pjbooks Chapter 151 Dinner and Meeting
Chapter 151 Dinner and Meeting
Chapter 151 Dinner and Meeting
Lin Dong put his hand on Li Hu's shoulder: "Alright, let's not rush it today. We'll have plenty of time later, so I'll introduce you all. From now on, we'll be partners working together. We can deal with the system tomorrow."
Li Hu stood up from his chair and stretched. "Okay, whatever you say." Chen Long put his phone back on the table and adjusted his glasses. Xu Zang put the black cloth back on and stood up.
Lin Dong pushed open the office door, walked out, stood in the corridor, and clapped his hands.
"Come here for a moment, everyone."
A dozen or so people stood in a circle. Some were still holding tools, some had metal shavings stuck to their aprons, and some had fingerprints that hadn't been wiped clean from their glasses.
Lin Dong glanced around and pointed to the three people behind him.
"Li Hu, a gold medalist in the National Olympiad in Informatics, and a member of the national training team. He's a genius when it comes to systems." He paused. "He's also my roommate."
Li Hu scratched his head, chuckled, and looked a little embarrassed.
"Chen Long, first prize winner of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition, member of the national training team. In high school, he independently developed a chip design simulation tool, which was adopted by university laboratories. He knows more about chips than I do." Lin Dong glanced at Chen Long, "He's also my roommate."
Chen Long pushed up his glasses.
"Xu Zang got full marks in both math and physics on the college entrance exam. He was on the provincial physics competition team in his first and second years of high school. He didn't attend school for two months before the exam, and his score was 37th in the province." Lin Dong glanced at Xu Zang. "He's also my roommate."
Xu Zang didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
"We'll work together from now on," Lin Dong said. "We're all on the same side."
Everyone expressed their welcome.
"Everyone has worked hard," Lin Dong said. "After your early shift today, everyone can take a break from what they're doing. Let's go out for a meal; it's on me."
The food stall owner already recognized them. Seeing Lin Dong approaching with a large group, the owner greeted them with a smile, "Same spot as usual? Want to share a table?"
"Let's give it our all," Lin Dong said.
Three tables were pushed together, and a dozen or so people sat around them in a large circle.
The air was filled with the smoke from grilled skewers and the foam from beer, creating a unique aroma characteristic of street food stalls.
When the food was served, it was steaming hot, and the oil from the skewers dripped onto the charcoal fire, sizzling loudly.
Li Hu was naturally outgoing and soon started chatting with Zhang Mingyuan.
"Zhang, how long has the motherboard been running data?" Li Hu asked, his mouth full of meat, his words muffled.
"It's been twenty days," Zhang Mingyuan said. "No crashes, no restarts, it's very stable."
"Awesome." Li Hu gave a thumbs up. "I've finished writing the system, and I'll make it the first one for you to adapt."
Zhang Mingyuan was stunned for a moment, his eyes brightening. He hadn't heard anyone say "the system is finished" in a long time.
Chen Long and Cheng Yu sat together, and the two usually quiet people actually started chatting.
Everyone here is young. Zhang Mingyuan, who is slightly older, is only in his early thirties. Uncle Cai has a more youthful mindset than the young people. He was playing rock-paper-scissors with Cheng Chuan while holding his teacup. He wasn't upset when he lost and just smiled as he took a sip of his cold tea.
In no time, everyone became familiar with each other.
Lin Dong stood up, holding his wine glass.
"Say a few words."
The crowd fell silent and looked at him.
"Today, everything is complete," Lin Dong said. "Hardware, software, design, supply chain, systems, chips, and testing are all here. Although each department still has only a few people, and we have to do everything ourselves, the framework is in place, and the people are in place."
Everyone laughed.
He paused.
"I know everyone follows me not for the money." Lin Dong lowered his voice a little, not deliberately, but the words just naturally came out softly.
"I'm not kidding," Lin Dong raised his glass. "If the phone is made, everyone will get a share. If it's not made, I'll cover the losses."
"If you work for me, I won't let you down. This toast is for everyone."
Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.
The sound was crisp and dissipated in the night breeze.
Uncle Cai was the first to put down his cup, wipe his mouth, and smile: "President Lin, the way you put it, I feel embarrassed to quit."
Zhang Mingyuan downed the rest of the wine in his glass in one gulp, his hands still trembling as he put the glass down: "President Lin, you saved my life. If you say bottoms up, I'll bottoms up."
Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice, "I never intended to go back when I left."
Cheng Chuan shouted "Cheers!" but Cheng Yu stopped him, though Cheng Yu finished the rest of his drink himself. Ding Xiao didn't say anything, but picked up her glass, took a sip, choked, coughed twice, and then took another sip.
Li Hu held his cup, looked at Lin Dong, seemed about to say something, but then swallowed his words. He touched Lin Dong's cup and downed it in one gulp.
Chen Long adjusted his glasses, said nothing, but finished the rest of his drink. Xu Zang picked up his glass, took a sip, put it down, and smiled.
After dinner, Zheng Hao drove them back to their dormitories.
The four people sat in the back seat, and no one spoke.
Once in the dormitory, Li Hu lay down on the bed and let out a long sigh: "That feels good."
Lin Dong sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the three of them: "We're probably going to be busy later. How about we call Principal Wang now to ask for leave?"
Li Hu sat up in bed: "Okay, let's fight."
Chen Long put down his book and nodded. Xu Zang leaned against the headboard, not saying anything, but also nodding.
Lin Dong took out his phone, found Principal Wang's number, and dialed it.
It rang a few times, then I answered.
"Principal Wang, this is Lin Dong."
"Lin Dong?" Principal Wang's voice carried a hint of surprise, with the sound of a television playing in the background, as if someone was watching the news. "What's wrong so late?"
"The four of us would like to ask for leave."
"Are you taking leave? For how long?"
"It might take quite a while."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
The TV volume has decreased; Principal Wang probably turned it off or lowered the volume.
Then he laughed, a soft but genuine laugh: "You four invited each other? What for?"
"They're with me now."
"Oh, I see. Don't worry about the academic exams. Just remember how good Shenzhen University is."
"Thank you, Principal Wang," Lin Dong said.
I hung up the phone.
The dormitory was quiet for a while.
Li Hu stared at the ceiling and said, "The few of us are really—"
He didn't finish speaking, but everyone understood.
No one expected that they would be sitting in the same dormitory room, discussing writing code at the company the next day.
No one expected that the school would put them together.
There are four people in one dormitory, and none of them are ordinary.
"Alright," Lin Dong said, "let's get down to business."
All three of them were looking at him.
"Currently, we buy off-the-shelf solutions from others; we don't have the money to develop our own."
"Chen Long, Xu Zang, you two work with Li Hu on the system for now. Once we have enough funds, I'll assign you to suitable positions. What do you think?"
Chen Long adjusted his glasses: "Okay."
Xu Zang nodded slightly, but with great certainty.
Li Hu grinned from the side, "It's alright, I've got your back."
Chen Long glanced at him: "It's not certain who'll protect whom."
Several people laughed.
Lin Dong's lips curved into a smile, and the tension in his heart completely dissipated.
He was afraid they would feel wronged, afraid they would feel like they were being manipulated.
"Alright, everyone get some rest. We have a meeting tomorrow."
The next day, the conference room was full of people.
Zhang Mingyuan, Zhou Chengyu, Su Xiaowen, Cheng Chuan, Cheng Yu, Ding Xiao, Li Guohui, Wang Mei, Uncle Cai, Zheng Hao, plus Li Hu, Chen Long, and Xu Zang. A dozen or so people sat around a table.
Lin Dong sat in the main seat and glanced around: "Let's begin. Each module, please report your progress."
Zhang Mingyuan was the first to speak, his voice not loud but steady: "The motherboard power consumption was reduced to 380 watts, the temperature was 38.5 degrees Celsius, and it ran continuously for twenty days without crashing." He paused, then added, "It's even better than the target set before the new year."
Zhou Chengyu adjusted his glasses: "Touch latency is 11.5 milliseconds. It's a little short of 10 milliseconds, but we're on the right track."
Cheng Chuan blurted out, "The antenna signal is 0.5 dB higher than normal! We've exceeded the target!" He was glared at by Cheng Yu, but he didn't care and just grinned like an idiot.
Cheng Yu said, "The heat dissipation is within 0.6 degrees Celsius."
Ding Xiao said, "The driver and algorithm are working together, no problem."
Su Xiaowen said, "We've completed more than half of the 200 sets of outer shells, with a yield rate of 97%."
Li Guohui said, "The factory is operating normally."
Wang Mei added from the side, "We have enough materials, and production has never stopped after the New Year."
Every line is good news.
Lin Dong listened and nodded.
He mentally calculated that the motherboard, touch screen, antenna, heat dissipation, driver, casing, and factory were all online, and some even exceeded the budget.
"Everyone has achieved their goals set before the new year. Some exceeded them, and some even achieved them ahead of schedule."
Lin Dong stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "No one expected that we would accomplish such a difficult goal so brilliantly. I can tell you with certainty that even if people from Nokia or Samsung came, they wouldn't have done as well as you."
He paused.
"I told you yesterday, if you work for me, I won't let you suffer any losses."
So from now on, everyone's salary will increase by 30%.
A separate bonus will be awarded to recognize and encourage everyone for their hard work and dedication over the past few months.
As long as you're heading in the right direction, your efforts and hard work will pay off. Follow me, and you won't go astray.
The conference room erupted in chaos. Exclamations, laughter, and shouts of "Awesome!" filled the air.
Lin Dong gestured for everyone to quiet down.
"Of course, incentives are essential for motivation," Lin Dong said. "Let me tell you our current goals. Today is April 3rd, and we need to achieve our targets by July."
He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a pen.
Motherboard – Power consumption 350W, heat generation 38℃, running for 30 days.
Touchscreen - 10 milliseconds.
The antenna value is 1 dB higher than normal.
Heat dissipation – within 0.5 degrees Celsius.
The driver, in conjunction with the algorithm, reduces the time to 10 milliseconds.
Outer casing – 200 sets with a yield rate of over 98%.
He put down his pen and turned around: "These goals are all written on the whiteboard. I believe that with everyone's level, there will be no problem."
He looked at the crowd.
Zhang Mingyuan was the first to nod. Zhou Chengyu pushed up his glasses. Su Xiaowen leaned back in her chair with a smile on her lips. Cheng Chuan wanted to shout "No problem" but Cheng Yu covered his mouth. Ding Xiao looked up from behind the screen, glanced at the whiteboard, and then looked down again, but her fingers were no longer clenched.
Li Guohui and Wang Mei exchanged a glance and nodded.
Uncle Cai held his teacup, smiling broadly.
"No problem," Zhang Mingyuan said.
"No problem," Zhou Chengyu said.
"No problem," Su Xiaowen said.
Cheng Chuan broke free from Cheng Yu's hand and shouted, "No problem!" but was held down again.
Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly as he turned to Li Hu, Chen Long, and Xu Zang.
"Regarding the system, Li Hu will lead the effort, with Chen Long and Xu Zang assisting. You two will also be part of the mid-year goal. The system needs to be running smoothly and stably on the entire machine by July. Any questions?"
Li Hu grinned: "No problem. I told you, I'll protect them."
Chen Long adjusted his glasses and ignored him, saying, "No problem."
Xu Zang nodded.
Lin Dong glanced around and then looked away.
"Let's do it then. Meeting adjourned," Lin Dong said.
After everyone else left, Uncle Cai stayed behind.
He sat down opposite Lin Dong, opened his notebook, and cleared his throat: "Mr. Lin, let me report to you on the current financial situation."
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair and nodded.
"There was still 37 million in the account at the end of last year."
Uncle Cai flipped through the notebook page by page, pointing his finger at the numbers. "In the past few months, salaries, R&D, prototyping, supply chain prepayments, factory equipment maintenance, plus monthly loan repayments, have added up to about seven million."
There are currently 30 million left in the account.
Lin Dong nodded.
Thirty million is neither a lot nor a little.
"Thank you for your hard work," Lin Dong said.
Uncle Cai closed his notebook, smiled, and said, "It's nothing." He stood up, holding his teacup. "President Lin, if there's nothing else, I'll head out."
Lin Dong nodded.
He took his teacup and went out. The door closed behind him, and his footsteps echoed in the corridor, fading into the distance.
After Uncle Cai left, Lin Dong sat alone in the conference room. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling warmly on the table and his hands. He looked down at the table, motionless, his mind focused on accounting.
He took a piece of paper and picked up a pen.
Let's calculate the expenses first. Salaries are about 400,000 yuan a month, and there are still eight months until the press conference in December, so that's 3.2 million yuan. R&D, equipment, prototyping, and testing average 500,000 yuan a month, totaling 4 million yuan over eight months.
The administrative office, including rent, utilities, property management fees, and travel expenses, costs 600,000 yuan per month, totaling 4.8 million yuan over eight months. The factory, including Li Guohui's team, equipment maintenance, and material losses, costs 300,000 yuan per month, totaling 2.4 million yuan over eight months.
He wrote down several numbers: 320, 400, 480, 240. The total was 14.4 million.
This doesn't even include distribution channels. Before the launch event, we need to establish distribution channels, including offline stores, channel expansion, and logistics warehousing, which will cost at least five million.
The press conference itself, including the venue, equipment, media, and travel expenses, cost at least two million.
Market warm-up, media relations, and Google advertising will cost at least three million.
He added three more numbers to the paper: 500, 200, and 300. That made ten million.
These alone amount to over 24 million.
There were 30 million in the account. After deducting 24 million, 6 million remained.
But there is still the supply chain.
The contracts currently signed by the supply chain are only enough for research and development, not for mass production.
After the press conference, we need to sell the phones; before that, we need to produce them.
The first batch production will be at least 5,000 units. The cost of components, manufacturing fees, and logistics is about 1,500 yuan per unit, so 5,000 units would cost 7.5 million yuan. This does not include the upfront payments for core components such as screens, batteries, and chips.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the numbers on the paper.
Thirty-three million seems like a lot, but when you calculate it, it's not enough for any particular purpose.
He thought of Anderson.
When I called last time, Anderson said there would be results in March or April.
It's early April now, I wonder how things are over there.
He picked up his phone, found Anderson's number, and dialed it.
The phone rang twice, then I answered it.
"MagicLin!" Anderson's voice boomed from the receiver, with that exaggerated enthusiasm typical of Americans. "Good evening—oh wait, it's morning there."
Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly: "Good morning."
"What time is it where you are? In Shenzhen?" Anderson asked.
"Around eight o'clock."
"Calling me so early, something must be up." Anderson chuckled twice. "Go ahead."
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair: "Last time I called you to ask about the aluminum. You said you'd have results in March or April, how's it going now?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then Anderson laughed, a smug laugh in his voice: "Hey, Lin, I knew you couldn't be calling because you missed me. But—" He paused, "I was just about to call you too. The aluminum, I've got it sorted."
"This time, I've prepared a lot," Anderson said in a low voice, as if revealing a secret. "Lin, can you eat it all?"
"How many?" Lin Dong asked.
Anderson took a deep breath: "One hundred million."
"I've put it all in," Anderson said, his voice carrying a ruthless, reckless edge. "Lin, I've been watching the market. I've been keeping an eye on it ever since that last batch sold."
Aluminum prices have been rising since last year, without stopping. I had to pull many strings to secure this batch.
He paused.
"Lin, a real man goes all in. Going all in is an art."
Lin Dong didn't rush to answer.
He picked up the pen on the table and drew a few numbers on the paper.
With 30 million in the account, based on the speed of payment collection, it would take at least two to three months for the aluminum materials to be sold after arriving at the port.
During this period, at least five million must be kept in the account to maintain basic operations.
They bought 25 million worth of goods, sold them, and received the proceeds, which was enough to last until the press conference, but not enough to cover the 100 million Anderson mentioned.
One hundred million is a considerable amount.
However, aluminum prices did rise during this period. From 2005 to 2008, the aluminum market continued to rise, and as long as there was stock, there was no worry about selling it.
Anderson is really daring; he's probably betting his entire fortune of 100 million.
It seems that the last batch of goods gave him a lot of confidence.
"Lin?" Anderson's voice was a little anxious. "Don't just stay silent. Can't you handle it? You're the Magic..."
Lin.
Lin Dong said irritably, "One hundred million? I can't afford that."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Anderson's voice changed, filled with obvious anxiety: "Lin, you have to help me figure something out. What am I going to do without you? I've staked everything on this shipment. If you don't want it, I—" He paused, his voice lowering, "I'm going to go bankrupt."
Although he had been observing the aluminum market, which had been rising steadily since last year, the market is unpredictable; things can change daily. He might have just bought some, and the price could drop the very next day. Anything is possible.
In Chinese terms, doing business is all about securing your profits. Once it's in your own pocket, it's truly yours.
Lin Dong was speechless: "Wait until I finish. If I can't handle a hundred million, aren't there others?"
Anderson paused for a moment.
"Don't worry, I'll help you with this," Lin Dong said. "But then there's the matter of the agency rights..."
'
"Lin!" Anderson's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. "You're my brother! Do I even need to say that?"
Moreover, they said that as long as I can sell this batch, they will give me exclusive agency rights.
The quality is even better than last time, and the distribution channels are readily available.
"Lin, if you can help me get rid of this, all my future goods will be yours. That is, if you can handle it."
Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly.
He hadn't originally planned not to help.
Anderson has figured out the quality and distribution channels of this batch of goods, so it won't be difficult to sell them.
Moreover, Chen Wei'an is there; she has experience, having overseen the entire San Francisco transaction last time. Even in the worst-case scenario, given the favors done to Wu Ming and Jamal last time, selling it for 100 million shouldn't be difficult.
The channels in Hong Kong are still there, and the royal connections with Gulf Capital haven't been severed.
No one would refuse a profitable business.
"Okay, I understand," Lin Dong said. "Don't worry. I'll make some arrangements and call you back later."
"Great! Great!" Anderson said twice. "Lin, I'll be waiting for your good news!"
I hung up the phone.
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then he sat up straight, picked up his phone, found Chen Wei'an's number, and dialed it.