King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

Chen Jianghe continued, "Therefore, we only have one chance, and we must make a big splash, otherwise we'll just be doing all the work for someone else."

"Mr. Chen, based on my assessment, IBM simply cannot react quickly to our price reduction."

"We can fire this shot with ease and quickly expand our gains in a short period of time."

Chen Jianghe's eyes lit up: "So confident? Have you found out something about IBM?"

Zhang Wei chuckled and then recounted in detail the inside story he had heard from Zhan Yiling to Chen Jianghe.

Chen Jianghe was somewhat incredulous: "So, even if we dropped an atomic bomb on the Chinese market, IBM might not even give us a second glance?"

Zhang Wei laughed and said, "I'm afraid that's really the case."

"Think about it, even well-known brands like Great Wall, Lenovo, and Inspur are not on IBM's list of competitors."

"We, Tiangong, are nobody. How would anyone know who we are?"

"It sounds sad, but on second thought, it's actually a good thing."

"The less IBM takes us seriously..."

Zhang Wei continued, "The more we do this, the more we can catch them off guard and launch a surprise attack."

"Zhang Wei, this intelligence of yours is of immense strategic value!"

"If we can confirm that IBM will not respond to our price war in the short term, we will be close to success."

"Moreover, it is foreseeable that international brands will not react much after our shocking price is launched."

"But domestic brands like Lenovo, Inspur, Founder, and Great Wall may quickly follow suit."

"This will create a situation where local brands join forces to lower prices and promote sales, thereby boosting the popularity of the Chinese computer market."

"If we use the media to stir up trouble at this time, consumers will definitely flock to the market."

"We are not much different from other local brands. To put it bluntly, we are all imported and assembled. Consumers may only care about the price."

"We came prepared, and by the time they realized what was happening, our brand awareness had already risen."

As Chen Jianghe spoke, he excitedly rubbed his hands together, "Xiao Zhang, I've made up my mind, let's do it!"

"Mr. Chen, I have another idea."

"Our previous promotional activities were scheduled for the National Day holiday, but I suggest moving them to early September."

"At that time, primary, secondary and tertiary schools started school at the same time, which was when parents were most willing to spend money to buy school supplies for their children."

Zhang Wei leaned closer to Chen Jianghe and whispered, "Also, I called the visa section of the U.S. embassy early this morning to inquire..."

"The first Monday in September is Labor Day in the United States, a public holiday there, and a long weekend of three days."

"The people at IBM, HP, AST, including those at their headquarters in the United States, mostly go on vacation..."

"Xiao Zhang, you mean, we should launch an offensive during their long weekend?"

"Even if the people from their Chinese company reported to headquarters immediately, the people at headquarters all went on vacation and had no interest in working."

"The longer they delay their reaction, the more days we have to expand our gains. Fantastic! Did you find the exact dates?"

"Well, Labor Day this year is September 6th. I suggest we launch the Tiangong Computer promotion on Saturday the 4th."

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Jianghe had some doubts: "So, the whole project needs to be done almost four weeks in advance. Is there enough time for all the preparations?"

"At this critical moment, we need you, Mr. Chen, to step in and oversee the battle."

"Once the release date is set, all tasks will be worked out backwards, with deadlines set for each item."

"Starting today, all departments and positions will begin the countdown. We will check progress daily, resolve any problems immediately, and maintain confidentiality."

"Okay! Let's do it this way!"

Chen Jianghe raised his hand and slammed it on the table. "Xiao Zhang, Tiangong has been fighting in the business world for so many years, and this time it finally looks like we're going to fight a war."

"Let's use this battle to practice on the computer division thing you told me about last time."

"I'll call a meeting of the president's office in a bit and immediately establish the Tiangong Computer pre-war command center. You'll be the commander."

"If we win this battle, you'll establish yourself as a leader, and the establishment of the business unit will be a natural progression."

As Zhang Wei left Chen Jianghe's office and passed through the channel department's office area, he noticed that Wei Chen was looking dazed and sighing to himself.

He walked over and patted Wei Chen on the shoulder: "What's wrong? You look so worried..."

"That bastard Wang Yongyuan! He deserves to be executed ten times over!"

Wei Chen continued, "But what's the use of killing him? Who am I supposed to ask for my 10,000 yuan back?"

Zhang Wei instantly understood that Wei Chen was reminding him of the scam and farce involving CC Electromechanical.

He leaned down and whispered, "One word: deserved; two words: you deserve it; three words: you deserve it."

"Who told you to be so greedy? Why wouldn't I fall for that kind of trick?"

Wei Chen rolled his eyes again, revealing even more of the whites of his eyes: "Who can compare to you?"

"Your family has a long history of running banks and pawnshops; you're so stingy and cunning..."

"Alright, stop complaining. You're not the only one who got scammed. There are over 100,000 people like you."

"The newspapers reported that the relevant departments are making every effort to recover the funds illegally raised by CC Electromechanical and will expedite the refund process. Just wait patiently."

After Zhang Wei finished speaking, he took a few steps, then turned back and said mysteriously, "President Wei, I just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Starting today, you'll work hard with me for ten days straight, striving for a year-end bonus of over 100,000! Won't that make up for your 10,000 yuan?"

Wei Chen jumped to his feet, his eyes shining: "Boss, really?!"

...

On September 1st and 2nd, evening newspapers in first-tier cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou all had a period of brief blank space in their pages.

In the blank space, there were only a few small words.

The first one was printed with "The day after tomorrow," and the second one was printed with "The day after tomorrow"...

On the 3rd, its true colors were finally revealed!

The large print reads, "Tomorrow! For only 17,800, bring home a Tiangong [Xuanyuan 486] computer!"

Below is a list of addresses for local Tiangong agents and distributors.

The price was reduced by 1,000 yuan from the original 18,800 yuan; this was Zhang Wei's decision at the last minute.

He said to everyone, "The number eight is very big. In people's subconscious, 18,000 is equivalent to 20,000 yuan, while 17,000 sounds like only 10,000 yuan."

"Don't underestimate the difference of one thousand yuan; it's a psychological barrier for consumers."

Chen Jianghe immediately made the decision: "Let's do it the way Xiao Zhang wants."

On Friday, September 3rd, various personnel from Tiangong Group and its directly affiliated branches made preparations for the battle in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

...