My son is a reincarnated soul; I overheard his inner thoughts and became the richest man.

Guided by his secretary, Wang Jun entered the chairman's office on the left.

"Mr. Wang, what a rare guest! What brings you here?"

Upon seeing Wang Jun enter, Chen Feng put down the documents in his hand, smiled, and stood up to greet him.

Wang Jun looked around the spacious and bright new office and joked, "President Chen, it's only been a few days, but things have really changed dramatically. When I saw those two signs at the door, I thought I had gone to the wrong place. You've even started doing investment business now?"

Chen Feng laughed heartily and gestured for Wang Jun to sit down in the sofa area.

"It's just a lot of tinkering. We've spread our operations a bit too far, so we created this group shell to make overall management easier. As for the investment company, it's just something we invest in when we have some spare cash. It's not really a serious business."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chen Feng got down to business: "President Wang's personal visit today couldn't have been just to tour the new office, could it?"

Wang Jun's smile faded, and his expression became serious.

"There is indeed some important business to attend to."

He lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Chen, have you heard anything? Apple Inc., that old fox Steve Jobs, is planning something at the end of the month."

"They're rumored to be releasing an MP3 player called the iPod, and they're coming in strong. I've seen some leaked specs, and it looks very competitive."

"Although our F1 and T1 models sell well in the US, Apple is a local power with a strong brand appeal. I'm worried this will impact Fengtian Technology's market share, so I came here specifically to give you a heads-up."

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"I know about this. Lin Wan told me about it in an overseas phone call a couple of days ago. She's also a bit nervous on her end."

"However..."

Chen Feng put down his teacup, his tone relaxed, "I don't think there's any need to act like this is a major crisis. In business, competition is the norm. It would be lonely without any rivals."

"After all, we secured a leading position in the market several months in advance, which is a first-mover advantage. In addition, we hold exclusive copyright libraries from two major music associations, which is a moat. Apple won't be able to break through easily."

In fact, he had already been spoiled about the iPod's release date by Chen Xiaotian's inner thoughts several months ago.

His composure stemmed not only from his control of the copyright, but also from the fact that he held a trump card – the second-generation product.

Fengtian Technology's R&D center has already finalized the design of the F2 and T2 models and has now entered the mass production and inventory preparation stage.

Compared to the first generation, the new model has made a qualitative leap in size, weight, UI interaction, and transmission speed.

Most importantly, with the price of upstream flash memory chips plummeting, the new D2 comes with large capacities of 256MB and 512MB, which can be described as more capacity without raising the price.

"Furthermore, we have developed a detailed response strategy."

A sly glint flashed in Chen Feng's eyes. "When Apple holds its press conference, we'll launch our inventory clearance plan. We'll lower the prices of all first-generation products and directly use our cost-effectiveness to target their new products."

"Use our old models to compete with their new models, and then use our new models to attract high-end users. This combination of tactics will give Jobs a run for his money."

Hearing this, Wang Jun finally felt relieved.

Looking at the confident and composed man in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

It turns out they had planned this all along and even prepared a backup plan.

"Since Mr. Chen has already made arrangements, I can rest assured."

Wang Jun gave a wry smile. "It seems I was worrying unnecessarily. I knew it. With President Chen's business acumen, how could he not have noticed this trend?"

"It's always good to be prepared."

Chen Feng smiled and poured him another cup of tea.

The two then discussed some details about the US market. Seeing that the business was over, Wang Jun did not linger and got up to take his leave.

......

Late October.

The city of Shanghai is already quite chilly in late autumn.

Chen Feng sat at his desk, staring intently at the computer screen, frequently refreshing web pages.

Today, Apple Inc. will hold a new product launch event on the other side of the ocean.

Although he appeared calm and collected in front of Wang Jun, Chen Feng knew in his heart that what Steve Jobs, that fanatic, had created was no joke.

The phrase "the globally popular iPod" in my son's heartfelt words always hangs like a sword of Damocles over my head.

Strategically, we can be dismissive; tactically, we must fight to the death.

As the press conference progressed, real-time reports from various technology media outlets flooded social media feeds.

Chen Feng quickly filtered out the nonsense praising Jobs' personal charisma and focused his attention on the core parameters and pricing.

"$399?"

Upon seeing this number, Chen Feng's lips curled up slightly. "It's forty dollars more expensive than our F1 cars. The appearance... is a classic, bland style, and the configuration is just so-so. There's no generational difference."

"Where does Steve Jobs get his confidence? Does he really think he can empty consumers' wallets just by putting on an Apple logo?"

Based on the information disclosed so far, the iPod is clearly aimed at the high-end market, directly targeting Fengtian Technology's flagship F1.

As for the T1, which focuses on cost-effectiveness, it's simply not within its firing range.

Just as I was pondering this, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

Caller ID: US long-distance.

"Mr. Chen, did you watch the press conference?" Lin Wan's slightly hurried voice came through the receiver.

"Watching it now."

Chen Feng said calmly, "The price of $399 is higher than expected."

"No, the point isn't the price!"

Lin Wan's voice betrayed an undisguised excitement, "President Chen, have you noticed their data transmission method?"

"Transmission method?" Chen Feng frowned slightly. "What's the secret?"

"This is too far-fetched! It's practically self-destructive!"

Lin Wan spoke rapidly, "I just double-checked the details of the press conference and the official website specifications, and this iPod only supports transferring songs from a Mac computer!"

"In other words, it doesn't support Windows at all!"

Chen Feng paused for a moment, then his pupils contracted slightly: "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely true! Steve Jobs spent the entire presentation demonstrating how to manage music on a Mac, without mentioning PCs at all. The official specifications also clearly state: System requirement is Mac OS 9.2!"

Hearing this, Chen Feng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Interesting, very interesting."

He leaned back in his chair, his tense nerves instantly relaxing. "No support for Windows? This isn't a new product launch, it's performance art."

"How many people in the world use Macs? And how many use Windows? This is a completely different market. Is Steve Jobs just planning to sell to a few die-hard Apple fans for his own self-indulgence?"

This is like opening a restaurant that only serves customers who wear red clothes and turns away all customers who wear other colors.

"Yes, Mr. Chen!"

Lin Wan couldn't stop smiling. "I was worried that the iPod would be a monster, but now it seems like I dug my own grave. You have to buy a Mac computer before you can buy an iPod? That's ridiculously high."

"As long as Apple doesn't open up support for Windows, it can forget about posing a real threat to us."

"That being said, don't get too excited yet."

Chen Feng suppressed his smile and calmly analyzed, "Steve Jobs may be stubborn, but he's not stupid. The capital market will teach him a lesson. Once sales are dismal, it's only a matter of time before he opens up Windows support."

"We cannot stop just because our opponents make mistakes."

"The original sniping plan remains unchanged. On November 1st, a price reduction promotion will be launched across the board."

Chen Feng tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, issuing commands: "The F1 will drop to $319, and the two versions of the T1 will drop to $139 and $169 respectively. We need to take advantage of Apple's struggles while it's still mired in trouble and seize a huge wave of market share to deepen our competitive advantage."

"In addition, the second-generation products F2 and T2 are scheduled to be released on December 1st. The old model will block its low-price segment, and the new model will suppress its performance."

"Understood! I'll arrange it right away."

Lin Wan accepted the order with high spirits and left.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Feng got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the night view of the Huangpu River.

This was indeed a pleasant surprise.

I thought it would be a fierce battle, but my opponent tripped me up right from the start.

But Chen Feng did not underestimate his opponent because of this.

Since Chen Xiaotian predicted the success of the iPod in his heart, Apple will correct this foolish mistake sooner or later.

Before that, Fengtian Technology must move even faster.

"Now that the US market has stabilized, it's time to take a bite out of the lucrative European market."

Chen Feng leaned back in his chair, secretly making plans.

However, the situation in the European market is much more complex than in the United States, with numerous countries and fragmented distribution channels.

Relying solely on IDG's network, it would be difficult to quickly expand the market.

We need to find stronger allies.

Having made up his mind, Chen Feng pressed the intercom on the table: "Xiao Gu, come to my office."

A moment later, Gu Qingcheng pushed open the door and entered, dressed in a professional and capable business suit.

"Connect me to Jason, IDG's Global Vice President."

Chen Feng pointed to the phone on the table, "You'll be in charge of translation later. Your Wharton MBA background will come in handy at this time."

"No problem, Mr. Chen."

Gu Qingcheng skillfully dialed the overseas call.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Feng got straight to the point, expressing Fengtian Technology's intention to enter the European market.

Gu Qingcheng fluently translated it into authentic American business English.

On the other end of the phone, Jason pondered for a moment before offering his advice.

"Chen, that's indeed a good idea. However, the business barriers in Europe are very high, and IDG alone may not be enough. I suggest we bring in new strategic investors, such as Goldman Sachs or Sequoia Capital. They have been deeply involved in Europe for many years and have extensive experience."

After Gu Qingcheng finished translating, Chen Feng nodded slightly in approval.

Jason then changed the subject: "However, I don't think we need to rush into introducing new capital."

"You must have watched Apple's keynote, right? That iPod that doesn't support Windows is a joke. I believe Fengtian Technology is fully capable of teaching them a lesson."

"My advice is to wait until you've crushed the iPod market during the Christmas season and have a stellar sales report before talking to venture capitalists. By then, our valuation should at least double!"

"This is the best option for Fengtian Technology and for all of our shareholders."

It has to be said, experience is the best teacher.

IDG, as a long-established capital firm, has certainly made shrewd calculations.