The Partnership

Samsung had made a splash online when Ning Yifan posted an official message to the company on Weibo.

Except for people who specifically went looking for Shenma Technology Company's posts on Weibo, nobody could see them anywhere else. It was as if the world had simply chosen to forget the company.

Even under Ning Yifan's Weibo post, most people were gloating and mocking Shenma Technology Company.

The online chatter didn't really matter. Ning Yifan paid it little attention and kept busy with the work he needed to do.

The next morning, the chairmen of several home appliance companies—Changhong, Haier, TCL, Hisense, and Skyworth—arrived at Shenma Technology Company's factory at the same time, as if they had planned it together.

One luxury car after another pulled into the factory grounds.

After getting out, the chairmen of the various companies exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Old Wang, you came too!"

"How could I not? The company's already in this state. Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I have to seize it!"

"Who isn't? Our stock's been plummeting lately. It's practically giving me heart palpitations!"

"Don't remind me. I just hope we get a good result here at Shenma Technology Company today!"

"Some of our senior executives spent all last night looking into the case Samsung Group brought against Shenma Technology Company. There are a lot of things about the claim that Shenma Technology Company stole technology from Samsung's laboratory that just don't add up. Shenma Technology Company was probably framed!"

"I have high hopes for this visit. I hope Shenma Technology Company can help companies like ours stay afloat. I've spent my whole life working for this company. I don't want to see it go under when I'm nearing retirement."

"Seeing the company decline lately has been heartbreaking. Decades of hard work..."

"Business is a battlefield. If you're outmatched, you have to accept it. But I still don't want to see the company fall!"

"I hope things go well today!"

"I'm very interested in what young Ning Yifan said on the phone yesterday about the global market for TV projectors and displays!"

"Me too!"

While the familiar chairmen were exchanging greetings, their host, Ning Yifan, soon came out to welcome them.

"I'm Ning Yifan from Shenma Technology Company. It's a pleasure to meet you all!" He stepped forward and introduced himself with a handshake.

"Wang Qizhen, from Changhong Company. Young Ning Yifan, you're quite the handsome one!"

"Li Weichao, chairman of Hisense Company. You're a fine young man!"

"Huang Yuanhuai, chairman of TCL Company. Young Ning Yifan, you're impressive—young and promising!"

"Luo Jisong, chairman of Skyworth Company. They've already said all the nice things, so I'll keep it casual."

"He Yuanhang, director of Haier Group."

After they introduced themselves, Ning Yifan asked, "You all got here so early. Have you eaten?"

The group glanced at each other. The chairman of Changhong hesitated before answering, "Well, I haven't. Business comes first. It doesn't matter whether I eat or not."

"Neither have I. Ha ha!"

"We were in too much of a hurry. Our flight was just after seven, and I only had a few snacks on the plane."

"We all rushed here first thing this morning. No one had time to think about breakfast!"

"Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry."

Ning Yifan said helplessly, "Then let's go eat first. There's a pretty good breakfast place in the industrial park, not far from here. We can talk on the way."

The chairmen of the companies, along with their secretaries and drivers, set off in a large group toward the breakfast shop.

As they walked, Ning Yifan went over his proposal again.

"About what's happening online: Samsung cracked my technology. I'm sure more than one company tried, but Samsung was the only one that succeeded. And instead of leaving it at that, they came out and tried to make me look bad, claiming the projection technology belonged to their laboratory.

"I have nothing to say about them cracking my company's technology. You win some, you lose some. If they could crack it, good for them.

"But I don't want to give up the global projector market. Samsung has an advantage over Shenma Technology Company in production capacity and sales channels. If we rely on Shenma Technology Company alone, we'll lose the global projector and display market.

"That's why I came to you. I hope you can help me crush Samsung Group!

"That's the general idea. Of course, talk is cheap. After breakfast, I'll show you Shenma Technology Company's technology and our latest product, the Phantom Projector!"

They would be more reassured once they saw the actual product, and then they could discuss the specific details.

The chairmen ate a little breakfast in a hurry, then waited eagerly for Ning Yifan to take them back to the company and show them Shenma Technology Company's latest product, the Phantom Projector.

Ning Yifan wasn't the only one who needed their sales channels. They also needed the Phantom Projector to bring in profits for their companies.

As for Ning Yifan, he had a hearty appetite. He'd worked until two in the morning, slept for four hours, then gotten up at six to get back to work. He'd long since used up all his energy and was starving.

He ate six large buns, three big bowls of rice porridge, and some pickled vegetables before he was finally satisfied.

After breakfast, Ning Yifan had intended to pay, but there were too many quick-witted secretaries around. He didn't even get the chance!

With the proprietress cheerfully calling after them to come back the next day, Ning Yifan and the others left the breakfast shop.

Back at the company, Ning Yifan didn't keep them in suspense. He brought out the new Phantom Projector he'd made on the factory's first floor.

He plugged it in and turned it on.

The startup animation ended, and Shenma Technology Company's logo appeared.

Using the remote, Ning Yifan played a movie with an 8K source.

Less than a minute after the movie started, the chairmen watching nearby were already stunned. They looked at one another.

The chairman of Changhong was the first to say it. "This is 16K resolution!"

"It's like a dream. It has to be 16K. I've seen plenty of 8K, and it's definitely not like this!"

"Projectors and displays still don't have any mass-produced 16K models. There are some unfinished versions made in labs, but the only one that's been revealed so far is Sony's ridiculously expensive display. It's made up of a lot of seamless displays joined together, costs more than five million dollars, and is still just an experimental product. It isn't being mass-produced for sale!"

"But this latest projector from Shenma Technology Company..."

They looked at the projector, surrounded by the group. It wasn't much bigger than the Phantom Projector.

"It looks like it could be mass-produced!"

"The 16K picture is twice as clear as 8K. You can stand close to it and still can't see the pixels!"

"The movie looks just like real life. It's incredible!"

They had all worked in the television and home appliance industries for decades. They might not have worked directly in production, but they knew what they were looking at. An expert could tell at a glance whether a product was the real deal.

The moment the projector displayed its picture, it left the chairmen astonished.

"You really are a hero among the young! I'm sure Samsung doesn't have this technology. If they did, they'd have made sure the whole world knew about it by now."

"How did you solve the source-material problem? I've seen this movie too. The highest-resolution version available online is 8K, and even the original footage is only 8K. There can't be a 16K version!"

"It's practically a miracle! How did you do it?"

Ning Yifan offered a brief explanation.

"I've named this projector the Phantom Projector Super Edition." It took me one whole night to develop and build it, he silently added.

"The driver board and software have been greatly improved compared with those in the first- and second-generation Phantom Projectors and the Youth Edition. They use our company's latest independently developed projection technology.

"The light source inside is also a new projector LED light source that our company recently developed and manufactured. It's a huge improvement over the first- and second-generation Phantom Projectors.

"As for the source material, we use AI image enhancement technology to upscale 8K footage to 16K with an algorithm.

"After all, there are very few computers that can handle watching 8K video or playing 8K games right now. Ninety-nine percent of computers can't run 16K.

"AI image-enhancement algorithms aren't unfamiliar these days. Several companies online have that kind of technology.

"But Shenma Technology Company is ahead of every other company and has left them far behind. We can enhance 2K to 4K, 4K to 8K, and 8K to 16K!

"It improves image quality whether you're playing games or watching movies!"

After hearing Ning Yifan's explanation, the chairmen exchanged bewildered looks. They could more or less follow what he was saying, but how on earth could anyone make that technology work? They couldn't wrap their heads around it!

Ning Yifan saw how confused they were and pretended not to notice. There was no way he could explain the exact principles behind it. Even if he did, they wouldn't understand!

After they had watched a 16K movie on the projector, Ning Yifan led the group to the next stop.

He brought the company chairmen to the factory elevator. The doors opened automatically. Once they were all inside, Ning Yifan said, "Second floor."

The doors closed. The elevator went up and stopped on the second floor.

When the doors opened, Ning Yifan led them into the factory's fully automated production workshop.

The production line wasn't running, but it still left the chairmen stunned. Rows of robotic arms stood in orderly ranks, with one conveyor belt after another running between them.

Seeing their expressions, Ning Yifan said, "This is Shenma Technology Company's production line. Let me give you a quick demonstration."

He went over to the main switch and pressed the green start button.

In an instant, all the robotic arms on the second floor began their self-checks. They moved in unison, working their joints and mimicking the motion of picking things up.

Once the self-checks were complete, the robotic arms began their assigned work.

The conveyor belts moved like flowing water as robotic arms turned raw materials into all kinds of components.

Automated carts in the factory then carried load after load of components to the next assembly station.

At the very front of the line, Phantom Projectors kept rolling off the production line, where they were packed and sealed in boxes.

So this was Shenma Technology Company! They had made something that had existed only in people's imaginations a reality!

"This is incredible! You're a genius—no, you're like a god, a god of mechanical manufacturing! 'Genius' isn't enough to describe how amazing Ning Yifan is!"

The chairmen stared at the fantastic scene, stunned.

"It really is fully automated production. There isn't a single worker!"

"Just like he said earlier, there's only one person at Shenma Technology Company!"

After giving the chairmen a quick look around, Ning Yifan shut down the Phantom Projector production line. It still needed another two days of upgrades before it could resume production. Even then, it might no longer be manufacturing other components for the projector!

After the tour, everyone gathered in the reception room on the first floor of Ning Yifan's three-story building.

Standing at the front, Ning Yifan said, "All right, you've seen how powerful Shenma Technology Company is. Samsung definitely doesn't have this technology!

"Shenma Technology Company couldn't possibly have stolen Samsung's technology.

"The Phantom Projector Super Edition will outperform the second-generation Phantom Projector in every way. Its performance will be twice as good across the board.

"With this product, the ridiculous claim that Samsung is suing Shenma Technology Company for stealing its technology will fall apart on its own!

"As I told Samsung before, you can't copy a failing student's exam and get a perfect score!

"Once we bring out a projector that outclasses Samsung's, their lie will fall apart by itself.

"To be honest, I haven't taken Samsung's lawsuit seriously.

"But I can't stand by and let Samsung crack my technology, make a projector that performs as well as the Phantom Projector, and seize the international market!

"I want to crush Samsung across the board and make sure they can't sell a single projector or earn a cent!

"To do that, I need your help. First, I need your global sales channels, top salespeople, public-relations teams, and so on.

"Of course, I'm not asking you to help me out. I'm offering a partnership!

"You've seen it yourselves. Although Shenma Technology Company's fully automated production line can manufacture products efficiently, it doesn't have enough capacity to cover the whole world or compete with an international giant like Samsung.

"Shenma Technology Company also has no sales channels or salespeople, and I can't go from country to country myself.

"I'll leave all those matters to your companies.

"Would you be interested in manufacturing and selling the Phantom Projector?"

After hearing Ning Yifan, the chairmen immediately asked questions.

"What exactly would the partnership look like?"

"We're definitely interested! But we're businessmen, and our companies have many employees who need their wages paid out of company profits. Our interests are a major consideration too!"

"If possible, Changhong Company doesn't want to give up the television business it's been in for decades."

One after another, the companies declared their interest.

Ning Yifan continued, "Since you're all interested, here's what I have in mind. Shenma Technology Company will make the Phantom Projector's key components—the driver board and LED light source. Your companies will make the rest of the components, then assemble and manufacture the Phantom Projector."

"So Shenma Technology Company would be the supplier of the key components for the Phantom Projector we make?"

"Not exactly." Ning Yifan nodded, then shook his head.

"I want the Phantom Projector to use Shenma Technology Company's brand and model name, and to be sold worldwide!"

"Then are we becoming contract manufacturers for Shenma Technology Company?"

"Is this private-label production?"

Ning Yifan shook his head again. "Neither 'contract manufacturer' nor 'private-label production' quite describes it. I'll sell you the driver board, light source, and TV System 2.0 for five hundred yuan per set. You'll take them back, assemble and manufacture the products, then sell them yourselves. Your companies will keep all the profits."

"You could also say you're buying key components from me, then manufacturing the equipment to sell. The only difference is that the Phantom Projector has to be sold under the Shenma Technology Company name.

"The light source, driver board, and TV System 2.0 I provide will cost you five hundred yuan.

"The remaining components for the first-generation Phantom Projector cost about 1,100 yuan in total. Since your companies are so large, you might be able to make them for less. The final cost should come to around 1,600 yuan. Our current price at Shenma Technology Company is 3,999 yuan. You can work out the profit for yourselves.

"The second-generation Phantom Projector's components, including the light source, driver board, and TV system from Shenma Technology Company, will cost about 2,000 yuan.

"You'll be able to make the Phantom Projector Youth Edition for about 800 yuan, and the Phantom Projector Super Edition for about 4,000 yuan.

"In Daxia, the products will keep the prices Shenma Technology Company has been charging. For overseas markets, as long as we can drive Samsung out, you can set your own prices. It's fine to charge a little more overseas."

The chairmen exchanged looks. The chairman of Changhong was the first to respond. "Changhong Company is willing to partner with you!"

"Hisense Company is willing to partner!"

"TCL Company is willing to partner!"

"We'll hold a remote board meeting right away to approve the partnership plan!"

"If we can make money—and a lot of it—I'm sure nobody will turn it down!"

With the companies agreeing, Ning Yifan smiled. "Don't agree too quickly. This is only the basic partnership plan. I have two other requests. First, I want your companies' crisis-management teams to help me expose the truth: Samsung stole our company's technology. Second, I need a legal team to sue Samsung."

"That's no problem. Easy!"

"Agreed!"

"Not a problem!"

The company chairmen all gave their agreement.

It took less than an hour for the companies' chairmen to approve the plan one by one and confirm their preliminary intent to partner with Shenma Technology Company.

Next, their professional teams would draw up procurement contracts and handle the other details.

The chairmen spent the whole day at Shenma Technology Company, finalizing the arrangements for the partnership, before finally heading home.

With Shenma Technology Company supplying two key components and Phantom Projector TV System 2.0, the Phantom Projectors made by the various companies were about to enter the global market!