Chapter 99: The Flag on the City Wall Changes Hands

"Shenzhou Telephones defeated Siemens in the European market and became the world’s most popular telephone brand!"

"Monthly sales exceeded 240,000 units; Wall Street analysts estimate Shenzhou’s sales have not yet peaked, and within the next three years, over one hundred million households and companies worldwide will replace their landlines with digital cordless phones—adding new users, the global digital cordless phone market will surpass previous projections."

"But in the future, Shenzhou Telephones will not only face Siemens, but also competitors like American Telephone & Telegraph, General Electric, Philips, Panasonic, and others entering the digital cordless phone market!"

"A national pride—Shenzhou created a miracle for Chinese brands, becoming the first Chinese company to gain an advantage over foreign giants in direct competition!"

Inside the Beijing Business Daily office, Feng Miaoyu held the newspaper’s latest front-page story: “National Pride” was a term Beijing Business Daily had coined for Shenzhou Telephones, but the other reports were from major outlets like the Economic Daily, Industrial and Commercial Daily, Guangzhou Evening News, and Southern Weekend.

A month ago, domestic media almost universally reported “Shenzhou Defeated in Europe,” yet just one month later, countless articles began praising Shenzhou Telephones.

Not just outsiders—even Feng Miaoyu, a media professional—found it dizzying, as if watching a dramatic shift of power on the city walls.

Last month, Shenzhou was blacklisted; countless people cursed it, and the phrase “Don’t learn from Shenzhou” spread widely, with companies taking shame in association with it; media even summarized several “crimes” explaining why Shenzhou must fail overseas. But now Shenzhou has transformed overnight into a national pride, selling out in Europe and crushing Siemens, becoming the flagbearer of Chinese brands—this rollercoaster happened too fast!

No one knows how the spectators feel, but even Feng Miaoyu, a media insider, felt embarrassed for the outlets that had previously attacked Shenzhou and Dongling High-Tech; although Beijing Business Daily had reported negatively before, it never kicked a man when he was down, and now it was frantically hyping Shenzhou Telephones.

From the moment the news reached China, the domestic media industry was bound to explode—this was the first time a Chinese brand had directly confronted a foreign giant and won!

If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, no one would believe it: previously, Chinese products like Little Swan had exported to places like Bangladesh to earn foreign exchange, but they never entered developed markets like Europe, America, or Japan, let alone fought head-on against giants like Siemens.

Shenzhou didn’t just sell in European countries—it struck Siemens in its own backyard. Journalists writing about Shenzhou felt a surge of emotion, desperate to shout aloud, let alone ordinary readers.

Feng Miaoyu flipped through several newspapers—all praising Shenzhou or quoting foreign reports—but no media had covered what exactly happened in Europe during that month, leaving her in the dark; yet she was certain: for Shenzhou, that month must have been an endless season…

"Shenzhou Telephones have set a new record for Chinese electronics exports and established a new record for Asian brands—after Japan and Korea—by achieving massive sales in Europe!"

Amid the flood of reports from countless domestic newspapers, China Central Television’s Economic Channel also confirmed the news, leaving no doubt: Shenzhou Digital Cordless Telephones had outsold Siemens in Europe!

China’s home appliance brands have not yet reached the point of supplying the global market; the dominant brands remain American, European, Japanese, and the rising contender, Korea. Domestic brands, mostly focused on televisions, either fight each other domestically or struggle to defend against foreign competition.

Then, suddenly, news broke: another Chinese brand, Shenzhou Telephones, had gone berserk in Europe. For domestic appliance giants like Changhong, Gree, Haier, Hisense, TCL, Konka, Chunlan, Little Swan, Sanyo, Rongsheng, Lenovo, and Panda, it was like a thunderclap.

The news was so shocking that when Haier’s General Manager Zhang and TCL’s Boss Li first saw it, they doubted it was fake—but reports from multiple major outlets and state media confirmed its truth.

Instantly, every major Chinese brand became curious: how did Shenzhou sell so many phones—and defeat Siemens head-on?

If they could uncover the secret, which Chinese brand wouldn’t want to export to Europe and America for foreign exchange? Who wants to stay trapped in domestic cutthroat competition?!

Amid the media’s overwhelming coverage, all eyes turned to Shenzhou, skyrocketing its domestic fame—and even across Southeast Asia, Shenzhou’s recognition surged dramatically.

Just like in China, countries in Southeast Asia—including Japan and Korea—view Western culture, economy, films, and tech products through a filter; Western films and tech dominate in Japan and Korea, gaining automatic popularity. Shenzhou’s success in Europe, though not yet a full defeat of Siemens, was enough to outsell it and draw intense attention and reporting from these regions.

Although many in China had previously joined the media-fueled criticism of Shenzhou, when news broke of its massive European sales and its status as a national pride, Shenzhou Telephones were suddenly snatched up by domestic consumers.

At 1,200 yuan, Shenzhou Digital Cordless Telephones cost the equivalent of three to five days’ salary for a European employee—affordable for most households. But in China, 1,200 yuan was nearly half a year’s income for a strong laborer—far from cheap.

Yet on that day, domestic sales of Shenzhou Telephones nearly multiplied several times over, reaching a staggering 24,000 units, generating 28.88 million RMB in a single day—shaking the entire domestic appliance industry; Chinese users were backing Shenzhou with real money.

The digital cordless phone market, previously ignored, suddenly became a hot industry; companies like BBK, TCL, Changhong, Haier, Konka, and Xiamen Xin all announced their entry into the digital cordless phone market.

But BBK, TCL, and others knew well: they were just here to grab scraps, fighting for second place.

A sip of soup was fine, but challenging Shenzhou? Impossible. Abroad, things might differ—but domestically, whenever someone mentioned digital cordless phones, they’d think of Shenzhou. In a sense, Shenzhou had transcended the definition of a brand; no one in China’s digital cordless phone market could compete with it—and not even in ten years.

In the martial world, there are always some happy and some sad—no one ever wins universally. As domestic media lavished praise on Shenzhou, even elevating it as a symbol of national confidence, and as Chinese consumers rushed to buy it, some could not smile.

"Manager Wang, Lenovo, Seven-Up, Great Wall, Inspur, Shida, Tongfang, Donghai—all domestic computer manufacturers have announced they’re terminating cooperation with our company and refusing to purchase our imported computer components!"

"What?!"

In Beijing Tiancheng Trading Company, Wang Tian’an looked up, bewildered—shocked, yet somehow expecting it.

From Silver Mink to electronic pets to now Shenzhou Telephones, Wang Tian’an had consistently attacked Dongling High-Tech in the media. He needed to do so—he had to crush Dongling High-Tech, this “aberration” in Chinese tech, so his imported components could keep selling in China.

But now, when Wang Tian’an confidently declared Shenzhou would fail and that he’d represent Siemens computers, he was finally bitten back.

When news of Shenzhou’s explosive sales in Europe reached China, Wang Tian’an became a public pariah—representing Siemens against the national pride? Wasn’t that treason?

Wang Tian’an’s reputation was utterly ruined; no domestic computer manufacturer dared cooperate with him, fearing contamination. There were plenty of other domestic importers of computer components—why tie yourself to one sinking ship?

As for the foreign computer component manufacturers, they didn’t care about Tiancheng Trading at all—Wang Tian’an was merely a comprador agent for their entry into China; if his name turned toxic, they’d just replace him. It didn’t affect their sales.

Wang Tian’an slumped helplessly in his chair. His Beijing Tiancheng Trading Company was finished—foreign component suppliers and domestic computer brands had abandoned him. Was he even necessary anymore? Even his warehouse full of unsold inventory would cost him a fortune in losses.

In a similar predicament was media commentator Yan Lixiang. Watching the news reports, he found it even harder to accept than Wang Tian’an.

"How is this possible? How could Shenzhou possibly beat Siemens?!"

Yan Lixiang wanted to pick up his pen and refute it—but the impact was too great; he simply couldn’t accept it. In his expectation, Siemens should have crushed Shenzhou outright in one blow—how could Shenzhou have turned the tide and reversed the pressure?

"It’s impossible. Shenzhou must have cheated. This is fake news…"

He wanted to write that—but state media, Industrial and Commercial Daily, and Economic Daily reports were right before him. One outlet could be bribed, but not all of them? Some newspapers even republished American news—could foreign media all be bought by Shenzhou? Yan Lixiang knew that was impossible.

"There must be something I don’t know. How could it sell so much?!"

Restless, Yan Lixiang pulled out a small notebook, found a number, and dialed it—the number of friends he’d met abroad, mostly in Japan.

Those overseas friends had told him: if he ever needed help after returning home, to call them. Yan Lixiang kept in touch, meeting them for meals once or twice a year, sometimes even inviting his whole family on overseas trips. Over the years, they’d financially supported him repeatedly, allowing him to focus on writing sharp critiques—like criticizing Dongling High-Tech last month.

But regardless of whether the public opinion praised or condemned, Dongling High-Tech was now buried in work, frantically producing units!

(End of Chapter)