Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 343: A Very Positive Attitude Towards Learning
Upon returning to Harbin, Zhai Da's first thought was to visit his beloved "Wang Chunguo, the Joint Research and Development Principal".

Early Wednesday morning, Zhai Da knocked on the principal's door. Principal Wang was still looking out at the campus from his favorite window.

The principal turned around, his eyes filled with helplessness: "Xiao Zhai, why didn't you discuss such an important matter with the school beforehand?"

I should at least send a few people to make an appearance.
This joint research and development project, which was neither particularly successful nor unsuccessful, was a pleasant surprise for him and Harbin Institute of Technology, but it didn't exactly cause them great joy.

Harbin Institute of Technology has no shortage of heavyweight research achievements, although most of them are not geared towards the market or civilian applications due to its positioning.

The same applies to the software field. Even though it's not a dominant area, it's still among the top tier in China, though it mainly focuses on industrial software, aerospace software, and cybersecurity.

Xiao Zhai is naturally happy to have achieved something new, and the school is proud of him, but you should at least have given me a heads-up.

Do you know how embarrassed I was when the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology called?

If it weren't for forty years of experience in writing "nonsense literature," I would have almost exposed that I didn't even know what an OS was.
Zhai Da could only smile and say, "I didn't know there would be such a big fuss about this trip. It was my teacher who suggested it on the spur of the moment. I was one of those who were notified."

Principal Wang Chunguo glared at Zhai Da for a long time.

In the end, Wang Ba still arranged for students to commute, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"This kid, a surprise attack is no good. Sit down and tell me, when you first came to me, didn't you want to borrow silicon carbide semiconductor equipment? How did you suddenly turn 180 degrees and come up with an operating system?"

It's not even a 180° turn anymore, it's almost a drift!

Zhai Daxin asked, "Why?"
It's because I'm panicking from spending money too fast!

He was afraid of burning through his savings if he was expelled from both the party and the government.
While Principal Wang was making tea, Zhai Da explained, "The mobile operating system was originally the first project, even earlier than the 'Mechanical Core Research Institute,' while silicon carbide semiconductors were another 'electric motor' project. Due to some... well... force majeure reasons, it has been temporarily postponed."

"Then tell us first, how did you develop this mobile operating system, and how many people are on your team?"

When Principal Wang learned that Zhai Da was not the top technical expert, but rather closer to an investor and boss, he was quite surprised.

When he learned that the top technical expert was also a student from Harbin Institute of Technology, President Wang expressed his delight.

Nothing is more gratifying than the emergence of an exceptionally outstanding young person in a school.

If so, then there are two.

Zhai Da also explained to the principal the future development direction of "Hongtu OS" and the concept of open source ecosystem, including the early and mid-term plans and the theoretically ideal vision for remote access.

Principal Wang nodded. Although he had confidence in Zhai Da, the long-term goal that Zhai Da mentioned was a bit too far-fetched.

Has it captured 70% of the global smartphone market share?
However, it's a good thing that young people are energetic. Every project needs to start with a grand goal.

Even a makeshift operation has to shout out a couple of times about "going public in three years," right?

Principal Wang brushed the foam off his teacup and said frankly, "Xiao Zhai, actually, I didn't take your suggestion of joint research and development to heart at the time."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Don't worry, Principal, I keep my word."

Principal Wang shook his head: "You didn't understand what I meant. I agreed to this statement at the time because I thought that if you could achieve some small results, having the school's name on your name might help you. In other words, I wanted the school's name to pave the way for you, rather than the school benefiting from your success."

"If that phone call hadn't been so sudden, I would have preferred to say that Harbin Institute of Technology was just a figurehead. But since things have come to this, I'll take pride in you as my alma mater. If you need any help in the future, just let me know."

Zhai Da laughed and said, "In the short term, there is only a shortage of manpower. There are still too few qualified programmers in the Harbin job market. It would be best if the school could provide some manpower support."

Principal Wang smiled again. This wasn't a case of the school needing to help; it just happened to provide some job opportunities.
"Never thought about moving to a big city?"

Many teams that achieve success may leave Harbin as their first priority. This is unfortunate, but it is a reality.

Zhai Da shook his head: "We still have to study. How could that be?"

Of course, there's another important reason: Lao Yu's current location is perfect, and he spent 300 million yuan renovating the research institute! He's crazy; he moved out after only a few months!

"It's estimated that only a minority of this year's graduating seniors haven't found jobs yet, but undergraduates probably aren't qualified enough either. I'll help you think of a solution from the graduate level, such as a dual-track industry-academia collaboration project. Let me inquire about it." The model of combining graduate studies with employment, integrating thesis writing with work, already exists; it's also called 'industrialized training,' and is specifically tailored for large high-tech companies.

Zhai Da added, "The interviews are still quite rigorous, but don't worry, they are all high-paying positions with excellent working environments."

"There's no need to prepare me. Whether you use it or not is your decision. It's not like we're dealing with businesses for the first time."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the following days, everything moved at a fast pace.

First, the Mechanical Core Research Institute was ignited with great enthusiasm, achieving initial victory in Beijing. Moreover, the boss possessed such powerful energy that he infused countless resources into everyone involved in the "Hongtu OS" project.

Shouldn't we work hard? Like working ourselves to the bone?!

With a confirmed optimization direction, the final stage of development was able to be accelerated. Meizu immediately sent staff to coordinate hardware optimization and provide training for its own programmers.

Even their arrival time in Harbin was almost identical to Zhai Da's. Zhai Da returned on Tuesday evening, and Meizu's people arrived on Wednesday morning, demonstrating their rapid response.

When these programmers from first-tier cities arrived in Harbin with a critical eye and expectations of "makeshift teams and harsh conditions,"...
Stepping into the "Mechanical Core Research Institute," seeing the indoor community that resembled a Greek town, the beautiful and comfortable environment, and gazing at the mysterious and awe-inspiring upside-down tree, only one thought popped into my mind: what kind of miserable days had I been living before!

Why is it that everyone here, even though we're all programmers, has more hair than us?!
Moreover, I felt refreshed and full of inspiration here, able to type five lines of code in one go without getting out of breath.

If they don't get a raise when they go back, they're not planning to stay!
I'm not usually this efficient at my own company, it must be because I feel stifled by the environment!

Six people from Meizu arrived and temporarily stayed at the research institute. In addition, other mobile phone manufacturers will also send people to inspect the institute. The institute's 100% technical staff configuration is becoming insufficient. However, after a slight hesitation, Zhai Da still did not set up a so-called reception department.

The research institute must maintain its purity.

This is a place for producing technology, and also the pure soil he will later prepare for π members and other projects; it is not a place for welcoming and sending off.

You may come and go, but if you're looking for a warm welcome and various social engagements, I'm afraid I don't have the time.

He vaguely remembered hearing rumors from his past life that Alibaba could drive up the prices of goods in any city it entered.

Few projects fail because they are too simple, but many fail because they are too complex.

So although Meizu's people came, the research institute was still purely technical work, which Zhai Da could entrust to Cheng Mo with peace of mind. However, with the exam week approaching, Zhai Da was worried for this guy.

It is said that Cheng Mo only sleeps 5 hours a day. Of the remaining 19 hours, he spends 12 hours working, 6 hours studying, and the remaining hour eating, using the toilet, and taking a shower.

Zhai Da was very worried that he would become the first person in the research institute to lose his hair.

On the other hand, as students with nearly 20 courses a semester, Zhai Da and Lu Wei have already started their exam week ahead of schedule, and some exams prepared specifically for them have begun to be arranged sporadically.

Even if he works incredibly hard (like a cheat code) and has a very positive attitude towards learning (his participation score is always maxed out by the teacher), it doesn't mean that Zhai Da can have a carefree time; being busy is inevitable.

They traveled to and from every nook and cranny of the school every day, taking individual exams and reaping credits for each course.

When he has some free time, Zhai Da will sometimes go to the research institute to check on the progress or study his close-up magic tricks.
June 15th arrived, and all students began their exam week. Zhai Da and Lu Wei faced an even greater challenge.

Xiao Mutou doesn't even have time to cook every day; he eats non-stop in the cafeteria.

Therefore, Yu Xiaoli decided to come to Harbin early to spend this unforgettable summer and cook for the two of them.

　Report on the situation:
　　Yesterday my temperature was around 38.5-39.5 degrees Celsius, and I slept for 36 hours (I had a fever since midnight the day before yesterday and basically didn't get out of bed afterward). Today it has stabilized below 38 degrees Celsius, and I felt better in the afternoon, so I have basically recovered my ability to type.

　　We have now entered the second stage, experiencing fatigue, blood-tinged nasal discharge, and a sharp, stabbing sensation in the throat.

　　It feels like stepping back into 2019.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)