Huang Xiuzhang didn’t expect Zhang Jingdong to be so direct, instinctively feeling a tension in his heart.

But he also knew that since Zhang Jingdong first mentioned Steve Jobs and then asked this question, it indicated that he already knew the answer to it.

So he hesitated slightly, then truthfully said, "Boss Zhang, in front of you, I’m not going to hide anything. I think the MP3 industry will completely decline in at most two years."

Zhang Jingdong nodded: "Mr. Huang, you are indeed quite frank. What industry do you plan to enter next?"

"...Mobile phones."

"When do you plan to start?"

"In two years."

After saying this, Huang Xiuzhang glanced at Ye Jinyan, then continued, "This is also why I didn’t agree when Mr. Ye talked to me about cooperating to make mobile phones earlier. I think the timing is not mature enough to make a new generation of mobile phones now."

Zhang Jingdong then leisurely took another sip of tea.

After putting down the teacup, he said, "Are you planning to wait until Steve Jobs develops a phone and then imitate his phone like you previously imitated his iPod?"

Though Huang Xiuzhang had grown somewhat used to Boss Zhang’s sharp language, he couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed upon hearing this.

"Although this behavior is somewhat uncommendable, to be honest... I am indeed planning to do so."

Zhang Jingdong continued, "What do you think was the main reason you were able to make the MP3 number one in the domestic market in such a short time?"

Huang Xiuzhang thought seriously for a moment and then replied, "Firstly, I think our product was very good. We did our best in sound quality, functionality, product appearance, and other aspects."

"Then our sales system was also very good. Each of our products could cover major medium and large cities across the country in the shortest possible time, reaching third- and fourth-tier cities within three months at most."

"In addition, we chose the right timing for entry. At that time, the demand for MP3s in the domestic market was soaring, yet there wasn’t any standout brand, so when our Meizu MP3 appeared, it quickly won consumer favor."

Zhang Jingdong remained expressionless: "Is that all?"

Huang Xiuzhang was slightly puzzled, then shook his head: "...That’s all I can think of for now, Boss Zhang, do you have any insights?"

He asked this because he felt that Zhang Jingdong didn’t completely agree with what he had just said.

Zhang Jingdong didn’t waste words, directly saying, "What you’ve said is indeed reasonable, but in my view, the main reason your Meizu MP3 succeeded initially was because the price and profit of MP3s weren’t very high, so no big domestic companies competed with you."

"To put it more bluntly, the piece of meat was too small, and those big companies simply didn’t fancy it."

"I’m quite straightforward, Mr. Huang, I hope you don’t mind."

A flock of crows flew through Huang Xiuzhang’s mind.

However, he knew Zhang Jingdong had more to say, so he nodded, "Indeed."

Zhang Jingdong continued, "So when you do mobile phones two years later, do you think you can do it as smoothly? Will those big companies compete with you?"

"The price of an MP3 could be barely one or two hundred domestically, but a new type of mobile phone would be at least four or five thousand, that’s a big enough piece of meat for those big companies to come and fight over."

"Mr. Huang, what I’m trying to say is that making a phone can’t be done in one day or even in one year, and now the domestic mobile phone market has already been divided by those international big companies. Our only chance is with new mobile phones."

"We can only defeat the traditional giants with technology, so we must act early."

When Zhang Jingdong said this, he suddenly raised his volume.

And due to the high energy density and combativeness of these words, Huang Xiuzhang was instantly somewhat ignited!

Ye Jinyan and Guan Le had already been moved by Zhang Jingdong’s series of remarks just now, and seeing Huang Xiuzhang obviously swayed by Zhang Jingdong at this moment, they were instantly ignited as well.

Zhang Jingdong noticed Huang Xiuzhang’s unusual expression and immediately said, "Mr. Huang, since you work in electronics, you should know how crucial technological innovation is for products?"

Huang Xiuzhang was instantly struck again, because he had dropped out of high school back in the day due to excessive obsession with electronic products, neglecting his studies.

Later, after doing various jobs such as dock worker company sales, he returned to the electronics industry, also owing to his inherent passion for electronics, so naturally, he had a strong interest in electronic technology.

Thus, he agreed wholeheartedly with a nod: "Of course."

Zhang Jingdong continued, "So considering the above, if we want to secure a position in the upcoming new mobile phone era, we must start from now. We need to be ahead of those big companies by at least one step; only then can we defeat their monetary counterattack with products."

Huang Xiuzhang quickly thought for a moment, then said, "But if we start now, from which aspect should we begin, since we don’t even have a model to imitate?"

Zhang Jingdong then switched angles: "Do you know why Steve Jobs wants to make a mobile phone?"

Huang Xiuzhang suddenly felt bewildered again.

Because although he already knew he wanted to make mobile phones, to be honest, his inclination toward making them was purely because he realized Steve Jobs wanted to make mobile phones, and he never understood why Jobs wanted to make phones.

Moreover, he found that in front of this Boss Zhang, who was much younger, he had no informational advantage at all; he seemed to be the younger apprentice.

He shook his head: "No idea."

Zhang Jingdong affirmed, "As far as I know, his initial intention was actually to make a better iPod, as now the technology allows MP3s to be embedded in phones, and since the demand for phones is greater than MP3s and profits are higher, it’s more cost-effective and profitable to make phones, which is why he thought of making phones."

"So although the new mobile phones we want to make are very advanced, their general direction is actually to continually add content to phones via new technology, like MP3s, QQ, Taobao Website, and also our Renren Network."

"In the future, if we can move all these software onto our new mobile phones, do you think we can defeat Nokia and Motorola?"

Huang Xiuzhang was directly stunned after hearing the last two sentences!