"The network access fee is still over a thousand?" Lu Feng was a little incredulous. This was 1995, and the telecommunications network had already been deployed in major cities. It wasn't like a few years ago when you had to ask someone for help to get a phone installed.
"That's right. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait. I heard that the network access fee will change next year," the sales assistant whispered to Lu Feng.
Indeed, China Unicom was spun off in 1994, and now everyone is saying that China Post and Telecommunications will be split up. It's common knowledge on the street, and it's also common knowledge within China Post and Telecommunications. They were preparing to compete for more users before the split, and in 1996, the network access fee was lowered again and again. Until the split of China Post and Telecommunications in 1998, this internal struggle officially turned into an open market struggle. Then, in 2000, China Mobile was separated, and a three-way balance of power was formed. Only then did the price war between fixed-line and mobile phones in China enter a fierce battle.
"Alright, it's not a big deal. Help me get the card." Lu Feng waved his hand and said.
"Would you like to handle it yourself, or do you want us to handle it for you? If you handle it yourself, it will take another day or two. We have a ready-made service available for just an extra 500 yuan." The clerk could tell that Lu Feng was not short of money. These mobile phone stores all offer this kind of service; as long as you have money, you can insert a SIM card and make a call immediately.
"Fine!" Lu Feng felt like he was being taken advantage of and manipulated.
After paying and taking his phone, Lu Feng first called Zhu Lidong to inquire about his situation. He thought about calling Zhang Fengxia, but after calculating, he figured she was probably sleeping, so he decided against it.
Lu Feng wandered around and looked at a lot of mobile phones. The prices were basically in the range of six thousand to eight thousand yuan. Compared with the prices of tens of thousands of yuan, the price drop was quite obvious. However, starting next year, the prices of these mobile phones will usher in the darkest moment, because Wu Ying introduced the PHS (Personal Handyphone System) technology from Japan in 1996.
The next few years were the period when Xiaolingtong (a type of mobile phone service) relentlessly pursued these mobile phones. Lu Feng actually had the idea of intercepting Xiaolingtong, but his relationship with Japan was not good. If he had signed the authorization a few years ago, it might have been possible, but now? He would probably be arrested as soon as he went there.
The technological breakthrough of Jiafeng Group in the semiconductor field continues to spread enthusiastically in China, and the news has also begun to spread overseas. When the news reached Watanabe Shi's ears, he seemed extremely incredulous.
"What did you say?" Watanabe asked his assistant.
The assistant was startled by his reaction and lowered his voice, saying, "Jiafeng Group announced yesterday that it has achieved breakthroughs in several technologies in the semiconductor field. Their domestic media are all reporting on this. Here is a detailed report."
The assistant placed the copy on the table, and Watanabe Shi grabbed it and started flipping through it, occasionally looking up to ask, "Is it true? Are you sure it's true?"
He couldn't believe that Jiafeng had made breakthroughs in these key areas. At this rate, it was a certainty that Jiafeng would join the world's semiconductor industry chain, which would mean that Jiafeng would have a direct competitive advantage over companies like Sony and Panasonic.
In addition, he was very clear that Lu Feng was very shrewd in price wars, which would be a huge blow to local Japanese companies. The only thing to be thankful for was that Jiafeng did not yet have the ability to design or produce chips, so there was still time.
"Do you know any companies in Silicon Valley?" Watanabe asked, putting down the copy he was holding.
"Well... I'm not quite sure," the assistant said awkwardly.
Watanabe told her to leave, and without caring what time it was in the US, he immediately contacted the vice president of Intel. No one answered the phone, so he changed the number to the other party's home number.
After trying for over an hour, the call finally went through. The voice on the other end was groggy and yelled in annoyance, "You better have something to do, or I'll twist your head off! Who is it?!"
“Mr. Barrett, I am Watanabe Shi, head of Motorola’s overseas business division in Japan. I apologize for bothering you, but the matter is indeed quite urgent. I just received news that Jiafeng Group has made a breakthrough in the chip field and has mastered the technology in several key areas such as wafer fabrication, etching, and coating. This is very threatening to us. I suspect that they are now moving towards higher fields such as chip design, and even storage and information reading.”
Watanabe explained Jiafeng's situation, even embellishing it a bit. The person on the other end of the phone quickly woke up, got out of bed, asked about the overall situation, and told Watanabe to report to Goldman Sachs in the US in the morning, and also to tell Motorola executives.
Back home, Lu Feng didn't hold any actual position, which made things much easier for him. He hired a housekeeper to tidy up the house, and then called Jiang Xiaoyan, asking her to stay there for now and move out if she didn't like it. Jiang Xiaoyan refused, and Lu Feng couldn't explain it over the phone, so he said, "I'll come to your factory and talk to you about it."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Feng went out and drove straight to the factory area.
Compared to Lu Feng's comfortable life, Wei Yandan was almost frantic with work. She attended four meetings in one morning, three of which were related to the inspection team. The municipal officials arrived acting like big shots, and the prepared reception plan was overturned. The whole morning was filled with arguments. The head of the reception team, a vice president, was scolded to tears by the municipal leaders.
It was almost noon, and a man in his forties was sitting in the conference room, wearing a white shirt and suit pants, looking quite imposing.
"Let me tell you, this isn't just about you, it's also about showcasing our place. We can't be stingy, nor can we be extravagant or wasteful. We can't be too ostentatious, but we also can't be too shabby. We need to figure out where we'll eat, what the standards are, how many dishes, what kind of wine, and who will accompany us," the man instructed Wei Yandan and her group.
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