Chapter 57: Project Initiation

Around eleven o'clock, Zhang Xiao sent the edited video over.

Zhou Yun took a look and found no issues with it.

So, Zhang Xiao uploaded the video to her own account.

Due to the unique style of their videos, their account had naturally accumulated a modest following—around two hundred thousand. Whenever she had free time, Lin Wei would listen to the comments left by netizens.

Most people online were quite friendly toward her, allowing her to feel a touch of kindness within a color-blind world.

The title of the video was very simple: Weiwei's Diary [September 24].

Their purpose in making videos was not to make money, so naturally, they would never use clickbait titles designed to harvest traffic.

Zhang Xiao's signature vibrant, smiling face filled the screen, and after shouting a cheerful "Hello everyone!", the camera turned to Lin Wei, who was holding the custom-made smart white cane crafted by Zhou Yun.

Although it was uploaded in the middle of the night, quite a few people tuned in to watch.

[First second viewing!]

[Never miss a notification from a channel I always follow.]

Then came Zhou Yun's voice, which had been digitally altered to the point where even he himself wouldn't have recognized it.

At this moment, Zhou Yun was introducing the functions of the white cane as several bullet comments drifted across the screen.

[Is this for real?]

[Hoping this actually works.]

The video wasn't very long, mainly recording a few specific scenarios encountered that morning, such as navigating past pedestrians and delivery riders. All the footage of normal, uneventful walking had been edited out.

At the end of the video, the trio stood together under the setting sun.

Lin Wei stood holding the white cane, facing the distant horizon.

Zhang Xiao asked softly, "How does it feel?"

Lin Wei turned back, the corners of her eyes slightly damp, yet the smile on her face was breathtakingly brilliant.

The bullet comments were flooded with expressions of being moved to tears.

Throughout the night, the video's view count skyrocketed, and the comment section grew livelier by the minute.

Early the next morning, as soon as Zhang Xiao woke up and opened her phone, she found over ninety-nine notifications waiting for her in the Bilibili backend.

Startled, she thought she had somehow been subjected to cyberbullying and quickly clicked in to see what was going on.

Only then did she realize that in just a single night, the video's views had surged to three hundred thousand.

The backend was filled with messages from netizens tagging her.

Some offered words of encouragement, while others expressed comfort and sympathy.

However, the vast majority were asking where they could purchase this white cane.

Zhang Xiao slapped her forehead. "Oh right! I need to tell Zhou Yun."

Meanwhile, Zhou Yun had also just woken up. Out of habit, he checked his phone and discovered the messages Zhang Xiao had sent him.

[Zhou Yun! Zhou Yun! The video I posted last night seems to have gone sort of viral! (○´･д･)ﾉ]

He didn't care much about such things; after all, his voice had been processed and the people in the video had been pixelated.

[Really? Congratulations.]

[Yeah, the views are almost at four hundred thousand now. So many people are asking when this white cane will go into mass production, and there's even a 'ten-thousand-person blood petition', hahaha.]

[Ten-thousand-person blood petition.jpg]

Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow. It seemed the buzz was indeed quite substantial. If this was the case, it might actually help accelerate the negotiation process with Xiaomi.

Closing the chat interface, he called Wang Li, the person he had previously been in communication with regarding a partnership.

"Hello, Director Wang, this is Zhou Yun."

"It's like this..."

He briefly explained the situation, and the more she listened, the more astonished she became. She had also been pushing this matter forward over the past two days, but because there was no substantive technical proof, the progress had remained stalled.

She hadn't expected Zhou Yun to directly produce a physical prototype, complete with a demonstration video. With this in hand, their progress could pick up significantly.

Inside an office building, Wang Li glanced at the time. There was still a window before the company's regular meeting, and CEO Lei would be attending in person. If this project could catch CEO Lei's eye, the pace of development would speed up tremendously.

So, she replied to Zhou Yun, "Mr. Zhou, could you send over the relevant technical documentation? If things go smoothly, I can give you an answer by tonight."

"Of course. How soon do you need it?"

"Would one hour be possible?"

"In such a rush? Very well, I'll compile the materials and send them to you right away."

"No problem, I'll await your news."

"Alright, let's keep in touch."

Wang Li expressed her thanks, hung up with Zhou Yun, and immediately dialed another number.

"Have everyone in the team gather in the hotel conference room, and get the technical department down here too! Right now!"

...

Two hours later.

Inside the conference room at Xiaomi Technology's headquarters, seated around a massive circular conference table were the heads of various business units and core executives.

Several supervisors who were currently away on business joined the meeting via a remote video link.

CEO Lei sat at the head of the table, listening as the heads of various business lines swiftly reported on their weekly performance, market dynamics, and the progress of key projects. Occasionally, he would interject to ask about specific details, but for the most part, he simply listened.

When the final presenter finished speaking, a brief lull settled over the conference room.

At that moment, the head of the investment department glanced down at his phone, leaned forward slightly, and murmured to CEO Lei, "Director Lei, our department has a project we'd like to take five minutes to present."

"Proceed."

Shortly after, Wang Li's video feed appeared on the main screen of the conference room.

"Director Lei, fellow leaders, there is a project I believe is worth reporting on..." Wang Li concisely introduced Zhou Yun's background and his proposed smart white cane.

Hearing this, CEO Lei's interest was piqued. "Didn't you mention there's a demonstration video? Play it let us see."

"Understood."

She played the highlighted clips she had prepared in advance. The complete video was too long, so naturally, it couldn't be shown in its entirety during the meeting.

Once the video concluded, Wang Li continued, "As you can see from the video's comment section, many people are asking where such a product can be purchased. As far as I know, there are hardly any manufacturers on the market working in the smart white cane space, and even if there were, they wouldn't be as refined as the product in this video. Therefore, I believe this is an opportunity for us."

CEO Lei nodded. "A very solid concept. How about this: let the various departments conduct a preliminary investigation. If all aspects pass verification, this project can be fast-tracked for official approval."

"Understood, Director Lei." Beneath the table, Wang Li clenched her fists tightly. This was going straight onto her record of achievements!

"Oh, and see if we can recruit this developer. Looks like quite a talent."

The meeting then proceeded as usual.

After the meeting, backed by CEO Lei's personal endorsement, the various departments swung into action. By evening, the documentation was practically complete.

Wang Li relayed the good news to Zhou Yun, and the next step was negotiating the terms.

Zhou Yun didn't care much about making a profit; he had only one core requirement—high quality at an affordable price, ensuring that ordinary people could actually afford to buy it.

This aligned perfectly with Xiaomi's corporate philosophy, giving Wang Li no reason to object.

Having ironed out the details, by the following morning, the project proposal was placed squarely on CEO Lei's desk.

CEO Lei scanned through it once and decisively signed his name.

Project approved!

Even if a project like this lost money, it was entirely acceptable. Running a business ultimately came down to fame and fortune—they had already earned plenty of fortune, leaving only fame.

This project was clearly a golden opportunity to earn a stellar reputation.