Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 21 The Booth in the Corner

July 28, Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

Su Chen stood at the entrance of Hall 1, looking up at the huge banner above him—"2016 Shenzhen International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Expo".

This is the first time he has participated in a major industry exhibition since his rebirth.

In his previous life, when he was a product manager, he would come to this exhibition almost every year, but back then he came as a visitor and buyer, blending into the crowd and nobody knew him.

This time is different. He's an exhibitor.

Although it's the smallest one.

Zhou Ming walked beside him, holding a booth allocation map in his hand.

"Mr. Su, our booth is at the end of passage 3 in area B, booth number B-237."

Su Chen glanced at the allocation chart and got a sense of it.

Hall 1 is the main exhibition hall, and Area A is the core area, where leading companies such as DJI, Tianying, ZeroTech, and Yuneec have their booths. Each booth is a huge one, often hundreds of square meters, beautifully constructed, and brightly lit, looking like a small science museum from a distance.

Area B is the standard exhibition area, small in size and located in a less prominent position. The end of passageway 3 in Area B is basically the most remote corner of the entire exhibition hall.

As they passed through Area A, Su Chen unconsciously slowed his pace.

DJI's booth occupied half of the aisle, with promotional videos for the Phantom 4 and Inspire 2 playing on a giant LED screen. More than a dozen prototypes were neatly displayed in glass cases, and staff in uniforms were well-trained in greeting the endless stream of visitors.

Tianying's booth was right next to DJI's. Although it was only a third the size of DJI's, it was still quite impressive—with huge posters, light boxes, and interactive experience areas. Su Chen glanced around and saw Wu Zheng—he was wearing a dark suit and standing at the entrance of the booth, talking with several reporters wearing media vests.

Wu Zheng seemed to sense something and turned his head slightly to look at Su Chen.

Their eyes met briefly in the crowd for less than a second.

Wu Zheng nodded politely, then turned back to continue talking to the reporter.

There was no hostility in that nod, but there was also no sense of respect—like the subconscious polite reaction you have when you make eye contact with a stranger on the street.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards Area B.

The number of people in Zone B was noticeably lower. At the end of Passage 3, there were even fewer people—this was the furthest point from the entrance, but the closest to the restrooms.

B-237.

A standard six-square-meter booth with a white foam board back panel covered with a banner prepared in advance by Zhou Ming: "Hongyuan Intelligent Flyer F2 Working Version Nationwide Unified Price 1999 Yuan".

In front of the booth was a folding table with three F2 workpiece demo units and a stack of product brochures on it. Behind the table stood two people—the operator, Xiao Wu, and the salesperson, Xiao Zhao, both of whom had been transferred back from the field sales team.

Su Chen stood in front of the booth and looked around for a while.

Six square meters. White foam board back panel. Folding table. Three sample units.

Compared to the large booths in Area A that are hundreds of square meters in size, with flashing LED screens and professional lighting setups, Hongyuan's booth looked like a roadside stall.

"President Su, should I go buy some more decorations?" Zhou Ming noticed Su Chen's expression and asked tentatively.

"No need." Su Chen shook his head.

No matter how much you decorate the booth, it won't change the fact that it's only six square meters. He never intended to attract people with the booth from the beginning.

His weapon wasn't the exhibition booth, but the product itself.

"Xiao Wu, how many chargers did you bring?"

"Six sets. There are twelve batteries in total, enough for a whole day of flight."

"Okay. After the exhibition officially starts at 10 o'clock, go to the open space in area B and do a flight demonstration. Don't wait for anyone to come; just take off and fly as steadily as possible."

"clear."

Su Chen glanced at the exhibition hall layout map again. Although passageway number 3 in area B was in a remote location, there was an open space of about ten square meters at the end of the passageway—originally a temporary area used to store materials, but now it was empty.

This open space is large enough for a flight demonstration.

At drone exhibitions, the most attractive thing is never the display boards and posters, but the flight itself.

Wherever a drone flies overhead, people will stop and watch. Wherever people stop and watch, there is an opportunity.

"There's one more thing." Su Chen took a USB drive out of his backpack and handed it to Xiao Wu. "This is the F2 firmware version 2.0, the code was just frozen last night. All three demo units shown today will be flashed with version 2.0—automatic return-to-home and one-click surround sound are the biggest selling points."

"receive."

Xiao Wu took the USB drive and immediately began flashing firmware onto the three prototype machines.

Su Chen walked outside the booth and glanced at the exhibition hall, which was gradually becoming more lively.

At 9:30 a.m., half an hour before the official opening of the exhibition, exhibitors were making their final preparations, while media reporters, carrying cameras and tripods, moved between the large booths in Area A.

Not a single reporter went into Area B.

Su Chen was not surprised.

In this exhibition, Hongyuan Intelligent was at the very bottom of the food chain. A small factory that sells a little over 300 units a month is an ant compared to Tianying, which sells 100,000 units a year, and not even an ant compared to DJI, which sells millions of units a year.

No one would notice booth B-237 in the corner.

At least not now.

But Su Chen wasn't in a hurry.

He didn't come to this exhibition to wait for people to come to his booth. He had three goals, each far more important than the booth itself.

The first goal is a flight demonstration. As long as the F2 flies in the exhibition hall, there will be no shortage of viewers.

The second objective was media relations. There was a "Drone Industry Development Forum" during the exhibition, which would be attended by all the mainstream industry media. He needed to make sure those media outlets remembered the name Hongyuan at the forum.

The third target—that investor.

Over the past three weeks, Su Chen used the remaining time in the virtual laboratory each day to repeatedly search his mind for fragments of memories from his past life, and finally pieced together some clues.

The fund was called "Mingyuan Capital." It focused on the smart hardware sector and managed approximately one billion yuan. The partner's surname was Shen—he couldn't remember her exact name, only that she was a woman around forty years old, spoke very quickly, and acted decisively.

In my past life, Mingyuan Capital invested in a drone company in the second half of 2016, and that company later became a dark horse in the industry.

If Su Chen could find that partner surnamed Shen at the exhibition and show him the F2's flight performance and Hongyuan's growth data—

The financing issue may then be resolved.

"Mr. Su," Zhou Ming's voice interrupted his thoughts, "the exhibition officially opens at 10:00 AM, with a brief opening ceremony at 9:45. Would you like to attend?"

"Go," Su Chen said. "Where is the opening ceremony?"

"Area Main Stage."

Su Chen straightened his collar and walked towards Area A with Zhou Ming.