Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

8 month 16 day.

Shenzhen Bao'an Airport.

The plane taxis, comes to a stop, and the cabin door opens.

Lin Dong stood at the arrival gate, watching the flow of people surge out.

Cheng Chuan was the first to rush out.

He was finally back. He took a deep breath. The air in China smelled so good, without that indescribable odor from abroad. During his time in the US, he'd thought about the air so much, putting everything else aside.

He was wearing a gray T-shirt, carrying a large backpack, and had an irrepressible smile on his face. His eyes lit up when he saw Lin Dong, and he rushed over.

"Lin Dong!"

Lin Dong nodded. This kid is still the same old him.

"arrive."

Cheng Chuan chuckled twice, then turned around and called out to those behind him.

"Brother! Hurry up!"

Cheng Yu pulled his suitcase out, much slower than his brother.

What's the rush? It's not like we're catching a flight.

This kid, how old is he? He's still acting like a child. We've seen it all before. When will he ever be able to behave properly?

He wore a dark blue shirt, neatly tidied up. As he walked over, he first looked at Lin Dong, then at the surroundings.

"President Lin."

Lin Dong extended his hand.

Cheng Yu grasped it.

"You must have had a long journey."

Cheng Yu smiled.

"good."

Cheng Chuan, standing to the side, was already impatient.

"Lin Dong, where's Ding Xiao? Didn't she come?"

"At the company."

Cheng Chuan nodded.

"Let's hurry up, it's been so long since we've seen her."

As soon as Cheng Chuan got into the car, he began to look around.

A black Mercedes, leather seats, and the air conditioning is just right.

He touched the handrail, looked at Ah Hao in front of him, and moved closer to Lin Dong.

"Great, this car is impressive."

Cheng Yu sat in the back, not saying a word, but also watching. It seemed that Lin Dong was doing even better in Shenzhen than expected.

The car drove out of the airport and onto the highway.

Lin Dong leaned back in his seat and spoke first.

"Let me update you on the latest progress."

Cheng Chuan leaned closer, and Cheng Yu sat up straight as well.

"The battery has arrived. It's from ATL, with an energy density of 580. The data should be running smoothly today."

Cheng Chuan was stunned for a moment.

"580? That's so much more expensive than the market price?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"ATL Labs' latest model. We took twenty samples."

Cheng Yu nodded beside him.

"That's good."

Lin Dong continued.

"The outer casing is also finished, with a tolerance of 0.1 millimeters, and the battery compartment fits perfectly. Su Xiaowen has finalized the design."

Cheng Chuan's eyes lit up.

"So the shell is viewable now?"

Lin Dong glanced at him.

"You'll see it when you get to the company."

"What about the motherboard solution?" Cheng Yu asked.

"Once the battery data runs smoothly, we should be able to ship it today. It will be running as soon as the board arrives."

Cheng Chuan chimed in from the side.

"So what can the two of us do here?"

Lin Dong looked at him.

Cheng Chuan, Radio Frequency (RF). He's in charge of everything: antenna placement, RF parameters, and overall system interference. Now that the casing is finalized, the battery is sorted out, and the motherboard design is complete, it's the perfect time for him to step in.

Cheng Yu, structural stacking. He was in charge of how to fit the motherboard, battery, screen, camera, and other components in, how to fix them, and how to route the cables.

"You two take a look at the plan first," Lin Dong said. "Once the parts arrive, we'll get right to work."

Cheng Chuan was stunned for a moment.

"The parts haven't arrived yet?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"I'll go to South Korea to negotiate the screen. As for the other components, I'll arrange for Manager Wang to purchase them. They should all arrive around October."

Cheng Chuan thought for a moment.

"So what will we be doing these next few months?"

"Look at the plan and familiarize yourself with the situation. We'll talk about it again when the goods arrive."

Cheng Yu hummed in agreement.

"OK."

As the car drove into Futian, more and more high-rise buildings appeared.

Cheng Chuan leaned against the window, looking at the glass curtain walls outside.

"Lin Dong, where is your company located?"

Lin Dong pointed ahead.

That building.

Cheng Chuan followed his gaze.

Which building?

"The tallest one."

Cheng Chuan paused for a moment, then glanced at the building a couple more times. The tallest one; renting a shop there would provide enough space.

Cheng Yu glanced out from behind. The tallest building. It seemed Lin Dong's side was more formal than he'd imagined.

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

The three people got out of the car and walked inside.

The elevator went up.

Cheng Chuan looked at the numbers flashing on the elevator panel; they had arrived at the 52nd floor.

The elevator doors opened.

The glass doors facing the company are brightly lit inside, and you can see people walking around. The entire floor is filled with floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an unbelievably expansive view.

Cheng Chuan stepped inside, stood at the door, and looked around.

He turned his head and looked at Lin Dong.

"Lin Dong, this entire floor... the rented space is pretty good, it must have cost a lot, right?"

Lin Dong looked at him. This kid, he thought it was rented.

"Bought."

Cheng Chuan opened his mouth, but no words came out. Cheng Yu, standing behind him, was also taken aback.

They had considered that Lin Dong might have a company, and that he might have rented a few offices, but they never imagined that he would buy an entire floor.

Cheng Chuan looked around again and swallowed.

"Alright."

He stood there, still processing what he had just said.

I bought it. The whole floor.

He was about to say something when he looked up and saw the workstation in the corner.

Ding Xiao was typing on the keyboard in front of the screen.

Cheng Chuan's eyes lit up.

"Ding Xiao!"

Ding Xiao looked up, saw Cheng Chuan, and her lips twitched.

"arrive?"

Cheng Chuan walked over and stood directly next to her.

"We've arrived! Did you miss me?"

Still so boring.

Ding Xiao ignored him and looked at Cheng Yu behind her.

Cheng Yu walked over and nodded to her.

"Ding Xiao".

Ding Xiao nodded.

"You must have had a long journey."

Cheng Yu smiled.

"good."

Cheng Chuan had already moved closer to Ding Xiao's screen.

"What are you writing?"

"drive."

"What's driving it?"

"The screen."

Cheng Chuan nodded and looked around.

"This company is great, much bigger than I expected."

Cheng Yu looked around. Floor-to-ceiling windows, equipment, the wall covered with sketches, and the few people working diligently.

Lin Dong took two steps forward.

"Zhou Chengyu, touch algorithm. Su Xiaowen, design. You know Ding Xiao."

Cheng Yu nodded one by one.

Cheng Chuan chimed in from the side.

"All that's missing is the system and the chip?"

Lin Dong glanced at him.

"The chips can be bought. The system... we're still looking for it."

Cheng Chuan was stunned for a moment.

"Still haven't found it?"

Lin Dong didn't reply. Yes, we haven't found it yet.

From the beginning until now, Uncle Cai has been keeping an eye on people in this field.

I've recommended a few, reviewed several resumes, and had conversations with two, but none of them worked out.

They either only know how to write applications or only know how to debug the kernel; none of them can build a framework from scratch.

He needs someone who can modify Linux into a mobile phone operating system.

People like this are so hard to find.

Cheng Yu patted his brother on the shoulder.

"Alright, stop asking."

The door opened, and Zhang Mingyuan walked in. He was holding a stack of printing papers and looked a little tired.

He paused for a moment when he saw two more people in the room.

Lin Dong spoke.

"Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu. Radio frequency and structure."

Zhang Mingyuan walked over and extended his hand.

"Zhang Mingyuan. Hardware."

Cheng Yu grasped it.

"Cheng Yu".

Cheng Chuan also extended his hand.

"Cheng Chuan! Please take care of me from now on!"

Zhang Mingyuan smiled.

"Take care of each other."

Su Xiaowen walked over from the wall and nodded to them.

"Su Xiaowen".

Cheng Yu nodded.

Cheng Chuan leaned closer again.

"You're Su Xiaowen? I've heard Ding Xiao mention you; you did the design?"

Su Xiaowen nodded.

Cheng Chuan looked at the sketch on the wall.

He paused for a moment, took two steps closer, and looked more closely.

Dozens of design drawings were pasted on that wall.

The phone has a sleek, streamlined body with a screen that occupies the entire front. There's only a single circular button at the bottom; no keyboard, no flip cover, no slider—nothing at all.

Cheng Chuan turned his head and looked at Su Xiaowen.

"This phone...has no buttons?"

Su Xiaowen nodded.

Cheng Chuan looked at the picture again, then looked at Lin Dong.

"Lin Dong, this phone..."

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Cheng Chuan swallowed.

"Holy shit."

Cheng Yu also walked over, stood in front of that wall, and looked at it for a long time.

He reached out and tapped the largest rendering.

"This arc... is quite difficult to manufacture."

Su Xiaowen chimed in from the side.

"It's quite challenging, but our Engineer Li can handle it."

Cheng Yu nodded and didn't say anything more, but his eyes didn't leave the picture.

Cheng Chuan was still standing there, stunned.

"Without a keyboard, how do you type? How do you make phone calls? How do you...?"

Ding Xiao stood to the side without even looking up.

"Screen touch control. Zhou Chengyu is writing algorithms."

Cheng Chuan turned his head and looked at the person wearing glasses in the corner.

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses but didn't say anything.

Cheng Chuan turned back and looked at the wall.

"This thing...can it really be made?"

Lin Dong finally spoke.

"It's already being done."

Cheng Chuan opened his mouth, but no words came out. Truly impressive. No wonder he defeated Mark and shared the stage with Jobs at Stanford.

A few people stood there and chatted for a few minutes.

Zhang Mingyuan handed the printing paper in his hand to Lin Dong.

"Mr. Lin, the first round of battery data testing is complete. These are the preliminary results."

Lin Dong took it and flipped through it.

The numbers were slightly better than he had expected.

He looked up at Zhang Mingyuan.

"The motherboard can be shipped now."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"Okay, I'll send it out today."

Cheng Chuan listened from the side, his eyes lighting up.

"The motherboard has been shipped? So it can run as soon as the prototype arrives?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"Once the prototype is ready, and once the screen and other components arrive, it will be able to run."

Cheng Chuan rubbed his hands together.

"Very good."

The progress was faster than he expected. The battery had arrived, the casing had been ordered, and the motherboard had been shipped. Once the screen and other components arrived, they could start running the entire system. Cheng Yu stood beside him, not saying anything, but nodding.

Lin Dong looked at them.

It's been more than six months since February.

At that time, he traveled alone from Shantou to Shenzhen with a little over a thousand yuan in his pocket and stayed in a small hotel that cost fifteen yuan a night.

Standing here now are Stanford returnees in RF and architecture, Zhang Mingyuan who works on hardware, Su Xiaowen who works on design, Ding Xiao who works on embedded systems, and Zhou Chengyu who works on algorithms.

The battery arrived, the casing was ordered, and the motherboard was sent out for prototyping today. We'll discuss the screen in Korea next week, and Uncle Cai will handle the procurement of the other components.

Once all these things are here, we can start running.

Not easy.

The problem is that we're still lacking talent in chip and system development.

Chips can be purchased directly at this stage, and research and development is not urgent. The key is the system... which can only be found by finding people.

If all else fails, he'll have to step in first.

There's no point in rushing things; let's take it slow.

He spoke.

"That's all for today. You guys go through the plan. Once the materials arrive, let's get started."

Several people nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Uncle Cai.

"Take them both to their workstations. Once you're settled, come to the office. If you need anything, just ask Manager Wang."

Uncle Cai nodded.

Cheng Chuan gave an OK sign.

"Okay, see you later."

Cheng Yu nodded.

Uncle Cai led them inside.

Lin Dong turned and went into his office.

The door closed.

He sat down at his desk, picked up a piece of paper, and began to write.

Screen: LG, LTPS

Camera: OmniVision, 500 megapixels (300 megapixels if unavailable)

Storage: Samsung/SK Hynix, capacity as per Zhang Mingyuan's plan.

Handpiece/Speaker: Goertek, the best in China.

Motor: Nidec (Japan), or a domestic alternative.

Sensors: Bosch/STMicroelectronics

Connectors: Japan Aviation Electronics/Hirose

Power management chip: Texas Instruments

RF devices: Skyworks/Qorvo

Main control chip: Texas Instruments OMAP series; get a quote from the distributor.

He finished writing it and read it from beginning to end.

These are probably the best things you can buy right now.

The battery is from ATL, the screen from LG, the camera from OmniVision, and the storage from Samsung. The main controller is from TI, and the RF components are from Skyworks.

With all the accessories included, that should be enough.

He put down his pen and rubbed his temples.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Uncle Cai pushed the door open and came in.

"Mr. Lin, everything is arranged."

Lin Dong nodded and handed over the paper.

"Arrange to purchase these."

Uncle Cai took it and looked at it over.

"You can handle the screen negotiations yourself; I'll take care of the rest?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"Yes. If we can sign long-term contracts, we should. If we can negotiate the price, we should. The first batch doesn't need to be too large, but we can use future order volumes as leverage."

Uncle Cai nodded.

"clear."

Lin Dong paused.

"Any progress on the system and chip side?"

Uncle Cai paused for a moment.

"Those guys you mentioned last time... I've contacted them. One's at Google, and one's at Intel, but I couldn't poach them."

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Uncle Cai continued.

"I've also asked a few people in China, and talked to two of them, but their skill level..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was already there.

"Should we lower the standards?"

Lin Dong shook his head.

"No need. We can't just pass ourselves off as experts."

Uncle Cai nodded.

"Okay, I'll look again."

Lin Dong looked at him.

"Have Zhou Chengyu and I received our visas for South Korea?"

Uncle Cai nodded.

"Everything's taken care of. Shall we book the plane tickets now?"

"Book for tomorrow."

Uncle Cai nodded, then glanced at Lin Dong again. He'd lost weight. His eyes were bloodshot.

He's much thinner than when we first met. Back then in Huaqiangbei, Lin Dong was just a high school graduate, full of energy and his eyes were shining. He still has that energy now, but he's clearly much more tired.

In the past few months, from San Francisco to Stanford, from Jobs to ATL, from picking up people to arranging procurement, he has been running around and shouldering all the responsibilities.

Uncle Cai opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"Okay, I'll take care of it. Should I also call Dr. Zhou over?"

Lin Dong nodded.

Uncle Cai turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Lin Dong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

System, chip.

Zhang Mingyuan got lucky; he was cornered in an alley demanding repayment of a debt. Zhou Chengyu had a falling out with his advisor and had nowhere to go. Su Xiaowen was driven away by her former company. Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu, and Ding Xiao happened to be at Stanford.

These are all just luck.

Those people happened to be there at that time.

People who work on systems and chips are not so easy to find.

Those who work on operating systems have long been poached by Google and Microsoft. As for chip manufacturers, Intel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments—which of them hasn't poached their talent teams? What makes those people want to work for them?

He rubbed his temples.

There was another knock on the door.

"Come in."

Zhou Chengyu pushed the door open and came in, adjusting his glasses.

"Mr. Lin, you wanted to see me?"

Lin Dong looked at him.

"Your visa is ready. You're coming to South Korea with me tomorrow."

Zhou Chengyu was stunned for a moment.

"Mr. Lin, I remembered what you said last week. But..."

"Regarding the touch algorithm..."

Lin Dong interrupted him.

"I know."

He paused.

"I'll take you to talk to LG about their screens. They need to understand our touch solution, and with you there, you can clearly explain your requirements. Once the screens arrive, you can get things running immediately, saving time."

Zhou Chengyu nodded after listening.

"it is good."

Lin Dong looked at him.

"Any more questions?"

Zhou Chengyu shook his head.

"no."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Tomorrow morning, at the airport."

Zhou Chengyu responded and turned to leave.

The door closed.

Lin Dong rubbed his temples again.