Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

It was already noon when the car entered the city of Shenzhen.

Lin Dong glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Li Xiuzhen pressed her face against the car window, her eyes almost touching the glass. She had no idea Shenzhen was like this—she thought Shantou was already very prosperous, but the skyscrapers, overpasses, and dense traffic in front of her were something she had never seen before.

My parents have rarely traveled far from home in their lives. I should take them out more often when I have time.

Lin Dong withdrew his gaze.

Li Xiuzhen kept staring at the building outside the window.

Too high.

She couldn't help but speak up.

"Ah Dong, why is this building so tall?"

She pointed to a glass-walled building outside the window, her neck craned upwards, her chin almost drooping.

Lin Dong glanced at the object she was pointing at.

"This is an office building. It's full of companies."

Li Xiuzhen clicked her tongue and looked up at the building again.

"It's so big... much taller than those buildings in Shantou."

Lin Guodong didn't say anything, but he also turned his head to look out the window.

Is this what a big city is like?

The buildings are all very tall.

Is this the place where Ah Dong opened his company?

As the car turned into Futian, the roads grew wider and the buildings taller. People in suits began to appear along the roadside, carrying briefcases and walking briskly.

Li Xiuzhen was dazzled by what she saw.

"Do all these people... work here?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"Um."

Li Xiuzhen clicked her tongue again.

The car was parked downstairs at the "International Science and Technology Building".

Li Xiuzhen got out of the car and looked up. The building was so tall that her neck ached from looking up, but she still couldn't see the top. She took two steps back and looked up again.

"Ah Dong, your company... is it listed here?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"52nd floor."

Li Xiuzhen opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

52nd Floor?

So tall?

How long does it take to ride the elevator?

Lin Guodong also got out of the car. He stood by the car and looked up at the building.

So tall?

He glanced down at his plain clothes, patted his sleeves, and tugged at the hem.

Don't embarrass your son when you go in.

Zheng Hao parked the car and walked over.

Lin Dong glanced at him.

"Let's go up."

As the elevator ascended, Li Xiuzhen held onto Lin Dong's arm tightly, her grip tightening with each passing moment.

"Ah Dong, is this elevator... safe?"

She swallowed again.

My ears feel a little uncomfortable.

Lin Dong patted her hand.

"It's okay, Mom, we'll be there soon."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a row of people standing in the corridor.

Uncle Cai stood at the front, wearing his most expensive polo shirt, his hair neatly combed.

Zhang Mingyuan, Zhou Chengyu, and Su Xiaowen stood behind him, all dressed in more formal clothes than usual.

Upon seeing Lin Dong emerge, Uncle Cai took a step forward.

"Mr. Lin, welcome home!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several people behind him pulled the pins of their ceremonial cannons with a "bang".

Confetti and sequins exploded all over the ground, covering Lin Dong from head to toe.

Several people shouted in unison:

"President Lin!"

Lin Dong stood there, stunned. He hadn't known about this part.

He glanced at Uncle Cai.

Uncle Cai had a smile on his face, his eyes almost crinkling with laughter, his expression clearly saying: Surprised? Unexpected?

Lin Dong's lips curved slightly.

"Whose idea was this?"

Uncle Cai chuckled.

"What everyone thinks."

Lin Dong didn't ask any more questions. — It seems everyone still cares about him; they knew it was his parents' first time visiting Shenzhen and their first time visiting the company, so they made special preparations.

He turned his head and glanced at Li Xiuzhen and Lin Guodong behind him.

Li Xiuzhen was still standing in the elevator, gripping the door frame, looking at the line of people outside, unsure whether she should get out.

Still shy? It's our own territory, everyone here is one of us.

Lin Dong extended his hand.

"Mom and Dad, come out! Welcome!"

Li Xiuzhen then realized what was happening and pulled Lin Guodong out of the elevator.

Uncle Cai immediately came to greet him.

"Oh, this must be your uncle and aunt! Hello, hello! I'm Wang Caisheng."

He reached out his hand, then pulled it back, wiped it on his clothes, and then reached out again.

Li Xiuzhen held his hand, somewhat at a loss.

"Hello, hello..."

Zhang Mingyuan also came over.

"Hello, uncles and aunts! My name is Zhang Mingyuan, and I work in hardware."

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses.

"Zhou Chengyu, touch algorithm."

Su Xiaowen stood behind them and nodded.

"Su Xiaowen, design."

Li Xiuzhen looked at the three people, then at the office—the Shenzhen skyline was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and inside were computers, blueprints, and various incomprehensible pieces of equipment.

She turned her head and looked at Lin Dong.

Such a big company, with so many people in this building. I didn't think much before. Is my son really that amazing?

Her face lit up with a smile.

Lin Dong looked at his mother's expression and a slight smile curved his lips. —How silly of her! Getting so worked up over such a small thing; there's always something bigger to come.

Uncle Cai, standing nearby, said, "Uncle and Aunt, come on, let me show you around!"

Uncle Cai walked ahead, introducing things as he went.

"This is the hardware R&D area, Zhang's territory. He's currently working on the third version of the motherboard design, and the power ripple has been reduced to below 8 millivolts."

Zhang Mingyuan rubbed his hands together beside him.

"It's still being optimized."

Li Xiuzhen didn't understand what "power ripple" meant. But she saw the circuit boards on the table, densely packed with components, and the solder joints were neatly arranged.

"You all...did you make all of this yourselves?"

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"Yes, we designed the board ourselves."

Li Xiuzhen glanced at the circuit boards again. She reached out to touch them, then pulled her hand back.

Uncle Cai continued walking forward.

"This is the software area, Dr. Zhou's territory. He's working on the touch algorithm, the kind of touchscreen that will make phone screens swipe by hand in the future."

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses.

"Still being optimized."

Li Xiuzhen didn't understand what "touch algorithm" meant. But when she saw the jumping curves and dense data on the screen, she felt her eyes were blurry.

"Is this...difficult?"

Zhou Chengyu thought for a moment.

"good."

Li Xiuzhen smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

Uncle Cai walked over to Su Xiaowen's side.

"This is the design area, designer Su's territory. Look at these drawings on the wall, they were all drawn by her."

The wall was covered with sketches: smooth lines resembling a mobile phone outline, detailed annotations from various angles, and several large-format renderings.

Li Xiuzhen stood in front of that wall and looked at it for a long time.

She couldn't understand the technical specifications. But she could tell these things were very attractive.

"Is this... the phone that Ah Dong is making?"

Su Xiaowen nodded.

"Yes. The final version."

Li Xiuzhen glanced at the picture again.

can't read.

She turned her head and looked at Lin Dong.

Never mind, I won't ask.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just smiled.

Anyway, it's pretty impressive.

Lin Guodong stood beside her, also looking at the drawings. Did he create all of these? How did he do it? Never mind, I can't figure it out.