Restart life

Chapter 555, page 543: [Grandma's 70th Birthday]

Nokia is completely finished. In the first three quarters of this year, Nokia smartphone sales in China (mainland) have fallen to ninth place.

Ahead of Nokia are: Samsung, HarmonyOS, Lenovo, Huawei, Apple, Coolpad, ZTE, and HTC.

Samsung topped the charts with a massive lineup of 60 smartphone models currently on sale.

Regardless of price or occasion, Samsung smartphones are ubiquitous. Even in the stores of major telecom operators like China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, there are numerous Samsung contract phones available.

The mobile phone stores had many Samsung phones, but they were running the China Mobile OPhone system. This thing was becoming increasingly difficult to sell, as it was incompatible with all other systems, but China Mobile was determined to push it hard by spending money on subsidies, which they could recoup through call charges.

Now they're even offering phones for as low as 288 yuan, and quite a few consumers are actually buying them because of the low price. After all, it's a big brand like Samsung, and it's a smartphone—buying a Samsung smartphone for 288 yuan seems like a good deal.

January.

Xiaomi's new phone officially went on sale, and long lines formed at the few Xiaomi stores nationwide on the first night.

If this trend continues, Xiaomi's smartphone sales are expected to surpass Nokia's by the end of this year.

But this is on the premise that Xiaomi doesn't run out of stock!
It's impossible to avoid stockouts.

Xiaomi released this new phone in August, but only produced engineering samples in September, and it finally became available for purchase in October. The stock was severely insufficient, and it sold out in just a few days.

Countless rice fans are lamenting their plight, unable to buy rice even with money, and can only wait patiently.

In the second week after Xiaomi's new phone went on sale, HarmonyOS-enabled new phones were also officially released.

HarmonyOS Technology Beijing Flagship Store.

As soon as the store doors opened, a large group of customers rushed in.

There are quite a few scalpers!
Among the actual consumers, some queued all night just to experience "Hongmeng Yaoguang" firsthand. Then they paid 3288 yuan for "Hongmeng Shanyao".

HarmonyOS's first phone, the A1, was priced at 2888 yuan when it was first launched, but has now dropped to only 998 yuan. Furthermore, it is no longer in production; all units currently on the market are existing stock, and once sold out, that's it.

In addition to smartphones, the HarmonyOS Technology store also carries two tablets, a smartwatch, and accessories such as earphones, data cables, phone cases, and expansion cards.

Several newspaper reporters were present; they came on their own, not by invitation from HarmonyOS.

A reporter cornered a customer who had just bought a phone and asked, "Excuse me, why didn't you buy the Yaoguang? You queued for so long, but you bought the Shanyao, which has been on the market for two months?"

The man laughed and said, "The Yaoguang is too expensive. The Shining is much more cost-effective. The Samsung Galaxy S3 with the same configuration is priced at 4999 yuan, but the HarmonyOS Shining is only 3288 yuan."

The reporter asked, "Why are you buying it today? This phone has been on the market for two months."

The man said, "Let's take a look at Yaoguang while we're at it. As expected of a HarmonyOS flagship phone, Yaoguang is really awesome. I'll buy it when the price drops later."

HarmonyOS Shining has a very unique positioning. This phone didn't even have a dedicated launch event, but it was very popular with consumers after its release. It has similar specifications to the Samsung Galaxy S3 released in May, but it's more than 1700 yuan cheaper.

The main problem is that Samsung doesn't treat Chinese consumers like human beings. The international version of the S3 uses Samsung's own quad-core chip, while the mainland China version uses Qualcomm's dual-core chip. The root cause is chip compatibility issues, forcing them to change the chip when selling it in China.

The problem is that Samsung lowered the chip specifications, but the price didn't come down!

When it was first launched, the Samsung S3 sold like hotcakes in the Chinese market. Just three months later, HarmonyOS with the same configuration was launched, priced more than 1700 yuan cheaper, completely dominating the Samsung S3.

Samsung initially held on, partly because a sudden price cut would damage its brand image, and partly because its distributors were unwilling to lose money.

Samsung employs a hybrid sales system in China: direct supply + platform + exclusive distribution.

The i9308 sold in China Mobile stores is actually a customized version of the Samsung Galaxy S3, exclusively sold through a distributor. China Mobile bought out 50 units in one go, paying a huge sum for them. What does Samsung mean by suddenly drastically lowering the price?
Samsung is currently negotiating with China Mobile because it has no choice but to lower prices; Samsung must compensate China Mobile for its payment needs.

Just one day after the release of HarmonyOS Yaoguang, Samsung announced a price reduction across the board for the Galaxy S3.

And it's a direct price reduction of 1800 yuan!
This comes from both the pressure brought by HarmonyOS's Yaoguang and Shanguang, and the pressure of the upcoming launch of the Apple 5 in mainland China.

News of a price drop for the Samsung S3 has sparked outrage among consumers who have already purchased the phone, leading to a flurry of online and offline criticism of Samsung. Some even discovered the phone had dropped in price by 1800 yuan less than a week after purchase.

A few Samsung fans were gloating and even posted on Weibo to thank Chen Guiliang: "Old Master Chen has accumulated great virtue, finally forcing the Samsung S3 to lower its price. Haha, I rushed to buy one today."

Apple fans, on the other hand, mocked: "Samsung and HarmonyOS are all garbage. I recently bought a Hong Kong version of the iPhone 5. It's super light and ultra-thin, and it blows all current phones out of the water!"

……

Chen Guiliang has moved. He rented a villa in Xishan and will probably stay there for a year or two until his huge villa is finished being renovated.

I just want some peace and quiet.

If they continue to live in Huaqing Jiayuan, they will have to face reporters or fans every day.

Chen Guiliang now has an additional bodyguard named Su Hongbin. He was found with Wang Erlei's help; Su Hongbin had just retired from an elite military unit last year. He was rigorously selected by the state and is reliable in all aspects.

Chen Guiliang takes Bian Guanyue, Tao Xue, his assistant, and two bodyguards with him when he goes back to his hometown. He brings seven or eight people with him.

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I was recognized. My shout attracted more than a dozen people, all of whom gathered around me wanting to chat and take photos.

The two bodyguards were on high alert.

Chen Guiliang casually posed for a few photos with people, then quickly passed through security via the VIP lane and rushed to the VIP lounge in the departure area. There were other people in the VIP lounge as well…

However, everyone was quite restrained and generally didn't insist on taking photos together. They would just exchange business cards, chat for a bit, and that would be the end of it.

The new bodyguard, Su Hongbin, stood up straight. Chen Guiliang asked him to sit down, and he sat down and also kept his back straight.

At first, this guy subconsciously called him "commander," and it took two corrections before he started calling him "boss." He was much more responsible than Yang Shuo, always on guard, and Chen Guiliang felt tired just watching him.

The group flew to Chengdu and checked into a hotel.

Chen Guiliang was to attend the provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce's leadership transition meeting the following day.

The moment he appeared at the conference, he immediately attracted the attention of a large number of entrepreneurs, and people kept coming up to him to hand him their business cards and try to build a relationship.

Bian Jinsong was also there. He was a nobody in the Federation of Industry and Commerce, but now he's doing exceptionally well.

Liu Yonghao had long since stopped mingling with the provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce and mainly associated with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. However, he was invited to attend the conference this time, supposedly to serve as honorary chairman.

Chen Guiliang also received an "invitation" from the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. The reason this invitation is in quotation marks is because he had to submit his own application materials.

The application materials have been submitted. Currently, Chen Guiliang is an ordinary member of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and a higher-level position can only be filled at next year's meeting.

Chen Guiliang can continue to hold the position at the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, but he cannot hold a position that requires him to be in the office and receive a salary.

Just a few days ago, Chen Guiliang held a tripartite communication with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce.

The next steps have been decided.

He returned to Chengdu for a meeting to run for vice chairman of the provincial federation of industry and commerce. Next year, at a meeting in Beijing, he will be asked to appoint vice chairmen of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (there are already a lot of vice chairmen).

"Clap clap clap!"

Amid thunderous applause, Chen Guiliang was elected unanimously. There were no dissenting votes and no abstentions.

Rights and obligations are equal.

As the newly elected vice chairman of the provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, although he doesn't need to handle daily affairs, he must attend some major events and deliver important speeches. He'll likely have to fly back every two or three months from now on.

To be honest, Chen Guiliang doesn't like this kind of thing; he used to frequently miss the Federation of Industry and Commerce's activities.

That night, he got completely drunk, and people, both acquaintances and strangers, came to toast him. He couldn't refuse; he had just been elected, and they were coming to congratulate him, so he had to give them face.

After the banquet, Bian Jingsong, emboldened by alcohol, asked, "Xiao Chen, when are you and Guan Guan planning to get married?"

Chen Guiliang said, "We are discussing it."

Bian Jingsong said, "No rush, no rush, you can discuss it slowly. I know a master who is quite accurate in choosing auspicious dates. Young people may not believe in this, but it's not a loss to choose an auspicious day. It's better to believe it exists."

“I’ve done some research in this area too, I’ll choose the date myself,” Chen Guiliang said.

Bian Jingsong hesitated, then said, "That works too."

The next day, Chen Guiliang returned to his hometown.

The expressway from Chengdu to Longdu finally opened to traffic last month.

Chen Guiliang brought JD.com to Longdu, where they built a logistics center in southern Sichuan, which officially began operations two weeks ago. The express delivery business in Chen Guiliang's hometown is finally taking off.

Two cars.

Chen Guiliang, Bian Guanyue, and Tao Xue sat in the car driven by Yang Shuo.

The other accompanying assistants were sitting in the car driven by Su Hongbin.

"The highway is so much better," Yang Shuo exclaimed as he drove. "Before, every time I went back to my hometown, my butt would be jolted so badly, and it would take almost half a day to drive there. Now it's fast and comfortable."

Chen Guiliang said, "In the past, I had to go to Chengdu first to handle some business, or I could just fly directly to Chongqing and land there, and then take the highway back from Chongqing."

This is also why Liu Qiangdong agreed to establish the Southern Sichuan Logistics Center in Chen Guiliang's hometown. Through the highway network, Longdu, Chengdu, and Chongqing form a triangle. Goods from both sides can be transported here and then distributed throughout the entire Southern Sichuan region via Longdu.

As they chatted, Chen Guiliang fell asleep.

This trip back to my hometown was to celebrate my grandmother's 70th birthday. Bian Guanyue even had his father arrange for many celebrities from Sichuan and Chongqing, as well as famous Sichuan opera performers, to be invited.

As soon as I got home, my father, Chen Xinghua, said, "I don't know how the news got out, but a lot of local business people are offering to come to the birthday banquet. Relatives from several neighboring villages are also coming."

"Then what are you going to do?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Chen Xinghua said, "We'll set up a production line. The main banquet will be held in the village's threshing ground, and the stage will also be set up there. We'll also set up some other banquets, using the villagers' courtyards. There's no need to give gifts; anyone who wants to eat can come. If you really want to give a gift, that's fine too; I plan to donate all the gift money."

The grandmother of the country's richest man celebrated her 70th birthday, and the event was quite grand.

(End of this chapter)