64: Chapter 64 Muhammad's Regret

Thanks to the traffic driven by the games, some people who had originally intended to buy Bird Mobile turned around and came here instead.

Once they personally felt the tactile experience of the S1 Smartphone, experienced the smooth touch operation, and tried playing "fruit ninja"...

"Save one for me."

"I want to buy one."

"Can I pay now? Hurry up and give me the phone..."

"I have cash, you must save one for me."

A long line immediately formed in front of the cashier counter prepared on the side. The factory also temporarily brought in five accountants to handle payments, but even then, they were still overwhelmed.

Although the system was relatively rudimentary, the well-rounded system combined with a few mini-games officially announced the arrival of the Smartphone era in Africa.

That afternoon, the Bird Mobile product launch ended in a hasty retreat.

Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming was there, counting the inventory with a dark face. For this launch, they had shipped 300,000 units of the Bird Pro Max from China, originally planning to sell them all in the first month.

They had also set a target to capture 5–10% of the market share within Mauritius, with an annual goal set at 20%, but now...

300,000 units of inventory, calculated at a cost of $60 per unit, meant $18 million was tied up in the warehouse. Add in marketing expenses, venue costs, personnel costs...

This launch had cost Bird at least $20 million.

Even worse news was yet to come.

At 8:00 PM, in Tanzania, Minister Mohammed dialed Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming's phone once again.

"Zhou, I need an explanation." Minister Mohammed's voice was filled with anger.

"A few months ago, you promised to invest in building a factory and create 3,000 jobs. I gave you excellent terms. Of course, I'm not an unreasonable person; I understood your operational difficulties and proactively gave you a few months' grace."

"But what about now? The factory foundation hasn't even been dug yet. Is Bird trying to scam me? I need a reasonable explanation. Do you know how much pressure I am facing right now?"

Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming was also under immense pressure at that moment, and he had no desire to deal with this greedy pig who only cared about money.

He still had the nerve to say he proactively gave them a few months' grace? That was only because of his greenbacks. Since both sides held leverage over each other, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming's tone was very firm.

"Minister Mohammed, we have encountered some difficulties... Furthermore, sales in Tanzania have not met our expected targets. Since there isn't such a large market locally, the factory must be delayed. After all, we cannot engage in loss-making business."

"You..."

A sound of a cup being smashed came from the other end, along with Minister Mohammed's furious demeanor.

Hearing the noise, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming immediately chose to go on the offensive: "Of course, if you can drive out Transsion's parallel imports, we can invest in the factory at any time. Could it be that Minister Mohammed is taking a hit over there again, which is why you've come..."

Minister Mohammed was also infuriated by Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming, and his original facade completely vanished: "Are you trying to turn the world upside down? It's not that our market is difficult to handle, it's that you have ulterior motives. When you spent millions in Mauritius to hold a product launch, why didn't you have any difficulties?"

"Zhou, I'll give you one last week. If I don't see construction starting on the factory, Tanzania will impose a 50% punitive tariff on all Bird products. And I will release evidence of your commercial bribery to all the media."

"Minister, you had better think clearly. It is you who took the bribes, and not just you. We can mutually destroy each other."

Since everything had been laid out, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming stopped pretending as well. After speaking, he didn't care what mood Minister Mohammed was in and hung up the phone on his own initiative.

However, after hanging up, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming's hand holding the phone was trembling with rage. No wonder Transsion didn't want to deal with this market; they were all a bunch of guys who took money but didn't do any work. The Africa market was not that simple.

Thinking of this, he immediately picked up his phone to call General Manager Li Xiangdong, but it was his secretary who answered: "General Manager Li is still unconscious, and the doctor won't allow him to take calls. How is it? How is the market development in Mauritius going? How many of the 300,000 phones have been sold?"

The series of questions... made Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming feel a deep sense of despair.

"How is it? Director Zhou, tell me quickly."

...

In Tanzania, Minister Mohammed dialed Mr. Adebayo's number again. This time, his tone was finally different from any of the previous times; it was much weaker. The reality was right there; he had to redeem himself, otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to hold onto his position as Minister.

"President Adebayo, good evening. I'm truly sorry to disturb you so late."

"Do you have something to say, Minister?"

At this moment, Mr. Adebayo had just finished the promotional event in Mauritius. His voice was filled with fatigue, but one could still hear a hint of wariness and impatience.

"I would like... to talk with Transsion again." There was a long pause on the other end before Minister Mohammed finally uttered these words of concession.

"There were some misunderstandings before that led to our two sides not having a very good relationship. But I can guarantee to the other party that it was all Bird's doing. They were the ones sowing discord. I have now seen everything clearly; only Transsion is a good company that truly serves the Africa market. Moving forward, we will definitely serve Transsion well."

"And I currently have a very important piece of evidence in my hands—evidence of their commercial bribery, including transfer records, recordings, and contracts... These should be helpful for Transsion's development in the Chinese market."

Hearing about this evidence, Mr. Adebayo immediately smiled with disdain. He had thought it was something important, but it turned out to be just scrap paper. It seemed this foolish guy was still just as foolish.

However, having nothing better to do, he decided to toy with this fool. He picked up a cigarette, lit it, and said: "So, what are the Minister's conditions?"

"Actually, it's not such a high demand. I just hope Transsion can return to Tanzania." Seeing that Mr. Adebayo had relaxed his stance, Minister Mohammed immediately said.

"After you left, parallel imports became rampant. These garbage merchants arbitrarily hiked up prices, seriously affecting your reputation. And... to be honest, Bird's product capability is simply not up to par, and the common people are all cursing that we imported garbage."

Mr. Adebayo did not speak, but silently nodded in agreement. He had indeed imported garbage.

Seeing that he remained silent, Minister Mohammed continued: "If you are willing to return, we will not force the issue regarding the factory construction. We just hope you can consider us in the future; we also very much hope to have our own electronics industry."

"If you are willing to build a factory, as long as I am still in office, I can guarantee you five years of tax exemption, ten years of tax reduction, all land for free—whether it's for building the factory or expanding the site, it will be free. Furthermore, we can also provide a portion of government orders to ensure your interests."

The terms offered were indeed good, but Mr. Adebayo immediately grasped the key condition: as long as he was in office... That meant this was not an official condition from Tanzania, but rather a promise made by Minister Mohammed to retain Transsion. As for whether it could be implemented, that was another matter entirely.

After leaving him hanging for a moment, Mr. Adebayo said: "Which market we enter is not something I can decide. This issue needs to be reported, then approved by the Board of Directors, and then a final decision will be made."

"Of course, of course." Minister Mohammed hurriedly said. "Please tell General Manager Shen that I am sincere. Tanzania needs a company like Transsion, not scammers like Bird."