Chapter 654: Tegra 3 Chip Buyer! 7.3 Million in 3 Months, 1.24 Billion in Revenue

Chapter 654: Chapter 468: Tegra 3 Chip Buyer! 7.3 Million in 3 Months, 1.24 Billion in Revenue

On August 23rd, one week before the semester began at Xuyuan, the gymnasium was packed. Reporters from local outlets and media from Luzhou had all rushed over.

To be frank, 300 million in funds plus three thousand air conditioners wasn’t much for a top-tier university, but for a second-tier institution like Xuyuan, it was an incredibly generous donation.

Especially since the donor was Chen Yansen, the founder of Senlian Capital, who naturally generated buzz and publicity. This was the main reason the reporters were so eager.

Sitting in the front row, Tang Qingshan kept glancing at his watch. He was growing anxious, afraid that Chen Yansen had forgotten about the donation ceremony.

Just as he was growing restless and about to call Chen Yansen, a teacher jogged over from the entrance and whispered, “President, Chen Tongxue is here. His car just passed Xue Lin Road. He’s just around the corner.”

His eagerness wasn’t just about the three hundred million.

Beyond the cash donation, Chen Yansen’s greatest contribution to Xuyuan was solving the employment problem for a large number of graduates. He also invited senior engineers from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Tiangong Technology to occasionally give public lectures, broadening the students’ horizons and expanding their knowledge.

Furthermore, Senlian Capital’s influence in the upper echelons was growing. As far as he knew, the list of entrepreneurs for the Yanjing Two Sessions next March had already been drafted, and Chen Yansen’s name was prominently on it.

Meanwhile, the overseas media were all reporting that Chen Yansen was extremely likely to top the 2013 Forbes list of the world’s billionaires—in the number one spot!

A smile spread across Tang Qingshan’s face as he strode briskly toward the exit.

‘Investing in Chen Yansen was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life!’

‘Even if Chen Yansen hadn’t donated a cent, the title of “alma mater of the world’s richest man” alone would be enough to bring Xuyuan international fame.’

Just as Tang Qingshan reached the entrance, he ran into Chen Yansen, who was walking toward him followed by a security guard.

“Chen Tongxue, welcome!” Tang Qingshan quickened his pace, seized Chen Yansen’s hand, and said with a beaming smile.

“Teacher Tang, I’m just coming home. Saying ‘welcome’ makes me feel like an outsider,” Chen Yansen replied with a playful smile.

Nearby reporters immediately raised their cameras, shutters clicking furiously.

“You’re right, you’re right! ‘Coming home’ is the perfect way to put it! Mr. Xu is here as well, along with representatives from the Education Association and the Huian Chamber of Commerce.”

Tang Qingshan led Chen Yansen inside, whispering reminders as they walked.

Chen Yansen gave a slight nod and walked into the gymnasium alongside Tang Qingshan.

A conspicuous, bright red banner hung in the center of the hall: “A 300 Million Donation Highlights Alumnus Dedication, Propelling Xuyuan Toward a Brilliant Future!”

The deans of Xuyuan’s dozen or so schools sat in a row; not a single one was absent.

Two empty seats were situated to Xu Zhenhui’s left. It was clear that Tang Qingshan had arranged for himself and Chen Yansen to sit there.

Before Chen Yansen could even sit down, a mob of reporters surrounded him, thrusting microphones forward. “President Chen, this is your first major philanthropic act, and it’s for your alma mater. What was your motivation?”

‘For the tax write-off, obviously!’

Chen Yansen thought to himself without a moment’s hesitation.

But some things are better done than said. He smiled faintly and gave his public answer. “On one hand, I want the underclassmen to have a better learning environment. On the other hand, Xuyuan gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Installing air conditioners will improve everyone’s living conditions.”

In his previous life, Xuyuan hadn’t started its air conditioner installation project until the day before he graduated. At the time, he had cursed out Tang Qingshan and his entire family.

‘What was that supposed to mean?’

‘I suffer through four years of college without AC, and the second I walk out the door, you decide to install it?’

So this time, thanks to Chen Yansen’s push, students from the entering classes of 2010 through 2013 would get to enjoy air conditioning early.

Otherwise, come summertime, relying on a single small fan was completely useless.

Because the dorm rooms had loft beds with desks underneath, there was no space for more powerful desk fans, leaving students with only small, personal ones.

You’d wake up with the cooling mat sticky with sweat.

Looking back, all Chen Yansen could remember were the unbearable days and the thought that the president should drop dead.

“Do you plan to participate more frequently in philanthropic and charitable activities in the future?” the reporter asked.

“I will, but not too often. I’m more inclined to provide my employees with generous compensation and benefits. I’d rather make the people at Senlian Capital wealthy first than spend money recklessly,” Chen Yansen replied, giving an unconventional answer.

The implication was clear: if your own employees were struggling with low incomes while you were out donating money, wouldn’t that just be a joke?

The reporter who had asked the question, a staffer from *Prime Time News*, hadn’t expected such an answer and was stunned into silence.

Chen Yansen paid him no mind, navigating through the media scrum with Tang Qingshan to take a seat in the front row.

Seeing that the guest of honor had arrived, an emcee from the Music Academy walked gracefully onto the stage. With rich emotion, she began the opening remarks: “Today, we gather to witness a special kind of legacy being passed on! Xucheng Academy’s own outstanding alumnus, founder of Senlian Capital, Mr. Chen Yansen, will be donating 200 million in research funds, 100 million for grants and scholarships for students in need, and 3,000 Orange Air Conditioners to our academy.

“This is not just a donation; it is a passing of the torch, a belief that ‘those who are illuminated will in turn become a source of light.’ Let us give a thunderous round of applause to thank Chen Tongxue for his support of Xucheng Academy!”

Afterwards, the emcee introduced the other distinguished guests one by one.

A new media teacher from the School of Communication and Culture mounted an Orange C3S on a tripod and started a livestream.

Many incoming freshmen stumbled upon the livestream while scrolling through Douyin.

“Air conditioners?”

“Three hundred million!”

“Chen Yansen!”

These prospective students immediately began spamming the bullet-comment stream in their excitement.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Chen!”

“This is awesome! Not many university dorms in Huian have air conditioning. I heard only the dorms at Luzhou Science and Technology University have it. I can’t believe Xuyuan is getting them too!”

“I was thinking about dropping out to study for another year and retake the exams, but if they’re installing air conditioners, I guess I’ll stay!”

“More than the air conditioning and scholarships, I want to work at Senior Brother Chen’s company after I graduate! Full benefits, overtime pay, quarterly bonuses—they have it all. I hear even the break rooms are overflowing with more fruit, snacks, and cold drinks than you could ever finish.”

“Found the foodie. Case closed.”

“I wonder if Senior Brother Chen is looking for a girlfriend?”

Most of the viewers in the livestream were Xuyuan students, mainly sophomores and juniors.

The incoming freshmen, meanwhile, were busy asking about the campus environment, which restaurants near the school were best, what time the library opened, and when military training would be held.

A flock of upperclassmen, single for the past two or three years, would immediately follow any girl with a cute profile picture and eagerly play the part of the helpful “senior brother.”

Before long, news of Chen Yansen’s donation to his alma mater hit the trending lists.

Once word got out about the livestream, millions of netizens flooded the broadcast.

Chen Yansen stood on stage, presenting an oversized symbolic check to Tang Qingshan, who accepted it with great solemnity.

The amount read: ‘300,000,000’ in total!

A full eight zeros, enough to make one’s head spin.

“Senior Brother Chen isn’t even long out of school and he’s already donating money and air conditioners. His money-making skills are on another level!”

“A mere three hundred million? Given Chen Yansen’s net worth, even three billion wouldn’t be out of the question.”

“*Hiss*… Big talk from the commenter above! Why don’t you Venmo me fifty bucks to show us how rich you are?”

For the incoming freshmen, the scholarships, student aid, and air conditioners hit all the right notes.

‘Senior Brother Chen really gets it; he’s clearly been through college and knows the struggles students face.’

Following that, Chen Yansen and Tang Qingshan took turns giving speeches. After a group photo with Xu Zhenhui and the other dignitaries, he left Xuyuan with a commemorative certificate in hand.

News of Chen Yansen giving back to his alma mater instantly exploded online, dominating the headlines of every major news portal.

Unlike most entrepreneurs, Chen Yansen had gotten his start young and made his fortune fast. His fan base, both at home and abroad, rivaled that of any A-list celebrity.

Netizens often said that Chen Ou of Jumei Youpin was the entrepreneur who most closely emulated him, but when it came to popularity, the gap between Chen Ou and Chen Yansen was about a dozen Zhou Hongyis wide.

「Meanwhile.」

Back in his office, Chen Yansen brewed a cup of tea, then opened his laptop to go through his work emails, replying to what needed a response and approving what needed his sign-off.

It was all work he could handle in just over ten minutes.

Around three in the afternoon, Zhou Hongyi sent over the technical specifications for the 360 F1 Mini.

Compared to the 360 F1, its screen, memory, and camera were all downgraded to some extent. The processor was also swapped from a MediaTek to an NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip.

The price was only 599 yuan, putting it on par with the Qingcheng D2 SE.

Not counting the manufacturing costs, Chen Yansen would earn 47.4 yuan from the hardware margin alone on every 360 F1 Mini sold.

Furthermore, the 360 F1 Mini would only be available with the Aurora Future OS.

Since it would both make money and increase the market share of the Aurora Future System, Chen Yansen naturally had no objections.

He knew Zhou Hongyi intended to use the 360 F1 Mini to compete with the Redmi 1 for market share, but he wasn’t concerned. After all, the more fiercely Zhou Hongyi and Lei Yijun fought, the more money Orange Technology stood to make.

The domestic smartphone market was massive. And while the Qingcheng series was aesthetically pleasing and offered great value for the price, there would always be consumers who didn’t care for it.

Rather than let other brands capture that market segment, he preferred to hand it over to 360 and Xiaomi.

Chen Yansen clicked open the attachment and gave it a casual glance. The industrial design was nearly identical to the 360 F1’s; it was clear very little thought had been put into it. The whole thing looked lazy.

But it had one standout advantage: it only cost 599 yuan!

Including the Meitu 1S, that meant two phone models equipped with NVIDIA’s clearance-priced chips were expected to launch before October.

One sold for 599 yuan, the other for 2,199 yuan.

It had to be said that in 2013, smartphone consumers could be obsessed with value for money one moment and completely indifferent to it the next.

The 360 F1 Mini was destined to be a success, and the Meitu 1S was also a highly profitable model.

As the manufacturer, Chen Yansen knew perfectly well that the net profit on a single Meitu 1S was at least 800 yuan.

Therefore, even though Meitu Mobile Phone’s sales volume couldn’t match 360’s, the gross profit from a single Meitu phone was equivalent to that of more than ten 360 phones.

「At the same time.」

Due to the soaring sales of the Orange E1 fan—which sold 7.3 million units in three months, generating 1.24 billion yuan in revenue—the Orange Electronics factory in Hai Zhou had tripled its workforce and production lines through a capacity expansion, yet it still couldn’t keep up with demand.

As a result, 70% of the orders were outsourced to Konka and Rongshida.

But they couldn’t rely on contract manufacturers forever. So, at Chen Yansen’s direction and after discussions with the local Central Bureau, the Orange Electronics factory purchased a large, adjacent industrial park to further expand its production capacity.

With just three models, Orange fans leaped into the industry’s top tier. Their sales volume was second only to Midea, Gree, and Airmate, successfully surpassing established appliance brands like Vanguard, Wahson, Camel, and Tiesanjiao.

That evening, the Orange E1 fan was featured in Pinbei’s “Back-to-School New Arrivals” event. Boosted by the platform’s traffic, the single-day sales for the Orange E1 (AC Motor), Orange E1 (DC Inverter), and Orange E1 (Smart Voice) models once again broke 100,000 units!