After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 618 - 610: Making Friends Through Products

Chapter 618: Chapter 610: Making Friends Through Products

The following afternoon, the Lotus press conference was set to take place.

Lu Liang thought he had arrived early, but to his surprise, members of the Beijing Circle like Lei Jun and Zhou Hongwei had already taken their seats.

However, there was someone who arrived even earlier—Old Liu, seated in the middle row, chatting with Old Ma.

Both seemed to have heard some commotion behind them and turned around simultaneously to see Lu Liang.

"Mr. Lu, over here." Old Ma smiled and waved.

He had a $300 million collaboration project in Tokyo with Lu Liang and Mitsui Sumitomo, and since there were no conflicting interests domestically, they had quite a good relationship.

As Lu Liang was about to pass by Li Xiang, he casually remarked in a low voice, "Ali has invested in Lotus."

Lu Liang nodded slightly and approached them with a smile, "Mr. Liu, Mr. Ma, it’s been a while. How have you two been?"

Ali Group investing in Lotus wasn’t surprising, especially after the successful launch of Tianshu.

The new energy industry had once again entered a period of explosive growth and was now undoubtedly the hottest trend.

No matter how strong a corporation might be, unless it’s a state-owned enterprise in fields like hydropower or coal, it would eventually fall behind if it missed several opportunities.

The only uncertainty was whether Ali’s investment was purely financial or if they had other intentions.

"Thanks to Mr. Lu, quite well."

Their responses were almost identical, but the former was full of smiles, while the latter had an edged undertone.

Lu Liang squinted his eyes with a smile, pretending not to notice, until he saw his seat and couldn’t help but look surprised, "Mr. Liu, are you trying to flatter me?"

There was an empty seat between Old Ma and Old Liu, with a nameplate bearing his name.

The first row had thirteen seats, and he was the seventh, right in the middle, whether counted from left to right or vice versa. Such treatment, only one’s biological father might receive.

"Tianxing Automobile is a rising star in the automotive industry, and Mr. Lu is a renowned figure in the investment world. Xiaoqing’s arrangement is quite appropriate."

Old Liu’s smile was deep with meaning, as he had heard from Liu Qing that Lu Liang had requested to attend Lotus’ new car launch.

Not knowing what mischief he was up to, they placed him in the most central seat to keep a close watch, while also giving him a taste of the heat.

After all, domestically, those older and more experienced than him were either retired or gone. Now, if he claimed to be the second in the business world, few would dare claim to be first.

Old Ma shrugged to show he was unaware, while also smoothing things over with a laugh, "Mr. Lu, how about I switch seats with you?"

Lu Liang plopped onto the single-seat leather sofa, lips curled up, with a smile on his face, "Since Old Liu has no objections, I won’t stand on ceremony."

Old Liu maintained a smile at the corner of his mouth, squinting slightly with a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, adding a sense of heaviness to the air.

Especially the conversation behind them ceased as Lu Liang sat down between the two.

Old Ma sighed, picking up his phone to change the topic, "Mr. Lu, you really are the trending sensation online."

The Lotus press conference had been building anticipation for three days, with Liu Qing likely having spent considerable money on traffic.

Even though the new car hadn’t been unveiled, many beta testers had already been using terms like ’stunning’ and ’epoch-making’ to hype it up.

By 1:30 PM today, the Lotus car launch was just around the corner and topped the Weibo trending list.

However, Liu Qing’s marketing strategies seemed laughably amateurish compared to Lu Liang’s Tianxing Automobile.

Several users online shared a true story that they were very early pre-order customers of the Tianshu, allowing them to collect their cars at a nearby offline store in just two weeks.

However, during new car delivery, when a malfunction indicator light stayed on and the cause couldn’t be identified immediately, the Tianxing Factory opted for a full refund.

Until this point, everything seemed normal, and it was expected that Tianxing might offer purchase discounts or small gifts as compensation.

Indeed, Tianxing was very generous, offering each car owner a 20,000 discount voucher that could be stacked without any conditions or limitations.

Though a 20,000 voucher seemed a lot, looking at Lu Liang’s usual conduct, it was still considered normal.

Then came the clever maneuver.

Tianxing Automobile’s General Manager Wang Xiaofeng personally called, expressing apologies while asking if they wanted to reorder the Tianshu.

Although they couldn’t be given queue-jumping, as it would be unfair to other consumers, they were promised a daily transport fee of 200 yuan directly credited to their accounts until the new car was delivered.

If it took three months for delivery, payments would be made for three months. If it took six months, payments would cover six months, until the new car was ready.

Later, Wang Xiaofeng seemed to realize this matter could be turned to advantage, transforming a disadvantage into an opportunity.

Hence, he reposted several owners’ posts, confirming the incidents and apologizing once again to the eight owners.

He expressed gratitude to industry friends monitoring them, assuring that Tianxing Automobile wouldn’t sue them. These comments acted as a form of motivation and would help them keep improving.

Wang Xiaofeng, a seasoned professional manager, made a commendable statement that set off a spark, causing an instant uproar.

"Mom, my car will now earn money to support me!"

A female owner left this witty remark in an article that spread from Little Red Potato to Weibo, eventually going viral online.

"200 yuan a day, 6,000 a month. Why didn’t my malfunction light come on? Guys, I have a bold idea."

"Bro, put that bold idea away. The problem didn’t exist when it left the factory but emerged during delivery, likely due to issues in transit causing the malfunction light to stay on. The manufacturer isn’t stupid, they can tell if it’s inherent or human-induced."

"Just ordered a Fiery Purple Tianshu, glanced at the scheduling, and if no plan for increased production is made, it’s scheduled for 26 weeks later."

"Whoa, half a year, 36,000."

"I work at Foxconn till my screws almost catch fire, but my monthly wage is only 5,800—truly, the difference between humans is greater than that between a human and a pig. Cars now make money for their owners. It’s all tears, the supervisor will yell at people."

"Cars can indeed make money for their owners, but it’s limited to Tianshu. Any other electric car, even Tesla, depreciates by 20% in a day, but Tianshu’s second-hand car price can now be sold for 320,000."

The daily 200 yuan per owner for eight owners would total just 1,600 a day, under 300,000 over half a year.

Yet, the brand impact and spread speed it created was something Lotus couldn’t achieve even with a marketing budget of 30 million.

Sometimes, the topic’s heat isn’t directly related to the amount of money. The key is whether it can resonate and spark discussion.

Effortless gains accurately hit a nerve within everyone, not to mention Tianxing Automobile’s sincerity, having the General Manager personally apologize, second only to Lu Liang himself.

"In product-making, the most crucial factor is sincerity. Empathize, and consumers can always feel the company’s attitude in the details."

"From the Tianxing app to offline stores and after-sales service, one can sense their deep sincerity."

"Luo’s making friends might be just a meme, but Lu Liang genuinely makes friends through the Tianshu, consistently considering issues from the consumers’ perspective. Companies like Tianxing Automobile and entrepreneurs like Lu Liang should be more plentiful."

Ren Dugong, a media commentator notorious for criticizing Lu Liang as an evil capitalist in the past.

Now, he had a change of heart, highly affirming Lu Liang and Tianxing Automobile, lavish in his praises.

In his narrative, it seemed that since the launch of the Sky Star·Tianshu, Lu Liang walked off the pedestal.

Not falling, but stepping down.

Currently, Lu Liang’s actions were enough to erase all of his past negative public opinion.

Anyone calculating the costs for Lu Liang would know that if they couldn’t surpass or match Tesla, Tianxing Automobile would be considered a failed project.

The initial investments in Tianxing Automobile were extraordinarily high, with at least 70% of Lu Liang’s available funds poured in.

An entrepreneur notorious for making money externally,

but grounded and focused on developing industry internally.

If anyone still had issues with him, an audience might question their motives.

"Ren the renegade, he’s actually saying nice things about me?"

Lu Liang touched his chin, lips curling upwards, knowing he had two major haters, Luo and Ren Dugong.

He understood why Luo turned against him, so he accepted it.

But Ren Dugong seemed to hold a grudge as if Lu Liang had wronged him personally, continually criticizing him for over three years.

Now, finally satisfied,

Lu Liang couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased internally.

"Mr. Lu, take it easy."

Old Ma reminded him with a mixture of laughter and tears, lowering his voice.

It was evident that Old Liu’s face grew increasingly stern, and Liu Qing, about to take the stage, also kept glancing at Lu Liang from the side of the podium.