Luo from Hammer Tech sat with the Qinglong 820 datasheet open, pupils catching line after line of specs that made his breath slow. The market had changed too quickly. If they had taken Qinglong 810 for the first Hammer phone, maybe that stumble could have been avoided. He closed the booklet and looked across at Heifeng.
"President Lu, how are you planning to price this processor?"
Heifeng didn't answer with a number. "I said the earliest supply is around October. Would you still use it?"
Huaxing Semiconductor had to feed its own products first. Only after in-house demand could they supply others. October hung between them. It was only mid-July. That left maybe three months before Hammer could even take delivery, then less than two months to build a phone if they wanted to hit year-end. Luo stared down at the tabletop and did the math again. If Hammer wanted any advantage this year, they had to release within the year. That meant swallowing a late supply date.
The room went quiet. Heifeng waited without pushing.
After a short internal fight, Luo exhaled. "October is fine. But can the price be a little cheaper?"
Heifeng thought for a moment. "The price? ¥1,000 per Qinglong 820. If you want it, we can start supplying around mid-October." The 10 nm process wasn't cheap, not at this stage, and a four-figure yuan price was reasonable. Luo's face tightened. He had done his homework: Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 900 on 10 nm listed at $170, which is over ¥1,000, and for now, Qualcomm was only shipping it to Xiaomi and Samsung. He had also heard a rumor that Xiaomi only paid about 70% of the list price, though he couldn't confirm it. By that yardstick, ¥1,000 for Qinglong 820 was neither outrageous nor a steal.
He still wanted a deal. "President Lu, ¥700 each. How about making a friend?"
That first cut wiped three hundred off the top, and Heifeng's expression cooled. Even at ¥700, Huaxing would net roughly two hundred after R&D and materials, but it wasn't a price he was willing to accept. "¥900 each."
"¥750, let's be friends."
"Teacher Luo, ¥850 a piece. That's already the lowest. Ask around and see if anyone will go cheaper."
¥800 each. Becoming friends with me, Luo, is a happy thing!"
The "friend" line kept coming, and Heifeng realized Luo could bargain as hard as Lei Jun. He stared a beat longer, then nodded. "Alright. ¥800." They had their number. Luo would still need to meet Zhang Yu at Huaxing Semiconductor to sign the paperwork, but the core terms were set.
With price settled, Luo probed for more: fast-charging and cable tech. He circled back to that "friend" refrain, trying to pull technical support at the best rate he could get. In the end, Heifeng gave ground where it made strategic sense. Huaxing would license:
9 V 3 A, 27 W fast-charging patents, and USB-C charging cable-related patents.
For an annual fee of ¥20,000,000 (about $2.8 million). It wasn't a freebie; it was a business deal they could both live with. For Luo, these would become real selling points for Hammer's second-generation phone. For Huaxing, it was defensible monetization that didn't undercut the chip price they had just agreed on.
They walked together to the front gate of Huaxing Tech. The summer heat had dipped slightly, and the city noise rolled past the security booth.
"Teacher Luo, come by often," Heifeng said.
"President Lu, I, Luo, have made you a friend today." Luo's grin was broad, the kind you make after wresting each thousand-yuan block into place.
They shook hands and separated. Less than an hour later, Heifeng's phone buzzed. Uncle Ye Guohua's voice came through brisk and official: the higher-ups were preparing to establish an automobile association to rein in the car industry, and CCTV wanted to line up an exclusive interview to shape a positive public image. It would be suitable for the company, his uncle said, but it meant stepping out front.
"Come to Yanjing tomorrow. CCTV already reached out. Do you want to do it?"
Heifeng looked at his schedule and the open tasks stacked on his desk. "Uncle, I'm swamped right now. Do I have to go?"