heat of Sister Chengzi Technology.

Ten minutes later, Lei Yijun suddenly posted a Weibo: "If the product were truly solid, there would be no need to survive by constantly insulting people with your mouth; sales are made by building, not by cursing."

Although he didn't name names, anyone with eyes could see that Lei Yijun was pointing at Zhou Hongyi.

In less than thirty seconds, a screenshot of Lei Yijun's Weibo appeared in Zhou Hongyi's comment section; he was afraid Zhou Hongyi wouldn't see it.

Zhou Hongyi's temper was easily ignited; without any restraint, he cursed back: "So no one is allowed to touch your cheese, is that it? Isn't this just phone hegemony, bullying the market? With identical specs, 360 sells for 1299 yuan while Xiaomi sells for 1999 yuan; do you think I'm affecting your profits?"

Netizens instantly got excited, wishing the two would meet for another fight at Chaoyang Park.

"Since 360 wants to make phones, just make them properly; don't try to take shortcuts every time. Does the G800 Pro Shiny have any connection to 360 at all? Be a normal businessman, speak with your own products, and don't get lost in the illusion of being the Invincible East every day."

Lei Yijun was no longer polite, mocking and sneering.

Actually, he wasn't wrong; apart from stuffing over a dozen customized pop-up apps into the phone, the design and production of the G800 Pro Shiny had nothing to do with 360.

Li Wanqiang followed closely, opening fire on Zhou Hongyi: "As everyone knows, 360 likes to create special-edition phones; they look like high value, but are actually downgraded, castrated models."

Both sides passionately clashed, and as they argued, the tone shifted, eventually dragging Huawei into it.

Yu Chendong, seeing this situation, immediately felt regret; he had known all along that Zhou Hongyi was an unsettled person, and Lei Yijun was a marketing expert skilled at capturing trends.

If he didn't respond, netizens would think the G800 Pro Shiny's design was trash and curse Huawei along with it; if he did respond, he felt Huawei only earned a design fee and sales commission, having little to do with him.

Once he entered the fray, the heat would only be stoked higher.

After some thought, Yu Chendong forcibly suppressed the urge to open his mic.

Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yijun cursed from morning till night; netizens exclaimed how satisfying it was, as a boss worth billions disregarded his status entirely to perform such an exciting show for them, naturally warranting full attention.

Before getting off work, Chen Yansen glanced at the battle situation and couldn't help but shake his head.

The Weibo environment of 2012 had a level of tolerance that left people staring in disbelief.

Zhou Hongyi was clearly losing the argument to Lei Yijun; with Lin Bing coming online, the situation became three against one, and people from technical backgrounds often cursed the most cuttingly.

"Tomorrow, a subsidy of 100 yuan per unit; I will make Lei Yijun know that making phones has no technical barrier; anyone can do it!"

Zhou Hongyi, having cursed at Lei Yijun online all day, was so angry his eyes turned red; he ordered his subordinates.

A subsidy of 100 yuan?

Won't that mean losing another five million?

The person in charge of Jin Ling Shangcheng glanced at his own boss, nodded heavily, and quickly agreed.

After all, it's only 5 million; the company can afford the loss!

For every G800Pro Shiny unit sold, Huawei takes a 40 yuan commission, while the manufacturing cost for Sister Chengzi phones, including SMT patching, testing, assembly, and packaging, is 60 yuan per unit.

Adding the patent licensing fees for AuroraOS and the battery management system, the hardware profit for 360 phones is nearly zero.

Zhou Hongyi, wanting to vent his anger, was willing to go all out.

At 10 AM the next morning, the 360 G800Pro Shiny went on sale on time.

Yesterday's verbal battle brought an extra ten million exposures to 360 phones.

Netizens who previously looked down on 360 phones immediately rushed to place orders after discovering the page price had dropped another 100 yuan.

Despite the insults, there were many netizens with clear heads; comparing the specs of other brands, the 360 G800Pro Shiny only cost 1199 yuan. Setting performance aside and looking purely at cost-performance ratio, it had absolutely reached the extreme.

Moreover, Zhou Hongyi had promised that if there were any quality issues, it would be returned or replaced within seven days.

In the first hour after launch, sales hit 23,000 units!

This scene left the onlookers stunned; no way, you guys actually dare to buy?

Lei Yijun sat in front of the computer, staring fixedly at the sales numbers on the page, muttering: "The data must be faked!"

After all, the Haier W910 barely sold 2,000 units in a week, yet the 360 G800Pro Shiny sold 23,000 units in one hour; that's absolutely impossible.

But what Lei Yijun didn't expect was that before noon even arrived, 360 phones were sold out.

Five minutes later, the product went back on the shelves, the price rose back to 1299 yuan, and it became a pre-order link.

"Damn! I was still hesitating whether to submit the order, and it's already sold out."

"Didn't everyone say yesterday not to buy? Who exactly is fighting me for it?"

"Three days from now, see you in Zhou Zong's comment section; I'll see how many people regret it enough to want to curse!"

Due to the precedent of the Haier W910, most netizens were not optimistic about 360 phones.

After seeing all 50,000 units sold out, Zhou Hongyi immediately felt vindicated and called Chen Yansen, saying with a smile: "Mr. Chen, I've put up the pre-order link."

"Congratulations, how much stock do you need this time?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

Producing one 360 G800Pro Shiny costs 60 yuan in manufacturing fees, 55 yuan in component price differences, and 45 yuan in patent licensing fees, totaling 160 yuan.

Zhou Hongyi was essentially working for him again!

Therefore, the more 360 phones sold, the better; after all, he would make the money while Old Zhou took the blame, a perfect situation for both.

"I'll give you an accurate answer tomorrow." Zhou Hongyi wasn't in a hurry to make a decision but wanted to see today's pre-order sales first.

"Alright, no problem." Chen Yansen replied and immediately hung up the phone.

He estimated the total sales of the 360 G800Pro Shiny could reach around 2 million units.

Because smartphone buyers in 2012 were indeed very easy to fool; a large screen, large memory, and a camera with high megapixels, stacked specs combined with an affordable price meant there was no worry about selling.

Just like a few years later, when 360 fully entered the mobile phone industry, the annual shipment volume was at least five to six million units.

A few minutes later, Lei Yijun's phone call came through: "Mr. Chen, aren't you afraid of being cursed by netizens for manufacturing 360 phones?"

"Mr. Lei, the people below are waiting to start work and eat; the price Zhou Hongyi offered is high, please understand."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and spoke slowly.

But inside, he was thinking: Isn't it just because you haven't worked hard enough to digest the production capacity of Sister Chengzi phone factories?

"What is Mr. Chen's sales estimate for the 360 G800Pro Shiny?" Lei Yijun asked directly.

"Not less than 1 million units; 2 million is also possible." Chen Yansen told the truth.

He had talked with Yu Chendong; Huawei would make adjustments to the design of the G800Pro Shiny next, planning to use it as the main model for the second half of the year to break into the mid-to-low-end market.

From this, it is evident that Huawei did not cheat Zhou Hongyi in terms of hardware and industrial design.

As long as the pre-installed software on 360 could be uninstalled smoothly, selling 2 million units a year was no problem at all.

"Does Mr. Chen have such high hopes for this product?" Lei Yijun was stunned; he trusted Chen Yansen's judgment, so he was even more surprised.

"The G800Pro Shiny is equipped with the AuroraOS 1.3 system." Chen Yansen stated in a flat tone.

This sounded very pretentious, but Lei Yijun understood that the AuroraOS system indeed had this capability.

For a few seconds in a daze, he even wanted to give up the MIUI system and throw himself into the arms of AuroraOS, but in the end, he forcibly held back.

If he gave up the MIUI system, what else of the Xiaomi phones would be his own?

"You give Zhou Hongyi a chance, but he might not appreciate it; be careful he turns around and bites you one day." Lei Yijun warned.

"I have plenty of experience in training dogs; Mr. Lei should think about how to respond to the impact of 360 phones later."

Chen Yansen replied with a light laugh.

The competition between 360 and Xiaomi is actually the competition between Huawei, Sister Chengzi Technology, and Xiaomi.

To be honest, Xiaomi holds no advantage in either system or hardware.

Lei Yijun knew clearly that the lifespan of the first-generation Xiaomi phone had reached its end; to weaken the influence of 360 phones, Xiaomi must launch a thousand-yuan phone with similar specs and stronger performance as soon as possible.

After dealing with Lei Yijun, Chen Yansen raised his hand to check the time, pushed open the door to go downstairs, drove his car, and headed towards Xu Yuan.

On the other side.

Although the price of the 360 G800Pro Shiny rose back to 1299 yuan, users' interest in placing orders did not diminish at all.

Especially in Shanghai, Yanjing, Jin Ling, and other places, some buyers received their phones in the afternoon.

After reviews, most buyers found that the performance of the 360 G800Pro Shiny was surprisingly good.

Perhaps because expectations were low enough, most users were very satisfied with 360's first mobile phone.

In an instant, the comment sections of Jin Ling Shangcheng and Zhou Hongyi were full of positive reviews.

Even some digital bloggers published hardcore review reports on 360 phones.

This played a huge positive role in the pre-order sales of 360 phones.

Until dawn, the pre-order sales of the 360 G800Pro Shiny reached 86,000; adding the 50,000 units of stock, the total sales on the launch day were 136,000.

This data instantly rekindled the interest of Ding Lei, who had originally given up on making phones.

If even Zhou Hongyi could succeed, there was no reason he couldn't!

(End of chapter)