Chapter 97: I

Li Dongling had seen the news coming from Gangcheng, but at this moment, Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech had no time to engage in a war of words with Frankel on the media—every single person at Dongling High-Tech was working nonstop.

“All the ads have already been placed—on CCTV, as well as provincial and local stations in Yanjing, Hushang, Pengcheng, and Suzhou-Hangzhou!”

Ren Yuefeng said. Zhang Ao had gone to Europe, so he had temporarily taken over the marketing department. The price of the Shenzhou first-generation digital cordless phone ensured that its domestic users would primarily be concentrated in major cities or provincial capitals; spending 1,200 yuan on a single phone in county towns or rural areas was simply unrealistic.

But once the cost of Shenzhou phones dropped and prices began to fall steadily, the number of buyers in county towns and villages would keep rising.

Li Dongling looked at the group before him. “Starting tonight, the ads go live. By tomorrow, no matter what, Shenzhou digital cordless phones must begin sales!”

Whether Siemens also launched its device tomorrow, deliberately aiming a direct shot at Shenzhou, the Shenzhou phone was already on the string—it had to launch now.

To some extent, the digital cordless phone was Dongling High-Tech’s defining battle—a direct, honorable fight against a giant. Even if they lost, it wouldn’t mean Dongling High-Tech couldn’t survive; its bank account still held massive cash reserves, enough to pay current employees’ salaries for several more years.

The real danger was that if they lost this battle, Dongling High-Tech would develop a fear of overseas giants, and future attempts to enter international markets might be delayed indefinitely—perhaps not just one product lost, but years of momentum squandered.

In a small neighborhood in Yanjing, Feng Miaoyu of the Yanjing Business Daily sat on her sofa, watching a TV drama. Halfway through, an advertisement appeared—Feng Miaoyu knew why.

Domestic TV stations were now operating on self-financed models; every TV station and newspaper was desperately chasing ads. Even CCTV had established an advertising department dedicated solely to securing sponsorships. Feng Miaoyu had heard that the newly appointed head of CCTV’s advertising department planned to launch a “king of bids” campaign, creating massive hype and sending invitations to all well-known domestic companies.

Feng Miaoyu knew that TV ads would only grow more numerous in the future. As she prepared to get up upon seeing yet another ad, one suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Unlike other ads, which opened with handsome men and beautiful women striking poses while background music praised the product, this one was different.

The ad Feng Miaoyu saw opened with a sharply dressed, bespectacled man. For some reason, seeing him filled her with amusement—she couldn’t help but smile.

The plot moved quickly: the bespectacled man held a bouquet of flowers, standing beside a phone, apparently waiting for a date call.

Then the phone rang. The man beamed as he picked it up—but after listening for a moment, his expression darkened. He dragged out his voice impatiently: “Sis… phone.”

Then came a series of other calls: “Mom… phone,” he said in the same tone. After several calls, the man’s face was utterly disappointed. He flung the phone behind him—only to instantly spot his girlfriend’s number on the caller ID, and leap to catch the falling handset.

The noise stopped. A voice rang out: “See who’s calling—Shenzhou Digital Cordless Phone.” Then the screen returned to the bespectacled man: “Hello, Xiao Li?”

Feng Miaoyu finally burst out laughing. She watched the entire ad. She had never seen such a nonsensical, humorous, absurd commercial before—but after laughing, she realized she truly remembered the brand “Shenzhou.”

Seeing the brand, she, as a reporter for the Yanjing Business Daily, knew well that Shenzhou was competing with Siemens for the digital cordless phone market. Though she had never directly interacted with Shenzhou or its parent company, Dongling High-Tech, she felt deeply moved.

It was Feng Miaoyu who first reported the overseas smash success of Dongling High-Tech’s electronic pet device through the Yanjing Business Daily, triggering a huge sales surge for the paper and significantly elevating her status within the newsroom.

But looking at this ad now, she could only sigh. Had it not been for Siemens, she felt Shenzhou phones might have sold extremely well—but now, they were confined to the domestic market. She didn’t believe Shenzhou could challenge Siemens overseas.

Tonight, TV viewers across mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian regions all saw Shenzhou’s ads.

There were two ads. Besides the one Feng Miaoyu had seen, another featured the same bespectacled man. He went out to collect a package, only to have the front door slam shut in the wind, locking him outside. But this time, the man remained calm. He sat on the doorstep, pulled out a Shenzhou phone, and called home to ask someone to bring the keys.

One ad made viewers remember the Shenzhou brand. The other clearly communicated the phone’s features: compact, portable, no landline needed—even if kept in a pocket at home!

The two ads stood out sharply amid the sea of identical commercials. Not just in China, but even in foreign advertising industries, they drew significant attention—people realized for the first time that ads could be made this way.

In Europe, Dongling High-Tech’s ad featuring Ronaldo also began airing on TV networks in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Shenzhou phones would enter the markets of these five regions in their first batch.

…

“What do you mean, Metro and Carrefour refuse to cooperate with Shenzhou phones?!”

Zhang Ao, now in Europe, had lost weight in just a few days. Hearing this from Lu Chao, the local manager, he snapped angrily.

Lu Chao sighed helplessly. The difficulty here exceeded his expectations. He could only reply to Zhang Ao: “The managers of Europe’s major retail chains don’t believe Shenzhou phones will sell here. Maybe influenced by Siemens, they’re temporarily unwilling to let Shenzhou phones into their stores.”

“Also, our manpower is far insufficient—for both sales and after-sales service. Siemens has a professional sales team with far greater scale and experience than ours…”

Siemens’ home appliance business was currently very strong; Europe’s major retail chains were reluctant to risk offending Siemens by carrying Shenzhou phones—even though Siemens had never explicitly forbidden cooperation, all the chains had tacitly refused to stock Shenzhou phones.

Zhang Ao stood up, his face hardening. “What the hell do you mean by ‘professional elite’? My grandfather fought against the U.S.-led coalition elite. Am I supposed to back down now? I’m going to fight elite too!”

“If we can’t partner with big chains, send people to contact Wande City, Meidiya, Saturn Electronics City, and small local stores in Germany, France, and Italy. Any store willing to sell Shenzhou phones gets a thirty-dollar commission per unit sold!”

Shenzhou digital cordless phones had crossed the ocean to Europe. Costs—including production, shipping, warehousing, and advertising—added up to roughly 150 dollars per unit, yielding a profit margin of about 45%. This was mainly due to low domestic labor costs; otherwise, profits would have dropped sharply.

Selling each Shenzhou phone at 150 dollars meant a profit of roughly 67 dollars. Now, to push inventory, nearly half the profit was being given away as commissions—Dongling High-Tech’s profit per unit had shrunk to just 24%.

But no matter the profit margin, the precondition was selling the units. If they sat in the warehouse, they earned nothing.

Hearing that thirty dollars would be paid per phone sold, Lu Chao swallowed hard. The cost was enormous.

“Shouldn’t we report this to headquarters…” Lu Chao ventured.

“Before I left, Brother Li already told me I have full authority over Shenzhou phone sales in Europe. He said: even if profit drops to 5%, we must fight Siemens!”

Zhang Ao told Lu Chao: “Send people to contact those stores and get them to sell Shenzhou phones. Also, find ways to reach Chinese students in Europe, or students from other countries living here.

Anyone willing to promote and sell Shenzhou phones gets the same commission: thirty dollars per unit, paid out the same day!”

Although the number of Chinese students in Europe was far fewer than in the U.S. or Japan, there were still plenty. Selling and servicing Shenzhou phones was surely better than washing dishes in restaurants just to make ends meet.

“Call all the sales staff here!”

Lu Chao had recruited quite a few salespeople for this office. Moments later, about thirty people stood lazily before Zhang Ao.

Looking at them, Zhang Ao saw their defeated, indifferent expressions—they clearly believed Shenzhou stood no chance against Siemens and had no desire to fight.

Zhang Ao gestured for Lu Chao to bring over a large bag. He opened it and dumped its contents onto the table—suddenly, a small mountain of cash appeared before everyone: dollars, pounds, marks, and other currencies.

“I don’t care where you’re from, what race you are, or what you think. I only want you to sell Shenzhou phones starting tomorrow!”

“Whether you sell them yourself or get others to help, whoever sells the most tomorrow gets a five-thousand-dollar bonus on top of the thirty-dollar commission. If you stay number one for two consecutive days, you get ten thousand dollars. Three days: twenty thousand. Five days: one hundred thousand. If you remain the top seller for the entire month, congratulations—you’ll get five hundred thousand dollars. And I’ll personally apply to headquarters for a Volkswagen Beetle for you!”

Zhang Ao pointed at the pile of cash before him. The sales staff fell silent for a moment—then erupted like water poured into boiling oil.

(End of Chapter)