King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

After returning from Eagle's Nest, Chen Jianghe became a prominent figure in the research institute.

Now, he not only has a special identity in Department D, but he is also officially involved in the key work of the "Spark" project during its critical period.

Therefore, with special approval from the D department, a confidential workroom was arranged for Chen Jianghe in a separate Soviet-style building at the back gate of the research institute.

In addition to the basic instruments, Su Wanqing used her resources to secure a Tektronix TDS420 digital storage oscilloscope for him.

Chen Jianghe moved out of the dormitory and spent day and night in the secure workroom.

Based on the cracked core API, its core compression and decompression engine framework was reproduced on the domestically developed Z80 platform…

...

Time flies, and four weeks have passed.

That day, Chen Jianghe walked out of the confidential workroom where he had been confined for several days and headed towards Su Wanqing's laboratory.

I ran into Old Liu from the gatehouse.

"Xiao Chen! I was just about to look for you, the remittance slip just arrived!"

Old Liu looked at Chen Jianghe mysteriously and handed him a thin piece of paper.

Chen Jianghe took it with a puzzled look; it was a postal money order.

Remittance address: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, HD District, Beijing (xx branch office).

Remittance amount: RMB 10,000!

Remitter: Zhong Chaohui, Chaohui Electronics Service Department!

The bloody and tragic scene of Sun Yuanchao in the boiler room instantly flashed into Chen Jianghe's mind.

This hot potato of 10,000 yuan is like a wake-up call for me!

Chung Chao-hui's blatant transfer of this money was clearly an attempt to drag him down and cut off his escape route at the research institute!

Bring him tightly to the [Zhongka] chariot!

The huge sum of 20,000 yuan, combined with the Sun Yuanchao incident, stirred up waves of emotions in Chen Jianghe's heart...

...

The deadline set by the Eagle's Nest is drawing ever closer...

Just as Chen Jianghe was using the key API documentation provided by Eagle Nest to build the basic framework with Z80 compilation…

At a critical juncture when the compression engine framework is about to achieve a breakthrough…

A thunderclap has struck Zhongguancun!

A storm has swept through the entire Chinese character card market, with its spearhead aimed directly at the wildly popular [Zhongka]!

"False advertising! Poor compatibility! Shoddy workmanship!"

"[Chung Chip] Explodes on Motherboard! Scammer Chung Chao-hui, Get Out of Zhongguancun!"

...

Overnight, numerous strongly worded big-character posters were plastered all over the utility poles in the streets and alleys of Zhongguancun!

Subsequently, several small workshops that had previously praised the [Lungka] compatible PCs publicly announced their return of the products.

They also displayed the wreckage of several machines, whose CPUs and motherboards appeared to have been burned out due to the insertion of a "card," and cried out in the center of the market where a crowd had gathered!

Public opinion exploded instantly!

Users who were unaware of the facts were furious!

The huge sales volume brought about by the low price of [Zhongka] instantly turned into a huge backlash!

The entrance to [Chao Hui Electronics Service Department] was surrounded by an angry crowd, with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves thrown at the signboard!

Upon receiving the urgent message from A Yuan, Chen Jianghe immediately rushed to [Chao Hui Electronics Service Department].

The warehouse in the backyard of the shop was a mess, a far cry from the bustling production scene it had been a month ago.

The soldered circuit boards and components were scattered all over the ground, and several key personnel looked worried.

Chung Chiu-fai sat behind a table with a gloomy face and a Marlboro cigarette dangling from his mouth.

On the table were several charred clocks.

His eyes were bloodshot, like those of a wounded lone wolf.

"You can see outside?"

Chung Chao-hui looked at Chen Jianghe as he entered, his voice hoarse and suppressed, "Someone doesn't want me to live!"

"What happened?"

Chen Jianghe picked up a charred card and carefully examined the burn marks.

On the 5V power line, there were burn marks from the breakdown of a critical clamping diode.

This is a typical problem of insufficient hardware protection!

Which company's server is it?

"Both the Great Wall 0520CH and the Donghai 0540 are fine! The ones that burned out were compatible PCs assembled by small factories in the south!"

"To save money, they cut corners on the motherboard power supply circuitry, resulting in unstable 5V output!"

Chung Chao-fai slammed his fist on the table. "But these poor bastards who bought these no-name brand machines don't blame those unscrupulous workshops; instead, they blame my [Chung Card] for not being strong enough?!"

In order to minimize costs and accelerate expansion, Chung Chao-hui made sacrifices in the protective design of the Chinese character card.

The power supplies for many compatible PCs on the market vary greatly in quality!

If you encounter a faulty machine, the Chinese character card becomes a ticking time bomb!

"What do we do now? Stop selling and return the goods?" Chen Jianghe asked calmly.

"Stop selling?" A fierce glint flashed in Zhong Chaohui's eyes. "Then I'm really dead! All the money's tied up in the factory! I can't afford to refund it!"

He suddenly leaned close to Chen Jianghe, lowered his voice, and spoke with a metallic, bloody stench.

"Brother Chen! Someone's jealous of us! They're deliberately causing trouble!"

"Is there any evidence?"

"Wang Mazi leaked information that two of the people who instigated the trouble and caused the disruption, along with those who returned the goods, were sent by [Lianwei]!"

Chen Jianghe knew perfectly well that Lianwei was a wholesaler that competed with Chaohui for Chinese character cards…

"And those big-character posters! Damn it, I'll wipe them all out sooner or later!"

He stared intently at Chen Jianghe: "How's the plan you mentioned last time going?"

"The only solution now is to upgrade as soon as possible!"

"Immediately launch the [Zonka II]! Solve the problem of those faulty power supplies in compatible PCs! Shut them up!"

"I'll add two percentage points to your technology profit share! Immediately! Right now!"

This is blatant crisis hijacking!

Clearly, Chung Chiu-fai wanted to use this crisis to force Chan Kong-ho to come up with a better reinforcement plan as soon as possible.

Improve the product's tolerance for errors and completely leave the competition behind!

As for the increased costs associated with upgrading products…

Of course, the users will pay for it!

However, Chung Chiu-fai remained silent about signing the share agreement!

Even if you add two percentage points to the technological dividends you're talking about, it's still just an empty promise!

Chen Jianghe sneered inwardly.

In Chung Chiu-fai's eyes, any crisis is a springboard to seize more benefits.

"I have a solution!"

Without hesitation, Chen Jianghe threw out the bait again: "Add a parallel array of low-cost, high-capacitance electrolytic capacitors to the input power supply."

"When used with a transient voltage suppression diode, it can absorb power supply glitches and surge impacts to the greatest extent."

"I can provide the circuit diagram. The cost of the components will increase, but it won't exceed five yuan."

"Okay! This is exactly what I wanted!"

Chung Chiu-fai was overjoyed to hear that Chen Jianghe could come up with a solution so quickly!

"But I have conditions," Chen Jianghe said calmly.

Chung Chao-fai's smile froze on his face: "A...condition? What condition?"

"Three conditions."

"Three more?"

"Yes! First, immediately stop the current manual soldering and switch to outsourced PCB manufacturing to produce qualified boards."

"This expense is your personal responsibility and cannot be included in the cost; you must also ensure basic quality control!"

Chung Chao-fai panicked: "This is no small expense!"

"Fine, if you're not willing to take responsibility, then we can't continue this discussion!"

Zhong Chaohui suddenly grinned: "Brother Chen, you're even more ruthless than Wang Mazi..."

"Okay! I'll take responsibility! Now, state your second condition!"