Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 357 Everything is Ready, A Good Milk

"Shocking! This kind of thing actually happened at a prestigious university like Harbin Institute of Technology! Everyone at Harbin Institute of Technology is shocked, and the video has been leaked!"

Early in the morning, Principal Wang Chunguo was having breakfast at home when he saw the headline on Xinglang News and swallowed a mouthful of soy milk back into his bowl.

"Cough cough!"

I quickly wiped my mouth, wondering if some emergency had occurred at school again? What a mess this is, starting so early in the morning!
After clicking on it and watching for a while, all I saw was footage from Xiao Zhai's research institute. And now, this video has been leaked!
Principal Wang turned up the video volume again.

I feel very helpless.
It seems to be the one Xiao Zhai mentioned; they'll be pushing news for a while, but he doesn't know the specifics.

Sigh, the media industry is truly... a long story.

It's hard to imagine how universities with strong programs in media and journalism teach all day long.

"Decoded! Rumor has it that if your IQ is below 200, you'll get lost here."

Meanwhile, inside the research institute, Cheng Mo looked at the online news and thought to himself, "Holy crap."
The people from Xinglang came to shoot footage that day, it seemed pretty ordinary, right? How come the content turned out to be so idiotic?
How could anyone be stupid enough to click on this?
However, the research institute with its varied heights and three-dimensional design does look quite beautiful.

This programming genius, who no longer cared about summer vacation and had stepped directly from campus into the workplace to become the technical director of "Hongtu OS," clapped his hands and addressed the dozens of people in the conference room:
"Everyone, the hardware optimization work for the Meizu P9 has been completed. I will be going to Zhuhai to assist with mass production there and will not be back until before the launch event."

"The work schedule has been published in the OA system. Everyone is clear about their tasks. We can communicate online at any time if there are any problems. Everyone, we must make this product that is destined to shock the world!"

Inside the meeting room, the programmers nodded in agreement, full of enthusiasm.

Some of them were recruited by the research institute itself, while others were sent by various mobile phone manufacturers.

None of them were younger than Cheng Mo.

There wasn't a single person who disagreed with him.

Here, technology speaks, competence speaks, and intelligence speaks.

Cheng Mo's voice had already convinced everyone.

"Unveiling the secrets of Harbin Institute of Technology's mysterious research institute that cultivates geniuses: just how mysterious is it?"

At Shenzhou Zundi, Zhai Da checked his email. Xinglang was providing daily updates on the marketing progress, including numerous screenshots and statistical data.

The plan is currently in its first phase, and not many specific details have been disclosed yet, but the scale of the publicity campaign is already evident.

On the homepage of Xinglang News, there are at least seven or eight news links related to the "research institute" on a regular basis, which helps it to appear strongly in the eyes of the public across the country.

Beneath the cheesy title lies a wellspring of energy; in just a few days, the reputation of Zhai Da's "Mechanical Core Research Institute" will explode.

Zhai Da himself is currently making final preparations for the press conference.

First, the location was chosen. After much consideration, the press conference was held in northern Beijing.

Although it was harsh, the feeling of holding a press conference in northern Beijing was completely different from that in Harbin.

Moreover, the level of media enthusiasm would be completely different. In Harbin, many media outlets would probably not hesitate to fly there.

The situation is different in northern Beijing. There are countless media outlets and online media in northern Beijing, so it's just a matter of going out on fieldwork.

A total of 80 media outlets from across the country will be invited, of which about 50 will be invited by invitation only, while the remaining 30 will be arranged by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and most of them will have some official background.

In addition, there are more than 100 bloggers in the technology and 3C fields mobilized by Xinglang, some of whom bring their own teams.

Each of the major mobile phone manufacturers in the country has a team of 10-20 people. The white-label and counterfeit phone manufacturers in Shenzhen have also reserved 200 seats. Wu Yue and Li Haili are making good progress. They have contacted many manufacturers and have also found an office space.

The domestic branches of overseas manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and LG will also come to visit.

Cheng Mo also invited dozens of developers from around the world through the technology forum, whose qualifications varied, but the main focus was on internationalization.

Then there are internet companies: Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Ctrip, JD.com, and a whole bunch of companies whose graves will be hard to find in later generations, but which are very prestigious now, each with 5-10 people involved.

Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) will be involved in the "joint research and development," with President Wang personally leading the team. HIT will also leverage its connections to invite thirteen top universities across the country, especially those clustered in northern Beijing.

Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beihang University, and USTC, wake up! Come and see what the "ceiling for college student entrepreneurship" really means.

Lastly, there were people invited by Zhai Da and the research institute itself, including all members of "π" (both Level 2 and Level 3), friends from Utopia, and their families.

The final count showed that the total number of people was probably 2000. Li Tiantian suggested filling the seats with staff, and then announced to the public that 3000 people had come.

Add to that the foreign developers, and it's "3000 people from 18 countries and regions," creating the feeling of a super event.

Actually, there's no need to create it; this feeling already exists.
It's based on the feeling from the budget.

This number of attendees was too large for most venues, so the Beijing International Convention Center, a facility built for the 08 Olympics and newly opened to the public this year, was chosen. The hotel selected was a nearby four-star or higher establishment, and they secured a negotiated rate of 1099 yuan per room through Xinglang Hotel, while they needed several hundred rooms.

That means the hotel alone will cost over 600,000 yuan.

In addition to venue rental, setup, and airfare for some people, the total cost of this press conference has reached around 300 million yuan.

300 in 09 was a lot.

Everything was going smoothly and successfully, which also meant that he needed a larger scale and more investment to handle these benefits, including support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, telecommunications and mobile operators, and even Harbin Institute of Technology.

Every drink and every bite has its own purpose; there's no such thing as taking in without giving out.

With so many big shots helping out, why is the press conference being held in the school's auditorium with over a hundred people?

Zhai Da inserted his USB key and logged in to check his bank account.

Seeing his original eight-figure savings account shrink to seven figures, he instantly wore the expression of an old man on the subway.

Lu Wei, who was studying attentively nearby, asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Zhai Da shook his head: "Let me experience the difficulties of starting a business."

Leaving aside the private-to-public and public-to-private relationships, the research institute is solely owned by him, with investment funds flowing in rapidly. At its peak, he had 2000 million yuan in cash on hand, but after paying several advance payments and deposits for the press conference, he only has a little over 800 million yuan left.

This is under the premise that he receives millions in royalties every month.

I'd rather have more ads, a smaller "X" in the upper right corner, and an invisible offset of a few millimeters so that people can't click them. Is that too much to ask?
Well, actually, after the press conference, Hongtu OS will only be profitable once the Meizu P9 and other models start appearing on the market.

We still have to wait a while.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, Zhai Da's phone rang.

I glanced at the contact information; it was Wu Yue.

"What are you doing?"

"I miss my lost youth."

Thousands of miles away, in a newly rented office space in Shenzhen, Wu Yue brewed Kung Fu tea and drank it alone.

I've been in Shenzhen for over ten days now, and I drink tea everywhere I go. My tea-brewing skills have improved dramatically.

He was still wearing a string of beads on his hand.
Wu Yue glanced at Li Haili, who was sitting at her desk making a phone call not far away, her expression becoming increasingly calm and experienced, and said with a smile, "Let's get down to business, I'm out of money."

In Harbin, Zhai Da sighed, "I'll transfer you 20 yuan, consider it an advance. Remember to keep the receipt safe."

Regardless of the circumstances, Wu Yue was working for him personally; the research institute didn't own a single share of it, and they had probably already advanced a considerable amount of money.

We'll reconcile the accounts when we get back, and there's still that basic level of trust between us.

Wu Yue calmly replied, "No rush, I reckon you don't have much money left, do you?"

Zhai Da could hardly admit: "Although the initial investment was a bit beyond expectations, I can still handle it; we have a solid foundation!"

Wu Yue downed the teacup, which was about the size of a tangerine, in one gulp: "What I meant was, I'm broke, and you're probably broke too, but! We're both broke together."

Zhai Da hesitated for a moment: "You mean..."

"Yueda Catering should do its accounting in the middle of the year."

This call was clearly made by Wu Yue because he had sensed something.

The timing was perfect, even brilliant.

Do you know how much money Vietta has in its accounts right now?

Zhai Da shook his head slightly. He had indeed not paid attention to it for a long time. After the research institute was established, his energy was focused on it.

Then Wu Yue announced a wonderful number.

"112 million, in cash."

Zhai Da grinned.

He really liked this milk.

(End of this chapter)