Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 151: Chapter 140: Pre-sales Surpass 200,000, Single-Day Sales of 400 Million

”1,999 yuan? Holy cow, he’s not giving his competitors any room to breathe!”

”For the same specs, HTC and Mountain Star dare to sell for 3,999 yuan, or even 4,999 yuan!”

”From the way President Chen is talking, it sounds like he’s still not satisfied with the 1,999 yuan price?”

The media, Aurora OS fans, and suppliers in the audience began to murmur amongst themselves.

After hearing Chen Yansen’s product introduction and considering the ’audience’s’ expected price, everyone had originally thought the Orange Mobile Phone would be priced at around 2,999 yuan.

But to their great surprise, Chen Yansen’s answer was completely unexpected.

He took the ’audience’s’ expected price and slashed it by a whopping 1,000 yuan!

The reporters felt that today’s press conference finally had its first big headline!

”I still think 1,999 yuan is expensive. However, after considering all the material, R&D, manufacturing, and sales costs, while also making sure that the employees at Orange Technology and the phone factories receive compensation worthy of their efforts, I have decided to set the price of the Orange Mobile Phone at 1,999 yuan!”

”However, buyers can purchase through FoxTao’s Super Rebate channel. F1 and F2 level users will get a 10 yuan rebate; F3 and F4 users will get a 30 yuan rebate; and F5 Diamond-level users will get an 80 yuan rebate.”

When Chen Yansen said the first half of his sentence, the competitors in the audience breathed a small sigh of relief, but the invited fans were a little disappointed.

But when he finished the second half, everyone present was utterly shocked.

As low as 1,919 yuan!

Although there were purchasing restrictions, users at F1 level and above on FoxTao accounted for over 50% of daily active users, which was at least two million users nationwide.

For Orange Technology’s initial production capacity, this was just a drop in the bucket!

After hearing this, Lei Yijun’s brow furrowed. He glanced at Li Wanqiang, his mind racing.

Chen Yansen had still set the official retail price of the Orange Mobile Phone at 1,999 yuan.

The channel price was as low as 1,919 yuan!

Faced with such an opponent, Lei Yijun felt this was going to be a tough problem.

”At 12:00 PM today, the Orange Mall will release a stock of 200 engineering units. I hope for your support!”

Finally, Chen Yansen announced the release time for the first batch of sample units and bowed in thanks.

”Did you get that shot? That last one was great, we can use it as a cover photo!”

A reporter from the Huian Youth Daily asked his colleague.

”No problem! Take a look at how it came out!” The photographer switched to the gallery and showed the candid shot to his colleague.

In the picture, Chen Yansen, dressed in a suit, was bowing slightly, his eyes sincere and bright.

A flagship smartphone for 1,999 yuan. Even with the bold implementation of global gesture controls, which many users would find difficult to adapt to at first, there was still a large crowd of supporters who wanted to get their hands on it immediately.

This price, these specs... it was just too good to pass up!

Chen Yansen left the stage, and the host announced the start of the luncheon.

He hadn’t even had a chance to sit down before Huang Zhang from Meizu came over, his tone unfriendly. ”President Chen, the material costs alone for the Orange Mobile Phone must be over 1,000 yuan, right? After you factor in R&D, production, and marketing, how much profit can you possibly make selling it for 1,999 yuan?”

”Mr. Huang, you truly are an industry veteran. Your estimate of the material costs is pretty much spot-on, just from looking at the core components. Impressive!”

Chen Yansen gave him a thumbs-up, praising him with a smile.

”President Chen, by selling at 1,999 yuan, you’re backing all your competitors into a corner. What good does that do for anyone?”

Just then, Chen Yongming from OPPO also walked over, his face a mixture of anger and helplessness.

”President Chen, you exaggerate. I’m just aiming for small profits and quick turnover. OPPO can feel free to focus on the high-end market; just leave the low-to-mid-range market to Orange.”

Chen Yansen said with a casual smile.

’Fuck!’

’Your phone has flagship specs for 1,999 yuan! Who’s going to buy an OPPO phone for 2,999 or 3,999 yuan anymore?’

With a disruptor like Chen Yansen in the mix, both Huang Zhang and Chen Yongming were already calculating how they would have to readjust the pricing for their new autumn products.

But any adjustment would mean hundreds of millions in lost profits!

Chen Yansen glanced at the two men and their sour expressions, gave a light chuckle, excused himself, and walked straight toward Lei Yijun.

’He wasn’t their father. What the hell did he care if they lived or died?’

”President Chen, congratulations! The Orange Mobile Phone is even more perfect than I imagined!” Lei Yijun said with a wry smile, then added, ”To be honest with you, Xiaomi’s original price was also 1,999 yuan!”

”In that case, President Lei, you should thank me. I’ve taken a lot of the heat for you.”

After sitting down, Chen Yansen gestured with his chin, indicating for Lei Yijun to look over at the other competitors. All of them were glaring at Chen Yansen with open hostility.

”Haha, you’ve got guts. Aren’t you afraid they’ll team up to boycott you?”

Lei Yijun shook his head with a laugh, teasing him lightly.

’He actually wished he were the one being treated with such hostility, but Chen Yansen had beaten him to the punch. Now, Xiaomi would have to completely replan its subsequent pricing and press conference content.’

”I have my own sales channels, and my relationships with Taobao and Jingdong aren’t bad either. How are they going to boycott me? By getting the suppliers to cut me off? Do they even have that kind of power?”

Chen Yansen scoffed, a look of disdain on his face.

It was just as he said. Companies like OPPO, Meizu, and Coolpad could only engage in a war of words with him and maybe buy a few press releases to smear Orange Technology. Other than that, they were powerless.

”Xiaomi is holding its new product launch on the 16th. Will you come, President Chen?”

Lei Yijun fell silent for a moment before extending the invitation.

”If President Lei would welcome me, I’ll definitely be there,” Chen Yansen said, his eyes narrowing. His words carried a hidden meaning.

”There are 1.4 billion people in the country. Assuming people replace their phones once every three years, the annual market capacity is 500 million phones. The market is huge. Xiaomi just needs a piece of the pie.”

Lei Yijun gave a faint smile, adopting a posture of non-aggression.

Chen Yansen raised his glass. ”Then let’s toast to the great success of both Orange and Xiaomi Mobile Phones!”

Whether he was sincere or not, Lei Yijun had at least mastered the superficial pleasantries, handling the situation with perfect tact.

Unlike the guys from OPPO and Meizu. If the media hadn’t been present, they probably wouldn’t have even been able to stomach this meal and would have just turned and left.

Lei Yijun raised his glass and clinked it against Chen Yansen’s. Looking at the high-spirited young man, he finally understood the meaning of ”the fiery passion of youth.”

He was unafraid of being isolated and boycotted by his competitors, and he was supremely confident in himself.

In Chen Yansen’s eyes, Lei Yijun couldn’t see a single trace of apprehension or worry, as if he was absolutely certain the Orange Mobile Phone would be a massive success.

「Meanwhile.」

The Orange Mobile Phone, which had been hyped for a week, finally had its 1,999 yuan price released simultaneously on the Orange Mall and FoxTao. Users who navigated from FoxTao to the Orange Mall could also receive rebates ranging from 10 to 80 yuan.

This had users who were ready to snap one up waiting on the FoxTao event page early, refreshing furiously as soon as the clock struck 12:00 PM.

But what many people didn’t expect was that by the time the ”Buy” button lit up and they were redirected to the Orange Mall, the 200 units in stock were already sold out.

The quick-witted ones had already realized that being redirected from the Super Rebate channel to the Orange Mall wasted one to two seconds, making the rebate of a few dozen yuan not worth it.

When he returned to the Innovation Park, he learned that of the 200 units, only 37 had been sold through the FoxTao rebate link, with sales amounting to just 74,000 yuan.

Still, with only 200 units in total, it was hard to draw any real conclusions.

What he cared about was the pre-order link. From 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, a period of five hours, 81,000 units had been sold.

This meant that the Orange Mobile Phone’s trial run was a success!

The next step was to wait and collect user feedback over the next couple of days!

”Hey! Chen Yansen, congratulations! I saw the sales on the pre-order page have already hit 173,000!”

That evening, Meng Jie called.

She had wanted to stay at school with Chen Yansen, but Meng Zhenguo wouldn’t allow it. When she heard about the huge success of the Orange Mobile Phone, she couldn’t resist calling to congratulate him.

”Th-thank you. Is everything okay at home?”

Chen Yansen asked casually, holding the phone.

”My dad found me an internship at a company. My days are pretty full. I have a senior mentor guiding me, and lately, I’ve been learning how to create budgets...”

Meng Jie mumbled softly, lying on her bed in a loose-fitting nightgown with her chin resting on her arms.

This was the first time they had been apart for so long since they officially became a couple.

She had wanted to go to the school to find Chen Yansen, but Meng Zhenguo had stopped her. ”Chen Yansen is now a big boss with a net worth in the hundreds of millions. If you don’t improve yourself, the gap between you two will only grow wider. How about this: I’ll find you a mentor, and next semester, you find a way to get into Orange Technology and start in the finance department. Otherwise, you two will break up sooner or later.”

Meng Zhenguo was a man, and he had been around the block.

He knew full well how many temptations a young man like Chen Yansen, not even twenty years old, faced every day.

When you’re in a relationship with a man, you either have to become part of his life or part of his work. Companionship is the key.

Meng Jie was stunned after hearing this and gave up on the idea of going to the school.

’Chen Yansen was just too outstanding. Although she worked hard at her studies, was an excellent student, and had even won a first-class scholarship, it was nothing compared to Chen Yansen’s achievements.’

’She felt her father was right.’

’Since Chen Yansen was busy with work and studies all day, she should join his company and be by his side.’

”Study hard. When the time comes, I’ll have Old Gao mentor you. He has a bachelor’s in accounting from Hong Kong Island University of Technology and is an expert in commercial and corporate law—hiss...”

As Chen Yansen was speaking, his voice suddenly hitched, and he took a sharp breath.

”What’s wrong?”

Meng Jie asked curiously, noticing something was off with his voice.

”It’s nothing. After school starts, you can report directly to the finance department.”

After saying that, Chen Yansen hurriedly hung up the phone.

”Boss Chen is so good to his girlfriend. She’s only a sophomore, and she already has a finance director from Hong Kong Island to be her teacher.”

Song Yuncheng, who was beneath him, said in a jealous tone, grabbing hold of his ’little Yansen’.

”I’m being your master, and you’re still not satisfied?” Chen Yansen’s lips curved into a wicked smile.

”Not satisfied! I... I want you to be my son, haha...”

Song Yuncheng wrapped her arms around Chen Yansen’s waist, her cheeks flushed as she teased him with a giggle.

”You’re a real pervert! I can’t believe you’re that kind of person!” Chen Yansen said with a look of mock disgust.

”You don’t want to?” Song Yuncheng asked again.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP—!

Chen Yansen gave her a few hard smacks and then warned, ”Don’t even think about it in this lifetime. It’d be more like it if you called me Daddy!”

”In your dreams!” Song Yuncheng rolled her eyes.

”Then it’s not up to you.” Chen Yansen chuckled, pulling Song Yuncheng under the covers with him to study the new glow-in-the-dark watch he had just bought.

”They say online that lasting too long might be a medical problem!”

After an unknown amount of time, Song Yuncheng let out a long sigh and said languidly.

”Bullshit! They’re just jealous!”

Chen Yansen immediately retorted.

「Elsewhere.」

After returning to his company, Lei Yijun urgently called a meeting with his senior management to renegotiate the pricing for the Xiaomi Mobile Phone.

OPPO, Meizu, Coolpad, and others made similar moves.

The business sections of the three major web portals were covered with headlines like ”Is 1,999 Yuan Really Worth It? A Teardown Analysis of the Orange Mobile Phone!”, ”The First Phone for Young People, the King of Cost-Performance—The Orange Mobile Phone”, and ”This Man Brought Brand-Specific Flash Sales to the Mobile Phone Industry”.

Clicking on them, one would find they were all reports about the Orange Mobile Phone and Chen Yansen.

The Huian Daily, the Huian Youth Daily, and the ”First Look” program also provided comprehensive coverage of the Orange Mobile Phone’s launch event.

They even made a special trip to Chunshen to interview Chen Yansen’s high school head teacher and his other teachers.

”Chen Yansen left a deep impression on me. He’s straightforward and enthusiastic, and he always got along great with his classmates.”

The language teacher said in the video, pushing up his glasses and offering simple praise.

’After all, chasing a few classmates around while brandishing a table leg... how could that not be considered ”getting along great” with them?’

His head teacher, Zhang Li, said with a smile, ”Chen Yansen was the most unconventional student I’ve ever taught.”

’After all, what kind of student thinks about making his teacher his stepmother? That wasn’t just unconventional, it was utterly scandalous!’

For a time, Chen Yansen’s fame in Chunshen and even the entire Huian Province rose once again, and the Orange Mobile Phone received even more attention.

Apple, Mountain Star, Huawei, and HTC all received the news and secretly began to assess the impact of the Orange Mobile Phone on their own businesses.

Amidst the surging undercurrents, the Orange Mobile Phone single-handedly forced this gang of mobile phone manufacturers to implement strategic price adjustments for the domestic market.

Early the next morning, the top news related to Orange Technology had changed: On the first day of launch, pre-order sales exceeded 200,000 units!