Chapter 507: Annual Crisis

Three months after the video project launched, Shenzhen's autumn came neither rushed nor delayed.

Li Yaozong sat in the office, the outline of Fenghuang Mountain outside the window faintly visible in the morning mist. The calendar on the desk turned to September 15, Monday.

Secretary Xiao Lin pushed the door open and entered, holding a stack of folders.

"Director Li, all the project teams' weekly reports are in."

Li Yaozong nodded and took the stack of files.

The first one was Chen Feng's.

Chen Feng's reporting style was direct—every Monday morning at eight o'clock sharp, he would appear promptly at Li Yaozong's office door, holding two circuit boards, one the previous version, one the current version.

"Director Li," he placed the two boards side‑by‑side on the desk, "the left one is the SoC from three months ago, the right one is the current one."

Li Yaozong lowered his head to look.

The two boards were about the same size, but the right‑hand one was noticeably more compact, with components packed more densely and traces finer.

"How about performance?"

"The CPU frequency went from 400 MHz to 600 MHz. The GPU gained two cores, and the video‑decoding hardware test passed."

Chen Feng pointed to a small area at the upper‑right corner of the board, "This part is reserved specially for video decoding; it can hardware‑decode H. 264 and H. 265 without using the CPU."

Li Yaozong picked up the right‑hand board and turned it over several times to examine.

"What about power consumption?"

"It's fifteen percent higher than the previous version," Chen Feng said, "but performance doubled, so it's worth it."

Li Yaozong set the board down.

"Has the system been run yet?"

"Zhao Ming ran a round last week; it's basically compatible. There are minor issues, but they don't affect the whole."

Li Yaozong nodded.

Chen Feng gathered up the boards and walked away.

From start to finish, it took less than five minutes.

Chen Feng had just left when Zhao Ming's Telephone rang.

"Director Li, I have something to report from the system side."

"Speak."

"The kernel is basically stable now; we're running a stress test—continuous uptime of seventy‑two hours with no problems." Sound of paper turning came from the other end of the line, "Application compatibility is also fine; we tested fifty mainstream apps and forty‑seven ran."

"What about the remaining three?"

"Two are licensing issues, one is too old a version." Zhao Ming said, "It's not a big problem; we can fix it next month."

Li Yaozong made an affirmative sound.

"How about the video side?"

"Zhou Ye came yesterday to liaise. Their editing software runs on our system. Export speed is faster than expected, and user operation is quite smooth."

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"And live streaming?"

"The live‑streaming side is still being tuned. The main issue is network latency; we want to bring it down to under two seconds."

"Keep pushing it down."

"Understood."

The Telephone hung up.

At two in the afternoon, Zhou Ye appeared at Li Yaozong's office door.

"Director Li, do you have a moment?"

Li Yaozong lifted his head and gestured for him to come in.

Zhou Ye was holding an Engineering machine, its screen playing a video. The footage showed a young girl speaking a few lines to the camera, then the scene switched to her running on the beach.

"This is the sample we just edited." Zhou Ye handed over the mobile phone, "All done with Phoenix Cut."

Li Yaozong took the mobile phone and tapped the screen.

The video played from the start. Transitions, music, subtitles, filter—all looked natural. At the end appeared a line of text: "Use Phoenix Cut to record your life."

"Have you tried uploading it?"

"Tried it. After editing, we uploaded straight to Video Number; from hitting publish to seeing it appear took four seconds."

Zhou Ye said, "Wang Bo has statistics showing that the average playback count of user‑uploaded videos is over three hundred."

Li Yaozong looked at the girl on the screen.

"Who is she?"

"She's a new intern in our department." Zhou Ye smiled, "She studies directing and editing, knows her way around video. She's helping us with testing."

Li Yaozong returned the mobile phone to him.

"When will the editing software go live?"

"Next month." Zhou Ye said, "The internal test version has already run two rounds; feedback is good. The official version will be released on schedule."

Wang Bo's report was at 4:30 p. m.

When he knocked and entered, he was holding a printed data sheet.

"Director Li, here are the creator‑side numbers."

Li Yaozong took it and looked.

Total creators: surpassed 1.5 million.

Monthly active creators: 670,000.

Video upload volume: average 3.2 million per day.

Total creator revenue share: cumulative 73 million.

"The growth rate is faster than expected," Wang Bo said, pointing at one of the figures. "Among the creators who registered last month, forty percent were students. The content they produce is varied—some teach cooking, some discuss history, some sing, some dance."

Li Yaozong turned to the next page.

The top spot on the view‑count ranking belongs to an English‑teaching teacher. He posts one video each day, explaining an English grammar point. Cumulative views: 87 million.

The second place is a craft‑making aunt. She uses discarded cardboard to make various little gadgets and teaches people how to turn waste into treasure. Cumulative views: 72 million.

The third place is a university student. He records songs in his dorm and covers popular tracks. Cumulative views: 65 million.

Li Yaozong finished reading and set the report down.

"Has the creator revenue been paid on time?"

"Paid on schedule," Wang Bo said. "We pay the previous month's amount on the 15th of each month, without fail. Some people have earned over ten thousand a month from this."

Li Yaozong nodded.

Wang Bo turned and left.

At seven p. m., Li Yaozong was about to leave the office when his phone rang.

It was Lin Jiawen.

Lin Jiawen, president of Wanshang Bank, has worked at Wanshang Bank for fifteen years, starting as a teller and rising step by step to his current position.

"President Li, is now a good time to talk?"

Li Yaozong sat back down.

"Go ahead."

"There's a situation in the United States," Lin Jiawen said, his voice a bit deeper than usual. "Lehman Brothers' stock fell another forty percent today, and rumors are circulating that they're about to collapse."

Li Yaozong frowned.

"When did this happen?"

"Just today," Lin Jiawen said. "Our Hong Kong branch colleagues monitored the market all day; trading volume was abnormal, with a large institution offloading assets."

Li Yaozong was silent for a few seconds.

"Do we have any business dealings with Lehman?"

"No," Lin Jiawen replied. "Zhou Zong instructed before retirement that we should avoid all high‑risk products from those American investment banks. We've been following that policy."

Li Yaozong hummed in acknowledgment.

"What's your take?"

"I think something's off," Lin Jiawen said. "If Lehman collapses, the chain reaction will be severe. Those American banks are holding a pile of bad debts, and no one knows when they'll explode."

He paused.

"President Li, I suggest we prepare in advance,"

Li Yaozong held the Telephone, thinking for a moment.

"What do you plan to do?"

"First, tighten credit," Lin Jiawen said. "All loans related to foreign trade should be re‑evaluated. High‑risk ones should be recalled."

"Second, increase reserves. I recommend boosting Wanshang Bank's foreign‑exchange position by another thirty percent. Cash is king; having money on hand keeps the mind calm."

"Third, keep an eye on Hong Kong. Hong Kong is tightly linked to the mainland, and if something goes wrong in the United States, Hong Kong will be the first affected. Our Hong Kong operations need pre‑emptive risk mitigation."

Li Yaozong listened and did not respond immediately.

"Jiawen, how confident are you?"

"It's not a matter of confidence," Lin Jiawen said. "It's about prevention. Even if Lehman survives, our advance preparation costs nothing. But if a crisis hits and we aren't ready, it'll be too late."

Li Yaozong was silent for a few seconds.

"We'll do as you say."

"Alright."

The Telephone was hung up.

Li Yaozong sat in the office for a long time.

He recalled something his father had said.

"Running a business is like sailing on the ocean. When the wind and waves are calm, anyone can steer. When the storm comes, you see who truly knows the ropes."

Now, the storm may be approaching.

He picked up the Telephone and dialed another number.

"Chen Feng?"

"President Li?"

"Can we push the SoC progress forward even more?"

The other end was silent for two seconds.

"Yes," Chen Feng said. "But we need to add personnel."

"People aren't the issue," Li Yaozong said. "What about time?"

"If everything goes smoothly, we can have a prototype by March next year, two months ahead of schedule."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Alright. Thanks for the effort."

He hung up and dialed Zhao Ming.

"How's the stability testing on the system side?"

"It's fine," Zhao Ming said. "Running continuously for a hundred hours hasn't produced major issues. There are a few minor bugs, which are being fixed."

"Can we compress the timeline further?"

Zhao Ming thought for a moment.

Okay. But the test cycle is shortened, so the risk will be a bit higher.

How big?

About five percent." Zhao Ming said, "If luck is good, no problem. If luck is bad, some bugs might only be exposed after going live."

Li Yaozong fell silent for a few seconds.

If it's exposed, we fix it. As users use it, they'll always find problems we can't.

Zhao Ming gave an affirmative hum.

Understood.

The next morning, Lin Jiawen's phone rang again.

"Mr. Li, Lehman has applied for bankruptcy protection."

Li Yaozong held the phone, saying nothing.

Outside the window, Shenzhen's sky was dull and gray, the clouds hanging low.

How are our preparations going?

On the credit side, we've tightened a batch. Foreign exchange reserves have increased by twenty percent, and the remaining ten percent will be in place this week.

Lin Jiawen said, "I've also given Hong Kong a heads-up. They're watching the market and will report any abnormalities immediately."

Li Yaozong gave an affirmative hum.

What about other banks?

They're all moving." Lin Jiawen said, "The news spreads fast, nobody's stupid. But few act quickly; we're among the early ones.

Li Yaozong fell silent for a few seconds.

Keep watching. Tell me immediately if anything happens.

Understood.

At three in the afternoon, Li Yaozong went to the Nanshan R&D Center.

Building No. 8, Video Technology Department.

Zhou Ye was giving a meeting to a group, with a new filter effect displayed on the projection screen. Seeing Li Yaozong enter, he paused briefly, then gestured for the meeting to continue.

Li Yaozong stood at the back, looking at that screen.

The screen showed a young girl making various expressions in front of the camera. The filter automatically recognized her face, adding rabbit ears, cat whiskers, and a rosy blush. When she smiled, the ears moved; when she blinked, the whiskers twitched.

After Zhou Ye finished speaking, he walked over.

"Mr. Li, why did you come?"

"Just taking a look." Li Yaozong said, "When can these filters go live?"

"Next month." Zhou Ye said, "Together with the editing software."

Li Yaozong nodded.

How's the video side looking data-wise?

Zhou Ye pulled out his phone and tapped a few times.

Average daily plays exceed 1.5 billion. Average daily uploads are 3.5 million. Creator revenue share increased another twenty percent this month.

He handed the phone over.

Li Yaozong took it and looked.

On the screen was a video of a middle-aged man teaching cooking. His knife skills were excellent, chopping vegetables quickly and steadily. Below the video, comments had already exceeded three thousand.

"This is one of our top creators." Zhou Ye said, "Earning over twenty thousand a month in revenue share from cooking videos."

Li Yaozong returned the phone to him.

Pretty good.

Leaving Building No. 8, the sky was already dark.

Li Yaozong stood downstairs, looking at the opposite buildings lit up.

Building No. 3, Crystal Department. Building No. 5, System Department. Building No. 6, Hardware Department. Building No. 7, Ecology Department. Building No. 8, Video Department.

In every building, someone was working overtime. Under every light, someone was writing code, drawing schematics, or adjusting equipment.

He recalled Lin Jiawen's words.

"Lehman has collapsed; the chain reaction will be severe."

He didn't know how long this storm would last or how strong it would blow. But he knew that when the wind and waves come, the ship must stay steady.

Whether the ship stays steady depends not on luck, but on preparation.

At eleven at night, Li Yaozong left the office.

The elevator went down to the first floor, the door opened, and a person was standing outside.

It was Lin Jiawen.

"Li Zong."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"So late, and you haven't gone back?"

Lin Jiawen smiled.

"Just came back from Hong Kong. Some matters are clearer when said face‑to‑face."

The two walked out of the building and stood on the steps at the entrance.

The traffic on Shen Nan Avenue had already thinned, and occasionally a few taxis passed by.

"Over in the United States, the situation isn't good," Lin Jiawen said, "Lehman collapsed, Merrill sold, AIG is also about to buckle. The market is panicking now, everyone is fleeing."

Li Yaozong said nothing.

"We can say we dodged a disaster," Lin Jiawen said, "Zhou Zong set the rule back then not to touch high‑risk products; now it really looks like foresight."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"What's next?"

"Hard to say." Lin Jiawen said, "It might still blow up. But we're prepared, so we're not afraid."

Li Yaozong fell silent for a few seconds.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Lin Jiawen shook his head.

"That's right."

The two stood there for a moment, each got into their car, and disappeared into the night.

The next morning, the sunshine was good.

Li Yaozong sat in the office, with several weekly reports placed before him.

Chen Feng's SoC moved forward another step.

Zhao Ming's system passed the stress test.

Zhou Ye's video software got good feedback in internal testing.

Wang Bo's creator revenue share, the data kept rising.

Liu Yang's screen, the sample arrived.

Zhang Lei's battery, the fast-charging plan was set.

Lin Jiawen's bank, the reserve fund was sufficient.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

The wind and waves came.

But the boat remained steady.