RNP Chapter 7 Saying Goodbye to the Past
Chapter 7 Saying Goodbye to the Past
Third floor, Phase III, Chuangzhi Park, Jiangning High-tech Zone.
Yu Chen stood in his newly rented 50-square-meter partitioned room. The room had a cement floor, white walls, and a south-facing window that let in unobstructed sunlight.
The key was still cool to the touch, but the system notification in my mind was warm:
The main quest "Find a Base" for this phase has been completed.
[Reward: Achievement Points +800. Unlocks the 'Project Startup Accelerator (30 days)' effect.]
[New side quest released: 'The Cornerstone of Knowledge Monetization'.]
[Objective: Complete the first process optimization analysis case and obtain the first potential client consultation within 30 days.]
[Reward: 600 Achievement Points, unlocks the 'Simple Data Acquisition Interface' knowledge.]
With a base established and the mission clearly defined, the task at hand was ready.
Yu Chen looked around the empty room. There was no roar of machines here, but a different kind of power would emerge.
Using algorithms and knowledge to "diagnose and prescribe" those roaring machines.
His goal was very specific: second- and third-tier photovoltaic factories, especially those that provide OEM services for large factories and have weak technical capabilities.
These factories can afford production lines, but they can't master the optimal parameters, resulting in large fluctuations in yield and high costs.
His "process optimization service" is aimed at this pain point.
With the start-up capital plus the money I've saved from running errands, selling flowers, and information consulting, I have a little over 50,000 yuan on hand.
He carefully purchased a second-hand oscilloscope, several sets of basic chemical testing reagents, and samples of photovoltaic cells and solder strips of different models.
The most important "equipment" was his old laptop with upgraded memory, and the process parameter simulation program inside that was constantly being improved.
The effects of the "Project Launch Accelerator" are beginning to show.
He efficiently sifted through the information, inputting the previously collected, scattered data on publicly available process windows, common failure modes, and influencing factors from various stages of photovoltaics into the model one by one.
They are building a "digital twin" production line, which, though rough, is becoming increasingly clear in its framework.
A few days later, one afternoon, opportunity knocked on the door in an unexpected way.
Yu Chen was temporarily looking after a batch of equipment boxes that were about to be shipped out for a colleague from the software company next door in the "Innovation Park" public rest area.
During their casual conversation, he learned that this guy's relative owned a small factory in a suburban county.
We mainly manufacture aluminum alloy frames for photovoltaic modules, and recently we've been trying out some more complex "junction box" welding outsourcing.
However, the weld joint pass rate was stuck at 92%, which greatly dissatisfied the customer.
"Solder joint?"
"Are you using SN100C lead-free solder paste, but there seems to be a problem with the reflow soldering peak temperature and tape speed matching?"
Yu Chen asked a question subconsciously, then turned on his computer and brought up the simulation program interface he had made for the specific step of "welding".
"Different flux activities and wire plating are very sensitive to temperature profiles."
"I have a little tool here that might help with the deduction."
The guy was skeptical, but decided to give it a try and called to ask for a few sets of production data.
Yu Chen quickly typed in and adjusted several model parameters based on publicly available literature.
The program ran for a few minutes and output three optimized temperature-controlled conveyor belt speed ratio schemes, along with simple confidence intervals.
"Have your relatives try Option 1 or Option 2? Especially the time for the warming zone and the constant temperature zone, which may need to be adjusted slightly from what they have set now." Yu Chen printed out the results.
A few days later, Yu Chen received a call personally from the small factory owner, who sounded excited: "Engineer Yu! It's amazing! We adjusted it according to the first set of parameters you gave us, and after running it on the production line for a day, the pass rate has reached over 96%!"
"I haven't tried the other two sets yet, but they seem to have some tricks up their sleeves!"
"How much do you charge?"
[Side Quest 'The Cornerstone of Knowledge Monetization' Progress Update: First Verifiable Case (1/1)]
Yu Chen held the phone, a smile playing on his lips.
He knew that this was still a long way from truly optimizing the core photovoltaic technology, but it was a breakthrough from 0 to 1 and the establishment of trust.
Instead of immediately asking for a high price, he sincerely said, "Boss Zhang, this was a chance encounter, so I won't charge you."
"If subsequent stages, such as EL testing, reveal a high rate of microcracks, or if the conversion efficiency fluctuates significantly from batch to batch, we can discuss this further in more detail."
He needs more cases and more real data to feed and refine his model.
This small success is the best stepping stone.
He began to consciously organize his experience and write a concise and clear technical service description, preparing to submit it to more potential "Boss Zhangs".
---
Just as Yu Chen was immersed in his world of algorithms and cautiously expanding the boundaries of business, Nie Xiguang's campus life was heading towards a clear and peaceful end.
The misunderstanding about the Sheng Yuan interview has long been cleared up, and with the ideas provided by Yu Chen and my own efforts, my graduation thesis has also been approved by my supervisor.
She performed exceptionally well on the day of her defense.
As she walked out of the defense classroom, she was unaware that Zhuang Xu had quietly sat in the back row and listened to the entire presentation.
The atmosphere of graduation is growing stronger. After the farewell dinner, my roommates are leaving school one after another.
On a sweltering evening, Nie Xiguang came out of the library and met Zhuang Xu on the tree-lined path near Zhixing Building.
He seemed to have been waiting there on purpose; his white shirt was neatly ironed, just as meticulous as he always was.
"Dawn".
He called out to her, his voice calm and devoid of much emotion, "Have you secured a job?"
"No, but my parents will arrange it." Nie Xiguang stopped and said in a cold voice.
The setting sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on his face.
She knew he had signed with a very good bank in Shanghai and had a bright future.
A brief silence followed.
Some things seem to no longer need to be said.
Misunderstandings, acts of kindness, estrangement, and those subtle feelings and hurts will all be sealed away in this campus with the sound of graduation bells.
"It's fine." Zhuang Xu nodded, looking into the distance.
"Let's keep in touch in the future."
This statement was polite but distant.
Nie Xiguang understood the true meaning behind it: a dignified farewell to everything in the past.
She suddenly remembered that he always drew clear lines, unwilling to owe her anything.
There always seemed to be a transparent wall between them, a wall called "self-esteem" and "distance".
"Yes, you too. I hope everything goes well for you in Shanghai." Nie Xiguang smiled, her tone equally calm and polite.
There was no intense conflict, no melodramatic entanglement, and not even a clear "goodbye".
Like countless other ordinary classmates about to go their separate ways, they nodded, then one went left and the other right, heading in different directions.
Nie Xiguang walked a short distance and then looked back.
Zhuang Xu's back was straight, and he walked quickly, disappearing around the corner in a flash.
I felt a slight sense of relief, but also a bit of emptiness and melancholy.
She knew that the chapter belonging to "Nie Xiguang and Zhuang Xu," no matter how many unfinished sentences it contained, had now been gently closed.
A few days later, top student Jiang Rui finished the college entrance examination with an overwhelmingly high score.
As a celebration and "compensation," he pleaded and begged, and with the help of his parents, he finally "tricked" his still somewhat confused cousin into boarding a flight abroad.
It was euphemistically called a "graduation healing trip".
Azure sea, blue sky, white sand.
Nie Xiguang turned off his domestic mobile phone and decided to completely shut down his online business.
The scenery of a foreign land and the company of her family allowed her to temporarily put aside all the worries about the future and choices.
One day, at the restaurant of a resort hotel.
While enjoying his meal, Jiang Rui casually asked, "Sis, has your know-it-all junior come up with any new tricks lately?"
Nie Xiguang swirled his juice glass and thought for a moment: "He seems to be... thinking about something related to photovoltaic technology, saying that I can talk to him about financial costs later."
Thinking of Yu Chen, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.
That person always seems to be venturing into unexpected areas.
"A crossover player," Jiang Rui commented. "This kind of person is resourceful and unconventional; who knows what they might come up with."
"More interesting than those who only follow the established path."
Nie Xiguang didn't reply, his gaze fixed on the vast sea outside the window.
In my empty mind, the fog about the future doesn't seem to have dissipated, but what occasionally flashes through my mind is no longer entanglement and heaviness, but some new thoughts with unknown possibilities.
For example, Yu Chen's short message that mentioned "technology" and "finance".
Unbeknownst to her, while she was enjoying the sea breeze, Zhuang Xu contacted Shengyuan Group about a certain project and had a conversation with a vice president named Lin Yusen.
What Zhuang Xu didn't know was that after trying to contact her and finding her phone was off, he once called the Nie family's old house and heard from the housekeeper, Aunt Zhou, that "Xi Guang went abroad to play, maybe she's studying abroad."
Zhuang Xu held the receiver on the other end of the phone and remained silent for a long time.
Outside the window is Shanghai's dazzling yet cold night view.
It turns out that she has already flown to a farther and wider world, and may even have new plans.
Her unspoken thoughts, her complex pride and calculations, seemed so insignificant, even somewhat laughable, in the face of her life that had already moved forward.
A profound, chilling clarity enveloped him.
The last vestige of hope was quietly extinguished amidst this false rumor.
-
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, in that small processing plant in the western suburbs.
The boss is worried about a newly arrived batch of battery cells.
The EL test results showed that the microcrack rate exceeded the standard again.
He picked up his phone and scrolled to the page where "Engineer Yu's" number was saved.
Meanwhile, under the lights of the "Innovation Park," Yu Chen had just added a new "Hidden Crack Cause Analysis" module to his model.
The code on the screen flowed silently, like the path he quietly paved toward the future.
Two lines.
One journey is spent tracing the past in the gentle breeze of a foreign beach, while the other takes root and grows in the soil of reality.
They are all saying goodbye to the old chapters and starting a new one in their own ways.
And the point where fate intersects seems to be just around the corner, faintly glowing.