439: Chapter 439 Zhao Ming: Who cares about the final entrepreneurial venture? Glory 8 is here!

Meanwhile, Lei Jun also followed suit:

"After we announced our entry into car manufacturing last year, we faced immense ridicule. Various bloggers were bashing us, as if our decision to make cars was a mistake."

"Sometimes, to what extent were those people deranged?"

"They even went so far as to say that we at Xiaomi didn't have the genes for car manufacturing!"

"But I didn't hold it against them, because I believe that once we produce the results, their ridicule will be meaningless."

"After all, this world is driven by results."

"So, to show those who mocked us our sincerity and convert them into Xiaomi car owners, my focus going forward will shift to Dami Auto. This is the starting point of Xiaomi's second startup journey."

"We are not just building cars; we are building good cars that young people can afford!"

After saying this, Lei Jun changed his profile picture to the Dami Auto logo, a silver and rounded 'Mi' icon.

Following his lead, his female fan base immediately changed their profile pictures to the same one.

Lei Jun scrolled through the comments, reading them one by one, and finally a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

Ever since his series of setbacks, he hadn't seen so much positive feedback in a long time.

It seemed that car manufacturing was indeed his chance for a comeback. Although this opportunity had been bought at the cost of his controlling stake, as long as he could turn things around, it was all worth it.

Most importantly, Transsion currently only had three car models. Their sales... although not low, he was confident he could surpass them.

At this moment, Zhou Shouzi knocked on the door and walked in, holding a document in his hand.

"Mr. Lei, Silver Lake has confirmed."

"The first installment of 2 billion USD will arrive next week, and the rest will be delivered in two batches after the Spring Festival. Also, the supply chain contracts have been revised, and prices have been lowered by another 5%."

Lei Jun looked excitedly toward the direction of Yangcheng. Transsion was indeed powerful, but this world required allies.

He certainly had the ability to leverage Transsion, but he had to consider the optics; it was impossible for them to just grant him "cheat codes" directly. However, when you are a small or medium-sized enterprise, there is much more room to maneuver!

This 20 billion, if given to other new energy vehicle companies, could last them three years. According to his plan, he wouldn't need that much.

"The money has arrived, so let's get to work!"

Lei Jun stood up and paced back and forth in his office, feeling excited.

He was contemplating a critical issue!

Transsion's car manufacturing license was issued directly, so Dami Company could not acquire a bankrupt car company; otherwise, it would mean they were one step below Transsion!

"In the next two days, help me schedule a meeting with Secretary Guo. I'd like to invite him to dinner and discuss Dami's future layout."

"Also, schedule meetings with Wang Chuanfu from BYD and the China region president of Bosch."

"Building cars is not as simple as building mobile phones; the supply chain has to be built from scratch."

"I will have someone handle it right away."

Lei Jun opened his phone again and went to Shen Fei's Weibo. Shen Fei's latest post was a teaser for Transsion Auto, stating that the new SUV, the Transsion M9, was expected to launch after the New Year...

There were already thousands of pre-orders in the comment section, and Transsion Auto's official website showed that the number had already reached 20,000.

In the car manufacturing industry, there was still a huge gap between Transsion and Xiaomi, but he believed that anything was possible. He, Lei Jun, was not that incompetent.

...

Meanwhile, in Yangcheng, at the Transsion headquarters.

Shen Fei was taking a walk with Zhang Mingzhu. They hadn't gone far when she saw a wonton stall by the side of the road and immediately couldn't move her feet anymore!

She started acting coquettishly toward Shen Fei, who couldn't resist and agreed immediately.

"Boss, two bowls of wontons, please!"

Zhang Mingzhu quickly grabbed Shen Fei's hand and shook it: "Thank you, husband."

Then, she sat on the nearby chair with a look of anticipation, waiting for the food to be served.

After a while, Zhang Mingzhu scrolled past Xiaomi's official Weibo announcement and handed the phone over.

"Husband, Lei Jun received a 4.8 billion investment from Silver Lake and is starting to promote his car manufacturing again. How credible do you think this is?"

Shen Fei took the phone, glanced at it, and handed it back to Zhang Mingzhu.

"This time it should be real, and it might even be quite good?"

This time it was Zhang Mingzhu's turn to shake her head in confusion. After all, her impression of Lei Jun was that of someone who bragged; his technology was a 30, but he could forcefully give people the impression of an 80 through marketing.

"You really think so?"

"Do you think they would shell out 4.8 billion just to let Lei Jun play around!"

Zhang Mingzhu instantly realized this and quickly patted her own head.

She had forgotten that 4.8 billion USD was nearly 30 billion in Chinese currency; this was a huge investment.

Sigh, as the saying goes, pregnancy makes one foolish for three years. When would this side effect finally go away...

"Then aren't you worried? We have an automotive business too!"

"Not worried."

"Traditional cars rely on the engine and that series of components, while new energy vehicles are all about the three electric systems, and we are professionals in that area."

"Besides, Professor Wang's semi-solid-state battery has already started testing, so don't worry, okay?"

After saying this, Shen Fei patted Zhang Mingzhu's head again...

Just then, the boss served two bowls of wontons, and Zhang Mingzhu didn't think about the matter anymore...

...

Shortly after Xiaomi's official announcement, Honor also began to take action.

January 15th, Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.

At 7:00 PM, the launch event was set to begin. It was now 6:30, half an hour before the event, but there was still a group of audience members outside who hadn't entered yet...

In the plaza outside, there were three Honor brand display cars parked, with a huge red slogan written on them:

"honor 8 series, fully popularizing the Full-screen Display!"

Outside the venue, there were some scalpers weaving through the crowd holding signs: "Any tickets left? Buying tickets at a high price!"

"Selling tickets at a high price!"

However, no one was asking these scalpers at all. After all, those with tickets had already gone inside. Everyone standing outside the venue was waiting for the upcoming big screen to get a feel for the atmosphere at the scene!

Meanwhile, the official Honor livestream room officially opened. As soon as it started, a large number of excited viewers rushed in.

"It's here, it's here, the honor 8 is here."

"After the S5 release, the Full-screen Display instantly became the new trend. That feel was really great, but there wasn't a single one that was affordable. Let's see how Honor popularizes it this time?"

"To the person above, how will they popularize it? With that pile of sh*t code in Android, how will they adapt it?"

"If you ask me, they should just use Taishan System. Transsion is open source anyway."

Meanwhile, Vivo founder Shen Wei, watching this popularity, was also considering something: Vivo needed to transform, otherwise they would be the next Xiaomi!

But they were already using the Taishan Chip; did they really have to use a domestic OS?

Although they had already carved out a niche for themselves, but...

A full switch to a domestic OS and domestic chips meant handing over their two major lifelines into their hands. This decision was not easy to make.

It seemed he would have to go ask the boss for advice.