Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 373 Are you OK?

Even among wealthy individuals who limit their search to mainland China, countless people flock to the destination.

Of course, having money and the willingness doesn't necessarily mean you'll dare to spend it.

After all, Lin Ran had emphasized that the price was not cheap, and because she was going with Lin Ran and was the first person to go on a lunar tourism trip, she would attract a huge amount of attention and be put under the spotlight and scrutinized by the Chinese people.

If an unknown person suddenly appears with so much money, they'll definitely investigate the source of that money.

Therefore, the scope needs to be further narrowed down.

The most enthusiastic are the founders of new energy vehicles, for whom this is equivalent to spending money on a long-term, continuous marketing campaign.

The fact that the company's founder was the first person from an automotive company to go to the moon can certainly add a lot of value to the company's brand.

Huawei and Xiaomi have seen remarkable marketing results after partnering with Apollo Technology.

The lunar exploration edition of the Xiaomi SU7 is more expensive than the regular version, but it sells better. The Xiaomi SU7 also created a miracle; the former is sold because of the brand collaboration, while the latter is sold because of the lunar rover's branded advertising.

New energy vehicle manufacturers don't realize that even without the promotional effect of Apollo Technology, these two models would still sell very well.

From their perspective, with the support of Apollo Technology, Huawei and Xiaomi, two newcomers to the automotive industry, have created a huge wave in the new energy vehicle industry, selling their vehicles at both high prices and at high quality.

Therefore, they naturally overestimated the effectiveness of Apollo Technology's marketing. The founders of NIO and XPeng all valued this lunar landing opportunity highly, even though NIO and XPeng were not yet profitable.

However, the one with the keenest sense of smell, the highest price, and the best ability to get things done is still Mr. Lei, the cash king of Beijing.

The hot sales of the Xiaomi SU7 gave Lei Jun more confidence to use the company's money to realize his dream of going to the moon.

"Mr. Lei, Apollo Technology is very satisfied with your quote. They mean that you need to put aside your current work and undergo at least a month of training, from medical examination to training."

"What do you think?" Xu Fei reported.

Xiaomi's offer of $10 billion is the highest among all domestic offers.

After seeing the quote, Lin Ran thought about it and decided that from the perspective of publicity effect, he should choose Boss Lei. Boss Lei would be the most effective.

As for why it wasn't Pony, Pony himself wanted to go, but his role was CEO of Apollo Technology.

It's not good for a CEO to buy his own company's products; it gives outsiders the impression that he has the final say.

Furthermore, for Apollo Technology, lunar landings have become routine operations, and in the future, they will even develop lunar landings into space tourism products.

Pony had plenty of opportunities to go; it wasn't about being the first person to walk on the moon, so Pony didn't even sign up.

The other horse of the two horses was still living a carefree life in Japan at the time, and he had no interest in joining in the fun.

"No problem, please agree to it for me. Remember to find a sufficiently professional live streaming team and documentary team. They need to be professional enough, because our internal team isn't professional enough for this task."

From the moment I started training, I had to livestream the entire process.

"Every single penny of this billion dollars will be spent wisely!" Lei Jun said fiercely.

$10 billion is no cheap figure; it was only the huge sales of the SU7 that gave Lei Jun such confidence.

The training center is in Wenchang, not Yanjing. The astronaut center in Yanjing is for training professional astronauts.

Apollo Technologies also collaborates with the Wenchang Space Center for Astronaut Training, where space travelers receive training.

Before going to receive training and film videos, Lei Jun chose to fly to Shanghai first to hold a signing ceremony.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lei Jun, and standing next to me is my good friend, CEO Lin Ran. I'm very happy to tell you all that I've got my ticket to the moon!"

He waved the moon-shaped ticket in his hand.

The design is unique, featuring both the moon and the earth; it's a wide-angle view taken by Apollo astronauts on the moon.

"Look, everyone, there's a number on the ticket, it's No. 00001, which means I'll be the first passenger!" Lei Jun held the ticket up to the camera to show the audience.

Lin Ran smiled and nodded.

This is the first short video.

Of course, there's more than one.

"Mr. Lei, how are you feeling right now?"

"I am very excited right now. I haven't taken a vacation in a long time. After seeing that Mr. Lin's company started selling lunar tourism projects, I was tempted. I believe that everyone has a dream of going to the moon."

Especially for our generation, who have experienced the transformation of the country's space program from weak to strong, I first checked my schedule to see if I could make time for it, because lunar landing is not a simple matter; it involves training. I also communicated with my colleagues to see if I could leave for a month before finally finalizing the itinerary.

I think I'm very lucky. If it were last year, before our Xiaomi SU7 was launched, I wouldn't have been able to go even if I wanted to, because work would definitely be the priority. This year I'm very fortunate. Not only can I go, but I'm also with President Lin. I can personally receive popular science education from a great scientist.

I believe this is a privilege that future visitors to the moon will not enjoy.

Then came the third short video, which showed the signing process and Lei Jun handing the keys to a brand-new Xiaomi SU7 to Lin Ran:
"This Xiaomi SU7 is a gift from me to Mr. Lin. I hope it will allow him to experience the driving pleasure brought by Xiaomi technology."

Three short videos were released in a row, one every two hours, which completely ignited public opinion on the simplified Chinese internet.

The number of likes on Douyin exceeded one million on the same day, and the number of views in the background exceeded one hundred million.

Lei Jun's brilliance lies in his refusal to mention how much money he spent or to discuss his marketing strategy. Instead, he subtly inserts Xiaomi car advertisements into the videos, always emphasizing Xiaomi when he does mention it. He suggests that he and the viewers are part of the company, and that Xiaomi car is part of the viewers' business, not just his last entrepreneurial venture.

In Wenchang in August, at 7:30 in the morning, the air is filled with a damp, salty smell, a unique scent of the seaside.

The glass canopy of the training center still had water droplets hanging from it from last night.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Lei Jun. Today I am at the Wenchang Spacecraft Center. Today I need to have a basic physical examination, and then I will begin a month-long training. I am very nervous. I have a feeling that I am going to the battlefield."

A moon landing is a very rare event, and to make everyone feel more involved, I specifically used our unreleased Xiaomi glasses to film the entire process from a first-person perspective, hoping to provide a better sense of immersion.

He smiled at the vertical screen of his phone next to the shoulder-mounted camera, with a pair of black-rimmed glasses hanging on his ear that looked unlike ordinary glasses.

There was a dedicated lighting technician next to the photographer to handle the lighting.

The light shining on her face made her look more energetic than she actually was.

There were two views simultaneously in the live stream: one was the photographer's third-person perspective, and the other was the Xiaomi glasses' first-person perspective.

The number of viewers in the Douyin live stream exceeded 100,000 as soon as it started. Apart from the staff behind the scenes, no one knew the exact number. Some guessed 500,000, while others guessed 1 million.

The barrage of comments was so dense that it was impossible to see them all with the naked eye.

"Thor was a master of marketing; he fully realized the maximum value of the moon landing."

"I don't think even the god of fire (the company) expected this kind of marketing method; otherwise, they would definitely have used an auction system."

"Mr. Lei is making a killing."

"Could Thor add a little money and include the Xiaomi SU7 along with it?"

When will these glasses go on sale?

"Remember to wear your glasses during the final moon landing! I want to see the first moment of the moon landing!"

"Lei Jun is still the master of marketing. I feel like the founders of other car companies must be cursing. From today until the end of the moon landing, Lei Jun will dominate the trending topics for half a year."

"Holy crap, it's a whole filming crew?"

From Lei Jun's perspective, the entire scene was a restrained yet efficient filming team: two gimbal cameras, one shoulder-mounted camera, and a telephoto lens slowly pushed and pulled on the slider; two lighting lights were set up around the perimeter; the sound was recorded using a lavalier microphone and a spare long-pole microphone.

Within sight, there was also a team focused on watching the data, allowing the filming crew to make technical adjustments at any time.

On the monitoring screen in the background, the peak online traffic kept rising.

No one was chatting in the live-streaming operations group of Lei Jun, Xiaomi's headquarters in Yizhuang, Beijing.

Data shows that the live stream lasted 21 seconds and had an interaction rate of 9.7%.

Weibo's content operation appropriately pushed pre-set topics to the top of the trending searches: #LeiJunMoonLandingPreparation#, #LeiZongTrainingDiary#.

The training center's front desk is not much different from a private hospital.

The receptionist nurse checked my ID and insurance, and handed me a stack of forms, including routine medical history and flight-related questionnaires: history of motion sickness, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and family history of arrhythmia.

The nurse clipped a pulse oximeter to his hand, while another person attached a three-lead ECG to his wrist.

Lei Jun nodded: "The process is not complicated, it's similar to a regular physical examination. Viewers, don't worry about my health. Although I'm getting older, I've always been committed to exercising and running, and I personally feel that I'm still very young."

After the physical examination, Lei Jun and the filming team waited in the waiting room.

The staff member in charge of training came out and signaled that Lei Jun could enter the cabin.

The door closed, and the numbers on the dashboard slowly decreased from 101 kPa.

"The altitude here will drop to what is equivalent to a high altitude, so be careful when swallowing and adjusting your ear pressure," the staff member said.

Lei Jun swallowed hard twice, speaking from a third-person perspective through the glass: "It feels a bit like climbing a mountain."

There is a simple puzzle plugin and a matching puzzle on the desktop.

Lei Jun was still able to handle 90 kPa with ease, but his movements became noticeably slower at 65 kPa.

The camera outside the cabin gave a close-up of the hands.

After stepping out of the pressure chamber, Lei Jun grinned at the camera: "It feels amazing, but I've had this feeling countless times before. When we're starting a business, we also have low pressure moments. Financial pressure is like not having enough oxygen, making it hard for us to breathe. But at this time, what we need to do is to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Only when you have something in your possession do you have the confidence to attract investment."

The next project is a swivel chair, which is a very old project, but one that has always been around.

Very effective equipment.

The staff tightened the seat belt and reminded Lei Jun to keep an eye on the black spot on the wall.

The chair began to rotate at a fixed angular velocity. Lei Jun remained silent for more than ten seconds before his breathing became steady.

The viewers in the live chat reacted strongly:
"Mr. Lei, stop spinning, I'm so dizzy!"

"Looks like I'm not cut out to be an astronaut; this level of intensity is enough to make me want to throw up."

"Mr. Lei's health is impressive; he doesn't even flinch or skip a beat."

When he stopped, he took off his blindfold and said to the camera, "When we are making products, it is easy to be confused by all kinds of voices, but we must keep an eye on one point, which is the core needs of users. In this way, the products we make will not deviate too far from the market."

This is the secret to why Xiaomi products consistently achieve good sales.

The telephoto camera zooms in, and the director gestures: Slow motion, leave a three-second pause.

In the back-end brand collaboration group, a colleague from Xiaomi Auto chimed in: "Remember to have all the KOLs repeatedly emphasize this point: Xiaomi has always focused on the core needs of its users."

The operations team replied: "Yes, this post is indeed suitable for matrix reposting rather than hard-sell advertising."

For a whole month, you could see Lei Jun and Xiaomi trending on Weibo every day.

It usually fluctuates between 20 and 30 on Weibo's trending topics list, and often climbs into the top ten or even the top five.

This made Lin Ran and Pony sigh privately, "If we were in the B2C business, I would definitely have to learn from Mr. Lei."

Pony nodded and said, "Before Lei Jun started Xiaomi, his eloquence and marketing awareness were not as outstanding as they are now."

Through the process of founding Xiaomi, he achieved rapid growth in marketing. I know that he trained his speeches by McKinsey's top speech experts, following a verbatim script.

His current level even surpasses that of expert speakers, reaching the limit of what an ordinary person can achieve.

Pony then remarked with a sigh, "Mr. Lin, do you know why Huawei didn't try to secure this ticket?"

Lin Ran said, "Because Mr. Ren is old and Mr. Yu is just a manager, how could Huawei possibly spend hundreds of millions of dollars to send a manager to space, even if it's for marketing purposes?"

Even if Yu Dazui could persuade Elder Ren, he wouldn't be able to quell the internal dissent.

Pony said, "Yes, that's the difference between starting your own business and working for someone else. No matter how well you do when you work for someone else, your authority is still limited."

This is also the sentiment expressed by outsiders: in just one month, both traffic and sales have soared.

The hashtags related to Lei Jun's moon landing became incredibly popular, and the number of views for the live stream videos was also very impressive. All the traffic in the automotive industry was focused on Lei Jun.

The combined traffic of other new energy vehicle brands is less than one-tenth of Xiaomi's.

Automotive social media accounts are discussing this, the media is discussing this, and netizens are also discussing this.

Meanwhile, the number of new orders for the Xiaomi SU7 has been over 6 per week, more than double the previous number. The waiting period for ordering the car has increased from four months to six months, which is comparable to getting an adrenaline shot.

Li Bin, CEO of NIO, slapped his thigh in regret at the company: "If I had known, we should have offered more money to try and seize this opportunity. The results were just too good."

Although Xiaomi has not publicly disclosed that they spent $10 billion, Xiaomi is a publicly listed company, and everyone has their own channels, so it is impossible to completely block the news.

At first, everyone thought it was too expensive and definitely not worth the ticket price, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

They later discovered that not only was it worth the price of admission, but in the long run, they could even make a fortune, and they all regretted it.

They not only regretted it, but also took every opportunity to make sarcastic remarks. Lei Jun was training in Wenchang, and he didn't attend the automotive-related forum.

A competitor directly mocked us on the forum: "I think we are a car manufacturer, and the most important thing is to build good cars and provide consumers with good products, instead of just focusing on marketing and ignoring product quality."

"I strongly agree with Chairman Wei's suggestion. Marketing cannot change the essence of your product. Even if you really go to the moon, does that prove that your product has aerospace-grade quality? I see many self-media outlets associating certain brands with aerospace, and car companies don't come out to correct this, allowing self-media to mislead our consumers. I am very worried about this situation." The competitor who spoke later was even more direct.

But there's no way around it; if you don't mention Lei Jun, the entire forum gets no traffic, but if you do, related trending topics will immediately appear on your list.

At 4:30 a.m., the Wenchang Launch Center was brightly lit.

The surrounding area was filled with countless tourists who came to watch the spectacle.

The Wenchang launch center was already a tourist attraction in Hainan, and in the past two years it has even become a must-visit spot on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform).

Today, two big names, Lin Ran and Lei Jun, are going to the moon. Although we can't see them from a great distance, we can still watch the rocket launch.

Watching a rocket launch, taking a picture, and posting it on WeChat Moments or Xiaohongshu is enough to make the ticket price worthwhile; just add a caption that says it's a historic moment.

The surrounding businesses also started opening early at 3 a.m., selling the latest souvenirs from the Yangtze River Delta region, including 1:1 replicas of Apollo Technology's ship tickets. They were not authorized, but that's what they did for a living.

It's even more expensive than what's sold in the official online store. The official cruise ticket souvenir only costs you 49, and it even comes with a small frame that can be used as a decoration, but here it's just a piece of paper that costs you 88.

The rain had just stopped, and a thin layer of water remained on the concrete ground, reflecting the steel frame of the launch tower and the white rocket body.

Burning One Mod has only changed its name once, from Burning One to Burning One Mod, but it's actually version 5.0 now, and it's been changed four times. It's completely different from the original version.

This is similar to the Falcon 9, which has undergone countless revisions, but is still called Falcon 9.

Lei Jun, dressed in a flight suit and carrying a black camera bag, followed the ground crew toward the shuttle bus.

This time there is no third-person perspective, only the first-person perspective from Xiaomi glasses.

The comments on Douyin (TikTok) have become incredibly dense:
"Witness history!"

Where is the God of Burning?

"Holy crap, we're really going!"

"Mr. Lei, aren't you bringing the Xiaomi SU7 up?"

The other two team members, Wei Xuhang and Lin Ran, were already waiting for him in the car.

Wei Xuhang appeared somewhat reserved. Both of them were big shots, and after he greeted them, he remained silent.

Lei Jun jokingly remarked, "This time, we'll rely on our lucky 'space koi' to ensure a safe journey."

Lin Ran and Lei Jun exchanged brief greetings, and then the car became quiet. Everyone shared a similar feeling of anticipation.

Lin Ran knew that this trip involved a very important scientific research mission, and he would also be able to direct Lei Jun to help with the mortar preparation and laying the framework for the electromagnetic track. He was looking forward to seeing Lei Jun work and having a good time.

Wei Xuhang, on the other hand, was concerned about whether the testing of the low-temperature superconducting chip could proceed smoothly.

Lei Jun, on the other hand, is looking forward to his first-ever lunar mission. He knows very well that the marketing costs over the past month have definitely been recouped, and Xiaomi's market value has increased by far more than $10 billion.

The launch tower outside the window stood like a colossal behemoth, completely different from what I saw on TV.

Lei Jun couldn't help but say, "I'm not going to a new product launch this time, I'm going to a launch tower. I've never been so excited before."

Lin Ran walked beside him, smiling as he asked, "President Lei, are you OK?"

(End of this chapter)