Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Are you all confident about Chapter 130?

He looked at Uncle Cai.

"Manager Wang, let's talk about the parts first."

Uncle Cai stood up and opened his notebook.

"Mr. Lin, the batch from the end of September—earlier receivers, speakers, motors, and sensors—arrived a while ago. We've inspected the goods, and there are no problems."

He paused, then raised his voice by half an octave.

"The parts ordered in October—screens, cameras, storage, connectors—all arrived yesterday afternoon. I personally inspected them, and not a single one was missing."

Lin Dong nodded.

"Is everything complete?"

"Everything is ready." Uncle Cai closed the notebook. "All the necessary accessories for the phone are in place, not a single one is missing."

Lin Dong stood up.

Everyone looked at him.

He walked to the window and opened it. The October wind blew in, carrying a slight chill.

He turned around and looked at them.

Four months ago, we had nothing.

He looked at them.

"No motherboard, no screen, no battery, no casing. Nothing at all."

He paused.

"Now, we lack nothing."

He looked at Zhang Mingyuan.

"The motherboard has run three rounds of testing and is stable."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded. He recalled those nights when he released data at three in the morning, those tests he ran over and over again, and those moments when he almost gave up. But now, the board was right in front of him; things were stable.

He looked at Zhou Chengyu.

"The screen parameters are running smoothly, 4.8 milliseconds."

Zhou Chengyu adjusted his glasses. The data had been run over and over again. Now, they had achieved a time of 4.8 milliseconds.

He looked at Su Xiaowen.

"The mid-frame is finished, the first batch will be ready next month."

Su Xiaowen nodded. The drawing on the wall had gone through more than a hundred revisions. Each one was revised with her life on the line. Now, the frame was there, tangible and within reach.

He looked at Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu.

"The antenna is decided, but the stacking is faulty."

The two nodded. Cheng Chuan's notebook was filled with antenna diagrams, and Cheng Yu's desk was piled high with discarded drafts. Now, everything was settled, and everything had gone.

He looked at Ding Xiao.

"Three copies of the driver were written."

Ding Xiao looked up. No one asked how many nights she'd stayed up, and she didn't say. But all three drivers were on her computer.

He looked at Li Guohui and Wang Mei.

"The materials are ready."

The two nodded.

He looked at Uncle Cai, Zheng Hao.

"All the supplies have arrived."

Uncle Cai nodded.

Lin Dong looked at them.

"Four months, from nothing to now. It's incredible."

He took a step forward.

"Now, we're going to continue this incredible story."

He looked at them.

"To make the first mobile phone that belongs to us."

He paused.

"Do you have confidence?"

Zhang Mingyuan was the first to speak.

"have!"

The crowd joined in the shouting.

"have!"

The sound exploded in the conference room, making the windows rattle.

Lin Dong raised his hand.

The sound gradually subsided.

He looked at Zhang Mingyuan.

"Zhang Mingyuan, you're in charge of the entire project. Assemble one machine, run it on the ground. Fix any problems on the spot."

Zhang Mingyuan nodded.

"clear."

Lin Dong looked at Zhou Chengyu and Ding Xiao.

"Zhou Chengyu, Ding Xiao, after the screen is installed, you two work together to run it. If the driver and algorithm don't run smoothly, modify them, and then run it again."

The two nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Cheng Chuan.

"Cheng Chuan, test the signal strength, interference, and sensitivity one by one."

Cheng Chuan nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Cheng Yu.

"Cheng Yu, run the cooling system two more times and make sure the heat dissipation is done properly."

Cheng Yu nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Su Xiaowen.

"Su Xiaowen, the first batch is next month. You need to take a look at each set. If there's even a slight flaw, send it back to be redone."

Su Xiaowen nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Li Guohui.

"Mr. Li, deliver fifty sets before October 15th."

Li Guohui nodded.

Lin Dong looked at Uncle Cai.

"Uncle Cai, keep a close eye on the procurement. We still need to increase sales volume, so the supply chain can't be disrupted."

Uncle Cai nodded.

Lin Dong glanced around.

"I'll be at the company the whole time. If you're working overtime, I'll be working overtime too. If you're staying up late, I'll stay up late too. If you encounter any problems, I'll be right there beside you."

He looked at them.

"Whatever difficulties we encounter, we'll overcome them together."

He paused.

"Whatever miracles may happen, we'll achieve them together."

Zhang Mingyuan looked at him without saying anything, but his eyes lit up.

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses.

Cheng Chuan clenched his fists.

Su Xiaowen looked up at him.

Ding Xiao's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time.

Li Guohui scratched his head and smiled.

Uncle Cai held his teacup, his face crinkling with smiles.

Lin Dong looked at them.

Meeting adjourned.

The next day.

The area downstairs from the company building was deserted; other companies were all on holiday. The national flag at the entrance fluttered in the wind, and there weren't many people on the street.

But the lab lights were on.

Lin Dong pushed open the door.

Zhang Mingyuan squatted on the ground, staring blankly at a newly assembled machine. Several motherboards, batteries, and screens lay beside him. Wires were scattered haphazardly on the floor.

Zhou Chengyu and Ding Xiao were huddled in front of a computer, the screen filled with code. Dense numbers were reflected in Zhou Chengyu's glasses, while Ding Xiao's fingers flew across the keyboard.

Cheng Chuan, holding an instrument, squatted next to another machine, staring at the waveform on the screen. Cheng Yu stood by the window, holding a drawing covered with red circles.

Su Xiaowen leaned against the wall, staring at the several mid-frames that had just been delivered. She wasn't holding any blueprints, but her eyes were fixed on them, as if she were waiting for something.

Li Guohui and Wang Mei were also there, helping to pass things and check dimensions. Li Guohui held calipers, measuring and noting down the measurements. Wang Mei stood beside him, checking each item one by one with a notebook.

Uncle Cai sat in the corner, holding a teacup. Zheng Hao stood at the door.

Lin Dong walked over and squatted down next to Zhang Mingyuan.

"How is it?"

Zhang Mingyuan looked up, his eyes red. But he pointed to the machine.

"This one can light up."

Lin Dong glanced at it. The screen was lit up, displaying the logo of Dongfang Technology.

"Can I order?"

Zhang Mingyuan tapped it. The icon lit up.

"Can you run?"

Zhang Mingyuan opened a program. It ran.

Lin Dong nodded.

"continue."

10月4日。10月5日。10月6日。

Nobody said they wanted to go out and have fun. Nobody said they wanted to travel.

The laboratory lights were always on.

Lin Dong gets up from his office at seven o'clock every morning and doesn't go to sleep until two or three in the morning. Sometimes he's so tired that he falls asleep directly on a chair in the lab and continues sleeping when he wakes up.

Zhang Mingyuan had lost weight, but his eyes were getting brighter. He loaded the boards in one by one, and they started running.

Zhou Chengyu's 4.8 milliseconds stabilized the situation.

Ding Xiao spoke even less, but wrote version after version of code. Those drivers ran over and over again.

Cheng Chuan's notebook was filled with antenna diagrams. He would install those antennas, test them, then install them again, and test them again.

Cheng Yu's desk was piled high with discarded drafts. Those piles had been going on and on again.

Su Xiaowen spent more and more time leaning against the wall, but the blueprints on that wall became fewer and fewer, and eventually turned into real objects.

Those mid-frames were delivered one by one, passing through her eyes one by one.

Li Guohui and Wang Mei made countless trips back and forth between Dongguan and Shenzhen. The outer casings were delivered batch after batch, and inspected batch after batch.

Uncle Cai oversees the procurement process every day, running around tirelessly. He's afraid there might be problems with any of the parts, so he checks them one by one.

Zheng Hao followed Lin Dong, always at his beck and call.

No one complained of being tired, and no one said they wanted to give up.

October 7th. Evening.

Lin Dong stood by the window, looking at the night outside.

The lights were still on in the lab, and the sounds of typing, screwing, and occasional voices could be heard.

October 7th, I have to go to school tomorrow.

But he couldn't leave.

From now on, he'll be here. Everyone else will be here. They'll work overtime, and so will he. They'll stay up all night, and so will he. He'll be there for them when problems arise.

Go back to class? Impossible.

He recalled what Chen Guo had said: "If you have any problems with your studies in the future, just go directly to Teacher Song. You don't need to go through those cumbersome procedures to ask for leave."

He took out his phone and dialed Song Yao's number.

It rang a few times before the other end answered.

"Lin Dong?"

"Teacher Song, it's me."

It's a bit noisy on Song Yao's end, like she's outside.

"What's up? Did you have a good National Day holiday?"

Lin Dong paused.

"Teacher Song, I would like to ask for leave."

Song Yao was stunned for a moment.

"Are you taking leave? For how long?"

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

"More than a month."

After a few seconds of silence, Song Yao said with a shocked expression.

"More than a month? Are you kidding me? What university student takes that kind of leave?"

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Song Yao continued.

"What do you want? Is something wrong at home?"

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

"Something urgent came up at the company, so I can't leave."

Song Yao was stunned for a moment.

"company?"

Lin Dong hummed in agreement.

Song Yao remained silent for a few seconds.

"Lin Dong, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I can't approve this kind of leave. School regulations state that leave exceeding one month must be reported—"

"You're looking for Chen Guo."

Song Yao was stunned for a moment.

"What?"

"Call Chen Guo, he'll agree."

Song Yao remained silent for a few seconds.

"Are you serious?"

"Um."

Song Yao sighed.

"Okay, I'll ask. But I can't guarantee—"

"He will agree."

Lin Dong hung up the phone.

He knew that Chen would agree.

Song Yao stood downstairs at the dormitory building, stunned for a long time.

A vacation of more than a month? Are you kidding me?

After thinking for a moment, she dialed Chen Guo's number.

It rang twice before the other end answered.

"Song Yao? What's wrong?"

Song Yao took a deep breath.

"Director Chen, there's something I'd like to report to you. Lin Dong wants to take leave for more than a month."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Chen Guo's voice came.

"Approved."

Song Yao was stunned for a moment.

"what?"

"I said it's approved. He can stay as long as he wants. You just need to cooperate fully with him, and you don't need to worry about the school."

Song Yao opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Chen Guo smiled.

"What? Is there something else?"

"N-nothing's left————"

"That's settled then."

The phone hangs up.

Song Yao stood there, stunned for a long time.

It's approved already? More than a month? You can stay as long as you want?

She remembered Chen Guo saying, "No need to ask anything about the 501 dorm."

It seems that the people in that dormitory are all quite remarkable.

11 month 20 day.

Fifty days.

No one remembers what day of the week it is, no one remembers day or night.

Zhang Mingyuan has lost a lot of weight, and his bones are protruding.

But his eyes grew brighter and brighter. One by one, the boards were loaded and started running. He remembered the number of each board, the data for each board, and the problems with each board.

Zhou Chengyu's 4.8 milliseconds was stable. Sometimes he would take off his glasses, rub his eyes, and then continue looking at the screen. He ran those data over and over again until he was sure there were no problems.

Ding Xiao spoke even less, but she wrote version after version of code. Those drivers ran over and over again. Sometimes she would stop, stare blankly at the screen, and then continue typing.

Cheng Chuan's notebook was filled with antenna diagrams. He'd install the antennas, test them, install them again, and test them again. Sometimes he'd fall asleep on the instruments, then wake up and continue testing. The number of diagrams in his notebook grew day by day.

Cheng Yu's desk was piled high with discarded drafts. Those piles had been going on and on again.

Su Xiaowen spent more and more time leaning against the wall, but the blueprints on that wall became fewer and fewer, and eventually turned into real objects.

Those mid-frames were delivered one by one, passing through her eyes one by one.

Li Guohui and Wang Mei made countless trips back and forth between Dongguan and Shenzhen.

Those outer shells were delivered in batches, and each batch was inspected and accepted.

Every time Li Guohui came, he would visit Zhang Mingyuan, and the two of them would whisper to each other for a long time. Wang Mei stood beside him, checking things one by one in a notebook.

Uncle Cai oversaw the procurement every day, running around doing everything. He checked each component one by one. Sometimes he would sit in a corner, holding a teacup, watching the people, a smile on his face.

Zheng Hao followed Lin Dong, always at his beck and call.

For fifty days, no one complained of being tired, and no one said they wanted to give up.

11 month 21 day.

It's 11 p.m.

Lin Dong pushed open the laboratory door.

Everyone is here.

Zhang Mingyuan stood by the table, with a machine in front of him.

Zhou Chengyu and Ding Xiao stood beside him.

Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu stood opposite each other. Cheng Chuan clenched his fists, while Cheng Yu remained still, his eyes fixed on the machine.

Su Xiaowen leaned against the window.

Li Guohui and Wang Mei sat in the corner.

Uncle Cai and Zheng Hao stood at the door.

No one spoke.

Lin Dong walked over.

Footsteps were clearly audible in the quiet laboratory.

He walked to the table and looked at the machine.

The silver-white metal casing gleams with a soft, cool light under the lamp. The matte silver has a slightly frosted texture. The light it reflects isn't glaring, but rather diffuses softly.

The edges are not straight.

He picked up the phone, and the instant his finger touched the side, he could feel the curve—very subtle, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, yet perfectly fitting his palm. It wasn't uncomfortable, nor slippery; it was just right.

He turned his phone over.

There is a circular camera cutout in the upper left corner, with a very thin, glossy edge around the edge, making it look like a small ring on the matte back cover. The camera is recessed into the cutout, completely flat, without any protrusion.

There is a logo in the center of the back cover. It's a simple circle, about two centimeters in diameter. The inside of the circle is matte, just like the back cover, but there's an extremely fine, shiny edge around the rim, like an outline drawn with the finest pen.

Under light, that bright edge reflects light slightly, looking like the first ray of light when the sun just rises above the horizon at sunrise.

Near the bottom, there is a line of small text—OrientTech. The font is very thin and simple, almost invisible unless you look closely.

He flipped the phone back to the front.

The bezels are so narrow that at first glance, it feels like you're holding a piece of glass. The edges of the screen and the metal frame fit together perfectly, without any gaps.

The screen was black, lying quietly on the table.