Professor, Help Me Find a Manufacturer
“Celia, replace Harmony OS and the smart driving system, and add image algorithms and a smart assistant program.”
Before leaving, Tang Rui asked Celia to update the car’s system.
In fact, according to his plan, he wanted to modify the entire car and then upgrade it with the system panel.
Although it would involve a lot of work, the car would undoubtedly be much safer after the system panel upgrade.
However, upon reflection, he decided not to do it that way.
If he were to proceed as planned, he would have to retain the original engine, chassis, and frame.
After all, the identification numbers for these components had already been registered at the vehicle registration office.
Modifying a vehicle without proper authorization was illegal, and if anything went wrong, it could lead to significant trouble.
So he only asked Celia to update the system program.
As for the car modification, he would build his own car in some time.
In a flash, the system update was complete.
Tang Rui drove the new car to South China University of Technology.
When he arrived, it was just after the second afternoon class had ended.
At this time, his professor should have returned to the office.
Sure enough, as Tang Rui arrived at the professor’s office, he coincidentally met the professor coming back.
“Professor Chen, it’s been a while.”
Tang Rui greeted him with a smile.
“Tang Rui, why did you come back? You’ve already graduated.”
Seeing Tang Rui, Professor Chen looked somewhat surprised.
After all, he had graduated, so why did he come back?
“Hehe… I specifically came back to see you.”
Tang Rui replied with a grin.
“Alright, I’ll treat it as you came back to see me, but who comes to visit without bringing anything? Usually, those who come knocking are troublemakers.”
Professor Chen joked without caring much.
They were familiar with each other.
Otherwise, Tang Rui wouldn’t have come to ask for his help.
“You guessed it right. I did come here to seek your help.”
“Seeking my help? You’ve already graduated; why are you asking a regular professor like me for help?”
“Yes, I designed a drone and would like your opinion.”
“Really? You designed a drone?”
“Yes, I’m planning to start a company, and the product will be drones.”
“Amazing! Where are the blueprints? Show them to me quickly.���
Professor Chen was very excited, even more so than Tang Rui.
“It’s this drone.”
Tang Rui took out a portable hard drive, connected it to the computer, and opened the files.
At first glance, Professor Chen knew that Tang Rui’s aerodynamic design was fine.
After all, it was a classic aerodynamic design that had been researched extensively.
Trying to make any changes to such a classic aerodynamic design was quite challenging.
But Tang Rui’s design simply copied the classic design without any fancy modifications.
While Professor Chen was reviewing the blueprints, he nodded.
Although the design wasn’t particularly innovative, it was stable and didn’t have any potential issues.
Moreover, from the data marked on the blueprints, it was evident that Tang Rui had a solid foundation, and all aspects had been taken into consideration.
Twenty minutes later, after reviewing the blueprints, Professor Chen turned to look at Tang Rui.
“The design is excellent, and your foundation is solid. You didn’t make it showy or add any fancy elements, which is very good. As for the avionics system, I won’t say much since it’s not my expertise, but from your annotations, it seems fine. However, let me be blunt; although your drone design is flawless in all aspects, it lacks novelty. If you’re really planning to start a company, the competitiveness of this drone model may be insufficient,” Professor Chen expressed all his thoughts honestly.
He spoke sincerely.
“Don’t worry, Professor. This drone is specially designed for a client. Once it’s produced, it will sell well.”
Tang Rui felt touched. After all, Professor Chen was just his university teacher, and the fact that he shared so much advice was already quite good.
“The client’s requirements? According to the configuration of this drone, it seems to be for civilian use. But civilian drones don’t need such advanced specifications.”
Professor Chen was puzzled.
“It’s an order from the police.” Tang Rui said with a smile.
If it weren’t for the police order, he wouldn’t have designed it this way.
Because private companies or individuals were not allowed to operate this type of drone.
Order from the police?
After hearing this, Professor Chen suddenly remembered a recent incident circulating in the industry.
It was about the Jinling police department issuing a tender, requiring the drone’s electro-optical system performance to surpass that of the Global Hawk.
This was quite a challenging task.
They didn’t know if the military could accomplish it, but they certainly couldn’t.
“You got an order from the police?”
Thinking of the news he heard a few days ago, Professor Chen’s mind was spinning.
“Yes,” Tang Rui nodded.
Impressive! Tang Rui certainly did not show this potential during his four university years.
Professor Chen didn’t continue to question the order.
In his opinion, if Tang Rui could get an order from the police, he must have some background.
Otherwise, with the outrageous requirements of the police, even Boeing would be at a loss.
“That’s good. Since it’s a police order, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
“No, there’s still one problem, and I need your help, Professor.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Professor, can you help me find a contract manufacturer?”
Professor Chen’s mouth twitched for a moment, but he didn’t say anything for a while.
Was he really getting the order just based on connections without anything else?
He was asking for outsourcing even without complete blueprints besides the drone design?
What could he say?
He could only acknowledge that having good connections was advantageous.
“Outsourcing is not a problem. The key is how many orders you have.
If it’s not too many, you can find any company casually.”
Professor Chen thought for a moment and asked.
It wasn’t a difficult task, and he might even gain some favors in return.
Now it depended on how many orders Tang Rui had, and then he could find a suitable contractor based on that.
“The order from the Jinling police department should be in the tens of millions.
As for future orders from other city police departments, I can’t say for sure.”
‘Wow.
‘Your connections are really extraordinary.’
“Oh, in that case… we can’t approach small companies. Let me think about it.”
After saying this, Professor Chen took out his phone and started flipping through the contacts.
After a while, he made a phone call.
“Zhi Peng, are you busy?… There’s nothing urgent, but if you’re free, come to the university. I want to introduce a junior to you… Okay, I’ll wait for your call.”
He hung up the phone.
Putting down the phone, Professor Chen smiled and said, “You can also call him Senior. He was one of the first students I mentored at this university.
“Currently, he has a leadership position at
AVIC
Jinling Light Aircraft Power Company.
“If you hand over your drone project to their company, there won’t be any issues in all aspects.
“He’ll be here shortly, and we can have dinner together tonight. You can have a good chat.”
How was he an ordinary university professor?
With just one phone call, he had brought a leader from a subsidiary company of AVIC Group.