booktalesy Chapter 24 1999
Chapter 24 1999
Three hundred pairs of eyes turned to the back row.
A young man in his early twenties stood in the second-to-last row—wearing a simple white shirt, no suit, no tie, looking like a college student who had come for an internship.
A few people in the front row of the guest seats and the media area frowned slightly—in the Q&A session of this kind of forum, the speakers are usually industry executives or senior practitioners, and it is rare to see such young faces.
"Please introduce yourself first," the host said.
"My name is Su Chen, the founder of Hongyuan Intelligent Technology." Su Chen's voice resounded throughout the multi-functional hall through the microphone.
No one responded.
Hongyuan Intelligent—this name was completely unfamiliar to most of the people present. A small brand they had never heard of, founded by someone who looked like a student.
Su Chen noticed a reporter in the front row looking down at his phone and searching for something before shaking his head—he had probably searched for "Hongyuan Intelligent" but didn't find any valuable information.
He paid no attention to the indifference and disdain in those gazes.
"I disagree with Mr. Qian's point of view," Su Chen said, his voice soft but clear. "Consumer drones aren't without a future. It's just that everyone has been defining 'consumer' in the wrong way."
This statement caused a moment of silence in the room.
Qian Zhiming, sitting in the front row, turned his head slightly to look at Su Chen, his expression somewhat surprised—he hadn't expected anyone to contradict him so directly.
"Mr. Qian said everyone is vying for the same market—aerial photography enthusiasts and photography aficionados. That's a correct assessment. But I disagree with his conclusion that the consumer market has no future."
Su Chen paused for a moment, then said what he really wanted to say.
"Because the market for consumer drones isn't just for hobbyists."
"Think about it, everyone here—who are your customers? Model airplane enthusiasts, photography buffs, travel bloggers. How many people are there in total? Nationwide, it's probably no more than five million. DJI takes 70%, and the rest is for you to share—this market really can't be huge."
"But have you considered that beyond these five million people, there's a market ten times larger that has been completely overlooked?"
A murmur rippled through the room.
"Ten times?" Qian Zhiming, sitting in the front row, couldn't help but exclaim, "What market?"
"The market for commercial aerial photography for small and medium-sized enterprises," Su Chen said.
"There are over 600,000 wedding planning companies nationwide, with more than 70% located in third- and fourth-tier cities and counties. Of these county-level wedding planning companies, over 70% don't own drones—not because they don't want to, but because they can't afford them. Even the cheapest DJI Phantom Standard Edition costs 3,000 yuan, which represents more than half a year's profit for a county-level studio."
"Tens of thousands of new construction projects start every year across the country, and each project needs regular aerial photography to document its progress for client reporting and safety monitoring. However, the vast majority of construction companies' solution is to send people to climb up and take pictures—because buying a usable drone is too expensive."
"There are thousands of county-level TV stations and tens of thousands of self-media entrepreneurs across the country—their demand for aerial photography is growing, but their budgets are limited."
Su Chen paused for two seconds and glanced at the entire room.
Everyone was watching him—including the guests on stage, the reporters in the media area, and those in the corner who had put down their phones and looked up at some point.
"These people don't need 4K resolution, visual obstacle avoidance, or a 5-kilometer transmission range. What they need is very simple—stable flight, clear visuals, ease of use, durability, and affordability."
"If a drone could meet these five conditions and be priced under 2,000 yuan, its market size would be more than ten times that of the hobbyist market."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Then a cheerful voice came from the front row—it was Lu Weimin from Tianying.
"The young man is right, but there's a problem." He didn't turn around, just tilted his head slightly. "A two-thousand-yuan drone flight controller isn't good enough. A drone that can't fly steadily isn't a tool, it's a toy. Those county-level wedding companies you mentioned wouldn't buy a toy to film their weddings."
Someone in the audience chuckled softly—the industry executive was commenting on a newcomer; his tone wasn't exactly harsh, but the condescending tone was obvious.
Su Chen was not affected by this tone.
He even gave a slight smile.
"Mr. Lu is right. A drone costing two thousand yuan really can't fly steadily using a general flight control system."
"But what if we don't use a universal solution?"
He took out his phone from his pocket and opened a pre-prepared video—a flight demonstration that Xiao Wu had done that morning in the open space of Zone B of the exhibition hall.
"This is our Hongyuan Flyer F2 working version, with a nationwide uniform price of 1999 yuan." Su Chen held up his phone; although the screen was small in such a large venue, his voice was clear enough.
"The hardware configuration is very basic—a generic flight controller board, standard mid-to-low-end sensors, exactly the same as those used in most drones on the market in the 2,000 yuan price range. But the flight quality is on a completely different level."
"The reason is simple: we created a deeply customized flight controller firmware. Same hardware, different software, completely different results."
"If anyone doesn't believe it, our booth is in area B, B-237. The prototype is right there, and anyone can try it out and fly it."
After saying this, Su Chen handed the microphone back to the staff member and then sat down.
The entire room fell silent for about three seconds.
Then—not applause, but murmurs.
"Hongyuan? Never heard of him."
"1999? The flight controller was heavily customized? Is this guy bragging or does he really have something going for him?"
"B-237 in Sector B? Isn't that the furthest corner location?"
"I'll go check it out later."
Su Chen heard the last sentence.
He showed no change in expression, but he knew in his heart that his goal had been achieved.
He doesn't need applause at this forum. What he needs is for the three hundred people present—especially the journalists in the media area—to remember three messages:
Hongyuan. F2 Working Edition. 1999 yuan.
And a question: Can this little-known brand really make a professional-grade flight controller on a machine that costs only two thousand yuan?
Curiosity would drive them to take a look at B-237.
And as soon as they glanced at it—
As long as the F2 takes off—
The product itself will explain the rest.
The forum lasted another twenty minutes before ending. Su Chen didn't speak again, quietly sitting in the back row and listening to the whole thing.
However, he noticed that in the last twenty minutes of the forum, at least five or six reporters were looking down at their phones and searching for "Hongyuan Intelligent".
There was another person who caught his special attention.
In the middle to back row, near the aisle, stood a woman in a dark blue dress. She was around forty years old, with short hair, and held a pen and a leather notebook. She wasn't wearing a media badge or an exhibitor badge—just a plain white conference pass hanging around her neck.
While Su Chen was speaking, she was taking notes in her notebook the whole time.
Moreover, she wasn't writing down what Su Chen said—Su Chen noticed that her pen had been moving even before he spoke, as she was writing down the key points of the previous guests' speeches.
But when Su Chen mentioned the keywords "small and medium-sized commercial aerial photography market" and "1999 yuan", her pen paused noticeably, and then she quickly jotted down a few lines.
After the forum ended, she closed her notebook, stood up, and glanced in Su Chen's direction.
Their eyes did not meet directly—she quickly turned and headed towards the exit.
But Su Chen remembered her.
Around 40 years old. Female. Short hair. Not wearing a media or exhibitor badge. Taking notes of key points from the speakers' presentations in a notebook.
This portrait closely matches the description of "Mingyuan Capital Partner" that he pieced together from his memories of his past life.
Su Chen didn't rush to chase after them.
After the forum, there was a tea break where many people exchanged business cards and chatted in the corridor outside the multi-functional hall. If someone was an investor, they would definitely use this time to learn more.
If Su Chen's judgment is correct, she will likely go to B-237 to take a look.
The things Su Chen said at the forum were incredibly informative for someone who invests in smart hardware.
A completely new, neglected market segment. A small team that claims to have solved the bottleneck of flight control technology. A pricing strategy of 1999 yuan.
These elements combined are enough to pique the curiosity of any astute investor.
Su Chen stood up and walked towards the exit with Zhou Ming.
"President Su, what you said just now was very good," Zhou Ming said in a low voice from the side.
"Not enough," Su Chen said. "Back to the booth now. The next two hours are crucial—a wave of people will come after the forum ends. Xiao Wu, get ready, from now until closing time, the flight demonstration can't stop."
"clear."
The two walked quickly towards Section B.
As Su Chen reached the entrance to Area B, he glanced back—in the corridor outside the multi-functional hall, the woman in the dark blue dress was talking to a man. Her gaze occasionally swept towards Area B.
Su Chen withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards the booth.
B-237. Six square meters in the corner.
The stage may be small, but as long as the product is good enough, six square meters is enough to change everything.