How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 451

451. Quantum Chip Concerns for Fruit and Two Stars

Chapter 451: Fruit and Two Stars Anxious About Quantum Chips

Just after twelve o’clock, Longwei’s new mobile phone, the Xingchen No. 1 (Star No. 1), officially went on sale.

Although this phone doesn’t offer many functional upgrades compared to Longwei’s Mate50, the fact that it uses the Xinchen No. 1 chip is enough to make it the most advanced mobile phone in the world today.

In the past, consumers chose fruit phones [referring to Apple iPhones] for two reasons:

First, status.

Second, smooth performance.

As the Dragon Kingdom’s [China’s] citizens have become more discerning and their patriotic sentiments have grown stronger, the status appeal of fruit phones has gradually diminished, leaving only smooth performance as their main advantage.

However, with the release of the Xingchen No. 1, even that advantage is gone.

The processing speed of the quantum chip is a thousand times faster than that of fruit phone chips, delivering truly instantaneous response.

Consumers showed their enthusiasm by snapping up the phone. Longwei Group’s official website and major e-commerce platforms offered a total of 15 million units, and they all sold out in less than a minute.

Even though it was past midnight, Longwei’s offline stores were packed with people, many waiting in line outside to pick up pre-ordered phones or place new orders.

Longwei had allocated 5 million units to offline stores across the country, and all were pre-ordered before midnight.

At 0:01, Xu Jun, the rotating chairman of Longwei Group, posted on Weibo [a Chinese microblogging platform, similar to Twitter]:

“Xingchen No. 1 mobile phone sales began at 0:00. As of 0:01, all 15 million units stocked online and offline have been sold out. Alas… I thought I’d be working late tonight, but the battle ended in one minute. Major suppliers need to step up their efforts and improve production efficiency to meet consumer demand.”

Subsequently, the heads of major friendly companies forwarded the message or left comments to tease him.

Lei, the head of Dami Mobile [Xiaomi], forwarded Xu Jun’s Weibo and commented: “Congratulations! So, the question is, when will our Dami mobile phone be able to use such an advanced chip?”

Shen Wei, president of Weiwu Mobile [Vivo], left a message and commented: “Besides envy, I can’t think of anything else to say. I hope Longwei can leave us some scraps. We’re also a Dragon Kingdom brand, all children of the same mother, can’t be so biased.”

Chen Yongming, president of Ou Pou Mobile [Oppo], forwarded the message and commented: “Longwei sold 15 million mobile phones in one minute. Shouldn’t you give some to us stepmothers? Now consumers are unwilling to buy our mobile phones without the Xinchen series chips. My entire series is selling at a 30% discount and still can’t move. There’s no way out. You can’t just let Longwei live and watch us die.”

Domestic mobile phone manufacturers were already lamenting, and foreign mobile phone manufacturers were in an even worse position.

At this time, it was daytime working hours in the US.

Cook, the CEO of Fruit Mobile [Apple], had been following the news from the Dragon Kingdom because he knew Longwei would be releasing new products that day.

When he saw the news that Longwei Group’s Xingchen No. 1 mobile phone had sold out 15 million units in just one minute, he felt a wave of despair.

Last year, Fruit Mobile sold 54.32 million mobile phones in the Dragon Kingdom throughout the year. However, this year’s data as of July 31 showed that Fruit Mobile had only sold 8.67 million units in the Dragon Kingdom.

The reason was that Dragon Kingdom consumers were waiting for Longwei to release a new mobile phone using quantum chips, which led to customers who were originally planning to buy fruit phones being snatched away by Longwei.

Now, the market had proven the appeal of quantum chips. As long as Longwei’s foundries operated at full capacity, it was entirely possible for sales of Xingchen No. 1 mobile phones this year to exceed the total sales of fruit phones in the Dragon Kingdom last year, even with more than four months left in the year.

Moreover, with the release of Xingchen No. 1, consumers would be even less likely to buy fruit phones.

Now, all mobile phone brands, including Fruit Mobile, had only one option: sell at a discount to clear inventory and then wait for Longxin International to supply Xinchen No. 1 chips.

Cook was furious and immediately convened a meeting of company executives.

“Damn it! Have you seen the news? Longwei Group’s Xingchen No. 1 mobile phone sold out 15 million units in just one minute. If we don’t solve the chip problem, we’ll soon be overtaken by Longwei. You must know that Longwei mobile phones and our fruit mobile phones have a very high degree of overlap in customer base. It’s not an exaggeration to say that fruit mobile phones will be snatched away by Longwei mobile phones worldwide; it’s bound to happen. Everyone, share your ideas. How should we deal with this crisis?” Cook said irritably.

The executives discussed in low voices for a while and then expressed their opinions.

“We’ve already tried our best, but Longxin International just refuses to sell us chips. We can’t do anything; we can only endure everything that Longwei Group has experienced.”

“Relying on our own ability, we definitely can’t solve this problem. We can only ask the federal government to step in and talk to the Dragon Kingdom again, perhaps using other areas of interest to trade for Longxin International’s chips.”

“This is originally the responsibility of the federal government. We should let them find a way to solve it. If we had a solution, we would have solved it long ago. How could we be sitting here worrying like this now?”

…

Cook sighed helplessly and said: “Of course, I know the truth in what you’re saying, but the federal government considers more issues and can’t compromise simply to get quantum chips. Even if they were willing to trade other interests for quantum chips, the communication and consultation between the two parties wouldn’t produce results in a month or two, but at least a year and a half. A year and a half is enough for Longwei to snatch our market worldwide.”

All the executives were silent, which made Cook even angrier.

“Okay, that’s it for today. The meeting is adjourned!” Cook said impatiently and took the lead in leaving.

The executives complained.

“He said it lightly, asking us to find a way to solve the chip problem. Why doesn’t he find a way to solve it himself?”

“We don’t know how many meetings we’ve held for this problem and how many solutions we’ve thought of. If there really was a solution, how could it have been delayed until the situation is unresolved? He himself made a trip to the Dragon Kingdom last time for nothing and lost more than a dozen scientists. Now he’s venting his anger on us again. It’s really enough.”

“Who makes him the CEO? Even if he can’t solve it himself, it doesn’t prevent him from venting his anger on us. Let’s go, hurry back to our jobs, lest we be caught by him and scolded again.”

…

Many mobile phone manufacturers faced the same predicament as Fruit Company, and Two Stars Group [Samsung] was one of them.

It was 9:00 AM local time in Seoul, Bangzi Country [South Korea], which is 8:00 AM in Beijing, Dragon Country.

Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Two Stars Group, was listening to the work report of Jeong Byeong-heon, head of the mobile phone business division.

Jeong Byeong-heon: “We have received definite news that Longwei Group’s newly released mobile phone equipped with the Xinchen No. 1 quantum chip sold out 15 million units in just one second. Now, the number of pre-sales with down payments on Longwei Group’s official website and major e-commerce platform flagship stores has also exceeded 20 million units. It has only been more than eight hours, and their sales speed is terrifying.”

Lee Jae-yong’s face was grim, and he said: “They’re only supplying domestically now, obviously wanting to completely dominate the domestic market. After the domestic market is stable, they’ll seize the foreign market. Therefore, we still have some time to prepare for defense and counterattack.”

Jeong Byeong-heon sighed and said: “But the quantum chips they use are too advanced. It’s like they’re using products that are a generation ahead of us. How can we compete with them? I’ve also collected feedback information from mobile phone users around the world. More than 95% of users are waiting for mobile phones equipped with quantum chips. They don’t have any special requirements for mobile phone brands; they only care about whether they use quantum chips. Therefore, once Longwei mobile phones start to attack the global market, customers who originally belonged to Fruit and our Two Stars mobile phones will not hesitate to switch to Longwei. This is equivalent to cutting off our lifeline, and the consequences will be very serious.”

Lee Jae-yong was silent for a long time, then he waved his hand and said, “Dismissed.”

The executives of the mobile phone business division stood up and left.

Lee Jae-yong sighed softly, and his son Lee Seung-joon also sighed with him.

In fact, what these two were thinking about was the same person, or rather, two people: Lee Soo-yeon and Yang Chen.

Since Lee Soo-yeon returned to China, Lee Jae-yong had sent people to watch her closely.

Although her freedom wasn’t restricted, her every move was monitored.

Lee Soo-yeon had mentioned many times that she wanted to go to the Dragon Kingdom to find Yang Chen, but Lee Jae-yong had refused.

Lee Jae-yong’s idea was that if he delayed long enough, Lee Soo-yeon’s feelings for Yang Chen would slowly fade.

Deep down, he still hoped that Lee Soo-yeon could marry the young master of a certain chaebol [a large business conglomerate] in Bangzi Country, preferably the future chairman.

In this way, Two Stars Group could join forces with another chaebol to become invincible in Bangzi Country.

Originally, Bangzi Country was called the Two Stars Empire, which shows how powerful Two Stars Group is.

If another chaebol joined forces, then Two Stars Group would truly control the entire Bangzi Country.

However, now that Two Stars Group was facing the urgent problem of needing quantum chips, these two had to reconsider the relationship between Lee Soo-yeon and Yang Chen.

Neither of them was willing to bring up the idea first, so they could only sigh.

After a while, Lee Soo-yeon ran in breathlessly.

“Dad, I want to go to Dragon Kingdom to ask Chen Ge [Brother Chen, a term of endearment] to help get a batch of quantum chips. Just let me go. I want to make a contribution to the company, okay?” Lee Soo-yeon asked.

Lee Seung-joon didn’t speak. Although he didn’t want his sister to be with Yang Chen, he was even more afraid that the company would suffer heavy losses due to the lack of quantum chips.

After all, Two Stars Group would be his in the future, and every penny of loss to the company meant a penny of loss to him.

He’d let Dad decide now, and the boss would be responsible for the outcome.

Lee Jae-yong clenched his fists and tapped the table lightly, and said: “Soo-yeon, Dad is very happy that you have this idea. But Dad doesn’t want you to do anything improper in order to get quantum chips.”

Lee Soo-yeon: “What improper things? I’m Chen Ge’s girlfriend. Isn’t it perfectly reasonable for a girlfriend to ask her boyfriend for help? What’s wrong with that?”

As a father, Lee Jae-yong was too embarrassed to say it directly.

He meant that he didn’t want his daughter to sleep with Yang Chen in Dragon Kingdom before she could get quantum chips.

Damn it!

Lee Soo-yeon had already said that she was Yang Chen’s girlfriend. Even if he didn’t give her quantum chips, she would willingly sleep with him.

Moreover, it would be a long-awaited reunion, and the encounter would be passionate.

Lee Seung-joon also felt uncomfortable listening and said: “Dad, since Soo-yeon has volunteered, let her go. The future of the group is important. Since they’ve developed quantum chips, they’ll definitely continue to develop more types of chips in the future, not only for mobile phones but also for computers, electrical appliances, and other products. Even future weapons will use quantum chips. Therefore, whether or not we can get quantum chips is related to the future of the group, and even the future of the entire Bangzi Country. Compared with these, Soo-yeon’s sacrifice is nothing.”

Listen to him! Is that human speech?

For his so-called future, his sister could be sent to sleep with someone.

Fortunately, Lee Soo-yeon liked Yang Chen; otherwise, wouldn’t he be forcing his sister to sleep with someone she didn’t like in exchange for his future?

Lee Jae-yong hesitated for a few seconds and finally nodded in acceptance.

See? These two were the same kind of people; they could sacrifice Lee Soo-yeon for the benefit of the group.

But this was also normal. After all, Lee Jae-yong had always hoped to arrange a political marriage for Lee Soo-yeon with other chaebols. Wasn’t this just trying to use his daughter’s happiness to exchange for a strong ally for Two Stars Group?

Lee Soo-yeon happily took off, finally able to see Yang Chen.

“Dad, brother, don’t worry. I’ll definitely ask for some quantum chips for the company this time to help the company tide over the current crisis,” Lee Soo-yeon said confidently.

Lee Jae-yong nodded with a smile and said, “I believe in your ability, Soo-yeon. I’ll send a few bodyguards to go with you.”

Lee Soo-yeon quickly waved her hand and refused: “No, no. I’ll go quietly, so as not to attract the attention of competitors. Quantum chips are very popular now. With one less competitor, our chances of getting chips will be greater. I’m leaving, bye.”

Lee Soo-yeon ran away happily, and her hearty laughter echoed in the corridor.

Lee Seung-joon comforted: “Dad, I think if you look at this matter from another perspective, it’s not unacceptable. Don’t you just want Soo-yeon to marry the young master of a certain chaebol and win a reliable ally for our Two Stars Group?

This ally doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from our Bangzi Country; Dragon Kingdom people are also okay. Yang Chen can develop quantum chips, and he’ll be able to develop more types of chips in the future. He can harvest the global oil industry, and he can also harvest the US banking industry and Buffett. Isn’t he a chaebol himself? If we can form an alliance with him, the effect may be better than if we form an alliance with a domestic chaebol. I’ll just say one thing: who in the country can harvest the US banking industry?”

Lee Jae-yong felt that what his son said made sense, and he didn’t seem to feel so uncomfortable anymore.

Alas…

It was a kind of sadness for Lee Soo-yeon to have such a father and brother.

…

At this time, in Shenzhen, Dragon Country, in the conference room of Penguin Technology Group [Tencent].

Little Ma [Pony Ma, the CEO of Tencent] was leading the group’s managers and above in applauding the arrival of Yang Chen.

Yang Chen smiled and nodded to everyone, then raised his hand and said: “Thank you, everyone. Please sit down.”

All the participants quickly sat down.

Little Ma: “Mr. Yang, what do you want to do by convening this meeting? Just say it now. Say whatever you want; don’t hold back.”

Yang Chen nodded and turned to look at Jin Ming.

Jin Ming nodded and quickly distributed the information she brought.

Little Ma took the paper and took a closer look at the content, and was immediately shocked into sitting up straight.

This paper listed in detail the corruption of Zhang Yumeng, the producer of Penguin Pictures.

For example, Zhang Yumeng had colluded with Gao Jun, the boss of Juli Culture Company, and star Zhang Shuangshuang to take kickbacks through yin and yang contracts [dual contracts, one official and one secret, to evade taxes or regulations]. This paper listed in detail his entire operation process, detailing which people’s bank cards it went through.