140: Chapter 140: A Symphony of Technology - A Sales Myth

Huaxing Shenzhen Operations Center, December 17th, 8:00 AM

Xu Lihua stood in front of the large screen in the operations center, clutching a half-empty bottle of energy drink. He was forty-five years old, slightly balding, wearing a rumpled plaid shirt, and his eyes were bloodshot—he hadn't slept for forty-eight hours.

On the screen, real-time sales data scrolled like a waterfall:

08:00:01 - Official website pre-sale channel opened

08:00:03 - Number of orders exceeded 10,000 units

08:02:17 - Number of orders exceeded 50,000 units

08:15:43 - Number of orders exceeded 100,000 units

"100,000... it's 100,000!" Xiao Liu, a young analyst at the operations center, screamed, his voice trembling with disbelief.

Xu Lihua didn't scream. He just stared at that number, his Adam's Apple bobbing up and down.

It had been ten years.

He remembered August 16, 2011, at the 798 Art Zone in the Imperial Capital. When CEO Lei released the Xiaomi 1 and that thin man shouted "1999 rmb" on stage, the scene below the stage boiled over. At that time, he was still Xiaomi's seventh employee, responsible for supply chain coordination. The first-day pre-order volume for the Xiaomi 1 was 300,000, and it took them a full week to complete the shipments.

And now, the company name hx1—a high-end flagship with a starting price of 4,199 rmb—had sold 100,000 units in 10 minutes.

"Mr. Xu, the average order price is out," the data analyst shouted. "The ratio of the Pro version to the Max version is 6:4!"

Xu Lihua did a quick mental calculation: 100,000 units, an average price of 5,600 rmb, sales revenue of 560 million rmb. This was just the official direct sales channel, not including third-party platforms like JD.com, Tmall, or Suning, nor did it include offline channels.

He walked to the window and looked at the morning traffic in Shenzhen. The city was just waking up, but 100,000 people—no, considering there might be a family behind each order, perhaps 300,000 or 500,000 people—had chosen at this moment to believe in Huaxing, a brand that was still obscure a year ago.

"Stock status?" His voice was a bit raspy.

"The Shenzhen factory has an inventory of 150,000 units, all of which are already locked," the supply chain director reported. "The Wuhan factory is producing at full capacity, with a daily output of 12,000 units, but the component supply..."

"What's wrong with the components?"

"The supply of screen driver chips is becoming tight. Spark-Arab Defense Company said that the production ramp-up for their 'Kunlun Glass' screens is slower than expected because of that 1.0 luminescent material..."

"Call Wu Yi," Xu Lihua interrupted. "No, I'll call him personally. Tell him that Huaxing is now Spark Industry's largest customer. We're selling 100,000 units a day, which means a demand for 30 million screens a year. If they can't keep up with the supply, the loss won't just be for Huaxing, but for the entire system."

Before the call connected, he added: "Be polite, but be clear: either give us priority supply, or we'll go to Samsung."

This wasn't a threat; it was business reality. Xu Lihua had experienced Xiaomi's supply chain crisis and knew what insufficient production capacity meant for a hit product—scalpers running rampant, users complaining bitterly, and reputation quickly sliding.

The call connected.

"Mr. Wu, congratulations. Xinghuo's materials have done a great service," Xu Lihua said, offering a compliment first.

"Congratulations to you too, Mr. Xu. We've seen the data for the 100,000 units," Wu Yi's voice was calm, as if he had expected it.

"So we need more screens, more driver chips, and more batteries," Xu Lihua cut to the chase. "The current production capacity can't sustain this sales speed."

"The monthly capacity of the Shenzhen factory is 500,000 units, and Wuhan is 300,000 units. If we run three shifts, it can be increased to 1.2 million units," Wu Yi said. "But the problem isn't assembly; it's the components. We are expanding the production lines for screen materials, but it takes time."

"How long?"

"Three months. In three months, the monthly screen capacity can be increased from the current 1 million units to 3 million units," Wu Yi paused. "But for these three months, we need to coordinate."

"How do we coordinate?"

"Control the shipment ratio of the Max version to below 30%," Wu Yi suggested. "The Max version uses the most top-tier screen, the process is the most complex, and the yield rate is the lowest. The screen requirements for the Pro and standard versions are lower, so we can prioritize guaranteeing those."

Xu Lihua thought for three seconds: "Fine. But you have to give me a promise: in three months, the screen supply for the Max version must be sufficient. We want to use the Max version to target overseas markets, especially the Middle East and Moscow—people there like large screens and top-tier specs."

"Deal."

Hanging up the phone, Xu Lihua returned to the large screen. The data was still jumping: Number of orders: 112,847. Average selling price: 5,612 rmb.

"Adjust the sales strategy," he ordered. "Implement limited reservations for the Max version, releasing 5,000 slots daily. Provide full supply for the Pro and standard versions. Also, notify the marketing department to prepare an announcement about 'production capacity ramping up, please understand.' The tone should be sincere but not weak."

"What about the scalpers..." Xiao Liu asked.

Xu Lihua sneered: "Let them hype it up. It's better if the Max version is hyped up to 14,999—this actually proves the product's value. But we need to increase the anti-scalper measures for the reservation system: facial recognition, ID card binding, shipping address restrictions—use every means available."

He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker: "Now, we need to do three things."

The tip of the pen scraped across the whiteboard, making a piercing sound:

"One, supply chain optimization. Establish a special task force, which I will lead personally, to hold coordination meetings with Spark Industry and Spark Materials every day."

"Two, reputation maintenance. Contact top digital bloggers and send them review units—not to bribe them, but to let them tell the truth. Huaxing isn't afraid of criticism; what we fear is untruthful flattery."

"Three, overseas warm-up. Starting next week, place outdoor advertisements in Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, and Moscow. Find local influencers to do unboxing videos. We want overseas consumers to be hooked even before the HX1 is launched."

The whiteboard was soon covered with dense plans. The twenty-odd people in the operations center gathered around, their eyes shining.

They were creating history—China's first true global flagship phone, the first product to comprehensively surpass Apple and Samsung from specs to experience, and the first domestic phone to make scalpers double the price.

Xu Lihua put down the marker and looked at the team: "Six years ago, when the Xiaomi 1 was released, we thought 1,999 rmb was already the ceiling. Five years ago, when the Huawei Mate 7 succeeded, we thought 3,299 rmb was already a breakthrough. Today, the company name hx1 sells for 6,999 rmb, with 100,000 units in 10 minutes."

He paused and looked at everyone.

"What does this mean? It means Chinese consumers are willing to pay for true technological innovation. It means the door to the high-end market has been smashed open by us. But what's behind that door? It's more brutal competition, more ferocious counterattacks, and a more complex battlefield."

"So now is not the time to celebrate," Xu Lihua's voice became low. "Now is the time to prepare for war."

Social Media Explosion: A Nationwide Review Carnival

At the same time, in the office of Bilibili uploader @TechAesthetics, Li Nan was staring at a video file that had just finished rendering.

The 28-year-old was a top-tier figure in the domestic digital review field, known for his objective, in-depth, and humorous style. After the Huaxing launch event yesterday, he had received two review units—an HX1 Pro and an iPhone X. He then worked for 18 consecutive hours, filming, testing, and editing.

Video Title: "HX1 Pro vs. iPhone X: A Dialogue Across a Generational Gap"

The cover image was a comparison of the backs of the two phones, with the caption: "Not products of the same era."

Click upload.

Li Nan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, but his brain was still running at high speed. As a reviewer with seven years of experience, he had seen too many bold claims of "domestic flagships surpassing Apple," only for them to fall short in actual experience.

But this time was different.

He had truly taken a set of night shots with the HX1 Pro. When zoomed in to 200%, the iPhone X samples were a blurry mess, while the HX1 samples remained clear.

He had truly tested the screen brightness. Under the midday sun, the iPhone X needed to be shaded by hand to be seen clearly, while the HX1 was as clear as usual.

He had truly tried that "lingxi pen." When operating a PPT in mid-air, the smoothness reminded him of the first time he used the iPhone's multi-touch.

This wasn't a victory of specs; it was a victory of experience.

A notification sound came from the computer: Video review passed.

Li Nan refreshed the page. 0 views, 0 bullet chats, 0 comments.

Ten seconds later, view count: 1,000.

Thirty seconds later, view count: 10,000.

One minute later, the bullet chats began to explode:

"First row!"

"Stayed up late waiting for this!"

"Brother Nan is awesome!"

"Is the HX1 really this strong?"

"Already ordered the Pro version, waiting for delivery."

Li Nan smiled. He knew this video would go viral, but he didn't expect it to be this viral.

Three hours later, he refreshed the page again.

View count: 5.21 million.

Bullet chats: 87,000.

Comments: 32,000.

Site-wide ranking: First place.

The top comments in the comment section were pinned to the top:

"I'm not an Apple fan or a Huawei fan, but after watching this video, I know what my next phone will be."

"Apple: I optimized iOS. Huaxing: I reinvented the phone."

"That mid-air operation with the lingxi pen is a blessing for disabled people! My cousin has a hand disability and has never been able to use a touchscreen phone. He can use this function!"

"The price of 6,999 is indeed expensive, but after watching the review, I think it's worth it."

"Samsung: Then I'll leave?"

Li Nan stood up and walked to the window. The sky was fully bright, and the city had just woken up, but on the internet, a discussion about technology, innovation, and domestic brands had already swept across the entire Chinese internet.

He took out his phone and posted a Weibo:

"The review is done; here are some sincere words. When I entered the industry seven years ago, domestic phones were still competing on price, specs, and marketing. Today, the company name hx1 has shown me another path: competing on experience, innovation, and the ability to redefine products. This isn't just a rise; it's a dimensional jump. @Company Name Communication, congratulations to you, but also a reminder: next, the eyes of the whole world will be on you, waiting for you to make a mistake. Don't let them wait."

Five minutes after the Weibo was posted, it had over 10,000 retweets.

Li Nan put down his phone. He knew that from this moment on, Huaxing was no longer just a brand but a symbol—a symbol of China's high-tech industry breaking through blockades and achieving independent innovation.

This symbol was very heavy, heavy enough that it could potentially crush a company.

But at least for now, it was shining.