133: Chapter 133 Clash

Shen Fei checked the time; he was 5 minutes early.

He took a walk around the courtyard.

The old locust tree was still bare in this season, but one could tell its age; it was at least seventy or eighty years old.

After his stroll, a waiter led him into the private room.

The room was small, with an eight-immortal table and four traditional chairs. On the wall hung a piece of calligraphy: "Rare to be muddled."

The signature was Zheng Banqiao's, but Shen Fei knew it was a fake.

A real one wouldn't be hung in a place like this.

He had just sat down when the door was pushed open.

Lei Jun stood at the doorway, dressed in casual clothes.

Seeing Shen Fei, he froze for a moment, not even letting go of the doorknob.

He probably hadn't expected Shen Fei to arrive earlier than him.

"President Shen."

"President Lei."

The two old foxes shook hands, their grip moderate, like two masters of dragon dancing testing each other's inner strength.

However, the probing had already begun from this point on.

The dishes had been ordered in advance: Huaiyang cuisine, light and not greasy.

After the waiter served the dishes, he withdrew, leaving the space to the two men.

Shen Fei picked up a chopstick of stir-fried shrimp and chewed slowly.

Lei Jun didn't touch his chopsticks; he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then watched him quietly.

Watching Shen Fei chew slowly, he finally couldn't help himself and asked: "President Shen, what did you want to talk about by asking me out? You can't possibly be here just to mooch a meal off me, right?"

After saying this, he laughed heartily as well.

Shen Fei put down his chopsticks, ignoring his joke: "I heard you've been busy with supply chain matters lately."

"However, the first generation Xiaomi phone is selling quite well."

Lei Jun nodded: "Busy. How can one not be busy when starting a business?"

"The launch event just ended, and the pre-sale figures are quite good; they justify the effort."

"The pre-order volume has already reached 500,000."

Shen Fei said, "To achieve these figures in just one day, I dare say that apart from Honor, no other domestic phone can do it."

Lei Jun's brows twitched; this compliment was indeed genuine.

"President Shen is very well-informed."

Shen Fei smiled: "We're both in the phone business; if I don't keep an eye on my competitors, what else should I watch?"

Lei Jun thought quietly for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled too: "President Shen, the way you say that, it's as if we were competitors."

Shen Fei looked at him: "Aren't we?"

The atmosphere changed subtly.

Lei Jun didn't answer directly; he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of braised pork belly.

"President Shen, do you know what I was thinking before I started making phones?"

Shen Fei didn't speak, waiting for him to continue his performance.

"I was thinking, the Chinese mobile phone market is so huge, why is it all Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola?"

"Why can domestic phones only make low-end, knock-off products?"

"In the end, domestic phones can only work for the supply chain."

"As for international brands, they use our cheap labor and cheap supply chains, and by relying on their own names, they can make huge money just by slapping on a label."

"I really couldn't understand it and had many questions in my heart."

He put the braised pork into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"Later, I realized that it wasn't that we couldn't make them, but that we didn't dare to set the price."

"We didn't dare to set high prices, didn't dare to invest in R&D, and didn't dare to treat products as art like Apple does."

He looked at Shen Fei, continuing to weave this story.

And Shen Fei just watched him quietly, listening to his story.

It hit the spot.

However, Lei Jun was indeed not wrong; not daring to set a high price was because of the fear of being stuck with the inventory. Low prices naturally meant lower profits, which meant no money for R&D.

This was also the biggest problem for Xiaomi later on.

As for Apple's "art," it's best treated as a joke.

"So I wanted to make a phone, priced at 2,000 yuan, with specs comparable to international flagships costing over 4,000 yuan."

"Letting our Chinese consumers know that domestic phones can also produce good things, good things that are high-quality and inexpensive."

Shen Fei sipped his tea, then nodded affirmatively: "That's a great idea."

"But this idea," Lei Jun's voice sank slightly, "was done by you first."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Shen Fei didn't defend himself; he picked up the teapot and poured another cup.

"President Lei, are you talking about honor play?"

Lei Jun didn't answer, but his eyes said it all.

That was the expression most likely to appear when seeing a childhood friend steal one's favorite toy.

There was unwillingness, anger, and a trace of regret.

Regret that his own actions had been too slow.

Shen Fei picked up his teacup and took another sip.

"President Lei, I've also heard some rumors that you suspect I stole your plan."

"So, let me ask you a question..."

"Go ahead."

Hearing Shen Fei bring up this issue proactively, Lei Jun forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and asked about some details.

"When was the first time you thought of the 1,999 yuan price point?"

Lei Jun was distracted for a moment and didn't answer.

Shen Fei answered the question for him: "Last summer, right?"

Lei Jun's eyes changed.

"At that time, you were still doing angel investments and had looked at dozens of mobile internet projects."

"You discovered that all successful projects were inseparable from mobile phones, but the phones themselves were still Nokia's."

"You prepared to enter this market, to create an internet phone, priced at 1,999 yuan, using the best specs, not making money on hardware, but on internet services."

He paused for a moment: "President Lei, am I right?"

Lei Jun opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.

These were his deepest inner thoughts; the fact that the other party knew them meant it wasn't as simple as a leak.

So, who exactly was it? Could it be that he drank too much during some negotiation?

No, his tolerance had always been good, and he could hold his liquor!

If none of these were the right answer, could there really be a reincarnator in this world?

If that were true, then he was screwed.

"President Shen, how did you know?"

Watching him want to ask directly but not daring to, Shen Fei smiled: "President Lei, don't overthink it; I don't know any strange magic."

"The reason I know is because of you."

"You posted a message on Weibo last August: Smartphones should be cheaper."

"In November, you gave an interview saying that future phones would be the gateway to the internet."

"These are public information; some people can see them."

"As for 1999, that was indeed a coincidence, though it also had to do with our transsion s1."

"honor play is the true revision of the transsion s1; we didn't sell that phone for much in Africa, just a little over 2,000."

"When switching to domestic sales, to give back to consumers, we slightly improved some specs, and at the same time, to make its sales explosive, 1999 became the best choice."

He looked at Lei Jun: "So I didn't steal your idea. I just happened to think the same way as you."

Lei Jun was silent.

He remembered last summer, when he was in his office at the Yingu Building, writing and drawing on a whiteboard, the first time he sketched out the prototype of Xiaomi.

At that time, he thought he was the only one with this idea.

Ordinary people wouldn't even think of this selling point.

For example, Huang Zhang, the publisher of the first domestic Smartphone in Huatai, still didn't have any marketing after dropping the price to 1,999.

The sales were still so pathetic.

He thought everyone would be like Huang Zhang, but now Shen Fei was telling him: many people could think of it, the difference was who made it first.

Of course, Huang Zhang really brought it on himself.