Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

The next day, before dawn.

When Lin Dong pushed open his bedroom door, the kitchen light was already on.

Mother Li Xiuzhen stood in front of the stove, where steam was bubbling away in the pot.

"You're up?" The mother turned around, wiped her hands on her apron, and said, "Go wash your face, you'll be done soon."

Lin Dong washed his face and stood at the kitchen doorway, watching his mother take the eggs out of the pot and wrap two steamed buns she had bought the night before in a plastic bag. She moved quickly and skillfully.

That's how my mother is; whenever someone goes out, she always gets up earlier than that person and prepares breakfast.

"Here you go." His mother stuffed the cloth bag into Lin Dong's arms. "The eggs are freshly boiled, be careful they're hot. If the steamed buns get cold, just scald them in hot water."

"Is the money... enough?" his mother asked in a low voice, her eyes looking at the spot on his chest where the money was kept.

"That's enough." Lin Dong stuffed the bag into his backpack. "Mom, don't worry about it."

"How could I not worry..." The mother turned her face away, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, "Shantou to Shenzhen, such a long distance, and you, a child, going alone, it would take a month..."

"It's okay, don't worry." Lin Dong interrupted her and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Footsteps came from the stairs. Lin Guodong, the father, came up with a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. He stopped at the corner of the stairs and looked at Lin Dong.

What time is the train?

"Seven o'clock."

"Hmm." The father walked over, took out a roll of money from his pocket, and stuffed it into Lin Dong's hand. "Take it."

Four red bills, rolled up tightly.

Lin Dong didn't push it away, but took it and stuffed it deep into his pocket.

"It's not like home outside," the father said, his voice dry. "If something happens... don't be stubborn. If things get tough, come home."

Lin Dong nodded and turned to go downstairs. When he reached the second floor, he heard his mother call from upstairs, "Remember to call when you get there..."

"Okay."

Several motorcycle taxis were parked at the alley entrance. Seeing Lin Dong come out, a man in his forties sat up straight: "Handsome, where to?"

"station."

"Ten yuan."

Lin Dong got into the car.

"A student?" the driver asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. "Going to work?"

Lin Dong paused for a moment: "I guess so."

"Wow, impressive," the driver raised his voice. "My kid's in high school too. Ugh, all he does during holidays is play video games. If he were half as sensible as you, I'd be burning incense in gratitude."

Lin Dong didn't respond. They soon arrived at the station, where Lin Dong paid and got off the bus.

The station was bustling with noise, and electronic screens displayed departure information. He found a bus to Shenzhen that departed at 7:00 AM and would take about six hours to reach Shenzhen.

After paying for his ticket from Shantou to Shenzhen, Lin Dong boarded the bus and went straight to the last row, sitting down by the window.

The car slowly pulled out of the station and turned onto the national highway. Lin Dong hugged his backpack to his chest and touched the stack of money through the fabric with his fingers.

One thousand one hundred and fifteen yuan and fifty cents, plus four hundred from my father, totaling a little over one thousand five hundred.

That's his capital.

Lin Dong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

In 05, everything was poised for growth. Before his rebirth, he had also gone to Shenzhen in 05. He carried a torn-up college acceptance letter in his arms, along with the resentment and bewilderment of being battered by reality.

This time, it's different.

This time, his mind contained memories of the next decade or so. For Huaqiangbei in 2005, this was nothing short of a "dimensional reduction attack."

Lin Dong leaned back in the swaying seat, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.

In 05, opportunities in Huaqiangbei were like potatoes in a field; you could dig up several with just one stroke of the hoe.

Nokia was a ubiquitous phone, Motorola V3 was a status symbol, Samsung was still a high-end product, and smartphones? We'd have to wait a few more years.

He closed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on his knees, as if knocking on the door of memory.

Suddenly, the door opened.

Motorola V3.

That flip phone, as thin as a blade, with a metal body and laser keyboard, was popular from the end of 04 until now. Officially sold for four or five thousand yuan, while grey market imports were over three thousand. However, one batch had a problem with the ribbon cable.

The thin wire connecting the top and bottom of the flip cover is made of substandard material and breaks after being flipped too many times.

The symptoms are alarming: the screen goes black, the earpiece stops working, and the keyboard stops working, making it look like the motherboard has burned out.

Sending it for repair? The price quote would scare away half the people. So many middlemen just treat them as "dead machines," selling them for two or three hundred yuan each, out of sight, out of mind.

The key point is that Lin Dong clearly remembers that this problem started to emerge during the winter vacation this year, with a large number of defective machines flooding the market, but the repair community couldn't find the root cause for a while.

The real solution, which was revealed to be a cable issue, will not be officially announced until a month later.

This month is his golden window of opportunity.

Does Huaqiangbei not know how to fix things?

He understands.

It's not because he's technically brilliant, but because he "knows" the answer. Information asymmetry is a money-printing machine.

He quickly calculated in his mind: buy it for 300 yuan a unit, the cost of the wiring is at most 30 or 50 yuan, and after repairing it, he can resell it for 700 or 800 yuan.

With a capital of 1,500, you can buy five units. Repair them, sell them, and you'll have 4,000. Then buy a dozen more...

Once the snowball starts rolling, it will only get faster and faster. A month, 100,000—it'll be a piece of cake.

Thinking of this, Lin Dong's unease about "lying" vanished.

"Wang Hao's cousin" was something he made up on the spot.

If he didn't say that, his parents wouldn't let him go.

He needed a reasonable and reassuring person to rely on, and luckily Wang Hao was easygoing, so they could just coordinate things when school started.

The most important thing now is to run the business and also to take the university entrance exams.

In his previous life, he tore up his Shenzhen University admission letter; that remains a scar on his heart forever.

In this life, debts must be repaid, and university education is a must. The boasts made must be fulfilled.

He took a deep breath and pulled his math textbook from his backpack. The formulas, theorems, and problem-solving strategies were like dusty old photographs, needing to be polished one by one.

The train carriage was shaking violently, and the words were jumping in front of his eyes, but he read them very slowly, his pen tip tracing patterns on the draft paper, polishing the rusty knowledge little by little until it shone.

Someone in the seat in front of him turned around and looked at him twice, probably thinking that the student was putting on airs.

Lin Dong didn't look up; his gaze alternated between the book and the view outside the window. On one side were the unsolved math problems, and on the other was the rapidly receding road leading to Shenzhen.

Two paths, only children make choices; Lin Dong wants them both.

The car bumped along the national highway for nearly two hours, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from open fields to scattered factories and low-rise buildings.

Lin Dong closed his math textbook and rubbed his sore eyes.

Those formulas and theorems that had been buried for twenty years became clear and warm again after repeated reflection.

Knowledge gradually filled his brain. He felt a little more at ease; thankfully, picking it up again wasn't too difficult.

"We've arrived in Shanwei! Those who want to get off, hurry up!"

The ticket seller shouted at the top of his lungs, and the bus slowed down, swaying as it pulled over to a makeshift stop on the side of the road.

Just as the car door slammed open and a cacophony of voices rushed in, a burst of powerful music blasted out!

"My dear, fly slowly."

Beware of the thorny roses ahead.

Darling, open your mouth

The fragrance of flowers in the wind will intoxicate you.

The sound quality was extremely poor; the drumbeats made the car windows vibrate and buzz.

Everyone on the bus was stunned by the shock and began to peek out with furrowed brows.

Three teenagers swayed and got into the car.

The one at the front had short, bright purple spiky hair and a row of sparkling silver rings on his ears.

The one in the middle had her hair bleached golden, with a few strands of bangs dyed emerald green, obscuring half of her eye.

The last one was a bit more subtle, with only a few strands of bright blue highlighted in her fiery red hair.

They wore tight black T-shirts covered in metal chains, and low-waisted jeans that dragged on the ground. They swayed to the music as if no one else was around, and sang along incoherently.

Classic skin, epic debut.

Lin Dong's lips twitched, and he subconsciously raised his hand to his forehead.

Holy crap... that's unconventional.