Chapter 18
Xia Ke's Douyin account used to be named "Keke Jiayou Chong" (Keke, keep going!), but after registering her company, she changed the account name to "Hongqi Piao Co., Ltd." (Red Flag Flying Co., Ltd.), which has a very old-fashioned feel.
This account currently has over 1.2 million followers, but the only video posted is an introduction to using the virtual ring. It seems the account owner is not very tech-savvy, as the store only posted one video at its peak popularity.
At noon, viewers who followed this account noticed that the long-dormant account had been updated.
"Grandma, the blogger you follow has posted a video!"
"Missing Persons Return Series"
Netizens made witty remarks while opening the newly released video.
The video opens with a perspective from the sky, and as the familiar background music from fantasy dramas begins to play, the video footage starts to change.
The camera weaves through the mountains, alongside steep cliffs, skimming over verdant mudflats, then suddenly accelerates and soars into the sky. The surrounding scenery shrinks to the size of ants in an instant, with clouds and mist swirling around, creating a dreamlike, illusionary world.
"It has that feeling of flying on a sword."
Wow, the video is so cool!
"Before I opened the video, I thought Hongqi Piao had released a new product (doge emoji)."
"I think so too..."
The video is still playing.
The camera pans through the sea of clouds when suddenly a woman's voice is heard.
"Traitor! Where do you think you're going?"
The video's background music suddenly intensified, and the camera angle shifted. The audience finally saw the person who had taken them on their journey through the world at the beginning. The man was dressed in a white Hanfu, his robes fluttering gracefully, and his dark hair was tied with a matching headband. The contrast between the dark and white colors created a striking and captivating beauty.
Looking down at his feet, it wasn't the flying sword the audience had expected, but a rather ugly blanket. Although the blanket was ugly, it was very agile. The man glanced back and a look of anxiety flashed across his face. He then maneuvered the blanket into a beautiful drift turn and accelerated away.
The camera shifts again, this time to a wide shot.
The audience finally saw the full picture of the person chasing the man.
She was a beautiful young woman, dressed in a fiery red gown, standing on an ugly blanket. As she flew, her wide skirt and shawl billowed, making her look like a fairy from a painting.
A long chase ensued. The man weaved through the green leaves, startling the mother bird in her nest, who cried out in displeasure before plunging into the dense primeval forest. The light suddenly dimmed, and thick tree trunks flashed past him. He accelerated again, breaking free from the primeval forest, leaving behind scattered leaves as he rushed towards a mountain waterfall. His figure disappeared into the mist, and he finally glided into another mountain forest until he vanished from sight.
After the man disappeared, the background music in the video also stopped.
All that could be heard in the video was the woman's soft breathing, followed by an angry and resentful voice, "Damn it, we lost them again!"
"If I could improve the flying carpet under my feet, that guy would never escape again."
A woman in a red dress stood atop a floating carpet, her voice tinged with doubt, "But how can we optimize it?"
The video pans, revealing a beautiful woman's face with a slight frown, as if she is filled with confusion.
"Can you help me?"
The video ends here.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Oh, sister, I can!"
"So this ugly blanket is a new product from Hongqi Piao?"
"Can a blanket carry people into the sky?"
"Mom, I'm so amazing! I actually got to see the birth of the flying carpet in my lifetime."
"Don't get too excited yet. The flying carpet might not be a new product from Hongqi Piao."
"The Flying Carpet is a brand new product launched by Hongqi Piao! We've posted an announcement on the store's homepage, soliciting design suggestions from our users. Whoever's suggestion is adopted will receive a free new product!"
"Here's a really funny joke: the commercials are better made than TV dramas and historical dramas."
Am I the only one who thinks the scenery in the video is beautiful?
As expected, the announcement attracted countless viewers to the store.
"Do we even need to consider what kind of design to use? Of course, it's a flying sword! Who hasn't dreamed of flying on a sword when they were a kid?"
"No, I'm afraid of heights. If I look down from the flying sword, I'll see myself standing high in the sky. It's too scary. I think making it into a flying car would be great. It would make me feel safer, and it would be a real-life replica of the flying cars from science fiction novels. That would be super cool!"
"All your opinions are a disaster. If you ask me, it would be great to just make it into a flying bed. You wouldn't even need to get out of bed to go out. You could just lie in bed and go. It would be a blessing for lazy people."
"So, making it into a flying wheelchair would be great, especially when traveling. If we had one, we wouldn't have to walk until our feet hurt."
"A flying castle, right? You can go anywhere without even leaving your house."
Netizens are enthusiastic and have all sorts of unique ideas.
Suggestions to make it into a bed or a car are still within the normal range, but to make it into the shape of wings, a witch's broom, a wine gourd, a Transformer, or a somersault cloud is truly outrageous.
Soon, the Red Flag Flying platform received tens of thousands of suggestions, which were incredibly imaginative. Some were serious, and some even included sketches.
Xia Ke is currently leading all the employees of Hongqi Piao to read the comments and see if they can filter out feasible solutions.
She knew that in addition to being of high quality, a product should ideally appeal to consumers and resonate with their hearts.
Xia An and Xu Chengyu, wrapped in blankets, leaned to one side with fever-reducing patches on their heads. They sneezed as they scrolled through comments, occasionally bursting into laughter at the comments from netizens.
The video looks cool, but it was actually not easy to shoot. Shooting from high altitudes is a huge challenge for both the actors and the cameramen.
Moreover, neither the photographer nor Xia An, who temporarily played the female lead, was very familiar with operating the flying carpet, which added to the difficulty. Although Xu Chengyu was more familiar with operating the flying carpet, he had never participated in video shooting before. Usually, many takes were needed to get one usable shot, so almost all the shots of him were from the back or side.
Fortunately, they succeeded. The final product was quite good, and the video's performance was unexpectedly good.
However, the cost was that everyone involved in the filming caught a cold, especially Xia An and Xu Chengyu, who were dressed in flowing, cool clothing, and even developed a fever after the filming was completed due to the wind.
But the two couldn't stay idle; even with fevers, they still had to follow up with video feedback.
After summarizing all the comments, Xia Ke decided to test the waters with two styles first. If they sold well, she could consider other styles later.
"Mr. Xia, our products are, after all, flying in the sky, so we may need to contact the authorities and obtain the relevant qualifications."
Xia Ke knew this principle. She had mentioned this issue briefly during her last phone call with Chen Ying. Chen Ying didn't give her a definite answer at the time, but her attitude was positive and optimistic. It seemed that obtaining the relevant qualifications should not be difficult.
I saw Chen Ying again in Beijing.
Xia Ke attended the Traffic Management Bureau's air road planning conference at the invitation of Chen Ying.
"This meeting?"
"It was specially opened for your flying carpet project." Chen Ying's cheerful voice fell behind him.
"I'm very happy to hear about the launch of Hongqi Piao's new product. I've seen your company's video, and it's full of ideas and creativity. Of course, your company's new product, the flying carpet, is also excellent. It will break the traditional travel mode and increase the utilization rate of the country's high-altitude airspace. Xia, you are a promising young man!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Minister Chen. You're too kind. It's all thanks to the efforts of our colleagues."
Chen Ying did not agree with Xia Ke's statement. She knew better than anyone how the flying carpet was developed, and without the information Xia Ke could provide, it was all in vain.
"The conference is about to start, let's go in first."
As a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chen Ying's attendance at the Traffic Management Bureau meeting was unrelated to her work; she was only there because of Xia Ke.
As the first person to contact Xia Ke and with whom she maintained a harmonious relationship, the organization believed that arbitrarily changing contact persons was not a good decision, so she would be responsible for handling all future contact with Xia Ke.
The conference on aerial road planning did not actually discuss how to plan roads; the entire conference focused on the significance and impact of aerial road planning.
Xia Ke was getting drowsy listening to it.
It's obvious that the specific details of the national road planning are confidential and certainly wouldn't be openly discussed at a meeting.
I'm just so sleepy.
Why does this person on stage have an accent? Hmm, she can't quite understand it.
After finally getting through the meeting, Xia Ke was so sleepy that she yawned and cried so much that she soaked three tissues with tears.
Didn't you sleep well last night?
Minister Chen smiled as he watched the girl next to him yawn repeatedly.
Xia Ke had just started to yawn when she heard Minister Chen's words and silently suppressed the urge to yawn further. "Yes, I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep, thinking about attending such an important meeting today."
Regardless of the circumstances, this was a high-level meeting held in Beijing. Constantly yawning was indeed disrespectful to the meeting and made her seem uncultured.
"Then go back and get some rest early. You young people love to stay up late, but staying up late is bad for your health, so please be careful."
Xia Ke nodded quickly.
"I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Do you have time afterward?"
Yes, yes.
The two arrived at a small meeting room, where Minister Chen first asked a question.
"I heard your flying carpet project is ready to launch? Have you encountered any difficulties?"
There were difficulties, but they have been overcome. The hardship is over, and the sweetness will follow.
Xia Ke shook her head honestly.
Chen Ying's smile froze for a moment. She didn't know if this girl was genuinely naive or just pretending, so she decided to cut to the chase and get straight to the point.
"The emergence of the flying carpet has epoch-making significance for the transportation of the entire Flower Kingdom. Its uses are even wider than those of the space ring."
Xia Ke nodded.
Yes, the space ring is convenient, but it is not as flexible as the flying carpet. The location for establishing a space ring is complicated, requiring either a courier or the person to go to the other end of the location in person. It cannot be traversed to a third location except for the two ends of the location where it is established, unless the location of the space ring is changed again.
A spatial ring can only achieve spatial crossing between two locations. To achieve spatial crossing between multiple locations, multiple spatial rings are required.
However, the flying carpet is different. It is not affected by another location. It can go wherever it wants, and it is fast and has no road restrictions.
When Chen Ying invited her to Beijing, she had already guessed that it was for the flying carpet. The country would never trust her family to control such a thing.
She understands and is willing to cooperate with the country, but only if the conditions offered are sincere enough.
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