Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

As the soldering iron tip touches the solder joint, blue smoke rises.

The room was so quiet that only the hissing sound of the heater could be heard.

Lin Dong squinted, the tip of the tweezers holding a wire that was barely thicker than a hair. He gently placed it on the wire, flicked his wrist, and the solder glittered and coated it.

The movements were swift, steady, and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation.

Sweat streamed down his temples, down to his chin, and dripped onto the table with a "plop," but he didn't bother to wipe it away.

Time passed little by little.

Finally, he threw down the soldering iron, wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve, picked up the ribbon cable that had been "operated" on, aligned it with the motherboard connector, and gently pressed it.

"Click".

With a soft click, it fit perfectly.

He put all the parts back together, tightened the last screw, picked up the assembled phone, and pressed his thumb on the power button.

The room was eerily quiet, and all he could hear was his own heart pounding.

If it's successful, it's money.

If it doesn't work, then all your efforts will have been in vain.

He gritted his teeth and pressed down hard!

one second.

two seconds.

By the third second—

Swish!

The blue Motorola logo popped out from the black screen!

Immediately afterwards, the few small blue lights on the keyboard all lit up with a "poof," their pale blue light illuminating the sweat on his face.

It worked! It fucking worked!

His shoulders relaxed, and the tension that had been gripping his back completely dissipated.

The thing that had been pressing down on his chest felt like a huge rock had been lifted. He gasped for breath and realized that he had been holding his breath the whole time.

To be honest, ever since he was reborn, he's been feeling uncertain. How accurate are his memories from his past life? Do he still have those skills? What if he guessed wrong? What if he's forgotten how to use them?

Now, seeing the real blue light and hearing the familiar startup sound, all the anxiety he had felt suddenly subsided.

I feel at ease, fucking at ease.

He then realized that his palms were sweaty and chilly. His fingers were still a little numb from gripping the tool so tightly.

He picked up his phone, looking at it over and over, then flipped it open and listened to the "beep beep" sound several times. As he looked, the corners of his mouth gradually widened into a smile, and finally, he couldn't hold back any longer, revealing the first truly happy smile he had shown since his rebirth.

That smile was a bit silly, like a miner who had finally struck gold.

Huaqiangbei in the morning.

Lin Dong wandered over to Uncle Cai's stall again.

Uncle Cai had just opened the door and was wiping dust with a rag when he looked up and saw him. He chuckled, "Hey, young man, so early? Did you spend all night thinking about it and realize that 'ghost machine' is incurable? Regretful now? Return it now, I'll give you 150 yuan as a lesson learned!"

His words were full of smugness, as if he had said it before.

Lin Dong didn't say anything, walked to the counter, opened his backpack, and took out the silver V3.

Uncle Cai stopped wiping the counter and his eyes followed his phone.

Lin Dong didn't waste any words and gently pressed his thumb on the side.

A crisp "ding" sound.

Then, he flicked his wrist—"Snap!"

The phone flip open!

The screen's pale blue light, combined with the row of small blue lights on the keyboard, instantly illuminated the entire screen!

Uncle Cai's smile froze instantly.

The rag in his hand fell to the counter with a "thud," his eyes widened, his mouth was half-open, and he was completely dumbfounded.

"This...this...this..."

He could barely speak, his fingers trembling as he pointed at the phone, then at Lin Dong, "This...this is the 'brick' I sold you yesterday?"

"Otherwise what?"

Lin Dong grinned. He pushed the phone forward. "Uncle Cai, want to hear it ring?"

After saying that, he pressed the dial button and pointed the receiver at Uncle Cai.

The clear "beep beep" dial tone came out without any lag.

Uncle Cai suddenly pounced on the phone, snatched it away, and frantically pressed buttons, looking at it over and over again. He then put it to his ear to listen, his expression changing from bewilderment to disbelief.

"It's...it's really fixed?!"

He looked up, staring intently at Lin Dong, his eyes filled with astonishment and suspicion. "How did you do that? So many experienced technicians couldn't fix that 'strange problem,' and you...you fixed it in one night? Did you replace the motherboard?"

"Uncle Cai,"

Lin Dong reached out, took the phone back, and snapped the cover shut, the blue light going out. "Don't ask me how I fixed it. This is my livelihood. I'm just asking you, how many of these 'dormant' V3s do you have left?"

Uncle Cai was stumped by the question.

He stared longingly at the phone in Lin Dong's hand, then glanced at Lin Dong's expressionless face, and his mind raced. He realized that this student possessed a technology that could turn trash into gold.

"I have at least thirty or forty of these units in my warehouse!"

Uncle Cai lowered his voice, leaned forward, and said urgently and cautiously, "Young man... Brother Lin! Can you really... get everything done?"

"Or should I just stand here and waste my breath talking to you?"

Lin Dong stuffed his phone back into his backpack. "Let's talk business, Uncle Cai. Those 'junk' items in your warehouse, still at yesterday's price, 188 yuan each. Give me five of them first."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Cai's eyes immediately started darting around.

Yesterday, he sold it for 188 yuan, which was considered garbage. Now that he knows this "garbage" can be turned into money, he feels he lost money if he sells it at garbage price again.

"Brother Lin, that's not right."

Uncle Cai put on a businessman's smile, "You can fix these things, so how can this be considered a 'dead-end price'? Here's the deal: two hundred and fifty per unit! I guarantee I'll pick the newest and best-condition one for you!"

This old man is quite the schemer. Lin Dong looked at him and suddenly smiled, but his eyes slowly turned cold.

"Uncle Cai, that's not how you do the math."

Lin Dong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge. "I can fix it, that's my skill. The stuff you have will always be just a pile of 'junk' taking up space, nobody's going to want it even for 188 yuan."

He paused, leaned forward, and stared into Uncle Cai's eyes: "If I get my goods from you, you can immediately turn 'garbage' into cash without any risk. It's the same if I get them from someone else."

"But guess how many people in the entire Huaqiangbei area have my ability to 'turn trash into gold'?"

"You're pushing me onto someone else just to make a few extra dollars per unit. Are you planning to keep those dozens of 'junk' units in your warehouse for the New Year, or wait for them to turn into money on their own?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the little flame of price-raising that Uncle Cai had in his heart.

Uncle Cai's smile completely vanished.

He realized he had completely misunderstood. The person in front of him was not some student kid he could easily bully, but a sharp-tongued and shrewd little wolf!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself speechless.

Lin Dong's words are all reasonable.

The goods are garbage to him, and garbage to everyone else; only when they reach Lin Dong's hands do they become money.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Uncle Cai forced a sincere look onto his face: "Alright! Brother Lin is a straightforward man! One hundred and eighty-eight is fine! Consider it making you a friend! But... this repaired road..."

"Don't worry, Uncle Cai."

Lin Dong knew what he wanted to ask and interrupted him directly, "How I repair the machine, where I sell it after repair, and at what price is my business. Your way of making money is to steadily profit from the price difference of 'junk'."

"If we each do our own thing and don't interfere with each other, this business can last."

These words extinguished even the last bit of greed and ulterior motives that Uncle Cai had.

He understood. He couldn't access the core technology, but stable shipments and clearing out the warehouse to get cash were tangible benefits.

"Understood! Understood!" Uncle Cai finally smiled genuinely, turning to shout towards the back warehouse, "Ali! Where have you been! Hurry up, go to the back and get those five best-condition V3 'sleeping machines'! Quickly!"

After shouting, he turned back, his gaze towards Lin Dong completely changed, filled with admiration and warmth: "Brother Lin, if you ever need any help in this area, just let me know! Leave the supply to me, Ah Cai!"

Soon, five V3 "corpses" wrapped in old newspapers were delivered to Lin Dong. He quickly inspected them and found they were in decent condition. He counted out 940 yuan and handed it over, then stuffed the five "bricks" into the large black plastic bag he had brought.

I walked out of the alley carrying a heavy bag; the morning sun was a bit too bright.

Lin Dong narrowed his eyes and weighed the weight on his shoulders.

It's quite heavy.

But I felt more at ease.

He knew that when he returned here in the afternoon, the weight of his words to Uncle Cai and the weight of the money in his pocket would definitely not be the same as they were now.