It took half a day to move everything. Once the movers had left, Ning Yifan was the only person in the enormous factory.
As he walked through the factory buildings, Ning Yifan planned how to use them.
The three-story building was more than enough for him to live in, so it didn't need much work. He could simply unpack his belongings and move them in. He wasn't particularly demanding when it came to living conditions, though of course a comfortable place was always better. The building already had high-end interior finishes and all the necessary amenities, with water, electricity, gas, and internet connected. It was essentially ready to move into.
The factory itself had three floors, each eight meters high and covering an area of 1,600 square meters.
Ning Yifan planned to use the first floor as a warehouse. The parts for the Phantom Projectors he had ordered could be stored there, along with the finished products in another corner. With 1,600 square meters of space, it could easily hold tens or even hundreds of thousands of Phantom Projectors and their components.
The second floor would be devoted mainly to production. Both the Phantom Projectors he was making now and any other high-tech products he might produce in the future would be built there.
The Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm he had moved over was already set up in one corner. Unlike the small room that had been packed full before, the robotic arm, which stood over two meters tall, looked like a little toy in the factory's eight-meter-high space.
As for the top floor, Ning Yifan planned to turn it into his own workshop. Production lines, custom high-tech inventions, and other technological products would all be made there.
For now, of course, the third floor was still completely empty. But before long, it would be filled with all kinds of tools and become exactly what Ning Yifan wanted.
After making a round of the factory, Ning Yifan returned to the second floor. He planned where to position the equipment based on the available space, how the assembly line platforms would operate, how to design the conveyor belts, where to place the robotic arms for maximum efficiency, and how to automatically move finished products into storage.
Ning Yifan found it easy to put the knowledge he had learned in his dreams to use. In less than half a day, he had the entire factory neatly planned out in his mind: what machining equipment and other machines to buy, the specifications of the materials he needed, and the exact parameters of each component.
That evening, with his plans complete and everything clear in his mind, Ning Yifan spent the maximum amount he could afford placing orders online. In a single night, he spent five million!
He bought a multifunctional CNC Machining Center for machining, along with a Lathe Milling Drilling Boring Machine, CNC Punching Machine, Bending Machine, Laser Cutting Machine, Plasma Cutting Machine, Large Hydraulic Press, and more.
These weren't the best machining tools in the world, but they were good enough for Ning Yifan for now. At least he wouldn't have to order parts elsewhere just to build something like the Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm again.
He had spent seven million on the factory and another five million on the equipment. Now he had only about three million left to pay on the platform. He was completely broke.
And that last three million still had to go toward buying components for the Phantom Projectors. At that price, buying in bulk would get him parts for roughly two thousand units.
After spending most of the day taking care of everything, Ning Yifan still went to bed right on time at ten thirty that night.
Even the unfamiliar surroundings didn't bother him.
There was no need to explain what he learned that night. He simply followed his faceless teacher through all kinds of laboratories, factories, and workshops, learning how to make different technologies and products.
The process was always the same; only the subject matter changed.
Early the next morning, at five thirty, Ning Yifan got up right on schedule. It was still pitch-black outside. He changed into his running gear, left the industrial park, and ran toward the riverside beneath the streetlights.
The morning breeze brought with it the damp air from the river. Everything around him was unfamiliar, the scenery all new, and Ning Yifan ran as he looked around.
For some reason, he liked unfamiliar things. He was captivated by the feeling of walking through a strange city.
He was very pleased with the running conditions here. The streetlights were bright, and other people were out running too.
He hadn't been running long along the newly laid riverside track when he spotted someone else out for a run.
The man looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was a sturdy middle-aged man in a T-shirt and shorts, jogging along the river. When he saw Ning Yifan, he greeted him.
"Morning, young man!"
"You're up early too, Uncle."
Ning Yifan took a few quick strides and fell in behind him.
The middle-aged man turned his head. His T-shirt was already soaked with sweat. "You look unfamiliar, young man. Did you just start running?"
Ning Yifan shook his head. "No, I just moved to the neighborhood."
Wang Zhiqiang wiped the sweat from his cheek. "No wonder I've never seen you before. I'm Wang Zhiqiang. What should I call you?"
"My name's Ning Yifan. You can call me Yifan." Curious, Ning Yifan asked, "You're in great shape, Uncle Wang. Do you run every day?"
Wang Zhiqiang shook his head and sighed. "I wouldn't say that. I'm over sixty now, getting old. I just have to exercise more to stay healthy."
"Exercise is important. You look like you're only in your fifties!" Ning Yifan nodded in agreement.
Wang Zhiqiang laughed. "That's true. People who exercise regularly don't show their age as easily." Then he asked curiously, "How far are you planning to run today?"
"I don't know. I'll see how it goes. I don't know the area yet, so I want to explore a bit."
"You picked the right place to move to. Lots of people run around here, especially around six or seven in the evening. And running by the river feels great. The path is wide, and the dedicated track doesn't have any cars on it. A good run every day makes you feel wonderful!"
"Ah, when I was young, I didn't take exercise seriously and ended up with all sorts of health problems. I finally came around and started working out, but I couldn't undo the damage. You young people have it good. As long as you exercise, you're doing well!"
"How far are you running today, Uncle?"
"I'm going for a half-marathon. I usually run one once a week. I got up early today because it's a longer run. I keep a slow pace, though. It's good for your health."
The breeze by the river was cool and refreshing, and for once he wasn't running alone. They chatted as they went, making the run feel different.
They kept running until the eastern sky began to brighten and the sun rose. Ning Yifan watched the sunrise from a pavilion by the river, then headed back.
Ning Yifan ran a total of twenty-five kilometers that day, including the return trip.
It was easy to find a breakfast shop in the industrial park. It was around the time workers finishing the night shift were heading home, so the place was doing good business. The food probably tasted pretty good too.
After eating a bowl of spicy, savory beef noodles, Ning Yifan left satisfied.
Over the next few days, large delivery trucks arrived at the factory one after another, bringing the machining equipment Ning Yifan had ordered online. To get the equipment up to the third floor, he also bought a crane and flatbed carts for moving heavy machinery. Only then was he able to haul some of the massive machines, weighing over ten tons, upstairs and set them in place.
Once all the machining tools had arrived, Ning Yifan got busy with practiced ease. He ran the machines to produce component parts, assembled equipment, and finished converting the factory's second floor.
Including the original Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm, Ning Yifan built a total of twenty Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arms. He arranged them in two neat rows on the second floor, with an automatic conveyor belt running between them.
The Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arms were spaced two meters apart. Within that area, he placed the various components for the Phantom Projectors, each in its own spot according to its purpose.
All the Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arms shared a single operating system. Each could accurately carry out its own tasks without interfering with the others. They worked together even more smoothly than a pair of nimble human hands.
At the command of the control system, the conveyor belt started. The first Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm picked up a Phantom Projector's mainboard and fitted it into the device casing on the belt. The second installed the projector's bulb, the third fitted the control board, and so on.
Each Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm only needed to perform a few actions. There was no need to turn back and forth searching for different components, as the original single arm had done. The increase in efficiency was enormous!
Working together, the twenty Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arms on the production line could assemble and test a Phantom Projector from scratch in just five seconds.
For final packing, the machine-printed invoice and product accessories were placed in a cardboard box, which was then packed in an SF Express shipping bag. After signing a contract with SF Express, Ning Yifan had received a Tracking Number Printer. It printed a tracking number that was stuck onto the shipping bag. At the end of the conveyor belt, a Scanner read the number and automatically entered it into the seller's system, completing the shipping process.
The Fully Automatic Production Robotic Arm packed each finished Phantom Projector and placed it on a Flatbed Cart nearby. Once the cart was full, a computer-controlled towing unit hitched onto it and followed a preset route through the Freight Elevator to the first-floor warehouse. The towing unit uncoupled from the cart, leaving the loaded cart in the warehouse while it returned to the second floor to wait for the next load.
All that remained was for the courier to drive over and pick up the packages, which would then quickly make their way to buyers all over the world.
On the tenth day after moving into the new factory, the components for the two thousand Phantom Projectors Ning Yifan had ordered arrived. In less than half a day, all those parts had been turned into two thousand brand-new Phantom Projectors stacked in the warehouse.
After being out of stock for more than half a month, the Phantom Projectors were finally available for sale again.
Over the past half month, the story of Zhou Yuánlěi's apology had gradually faded from people's minds. But for those who had truly wanted to buy a Phantom Projector, two weeks hadn't been enough to forget about it. The more they learned about the product, the more they wanted to buy one!
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