Not long after Zhang Yingguo left, Liu Xiangjiang entered Boss Huang's office, his face filled with excitement. About half a year ago, Boss Huang had given him a special mission, and Liu Xiangjiang estimated that now was the time to officially launch this significant task.
Especially since Liu Xiangjiang had been observing the global situation and knew how fiercely those two companies were fighting over this item. Their expressions would surely be very interesting if they knew a newcomer was about to enter the arena.
"Xiangjiang, why are you smiling so lewdly?" Huang He glared at Liu Xiangjiang. Liu Xiangjiang chuckled, becoming even more lewd.
"Alright, how is the production line situation?" Huang He asked.
"It has all been debugged and tested. As per your instructions, we have mobilized all our technical forces to comprehensively refit the existing 10 production lines, which now basically meet the needs for mass production."
"For special equipment that certain production lines cannot produce, we will directly mobilize experienced veteran employees to conduct manual production. The estimated monthly output in the future can reach around 500,000 units," Liu Xiangjiang stated.
"500,000 units is just the beginning. I hope our output can increase to 700,000 units next month, and by next year, the monthly output should increase to over 1 million units. Do you understand?" Huang He asked calmly.
"Understood, Boss. As long as you give the order, I will ensure the production line is ready, even if it costs me my life!" Liu Xiangjiang immediately replied.
"Good!" Huang He nodded. "But our production lines alone are not enough. Can the suppliers provide the necessary components?"
"Not a big problem. We have a very large number of suppliers. If needed, we can directly find several more suppliers to provide them. Also, some products cannot be completed by ordinary suppliers; only one or two suppliers can produce them. I have already placed purchase orders in advance with these suppliers, and we have now prepared all the parts needed for 5 million units, ensuring we can keep up with the production line's demand!"
"What about the most crucial Zixiao chip? How many chips has Jiangnan Optoelectronics provided? I recall they only finalized the Zixiao chip's specifications about three months ago!" Huang He queried.
"This is indeed a bit difficult at the moment. In three months, Jiangnan Optoelectronics has only prepared less than 500,000 units in stock for us. So, I'm afraid our current reserve of Zixiao chips will only be sufficient for the first month's demand," Liu Xiangjiang replied.
"Then have them increase production!" Boss Huang's expression turned cold. He made a phone call, and shortly after, Zuo Sicheng rushed over.
Unlike Tong He, who was focused on research, Zuo Sicheng was more of a multifaceted talent. He not only excelled in scientific research but also possessed considerable ability in practical production management.
Therefore, while Jiangnan Optoelectronics' core was its research center, its most critical component was the chip production department. Currently, this department was directly managed by Zuo Sicheng, and all of Jiangnan Group's Zixiao chips were produced under his supervision.
"Can you achieve a Zixiao output of 500,000 units next month?" Huang He asked directly.
"This..." Zuo Sicheng hesitated upon hearing this.
"You just need to tell me if it's possible or not. Don't consider anything else!" Huang He immediately instructed.
"Yes, it can be done, but it will cost a lot of money! And this money might only be usable once!" Zuo Sicheng replied. "Boss, increasing production isn't difficult; we just need to add etching machines. Our own laboratory can manufacture them."
"However, to do this, we'll need to spend a significant amount of money to acquire a lot of equipment. But the problem is, the Zixiao Generation 1 chip is still a relatively immature chip. The etching machines we are developing ourselves to manufacture the Zixiao Generation 1 are still in the development phase, and there are many issues. Therefore, the current etching machines will definitely be phased out."
"According to my calculations, it might take about two years at most for the fully functional etching machines to be developed, at which point the current research-version etching machines will have no practical value. If we increase our etching machines now to boost production, then the money spent on manufacturing these etching machines will be completely wasted!" Zuo Sicheng explained.
"Does it cost ten billion US dollars to manufacture one etching machine?" Huang He suddenly asked.
"How is that possible?" Zuo Sicheng was taken aback by the question.
"Then ten million US dollars?" Huang He asked again.
"That's also impossible; it doesn't require that much money."
"What about fifty million US dollars?"
"Uh, Boss, it actually only takes about ten million US dollars!" Zuo Sicheng said helplessly.
"That's right. For something that costs ten million US dollars per unit, even if I let you build a hundred of them, it would only be one billion US dollars. And can this one billion US dollars buy me two years of time?" Huang He's words suddenly made Zuo Sicheng realize the truth. He then said resolutely, "Boss, rest assured, I guarantee I will fulfill your instructions!"
"Go then!" Huang He nodded. Zuo Sicheng left, and Liu Xiangjiang was the only one left in the room.
"You've seen my attitude!" Huang He smiled faintly. "Go back to work. September 10th is Teachers' Day, and it's the perfect opportunity for our global launch of Tian Zhou. I also need to prepare for the press conference."
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As time passed, just as Jobs and Page had predicted, the online buzz surrounding Google and Apple began to decline. This is a common pattern for all online hotspots worldwide; no online sensation can last forever.
Meanwhile, with the release of a new patch, users found that their phones did indeed perform better, with at least the occasional stuttering being significantly reduced.
Of course, some users also posted online indicating that their phones seemed to have had many functions restricted, such as the 1080p video playback feature becoming unusable. However, overall, user anger was gradually subsiding, and some positive reviews also appeared online. Judging by this trend, it was estimated that the issue would largely die down within two to three months.
However, the sales of both Google and Apple phones were inevitably affected. The most apparent point was that when they opened the third batch of phone pre-orders on August 28th, these 500,000 units did not sell out in a short period.
In fact, the pre-order channels remained open until around September 5th, with users still able to reserve the right to purchase a phone at any time.
This indicated that the negative news had a significant impact on both Google and Apple. At the very least, their stock prices, after falling, had not recovered, and many traditional mobile phone manufacturers began launching various promotional campaigns.
They advertised that the so-called new generation phones were merely a tax on intelligence, and that traditional old phones were more reliable and free from any troublesome issues.
Just as everything was about to settle down, and Google and Apple were planning to make a comeback with their next generation of phones, improving the issues of the previous generation while also trying to break free from the constraints of Jiangnan Group, news arrived that Jiangnan Group would hold a new product launch conference on September 9th, and this conference would be hosted by Jiangnan Group's Chairman, Huang He, himself.
When Jobs received this news, he was in a meeting room at Apple. This was a very important meeting concerning Apple's development for the coming year, so the meeting lasted the entire day.
In the first half of the morning, Jobs was busy outlining strategies for personal computers, music players, television players, and so on. In the latter half of the afternoon, all the time was dedicated to Apple's CPs.
"For the entire CP business, the most important focus going forward is to break free from the threat of Jiangnan Group. You must extensively contact major domestic and European companies, and even if it's more expensive, purchase corresponding components from them. We absolutely cannot have a situation like now, where almost all components, except for the chips, come from Jiangnan Group!"
"I'm always uneasy about this Jiangnan Group. Their ambitions are too vast; they introduce new products and enter new industries every year. It's possible they might enter the new generation mobile phone market next year and compete with our CPs using technology stolen from us. Therefore, we must..."
Before Jobs could finish speaking, his CP rang. Jobs glanced at it and frowned slightly. It was the news that Jiangnan Group had announced a new product launch conference.
"Do you know what Jiangnan Group is releasing this time?" Jobs asked, looking at the message on his phone. The executives present were all clueless, having no intelligence on this matter.
"It seems Huang He is planning a major move! What exactly is he up to?" Jobs shook his head, then put his phone aside and continued to preside over his meeting, discussing how to break free from Jiangnan Group.
The situation at Google was similar, though Page's instructions to his R&D personnel were not about how to overcome the embarrassing situation of relying on Jiangnan Group for parts. Instead, he required the team to innovate in design and systems, and to break free from the design constraints of Jiangnan Group's original designs. In short, the core of the meetings revolved around Jiangnan Group.
Then, at the same time, the news that Huang He would personally host a press conference also reached their phones.
The entire world received this news at approximately the same time. Most media outlets were slightly surprised. After all, in recent years, Huang He had rarely participated in official Jiangnan Group activities, and it was difficult to see him in formal settings.
Therefore, Huang He personally organizing a new product launch conference this time was indeed very eye-catching.
More importantly, none of the media knew what new item Jiangnan Group intended to release this time, which made it quite intriguing.
So, even though no one knew what this new product launch conference was going to unveil, it still attracted the attention of the global media.