MMB Chapter 33 It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.
Chapter 33 It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.
The tip of the knife was just a hair's breadth away from his arm.
Zhang Mingyuan's mind went blank, only two words remained: It's over.
Just then, the light came.
The blindingly white light illuminated the alleyway.
A young person walked out of the light.
Zhang Mingyuan was stunned.
He thought he was terrified and hallucinating.
Then he saw the man take out nine bundles of brand-new money.
Then, the lighter made a "snap" sound, and a flame shot up, setting his IOU on fire.
Zhang Mingyuan's eyes widened in disbelief.
It burned?
It was just burned like that?
He couldn't sleep last night and prayed to all sorts of gods in his heart. In the end, all he could do was say "May the ancestors protect me" to the ceiling. That debt... was burned like that?
An indescribable feeling rushed up and blocked my chest.
Kindness.
An immense debt of gratitude.
In Zhang Mingyuan's hometown, debts can be repaid, but a debt of such great favor is something to be remembered for a lifetime.
This is a life-saving grace.
He scrambled to his feet, his limbs trembling, and without a second thought, knelt down before Lin Dong with a thud.
"benefactor!"
His voice was terribly hoarse, and he banged his head on the ground.
"This kindness is too great... You gave me my life! Tell me, what do you want me to do? I'll serve you like a slave and repay you for the rest of my life!"
He spoke quickly and urgently, tears streaming down his face mixed with the dust.
He was really anxious.
He would never be able to sleep soundly for the rest of his life if he couldn't repay this debt of gratitude.
He looked up at Lin Dong expectantly, waiting for instructions.
Waiting for an opportunity that would allow him to repay his debt of gratitude in peace.
Looking at the face before him, stained with dust, tears, and a humble urgency, Lin Dong felt a faint pang of sorrow.
Who would have thought that the father of the "Taishan Architecture," who would one day shake up the hardware industry, would be in such a sorry state over 90,000 yuan? But it's all for the best. Offering help in times of need is far better than adding to someone's success. Giving him a hand now shows loyalty more reliable than any contract.
Human nature is sometimes harder to grasp than technology, but it is also more worthwhile to invest in.
He didn't make Zhang Mingyuan kneel for too long.
He reached out, firmly grasped Zhang Mingyuan's arm, and with a bit of force, pulled him up from the ground.
"A man's knees are worth their weight in gold." Lin Dong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force. "He only kneels to heaven, earth, and his parents. I cannot accept that."
Zhang Mingyuan was still a little dazed when he was pulled up, and his eyes reddened even more when he heard these words.
His benefactor wouldn't even accept his kneeling!
This kindness...this kindness is greater than the sky and deeper than the sea! How can he ever repay it!
He became even more anxious, his voice trembling: "My benefactor, I..."
"We'll talk in the car," Lin Dong interrupted him, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable air of authority. He said no more and turned to walk towards the black sedan at the alley entrance.
Zhang Mingyuan quickly swallowed back what he was about to say, hastily wiped his face with his sleeve, and jogged to catch up. He was even more bewildered by his benefactor's "refusal" and "order," and he knew he had to do something!
The car drove away from Guanlan and headed towards downtown Shenzhen.
Lin Dong leaned back in the back seat and closed his eyes.
Ninety thousand yuan.
By buying out Chen Biao's debt, they secured Zhang Mingyuan's absolute loyalty for the next ten years or even longer. This deal was more profitable than robbing a bank. However, gratitude alone wasn't enough. He needed to beg to get on this ship so that he could sit securely and row with all his might.
His lips curved almost imperceptibly in the shadows.
The quiet inside the carriage was unsettling.
Zhang Mingyuan sat there stiffly, feeling as if time was passing incredibly slowly.
His benefactor closed his eyes to rest, and he didn't even dare to breathe too heavily.
But the urge to repay the debt of gratitude welled up in his chest like boiling water about to overflow.
"benefactor,"
He finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke cautiously, his voice low, as if afraid of disturbing Lin Dong, "I... my name is Zhang Mingyuan, I work as a technician in an electronics factory... I know about circuits, really, I can fix most of the problems with those machines in the factory..."
He began to awkwardly introduce himself, eager to prove that he was "worth it" and worthy of his benefactor's trouble in making arrangements.
Lin Dong didn't open his eyes, but nodded almost imperceptibly and let out a muffled "hmm" from his nose.
Just one "hmm".
Zhang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat.
Is my benefactor... dissatisfied?
Do you think I'm not capable enough?
Panic gripped him again.
He quickly added, speaking faster: "I... I learn things very quickly! I can understand complex circuit diagrams after looking at them a few times! I even saved up money to buy books to read; I understand a bit about analog circuits and digital logic..."
"My benefactor, if any machine in your factory breaks down, or if you need someone who understands circuits, I'll definitely be able to do it! I can learn anything!"
He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. He stared intently at Lin Dong's profile, waiting for a definite answer, even just a glance.
Lin Dong finally opened his eyes slowly, but instead of looking at Zhang Mingyuan, he turned his gaze to the passing street scene outside the window.
"Repairing the machine..."
Lin Dong's voice was calm, even a little ethereal, "You're always fixing things that others have already designed. Like a craftsman, no matter how good your skills are, you're just copying someone else's painting."
The urgency on Zhang Mingyuan's face froze instantly.
Tracing...
So, in the eyes of his benefactor, the skill he was so proud of and relied on for his livelihood was just... tracing characters?
A sharp sense of shame pierced his heart, shattering his fragile self-confidence.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and his shoulders slowly slumped down.
Just when he was about to be overwhelmed by his inferiority complex, Lin Dong's voice rang out again.
"Zhang Mingyuan," Lin Dong's gaze fell on him, "if I told you not to fix the machines anymore."
Zhang Mingyuan raised his head blankly.
"I'll give you a lab, the latest equipment, and a generous budget," Lin Dong said calmly. "And I'll give you a goal: to make a mobile phone motherboard."
Mobile phone motherboard?
Zhang Mingyuan's eyelid twitched.
He was very familiar with it; the factory did it every day, but it was all just copying MediaTek's reference design.
"This isn't a reference design." Lin Dong seemed to see through his thoughts. "It's starting from scratch. What CPU model to choose, how to match the chipset..."
He bombarded us with a dozen or so technical questions, each one a core challenge in motherboard design, none of which were things that production line maintenance workers needed to care about or even had the opportunity to come into contact with.
Zhang Mingyuan gradually held his breath.
He had read some of these concepts in books and pondered others while repairing advanced boards, but no one had ever presented them to him so systematically and so naturally, as if he were the one who was meant to solve them.
"Make a board like this."
Lin Dong looked at him, a different look appearing in his eyes for the first time. "It might fail ten times, a hundred times. It might burn through hundreds of thousands, even millions of chips. It might involve staying up all night every day, losing all your hair, and still ending up with something unsatisfactory."
He paused, then asked the most crucial question:
"How do you think this kind of work compares to repairing machines?"
Zhang Mingyuan's heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.
A challenge that even a "repairman" like him wouldn't dare to dream of—a challenge belonging to a true engineer!
He stared at Lin Dong, his lips trembling. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse:
"This is the kind of work that deserves to be called 'skill'."
Looking at the fire that had been completely ignited in his eyes, Lin Dong knew that the time had come.
In a more subdued tone, the final question was posed:
"That,"
"Do you dare to try?"
Zhang Mingyuan took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently. Then, he uttered a single word, heavily, almost as if roaring:
"dare!"