Yi Anguo felt that this was all he could do.

Although his portfolio of companies could earn him a great deal of money, he was worried about attracting unwanted attention. Not wanting to cause trouble for himself, he felt it was unwise to donate too much publicly. However, donating too little left him with a guilty conscience, as he knew he had the ability to do more for the people in the disaster area. So, he anonymously donated one hundred million US dollars from an overseas account for disaster relief.

「」

At midnight on May 20th, Huaxing's first smartphone officially went on sale online. Although many consumers had already placed reservations, these were merely expressions of interest; no payments had been made, not even a deposit. However, those with reservations were given priority access to purchase, allowing them to complete the transaction instantly with a single click.

Ten minutes after the launch, 10,000 phones were sold. Within an hour, that number climbed to 30,000, and within twenty-four hours, 330,000 phones had been sold.

This was just online sales; offline sales were equally explosive. Early in the morning, long queues formed outside phone stores across the country, with people eager to buy the Huaxing smartphone. This frenzy naturally attracted media attention.

"Excuse me, why are you willing to wait in line to buy a Huaxing phone?" a reporter from Shenzhen Satellite TV asked a customer queued up outside a store.

"Well, first off, I watched the news coverage of the Huaxing smartphone launch, and I think the design is excellent and the operating system is very user-friendly. Also, I want to support one of our own national brands," the customer explained with a smile.

"Furthermore, while Huaxing is a new company, its technology is very advanced. The Huaxing phone uses an in-house smart chip and a self-developed mobile operating system."

"Another crucial factor was the recent western Sichuan earthquake, which has moved the hearts of hundreds of millions across the country. Huaxing Company, despite being newly established and not yet profitable, was still willing to donate ten million yuan to the relief efforts for the disaster victims."

"For that reason alone, they deserve the support of every Chinese citizen. I imagine many of the people here in line feel the same way, don't you think?"

The reporter randomly interviewed several other people in the queue, and their reasons were largely the same. Some wanted to support a national brand, while others were impressed by what they saw from the launch event and felt the Huaxing smartphone was genuinely a good product. Many also cited the company's ten-million-yuan donation to the western Sichuan earthquake relief, made even before they had turned a profit, as a testament to its corporate character and a reason worthy of their support.

Next, the reporter interviewed a few customers who had already managed to purchase their Huaxing smartphones.

"What's your experience with the Huaxing smartphone so far?"

"I think it's fantastic. It has a real high-tech feel. Not only is the design beautiful with its full-screen display, but the screen is also large, the camera takes clear pictures, and the operating system is incredibly smooth."

"The iPhone 3G is rumored to be launching in the country soon. How do you think the Huaxing smartphone compares?"

"I couldn't say, since I haven't seen an iPhone 3G in person. Besides, the Huaxing phone supports 3G networks, but we don't have 3G service in the country yet, so having the function or not doesn't really make a difference right now."

"In that case, if the Huaxing smartphone and the iPhone had similar features and value, which would you choose?"

"I would still choose to support Huaxing. After all, Huaxing is the high-end smartphone from our own national brands. I'd rather our country's own brands earn this money than see it go to a foreign company."

"During the western Sichuan earthquake, Huaxing Company donated ten million yuan, while Apple only donated five hundred thousand. When deciding which company to support, is there even a choice?"

In fact, the news of Huaxing's ten-million-yuan donation to the western Sichuan disaster area, even before its phone had launched, had generated significant buzz in major newspapers. This raised the company's profile and made many more people aware of the Huaxing smartphone. Consequently, whether they were buying online or lining up at physical stores, many customers were, to some extent, influenced by this news. The ten million yuan donated had effectively served as a massive advertising campaign. Chinese consumers are often driven by sentiment and can be impulsive.

However, the Huaxing smartphone did not disappoint. Those who purchased it felt their money was well spent, agreeing that the device was worth its 3,999 yuan price tag.

Offline sales on the first day, May 20th, were also strong, with 50,000 units sold. This was despite Huaxing's limited offline retail channels, which consisted mainly of exclusive stores. The number of these stores was severely lacking, primarily due to the tight schedule. Of course, a new phone's first-day sales are typically impressive, especially online, thanks to the large number of pre-orders.

On the second day, online sales fell to just over 70,000 units. This was still considered excellent, as the 3,999 yuan price point was a significant barrier for many potential buyers. Offline sales held steady at 50,000 units.

Meanwhile, production capacity was starting to strain. The previous optimistic estimate had been a few hundred thousand units a month at most. Selling twenty to thirty thousand phones a day, reaching a million a month, was considered the absolute ceiling. But now, 600,000 units had been sold in just three days. Even if daily sales tapered off to twenty or thirty thousand, the planned launches in Harbor Island and Southeast Asia, with a goal for a global rollout, meant production capacity had become a major problem.

Huafeng Group's manufacturing capacity was clearly insufficient. Besides assembling Huaxing smartphones, Huafeng Group also had contracts with other phone manufacturers.

Yi Anguo himself was quite surprised by the sales figures. Under normal conditions, selling 50,000 phones a day between online and offline channels would have been a remarkable achievement. At the current price, 50,000 units translated to nearly two hundred million yuan in revenue. With the cost per phone estimated at just over two thousand yuan, selling that many in a day could easily net a profit of fifty to sixty million yuan.

Yi Anguo had even been prepared for daily sales of only a few thousand units. Consequently, his initial inventory was limited. After selling 600,000 phones in three days, the remaining stock was nearly depleted. He had no choice but to urgently contact Chen Jianguo and ask him to find a way to ramp up production. They needed to produce at least one and a half million phones a month; otherwise, they would not only miss their chance to enter the Southeast Asian market but also face stock shortages in the domestic market.

Chen Jianjun and his daughter, Chen Ting, were also stunned. They never imagined that Huaxing Company, a casual investment by Yi Anguo, would see such explosive sales with its first phone. With 600,000 units sold in three days, they grew anxious and immediately began looking for partner manufacturers to expand production capacity.

"It seems Huafeng Group must expand its operations immediately. We need to build another industrial park, one that can accommodate a hundred thousand workers," Chen Jianjun said to Chen Ting.

"Dad, a park for a hundred thousand people might not be enough. But let's start with one and plan for the future from there," Chen Ting said, shaking her head.

"Should we continue to invest in Dongguan, buying land for a new park? Or should we look to Huicheng?" Chen Jianjun asked, nodding.

"Yi Anguo mentioned last time that he wanted to do something for his hometown," Chen Ting said, shaking her head again. "He has three sisters still living there, and for various reasons, it isn't convenient for them to move to Shenzhen. He wants to support them but doesn't know how to go about it."

"Why don't we invest in his hometown? We could buy land and build the industrial park there. That might make it easier for him to look after his family."

"That's a good idea," Chen Jianjun agreed with a nod. "Investing inland is cheaper, and recruiting labor should be easier too."

Should I invest in my own precision technology manufacturing enterprise, like Huafeng Group, to produce smartphones for my own company? Yi Anguo mused. But that would put me in direct competition with Huafeng Group, which feels a bit wrong.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Yang Hai. He reported that in a residential community managed by Anguo Property Management, someone was on a rooftop with a child, threatening to jump. The police had been alerted, and their management staff were on site, trying to talk the person down.

Yi Anguo sighed. "Is it because housing prices have fallen? They can't make their bank payments, and the bank is trying to foreclose?"

"That seems to be the reason," Yang Hai said hesitantly.

"Tell our people to let them know we'll agree to their terms, whatever they are. We can buy the apartment back from them at the original price—whatever they paid, we'll pay the same. Tell them not to do anything rash, and especially not with a child," Yi Anguo instructed after a moment's thought.

"Okay! On behalf of that mother and child... thank you, boss!" Yang Hai said, his voice filled with emotion.

"Also," Yi Anguo added after another pause, "have your staff inform all homeowners in the communities we manage: if anyone no longer wants their property and wishes to return it, we will buy it back at the original price. Make it clear that there's no need to resort to desperate measures. Every problem has a solution."

"Boss, housing prices have plummeted. If you make an offer like that, I'm afraid everyone will want to return their properties."

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