Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Chapter 175: Meetings and Supervision – No Slackening

Lin Dong looked out the window at the buildings with their lights on. A year ago, when he looked up at the sky from the alley of Huaqiangbei, he didn't see this kind of night view.

Back then, he repaired cell phones, with soldering irons and rosin around him, and the narrow basement above him, so he couldn't see that far.

Now he stands at the window on the 52nd floor, behind him not creditors, but a group of people who have been through thick and thin with him.

He couldn't let them think that this was the end.

This is just the beginning.

He had to let them go back to rest, but he couldn't let them relax.

He turned around and looked at them.

"That's all for today." His voice wasn't loud, but everyone stopped what they were doing. "Go back and rest. We'll have a meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Nobody moved.

Lin Dong knew what they were thinking.

The phone is finished, the whole device is running smoothly, and all tests have been passed.

Logically, we should celebrate tonight.

But he didn't want to celebrate. Celebrating now would dampen his enthusiasm.

The press conference hasn't started yet, the phones haven't been sold, and we haven't even prepared 10,000 units.

He needs to let these people know that the road ahead is long.

"Let's go," he said. "There's no rush for the celebration party today. After the press conference is over and the phones are sold, we'll have a good drink. We won't leave until we're completely drunk."

Li Hu stood up from his chair, stretched, and his bones cracked and popped.

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand; his eyes were still red.

"Okay, then let's wait for the press conference."

He patted Lin Dong on the shoulder.

Lin Dong watched his retreating figure. This kid hadn't slept for three days. He'd be able to sleep until tomorrow afternoon when he got back.

Zhang Mingyuan put on his glasses, lowered his head, and walked out.

Uncle Cai, holding a teacup, walked to the door, turned around, looked at Lin Dong, and smiled.

There was still half a cup of tea in his teacup.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Lin." Lin Dong nodded.

Uncle Cai went out.

Zheng Hao stood at the door, not leaving.

Lin Dong looked at him.

Zheng Hao followed him from Huaqiangbei, never asking why, and never complaining.

He asked Zheng Hao to drive, and Zheng Hao drove.

He put Zheng Hao in charge of the renovation, and Zheng Hao put the renovation in charge.

He asked Zheng Hao to take Zhou Jing away, and Zheng Hao did take Zhou Jing away.

Zheng Hao has never said "no".

"Ah Hao, you go back too," Lin Dong said.

Zheng Hao looked at him, nodded, and turned to leave.

The lab is empty.

Several instruments were still running, their fans humming.

The table was piled with fast food boxes, mineral water bottles, printed data sheets, and a half-disassembled prototype.

The whiteboard was covered with various data that hadn't been erased yet—waveform graphs, formulas, time points, all densely packed together.

November 2nd, 9:00 AM.

The conference room was full of people.

Uncle Cai, Zheng Hao, Zhang Mingyuan, Zhou Chengyu, Su Xiaowen, Li Guohui, Wang Mei, Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu, Ding Xiao, Li Hu,

Chen Long, Xu Zang, Zhou Jing.

Fourteen people, plus Lin Dong, making fifteen.

Lin Dong sat in the main seat and glanced around.

He didn't speak immediately, but looked at them.

He was thinking about how to start. He saw everyone leave yesterday. He knew what they were thinking. The phone was finally made; it was worth it.

But he couldn't let them think that this was the end.

The press conference hasn't started yet, the phones haven't been sold, and we haven't even prepared 10,000 units.

He needs to let them know that the road ahead is long, but they are not alone.

"Yesterday, the phone worked. The whole device test passed." He paused, "I've seen what each of you has done over the past six months."

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a pen.

He didn't write anything. He turned around, leaned against the table, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and looked at them.

He thought about it and decided not to talk about grand principles. He wanted to talk about something practical.

"Do you know why I started making mobile phones in the first place?" he asked.

No one answered.

"Why can't we make mobile phones?"

"On what grounds?"

Why should we be born to make other people's things more perfect?

"Why is it that we can understand the most complex circuits, yet we're forever stuck imitating the simplest reference designs?"

"Why should we have to wait for others to agree before we even have the right to say 'this is better'?" He paused, "So now, we've done it."

He straightened up, walked away from the table, and stood in front of the whiteboard.

He looked at the three blank lines on the whiteboard that hadn't been filled in yet, then turned back to look at them.

He breathed a sigh of relief the moment the phone finally connected yesterday.

These people followed him not because of the high salary, but because they believed in him.

He couldn't let them feel that their trust had been wasted.

"Yesterday, the moment the phone finally connected, I was thinking about something. This phone wasn't made by me. It was made by each and every one of you."

"Zhang Mingyuan, you told me you wanted to make your own hardware. Now, the motherboard has been running for over ninety days without crashing." Zhang Mingyuan lowered his head, took off his glasses, and wiped them with his sleeve. His fingers trembled slightly, and his glasses almost fell off.

Lin Dong didn't stop.

He wanted to speak one by one, so that everyone could hear their name.

"Zhou Chengyu, when you graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology, you didn't even want your degree. You told me you wanted to make the best touch screen. Now, it's 9.7 milliseconds, faster than any other phone on the market."

Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses, his lips curving into a wide smile that he couldn't suppress.

"Su Xiaowen, those blueprints on your wall have gone through over a hundred revisions. You told me you wanted to do an uncompromising design. Now, the curvature of that mid-frame, Engineer Li spent two months polishing it, and it's flawless." Su Xiaowen turned her head away, not letting anyone see her face.

Her eyelashes twitched, and Lin Dong knew she was holding back.

"Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu, you came back from Stanford without asking for anything. You told me you wanted to do your own radio frequency and structure. Now, the antenna signal is one dB higher than normal, and the heat dissipation is within 0.4 degrees Celsius."

"Ding Xiao, you're a girl, working overtime with us day and night without ever complaining."

You told me that you would take over the driver.

Now, all peripherals are recognized, and it runs smoothly and steadily.

Ding Xiao lowered her head.

"Li Hu, Chen Long, Xu Zang, the three of you, we're brothers from the same dormitory. If I encounter any difficulties, just tell me. Leave the system to us, leave the chips to us, leave the testing to us."

"Now, the system is running smoothly, the chip compatibility is fine, and the test framework is set up." Li Hu lay on the table, not looking up, but his ears were red.

He coughed, as if to cover it up.

"Li Guohui and Wang Mei, you two have kept the factory afloat. Engineer Li, you've been grinding the mid-frame for a year without a single complaint."

The sentence was, "That's about it." Wang Mei, on your first day at the company, you were already taking inventory in the warehouse.

Li Guohui scratched his head and chuckled twice.

His hands were on his knees.

Wang Mei pursed her lips, her eyes reddening.

"Uncle Cai, you've been with me since Huaqiangbei, running errands and getting things done. You've never once asked me, 'President Lin, will I get my salary this month?'"

Uncle Cai held his teacup, smiling broadly.

"Zheng Hao, you don't say anything, but I know you've always been there." Zheng Hao sat by the door, his Adam's apple bobbing.

His eyes were fixed on Lin Dong, without blinking.

"Zhou Jing, you've been here for less than half a year, yet you've managed to lead a hundred people so steadily."

You told me you wanted to provide service, not sales. Now, the store's processes are running smoothly, the experience consultants are in place, and the second-floor experience area is ready.

Zhou Jing sat opposite Lin Dong, her back straight, her eyes fixed on him.

Her eyes reddened, but she didn't let the tears fall.

Lin Dong paused for a moment and glanced around.

He saw everyone's face.

Some were laughing, some had red eyes, and some had their heads down.

They were all listening.

"Each of you was recruited by me from different places. Some came from the alleys of Huaqiangbei, some from the laboratories of Harbin Institute of Technology, some from the factories of Guanlan, some from the campus of Stanford, and some from the dormitories of Shenzhen University."

You followed me not because I paid you high salaries, but because you trusted me. You trusted that I could make this happen. And now, I've made it happen.

He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and wrote three lines.

He wrote very large characters, each stroke forceful, the chalk making a squeaking sound on the whiteboard.

1. Prepare 10,000 units, all of which will be put into storage before the beginning of December.

II. Press conference: December 25th, first floor of the flagship store.

III. Opening Ceremony – Officially open for sale on December 26th.

He looked at these three lines of text: preparing goods, press conference, opening.

Everything must be done perfectly.

There was a problem with inventory; there were no phones to sell.

There was a problem with the press conference, but nobody knew.

If there are problems after opening, even if you sell it, you won't be able to retain customers.

The three things are interconnected.

"In the time to come, do these three things."

Preparing inventory, Li Guohui.

Zhou Jing, in the experience area on the second floor of the press conference room.

On the day of the press conference, the media, guests, and logistics staff were present, along with Cai Shu.

Security, Zheng Hao.

The research and development is nearing completion, with Zhang Mingyuan taking the lead.

These are prototypes; we need to use them on the day of the launch event, and not a single one can malfunction. Are there any problems?

"No," Li Guohui said.

"No," Zhou Jing said.

"No," Uncle Cai said.

Zheng Hao nodded.

Zhang Mingyuan said, "No."

Lin Dong leaned against the table, his hands crossed in front of his chest.

He looked at them and thought to himself, these people have been working for him for a year, without getting any money or fame, just because they trust him.

He couldn't let them down.

Two months later, after the press conference, the phone sold like hotcakes. He needed to let them know that following him was the right decision.

"Two months later, after the press conference, the phone sold out, and I'll treat everyone to the celebration banquet with the best wine."

But before that, we need to do our best in everything over the next two months.

We need to stock up on 10,000 units; not a single one can be defective.

At a press conference, every step must be flawless.

"At the opening, every customer should experience the best service."

He scanned the room, his gaze sweeping over each person's face.

"If you work with me, I won't let you lose money. If the phones sell like hotcakes, everyone gets a share. If they don't sell well, I'll cover it. You trust me, and I trust you. We'll walk this path together."

Lin Dong straightened up, walked back to the whiteboard, and pointed to the three lines of text.

"I'm repeating it again, this is of utmost importance."

Prepare the goods and have them put into storage before the beginning of December.

Press conference, December 25th.

Opening date: December 26th.

Two months, three things. None of them can go wrong. Everyone's worked hard this journey, but it's not time to relax yet. Let's hold on for another two months. Once we've done it, the victory celebration is on me, with the finest wine.

He scanned the area.

"Is there a problem?"

"No," everyone said in unison.

Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly.

"Let's do it then. Meeting adjourned."

The crowd gradually stood up.

The sounds of chairs being moved, footsteps, and voices mingled together.

When Li Hu stood up, his legs felt a little weak, so he held onto the table for support.

Chen Long glanced at him.

"Are you alright?" Chen Long asked.

"It's nothing," Li Hu said. "I'm just sleepy. I haven't slept for three days." He stretched, and his bones cracked a series of sounds.

"Go back to sleep," Chen Long said.

"Okay." Li Hu followed Chen Long outside, and when they reached the door, he turned back to look at Lin Dong.

"Fourth brother, I want to drink Moutai at the victory celebration banquet."

Lin Dong ignored him.

He knew Li Hu didn't really want to drink Moutai; he just wanted to say something but didn't know what to say.

Zhang Mingyuan walked to the door, stopped, turned around, and glanced at Lin Dong.

Her lips moved slightly, but she swallowed the rest.

In the end, he simply nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.

His glasses were a little foggy; I couldn't tell if it was from the temperature difference or something else.

Zhou Chengyu followed behind him, adjusted his glasses, and said nothing.

Su Xiaowen walked at the very back, still holding the frame in her hand. She walked to the door, glanced down at it, placed it on the table by the door, and didn't take it with her.

It was placed very lightly; the middle frame made almost no sound when it hit the table.

She stood there for a second, then walked away without looking back.

Zhou Jing walked last.

She walked to the door and stopped. She turned around and looked at Lin Dong.

"Mr. Lin, is there anything else?" she asked.

"That's all," Lin Dong said.

Zhou Jing looked at him, waited two seconds, and before he could speak, she said, "I've remembered everything you just said." She paused, "Two months later, the press conference was held, and the phone sold out."

Lin Dong looked at her.

She wasn't just being polite; she was saying that she understood what he meant and that she wouldn't let him down.

Zhou Jing smiled, turned around and left.

Her steps were light, her high heels clicking on the floor with a steady rhythm.

As she walked to the corner of the corridor, her shadow was stretched long by the light, then it turned and disappeared.

The meeting room was empty.

Lin Dong stood alone in front of the whiteboard, looking at the three lines of text on it.

Preparing inventory, holding a press conference, and opening for business.

He picked up the eraser and wiped the whiteboard clean.

White powder fell down, landing on the ground and on his sleeve.

He took a pat, but it wasn't clean, and he didn't pay attention.

He turned off the light and went outside.

The lights in the hallway flickered on and off.

Zheng Hao stood up from the doorway and followed behind him.

The two people entered the elevator one after the other. The elevator doors closed, and the numbers started to drop.

Lin Dong leaned against the elevator wall with his eyes closed.

Zheng Hao glanced at him in the reflection of the elevator door.

The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors opened.

Lin Dong opened his eyes and walked out.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass door, falling on his face. He squinted, pushed the door open, and went out.

Zheng Hao followed behind.

The two went down the steps and walked to the car. Lin Dong opened the car door, but didn't get in. He stopped, turned around, and looked at Zheng Hao.

"Ah Hao, take me to the flagship store. I want to take a look there."

Zheng Hao nodded, opened the car door, and got into the driver's seat. Lin Dong got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. The car started, and...

Entering the traffic flow.