Chapter 499 That's it?: Still very dissatisfied.
Shanghai is truly Shanghai; it's incredibly fashionable.
Before they even left the airport, Wang Xiao and his group saw several girls wearing crop tops.
Honestly, the moment Wang Xiao saw them, she instantly felt that the turn of the century was just around the corner.
Because this is a typical millennial hot girl outfit, like Namie Amuro's style.
Her long, flaxen-brown hair reached her waist, with the top part parted to the side and braided into several small braids, interspersed with colorful threads or tiny beads.
The sunlight was so bright that it was hard to tell whether their shimmering wheat-colored skin was their natural skin tone or the result of dark foundation.
The plaid mini skirt paired with white platform boots makes the girls' legs look really long.
Wang Xiao stared at the woman for a long time, and Liu Ba had to become alert and remind her, "Ms. Chen will be angry."
Just kidding, she dared to show her waist and legs in March, Ms. Chen Yanqiu would definitely curse her to death.
The bodyguards didn't need to see it with their own eyes to immediately imagine Chairman Chen's eyebrows furrowing and his barrage of words.
"Oh no, are you going to die? Love is so hot it's freezing! If the cold gets inside, you'll be stuck with stomach aches and leg pains for the rest of your life!"
Everyone felt that the boss needed a Ms. Chen to keep him in check.
Wang Xiao flatly denied it: "No, I was just looking."
It has such a historical feel; just one glance and the atmosphere of the new millennium is palpable.
The people who came to pick up the boss were Zhang Junfei, the person in charge of Wuzhou in Shanghai, and Chen Wei, who was in charge of the drone project.
Seeing that the boss's gaze was still fixed on the hot girl, the short and chubby Chen Wei chuckled and sighed, "Wow, the thinking of young people these days is really amazing. Other people are afraid of getting tanned, because fair skin covers up three flaws, but these girls are afraid that they are not dark enough, that they are all dark."
Zhang Junfei laughed from the side: "You don't understand, do you? People don't care about being fair-skinned; getting a tan is considered fashionable."
"Oh dear, that depends on what kind of face it is." Chen Wei said dismissively, "The facial features are already close to the face, and if you get tanned, they'll be even harder to see."
This was the first time Lyuba had heard someone describe facial features in this way, and she exclaimed that the words were indeed profound and complex.
Zhang Junfei laughed heartily: "I think this is alright, it's better than that one."
He gestured with his chin to the side, indicating to the young man walking towards him from diagonally behind.
As they were talking, they had already left the airport terminal. Due to the lighting effects, the young man had the appearance of moving from darkness to light.
Honestly, Wang Xiao was caught off guard, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest.
I was so scared, so genuinely scared.
Do you know H.O.T., the early pioneers of the Korean Wave? They had that kind of colorful hair, a very visually striking style, and a bit of a ghostly vibe.
Zhang Junfei whispered, "It's one thing for girls to dress up however they want, but this group of grown men, each of them seems to use three pounds of face powder. I really don't understand."
Unfortunately, a bunch of young women in the company are infatuated with this kind of person; it's really tasteless.
Wang Xiaole spoke up: "Be prepared, some of them are going to become famous."
Zhang Junfei still looked down on it: "Then it's better to just tan your skin like before, at least you'll look healthy."
Wang Xiao shook his head with a smile: "You can't decide this. Popularity is a very mysterious thing."
She paused slightly after saying those words.
Is it really that mysterious? Maybe not.
Looking at the rise and fall of Japanese and Korean pop culture, their timelines almost perfectly mirror the semiconductor industries of those two countries.
Zhang Junfei had been keeping a close eye on his boss. Noticing that the boss seemed a bit distracted, he cautiously asked, "Boss, is there something you need?"
Wang Xiao shared her opinion, jokingly teasing him, "Come on, Manager Zhang, I heard you're attending night school. So tell me, what conclusions have you drawn from this phenomenon?"
Zhang Junfei felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't really want to improve, especially academically.
But that's just the atmosphere in high-tech parks. A bunch of PhDs and Masters come and go, along with many people who have studied abroad, and even a bunch of foreigners.
They were all drinking coffee, and their eagerness to study was truly frightening.
With his brother Tang also starting to study at night school, he felt that it wouldn't be right for him not to take the TOEFL or IELTS exams or get another diploma.
However, this phenomenon has little to do with the words he memorized.
Wang Xiao laughed out loud and reminded him with great interest: "The semiconductor industry is a typical example of technology and economy, belonging to hard power, while trend culture is a typical example of soft power."
Xiao Gao suddenly realized: "This means doing both things well, and both hands must be strong."
Reminded of this, Zhang Junfei quickly came up with a brilliant idea and blurted out: "Soft power and hard power are like two legs of a country. Only by moving forward in tandem can a country walk steadily and loudly on the global stage."
The people on the bus applauded in unison. "Very good, very good! Our Manager Zhang can now go take his political science exam."
Zhang Junfei, teased, repeatedly clasped his hands in apology and said, "I stole this from President Xiang's speech."
Xiang Dong has always been in charge of the cultural and entertainment industry, with a focus on the model economy, which is precisely to emphasize cultural soft power.
Wang Xiao smiled and asked curiously, "How's his recruitment going lately?"
"We've recruited another batch of new people," Zhang Junfei sighed. "One wave after another."
We can't afford not to hire people; models' careers are all about youth, and we have to start new models every few years.
Besides, the boss is making a big splash with his online shopping business, and every product needs to be photographed before it goes live. If he doesn't hire more models, customers will get tired of seeing the same faces over and over again.
Wang Xiao immediately became interested: "I'll go take a look when I have time."
Who doesn't love to look at handsome men and beautiful women? Looking at them more often will keep your energy and blood flowing.
Everyone chatted and laughed along the way, and Chen Wei didn't even have time to introduce the drone project he was in charge of.
However, he didn't plan to just start introducing himself; instead, he planned to give his boss a spectacular performance.
The car drove all the way to the international school in the high-tech park. Because there are many foreigners and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan working in the park, the management committee of the science and technology park took the lead in coordinating and set up this international school to meet the enrollment needs of the children of people working here.
At the same time, this school became a typical example of a high-end elite school in Shanghai. The tuition, tens of thousands of yuan a year, was truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.
To be fair, those international schools do have a very international feel, which perfectly aligns with the current definition of holistic education.
In March, with its bright spring sunshine, the school held a flower festival and a charity sale.
The flowers were as numerous as clouds and rosy hues, and crowds of people thronged in front of them, creating a lively scene.
What Chen Wei wanted his boss to see for himself was their drones performing at the flower festival.
Wang Xiao immediately perked up. How should the performance be conducted? It was broad daylight, so fireworks were obviously out of the question. Could it be a combination with a laser show?
However, the effect was still a bit lacking, since the sun was shining brightly today and the laser couldn't show up.
Three drones took to the sky against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds, followed by trails of colorful smoke—it looked quite beautiful.
Many students who were busy with the charity sale and teachers who were spending money looked up, their eyes following the colorful smoke. Some people exclaimed in surprise and applauded.
Finally, the colorful smoke filled the sky, forming a heart shape. From both ends of the heart, two colorful "Fu" characters were hung out, with auspicious words written on them.
The playground was bustling with noise. Everyone clapped loudly, and some students whistled loudly as they ran towards the drone operator.
Chen Wei was infected by the students' youthful spirit, and his face flushed. He subconsciously turned to look at his boss, hoping to see his excited expression.
However, the boss's expression looked a little strange, and he even frowned slightly: "Is what you're doing is pulling colored smoke?"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Chen Wei's head; he almost jumped up and down in an attempt to defend his team.
Is pulling colored smoke a simple task? Not at all.
In the past, only proper airplanes and highly skilled pilots could operate them in broad daylight to generate revenue.
Unless it's a large-scale event or air show, ordinary people will never see colored smoke trails.
Now, their drones are bringing colored smoke into the campus, which is of extraordinary significance.
Wang Xiao waved his hand, not particularly interested in colored smoke: "Fireworks? I want a performance combining fireworks and drones."
It's 1999 now, and the new millennium is just around the corner. If she still can't appreciate the fireworks and drone show, she'll feel like she's wasted her life.
"Tonight." Chen Wei gritted his teeth, as if he were about to pull out all the stops. "There's a fireworks display tonight."
Mr. Wang nodded in satisfaction.
She didn't ask for much; she wasn't hoping for anything like a sky gate, just a simple performance would be fine.
They arrived at the school in the afternoon, after the charity sale had ended. With two student handicrafts he had picked up from the stall in his arms, Wang Xiao happily went to mooch off the students' cafeteria.
Hey, you know what, students these days are pretty skillful with their hands.
One of the handicrafts that cost her 150 yuan was a little girl's hand-painted globe made from a glass jar. She roughened the inside of the jar with sand and then painted the globe on the inside.
Without considerable skill, this is a job that most people simply cannot handle.
The other was a hand-made remote-controlled toy tank. Wang Xiao didn't see anything special about it; he bought it purely for fun and spent 150 yuan on it, planning to give it to Ivan later.
Otherwise, it would just take up space here for nothing.
The school's international cafeteria is quite good, or to be more precise, extremely good. They even installed plasma TVs, all imported. In Beijing shopping malls, one of those would cost over ten thousand yuan—definitely a luxury item.
It is clear that high-tech products are a luxury in any era.
Instead of broadcasting the news during mealtimes to give students more political knowledge, the television was showing "Princess Pearl".
Many students watched the show with great interest while eating.
Wang Xiao is one of them, which is quite interesting.
Chen Wei attended university in Beijing, and only came to Shanghai to develop his career when Pudong was undergoing major development. He also has many classmates and friends in Beijing.
When he saw "Princess Pearl" on TV, he joked with a smile: "Beijing and Shanghai are so different, they have completely different cultural atmospheres. In Beijing, a lot of people watch 'Yongzheng Dynasty,' but in Shanghai, nobody watches it. Everyone only likes to watch 'Princess Pearl.'"
Zhang Junfei chuckled and chimed in, "What does 'the capital' mean? In Shanghai, a prince can't compete with a princess; only in Beijing is a prince still a prince."
Wang Xiao was amused by their words.
To be honest, "Yongzheng Dynasty" is still pretty awesome.
Prior to this, thanks to the popularity of martial arts novels, Yongzheng's social image was extremely poor.
As a result, once "Yongzheng Dynasty" aired, he was completely redeemed and quickly became the prince charming of countless women who traveled back in time to the Qing Dynasty.
Wang Xiao still doesn't understand why some people want to travel back to the Qing Dynasty to become slaves. Shouldn't they rebel instead?
With a regret that she hadn't caused a reversal, she waited until dark before going to watch the students' performance.
Finally, the main event began: the drone fireworks display. She immediately and without any modesty took up the best viewing spot and eagerly awaited the show.
The roar of engines echoed in the dark night sky—yes, the drone team she had spent tens of millions of dollars supporting for four years had, to this day, produced not consumer-grade drones, but industrial drones, which also used fuel engines.
Never mind, it doesn't matter. Technological development takes time, and as the boss, she should be tolerant.
She should have been content in 1999 if she could just watch the drone fireworks show.
A drone the size of a double bed soared into the sky, looking just like a black bird under the illumination of the ground searchlights.
However, its wings did not flutter up and down; it flew straight forward until it stopped above the school's artificial lake, where it hung suspended.
The teachers and students gasped in surprise, many screaming and clapping, as if it were a helicopter.
And then the performance that would elicit even greater gasps was yet to come.
As soon as the ground searchlights went out, a dazzling, almost white, bright silver firework shot out from the belly of the plane, cutting a neat square across the lake.
Wang Xiao had expected the square light strip to explode in the next second, blooming into the most dazzling flower on the water's surface.
However, the light band did not explode; it simply continued to cruise across the lake as the drone began its journey.
Whenever it goes in a certain direction, the crowds near that direction scream, so loudly that the drone seems to tremble.
As the first patrol was about to end, two more drones took off, forming a three-legged standoff in the air.
One lit up in ice blue, one in amber yellow, and one in pure white.
The luminous triangular array began to move in sync, as if as a whole, continuing its cruise along the lake shore.
Their light was reflected on the still lake surface, creating three parallel, flowing bands of light.
Screams and whistles rose and fell, people were running, shouting, and frantically pressing the shutter button with their cameras, trying to capture this magical scene.
But these three drones probably felt they hadn't caused enough of a stir, so as the performance was about to end, they suddenly scattered brightly lit fluorescent cards over the crowd as they flew by.
The students went completely mad, screaming as they scrambled to pick up the cards, while the teacher yelled desperately, "Stop! Stop! Don't run!"
However, how could they possibly rein in this herd of runaway horses?
Some quick-thinking children have already started running alongside the drone.
The armed police force, which was temporarily deployed to provide support, played its most crucial role at this moment. They formed a human wall to prevent the frantic students and parents from rushing forward and trying to get close to the drone.
Wow! That's so cool!
The searchlights came on again, and the three drones that had landed on the ground stood silently overlooking the world, cooler than 007!
Chen Wei's face was illuminated by the light, but his eyes shone even brighter than the searchlight. He couldn't hide his excitement, but pretended to be modest: "The drones performed quite well today, and everyone cooperated very well."
Then he turned his head and saw the boss's face, which made no attempt to hide his disappointment.
"This is the fireworks display you were talking about?" Wang Xiao tried to justify his multi-million dollar project. "Is it because fireworks aren't allowed in the city center?"
Does she think she's stupid? Those light streaks are clearly cold fireworks.
What's the point of watching cold fireworks? She wants fireworks that actually bloom, fireworks that really explode.
"I think I told you before what kind of fireworks drone show I wanted."
Chen Wei had to quickly explain to his boss: "The multi-aircraft collaborative performance you mentioned requires extremely precise real-time differential GPS positioning and high-speed, low-latency formation communication technology. We've looked into it, and only a few countries' military laboratories have this technology. It's not open to the public, and it's very expensive, so it can't be commercialized."
How would you put it in an analogy? It's a bit like dropping an atomic bomb just to see a mushroom cloud.
Wouldn't that be absolutely insane?
"Moreover, carrying gunpowder and ignition devices on drones is too risky and could easily cause accidents, especially when there are large crowds."
Seeing that his boss's expression had already turned into a "heh" look, Chen Wei involuntarily lowered his voice. "In addition, the operation of drone formations involves complex multi-agent path planning algorithms, which is currently only theoretical research."
Wang Xiao waved his hand, not bothering to embellish his own image: "I don't understand technology. I'm the boss. I'm only responsible for providing the money. I need you to implement the technology. As for how to implement it? That's your job, I can't control that."
Chen Wei's heart sank completely.
He knew the money wouldn't come easily. The more generous the boss, the more outrageous their demands.
That's just wishful thinking; it's technically impossible.
The drone team members were unaware that their boss had been scolded by the boss, and they all came over excitedly, feeling incredibly awesome.
This is a demonstration of a brute-force test.
Their original plan was not to make their debut at the school, but because the boss suddenly made a request, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it in order to ensure that the subsequent funding would be in place.
The evening breeze in Shanghai in March is cool to the touch.
The entire engineering team, however, was sweating nervously backstage, ready to rush in and deal with any unexpected situation.
It seems even God was on their side; the entire demonstration ended without any major incidents.
The drone's self-developed flight control algorithm and the precision gyroscope inherited from the Soviet Union allowed it to maintain an elegant posture even in the night sky.
Today we must all have a good drink and enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Let's drink a big glass!
Chen Wei could barely manage a smile as he looked at his men. "Drinking, huh? Get ready to starve!"
Fortunately, the boss had some conscience and nodded to them: "Okay, tonight it's on me. Let your boss Zhang serve you whatever you want, and put it on my tab."
Zhang Junfei felt a chill run down his spine, and quickly smiled warmly, "The boss is treating, so go ahead and be bold."
It's alright now, Chen Wei is probably the only one who's going to get a beating.
Because the boss's habit is that once the team is handed over to you, if there's anything about the team that displeases her, the responsibility falls on you.
Chen Wei, dejected, watched his men leave and said to his boss, "Then we'll think of another way."
Good heavens, his head was about to explode, he really didn't know what to do.
The boss never cares about the project manager's well-being; she only makes demands: "Fireworks display is out of the question. What can your drones do right now?"
Listen to this, it's already become your drone, and the boss doesn't even acknowledge it as her project anymore.
Chen Wei looked embarrassed and spoke as listlessly as a wilted eggplant: "Currently, the main application is agricultural drones. What you mentioned about spraying pesticides can now be achieved."
Wang Xiao finally perked up and pressed for details.
It would have been better if I hadn't pressed for details; once I did, all I got was a "heh heh."
This drone needs to be equipped with an optimized high-resolution color camera to complete the shooting work.
Then, using ground station software, areas with abnormal vegetation color were initially identified, and a simple "probability distribution map of pests or diseases" was generated.
Based on this distribution map, the drone took off again, carrying pesticides, to complete the spraying work.
Yes, when drones perform monitoring missions, technicians have to spend several hours analyzing the data after the flight to generate a pesticide application map.
Her original request—to be able to analyze pests in real time based on images and provide corresponding pesticide ratios—was simply a pipe dream here.
Wang Xiao stared silently at Chen Wei, making the latter's heart race, his back break out in a cold sweat, and his palms stick to his skin.
She sighed: "So you mean for every drone we sell, we have to send technicians along to analyze pests?"
Chen Wei was almost in tears: "I...we can cooperate with agricultural technicians, each doing their own job."
In fact, their pilot program went quite well, and some large contractors have already started using their drones.
Compared to traditional manual inspections and tractor-based full-coverage spraying, drones have achieved a significant increase in efficiency and substantial savings in pesticides.
The major contractor was very satisfied.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "I'm not satisfied, I'm not satisfied at all. You could have done so much better. In four years, you shouldn't have done this little bit. Are you short of money or manpower?"
Chen Wei was so angry he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
He had to admit that he was much luckier than his classmates.
Because his boss was really generous and almost never interfered with how he and his team spent money.
"Find a solution yourself." Wang Xiao said sternly. "You know the group has a large number of farms in Russia and South Africa. I really want to use our own products, but I can't contradict myself. Do you really think your products meet the requirements? If not, you should think carefully about what to do!"
In sparsely populated Russia, drones are perfectly suited for agricultural production.
With such a large market demand, how can our products not keep up? Don't you feel ashamed?
Chen Wei was so badly criticized that he was covered in dust and dirt, and his feet felt like they were nailed to the ground, making it impossible for him to stand steadily.
He started to question the meaning of life. Was their team really that bad? Were the things they made just cheap toys to fool people?
Just then, a school leader came over and greeted him: "Hey, Mr. Wang, Manager Chen, your drone is amazing! I watched the video of today's event, it's fantastic, much better than when our teachers take photos with cameras, practically climbing to the rooftop. We'll definitely invite you again for future events, and remember to give us a discount!"
Chen Wei quickly forced a smile: "Definitely, definitely."
Their drones couldn't be taken out and flown to take pictures by just anyone, as the boss expected.
So currently, in the area of aerial photography, they mainly rely on Mr. Xiang's connections to collaborate with film crews and television stations, helping them complete shots from specific angles.
Regardless, drones are still much simpler, more convenient, and cheaper than using real airplanes. Real airplanes require pilots, unlike drones, which can be operated from the ground.
Partnering with international schools and appearing at more large-scale events presents a good opportunity for drones to expand their market.
Wang Xiao also smiled at the principal.
But no sooner had she seen him off than she threatened Chen Wei: "Look, it's almost the 21st century. Once our country joins the WTO, all foreign goods will flood in. Do you think our drones will still be competitive? Be more proactive. Don't just think that we're advanced domestically. We have to compete with the whole world, not close ourselves off from the world!"
Chen Wei really couldn't get a good night's sleep that night.
Wang Xiao also couldn't sleep well; the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
She tossed and turned in bed for ages, and couldn't help but call Ivanov to complain around midnight.
"When they confidently asked me to come to Shanghai, I thought they had come up with something amazing. But it turned out to be just so-so. Forget about cost control, at least you should have brought up the technology."
After hearing her description, Ivanov's only feeling was, "As expected of a king, he has high standards."
Actually, these drones are already quite impressive; at the very least, their farms would welcome them.
However, he remained steadfast in his stance: "We definitely need to put some pressure on them; we can't let them coast along."
Wang Xiao gritted his teeth: "I've decided not to build an 8-inch chip factory. For chip factories in Hong Kong, we'll go straight to 12-inch."
This will prevent everyone from feeling complacent and lacking any sense of urgency.
If Boss Wang is going to do something, she has to be the best, specifically targeting the highest and most specialized areas.
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[Laughing and crying emoji] Yesterday, our boss held a meeting that lasted until after 7 p.m. Seriously, I think bosses are the perfect writers for novels. They can talk for an hour straight, and that's just a few simple sentences. How long would it take me to write that many words?
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