allonlinenovel Chapter 62 Door-to-Door Visit
Chapter 62 Door-to-Door Visit
In late November, a company that Su Chen had never heard of approached him.
Southern Power Grid Smart Technology, a subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid, specializes in the operation and service of power line inspection drones.
The man who arrived was Lin Zhiqiang, the technical director of Southern Power Grid Intelligent. He was in his fifties, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and spoke in a manner very much like a university professor—Su Chen later learned that he was indeed a university graduate.
"Mr. Su, I saw that you mentioned 'industrial applications' in your recent media interview. I'd like to ask directly—what exactly are you referring to as industrial applications?"
Su Chen did not answer immediately.
"Please state your needs first."
Lin Zhiqiang pushed up his glasses.
"The power line inspection drones we're currently using are from a certain company. The hardware is decent, but the flight control system isn't stable enough in complex mountainous environments. There are two particular issues: first, electromagnetic interference near high-voltage power lines causes GPS positioning drift; second, sudden gusts of wind in valleys can cause the drone to go out of control. These two problems result in an annual equipment loss rate exceeding three percent."
Su Chen's eyes twitched slightly.
Electromagnetic interference causes GPS positioning drift—this is exactly the problem he solved on the F3.
A sudden gust of wind caused him to lose control—a scenario he had handled in the F3's adaptive flight control algorithm.
"Mr. Lin, we've encountered both of the issues you mentioned in our consumer-grade and crop-grade products, and we've already resolved them."
Lin Zhiqiang's eyes lit up.
"How exactly was it resolved?"
"Inertial navigation fusion algorithm. It automatically switches to inertial navigation compensation when GPS signal quality deteriorates. Environmental adaptive algorithm adjusts the control strategy in real time based on air pressure, wind speed, and temperature. Both algorithms have been validated in over 20,000 F3 units in real-world testing."
Lin Zhiqiang didn't speak. He turned to look at his assistant behind him.
The assistant nodded slightly—a gesture that indicated they had already studied Hongyuan's flight control technology.
"Mr. Su, our needs are simple. We don't need to buy your machines—we have our own power line inspection drone platform. What we need is your flight control system. If we can install your flight control system on our platform, those two problems we're facing will likely be solved."
Su Chen's heart stirred slightly.
This is the industrial version of the SDK model.
But he did not agree immediately.
"Mr. Lin, the flight control requirements for industrial inspection are different from those for plant protection. We don't currently have industrial-grade flight control products. However, we are researching this area. If you don't mind, we can conduct a technical feasibility assessment first—installing our existing flight control system on your platform and running a test in your line inspection environment. We can then see what gaps need to be addressed."
Lin Zhiqiang's eyes lit up again.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
The two talked for half an hour. When Lin Zhiqiang left, Su Chen saw him to the door.
"Mr. Lin, may I ask how you found us?"
Lin Zhiqiang smiled.
"Professor Chen Hongyuan recommended it. He said your flight control system is the best he's seen in China."
Su Chen nodded.
Chen Hongyuan. It's Chen Hongyuan again.
That professor who only talks about data is secretly opening a side door for Hongyuan.
In early December, Su Chen did the final inventory of 2017 in his office.
He wrote four lines on the whiteboard.
[Consumer Grade] F3 cumulative sales exceed 20,000 units. F2 inventory cleared. Number one market share in county towns. Tianying Falcon industrial version cumulative sales only 3,500 units.
[Plant Protection Grade] SDK has accumulated 23 customers. Exclusive distribution channels with Toyota in four provinces are operating stably. AgriWing's second batch of orders (50 units) has been confirmed. Business negotiations with an Indonesian customer have commenced.
[Team] 15 R&D personnel (3 newly recruited). Total employees: 400. The stock option moat has been validated. Tianying's talent selection process failed.
[Financial] Annual revenue was approximately 60 million. Net profit was approximately 15 million. Completely self-sustaining. No financing. Equity protection level is secure.
Su Chen looked at these four lines of text.
One year and eleven months ago, he sat at this table with only 120 million yuan in cash and a small factory that was about to go bankrupt.
This company now has an annual revenue of 60 million yuan. 20,000 F3 drones are in operation at work sites in county-level cities across the country. Twenty-three agricultural machinery factories are using its flight control system. Overseas customers are placing orders. Major clients for power line inspections are proactively seeking them out.
Tianying, however, exhausted four strategies—price war, positioning war, talent selection, and patent war—none of which worked.
Su Chen picked up the phone and dialed Shen Yumeng's number.
"Mr. Shen, it's almost the end of the year. There are two things I'd like to discuss with you."
"explain."
"First, industrial inspection. Southern Power Grid Intelligent contacted us last week. They want to use our flight control system on their power line inspection drones. I plan to officially launch the R&D for industrial applications in Q2 next year. However, we need to expand the team. The goal is to reach a R&D team of twenty people by the middle of next year."
"Secondly, I'd like to ask within Mingyuan Capital's network whether there are any companies involved in power line inspection or industrial drones. I don't need funding—but I do need industry resources. I want to understand the true state of the industrial inspection market."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
"President Su, are you finally going to make a move on the third line?"
"Begin preparations. Don't move yet."
"Understood. I have three companies that do power line inspection and industrial drones. One of them is one of our portfolio companies. I can help you arrange a meeting with a few people."
"Thank you, Mr. Shen."
After hanging up the phone, Su Chen leaned back in his chair.
Shen Yumeng's value isn't just the ten million from her Series A funding round. It's the industry resource network behind her.
When Su Chen rejected the Series B funding round, he knew that some people would think he was "immature." But he also knew that maintaining Shen Yumeng's relationship as a minority shareholder—rather than letting her become the controller—was the optimal solution.
Because Shen Yumeng isn't someone who wants to control Hongyuan. She's someone who wants to help Hongyuan grow.
The way to help is not by giving money—but by giving resources.