Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 1 Returning to 2010

"Ding ding."

The frequent notification sounds from the QQ chat software on the computer woke Chen Mo up like an alarm clock.

He suddenly woke up from his workstation, his eyes bloodshot, and rubbed his dry, stinging eyes.

Chen Mo is a modern-day "office rat."

In the lower right corner of the computer screen, the prominent "06:40" stood out starkly against the company computer's dark blue background, signaling the end of yet another sleepless night for the office worker.

In the work group, messages from the client kept rolling in like a tide, each one like a heavy hammer, striking Chen Mo's exhausted heart.

"Xiao Chen! Your UI animations are too conservative. We need to add some technological elements, like the feeling of walking in the universe, a magnificent epic feel, to match our brand tone!"

These words seemed to come alive instantly, transforming into a swarm of buzzing flies that hovered around Chen Mo's ears, refusing to leave.

He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to wipe his face to clear his head, but accidentally touched a sticky liquid on his nose, which carried a faint smell of blood.

Before Chen Mo could react, a sudden, dizzying feeling of weightlessness washed over him, as if the whole world was collapsing and turning upside down in an instant.

He felt everything go black before his eyes, and his body fell uncontrollably downwards. All he could hear was the whistling wind and the faint sounds of people talking.

When Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes again, a strong, pungent smell of solder hit him.
"Cough cough cough~" The pungent smell mixed with the smell of smoke made him cough violently instantly.

That familiar yet unfamiliar smell... Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat. He looked around and saw that the small, dimly lit space was filled with dusty, disassembled mobile phone parts.

The old, secondhand equipment was laid out haphazardly, covered with traces of long use that had never been cleaned.

"Brother Chen! Daydreaming again?" A teasing voice came from across the room.

Despite his young age, Zhao Tiezhu, with a long cigarette butt dangling from his mouth, leaned over, soldering his gun with solder splattering everywhere, never stopping for a moment.

"Old Wang from next door is here again to collect debts. He said if we don't deliver the goods soon, he'll tear down our signboard tomorrow!"

Chen Mo stood there, stunned. It took him a while to adjust to the dim light. Everything in front of him gradually became clear, and memories flooded back like a tidal wave.

He was reborn!
Back in 2010, back to the small, idealistic yet helpless workshop in North China that Chen Mo started with – Shenzhen Orange Technology Co., Ltd.

The scorching May sun of Shenzhen struggled to squeeze in through the thickly dusty glass window, casting its rays on the yellowed business license.

The large characters "Shenzhen Orange Technology Co., Ltd." appear somewhat weathered under the dappled light and shadow, yet subtly reveal a touch of stubbornness.

The company had a registered capital of one million, but now only 30 is left in the account. This money was borrowed by Chen Mo after begging and pleading with everyone he could.

With the rise of the internet and the era of mass entrepreneurship, Chen Mo, fresh out of college, relied on his modest achievements in lithium batteries under his mentor's guidance and dismissed offers from BTD and Huawei's battery R&D department. Later...
Think about my senior brother Liu who later went to work at Chrysanthemum Factory. Although he retired at the age of thirty-five, at least he experienced the life of having a car and a house in Shenzhen, and a beautiful wife who worked in finance!
Thinking back to his arrogance in borrowing money to start a business, Chen Mo regretted not being able to travel back in time and stab his past self during the fifteen years he spent working as a janitor.

But isn't it a bit late to have traveled back now?

The name Chen Mo was prominently displayed in the legal representative column.

The business license was approved on March 15, 2010. Just two months later, the scorching sun ruined it. This was similar to the original fate of Orange Technology; it went out of business in less than three months.

For the next ten years or so, Chen Mo was caught in a cycle of working to pay off his debts. He struggled to even make ends meet, let alone have the leisure to pursue his dreams.

Seeing that Chen Mo didn't respond and just stared blankly, Zhao Tiezhu frowned even more, his impatience growing stronger.

He slammed the soldering gun down on the table with a loud "thud," sending up a small patch of hot solder slag.

Then, Zhao Tiezhu strode over to Chen Mo and waved his hand vigorously in front of his eyes.

"Brother Chen! Don't scare me! It's just debt collection, it's not the first time. We can figure out a way to handle it. You've been so quiet, are you scared out of your wits?"

Zhao Tiezhu frowned, his eyes filled with worry, but his tone still revealed his usual fearless and reckless attitude.

He knew perfectly well that this highly educated, technically skilled man, Brother Chen, was determined to seriously develop mobile phones and looked down on those in the industry who relied on simply changing the casing to create "technology."

But while the ideal is lofty, reality is harsh. In the fiercely competitive and chaotic North China, filling their stomachs is the most important thing for the two of them.

Zhao Tiezhu raised his hand and patted Chen Mo's shoulder hard, making a dull "bang" sound.

“Old Wang’s son is so impatient. We can’t let him run wild. I’m thinking, why don’t we pick out some screen parts that can fetch a good price from the warehouse and raise some money to keep him in check?”
Alternatively, I know a few vendors at the market who sell inferior phones as superior ones. They can reseal their stockpiled phones, sell them cheaply, and that should at least solve their immediate problem.

As Zhao Tiezhu spoke, he scratched his head with his greasy hands, long wisps of cigarette ash falling down and leaving specks of dirt on his faded work clothes.

He looked at Chen Mo with anticipation, his eyes showing both a desire for his boss to make a decision and a way of encouraging himself.

"Brother Chen! You're the boss, so make a decision quickly. We can't just sit here and wait to die! If the signboard is really torn down, we're completely finished."

Zhao Tiezhu knew very well that he didn't want to lose his job.

Although life has been tight these past few days with Chen Mo, it's been comfortable and reassuring.

In North China, it's practically a luxury to find a boss who doesn't treat employees like animals and is also humane.

If Chen Mo's small workshop goes out of business, he'll have to wander around like a headless fly, looking for work again in this chaotic electronics market.

Who knows what the next boss will be like?

He might not even be as good as Chen Mo!
As Zhao Tiezhu thought about these things, he became increasingly anxious. He leaned closer to Chen Mo again, his tone unconsciously carrying a hint of pleading.

"Brother Chen! Please think of another way. We can definitely get through this."

You've always said you wanted to make amazing phones and change this market where just changing the casing is considered technology, right? You can't let Lao Wang stop you like this.

"I, Zhao Tiezhu, may not have many other skills, but I'm very familiar with assembling mobile phones. Just give me the instructions, and I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

(End of this chapter)