King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

The deadlock issue on the "Fire Seed" platform has been resolved.

Chen Jianghe was officially transferred from the circuit board workshop to Su Wanqing's "Spark" project team.

Responsible for experimental recording and participating in some peripheral testing and analysis work.

Under Su Wanqing's forceful intervention, his position and treatment were upgraded from ordinary workshop worker to assistant technician.

They also arranged for the administrative department to provide Chen Jianghe with a bed in the institute's dormitory.

Su Wanqing occasionally and unintentionally assigns tasks, which inevitably takes up her normal mealtimes.

Then, he took Chen Jianghe to the small canteen for a special meal.

That noon, Chen Jianghe unusually entered the cafeteria during a normal mealtime.

He held a red meal ticket given to him by Su Wanqing.

I ordered a set meal consisting of a greasy braised pork belly, two large steamed buns, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a bowl of tomato and egg soup, and found a corner to sit down.

He had only taken a few bites when Chen Jianghe overheard a conversation between several technicians from a nearby table, whose group he couldn't identify as being from any project team.

"...Have you heard? Chinese character cards are going crazy at the Zhongguancun electronics market!"

"Really? Isn't that just a translated version of a foreign language?"

"What do you know! A good Chinese character card allows you to type Chinese characters on an imported computer!"

"That stuff isn't cheap! I heard... one piece can sell for at least this much!"

The man held up five fingers!

"...So much? We only make a few dollars a month!"

"That's right! I've heard that many people from other places come to Zhongguancun, and the stall owners are doing very well!"

"If we advertise it with tags like 'imported chips' and 'high speed and stability,' we can sell it for even more, and we won't have to worry about selling it!"

"I've heard that the quality of Chinese character cards on the market varies greatly; some even develop screen glitches or burn out their motherboards after only a few days of use..."

The words "Chinese character card" instantly captivated Chen Jianghe!

He slowed down his chewing of the braised pork, and his ears perked up.

A Chinese character card can sell for at least 500 yuan?!

Now that he's changed jobs, his monthly salary is forty-eight yuan!

That number stung him like a scalding hot potato!

My brain immediately started working at lightning speed!

The Chinese character card uses a dedicated chip on an expansion card and the dot matrix information of the character library embedded in ROM...

To enable Chinese character input and display functions on a computer.

The core function is the storage, retrieval, conversion, and output of Chinese character dot matrix data!

In terms of technical principles, as a former IT architect familiar with bus timing and chip operation, he solved the "Spark" state machine problem...

It's a piece of cake!

He only needs one set of font dot matrix data...

As for general-purpose logic devices and EPROM chips that can be programmed…

There are some that have been scrapped in the research institute.

It's entirely possible to "make use of waste"!

An erasable and reprogrammable EPROM chip, plus other core components…

The remaining casing and slots are all physical assembly materials!

It can sell for at least five hundred!

Profits exceeding twenty times the initial investment!

At that very moment, Chen Jianghe was ignited by the enormous business opportunity!

After his rebirth, he aims to build not only a technologically advanced position, but a technological empire!

Just then, a voice rang out from across the room: "Comrade Chen, eating alone? Didn't Engineer Su treat you to a special meal?"

It's Sun Yuanchao!

He sat down opposite Chen Jianghe, holding his lunchbox, with a forced smile.

His eyes held an undisguised jealousy.

"You've been getting a lot of attention lately working with Engineer Su, haven't you? Even the institute leaders have praised you by name."

"The difference between assistant technicians and regular workers is obvious; their pay is better, and the food is much better too..."

Chen Jianghe raised his head and looked at Sun Yuanchao's distorted face.

Suppressing his disgust, he kept a straight face.

At this moment, his mind was completely ignited by the flame of Hanka.

He quickly shoveled the braised pork and vegetables off the plate, stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, and drank the soup in the bowl.

He mumbled "Brother Sun, please enjoy your meal," then picked up his plate and quickly left.

He needs to act immediately! There's no time to lose!

Watching Chen Jianghe's hurried departure, the forced smile on Sun Yuanchao's face completely vanished.

He poked at the meat in the lunchbox as if it were Chen Jianghe's meat.

Chen Jianghe, don't be too happy yet! You're in for a surprise!

A moment later, he stood up and followed behind Chen Jianghe…

Chen Jianghe walked out of the cafeteria, but did not return to his dormitory or Su Wanqing's laboratory.

Instead, they went straight to the small warehouse where the research institute managed experimental equipment!

He needed to obtain the crucial EPROM chip as quickly as possible.

And that font dot matrix data that can light up Chinese characters!

The seed of the Chinese character card has already sprouted in his heart!

Their commercial ambitions are sprouting like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

But Chen Jianghe didn't know!

From that day on, a chilling light began to silently watch him…

During his time in the circuit board workshop and Su Wanqing's laboratory, Chen Jianghe had several dealings with Lao Qian, the warehouse manager of the equipment department.

When he arrived at the warehouse, Old Qian was slowly and methodically making entries in a yellowed ledger.

"Master Qian!"

Chen Jianghe put on a sincere smile.

"Our project team wants to find some... obsolete EPROM chips for testing."

"Can I apply for scrap metal requisition here?"

"EPROM?"

Old Qian raised his eyelids. "What model? What's the capacity?"

He pointed to several cardboard boxes next to him.

"They're all over there. We usually put the broken chips we replace in the box. But..."

He emphasized, "Even if it's scrap, you still have to fill out a form to get it."

"Clearly state the purpose and quantity, and have the project leader sign it!"

"The model doesn't matter, as long as it's clean, the larger the capacity, the better!"

As Chen Jianghe spoke, he walked eagerly toward the cardboard box.

"These are the junk bins, right? I'll rummage through them myself..."

After saying that, he opened the waste cardboard box and rummaged through the piles of various circuit board fragments and disassembled relays.

A short while later, he found several Intel 2764 chips covered in dust and with faded labels at the bottom of the box!

This is an 8Kx8bit UV-erasable read-only memory.

Although it's an outdated product...

However, it is barely enough to store a basic 16x16 dot matrix GB2312 character set.

Moreover, the pins of these chips showed no obvious physical damage!

Chen Jianghe suppressed his wildly beating heart and stuffed the three 2764 chips into his pocket.

"Master Qian, I'll take these three pieces for now, and we'll have our team leader sign them later."

Then, with a forced smile, he pointed to a half-new, half-old copy of "National Standard Information Interchange Chinese Character Dot Matrix Set (15x16 Dot Matrix)" (internal document) on the bookshelf.

"Master Qian, could I borrow this book for a few days for study and reference?"

Old Qian felt that he had a good relationship with Chen Jianghe's father before...

And this child had just been transferred from the circuit board workshop to Su Wanqing's laboratory...

It's a good thing to enjoy learning.

So she took the book down from the shelf and handed it to him: "Register! Return it immediately after you're done reading!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Qian! I'll keep it safe! I'll return it immediately after I'm done!"

Chen Jianghe thanked him repeatedly!

Sign your name and the code name of Su Wanqing's project team in the register next to you.

We've finally got the core raw materials for our first pot of gold!