Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 43: Finalizing the Second Generation

Over the next few days, Wang Hao, Zhang Xin, and Zhang Nan shuttled back and forth between the drone manufacturing plant and their homes. For several days in a row, Wang Hao worked on refining the Tianbing II drone. Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan were no longer assembling the drones themselves; instead, they were training the factory’s newly hired workers to do so. Assembling the drones wasn’t actually complicated—the parts were readily available—but manual assembly was very costly. However, they had no other choice, as they didn’t currently have the spare funds to purchase machinery for assembly. They had no choice but to adopt the fastest—and most expensive—assembly method: manual assembly. These workers were all farmers from nearby villages. The most critical part of building a drone is programming the central control system; the rest is simply a matter of putting the pieces together and doesn’t require much technical expertise, so these workers are more than capable of handling the assembly. “Brother Bing, I heard the solar-powered drone is all set?” Wang Hao was sitting in a corner of the factory, writing some code, when he suddenly heard Fang Bing’s voice. “How’s the livestream going?” Wang Hao looked at Fang Bing, who looked thoroughly worn out from his journey, and knew he’d just returned. “Hehe, what else could it be? It’s definitely going off! I’m destined to be the King of the Wilderness,” Fang Bing replied excitedly upon hearing the question about the livestream. “Hao Ge, the platform has already approached me about signing a contract. Once I sign, my livestream will get featured, and it’s sure to get even more popular.” Wang Hao nodded slightly upon hearing this. Fang Bing had already told him about how the streaming platform worked—only after signing a formal contract would he receive recommended slots. And once signed, it meant Fang Bing could no longer stream on other platforms unless he paid a penalty fee. “Hao Ge, that signal booster you gave me works amazingly well. Now, even when I’m deep in the mountains, I still get full bars,” Fang Bing Taotaoed. “It’s still a bit too big, but for now, there’s no way to make it smaller,” Wang Hao said, still a bit disappointed by the signal booster’s size. However, he couldn’t do anything about it—reducing its size would require an enormous amount of effort. He would need to conduct in-depth research into the signal booster’s principles before figuring out how to reduce the size of the transmitter. “By the way, I’ve made plans with Lantian to head to Yanjing a month early. If you want to come along, we can set a specific time then,” Wang Hao said, as if something had just occurred to him. “I’ll definitely go with you then,” Fang Bing replied without a moment’s hesitation. “Alright, then we’ll get in touch when the time comes,” Wang Hao said with a nod. After the Tianbing Type II drone was fully finalized, Wang Hao stopped going to the factory. Sometimes he wrote code at home, and when he was completely stuck, he’d go over to Uncle Qian’s place to read books and, while he was at it, tutor Uncle Qian’s son, who had just graduated from ninth grade. Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan had also left. Over the past few days, the two had witnessed all aspects of Wang Hao’s life—from his achievements to other matters—which had given them a new perspective on life, helped them set some goals for their own futures, and instilled a fresh attitude toward life. After the drone generated its first profits, Wang Hao suggested setting aside some money for dividends, as he had seen that Fang Bing’s parents had invested nearly everything they had into this factory. Wang Hao had noticed how Fang Bing’s parents had been living frugally these past few days. He suspected that, in order to invest in this factory, the entire Fang family had had to tighten their belts. Although Fang Bing’s livestream earnings were substantial, the money didn’t come in immediately. So, upon realizing this situation, he immediately proposed setting aside some money for dividends. Fang Bing’s parents naturally couldn’t refuse the proposal from Wang Hao, the majority shareholder—after all, they had indeed mortgaged their home and borrowed every possible penny to invest in the factory. The two million had been put to full use. From the start, they’d had complete confidence in the drone Wang Hao had developed; even an ordinary person could see the value it represented—it was a surefire deal with no risk of loss. Fang Bing’s parents had originally been worried about sales. Although Fang Bing had mentioned using live streams for advertising, this was, after all, an uncertain proposition—especially since Fang Bing’s father, having learned just how treacherous the live-streaming world could be, didn’t hold out much hope for it. They had been planning how to advertise, but as Fang Bing’s live streams gained popularity, this most pressing problem was resolved. Afterward, Wang Hao returned to his solitary lifestyle. With more free time on his hands, he spent his days either reading in bookstores or writing code in his room, as the days slipped by. “I guess it’s time to give this apartment back!!” Wang Hao looked at the place he’d lived in for four years and felt an urge to buy it, but upon second thought, he decided against it—he was about to head to Yanjing anyway. After contacting the landlord, he got his security deposit back. He left all the furniture behind; he didn’t take much with him—just some clothes, a picture frame, a graphics workstation, and a server. He had already sold his old computer secondhand long ago. After packing everything into a large suitcase, he dragged the suitcase and carried the graphics workstation on his back as he headed to the airport. He wasn’t short on money now; as soon as he signed the contract with Blackberry, they had transferred three million to his account without hesitation. He had originally planned to transfer this money to Mr. Zhang—after all, he was deeply grateful for all the care he’d received over the years, and now that his circumstances had improved, he naturally wanted to repay the favor—but Mr. Zhang refused to accept it under any circumstances. Meanwhile, a campaign for educational reform in Gancheng’s impoverished mountainous areas had gained momentum. He’d originally planned to do his best before leaving for Yanjing to help build a school for the villages near Lanjia Village, but with the new initiative, that was no longer necessary. In the end, out of sheer helplessness, the three million—which he had thought was all taken care of—remained in his account, not a single fen missing. This left Wang Hao with a wry smile. After some thought, he decided not to spend a single fen of it and planned to take it to Yanjing to see what would happen there. “Teacher.” When Wang Hao arrived at the airport departure lounge, he heard Lan Wei’s voice. He shot her a glare and said with a hint of exasperation, “Can you please stop calling me ‘Teacher’? Do you really have to make me the center of everyone’s attention before you’ll be satisfied?” Wang Hao glanced at the people nearby who had immediately turned their attention to them because of Lan Wei’s exclamation of “Teacher,” and muttered in a resigned tone. “Then I’ll call you Hao Ge,” Lan Wei said after a moment’s thought, her voice equally hushed. “Hao Ge, Brother Wei, you guys sure got here early.” Just after Wang Hao had met up with Lan Wei, he heard Fang Bing’s voice. Because of his frequent live streams over the past month and his extended stay in the mountains, his demeanor had changed somewhat. His muscles, sculpted by high-intensity training, were now prominently defined, and he had taken on a more rugged, tough-guy look.