Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 25 You, kid, should walk the right path.
Around 7 or 8 pm.

After leaving Widow Tian's small supermarket, Zhao Tiezhu carried braised meat, cold dishes, and two bottles of strong liquor to find Old Zhang just before closing time.

Seeing that Lao Zhang was busy tidying up, Zhao Tiezhu quickly went to help.

Then, the two moved out a folding table and set up stools. Once everything was ready, they sat in front of the stall, enjoying the evening breeze, and prepared to eat.

Old Zhang glanced at the cold dishes and braised meat on the table, feigning displeasure.

"Tiezhu! You think you can fob me off with this little bit?"

"Brother Zhang! Look at this!"

Zhao Tiezhu chuckled and, as if by magic, produced the two unlabeled bottles of liquor.

"This is a 'fierce knife' that I brought all the way from my hometown in Hanxi. I wouldn't normally be willing to take it out."

"I only got out of this mess today because of you, Brother Zhang, otherwise I wouldn't have been willing to spend the money!"

"The northwest wind blows up the yellow dust! The northwest liquor is so spicy it burns through your belly! The women of the northwest are as fierce as tigers!"

Zhao Tiezhu boldly opened the bottle cap, shoved a bottle into Old Zhang's hand, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and urged, "Brother Zhang! Quickly try this strong liquor that I brought all the way from my hometown!"

Old Zhang was taken aback by Zhao Tiezhu's posture. He hesitated for a moment, then took a sip from the bottle. He was instantly scalded by the spiciness and tears streamed down his face.

Seeing this, Zhao Tiezhu kept praising Lao Zhang for his straightforwardness, then took another big gulp and tried to persuade Lao Zhang to drink more.

Old Zhang couldn't handle being forced to drink so much, so he quickly grabbed Zhao Tiezhu's wrist and laughed it off.

"Tiezhu! We're all brothers, whether we drink a lot or a little, it's all about the sentiment!"

Zhao Tiezhu blinked, as if his tongue had gotten a little too big.

"Then I should also express... express my feelings on behalf of Brother Chen, right?"

Old Zhang nodded hurriedly, "I understand! I understand! I appreciate Mr. Chen's thoughtfulness!"

Zhao Tiezhu was secretly pleased with himself, thinking: Look! What Brother Chen spent 500 yuan on, I got done for 100 yuan.

It was late at night, and the small workshop of Orange Technology still had that dim yellow light on.

Zhao Tiezhu walked in, his face slightly flushed and reeking of alcohol.

Chen Mo was engrossed in the secondhand laptop that Huabei Qiang had cobbled together, making final checks on the battery data he was about to submit to the Longgang suburban new energy company for review.

Noticing Zhao Tiezhu's return, Chen Mo asked without looking up, "Did you get things sorted out with Lao Zhang?"

Zhao Tiezhu, no longer slurring his words, laughed and replied, "I got Old Zhang completely drunk. He said he'll be the first to support our Orange 1 phone from now on!"

After saying that, he pursed his dry lips and went to find the kettle to boil water.

Without even looking up, Chen Mo ordered, "Pour me a cup too."

He then continued to examine the information on the new gaseous lithium battery, thinking to himself: This information needs to be written just right, without revealing too much technology, but also without lacking substantive content.

Zhao Tiezhu poured himself and Chen Mo a glass of water, then moved the chairs to the doorway. In the dim light, he took out his DIY resistive touchscreen phone and started playing Snake.

His homemade knock-off phone, which he had installed with eight large speakers, blared the sound effects of a snake eating an apple.

After Chen Mo finished organizing the battery data, the two closed the roller shutter door and returned to the entrance of the rented house.

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly said, "Brother Chen, I have something to do tonight. I'll go out for a bit and go straight to the workshop tomorrow morning."

Chen Mo thought for a moment, but still couldn't help but warn, "You kid, stay away from Widow Tian, ​​it won't end well for you two!"

Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head nonchalantly and laughed, "Brother Chen, you don't understand. I'm just having fun. I don't care about the outcome."

"Besides, Sister Tian is a pretty interesting person, she won't cause me any trouble in the future!"

Chen Mo smiled and remained silent.

Having lived two lives without ever having a girlfriend, he certainly had no right to lecture Zhao Tiezhu on matters of the heart.

It's a matter of mutual consent; there's no need for one to be the bad guy.

The reason Chen Mo gave Zhao Tiezhu a word of advice was simply because their relationship was more like that of friends, and sometimes he would even treat Zhao Tiezhu like his immature younger brother.

Yes! Zhao Tiezhu thought so too, and would regard Chen Mo as his "immature" older brother.

Over the course of three years, Chen Mo grew up in the ivory tower, while Zhao Tiezhu was tempered by the outside world. In terms of interpersonal relationships, adaptability, and the balancing of interests, Zhao Tiezhu was more shrewd and adept than Chen Mo.

Chen Mo focused more on technology and theory, while Zhao Tiezhu learned to adapt his approach to people and assess situations during his time working hard in North China.

To put it simply, opportunities at the bottom are limited, and Zhao Tiezhu knows better how to use his teeth and claws to tear a bloody path and seize every possible opportunity. He doesn't have Chen Mo's technical expertise to back him up, so he can only weed into any available space, rampaging through the cracks in the market, even if his methods are bloody.

However, with Chen Mo's reminder and restraint, Zhao Tiezhu didn't have time to do anything that crossed the line and then go down a dark path.

"Yo ho!" Zhao Tiezhu hummed a little tune, his steps light and quick: "Little sister's face is so tender! Nobody cares if her shoes are worn out, just waiting for a kiss from her."

Watching Zhao Tiezhu's departing figure, Chen Mo thought to himself: That rascal, he really lives a carefree life. It really proves the saying, "Women don't love men who aren't a little bad."

Of course, when Chen Mo says "bad," he means someone who is good at handling situations and eloquent.

In modern terms, you have to provide emotional value to women.

Zhao Tiezhu is quite the expert at charming women. Not only does he not spend any money, but Widow Tian even occasionally gives him some money.

However, Chen Mo knew that this kid was definitely not an innocent person now.

When Zhao Tiezhu had been in Shenzhen for just over a year, he found a young girl who said she had come to Shenzhen to stay with relatives and became her girlfriend. He poured his heart out to her, but he lost half a year's salary without even holding her hand.

Then the girl ran off with a blond guy riding a ghost fire.

I remember Zhao Tiezhu running errands for me back then. Every time it was mealtime, I would squat on the street in front of Huabei Qiang's stall, eating steamed buns and staring blankly at the text messages that girl sent me.

Back then, this guy couldn't even afford to smoke. He spent all his salary on new clothes for that girl. Then, wearing the new clothes, she turned around and sat on the little blond guy's ghost fire.

It’s hard to look back on the past!

However, as the old saying goes, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit."

Now Zhao Tiezhu has become quite shrewd, using his silver tongue to coax Widow Tian into opening the door with cigarettes and keeping her inside.

Zhao Tiezhu hummed a little tune as he walked to the street where Widow Tian's small supermarket was located.

On the second floor, Widow Tian had left a light on, and you could vaguely see a person's figure.

There were roasted sweet potatoes under the streetlights on the street corner. A gentle breeze carried a sweet and cloying aroma, which sobered Zhao Tiezhu up completely.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the small supermarket, Zhao Tiezhu didn't rush to knock on the door. Instead, he leisurely took out a cigarette and lit it.

He had just exhaled half a cigarette when the wooden window on the second floor creaked open.

"You're dawdling like a new bride!"

Widow Tian, ​​wearing a maroon velvet coat, leaned out, her hair exuding the fragrance of osmanthus hair oil. Her plump body leaned against the window frame, the moonlight making her dimples look sweet.

Zhao Tiezhu blew a half-formed smoke ring, smiled, and said nothing.

Look at you, Sister Tian, ​​you're in such a hurry again.

"If you don't come soon, I'm not leaving the door open for you anymore!"

Before she finished speaking, she had already run downstairs in her plastic slippers.

As soon as the sliding folding iron door of the small supermarket cracked open, Widow Tian grabbed Zhao Tiezhu by the collar and pulled him inside.

"Boom!"

The iron gate was closed.

In the small supermarket, the lights on the first floor were off, but by the dim light from the second floor, one could vaguely see Widow Tian's plump figure.

"Sister Tian! Be gentle!"

Zhao Tiezhu staggered as he was pulled, and instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You smoke these rotten leaves all day long, and you don't even know how to kiss your sister's lips?"

Widow Tian snatched the cigarette butt from Zhao Tiezhu's hand and threw it on the ground, crushing it into sparks.

"Sister Tian!" Zhao Tiezhu smiled and gently patted her, feeling soft and comfortable. "Don't stay out too late, I have things to do tomorrow!"

"You've really made something of yourself, kid!" Widow Tian suddenly laughed and slapped his hand away. "You used to be the one who wouldn't leave. When have I ever interfered with your important business?"

"."

The midnight breeze rattled the loosely closed iron window, and a corner of the curtain was lifted. Under the somewhat lonely lamplight, the faint sounds of two people laughing and joking could be heard.

"Ugh! You should be on the right path, kid!"

(End of this chapter)