Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Lin Dong finished drinking the ice water and threw the empty bottle into the trash can next to him.

The coolness in his mouth traveled all the way to his stomach, making his mind even clearer.

He glanced at the Chaozhou-style restaurant owner across from him. The man had just finished calculating a bill, leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and there were no other customers around at the moment.

The timing was perfect.

Lin Dong walked up to the stall. The owner was looking down at his ledger and looked up when he heard footsteps.

"Hey handsome, what do you want to see?" the boss casually greeted him, his tone as indifferent as someone accustomed to students.

Lin Dong ignored the shiny secondhand phones on the counter and pointed directly to the pile of dusty V3 phones in the corner of the back shelf.

"Boss, what about those 'sleeping' V3s in the back?"

Upon hearing this, the boss's expression changed, and he gave Lin Dong a serious look. This student started by using the term "sleeping to death," which didn't seem like an amateur.

"Oh, those?"

The shop owner leaned back, his tone becoming more serious, "Young man, those machines have hidden problems that can't be fixed. Many experienced mechanics in the market can't handle them. Buying one is like buying a brick; you'll just be stuck with it."

"I know," Lin Dong said calmly. "I'll buy one and take it apart to study it. How much?"

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, the shopkeeper stopped arguing; after all, it's business. "Two hundred a unit, no bargaining. That's the price, selling it as a spare part."

Lin Dong didn't agree immediately. He looked at the pile of machines, then at the boss, and then said in Chaoshan dialect, "Boss, are you from Chaoshan? Me too, I'm from Chaoyang. How about 188? Just for good luck, if you get rich, I'll get rich too."

The boss paused for a moment, carefully examined Lin Dong, and his expression softened a bit, but business is business.

"One hundred and eighty-eight... Alright, we're all on the same side. But let's get this straight, no returns after sale. This is a real 'ghost machine,' it can't be repaired." The shopkeeper said as he turned around and picked out the one in the worst condition from the pile of "corpses" and handed it to Lin Dong.

Lin Dong took the machine, inspected its appearance, and confirmed that it only had many scratches and no serious damage. He nodded, counted out some money from his bag, and handed it over.

The transaction was complete. The shopkeeper put the money away and casually asked, "Are you really going to research this? I have a few more units here. If you're interested, you can come back to me later. They'll all be at the same price."

"Okay." Lin Dong finished assembling the machine and then asked, "By the way, boss, do you sell any simple repair tools? Soldering irons, multimeters, screwdrivers, and the like?"

"Yes, which one do you want? The cheaper one is for your own use, and the more expensive one is more durable." The shopkeeper pointed to the area under the counter.

"The cheapest one will do, just to practice."

Uncle Cai, the shop owner, bent down and pulled out a dusty plastic toolbox from under the counter. The tools inside were very basic.

"Here, fifty yuan. But since you're a student and practically from the same hometown, I'll give it to you as a gift, no extra charge." The shopkeeper was quite generous.

"Thank you, boss."

Lin Dong didn't refuse, paid, and took the toolbox. "I'll be going now. I'll come back to you next time I need a machine."

"Alright, take care! Call me Uncle Cai next time you come."

Uncle Cai, the boss, waved his hand and went back to looking at his account book.

Lin Dong, carrying a bag and a toolbox, turned and walked into the bustling crowds of Huaqiangbei.

The first step was successful.

Having a "sample" in hand provides the most basic tools.

Next, he just needs to find a place to make this "brick" light up again. The moment it lights up, all the "V3 ghost machines" piled up in Huaqiangbei will become a gold mine that no one has discovered yet in his eyes.

Lin Dong didn't linger. He picked up his toolbox, carried the V3 "brick" on his back, and turned to disappear into the noisiest main alley.

He knew that what he needed to buy next wouldn't be in those stores that sold complete systems.

He crossed two streets and entered an older, more chaotic market.

This place is like a giant electronic parts dump, with a stronger smell of pine resin and old plastic in the air.

The stall was filled with baskets and baskets of disassembled mobile phone cables, connectors, and camera modules, all unpackaged and densely packed like a bunch of colorful insects.

Lin Dong squatted down in front of a stall. The stall owner was an old man who was fixing things with his head down.

"Boss, find the ribbon cable for the Motorola V3."

Lin Dong spoke.

The old man didn't even look up. He pointed with tweezers to a tattered cardboard box in the corner: "Search for them yourself. They're all disassembled. I can't guarantee they're any good or bad. Ten yuan a piece."

Lin Dong rummaged through it for a while; it contained all sorts of different models.

He found several V3 ribbon cables, but they were all old and the connectors were worn.

The uncertainty of such "disassembled parts" is too great, and the original ribbon cable itself has design flaws. Even if this one is good, it may break again after a short time.

This is not the path he wants.

He put down the disassembled ribbon cable, glanced around the stall, and finally settled on another basket of cheaper general-purpose ribbon cables.

These ribbon cable connectors come in all shapes and sizes, but the cables themselves are of decent quality.

His mind raced through memories of his past life, his hands constantly searching and comparing them.

Finally, he picked out two universal cables with interface shapes and pin counts that were very similar to the V3 cable, but were originally used for other older flip phones.

"Boss, these two, plus this small ribbon cable connector, and this extra-fine tin-plated wire." Lin Dong placed the items he had selected in front of the stall owner.

The old man then looked up and glanced at it: "Oh? V3? Those are hard to get. The ones you picked... aren't the right models, are they?"

Lin Dong didn't explain further, just asked, "How much?"

"Fifteen dollars together."

Lin Dong paid the money and carefully put away the small packet of crucial "ingredients." Including the V3 phone at 188 yuan, the total investment was 203 yuan.

Whether the first pot of gold will be earned depends on tonight.

By the time we left the parts market, it was already dark.

The neon lights in Huaqiangbei began to flash, but there were no neon lights where Lin Dong was going.

Guided by his memory, he navigated the maze-like alleyways, finally stopping in front of a dilapidated residential building.

Downstairs, there's a row of small shops with an inconspicuous doorway in the middle. The word "Accommodation" is crookedly written in red paint on the wall, and below it in smaller print: "15 yuan/night, hot water available."

Lin Dong walked in, and there was a small counter where a middle-aged woman was sitting and watching TV.

"I need a hotel room. The cheapest single room," Lin Dong said.

Without turning her head, the woman tossed me a key with a plastic tag attached: "Third floor, 307. Ten yuan deposit, refundable upon check-out. Boil your own hot water; the kettle is in the room. Lock the door at 11 PM."

Lin Dong paid twenty-five yuan, took the key, and went up the dimly lit stairs.

The room was very small.

A hardboard bed, a table with peeling paint, and a wobbly chair.

The walls were yellowish, but the sheets and blankets looked freshly washed and had no odor.

The window faces the back wall of another building, so there is almost no light.

But for Lin Dong, that was enough.

He closed the door and locked it.

He placed his backpack and toolbox on the table, and then took out the V3 "brick" worth 188 yuan and the bag of 15 yuan worth of parts from the bag.

The silence inside the room and the faint sounds of the city outside the window created two separate worlds.

He opened his toolbox, which contained only a simple set of items: an adjustable temperature soldering iron, a basic multimeter, a screwdriver set, and some rosin and solder wire.

Lin Dong plugged in the soldering iron and waited for it to heat up.

Then, he picked up the V3 and skillfully removed the screws from the casing.

His movements were steady and without the slightest hesitation, as if he had done it thousands of times before.

When the motherboard was exposed, his eyes immediately focused on the thin ribbon cable on the side.

"It's you."

He muttered to himself.

A wisp of blue smoke began to rise from the tip of the soldering iron.

Lin Dong took a deep breath and gently touched the tip of the soldering iron to a specific solder point on the ribbon cable connector.