Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1268: Covering one’s ears and stealing the bell

Zhao Xiangsi sat there with a worried look on his face. People these days still care about their reputation, even online.

After all, people who have the means to spend their days online chatting are generally well-off in terms of family background and employment, and are considered middle-class families.

When we reach an era where no one knows whether there's a person or a dog behind the computer, and with rampant online trolls, then we'll enter an era of the collapse of internet etiquette.

We are still in the "Zhou Li" period of the internet, so Zhao Xiangsi still cares about his reputation and doesn't want to run away in such a disgraceful way, making him the biggest laughing stock in the history of Tianya Forum!
But Zhao Xiangsi knew he had already lost this bet. It was only a matter of time before Shenzhou Global Pass sales exceeded 4.5 million units. Even if it was delayed, it would probably only take a few months.

Once Shenzhou Global Pass sales officially exceed 4.5 million units, the question of whether or not he should fulfill his promise to Wei Bo will be on his mind.

Whether to abandon his Tianya forum ID and run away, or to grit his teeth and bear the debt of losing one hundred Shenzhou Global Pass phones, was a decision Zhao Xiangsi needed to make.

"I keep my word. It's just a hundred Shenzhou Global Pass phones, I'll pay for it!"

Zhao Xiangsi posted this message on Tianya Forum with his teeth clenched and his heart bleeding.

"Once the sales volume of Shenzhou Global Pass exceeds 4.5 million units, I will first compensate the ID accounts of 'The early bird catches the worm' with ten Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phones this year."

"As for the rest, I'll compensate other people with ten brand-new Hasee Global Pass phones every year!"

Zhao Xiangsi, being a bachelor, chose to pay in installments. Asking him to come up with hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a hundred Shenzhou Global Pass phones all at once would be like taking his life; he couldn't afford it.

Choosing to distribute ten Shenzhou Global Pass phones in batches each year to the people mentioned in that betting post was already the limit Zhao Xiangsi could do.

Zhao Xiangsi's post immediately caused a sensation on Tianya Forum, although some people mocked Zhao Xiangsi for playing a delaying tactic.

But most people admire Zhao Xiangsi as a real man. He spends tens of thousands of yuan every year to buy Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phones to pay off his debts for a betting post on an internet forum. No matter what, he is a real man.

Although he will still be the subject of ridicule, most people will probably still believe what Zhao Xiangsi says on Tianya Forum in the future.

Zhao Xiangsi may never have known what his actions would bring him, but this time he became famous overnight on Tianya Forum, becoming a representative figure on the Chinese Internet who always keeps his word.

If Zhao Xiangsi were to start reviewing mobile phones or other digital products, his review conclusions would likely become the standard that countless passersby would trust!
Just like Luo Yonghao, who specializes in studying the founder of New Oriental, although he was heavily in debt, he chose to pay off his debts instead of running away like Jia Yueting, the founder of LeEco.

So even though he relied on live-streaming e-commerce to pay off his debts, the outside world still trusted the products Luo Yonghao sold, making him a top seller and one of the most profitable figures in the early days of the live-streaming e-commerce industry!

Wei Bo, who had made a bet with Zhao Xiangsi, was also surprised that Zhao Xiangsi, who had been talking nonsense for so long, had not chosen to run away, but had actually fulfilled the bet.

For a moment, Wei Bo couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for Zhao Xiangsi. Although this guy had a foul mouth, he was indeed a real man.

Without further harassment of Zhao Xiangsi, Wei Bo posted his agreement to Zhao Xiangsi's proposal, thus bringing to a close this highly entertaining bet in the early days of the internet on Tianya Forum.

Meanwhile, backstage, Wei Bo privately messaged Zhao Xiangsi his shipping address. It turned out that the two were both in Yanjing. Although they inevitably engaged in some banter backstage, they seemed to get along quite well and even made an appointment to have a meal together and meet in person...

The bold move by Zhang Rong, general manager of Nanguo Investment, to bet on Shenzhou Global Connect made Nanguo Investment the largest securities company in China.

There was also the betting match on Tianya Forum caused by Shenzhou Global Pass. Li Dashanren only paid attention to it and glanced at it a few times while spying on the screen, but did not interfere or anything.

These rumors and news about betting schemes have actually increased the popularity of Shenzhou Global Communication. Dongling High-Tech can simply wait and see.

Furthermore, if it's actually Li Dashan (a notorious philanthropist) entering the game under a disguise, then it won't be the same kind of game played by Nanguo Tou. Believe me, he'll take this opportunity to repeatedly and creatively fleece investors, even uprooting them completely!

There's no way they'd let Zhao Xiangsi, that master of empty talk, off so easily; they'd make sure he was stripped bare!

But whether it's Nanguo Investment or the bet on Tianya Forum, it's enough to prove that the impact of Shenzhou Global Pass after its launch is beyond what outsiders imagined.

……

When Nakamura Takeo returned to the headquarters of Dongling High-Tech, his mindset was completely different from the last time he came.

I still remember that before, Nakamura Takeo announced to reporters in front of the Dongling High-Tech headquarters that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company had won the contract for the PHS (Personal Handyphone System) mobile phone brand, which ranked third in global mobile phone shipments!
Moreover, and most importantly, the acquisition was of the most well-known mobile phone brand in mainland China, which made Nakamura Takeo very proud. After returning to Japan, he was wildly praised by the Japanese media, who believed that the acquisition was the greatest operation in the Japanese technology industry in the past decade!
That moment marked the beginning of the most glorious period in Nakamura Takeo's career, thus launching the company's dominance in the Japanese stock market.

Even NTT Mobile, which was spun off from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, has become one of the top ten listed companies in Japan by market capitalization!

He still vividly remembers that vibrant scene of life and everything thriving. Nakamura Takeo just can't understand how things could have changed so drastically in the blink of an eye.

Xiaolingtong went from being considered a promising mobile phone brand to one that might have been worthless in the 2G mobile phone era.

The mobile phone brand that Japan spent $14.6 billion to buy back might even become the biggest scam in Japan's technological history! Nakamura Takeo even had a thought in his mind: that during the heyday of Xiaolingtong, Li Dashan suddenly sold off Xiaolingtong under the pretext of acquiring Hong Kong City Telecom.

At that time, the reason seemed plausible, but combined with the release of the Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phone, Nakamura Takeo had a feeling that Li Dashan was playing a big game, and Japan Telephone and Telegraph seemed to have become cannon fodder in this game!

Shaking his head, Nakamura Takeo led Takada Kentaro into the headquarters of Dongling High-Tech. He didn't believe that Li Dongling had foreseen this step, or that even if he knew, he didn't want to admit it!

If that's really the case, then such an opponent has an incredibly formidable vision and strategic planning ability.

It's like letting Japan Telephone sell itself out, and even helping Li Dashan count the money.

Therefore, Nakamura Takeo preferred to believe that Li Dongling's sale of Xiaolingtong was just a lucky guess rather than admit that Nihon Telephone & Telegraph Company had been scammed. After all, who wants to admit that they are not smart enough?

"President Nakamura, it's been a long time!"

"You came to Pingyang without even letting us know in advance. It would have been easier for Dongling High-Tech to receive you, since you are a very important guest of Dongling High-Tech!"

Li Dongling truly regarded Nakamura Takeo as a distinguished guest. What else could he be but a distinguished guest if he was willing to give Dongling High-Tech 14.6 billion US dollars?
Looking at Li Dashan, who was all smiles and seemed as if nothing had happened, Nakamura Takeo's anger, which he had managed to suppress, surged up again.

It is said that Nakamura Takeo came to Pingyang without formally notifying Dongling High-Tech in advance. However, he spread the news through the outside world, hoping that Li Dongling would take the initiative to visit him. What did he get in return? He said that meeting Nakamura Takeo was not as important as Zhu Zhaojiang's hotpot meal!
Looking at Li Dongling, Nakamura Takeo suppressed his anger and said to Li Dongling, "There's no need for Dongling High-Tech to receive you!"

"However, Mr. Li, I'd like to know, is this how you and Dongling High-Tech treat your allies?" Nakamura Takeo finally couldn't hold back any longer and confronted Li Dongling with dissatisfaction.

Li the philanthropist looked bewildered and helplessly shrugged.

"President Nakamura, I don't know what you mean by that. Dongling High-Tech has always regarded Nihon Shot Telephone & Telegraph Company as its best ally, and for that reason, it has never sold its shares in Nihon Shot Telephone & Telegraph Company!"

Li Dashan subtly reminded Nakamura Takeo to be mindful of his attitude, as Dongling High-Tech was also a major shareholder holding 9.4% of the shares of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and had a seat on the board of directors of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation.

Of course, they also have the right to propose the removal of President Nakamura Takeo at the board meeting. Regardless of whether it passes or not, it's enough to annoy him!

Even within giant companies like Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, factions abound. Whenever Toling High-Tech initiates a team fight, it automatically matches you with teammates who are at odds with Nakamura Takeo.

This is also a small warning to Nakamura Takeo: you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want; there will be consequences!

Nakamura Takeo was taken aback. He was now genuinely regretting his decision to put Dongling High-Tech on the board of directors of Nihon Sekkei Telephone & Telegraph Company.

You wouldn't notice anything unusual on a normal day, but on a occasion like today, it really disgusted him.

"Dongling High-Tech promised to withdraw from the mobile phone market!" Nakamura Takeo had no choice but to make his point clear.

However, Li Dongling solemnly told Nakamura Takeo, "President Nakamura, there are some things that cannot be said carelessly. The agreement that Dongling High-Tech signed with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company is to permanently withdraw from the PHS mobile phone market!"

There was no statement saying they were withdrawing from the GSM and CDMA mobile phone market!

Nakamura Takeo glared angrily at Li Dongling, but this glare was enough to frighten the executives of the Japanese telephone and telegraph company. Little did Li Dongling know that Nakamura Takeo's eyes were getting tired from staring at him for so long.
After staring at it for a while and seeing that it was completely useless, Nakamura Takeo could only rub his eyes and say to Li Dongling, "But the release of the Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phone has put the PHS mobile phone industry in a very passive position."

"Now that Shenzhou Global has achieved a certain sales volume, President Nakamura has come to question us. But if Shenzhou Global's sales are not ideal, will Nakamura even glance at Dongling High-Tech?"

"This is different!"

Nakamura Takeo shook his head. "Mr. Li, you know what I mean. Since the release of Shenzhou Global, the stock price of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation has fallen by more than 11%, and the stock price of NTT Mobile Corporation is also falling."

"All these troubles must be resolved!"

Listening to Nakamura Takeo's words, Li Dongling shook his head. He couldn't have imagined that the way to save PHS was that his skills were inferior to GSM's, which was a fatal flaw. Not being tall enough meant he couldn't play professional basketball, and this couldn't be made up for by other conditions.

"I'm truly sorry, President Nakamura, but there's nothing we can do for Dongling High-Tech..."

"What Dongling High-Tech needs to do is very simple. Japan Telephone and Telegraph will upgrade the PHS technology as soon as possible, as long as Dongling High-Tech announces the launch of the PHS 2G standard version of the Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phone!"
Furthermore, conducting some tests to prove that the PHS version of the Hasee Global Pass phone outperforms the GSM version is sufficient!

Nakamura Takeo stared intently at Li Dongling.

Li the Great Philanthropist stared at Nakamura Takeo in disbelief. No, you can use "burying your head in the sand" like that?

(End of this chapter)