After the video finished playing, the atmosphere became livelier and more formal.
People who had not entered yet walked in briskly. Soon, all the seats were filled up.
A gentle female voice reminded everyone of a couple of things, such as keeping their cell phones on silent mode, not to leave halfway through the one-hour long news conference, and to claim the small gifts on their way out after the event.
At the same time, the lady informed everyone that the news conference would be livestreamed on the Waiwai streaming platform and that everyone could head there to watch it.
At 3 PM, all the lights were switched off. Chang You walked up onto the stage while everyone applauded loudly.
“Hello, everyone! I am Chang You.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Otto Ei’s news conference. On behalf of all the staff at Otto Technologies, I warmly welcome all of you!”
The applause was as loud as thunder.
Pei Qian took out his cell phone, logged onto the Waiwai streaming platform, and found the livestream of Otto Technologies’ news conference.
Livestreaming had developed very quickly over the past year. At this time last year, less than two hundred thousand people used livestreaming platforms. Yet, now, there were tens of thousands of viewers on one channel alone.
There weren’t many people watching the livestream of Otto Technologies’ news conference-just twenty- to thirty-thousand people. Most of them were fans of digital products.
“Eh, isn’t that Vice President Chang? Which pathetic manufacturer is he preparing to attack after causing the collapse of Hongcheng Technologies?” “Otto Technologies? I’ve never heard of this name before.”
“It’s under Tengda Corporation, and it’s listed on TPDb. Have you seen Tomorrow is Beautiful?”
“That’s an inferior brand, too. I’ll admit that Tengda is awesome at creating games, but it’s still considered a young student when it comes to manufacturing cell phones. I’ll wait and see who the king of extortion, Vice President Chang, is going to extort today. A blind guess is that it’ll either be Pineapple or Shenhua!”
“What are you talking about? Which cell phone manufacturer in the country wouldn’t try and extort Pineapple and Shenhua? Pineapple cell phones are being hung up and beaten daily; I’m already used to it.”
Bullet screen comments were not yet supported on livestreaming platforms now. However, there was a chatting window on the right side of the screen. Thus, Pei Qian could read netizens’ comments in real-time.
Obviously, many digital hobbyists had formed a deep impression of Chang You after what happened at Hongcheng Technologies. Everyone was focusing not on the cell phones, but on Chang You. Pei Qian was very satisfied with this. He felt like he had a keen eye for people.
On stage, Chang You briefly introduced Otto Technologies’ history.
There was a lot that he could have included in the story. For example, he could have talked about Otto Technologies being a subsidiary of Tengda, or about the close relationship the company had with Tomorrow is Beautiful.
However, Chang You did not elaborate on any of that. Instead, he spoke briefly. That was because Boss Pei had emphasized to him to control the duration of the news conference.
Thus, Chang You decided to cut to the chase. He hit a button on his remote control, causing one big word to appear on the screen:
‘Pricing!!
Once the word appeared, everyone immediately quieted down. Many netizens typed strings of question marks.
“Wait, hasn’t this news conference just started? Did I miss something?”
“Did I miss out on the first two hours?”
“Did they mess up the slideshow?”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Ordinarily, the cell phone’s pricing would be left to the last! Other cell phone manufacturers would have elaborated on the cell phone’s functions and merits from the beginning, in ascending order of importance. Once the audience’s expectations for the cell phone reached their peak and the host hinted to everyone that the cell phone was high-tech and good-quality, he would ask everyone to guess its price.
Finally, he would reveal that the cell phone was priced slightly lower than everyone had guessed. At once, they would all clap and think highly of the cell phone.
Of course, some manufacturers would mess this up. They would reveal the price, only for the audience to curse and grimace. The atmosphere would then turn awkward.
Regardless, the order would still be the same!
The audience had not even seen the cell phone, and yet its price was staring them in the face. What was going on? Wasn’t that taking away the fun of guessing the cell phone’s price?
Chang You was already prepared for this. Without another word, he hit his remote control again, and a huge number appeared on the screen.
8,199! Everyone remained silent. Again, the comments section of the livestream window was filled with question marks.
“Is Vice President Chang high on alcohol?”
“A multi-thousand-yuan cell phone… just what I wanted!”
“Even Shenhua and Pineapple don’t sell their flagship models at such a high price. Who gave you the courage?!”
0
The live audience was not as direct as netizens on the livestream, but their confused expressions were telling of their thoughts.
Are you kidding me?!
Vice President Chang, you may have caused Hongcheng Technologies to collapse, but this terrible mistake is ridiculous, right?
Chang You remained unperturbed. He continued, “We will not run promotions or reduce the price of our Otto E1 cell phones in the future. Once the next model is released, E1 will be taken off the shelves. Until then, it would be sold for 8,199 yuan, and the price would not change. Of course, we don’t accept payment by installments either.
“Alright, everyone can start dissing now.” The crowd remained quiet. Comments kept being posted rapidly on the livestream.
Seeing that everyone was mocking and dissing the cell phone in the comments, Pei Qian felt excited and overwhelmed.
Finally, this is going well. This is the right feeling! This is the effect I wanted!
Pei Qian had to suppress the urge to give Chang You a thumbs-up from off-stage.
Chang You’s expression remained the same. Since the news conference had a limited duration, he could not afford to talk too much about the price. Instead, he moved to the next segment.
“Next, I’ll talk about our stocks.
“We’ll only manufacture a thousand pieces of Otto E1. We’ll sell them on a first-come, first-serve basis until we run out. We haven’t decided when to manufacture the next batch of stocks.
A picture appeared on the screen. This was ROF Computer-Installation’s warehouse in Jingzhou. A thousand pieces of Otto E1 had been neatly arranged on one of the shelves inside. The shelf was only half-filled.
At first glance, it looked almost stingy.
“Pfft…”
One of the tech media journalists seated in the front row could not help but scoff.
This news conference was too ridiculous!
At other news conferences, once the price was announced and the audience took back all of their criticisms, the manufacturer would always say that they had enough stocks. This would normally be accompanied by a picture of a filled warehouse.
Of course, under most circumstances, that would only be an advertising tactic. They would cease manufacturing and play punk whenever they needed to. Still, it was necessary to put on a front and go through the motions at the beginning.
Yet, Otto Technologies was taking a unique path. Its stocks were just in the four-figure range; there were only a thousand cell phones!
What’s more, they emphasized this pathetic number as if afraid that nobody would understand it.
What’s going on? Were they trying to resort to hunger marketing? Did Vice President Chang really think that increasing the price and announcing the low supply would cause consumers to purchase the cell phone immediately? The news conference had only started five minutes ago. Yet, everyone present and on the livestream had lost interest in finding out about the new cell phone. Instead, they were now focused on watching the drama unfold.
Someone off-stage yelled, “Good! Make another one!
“It’s so cheap! Buy it! “You might as well give it away for free! Would we still be human if we didn’t buy one?!”
Everyone broke into laughter, and the atmosphere became lively again.
Pei Qian had to admit that the netizens were very good at finding humor in the situation as well.
After the pricing and stocks segment, netizens went from commenting ‘whoever’s selling this is stupid’ to ‘those who can’t afford this should be ashamed of themselves’. The previously solemn atmosphere immediately lightened up.
Pei Qian felt speechless while he sat in the audience.
He’s telling the truth. What are all of you laughing at? Is it that funny?
Forget it. You can laugh and shout whatever you want. As long as you don’t fork out a single cent when the time comes, we can still be good friends.
Chang You smiled and then moved onto the next segment.
“Next, I’ll tell you about the cell phone’s merits.”
He gently hit the remote control again, and a picture appeared on the screen.
As Chang You faced the audience, his lips started moving quickly. He was reciting the script that he had memorized so hard and that he now knew like the back of his hand.
“A really good brand, a really good cell phone. Welcome to the news conference of the high-end cell phone brand, Otto Technologies’ flagship model. Ei has extremely high-quality hardware, a good microchip, a monitor with a high refresh rate, and a custom-made system.
“It brings to you infinitely smooth user experience, and a powerful battery that has fast-charging and long endurance, so that you no longer have to worry about batteries again. A horizontal linear motor, NFC, infrared, headphone plugs, hi-fi, dual stereo speakers—we miss out on nothing.
“A custom-made cooling system, the charging point on the side, and special high frame-rate mode for games ensure that you’re always at an advantage in battles. A top-grade dual camera lets you take beautiful photos of people and scenery… “A personal logo with breathing lights makes for a unique appearance, and Lu Zhiyao as the spokesperson of a cell phone out of Tomorrow is Beautiful makes you trendy and futuristic.”
Inhale.
“On top of that, there are a total of sixteen special gaming, entertainment, lifestyle, and other benefits. You can become a supergamer of Tengda Games, an ultimate VIP of Zhongdian Chinese Network, a connoisseur of Fei Huang Workspace, a Game Master of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, a top-tier member of Fish-Catching Take-Out, a distinguished guest of Ming Yun Private Kitchen, and a VIP of Upwind Logistics. “You can get a five-percent discount off all of Tengda’s products for a lifetime, a free game each year, multiple custom-made skins, tickets to pre-screening of movies, free drinks, regular red packets, free delivery, and additional dishes at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. Your life will be full of surprises.”
Inhale.
“You can also trade-in your old cell phones, replace them without repairing, receive free accessories, and upgrade your phone for a lifetime. Make one purchase and you benefit from being a distinguished customer of Tengda forever. “Only a thousand cell phones available first-come, first-serve. Its value would be maintained and never drop. Otto E1, the multi-functional assistant in your career, the legendary weapon in your games, and the golden manager of your life.
“It’s the ultimate solution we are providing for all of your problems in the digital age!”
In a single breath, Chang You recited the entire script. Apart from breaking off to inhale in the midway through, he did not even pause. He was speaking as fast as any ordinary person would be able to.
Once he was done, Chang You let out a long sigh and looked into the audience.
He did not know where Boss Pei was seated, but at that moment, he only felt one thing: he was fortunate to have fulfilled his task!
He had memorized the entire long script. What’s more, he had recited everything smoothly without missing a single word! The audience was silent. Pei Qian’s hand hovered in mid-air as he held onto his bottle of water. It was almost as if he had forgotten where to put it.
Chang You looked discouraged. What was going on? Had he completely lost the audience? He had just recited such a long script, and yet they weren’t praising him?
He glanced at his watch and realized that his time was up. Not daring to hold everyone back, Chang You hit his remote control again and said, “Alright, I’ve already finished talking about the cell phone’s merits. Let me talk about its flaws…”
The picture on the screen changed, and everyone off-stage flared up. “Holy sh*t! What just happened?!” “I didn’t hear it clearly. Come again?!”
“Say it again! Go back!”
Everyone present seemed to have been stunned by Chang You’s long recitation. No one knew how to react. If this had been a theater for comic dialogue, the audience would have cheered once Chang You finished speaking. However, this was a news conference in a hotel!
The audience would not have expected Vice President Chang to pull something like that to introduce the cell phone’s merits!
That was why they were only reacting now. Everyone was burning with anger!
Faced with the audience’s calls for him to repeat himself, Chang You became embarrassed. He said, “I’m sorry. My boss has given me orders to keep that part within five minutes. Five minutes have already passed. I have to move to the next segment. Please understand.”
The audience obviously didn’t believe this ridiculous excuse. “Stop being ridiculous! Why would the boss impose a limit for how long you can talk about the cell phone’s merits?! Is he crazy?!”
“Vice President Chang, don’t mess with us! Saying it again wouldn’t take you more than a few minutes!”
“That’s right! Don’t even think about getting away with this. Repeat yourself!”
Chang You helplessly scanned the audience, not knowing where Boss Pei was seated. Sorry, Boss Pei. I tried to keep it less than five minutes, but everyone wouldn’t let me!
