Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

The next day. Nine o'clock in the morning. Company conference room.

When Lin Dong opened the door, everyone had already arrived.

Zhang Mingyuan, Zhou Chengyu, Su Xiaowen, Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu, Ding Xiao, Uncle Cai, and Zheng Hao sat around the conference table. They were in much better spirits than last night, their faces showing signs of relaxation after a good rest.

Lin Dong walked to the head seat and sat down.

He scanned the area.

Lin Dong glanced around.

My complexion is much better than yesterday. Looks like last night's late-night snack wasn't a waste of time, and my sleep wasn't wasted either.

"Everyone's here. Let's begin the meeting."

He looked at Zhang Mingyuan.

"Let's start with the motherboard."

Zhang Mingyuan sat up straight.

"Mr. Lin, the motherboard prototype arrived yesterday."

He picked up a few boards from the side and placed them on the table. The green PCBs had components soldered neatly and the wiring was clean and efficient.

"I soldered two pieces, and there are no problems with powering them on. The power supply, clock, and reset are all working smoothly."

Lin Dong picked up a board, turned it over, and looked at it.

With the power supply, clock, and reset all stable, the foundation is in place; all that's left is to fine-tune them gradually.

He put down the board.

Zhang Mingyuan paused.

"The battery is almost dead. It cost twenty yuan, and I've been using it for half a month. There's only a little left. I'll have to stop using it in a few more days."

Lin Dong nodded.

Twenty yuan went by faster than expected. I'll have to ask Zhang Minghai for another batch after the meeting.

"Have all the data from the tests been given to Manager Zhang?"

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"They've all been given. They're synchronized weekly."

Lin Dong nodded.

We've given them the data; they should have gotten something out of there by now. We should ask for more this time.

"Use it for now, I'll ask Zhang Minghai for more later."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"it is good."

He looked at Zhou Chengyu.

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses, picked up the shockproof box from beside his feet, and opened the lid.

Five silver-gray screen samples were neatly arranged inside.

"Mr. Lin, the basic screen parameter test is complete. Five samples have been brought back, and they're usable."

He paused.

"LG's reference data is a response time of 5.2 milliseconds, while ours is 4.8 milliseconds. The power consumption is 6% lower than their stated value."

Lin Dong nodded.

Zhou Chengyu continued.

"However, this is just the basic version. It's still far from the final version. Over the next two months, we'll continue running these five samples to further reduce the response speed and power consumption."

He paused, glanced at Zhang Mingyuan, and then looked at Lin Dong.

"Five samples aren't enough. Engineer Zhang needs to run the whole machine, Ding Xiao needs to adjust the driver, I need to continue optimizing the algorithm, and Cheng Chuan needs to test for interference..."

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

Five pieces are indeed not enough to go around.

Zhang Mingyuan had to run the entire system, Zhou Chengyu had to optimize the algorithm, Ding Xiao had to adjust the driver, and Cheng Chuan had to test for interference. After all that, each part had to be split in half.

"Zhang Mingyuan will take two chips to run the entire machine first. Zhou Chengyu and Ding Xiao will share one chip; after the driver is debugged, Zhou Chengyu will run the algorithm. The remaining two chips will be spares."

He paused.

"Cheng Chuan's side will be tested after the whole machine is assembled; they won't need a separate screen."

Zhou Chengyu nodded.

"OK."

Lin Dong looked at Su Xiaowen.

"What about the design aspect?"

Su Xiaowen leaned back in her chair.

"The casing has been ordered. Li Guohui has prepared the materials, and the first batch will be ready next month."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Have the samples been prepared yet?"

Su Xiaowen thought for a moment.

"It's out. The first batch of three sets has been sent by Li Guohui."

She stood up, walked to the corner, took a box from the cabinet, put it back on the table, and opened it.

Three silver-white mid-frame pieces are neatly arranged inside, with smooth edges.

Lin Dong picked up a piece, turned it over, and looked at it.

The feel is even better than last time, and the edges are more delicately finished.

Su Xiaowen said from the side.

"The tolerance has been reduced to within 0.1 millimeters. The battery compartment fits perfectly, and it feels great to hold in your hand..."

She paused.

"It's better than mine."

Lin Dong's lips twitched, and he put down the mid-frame.

"How many units can be produced in the first batch?"

Su Xiaowen sat back down.

"Li Guohui said that we can only start mass production once things are running smoothly. We'll produce fifty sets next month, enough for a while."

She paused.

"There's just one problem."

Su Xiaowen pointed to a certain spot on the center frame.

"This part doesn't align with the motherboard's screw posts. It's off by 0.2 millimeters."

Lin Dong looked down.

Indeed, the screw post was slightly off-center.

Su Xiaowen continued.

"Zhang's board is back. I took it over and tried to screw it on. It won't screw on."

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

Modifying the motherboard is troublesome. The prototype has already been delivered, but redesigning and resubmitting the board will take a month.

Modifying the mid-frame is quick. Li Guohui will adjust the toolpaths, and it should be done in a week.

He looked at Su Xiaowen.

"Modify the mid-frame. Tell Li Guohui that the first batch will be shipped according to the new dimensions next month."

Su Xiaowen nodded.

"it is good."

Lin Dong looked at Cheng Chuan.

"What about radio frequency?"

Cheng Chuan sat up straight. "It's my turn. This is my first meeting, so I need to be serious."

"Mr. Lin, the antenna location has been decided. I've checked it with Engineer Zhang, and it's fine."

Lin Dong nodded.

Cheng Chuan continued.

"The RF components are the Skyworks ones you ordered before. We've reviewed the specifications, and they'll be running as soon as they're procured."

Lin Dong looked at him.

"What can we run now?"

Cheng Chuan thought for a moment.

"The antenna position is set, so we can start adjusting the parameters. But without the complete system, we can only run the simulation."

He paused.

"Once Engineer Zhang finishes assembling the whole machine, I can get back to work."

Lin Dong looked at Zhang Mingyuan.

"Let Zhang Mingyuan run the whole machine first. Once it's running smoothly, hand it over to Cheng Chuan."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"it is good."

Lin Dong then looked at Cheng Chuan.

"Any other questions?"

Cheng Chuan shook his head.

"no."

Lin Dong nodded, turned his gaze away, and looked at Cheng Yu.

"As for the structure..."

Cheng Yu leaned back in his chair.

"We ran a test of the internal stacking. The battery, motherboard, and screen all fit inside."

Lin Dong nodded.

Cheng Yu continued.

"Zhang's circuit board is back. I took it over and tested it. The battery compartment fits, and the screen position is correct. There's still some headroom; it'll be enough to add more components later."

He paused.

"There's just one problem."

Lin Dong looked at him.

Cheng Yu pointed to the frame on the table.

"Engineer Su said the mid-frame needs to be modified, with the screw posts moved by 0.2 millimeters. After the modification is completed, the stacking process will be run again."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Make the changes before you run it. I'll give it to you in a week."

Cheng Yu nodded.

Lin Dong looked at him.

"What else?"

Cheng Yu thought for a moment.

"And then there's the camera module. The size isn't decided yet; we need to make room for it when stacking."

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

"The camera will arrive in October. Let's reserve the space first, and then adjust it when it arrives."

Cheng Yu nodded.

"it is good."

Lin Dong looked at Ding Xiao.

What about embedded drivers?

Ding Xiao looked up from behind the screen, her fingers still resting on the keyboard.

"I wrote three copies. One for the screen, one for the battery, and one for the touchscreen."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Have you run it yet?"

Ding Xiao nodded.

"It's been run. The simulations have all been completed, and it works perfectly."

She paused.

"There's just one problem."

Lin Dong looked at her.

Ding Xiao pointed to a line of code on the screen.

"The screen driver is finished, but there's a problem with the touch functionality. The algorithm Zhou Chengyu provided has higher latency than expected when I run it."

Lin Dong frowned.

"How much higher?"

Ding Xiao thought for a moment.

"Around 0.3 milliseconds."

Lin Dong looked at Zhou Chengyu.

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses.

"The algorithm is still being optimized. We'll adjust it after the screen is installed."

Lin Dong thought for a moment. Algorithm optimization isn't something that can be done in a day or two. Ding Xiao can't just sit idly by.

He looked at Ding Xiao.

"You go do other things first. We'll put the touchscreen together once Zhou Chengyu has gotten it working."

Ding Xiao nodded.

"OK."

Lin Dong asked another question.

"What else?"

Ding Xiao shook her head.

"That's all."

Lin Dong looked at Uncle Cai.

"Manager Wang, what's the purchasing side like?"

Uncle Cai opened the notebook.

"Mr. Lin, we have contacted everyone as you previously arranged."

He read them aloud one by one.

"The screen is an LG LTPS sensor; the sample has arrived, and the purchase will be completed in October. The camera is an OmniVision sensor, 5 megapixels; the sample will arrive in October. The storage is Samsung; the capacity will be based on Mr. Zhang's plan, and it will arrive in October."

Lin Dong nodded.

Uncle Cai continued.

"The earpiece and speaker are from Goertek, the best domestic company; samples will arrive at the end of September. The motor is from Nidec; samples will arrive at the end of September. The sensor is from Bosch; samples will arrive at the end of September. The connector is from AVIC; it will arrive in October."

He paused.

"The power management chip is from Texas Instruments; Mr. Zhang has already ordered it, so we can just purchase it directly. The RF components are from Skyworks, which are also readily available. The main control chip is from Texas Instruments' OMAP series; we've gotten a quote from the distributor, and the samples should arrive in October."

Lin Dong nodded.

Everything is proceeding as planned.

Uncle Cai paused for a moment.

"There's just one problem."

Lin Dong looked at him.

Uncle Cai continued.

"OmniVision said they need to pay upfront for the camera. Fifty thousand US dollars."

Lin Dong frowned.

"Payment is required for samples?"

Uncle Cai nodded.

"That's their rule. That's how it is with new clients."

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

Fifty thousand US dollars isn't a lot. But it can't be given away casually.

Tell them to pay half upfront, and the other half upon delivery.

Uncle Cai nodded.

"Okay, I'll go talk to them."

Lin Dong asked another question.

"What else?"

Uncle Cai shook his head.

That's all for now.

The progress is all synchronized.

Lin Dong stood up and walked to the whiteboard.

He turned around and glanced at everyone present.

Zhang Mingyuan sat in his usual spot, the same few boards beside him. Zhou Chengyu's glasses reflected the light, and he seemed lost in thought.

Su Xiaowen leaned back in her chair, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

Cheng Chuan sat upright, while Cheng Yu remained as quiet as ever.

Ding Xiao looked up from behind the screen, waiting for him to speak. Uncle Cai was holding a teacup, and Zheng Hao was sitting next to him.

"Have you finished reporting?"

Everyone nodded.

Lin Dong was silent for two seconds.

He glanced at Zhang Mingyuan, then at Zhou Chengyu, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.

"Everyone has done a good job these past few months."

Zhang Mingyuan looked at him without saying a word. Zhou Chengyu adjusted his glasses. Cheng Chuan sat up even straighter.

Lin Dong paused.

"From scratch to now, we have everything we need: battery, casing, motherboard, screen, antenna, stack, and driver."

He scanned the area.

"We have everything we need, which is easy to say. But I come to the company every day, and I see how you all get by."

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes were a little red, and he didn't say anything.

Lin Dong continued.

"Zhang Mingyuan was still modifying data at 3 a.m., I saw it."

Zhang Mingyuan was stunned for a moment.

"I know how many hours Zhou Chengyu slept each day during those eleven days in South Korea."

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses.

"Su Xiaowen, I remember how many versions of that picture on the wall were revised."

Su Xiaowen turned her head away.

"Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu started working on proposals as soon as they arrived at the company, without taking a single day off."

Cheng Chuan opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Ding Xiao, I know how many nights you stayed up writing the driver and how many three drafts you wrote."

Ding Xiao lowered her head.

"Uncle Cai and Zheng Hao ran around doing everything without a single complaint."

Uncle Cai waved his hand.

Lin Dong looked at them.

"So, thank you."

No one spoke.

Lin Dong paused for a few seconds.

"but."

He turned around, picked up a pen, and wrote a few numbers on the whiteboard.

September 2005 – December 2006

He turned around and looked at them.

"Fifteen months to go."

The group of people stared at the numbers without saying a word.

Lin Dong took a step forward.

"In fifteen months, we need to get the whole machine running smoothly, get the system working, get the supply chain running smoothly, and get the product manufactured."

He paused.

"Fifteen months is neither a long nor a short time."

He looked at Zhang Mingyuan.

"The battery will arrive next week, and the motherboard will be ready to run. Once it's running, we'll test power consumption, signal strength, and stability one by one."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Zhou Chengyu.

"We have the screen sample in hand, so we'll continue optimizing it. We'll reduce the response speed as much as possible, and lower the power consumption as much as we can."

Zhou Chengyu nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Su Xiaowen.

"Once the mid-frame is finished, the first batch will be released next month. Fifty sets should be enough for a while."

Su Xiaowen nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu.

"Keep running the antenna. Once the mid-frame is modified, run the stacking process again."

Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Ding Xiao.

"Let the driver run for now. We'll integrate the touchscreen once Zhou Chengyu has fine-tuned it."

Ding Xiao nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Uncle Cai.

"Keep a close eye on procurement. Cameras, storage, connectors—they need to arrive in October."

Uncle Cai nodded.

Lin Dong paused.

He looked at them.

"Is time tight?"

No one spoke.

Cheng Chuan said something in a low voice.

"tight."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Tight is just right."

He looked at Cheng Chuan.

"Tightness is key to speed."

Cheng Chuan was stunned for a moment.

Lin Dong glanced around.

"These past fifteen months have been crucial; not a single step could go wrong. The battery arrived, the screen arrived, the motherboard arrived, the casing arrived—everything was ready. The rest was just running like crazy."

He paused.

"If the test is successful, next December, we'll stand on that stage and let the whole world see us."

"It won't work..."

He didn't continue.

No one spoke.

Lin Dong looked at them.

"So, I ask you, do you have confidence?"

Zhang Mingyuan was the first to nod.

"have."

Zhou Chengyu nodded as well.

"have."

Cheng Chuan stood up.

"have!"

Cheng Yu nodded.

Su Xiaowen nodded.

Ding Xiao nodded.

Uncle Cai and Zheng Hao nodded in agreement.

Lin Dong looked at them.

"Let's do it."

He put down his pen.

Meeting adjourned.

The group left one after another.

Lin Dong stood in front of the whiteboard and looked at it for a while.

He took out his phone and dialed Zhang Minghai's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"President Lin?"

"Manager Zhang, send over another batch of batteries. Fifty yuan each."

Zhang Minghai smiled.

"Fifty dollars? The data looks pretty good, right?"

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Zhang Minghai continued.

"We've looked at the data you ran. It's very useful. The lab said there are a few parameters that can be optimized."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Then optimize it."

Zhang Minghai smiled.

"Mr. Lin, you're a really straightforward person."

He paused.

"Fifty dollars, delivered next week."

Lin Dong nodded.

"it is good."

I hung up the phone.

He looked away and walked outside.