Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 58 Birthday Gift

September 12th, Wednesday.

Zuo Cheng woke up at five in the morning. The gift was ready; he had stayed up alone until two in the morning last Wednesday night to solder the last circuit board.

It's a palm-sized IoT terminal with a matte white 3D-printed casing. Inside are 402's technologies: a LoRa module, an MCU, and a custom-written protocol stack. It can monitor temperature, humidity, light intensity, and air quality, uploading the data to the cloud in real time.

Zuo Cheng wrote a matching mini-program for it, spent an entire night adjusting the UI color scheme, and chose a warm color tone similar to Yu Ying's pale yellow coat. Every component was from 402 super glue inventory, every line of code was written by him, and the curvature of the shell was revised seven times.

At 6:15, Zuo Cheng got up, washed up, shaved his beard, and changed into a light gray shirt. Yu Ying had said that this color made him look calm and composed.

At 7:00 AM sharp, he sent Yu Ying a message: "Are you free today?"

"Yes. Professor Li approved the outline of the paper."

"I'll pick you up. Eight o'clock, at the school gate."

"good."

Zuo Cheng picked up the gift box from the drawer. It was a dark blue cardboard box with the words "For Kongkong" embossed on the front.

At 5:55, Zuo Cheng's car stopped at the south gate of Huaxia University of Technology. Yu Ying came out, wearing a white dress, her hair tied in a ponytail, and a pair of very small pearl earrings.

She got into the passenger seat: "Brother, you're dressed a bit formally today."

"Is there?"

"You usually wear T-shirts and jeans, but today you're wearing a shirt. And you even shaved your beard."

Zuo Cheng started the car: "You've observed quite carefully."

"Of course. So is there anything special happening today?"

"you guess."

Yu Ying laughed: "I couldn't guess. But judging from your expression, something's definitely wrong."

The car turned onto the road leading to Xixi Wetland.

"Go to the wetlands?"

"Yes. There's a teahouse over there; the atmosphere is quite nice."

"Then why did you take me to the teahouse?"

"Quiet. What I want to say today isn't suitable to be said in a noisy place."

The teahouse was deep in the wetlands, accessible only by walking along a wooden boardwalk. Zuo Cheng parked the car, took a paper bag from the trunk containing two cups of coffee and some osmanthus cake he had bought on the way.

"You bought this too?"

"You said you wanted to eat it last time. Last month, at the library. You said the osmanthus cake in Hangzhou was better than the one in the Blue Star University cafeteria."

Yu Ying took the paper bag: "I had forgotten about it myself."

"I remember."

The teahouse was an old-fashioned Jiangnan courtyard with white walls and black tiles, and a large ginkgo tree in the courtyard. The owner, a woman in her fifties, said, "Little Zuo is here. We've saved a seat for you, the quietest corner."

In the corner, under the ginkgo tree, was a low bamboo table and two cushions. Zuo Cheng put down the coffee and osmanthus cake, then took out the dark blue box from his backpack.

"Happy birthday." Zuo Cheng pushed the box in front of her.

Yu Ying's eyes suddenly reddened: "You remember."

"I said I would remember."

She took the box, her hands trembling slightly. Inside, she found the white IoT terminal, along with a folded card.

She took out the terminal. It was a small, white device, about the size of her palm, fitting perfectly in her hand. On the front was only a tiny LED light, slowly flickering, like breathing.

"This is……"

"An air quality monitor. But it's different from those sold in stores."

Zuo Cheng took the device, pressed the button on the side, and the LED light turned a stable blue. He took out his phone and opened the accompanying app.

"The sensor was chosen by 402 themselves, the protocol stack was written by myself, and the casing went through seven prototypes. The data is uploaded to the cloud via LoRa; it automatically sends you a message when the air quality index exceeds 100 or the temperature exceeds 35°C."

Yu Ying stared at her phone screen, speechless.

"And this too." Zuo Cheng took out the folded card.

Yu Ying took the card and unfolded it. Inside were handwritten words from Zuo Cheng:

"Kongkong: This is the first time I've prepared a birthday gift for someone. I used to think this kind of thing was pretentious. But last Wednesday night, when I was soldering circuit boards in the office, I suddenly realized something: technology is for solving problems, but people don't only have problems to solve."

You said that what I make is very practical, but lacks a certain warmth. I disagree, but I've kept that in mind.

So I modified the casing of this device seven times and spent an entire night adjusting the UI color scheme. Of the four parameters it monitors, air quality is what I care about most—if your lab's ventilation is poor, I don't want you to inhale too many volatile substances.

This isn't an expensive item. But I wrote every line of code, and I watched every component being soldered on.

happy Birthday.

Zuocheng"

After reading it, Yu Ying pressed the card to her chest, lowered her head, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

Zuo Cheng didn't say anything, but took a cup of coffee out of the paper bag, inserted the straw, and placed it in front of her.

Half a minute later, Yu Ying raised her head. Her eyes were red, but the corners of her mouth were curved.

"Brother, you... even your love letters read like technical documentation."

"This is not a love letter."

"I know. But it's even better than a love letter."

"What's its name?"

"Haven't picked it up yet."

"Then I'll name it something. How about 'Little Breath'? Its light looks like it's breathing."

Zuo Cheng nodded: "Okay."

"Brother, this is the best birthday gift I've ever received."

"There will be better ones in the future."

Yu Ying laughed: "Are you setting a goal for yourself?"

"No. This is stating a fact."

At exactly 10 o'clock, Zuo Cheng's phone vibrated. He glanced at it and saw it was a call from Zhou Henian.

"I'll take this call."

"President Zhou."

"Zuo Cheng, there's something I need to tell you in advance. The tender documents for the third phase of the Sky Dome project will be officially released next Monday. Insider information suggests that Huaxin Group has already received the technical requirements document, and they've been preparing their proposal for over half a year."

How large is it?

"Five times that of the second phase. This is a strategic-level joint R&D collaboration, and the winning bidder will become the sole technology partner."

Zuo Cheng paused for two seconds, then said, "I understand."

You have a week to prepare.

"good."

After hanging up the phone, Zuo Cheng stood under the ginkgo tree. Five times the size of Huaxin Group, a strategic cooperation partner.

This is an opportunity, but also a tough battle.

He walked back to his seat, and Yu Ying looked up at him: "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. The bidding for the third phase of the Sky Dome project begins next week. For a project five times the size of the second phase, Huaxin Group is the main competitor."

Yu Ying looked at him earnestly: "Is there anything you need me to do?"

Zuo Cheng looked into her eyes and suddenly smiled: "Let's not talk about that today. Today is your birthday. I might be very busy starting next week. So I want to focus on spending time with you today."

Yu Ying paused for a moment, then laughed: "Brother, you really are... impossible not to like."

Zuo Cheng looked at her, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.