I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 254 The Billionaire's Amazing Show! I'm a Dog Trainer!
The following afternoon, Gao Weilin left Yanjing, taking with him an equity transfer agreement. From that day forward, Senlian Capital officially became the largest shareholder of ByteDance, holding a 60% stake.

By evening, Lingxi Browser had become the featured image on the homepage of Orange App Store, and its downloads easily exceeded 100,000 per hour.

Furthermore, content resources from Tencent, NetEase, Sohu, and Sina can be used freely. After the copyright contracts are signed after the holiday, Lingxi Browser can even skip the crawling steps and directly access information from major news platforms through API interfaces.

In the blink of an eye, Lingxi was brought back to life!

Whether or not you have a boss protecting you makes a huge difference.

At this moment, Zhang Yiming no longer cared about the shareholding ratio and controlling stake. After reflecting on his actions, he realized that the tighter you hold onto something, the faster you lose it.

……

……

On April 30, the first batch of 4 360 G800 Pro phones were successfully delivered to Yunsu Express's warehouses in North China, East China, and South China.

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

The failure of the Haier W910 left him with a significant psychological scar, and he urgently needed a new model to prove that 360 could also manufacture mobile phones.

If sales are good enough, and he can snatch some orders from Xiaomi, he will be even happier.

During the last fight at Chaoyang Park, Lei Yijun smashed his glasses, a fact that has haunted him ever since.

Not long after, the news that 360 phones were about to go on sale became a trending topic.

"What?! 360 phones? As a victim of the Haier W910, all I can say is: anyone who dared to buy one is a warrior!"

"System crash warning! Automatic restart warning! Black screen warning!"

"In the domestic mobile phone industry, only the Haier W910 can rival Xiaomi in terms of temperature control!"

"Last time I bought a Haier W910, Mr. Zhou pre-installed 12 unremovable 360 ​​suite apps on my phone. The phone was so laggy that I questioned my life."

The comments section was flooded with positive reviews, which made Zhou Hongyi dizzy. He hurriedly explained, "Apart from 360 Mobile Security, all the pre-installed software can be uninstalled."

"Look at that! Still can't change! If you love watching ads, go for it, this ad-heavy media player is worth having."

Netizens immediately retorted.

"Have you guys noticed? The design company for the 360 ​​G800 Pro is Huawei, and the manufacturing company is Orange. I imagine the quality control won't be too bad!"

"Damn! The 360 ​​phone is running Orange Technology's latest Aurora OS 1.3 operating system. How much money did Zhou Dapao bribe Chen Yansen?"

“有一说一，4.3英寸触摸屏、1GHz双核处理器、1GB+4GB内存、后置摄像头800万，这配置只卖1299元，价格还真香啊！”

"Should we trust President Zhou one more time?"

Some netizens who returned from the 360 ​​Mall became interested again after learning about the impressive configuration, price, designer, and manufacturer of the 360 ​​G800 Pro.

"If it doesn't work well, I'll give you a seven-day no-questions-asked refund, even if you've opened the package!"

Seeing this, Zhou Hongyi gritted his teeth and made a promise.

"Mr. Zhou, I'm a Haier W910 user. Can I get a refund? The screen keeps going black, and the after-sales service won't help me!"

One netizen seized the opportunity and quickly followed up with Zhou Hongyi to ask a question.

Back, back, back!

What a load of rubbish!
Zhou Hongyi cursed under his breath, but in order not to affect the dazzling sales of the 360 ​​G800 Pro, he still asked 360 staff to contact the other party, verify the order information, and plan to refund the money.

Some netizens compared the 360 ​​G800 Pro Shining with the Xiaomi phone, saying that the 360 ​​phone has a larger screen, the same memory configuration as the Xiaomi phone, but is 700 yuan cheaper, making it obviously more cost-effective.

This statement immediately sparked a flurry of responses from Xiaomi users, who replied: "You can't just look at the hardware specifications of a phone; the quality varies between different suppliers."

The implication is that the 360 ​​G800 Pro Shining will likely cut corners.

Zhou Hongyi immediately replied, "This 360 phone is a masterpiece. It uses the same supply chain as the Orange phone, and its performance far surpasses that of Xiaomi."

Of course, Lao Zhou only selectively stated part of the facts, taking full advantage of Orange Technology's popularity.

Ten minutes later, Lei Yijun suddenly posted a Weibo message: "If the product is really good, there's no need to rely on insults to make a living. Sales are achieved through production, not through insults."

Although no names were mentioned, it was clear to everyone that Lei Yijun was targeting Zhou Hongyi.

In less than 30 seconds, Lei Yijun's Weibo screenshot appeared in Zhou Hongyi's comment section, as if he was afraid Zhou Hongyi would miss it.

Zhou Hongyi, quick to anger, retorted without hesitation: "So, nobody can touch your cheese, huh? Isn't this just being a tyrant, bullying the market! The same specs on the 360 ​​sell for 1299 yuan, while the Xiaomi sells for 1999 yuan. Do you think I'm affecting your profits?"

Netizens instantly became excited, wishing the two could meet up again at Chaoyang Park for a fight.

"If 360 wants to make phones, then do it properly. Stop trying to take shortcuts and be opportunistic every time. What does the G800 Pro have to do with 360? Be a normal businessman, let your products speak for themselves, and stop indulging in the illusion of being an invincible master."

Lei Yijun stopped being polite and started to mock him.

In fact, he was right. Apart from cramming a dozen or so custom pop-up apps into the phone, the G800 Pro's dazzling design and production had nothing to do with 360.

Li Wanqiang followed up and launched an attack on Zhou Hongyi: "As we all know, 360 likes to make special edition phones, which look like they are cost-effective, but in reality they are all stripped-down phones with reduced features."

The two sides engaged in a passionate exchange, which escalated into a heated debate that eventually dragged Huawei into the fray.

Upon seeing this, Yu Chendong immediately regretted his actions. He had long known that Zhou Hongyi was a restless person, and Lei Yijun was a marketing expert who was good at capturing trending topics.

If they don't respond, netizens will think the G800 Pro's dazzling design is garbage and will even criticize Huawei; if they do respond, they'll think that Huawei only earns design fees and sales commissions, and it has little to do with them.

Once he leaves the field, the hype will only intensify.

After some thought, Yu Chendong forcibly suppressed the urge to speak.

Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yijun argued from morning till night, much to the delight of netizens. The billionaire bosses, disregarding their status, put on such an exciting show for them, so naturally, we had to watch the whole thing.

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

The level of tolerance on Weibo in 2012 was astonishing.

Zhou Hongyi was clearly no match for Lei Yijun in verbal sparring. With Lin Bing joining the fray, the situation became a three-on-one battle, where those with technical backgrounds often delivered the most hurtful insults.

"I'll subsidize 100 yuan per phone tomorrow. I want Lei Yijun to know that making mobile phones requires no technical skill; anyone can do it!"

Zhou Hongyi, who had spent the whole day arguing with Lei Yijun online, was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he gave orders to his subordinates.

A subsidy of 100 yuan?
Wouldn't that mean losing another 500 million?
The person in charge of 360 Mall glanced at his boss, nodded emphatically, and quickly agreed.

Anyway, it's only 500 million, the company can afford to lose it!

This G800 Pro shines, and for every unit sold, Huawei takes a 40 yuan commission. Meanwhile, Orange Phone's manufacturing cost, including SMT assembly, testing, and packaging, is 60 yuan per unit. Add to that the patent licensing fees for Aurora OS and the battery management system, and 360 Phone's hardware profit is practically zero.

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

The 360 ​​G800 Pro went on sale promptly at 10:00 AM the following morning.

Yesterday's online spat brought 360 Mobile tens of millions of extra exposures.

Netizens who initially looked down on 360 phones immediately rushed to place an order after discovering that the price on the page had dropped by another 100 yuan.

Despite the criticism, there are quite a few clear-headed netizens who argue that compared to other brands' phone configurations, the 360 ​​G800 Pro's dazzling price of only 1199 yuan is absolutely the best in terms of cost-effectiveness, regardless of performance.

Moreover, Zhou Hongyi promised a seven-day return and exchange policy if there were any quality issues.

In the first hour after its launch, 2.3 units were sold!

This scene left the onlookers dumbfounded. Seriously, you guys actually dared to buy it!
Lei Yijun sat in front of the computer, staring intently at the sales figures on the page, muttering to himself, "The data is definitely fake!"

After all, it's impossible for the Haier W910 to sell 2000 units in a week, while the 360 ​​G800 Pro sold 2.3 units in just one hour.

To Lei Yijun's surprise, the 360 ​​phone sold out before midnight.

Five minutes later, the product was relisted, the price rose back to 1299 yuan, and it became a pre-sale link.

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

"Didn't everyone say they weren't going to buy it yesterday? Who's trying to steal it from me?"

"See you in the comments section, Boss Zhou, in three days. I'll see how many people regret it and want to curse!"

Given the precedent set by Haier W910, most netizens are not optimistic about 360 phones.

When Zhou Hongyi saw that all 50,000 units had sold out, he was immediately elated and called Chen Yansen, saying with a smile, "Mr. Chen, I've put up the pre-sale link."

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

The cost of producing one 360 ​​G800 Pro Shining is 60 yuan for manufacturing, 55 yuan for component price difference, and 45 yuan for patent licensing fee, totaling 160 yuan.

Zhou Hongyi is essentially working for him again!

Therefore, the more 360 ​​phones they sell, the better. Anyway, they make the money, and Zhou takes the blame. It's a win-win situation.

"I'll give you a definite answer tomorrow." Zhou Hongyi wasn't in a hurry to make a decision; instead, he wanted to see today's pre-sale sales figures first.

“Okay, no problem,” Chen Yansen replied, and then hung up the phone.

He estimates that the 360 ​​G800 Pro's overall sales will reach around 200 million units.

Because smartphone buyers in 2012 were indeed easy to fool. Large screens, large memory, high-pixel cameras, good configurations, plus affordable prices, and they had no trouble selling.

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

A few minutes later, Lei Yijun called: "President Chen, aren't you afraid of being criticized by netizens for manufacturing phones for 360?"

"President Lei, the staff below are waiting to start work and eat. Zhou Hongyi offered a high price, so please understand."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said slowly.

But in my heart I was thinking: It's because you're not working hard enough to handle the full production capacity of the Orange Phone factory.

"What is Mr. Chen's sales forecast for the 360 ​​G800 Pro?" Lei Yijun asked directly.

"No less than 100 million units, 200 million is also possible," Chen Yansen said frankly.

He had talked to Yu Chendong and learned that Huawei would be making adjustments to the design of the G800 Pro Shining, intending to make it the main model to be promoted in the second half of the year to penetrate the mid-to-low-end market.

This shows that Huawei did not mislead Zhou Hongyi in terms of hardware and industrial design.

As long as 360's pre-installed software can be uninstalled smoothly, selling 200 million units a year is not a problem at all.

"Mr. Chen is so optimistic about this product?" Lei Yijun was stunned. He trusted Chen Yansen's judgment, so he was even more surprised.

"The G800 Pro is equipped with the Aurora OS 1.3 system," Chen Yansen stated calmly.

This sounds pretentious, but Lei Yijun understands that the Aurora OS system does indeed have that capability.

For a few fleeting seconds, he almost gave up on the MIUI system and switched to Aurora OS, but he managed to restrain himself.

If Xiaomi abandons even the MIUI system, what aspects of its phones will truly be its own?

"You might give Zhou Hongyi a chance, but he might not appreciate it. Be careful he doesn't turn around and bite you one day," Lei Yijun warned.

"I have plenty of experience in dog training. Mr. Lei, you should think about how to deal with the impact of 360 mobile phones later."

Chen Yansen replied with a chuckle.

The competition between 360 and Xiaomi is actually a competition between Huawei, Orange Technology, and Xiaomi.

To be honest, Xiaomi doesn't have an advantage in either its operating system or hardware.

Lei Yijun knew perfectly well that the lifespan of Xiaomi's first-generation phone had come to an end. To weaken the influence of 360 phones, Xiaomi had to launch a similarly configured but more powerful budget phone as soon as possible.

After dealing with Lei Yijun, Chen Yansen glanced at the time, pushed open the door, went downstairs, and drove towards the Xuyuan Academy.

the other side.

Despite the price of the 360 ​​G800 Pro rising back to 1299 yuan, users' interest in placing orders remains undiminished.

Some buyers, especially those in Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing, received their phones in the afternoon.

After testing, most buyers found that the 360 ​​G800 Pro's outstanding mobile phone performance was unexpectedly good.

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

Immediately, the comment sections of 360 Mall and Zhou Hongyi were filled with positive reviews.

There were even tech bloggers who published hardcore review reports of 360 phones.

This had a very positive effect on the pre-sale sales of 360 mobile phones.

By midnight, the 360 ​​G800 Pro's pre-sale sales had reached 8.6 units, and with 5 units already in stock, the total sales on the first day of release reached 13.6 units.

This data rekindled Ding Lei's interest in making mobile phones, even though he had originally given up on the project.

If Zhou Hongyi can succeed, there's no reason why he can't!
(End of this chapter)