Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

The office door closed.

Lin Dong walked to the window and looked at the brightly lit night view outside.

The aluminum materials arrived, the cash was realized, and 50 million yuan was in the account. Ding Xiao arrived, so we have someone in the embedded systems field. Zhang Mingyuan's plan is also finalized; all we need now is the aluminum materials to be delivered.

The timing was perfect. Every step was timed perfectly.

We're leaving for Dongguan tomorrow to deliver the aluminum materials to Li Guohui. I'll get Zhang Mingyuan and Su Xiaowen on the job.

I have an appointment with ATL tomorrow afternoon to finalize the battery details.

It took another small step forward.

He looked back.

Take it one step at a time.

The next day.

morning.

On the way to Dongguan.

The car was driving smoothly on the highway.

Ah-hao gripped the steering wheel, saying nothing.

Lin Dong leaned back in the passenger seat with his eyes closed.

In the back seat, Zhang Mingyuan was holding his laptop, still looking at the data.

"This ripple should be reduced even further after the outer casing is made, installed, and run through it again..."

Su Xiaowen sat next to him, looking out the window.

"Is this your first time going?"

Zhang Mingyuan raised his head.

"Yes. I've only heard about it from Engineer Li; I've never seen it in person."

Su Xiaowen nodded.

This was her first time too.

I joined the company in June, and it's been more than two months now.

After drawing hundreds of sketches and producing dozens of versions of the plan, Lin Dong finally nodded in approval for the last one.

But those are all just things on paper.

Today we can finally see them become real.

Those lines, those curves, those details she revised countless times—what will they look like on the machine?

She was a little nervous.

Zhang Mingyuan lowered his head again and continued looking at his data.

With a ripple level of 7.8 and a 5% reduction in power consumption, General Manager Lin nodded in approval.

But that's a simulation.

The simulation ran ten thousand times, but it was all just numbers. Today, I can finally see the real thing.

Once the aluminum arrives, the machines start running, the product is made, installed, and put into operation—only then do we know if it's working or not.

He glanced at Su Xiaowen.

She stared out the window, lost in thought.

She must be thinking about that shell too.

He looked away and continued watching the screen.

The car drove into the gate of "Oriental Precision".

The factory area was larger than I had imagined. Several factory buildings were neatly arranged, and a few trucks were parked at the entrance. The air smelled of cutting fluid.

Zhang Mingyuan got out of the car and looked around.

The time has finally come to get serious.

He took a deep breath.

Su Xiaowen stood next to him, also looking at the factory buildings.

She wanted to see if these machines could make her drawings.

She gripped the blueprints in her hand and followed.

The warehouse door was open.

Li Guohui was already waiting at the door.

The aluminum materials were neatly stacked in the warehouse, the silvery-white metal gleaming coldly under the lights.

Seeing Lin Dong and the others get out of the car, Li Guohui quickly walked up to them.

"President Lin!"

Lin Dong nodded and walked into the warehouse.

Li Guohui followed beside him.

"The materials arrived last night, and I checked them all overnight. Every piece matches perfectly, and the quality is even better than expected."

Lin Dong stood in front of the pile of aluminum materials and looked at it for a few seconds.

This batch is for testing.

He knew it in his heart.

Experimentation, prototyping, mold modification, and further testing—after all that, very little aluminum was left. The batch that would actually be made into phones was still to come, still on the cargo ship with Anderson.

But this batch is just the beginning.

Without this batch, no matter how good the others are, they won't be able to be implemented.

Those lines, those curves, those dimension markings.

These aluminum ingots in front of him were still square blanks, but he could already see what they would look like after they were processed—the first batch would definitely have flaws, and a lot of them would definitely be wasted.

It's okay.

All the wasted money was tuition. What remains will become the frame and casing of Oriental Mobile.

All those blueprints, those data, those simulations that ran countless times were all for naught.

Right now, this thing is right under my hand; I can touch it.

He turned around.

Zhang Mingyuan stood to the side, staring intently at the pile of aluminum materials, his eyes unblinking.

After working in the factory for so many years, repairing machines and other people's things every day, I'm finally able to make my own.

Su Xiaowen clutched the blueprints.

Her designs—those lines rejected by her previous company, those curves abandoned due to cost—were finally made.

Li Guohui stood at the very back, staring at the pile of aluminum materials, his hands trembling. In all these years, no one had ever told him, "Do it as well as you can."

Lin Dong looked at them.

I should say something.

"This is the first batch of mobile phones we received."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear in the warehouse.

"All the previous efforts and dedication were on blueprints and on computers. You know better than me that no matter how many times those things are run, it's all in vain."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"Things are different now."

Lin Dong patted the pile of aluminum again.

"This batch is right here in our own factory, in this warehouse. We can touch it, process it, and turn it into something that belongs to us."

Lin Dong looked at him.

"I've worked in the factory for so many years, always repairing other people's machines. Now I can work for myself."

Zhang Mingyuan's Adam's apple bobbed.

"From today onwards, your motherboard will be installed in this casing."

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes reddened.

Lin Dong turned to Su Xiaowen.

"Your designs, your lines, your details that were revised countless times. Your previous company said the cost was too high and the process too complicated, they couldn't do it. You told me you wanted to create something uncompromising."

Su Xiaowen bit her lip.

"Now it's ready. Use this material, regardless of cost. Complete your entire design."

Su Xiaowen didn't say anything, but she crumpled the blueprints in her hand.

Lin Dong looked at Li Guohui.

"After all these years, what's the phrase you've heard most often? 'Good enough'. 'Good enough'. 'Save money wherever you can't'. You told me you wanted to make truly good things."

Li Guohui nodded.

"It's ready now. This material is the best. You decide on the craftsmanship. Make it as good as you can."

Li Guohui didn't say anything, but his eyes also reddened.

Lin Dong looked at the three of them.

Why do I make mobile phones? It's not for the money.

He paused.

"I want to create something that future generations can take apart and see that it's their own. It's a chip from Dongfang Technology, a system from Dongfang Technology, and a design from Dongfang Technology. I want to make the word 'Dongfang' no longer synonymous with OEM, knockoffs, and cheap goods."

He looked at them.

"You're not here to work for me. You're here to do what you want to do. Zhang Mingyuan wants to build his own hardware, Su Xiaowen wants to create uncompromising designs, and Li Guohui wants to create truly excellent craftsmanship."

He paused.

"I know it's still difficult right now. The mid-frame, the outer shell, it all starts with this piece of aluminum."

He pointed to the pile of silvery-white metal.

No one spoke.

Su Xiaowen stood there, looking at the pile of aluminum materials, then at the blueprints in her hand. Those rejected designs, those lines abandoned due to cost—finally, they could be made.

Li Guohui stood to the side, motionless. After so many years, he finally didn't have to hear "good enough" anymore.

A few seconds later, Zhang Mingyuan looked up.

"Mr. Lin, when do we start?"

Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly.

"Now."

He turned and walked out.

He stopped at the door and looked back.

The three people were still squatting in front of the pile of aluminum, heads close together.

Lin Dong opened the car door.

"Ah-Hao, let's go."