Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 364: Chapter 291: The World’s First 3GB Phone! 999 Yuan? Giving the Competition No Way to Survive

In Xucheng, atop the Sky Garden, the banquet hall glittered brilliantly.

Huang Zhang heard Ma Wenteng’s teasing remark but didn’t take it to heart. ’Penguin can’t even figure out e-commerce, and now they want to make phones?’

But when his gaze landed on Chen Yansen, his expression froze, and his mind went blank.

’Given the partnership between Senlian Capital and Penguin, if Ma Wenteng really were to make phones, he would actually have a high chance of success. If even Zhou Hongyi and Ding Lei could do it, there’s no reason Ma Wenteng couldn’t.’

’You bastard! A real shit-stirrer!’ Huang Zhang cursed inwardly, staring at Chen Yansen.

He was extremely dissatisfied with Orange Technology’s practice of sharing its mobile operating system, supply chain, and production facilities. But he didn’t dare provoke Chen Yansen, so the only thing he could do was glare a little and curse him under his breath.

Although Chen Yansen hadn’t activated his Divine Sense, his keen ordinary senses still detected that someone was staring at him.

He instinctively turned and looked at Huang Zhang, startling the man.

Huang Zhang quickly plastered on a warm expression, let go of Ma Wenteng’s hand, and sidled up with a smile. "President Chen, congratulations on the Orange Mobile Phone’s annual sales exceeding 20 million units! You’ve set the benchmark for our Hua Country’s smartphone industry!"

"Mr. Huang, you’re too kind. The quality of a product can’t be judged by sales numbers alone. As a pioneer in the industry, Meizu has always been a role model for Orange Technology to learn from."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and praised him while shaking his right hand.

It was a classic case of mutual flattery; since the other party was showing him face, he wasn’t about to let Huang Zhang’s words fall flat.

"Meizu is also very hopeful to establish a partnership with an outstanding company like Orange Technology for mutual progress. I’m quite interested in your company’s fast-charging technology patents..."

Halfway through his sentence, Huang Zhang revealed the true purpose of his visit.

"No problem. Later, Mr. Huang, just have someone from your team handle the coordination for the patent licensing agreement."

Chen Yansen didn’t refuse, agreeing readily.

"Excellent!" Huang Zhang nodded in satisfaction, praising him with a smile.

"I heard Meizu is looking for a contract manufacturer?" Chen Yansen asked pointedly.

Huang Zhang instantly understood his meaning and replied without a second thought, "Meizu’s own factory doesn’t have enough production capacity. I can give a portion of the manufacturing orders for the MX2 to Orange Technology."

Only by returning a favor for a favor could their relationship be reciprocal.

Chen Yansen was equally satisfied to see that he was so perceptive. After excusing himself, he seated Ma Wenteng and Liu Zhiping before going over to greet Zhou Hongyi.

"President Chen, I’m just here to join the fun. Don’t mind me, you go on with your business," Zhou Hongyi said with a grin, quickly rising to greet Chen Yansen as he saw him approaching.

"How were the 360 Mobile Phone’s sales last month?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

"Around 600,000 units, over a hundred thousand more than the Xiaomi 1S." Zhou Hongyi’s voice was just loud enough to drift into Lei Yijun’s ears.

Lei Yijun shot Zhou Hongyi a cold look, a mixture of disdain and suppressed anger.

Because what Zhou Hongyi said was true!

With the same specs and price, the Xiaomi 1S, running the MIUI system, was still being outsold by the 360 Mobile Phone running the Aurora OS.

How could he not be furious!

"What stage is 360’s new product development at? I’m still saving production capacity for you at the Luzhou Factory," Chen Yansen asked.

"Soon. We should be able to complete the industrial and hardware design process by mid-to-late September," Zhou Hongyi reported truthfully.

In order to obtain patent licenses for the operating system, fast charging, and battery management, Zhou Hongyi naturally wouldn’t hide things from Chen Yansen.

Besides, since the Orange Phone Factory was the contract manufacturer for the 360 Mobile Phone, he had no reason to be secretive.

"Then I wish President Zhou’s new phone great success in advance." A smile touched the corners of Chen Yansen’s lips, and his words were sincere.

After all, for every 360 Mobile Phone sold, Orange Technology earned 160 yuan from the hardware price difference and patent licensing fees.

Zhou Hongyi was basically working for him.

’As for whether the phone’s brand was 360 or Orange, did it really matter?’

Chen Yansen didn’t care at all!

After dealing with Zhou Hongyi, he walked over to the area for suppliers. He exchanged pleasantries with representatives from a dozen or so companies like Qualcomm, Sony, Desai, and Jingdongfang before finally taking a seat in the front row.

"President Chen, regarding the next batch of the Xiaomi 1S, I’d like to switch to the Aurora OS," Lei Yijun said quietly from the side.

He had originally wanted to go down the path of developing his own system, but Zhou Hongyi’s taunts had made him lose his patience. The priority was to crush 360’s momentum first.

"Are you giving up on updating the MIUI system?" Chen Yansen asked, turning to the side.

Don’t be fooled by how popular Aurora OS seemed; besides 360 and NetEase’s phones, no third phone manufacturer was willing to use it.

Firstly, hardware adaptation was difficult. Xiaomi and Orange Technology differed in their hardware design and features. Even if both systems were custom-built on Android, their optimization priorities were different. This could easily lead to functions like camera algorithms, fast-charging technology, and screen display effects failing to work, which would in turn affect the user experience.

NetEase and 360, on the other hand, had done extensive adaptation and adjustment work from the very beginning of their design process, building their hardware around the Aurora OS.

Secondly, a phone’s operating system collects information like user habits and preferences. This data is incredibly valuable, and phone manufacturers are usually reluctant to give it up.

Thirdly, every custom OS has a vast application ecosystem, including apps, games, developer communities, and so on. Changing the operating system was tantamount to handing over all software profits from the end device to someone else.

"If the next version of the MIUI system still can’t match Aurora OS in terms of performance, we might as well just disband the team."