Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Lin Dong looked at him.

"Are you crazy?"

"This is insane!"

Cheng Chuan gestured, "The people in our lab, who are usually so arrogant, are all asking 'Who is that Chinese guy?', 'How did he do it?', 'Do we have his contact information?'"

He paused.

Even my advisor asked me if I knew you!

What does a mentor even matter?

That phone call this afternoon.

The vice dean of Stanford's School of Engineering called personally.

Full scholarship, top-notch mentors, labs to choose from, and even your parents can arrange it.

If he said it out loud, Cheng Chuan would probably faint on the spot.

Forget it.

He picked up his water glass and took a sip.

It's better not to say anything.

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Cheng Chuan moved forward slightly.

"Lin Dong, you're amazing. I'm truly impressed."

He paused, then took a deep breath.

"I want to go back with you."

Lin Dong was stunned for a moment.

Cheng Yu rubbed his forehead beside him.

"That's just how he is," he said. "He's impatient."

Cheng Chuan turned his head and looked at his brother.

"Brother, aren't you also—"

"Yes." Cheng Yu nodded. "The same meaning."

He looked at Lin Dong.

"We want to go to Shenzhen with you."

Lin Dong looked at the two of them.

Cheng Chuan's eyes were so bright they could burn.

Cheng Yu's eyes weren't as outwardly expressive, but there was something in them that was just as resolute as Cheng Chuan's.

He smiled.

It became.

The radio frequency is there, and the structure is there.

The initial goals of this trip to Stanford have been achieved.

"Okay," he said. "Welcome."

Cheng Chuan was stunned for a moment.

"That's...that's it?"

Lin Dong looked at him.

"Otherwise what?"

Cheng Chuan opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Then he laughed, laughed like a fool.

Cheng Yu also laughed, but his laughter was a little more restrained than his brother's.

"Lin Dong," Cheng Yu said, "can we talk about the specifics?"

Cheng Chuan chimed in from the side, "Brother, who cares about the situation, just go!"

Cheng Yu ignored him.

This silly little brother.

He sighed inwardly. Just go and be done with it? It's not that simple.

Although they talked a lot last time, and he remembered everything Lin Dong said, listening is one thing, believing is another, and actually going is yet another.

This is starting a business.

It's not about changing jobs.

Submitting resumes, going to interviews, and getting job offers—that's what it means to work.

Lin Dong's house wasn't even finished yet, so they asked him to come over and help with the foundation work.

Cheng Chuan can act impulsively, but he cannot.

He needs to find out.

He looked at Lin Dong.

"What stage are you at now? What kind of people are you still missing?"

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

"We have a hardware team," he said. "We have a touch algorithm team. We also have a design team."

He paused.

"With the two of you—radio frequency and structural—we're just missing one direction."

"Which direction?"

"Embedded systems".

Cheng Chuan and Cheng Yu exchanged a glance.

Lin Dong continued, "There's also the system and the chips. We can buy those first, and then develop them ourselves when we have the capability."

He paused.

"However, I haven't found suitable people for the systems and chips yet."

He sighed inwardly.

Before leaving Shenzhen, I asked Uncle Cai to find people in this field. Countless messages were sent, and seven or eight people were contacted, but they were either signed by big companies or the terms couldn't be agreed upon.

Those truly powerful companies have probably already been snapped up by Apple, Qualcomm, and Intel.

Cheng Chuan suddenly smiled.

"Lin Dong," he said, "you're lucky."

Lin Dong looked at him.

Cheng Chuan pointed to the side.

"There's an embedded systems engineer here."

Lin Dong looked in the direction he was pointing.

Ding Xiao sat there, holding a glass of water, with a smile on her lips.

"Let me formally introduce her," Cheng Chuan said, "Ding Xiao. In our school's embedded systems program, if she's second, nobody dares to claim to be first."

Cheng Yu added from the side, "She graduated from Tsinghua University with a full scholarship to Stanford. The paper she published last year was indexed by IEEE and has already been cited over a hundred times."

Lin Dong looked at Ding Xiao.

Ding Xiao was also looking at him.

"Yesterday's event," she said, "was very interesting."

Lin Dong waited for her to continue.

"The competition was interesting, but your performance was even more interesting." She paused, "So you're a very interesting person."

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

Ding Xiao looked at him with a slight smile on her lips.

"I'm quite curious," she said. "What kind of person are you?"

She paused.

"So I want to go and see for myself."

Lin Dong looked at her.

It came without any effort.

He originally thought that this trip would be perfect if he could take Cheng Yu and Cheng Chuan with him.

With the radio frequency and the structure in place, the team has the two most crucial pieces of the puzzle.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.

He looked into Ding Xiao's eyes.

Those eyes lacked Cheng Chuan's impulsiveness and Cheng Yu's composure; they held only a calm and intrigued scrutiny.

This is exactly the kind of person we need in embedded systems.

"Welcome," he said.

Ding Xiao nodded and said nothing more.

Lin Dong leaned back in his chair.

Cheng Chuan, Radio Frequency. Cheng Yu, Architecture. Ding Xiao, Embedded Systems.

All three puzzle pieces were completed in one go.

This trip to Stanford was well worth it.

Cheng Chuan became excited again.

"Great! The three of us can go together!"

Cheng Yu glanced at him, said nothing, but had a smile on his lips.

The waiter brought the dishes to the table. Seafood rice, garlic shrimp, and roasted green peppers filled the table.

Cheng Chuan picked up a fork and served himself a large plate first.

"Lin Dong, eat more!" he said, stuffing food into his mouth. "We have important things to do tomorrow!"

Lin Dong looked at him.

"What's the big deal?"

"Steve Jobs!" Cheng Chuan's eyes widened. "You haven't forgotten tomorrow's speech, have you?"

Lin Dong didn't say anything.

I haven't forgotten. How could I forget?

July 11, 2005. Stanford Memorial Hall. Steve Jobs.

Cheng Chuan put down his fork, looking serious.

"I heard the school invited you to say a few words?"

Lin Dong nodded.

"right."

Cheng Chuan's eyes lit up again.

"Holy crap! So you're going to be sharing the stage with Steve Jobs?"

Lin Dong thought for a moment.

I guess so.

Cheng Chuan turned his head and looked at his brother.

"Brother, did you hear that? Lin Dong is going to share the stage with Steve Jobs!"

Cheng Yu nodded.

"I heard you."

Cheng Chuan then looked at Ding Xiao.

"Tina, can you hear me?"

Ding Xiao picked up her water glass and took a sip.

"I heard you."

Cheng Chuan was so excited he couldn't sit still.

"Lin Dong, you must say a few more words! Let that Steve Jobs see what real skill is!"

Lin Dong smiled.

I will try my best.

Should we show it to Steve Jobs?

He shook his head inwardly.

Steve Jobs won't look at it. That guy only cares about his own things.

But it's okay.

He didn't intend for Jobs to see it either.

He wanted to see it himself.

Cheng Yu picked up his wine glass.

"Lin Dong," he said, "I salute you."

Lin Dong also raised his glass.

The two cups clinked together, making a crisp sound.

Outside the window, night slowly descended in Palo Alto.

The restaurant was bathed in warm yellow light, and the aroma of seafood rice filled the air.

Cheng Chuan was still excitedly talking about something, and Cheng Yu would occasionally chime in. Ding Xiao ate quietly, occasionally raising her head to glance at Lin Dong.

Lin Dong leaned back in his chair, listening to Cheng Chuan's voice and watching the sky outside the window gradually darken.

Tomorrow, Steve Jobs.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Tomorrow, I will finally be able to hear it with my own ears and see it with my own eyes.