Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 406 MP3 Sales Encounter Obstacles

Ling Yun sat at his desk, several sales reports spread out in front of him. The first week's report showed impressive figures: 50,000 units sold out, and online pre-orders booked until March. He flipped to the second week's report, which had just arrived; the fax paper was still warm. He looked at it once, then again. Then he picked up the phone and dialed Zhao Weiguo's number.

"Wei Guo, come here."

Five minutes later, Zhao Weiguo pushed open the door and came in. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, his face was slightly red from the cold wind outside, and he was holding a folder in his hand. He sat down opposite the desk and placed the folder on the table.

"Mr. Ling, you saw it too?"

Ling Yun didn't speak, but pushed the report over. Zhao Weiguo glanced at it, didn't pick it up, and just sat there looking at it. After about ten seconds, he spoke.

"Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are normal. But in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an, sales suddenly dropped starting Monday. On Monday, the Shenzhen store sold only three units, the Chengdu store sold two, the Wuhan store sold one, and in Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an, not a single unit was sold for three consecutive days."

Lingyun asked him, "What did the people in the shop say?"

Zhao Weiguo said, "The Shenzhen store manager called and said that since Monday, there have been people loitering outside the store. It wasn't just one person, but three or four, dressed in dark clothes and wearing hats, walking back and forth at the entrance. They didn't go into the store, they just stood there, and when they saw someone trying to enter, they would approach and film them with a camera. When customers saw that they were being filmed, they didn't dare to go in. Two customers turned around and left after being filmed. Another customer went in, made a purchase, and when he came out, they stopped him and asked him what he bought, how much it cost, and where he bought it. The customer was so scared that his face turned pale."

Lingyun asked him, "Did you call the police?"

Zhao Weiguo said, "We reported it. The police came, and they left. After the police left, they came back. The police said that since they didn't enter the store, didn't cause trouble, and didn't break the law, they couldn't arrest them. They could only persuade them, and they would leave after being persuaded, but then they would come back. From Monday to today, five days, the store has been opening and closing, and they haven't done any real business. The situation is similar in Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an. There are people at the store entrances, all with cameras, all filming the customers."

Ling Yun asked, "Who do you think it is?"

Zhao Weiguo said, "They're either from the same industry or competitors. Samsung? Innovation? Apple? All are possible. Those counterfeit factories in Huaqiangbei? Also possible. But counterfeit factories don't have the guts or the organizational capacity. Samsung, Innovation, and Apple have the capability, but they might not do it. Doing it is too despicable; if they get caught, their reputation will be ruined."

Ling Yun asked him, "Then who did you say?"

Zhao Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. But it's definitely organized. Six cities experiencing problems at the same time is no coincidence. These people aren't local thugs; they're very professional. They know how to exploit legal loopholes, how to make the police unable to intervene, and how to deter customers from entering their stores. These are not ordinary people."

Ling Yun walked back to the table and sat down. He picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and found a name. He looked at it for a few seconds, then dialed. It rang three or four times before being answered.

"Wang Degui, that's me. Ling Yun."

The voice on the other end of the phone was a little hoarse, as if someone was smoking. "Mr. Ling? It's been a while. What's up?"

Lingyun said, "Help me investigate something. In six cities—Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an—someone has been causing trouble in front of our Xinghuo brand stores. They're not smashing things, but they're filming customers with cameras, scaring them away from entering. It's been going on since Monday until today. Can you help me find out who did it?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. "Okay. I'll have someone check it out. I'll call you when I have news."

Ling Yun said, "Okay."

The call ended. He placed his phone on the table and looked at Zhao Weiguo. "Go back first, and do what you need to do. Tell the managers not to panic about the store. Let them film if they want, and serve customers normally when they come in. Cooperate with the police when they come, and continue when they leave. Don't close the store, and don't get into any conflict with those people."

Zhao Weiguo stood up, walked to the door, placed his hand on the doorknob, and glanced back at Ling Yun. "President Ling, what if we find out who it is?"

Ling Yun said, "Let's find out first."

Zhao Weiguo nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.

Around 5 p.m., Ling Yun's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID; it was Wang Degui.

"Mr. Ling, we've found it."

Wang Degui said, "It's a group of people from Huaqiangbei. The leader is a guy named 'Aqiang,' in his thirties, who has been making counterfeit MP3 players in Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen for seven or eight years. He started making MP3 players before the Xinghuo M1 was even launched. He used Zhuhai Jieli's solution, and the product he made had a shell similar to our M1, white, with a metallic texture, but it was actually plastic-plated. It sold for 800 yuan, 600 yuan cheaper than ours. But the capacity was only 128MB, and the battery life was only five hours."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As soon as the M1 came out, his products stopped selling. Consumers aren't stupid; they'd rather pay 800 yuan for a fake than 1,500 yuan for a genuine one—a difference of 700 yuan, but the quality difference is enormous. His return rate was 30%, and distributors stopped ordering. He panicked. He hired several people, three to four in each of six cities—Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an—to loiter outside the Xinghuo store, filming customers. He didn't go himself; he hired them. Each person was paid 200 yuan a day, including food and lodging. They worked for five days, spending less than 20,000 yuan."

Ling Yun asked him, "Did you get the evidence?"

Wang Degui said, "Yes. In Shenzhen, my people filmed him meeting with those people. It was in an urban village in Futian, around 10 PM, when he paid them. I have the video. Also, in Chengdu, I found a hired man surnamed Liu, from Sichuan, in his early twenties, unemployed. He said someone named 'A-Qiang' found him online, paying him 200 yuan a day, including food and lodging, to film customers in front of the Xinghuo store. He filmed for five days and received 1,000 yuan. He still has A-Qiang's phone number. I checked, the phone number is from Shenzhen, registered under the name 'Chen Zhiqiang.' It's not his real name; it's a fake ID. But I found him; he's in Huaqiangbei. Every afternoon he's at his stall selling MP3 players."

Ling Yun said, "Send me the evidence."

Wang Degui said, "Okay. Mr. Ling, there's one more thing."

Ling Yun said, "Speak."

Wang Degui said, "This A-Qiang has someone behind him. The main control chip, flash memory, and screen used in his MP3 players weren't purchased by him; they were supplied by someone else. I checked, and the supplier is a company in Hong Kong. It goes through several roundabout ways, but the money comes from there. It's not A-Qiang's money; he couldn't afford it."

Ling Yun was silent for a few seconds. "Understood."

He hung up the phone, picked up the landline on the table, and said, "Chen Lingling, notify the vice presidents to hold an emergency meeting in the conference room."

Soon, all the vice presidents arrived at the conference room. Ling Yun sat in the main seat, while the others sat on either side.

Ling Yun placed the evidence Wang Degui had sent on the table: a stack of photos, several printed copies of mobile phone call records, and a handwritten statement. He looked at Zhao Weiguo and said, "We've found the troublemaker. It's a factory owner from Huaqiangbei, nicknamed 'A-Qiang.' He hired people to take pictures of customers outside his stores in six cities to intimidate them."

Zhao Weiguo picked up the photos and looked at them one by one. He asked, "President Ling, what should we do?"

Lingyun said, "Call the police. Give the evidence to the Shenzhen police. Let the police handle it."

Zhao Weiguo was taken aback. "Call the police? It probably won't do any good. If the police wanted to, they could have detained them for disorderly conduct when we called the police."

Ling Yun said, "Whether it works or not, we still have to follow the proper procedures. Whether he's filming customers or producing and selling counterfeit or substandard products, we should report it to the police first."

Zhao Weiguo nodded.

Ling Yun looked at Li Mo and said, "On your end, optimize our public version solution again and reduce the cost further. If the cost is reduced, small factories can use it and make high-quality, cost-effective products. Then, counterfeit and shoddy products will have no market."

Li Mo made a few notes in his notebook.

Ling Yun looked at Chen Zhongming and said, "You contact the Shenzhen police, give them the evidence, and let them handle it. Once they've finished, get a receipt."

Chen Zhongming nodded.