Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

"I...I'm making improvements." Zhou Chengyu's voice lowered, filled with resentment and helplessness.

"Improvements take time, data, and countless real-world tests."

Lin Dong leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on him. "And while you're making improvements, your advisor might 'suggest' that you publish the paper with his name on it first. After all, every paper published is an achievement, and whether the algorithm is perfect... that's for later versions, right?"

These words were like a knife, precisely cutting open Zhou Chengyu's bloodiest wound.

His face turned pale instantly.

The fingernails dug into the palm.

That's right.

That's what my advisor said: "Post first to reserve your spot. We'll add the details later." But that algorithm was his life's work! It was the product of countless sleepless nights, line by line of code he had written!

Why should someone who can't even understand a formula be listed as the first author?!

Anger, resentment, and a profound sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him instantly.

He looked at Lin Dong with a complicated expression.

There was a sense of panic at being seen through, and also a bittersweet feeling of "finally someone understands my predicament."

"Dr. Zhou," Lin Dong's voice softened slightly, but remained firm, "the algorithm is your child. Are you willing to let it bear someone else's name before it has even grown up?"

Zhou Chengyu suddenly raised his head.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm not reconciled!"

He forced out three words through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with anger, "But what can I do? The lab is his, the equipment is his, graduation..."

"if,"

Lin Dong interrupted him, his voice clear and steady, "There is a place. It has the latest testing equipment, a dedicated hardware team to help you optimize, and an endless supply of chips for you to test and make mistakes."

You just need to focus on your algorithm, refine it to its limits, until it remains fast, accurate, and stable even in the dirtiest and noisiest real-world environments.

He paused, looking at Zhou Chengyu's suddenly bright eyes, and posed the most crucial question:

"Would you be willing to let your 'child' grow up there?"

Zhou Chengyu's breathing stopped completely.

Such a place...

Isn't this exactly what he's been dreaming of?!

No need for intrigue, no need for compromises on authorship, just pure technical problem-solving...

But does it really exist?

He looked at Lin Dong, his eyes filled with both longing and doubt: "Mr. Lin, the hardware team you mentioned... is it?"

Lin Dong smiled, turned his head, and looked at Zhang Mingyuan, who had been sitting quietly by the door.

"Mingyuan, talk to Dr. Zhou."

Lin Dong asked casually, "If his algorithm encounters display noise interference on a real machine, what hardware-level approaches can help him reduce the sources of interference?"

Zhang Mingyuan listened the whole time.

He doesn't understand those advanced algorithm terms, but "noise interference" and "clean signal" are his forte.

Upon hearing Lin Dong call his name, he immediately sat up straight, thought for a moment, and then said earnestly in Mandarin with a Chaoshan accent:

"Dr. Zhou, if the noise is interfering with the touch signal, we can isolate it in the hardware first. For example, when routing the touch screen FPC, try to avoid the display's drive lines. If it cannot be avoided, add a grounding shielding layer in between."

As he spoke, he gestured with his finger on the table, as if there were a circuit board there.

"Another issue is the power supply. The power supply for the touchscreen should be separate from that for the display screen, using an independent LDO, and the ripple should be controlled within 10mV. If the power supply is dirty, no amount of filtering algorithms will help."

"In addition, the clock of the touch screen controller should ideally be synchronized with the refresh clock of the display screen, or deliberately staggered by a specific phase, to avoid the superposition of periodic interference."

He rattled off three or four points in one breath, each a practical engineering experience that had been validated on the production line.

There are no profound theories, only practical solutions.

Zhou Chengyu was stunned.

Aren't these... these precisely the "non-ideal factors" that he finds most troublesome and difficult to model during simulations?!

This man, who looks like a seasoned factory worker, actually gave such a specific method for avoiding hardware issues without even realizing it!

And every single one of them hit the nail on the head!

"Is there anything else?" Zhou Chengyu asked instinctively, leaning forward unconsciously.

Zhang Mingyuan scratched his head, glanced at Lin Dong, and seeing Lin Dong nod, continued, "Also, there's the PCB layout. The components around the touch screen interface need to be clean."

Modern mobile phones all have Bluetooth modules. Their antennas and clocks must be kept far away from the touchscreen wiring and properly shielded; otherwise, radio frequency interference will get in, and even the most sophisticated algorithms won't be able to withstand it.

He paused, then added a sentence that Lin Dong had casually mentioned to him in the car, which he felt was particularly apt here: "Even if we need to add a Wi-Fi module later, the principle remains the same: noise source isolation is the first step to ensuring clean hardware."

Zhou Chengyu was completely convinced.

The way he looked at Lin Dong had completely changed.

The doubts and scrutiny that were just moments ago have now turned into shock and... conviction.

This Mr. Lin not only understands technology himself, but even his subordinates who look like "repairmen" can accurately point out the key hardware problems for algorithm implementation!

This is not just empty promises.

That's real skill!

Lin Dong took in all the changes in Zhou Chengyu's expression.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, then put it down, looked at Zhou Chengyu, and gave his final choice:

"Dr. Zhou, I have a lab, equipment, and hardware partners like Mingyuan to support you. You only need to do one thing—turn all those good ideas in your head into code that will make users feel, 'This screen is so responsive.'"

"The rules are very clear here:"

First, the authorship rights will always belong to you. For any paper or award based on your core work, you will be the sole first author and principal investigator. The company will only appear as a supporting organization in the acknowledgments.

Secondly, the patent ownership belongs to the company; this is industry practice and is to protect your invention using the company's resources. However, you are the sole inventor, and your name will always be listed first on the patent certificate.

Third, and most importantly: here, you are in charge of your own R&D direction. I will only tell you that the product needs to provide an experience that is intuitive and intuitive; how to achieve this and what algorithms to use are entirely up to you.

The company provides all resources, with no upper limit, and regardless of the process, only the result matters.

He leaned slightly forward, his eyes piercing:

"Such conditions, such a platform."

"Would you like to come?"

Want to come?

Zhou Chengyu looked into Lin Dong's calm yet unfathomable eyes, and then at Zhang Mingyuan beside him, whose words were simple yet full of substance, his chest heaving violently.

The stifling atmosphere in the lab, the exploitation by the supervisor, the resentment of having one's work stolen... all of this seems like a suffocating cage compared to the clear, pure, and tempting choice before me.

He took a deep breath, and with all his might, said clearly and forcefully:

"I think!"

The private room fell silent for a moment.

Then, Lin Dong smiled.

This time it was a genuine laugh.

The second piece of the puzzle is in place.

The hardware has a soul, and the soul has a body.

He stretched out his hand.

Welcome to join us

Zhou Chengyu was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and quickly reached out to grab it.

Two hands, one brimming with youthful energy, the other with the unwavering resolve of a technologist, clasped tightly together amidst the fragrant aroma of tea.

Outside the window, the sun is shining brightly.

Lin Dong, however, had already set his sights on the next piece of the puzzle—the person who could make everything look better.