Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Longteng Electronics, Hong Kong. In the square in front of the R&D center building, dozens of brand-new 2G communication base stations are neatly arranged. The silver-gray bodies gleam coldly in the morning sun, and the four large red characters "Longteng Manufacturing" on the bodies are particularly eye-catching.

The square was packed with people, including representatives from the communications industry around the world, journalists, and officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Today marks the official commercial launch of Longteng Electronics' 2G communication base station and the simultaneous global release of Longteng mobile phones. It is also a crucial juncture concerning the ownership of global communication standards.

Li Yu, dressed in a sharp suit, stood in the center of the stage, flanked by Lou Zhenhua and the core technology team of Longteng Electronics.

The voice, amplified through the microphone, resonated throughout the venue: "Colleagues, today is a day to remember. Longteng Electronics' independently developed 2G communication base station, after hundreds of tests, has finally achieved commercial deployment."

"The accompanying DragonPass mobile phone, which supports voice calls, SMS messaging, and low-speed data transfer, is now officially on sale!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the square.

The reporters' flashes captured this moment.

Lou Zhenhua took the microphone and excitedly said, "What's even more impressive is that, after review by the International Telecommunication Union, the TD-SCDMA 2G communication standard proposed by Longteng Electronics has been officially established as the global 2G communication standard!"

"From now on, China's communication technology will no longer have to depend on others!"

After the ceremony, the first batch of Longteng 2G base stations were loaded onto trucks and transported to communication base station construction sites in various places. In fact, many places had already installed base stations in advance, and this was just to create momentum.

Meanwhile, the Longteng mobile phone was launched at the same time.

In just three days, the first batch of 500,000 Longteng mobile phones was snapped up, and now it is extremely difficult to find one.

The atmosphere in the conference room at Motorola's headquarters in New York was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

John Mitchell, his face ashen, exclaimed, "Useless! A bunch of useless people! We invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing 2G technology, and it's still inferior to DragonTech! What useful things did those technicians poached from DragonTech give us?"

The Chief Technology Officer replied, "President, those technicians only have access to Longteng's first-generation 2G technology, which is a whole generation behind Longteng's current commercial technology... The base stations we developed based on their technology have unstable signals and high power consumption, making them completely uncompetitive in the market."

John Mitchell's face darkened further, and he said through gritted teeth, "So, these people are no longer of any use to me?"

"Yes...yes." The chief technology officer didn't dare to look up.

"Fire them all immediately! Not only that, but they must be held accountable! If they hadn't provided false technical data, we wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses!"

At almost the same time, Western telecommunications companies such as Ericsson and Qualcomm also made the same decision.

Those Longteng defector technicians who were once treated as honored guests, receiving high salaries and living in villas, became abandoned overnight.

They were kicked out of the company, and even their owed salaries were withheld. Their former glory vanished completely.

The technicians looked at each other in bewilderment. They had thought that by relying on the technology they had stolen from Longteng, they could gain a foothold in Western companies and achieve great success.

Unexpectedly, what he possessed was merely technology that Longteng had phased out. Once it lost its value, it would be ruthlessly discarded.

With no other options, they turned to Longteng Electronics.

After all, this was their former home. As long as they can come back, even if they have to start all over again, it's better than having nothing at all now.

A few days later, more than a dozen defecting technicians arrived at the gate of Longteng Electronics' factory.

"Hey security guard, could you please announce our arrival? We're former employees of Longteng, and we'd like to speak with General Manager Lou or Chief Engineer Li," the lead technician said with a beaming smile to the security guard at the gate.

The security guard sized them up and down: "Longteng doesn't welcome traitors. You can leave now."

"Brother, we know we were wrong. We were also deceived by those foreign companies. They just wanted to use our technology and didn't genuinely want to make good use of us."

"We've been fired, we're desperate, please let us in! We're willing to accept any punishment, even being an apprentice in the factory!"

The other technicians chimed in, their faces pleading, "Yes, we know we were wrong, we regret it!"

Their noise attracted a crowd of employees. They looked at their former colleagues with disdain.

"Weren't you so smug when you left? Saying things like the good treatment abroad and how you could realize your self-worth, why are you back now?"

"Serves them right! Those who betray Longteng deserve this fate!"

"Chief Engineer Li and General Manager Lou trusted them so much, yet they used Longteng's technology to curry favor with outsiders. They're truly ungrateful!"

The whispers reached the technicians' ears, their faces flushed red, and they lowered their heads even further.

Just then, a black sedan slowly drove up to the factory gate, the window rolled down, revealing Lou Zhenhua's face.

The lead technician, as if seeing a lifeline, rushed forward: "President Lou! President Lou, we were wrong! We shouldn't have betrayed Longteng, we shouldn't have jumped ship to a foreign company! Please, give us another chance!"

"Opportunity? When you took Longteng's technology and turned to foreign capital, did you never think this day would come? Longteng nurtured you, not so you could be used as pawns by outsiders! The moment you left, you severed all ties with Longteng!"

"Mr. Lou, we truly know we were wrong! Those foreign companies are just using us; they don't care about our lives at all! We're really at our wits' end now!"

"This is the path you chose. The gates of Dragon Ascension are always open to the loyal, but will never leave a crack for traitors. Now, leave, and never show your face here again."

After speaking, Lou Zhenhua signaled the driver to start the car. The car slowly drove into the factory area, leaving a group of technicians standing there dumbfounded.

Looking at the tightly closed factory gates, the leading technician slumped to the ground, his face filled with despair.

Several security guards, brandishing stun guns, rudely told the group at the entrance, "Get out of here! Don't get in the way! A bunch of heartless bastards!"

As he spoke, he took the stun gun and rammed it into the person's body.

They hate Motorola and Ericsson now, but they hate Longteng and Li Yu even more. They think it's only right to go wherever the pay is good, so why are they being treated like this?