Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Lin Dong turned around and took the warm mung bean soup. "It's alright, Mom. It's Uncle Cai. Everything's fine with business." He paused, "It's just... the exams are all over now, and I feel a little empty."

Li Xiuzhen breathed a sigh of relief, a pained yet understanding smile on her face: "You've been under so much pressure for three days of exams, it's bound to be hard to relax all of a sudden. Go wash your face, it's time to eat. Your dad specially bought your favorite braised goose today."

The atmosphere at home was more relaxed than usual during dinner.

The father, Lin Guodong, opened a bottle of beer, filled his own glass, looked at Lin Dong, and poured most of the glass in front of his son.

"The exam's over, have a drink." The father's words were simple.

The mother opened her mouth as if to stop him, but after glancing at her husband and then at her son, she simply smiled and shook her head, placing the largest piece of goose meat on Lin Dong's plate.

At the dinner table, the mother talked about neighborhood gossip and her worries about filling out college applications.

Lin Dong agreed, but his thoughts kept drifting to the phone call and the enormous, almost unreal number represented on the other end.

He ate somewhat absentmindedly.

Lin Guodong drank silently, glancing at his son occasionally.

No one knows a son better than his father. Beneath the calm on his son's face, there was clearly something weighing on him, like... the bewilderment that comes after accomplishing something great.

After finishing her meal, Mother got up to clean up the kitchen.

Only the father and son remained in the living room, accompanied by the soft strains of traditional opera playing from the television.

"Dad," Lin Dong suddenly spoke, his voice sounding somewhat abrupt in the quiet living room.

"Hmm?" Lin Guodong put down his wine glass.

Lin Dong stared at the golden liquid in his glass, organizing his thoughts: "Business in Shenzhen... is going quite well, I've made some money. More than I expected... more than I anticipated."

Lin Guodong didn't reply, but listened quietly, picked up the bottle, and refilled Lin Dong's barely touched glass. This was a silent encouragement: continue.

"We made money."

Lin Dong's voice lowered, filled with confusion, "But these past three days, especially after the exam today, I feel... empty inside. It's like I was holding back a lot of energy to cross a river, and now that I've crossed it, I look up and see nothing but wilderness, and I don't know which way to go."

He paused, trying to describe the feeling: "It's like... before, I had a very clear goal: to help my family and pay off the debts. Now that the debts are gone and things are better for my family, I suddenly don't know what to strive for next. Making money? It doesn't seem like... the feeling anymore."

Lin Guodong did not speak immediately after hearing this.

He picked up his glass, took a sip, savored the taste, and looked out at the deep night, as if he were thinking about something.

After a long while, he slowly began to speak, his tone as calm and unassuming as if he were discussing his work at the factory:

"I think I can understand how you feel a little."

Lin Dong looked up at his father.

"Years ago, I worked in the factory and honed my skills for a while. When the master craftsman who trained me retired, all the difficult parts on the production line that others couldn't handle ended up piling up on my end."

Lin Guodong's voice was not loud, but carried a gentle tone of reminiscence, "Back then, I also thought, hey, I'm capable, the online world can't do without me."

After working for a while, it was the same repetitive work every day: straightening crooked parts, polishing rough surfaces... Yes, the pay was a bit higher than others, and the boss was polite. But inside, I felt empty.

He turned back to look at his son: "Later I wondered, if I polished this part, which machine would it eventually be installed on? And what would that machine be used for?"

Should it be used for building construction or for agricultural machinery?

Thinking about it this way, the work at hand seems different now.

Even if the screw I handled only made a water pump run a little smoother, allowing me to irrigate two more acres of land, I would feel, "Yes, my work wasn't in vain."

Lin Dong listened intently.

"You just said you didn't know where to direct your efforts."

Lin Guodong picked up his chopsticks, unconsciously poking at a peanut in his plate. "Dad doesn't understand all that electronic stuff you guys are into. But the principle is the same. You make money, that's your skill. But besides putting money in your own pocket, can you... use that skill to get more out of your pocket?"

He looked at his son, his eyes filled with a earnestness typical of a worker:

"Look at the machines in my factory. The ones from Germany are more durable than the domestic ones. Why? Because their parts are solidly made and cleverly designed. We always talk about catching up, but what are we chasing? Isn't it just chasing 'solidity' and 'cleverness'?"

There's an old saying: "When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven."

That's too grand a statement for ordinary people like us.

But if it's in your own hands, then it's probably like this: if you haven't established yourself yet and don't have the ability, then take care of yourself first, don't cause trouble for others, and live your own life clearly.

But once you've established yourself and are capable, don't just focus on filling your own bowl.

Can you make the things you handle better?

Even if it's just a tiny bit better, so that users complain less and it's a little more convenient?

"If you can do this, then your skills and the money you spent will not have been wasted."

Lin Dong was struck dumb, frozen in his seat!

My father didn't engage in grand pronouncements or quote classical texts; he simply used the "parts" and "machinery" he was most familiar with as metaphors, describing it as "solid" and "skillful," and defining its value as "less criticism, more convenience"...

But these simple words were like a precise key, clicking open the heavy and confused lock in his heart!

"Make sure the things you handle are of even better quality!"

"To make things less troublesome and more convenient for users!"

Isn't this the most direct critique of certain chaotic phenomena in Huaqiangbei and even the entire Chinese manufacturing industry in its past?

Isn't this the simplest and most fundamental definition of a "good product"?

With prophecy in his hands and funds at his disposal, does he intend to continue stuck in the old cycle of "making things cheaper" or "making things more profitable"?

Do not!

A clear, burning, and powerful goal, like the rising sun at dawn, suddenly pierced through the fog in his heart!

What he wants to do is not to be the biggest middleman.

What he wants to do is integrate the best technologies to create truly "solid" and "ingenious" products!

What he wants to challenge is that Western giant that is about to conquer the world with its "ease of use" and "experience"!

He wants to prove that "Dongfang" can also create things that amaze the world and make users genuinely feel "convenient"!

"dad……"

Lin Dong's voice choked slightly. Looking at his father's hands, rough and cracked from years of hard work, his eyes welled up with tears. "I...I think I know which way to go."

When Lin Guodong saw the fire that suddenly ignited in his son's eyes—a fire more resolute and clearer than ever before—the wrinkles on his face slowly smoothed out, forming a simple, gratified smile.

He didn't ask his son what he wanted to do specifically, he simply raised his glass:

"Good to know. Here, drink this."

The father and son's wine glasses clinked together gently, making a crisp sound.

At the kitchen doorway, the mother wiped her hands, watching this scene, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

Although she didn't fully understand, she could sense that the knot in her son's heart seemed to have been untied.