Chapter 17: Product Sales

After Lin Feng finished speaking to Xia Ruoxi, he picked up his phone to check the missed calls. There were records from his mother, a few from unknown numbers, but most of all, Lin Chuanzhi had called the most times. Upon seeing this, Lin Feng dialed his home number.

His mother, Liu Runli, answered. Somehow, she had heard about the company's product launch and chattered excitedly over the phone without pause. It took Lin Feng quite some effort to pacify his troublesome mother.

After handling his mother, he had to call his father as well. Lin Chuanzhi was much calmer—after all, he was no stranger to grand occasions. He simply offered Lin Feng a few words of encouragement before swiftly hanging up.

Just as Lin Feng ended his call with Lin Chuanzhi, Xia Ruoxi walked in from outside, beaming. “Lin Feng, some of the reporters outside are asking if they can buy the computers from us right now. They’re willing to pay, and more than one person has asked me this. I think it’s feasible. What do you think?”

“What? They want to buy them now? But our sales haven’t officially started yet,” Lin Feng replied, surprised.

“Yes, I know, but rules are dead things, Lin Feng. Think about it—if we sell these computers to them now, it’s like giving them a favor, a gift. In return, we’ll get a lot of positive publicity,” Xia Ruoxi explained excitedly.

“All right, let’s do this. As long as they’re guests who attended today’s product launch and they want to buy, we’ll give them a thousand yuan discount per computer. But you must tell them we hope they’ll give our products plenty of coverage,” Lin Feng decided after a moment's thought.

“Lin Feng, just go along with what this girl says—she’s a business genius in the making! She’s got potential. If she’s nurtured properly, she’ll achieve great things one day. You’ve really found a treasure!” Mo Tian chimed in from the side, echoing Lin Feng’s own thoughts about Xia Ruoxi’s sound reasoning.

“Good, this is great. I believe our computers will definitely win them over!” Xia Ruoxi exclaimed, then happily hurried out to relay the news to the guests at the event.

When Lin Feng finally returned to the company after his busy schedule, Zhang Wen, the head of the development department, came looking for him. “Chairman Lin, we just ran the backend data. Within three hours after the product launch, our website traffic soared by several hundred times. Over ten million people have visited our site in just three hours, and the numbers are still rising rapidly.” Zhang Wen handed Lin Feng a statistical report, his excitement barely contained.

Lin Feng glanced over the report, nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Xia Ruoxi, who had followed him back. “Have we finalized agreements with the logistics and courier companies? Are the contracts signed?”

“They’re all signed. They’ve guaranteed, as stated in the contracts, that all items will be delivered to our customers as quickly and satisfactorily as possible,” Xia Ruoxi replied immediately.

While Lin Feng continued handling affairs at the company, countless forums—especially those focused on computers—were in an uproar. Previously, people had laughed off the company’s advertisements as a joke. Now, with the actual product revealed, discussions about the computer were everywhere. Forum regulars refused to believe FutureTech could have developed an entirely new operating system, and dug up what they thought were rebuttals. But all of this was quickly countered by media reporters, who had seen and reported on the physical computers, silencing the skeptics. Gradually, more people on the forums began to believe, and even forums without firsthand media reports buzzed with debates about the authenticity of FutureTech’s products.

By nightfall, more and more reporters who had attended the launch began publishing reports, including their hands-on experiences with the new computer. The market’s response grew even more intense.

“Lin Feng, it’s not just the consumers causing a stir—now the media is, too. Many reporters are requesting interviews with you right away!” Xia Ruoxi placed a stack of interview requests in front of Lin Feng, who was still working in his office past 6 p.m.

“They still want to interview me? Didn’t I already say at the launch that I won’t be taking interviews for now, and that we’d hold a press conference later?” Lin Feng asked, puzzled.

“Heh, this is a new batch of reporters. These are the ones who didn’t attend our launch. Now that our product has gone viral online, they’re eager to interview you,” Xia Ruoxi explained.

“Just ignore them. Where were they when we needed publicity? Now that our product’s reputation is spreading, I don’t need them as much. Tell them to wait—no interviews for now. It’s almost 8 o’clock already!” Lin Feng instructed.

“Understood, I’ll respond to them right away,” Xia Ruoxi affirmed.

Just then, there was a knock at the office door. The company’s website tech specialist entered, addressing Lin Feng, “Chairman Lin, we need to add another server. The site traffic just now was overwhelming!”

“All right, I approve—add one more server,” Lin Feng agreed, as Mo Tian had anticipated such a scenario.

“Got it!” The tech lead quickly left. The company had bought many backup servers, ready for just this moment as sales began.

Soon it was 8 p.m. Lin Feng and the rest of the management team gathered in the tech department. The entire upper management was present, their mood mirroring Lin Feng’s—nervous and uncertain about how many people would actually buy the product through this new sales model.

“At 8 p.m. sharp, the sales platform is officially connected to the network!” the tech staff reported, while Lin Feng and the others stared at the giant display screen.

Five minutes passed after going live, and still there was no activity—no sales at all. Lin Feng and the other managers unconsciously gripped the arms of their chairs, tension mounting.

They kept their eyes glued to the large monitor that the tech department had hastily set up. Then, in the sixth minute, at last, the number on the screen jumped from zero to one, and the sales total changed to 10,000!

“Yeah!” The employees in the tech department erupted in applause as the first computer was sold. While they were still clapping, the number on the screen jumped from one to three, sending everyone’s excitement soaring even higher.