Double Eleven

In the last few days of October, Ning Yifan spent most of his time improving and upgrading the production lines.

On the factory's second floor, a rapidly running production line had been temporarily shut down in front of an automated workbench.

Holding an electric torque wrench, Ning Yifan stepped onto the conveyor belt and pressed the switch. He opened the cover on the line's drive assembly, then set the cover and screws on the workbench beside him.

He swapped the wrench's No. 10 socket for a No. 5 socket and continued dismantling the equipment.

He used all sorts of tools in turn, from sockets to screwdrivers, wrenches, and even hammers. In just a few minutes, he had completely dismantled the production line, which had been running perfectly well.

Whenever he needed a tool, Ning Yifan could grab it from the workbench beside him.

He set the discarded parts aside, picked up the components he had made from the workbench, and began reassembling the line. A few more minutes later, the job was done.

Ning Yifan switched on the machine and tested it. It ran much faster and more smoothly than before.

With this, the factory could produce twenty thousand Phantom Projectors a day!

After upgrading the last production line, Ning Yifan let out a breath of relief and put his tools on the workbench behind him.

He looked around. The factory's second floor now had more than fifty fully automated production lines. Most made components for the Phantom Projector, while a few handled final assembly.

From the casing screws, basic Wi-Fi modules, and remote controls to the projector's light source and first-generation motherboards, Ning Yifan's factory could now produce all of them in-house. That had greatly reduced the money spent buying components. They also no longer had to wait for deliveries every time they needed to order parts, so production had become much faster.

The first-generation Phantom Projectors now used only components made by Shenma Technology Company. The second-generation model's motherboard, CPU, memory, hard drive, and other more complex parts still had to be purchased.

For the latest shipment, Ning Yifan had ordered a full two hundred thousand Snapdragon 855 processors, along with compatible memory, storage, and other components.

These days, it cost less than five hundred yuan to buy the raw materials, process them into components, and manufacture one first-generation Phantom Projector. That even included expenses such as electricity!

The second-generation Phantom Projector cost a little more to make because it needed a purchased CPU and other components, but not by much. When bought in bulk, each Snapdragon 855 processor cost just over two hundred yuan, and each motherboard came in at less than a hundred. Add the memory, hard drive, and other purchased parts, and the total was still under five hundred yuan. That meant each second-generation Phantom Projector cost a little over nine hundred yuan to make, and less than a thousand!

The Youth Edition's production cost had been reduced even further, to just over six hundred yuan!

That was the power of integrating the supply chain. From manufacturing components to assembling finished products, Shenma Technology Company had now brought almost the entire process in-house.

Aside from large, complex machines such as lithography equipment, which they still couldn't manufacture, they had everything else covered.

With the improved production process and enough raw materials, they could now make twenty thousand Phantom Projectors a day.

"That should about do it!" On the factory's second floor, Ning Yifan watched the production lines running and smiled with satisfaction.

Ning Yifan turned and left the factory's second floor.

A strange-looking machine followed close behind him. Four wheels supported its base, above which were five tiers holding all kinds of tools.

This was the mobile workbench that always stayed by Ning Yifan's side, carrying hundreds of commonly used tools. Its four wheels moved with remarkable agility, allowing it to spin in place and follow its target automatically, ready to provide whatever tools were needed.

It carried everything from dozens of screwdrivers, sockets, and wrenches in different sizes to larger equipment such as multipurpose saws, polishers, drills, welding machines, and vacuum machines. Controlled by a computer, it was a highly practical assistant that Ning Yifan used when modifying production lines and other equipment.

With the production-line upgrades complete, Ning Yifan didn't linger at the factory. He returned to the three-story building where he lived.

It was already the end of October, with only two days left until November.

For businesses selling products online, November was an important month. That was because of Double Eleven!

Double Eleven referred to November 11 each year. Since the date consisted of four ones, it was also known as Singles' Day.

Large online shopping sites usually took the opportunity to run major sales and discounts, boosting their sales. This became known as the Double Eleven Shopping Festival.

It had started with a promotion run by Taobao Mall (Tmall) on November 11, 2009. The number of participating merchants and the discounts had been limited, but sales far exceeded expectations. After that, November 11 became an annual e-commerce shopping festival.

On that day, countless consumers went on spending sprees, while merchants offered discounts.

By now, the shopping calendar had expanded to include Double Twelve, June 18, and other sales events.

The promotions had also grown longer and longer. What had started as a single day's sale now began with early promotions and could last for more than ten days.

Merchants' discounts had changed too. Instead of straightforward price cuts, promotions were now filled with all kinds of offers, such as spending thresholds and stacked discounts. The tricks kept coming.

This year's Double Eleven promotions had started heating up in mid-October. As a merchant selling the recently popular Phantom Projector, Ning Yifan had naturally received an invitation to participate.

He had made preparations as well. Shenma Technology Company's Double Eleven discounts were about to begin!

After upgrading production capacity, Ning Yifan returned to his bedroom on the third floor. He turned on his computer, logged into the merchant backend, and posted the announcement for this year's Double Eleven sale on the Phantom Projector product page.

"Shenma Technology Company has been in business for just over three months, but we have already sold more than two hundred thousand Phantom Projectors.

"We are grateful for the support of our customers. To give back, Shenma Technology Company has decided to offer special discounts for this year's Double Eleven sale.

"During the sale, the first-generation Phantom Projector will be discounted by one thousand yuan and will cost just 3,999 yuan.

"The second-generation Phantom Projector will cost just 4,999 yuan.

"The Phantom Projector Youth Edition will be priced at 1,399 yuan!

"This sale will use a presale format. All presale orders will be shipped within ten days. Our JD.com flagship store and Taobao flagship store will each have one hundred thousand units available.

"Shenma Technology Company will offer a total of two hundred thousand Phantom Projectors!"

Ning Yifan changed the product page to display the sale details, clicked confirm, and posted the announcement online.

The Phantom Projector had dropped in price!!!

The news quickly caught people's attention.

The Phantom Projector was now undeniably a hot product. You had to fight to buy one every day.

The more units sold, the more customers had relatives or friends who owned one. Once they tried it at someone else's home and saw the product for themselves, they naturally drew even more buyers.

After Shenma Technology Company announced the sale on its Taobao and JD.com flagship stores, the news sparked lively discussions online.

"Great! The Phantom Projector has finally gone on sale!"

"I'd been planning to buy one for ages. Waiting for Double Eleven was definitely the right choice!"

"What a conscientious seller! The product was already in short supply, and they still managed to lower the price. Impressive!"

"The discount isn't the main thing. The important thing is that they have stock! Two hundred thousand units!"

"I've been going crazy trying to get a Phantom Projector these past few days. The sale opens at nine every morning, but the moment it starts, my phone freezes. When I refresh the page, they're already gone. I'm about to lose it!"

"I'm buying one, I'm buying one! I was going to wait until next year, but now I can't put it off anymore!"

"There's finally stock! I'm tired of listening to my friends brag about how great the Phantom Projector is, how they can use it for TV and games, while I can't get one myself. That's a painful lesson! I should've bought one earlier when they were available."

"This is what a real sale looks like! I love it! The price drops on the day of the event, with no nonsense. No coupons, no calculating discounts, no bundled packages, no minimum-spend gimmicks, and definitely no hiking the price before Double Eleven just to slash it again and fleece customers. They deserve a great review!"

"Two hundred thousand units of production capacity—Shenma Technology Company has something going for it! They'll ship presale orders within ten days, too. That's great!"

"I've got my money ready. I'm going for the second-generation Phantom Projector!"

"Looks like the night of October 30 is going to be sleepless. With two days left, I'd better train my Kirin Arm!"

"Two hundred thousand units should mean we don't have to fight over them, right?"

"Who knows? I'm still going to try. The number sounds big, but there are even more people who want one. Everyone knows about the Phantom Projector now. It's already taken the internet by storm and become the first choice over TVs and monitors!"

Consumers who wanted to buy a Phantom Projector quickly heard the news online and got ready to compete for one when the sale began.

Time flew by as consumers eagerly awaited the big day.

At eleven fifty on the night of October 31, the alarms people had set on their phones rang all across Daxia Country.

Throughout Daxia, countless people were lying in bed, sitting in front of their Wi-Fi routers, or pausing their work halfway through a shift. They waited quietly for the clock to tick over.

Eleven fifty-nine and fifty-nine seconds.

Midnight!

The time had come. The sale began!

The prices in Shenma Technology Company's JD.com and Taobao flagship stores automatically changed to the sale prices.

Countless people rushed to the payment page, entered their passwords, and completed their purchases!

"Yes! I finally got one!"

At that moment, countless consumers across Daxia Country smiled with joy.

"Yu-Gi-Oh!, here I come!"

"I can't wait for my giant-screen monitor to arrive!"

"After trying the Phantom Projector at my classmate's place, I realized a big screen really could transform a game. It made everything more immersive and the visuals looked better, which made me feel more involved. Now I've finally managed to get one! Hahaha!"

"I got a second one, too. It's time to replace the TV at my parents' house. I'll go visit them as soon as it arrives in a few days!"

"Heh heh, now I have another excuse to invite my girlfriend over. Come over and watch a great movie with me!"

How long did it take to sell all two hundred thousand Phantom Projectors?

Shenma Technology Company had the answer: just ten minutes!

All two hundred thousand Phantom Projectors sold out in only ten minutes, bringing in more than six hundred million yuan in sales!

And as the owner of Shenma Technology Company, Ning Yifan made five hundred million yuan in profit in those ten minutes. One small goal every two minutes—that was how easy it was!