Chapter 61: Going Public and Unexplained Obstacles
“Hmm...? You have identification?”
Li Ping’an was momentarily taken aback.
Seeming to recall something, he said smoothly, “You can just bring your people directly to my office.”
“Oh, okay, boss.”
At the reception desk, the young woman glanced at the ended call and awkwardly said to the girl before her, “Please follow me.”
Carrying her laptop as she left, Xiao Qian nodded, put away her identification, and trailed behind the receptionist.
The company’s office space wasn’t large; it was just a few steps from the reception to Li Ping’an’s office.
Knock, knock, knock~~~
The receptionist tapped on the door.
The next moment, the office door opened from the inside.
Li Ping’an glanced at the person behind the receptionist and immediately recognized Xiao Qian.
When he was invited by the National Security Bureau for questioning, it was this person who took the notes.
Unlike their first meeting, this time she wore a gentle smile.
“Please come in.”
Once she entered, Li Ping’an gestured for the receptionist to leave and casually closed the office door behind them.
Although the poor door didn’t provide much soundproofing, closing it was better than leaving it open.
Li Ping’an wasn’t one for tea; his office was stocked more with beverages.
He placed a bottle of mineral water in front of her, his eyes full of curiosity.
Recently, he hadn’t done anything; why would the National Security Bureau come to visit again?
Most people might never cross paths with the National Security Bureau in their lifetime, yet in less than a year, he had already been approached twice.
“How should I address you?”
Thinking that he hadn’t committed any crimes, let alone treason, Li Ping’an felt somewhat confident.
After all, the National Security Bureau wouldn’t harass someone without cause.
Especially since this time, the visitor came alone.
“Everyone calls me Xiao Qian.”
Li Ping’an nodded, assuming her surname was Qian, and didn’t press further.
Judging by her appearance, she was only a few years older than him, so he said, “Sister Qian, may I ask what brings you here this time?”
Whether it was because she was from the National Security Bureau or because they were both young, Xiao Qian spoke with refreshing straightforwardness.
She raised her hand, pointing toward a guide dog in the corner of the office, and quietly said,
“I’m here because of this.”
Hearing this, Li Ping’an raised an eyebrow.
“You want the guide dog?”
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“Don’t you already have Iron Egg? My guide dog has absolutely no combat ability; it can’t compare to Iron Egg at all.”
Xiao Qian said, surprised, “Did you think I came to acquire it?”
“No, no, you misunderstood.”
“Look at the guide dog you developed—either a camera or radar; you get what I mean, right?”
Seeing Li Ping’an’s expression turn uneasy, Xiao Qian continued, “For this thing to go on the market, for national security reasons, the data server must be housed within the National Security Bureau.”
Hmm...?
Li Ping’an initially thought the National Security Bureau would block the guide dog’s market release citing security concerns. Unexpectedly, this was their actual requirement.
Housing the server within the National Security Bureau...
This was actually quite favorable for Li Ping’an.
Think about it!
This way, when it launches, there’s no fear of privacy breaches by malicious actors.
And best of all, it saves on server maintenance costs!
“Alright.”
Li Ping’an nodded calmly.
...
After seeing Xiao Qian off, Li Ping’an returned to his office, deep in thought.
If the National Security Bureau wanted to collect intelligence through his games and guide dogs, what about other areas?
That same afternoon, good news came from Old Wu’s side.
The cooperative game development project had been settled.
Hearing this, Li Ping’an smiled and said to Old Wu on the phone, “Old Wu, you’ve worked hard.”
“Also, I want to tell you something. I’ve been tinkering with that guide dog recently.”
“The testing is almost done. I plan to launch it in a week. Arrange to contact a manufacturer to produce a batch.”
In S City, Wu Wenbin, sitting on the subway, expressed some concern, “Boss, is there really no problem launching the guide dog on the market?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already negotiated with the authorities.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Wenbin immediately stopped pressing the matter.
“Good. I’ll arrange it when I get back.”
One week later, everything was ready.
Zhifang Technology didn’t hold a press conference like those electronic companies—not because Li Ping’an didn’t want to, but because Zhifang had no real reputation yet.
Even though many users used Pet Spirit, they only cared about Pet Spirit, not Zhifang Technology.
But that was fine. From today onward, people would slowly come to recognize Zhifang Technology Limited.
At Li Ping’an’s insistence, they had fully assembled ten thousand guide dogs!
They had also contacted the university student who helped test the guide dog to assist in promotion, plus reminders through Pet Spirit.
The buzz had already begun to rise over the past couple of days.
When the time came, the guide dogs were launched simultaneously across major online malls.
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Sitting in Old Wu’s office, Li Ping’an watched the data refresh on the screen alongside Old Wu, both stunned.
Priced at thirty thousand yuan each, with ten thousand units in stock, the guide dogs sold out in one second!!!
Three hundred million yuan—that was two hundred million in profit even after deducting costs!
Li Ping’an excitedly stood up and manually refreshed the data again.
After triple-checking and confirming the numbers were accurate, he happily slapped the desk.
Before launch, most reviews had been negative, so he expected poor sales.
Unexpectedly, the harsher the criticism, the more fiercely people bought it.
“Old Wu! Contact the manufacturer and place a reorder!”
“Let’s start with...”
Li Ping’an hesitated briefly before saying, “Let’s go with fifty thousand units this time.”
“All components will still be purchased at the original price for now.”
“Got it!”
At this moment, Wu Wenbin was just as excited as Li Ping’an.
As the company grew stronger, so did his own standing as CEO. More realistically, it was all about the money!
How could he not be happy?
However... within half a day, Old Wu frowned and walked into the boss’s office.
“Boss, we’ve hit a snag when procuring parts.”
“Some suppliers don’t want to sell us chips anymore.”
Surprised, Li Ping’an asked, “How come?”
“We haven’t offended anyone.”
Wu Wenbin gave a wry smile. “But they simply refuse to sell.”
“This is unbelievable.”
Zhifang had no conflicts with the chip suppliers; everything was fine before. How could they suddenly refuse?
Was it because the guide dog’s server was placed with the National Security Bureau?
That was Li Ping’an’s first thought.
But... guide dogs weren’t like smartphones that required the latest chips and had heat dissipation issues.
Seeing Old Wu’s anxious expression, Li Ping’an gestured for him to sit down and said,
“Old Wu, don’t worry, have a seat and let’s talk.”
“It’s just chips; we can switch to another one.”
“This isn’t a big problem.”
Thinking about recent online rumors that the authorities were promoting Kirin chips from Huawei to more smartphone manufacturers, Li Ping’an felt a flicker of interest.
On energy consumption control, Huawei’s chip design team was undoubtedly among the world’s best.