Chapter 19: The Computer

Chen Xi met the gaze of Yu’s mother, who was looking at her as if she were a prospective daughter-in-law, and then glanced at Teacher Zhang, who was playing matchmaker on the side.

After a moment of dazed confusion, she hurriedly shoved the two-hundred-yuan note back, made an excuse, grabbed her desk mate’s sleeve, and fled the restaurant as if escaping a disaster.

"Yu Yang, what was that all about today?"

"Just happened to be passing by, saw you, and figured I’d say hello."

"Who says hello like that..."

After complaining, Chen Xi asked curiously, "Was your mom seeing Teacher Zhang to ask you to come back to school?"

"No, Teacher Zhang is resigning soon to come work as a housekeeper at my place."

"Can you ever be serious for once?"

"It’s true. She’s done with teaching."

Seeing that Yu Yang didn't seem to be joking, Chen Xi exclaimed, "My god, changing your Chinese teacher in your final year of high school?"

"Is Chinese that hard?"

"..."

Chen Xi remained silent for a moment. "When are you coming back to class?"

"I'm not. I’ve already learned everything I need to."

"The college entrance exam is in six months. You aren't going to take it?"

"That’s a dragon gate for you lot; I’ve already turned into a dragon rider."

"???"

"Little Chen, how did you do on the midterms?"

Chen Xi snapped out of her stupor. "Not bad. As long as I perform normally on the college entrance exam, getting into one of the universities here in Tai City shouldn't be a problem."

"Why not try for Beijing University?"

"..."

"Is it because Beijing is too cold?"

Chen Xi finally erupted: "Yu Yang! From today on, we are through! Goodbye!"

With that, she tossed her shoulder-length hair, turned around, and began to stroll away slowly.

Thinking about how he was about to leave the county, Yu Yang waved his hand. "If you don't get into university, remember to come to Yu Village and find me. I’ll set you up with a job."

Chen Xi’s frame stiffened and she clenched her fists, but she did not look back; instead, she quickened her pace.

Not receiving a response, Yu Yang felt quite regretful.

"Still just a little girl!"

He looked around, flagged down a motorized tricycle for a yuan, and ran to Center Street to buy a mobile phone.

He then returned to the restaurant where his mother and Teacher Zhang were.

"Teacher Zhang, take this phone. If you need anything, just call the number pre-saved in it."

"Thank you, Boss Yu."

"Don't be so formal. Mom, I’m heading back to the village."

"Do business back home with your eyes open. Don't engage in any shady dealings; harmony leads to wealth."

"I know, I know."

"Oh, by the way, Sanyuan, what about that girl from earlier?"

"Just my desk mate. I was only joking. I'll find you a big celebrity for a daughter-in-law later."

"That won't do; we wouldn't be able to handle her. The one from just now was perfectly fine."

"She still has to go to school. After that, it’s university, graduate school, doctoral studies, civil service exams... by the time that’s all over, she’ll be thirty-five or thirty-six—an old maid."

"I suppose that’s true..."

"I'm off. Call me if anything comes up."

This trip to the county seat had basically accomplished his recent goals. He’d reclaimed the tractor, registered the company, and found packaging.

Originally, Yu Yang had planned to stay a few more days to wait for the court hearing and see Old Yu. But the date had been postponed, no one knew when it would be rescheduled, and besides the lawyer, no one was allowed to see him, so he had to leave his mother there to keep watch.

At least with Teacher Zhang for company, the old woman wouldn't be too lonely.

Lost in thought, Yu Yang found his older brother and second brother waiting at the intersection.

His oldest brother was busy watching a group of old men play Chinese chess.

His second brother was standing at the entrance of a computer arcade, eyes glued to a monitor.

Well, coming out for a trip had certainly broadened the brothers' horizons.

Yu Yang signaled for them to leave.

The second brother seemed reluctant to go and pulled 500 yuan out of his pocket. "The arcade owner just gave me this."

"Oh?"

"I told him I wanted to take a computer home, but he wouldn't let me. I told him that in our village, we borrow things back and forth and bring them back after a few days, but he still wouldn't agree. So I punched a hole in the wall, and he gave me 500 yuan on the spot and even threw in a pack of cigarettes."

"..."

Yu Yang looked back and happened to see a man with a side-parted hairstyle inside the arcade, looking their way with a mix of cowardice and fear. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Give the money back to him. We aren't bullies."

"Then can I take a computer home?"

"Take a computer? You’d be better off keeping the 500 yuan."

Seeing his second brother’s look of a budding internet addict, Yu Yang couldn't bear it. After all, his brothers had earned him quite a bit of money. But computers these days cost at least ten or twenty thousand each. And if he bought one, he couldn't play favorites; he’d have to equip the other brothers too. That would cost millions, and then how would he register the company or expand production?

Clutching the 500 yuan, the second brother persisted: "How much is one computer?"

"Almost twenty thousand."

"I'd have to work two years for that?"

Yu Yang was just about to offer some comfort when he saw a television repair shop at the intersection.

There was a stack of bulky, old-fashioned televisions of various models at the entrance, and, most importantly, a keyboard lying on the ground. Or rather, it wasn't a keyboard, but a "Subor" learning machine that required game cartridges.

'A Subor learning machine plus a bulky TV—if I paint it white and even stick a Windows icon on the bottom of the screen...'

Yu Yang’s eyes lit up. He sent his second brother away to contact their convoy, which hadn't returned to the village yet, and then took his oldest brother to the repair shop.

"Boss, do you have any second-hand color TVs?"

"Everything on the left is."

"Just these seven or eight? Do you have more? Preferably similar in size and appearance."

"What for? Refurbishing and reselling?"

"No, it's the end of the year. I’m giving out benefits to the village, but second-hand ones look cheap. I’m planning to buy a batch that all look alike and tell them the TV factory went bankrupt."

When the shop owner heard this, he walked out and noticed the "big brother" mobile phone in the oldest brother’s hand, and his spirits lifted. "Exactly how many units?"

"About a hundred."

"I can do it, but it’ll take two days, and I need a 2,000-yuan deposit."

"How much per unit?"

"Thirteen hundred!"

"That expensive? I might as well buy monitors... Wait? That’s it!"

Monitors should be able to connect to a Subor learning machine.

Yu Yang suddenly realized and flagged down the tricycle driver who had brought him to buy the phone earlier. "Back we go!"

"You got it!"

The TV repairman, realizing he’d just let a wealthy fool walk away, chased after him shouting: "Little brother, I can lower the price! Eight hundred is fine! Negotiate with me, who doesn't haggle? Five hundred! Three hundred!!! Damn it!"

...

In 1998, no matter how run-down a county seat was, it was still a different world from the townships.

Take Shili Camp, for example. Children below third grade had to carry small stools to and from school, and they had to bring their own candles for morning and evening study sessions.

But the county elementary school was different. There were school buses, eggs in the morning, milk in the afternoon, and the better-off ones even had computer classes.

So, the 1998 county seat already had a knock-off version of "Buynow." Although the area wasn't large, there were many brands: Acer, Dell, HP, Seenda, Great Wall, Philips...

The walls were plastered with promotional posters for 3Dfx Voodoo graphics cards, NVIDIA Riva 128 cards, AMD K6 processors...

Before Yu Yang and his oldest brother even reached the entrance, a dozen sales clerks swarmed them.

They bowed in unison: "Welcome, Boss!"

"Good. Salaries are doubled at the end of the month."

"???"

The clerks were shocked, some pleasantly surprised, some suspicious, and some completely bewildered.

Yu Yang walked in happily, grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the counter near the door, and put them on. "Who can show me the monitors?"

"Boss, please, this way."

"What sizes do you have?"

"11-inch, 13-inch, and 15-inch."

"How much for the 15-inch?"

"It depends on the brand, but I recommend this Samsung 700s. 15-inch, promotional price 2,880."

"2,880 times 100 is 288,000. That’s over budget."

"What price range were you looking for?"

"Around eight hundred to a thousand. For my employees."

"Does it include the main unit?"

"Can it connect to a Subor learning machine?"

The sales manager paused for a moment. "What kind of port does a Subor have? It seems to be a TV signal port... No, it can’t."

"None of them can?"

"It seems none of them can. Otherwise, if you wanted 100 units, I’d find a way to make it work no matter what."

"Are there any adapters?"

"I don't think so."

"Too bad."

"If you need computers, feel free to contact me." The sales manager didn't push it and handed over a business card with both hands.

The oldest brother stepped forward, took it, and put it in his briefcase.

Yu Yang walked out of the knock-off "Buynow" and saw the tricycle was still there. "Back to the TV repair shop."

"You got it!"

A moment later.

"I heard you shouting earlier—300 yuan a unit?"

"Boss, 300 yuan isn't even enough for me to buy them from the collectors, let alone repair them and replace the parts..."

"That’s the price. 100 units. Plus, I’ll give you 2,000 yuan extra. I want you to fake them to look like computer monitors, paint them white, and I want all of them to be 15 inches. If there are any problems later, I’m tearing your shop down."

"I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

After settling the TV deal, Yu Yang suddenly remembered something. He fished the sales manager’s business card out of his brother's briefcase and dialed the number.

"It’s me, the guy who was looking at monitors."

"Yes, Boss, what can I do for you?"

"Do you have any Subor learning machines? The kind with keyboards and mice?"

"Sorry, I sell computers."

"If the price is right, I’ll take 100 sets."

"I'll go to the market and pull them for you right now!"

By evening, the Yu Village disaster relief convoy was fully loaded and returning from the county seat.

The second brother hugged a brand-new "computer monitor," along with an original "keyboard, mouse, and controller set," plus the mousepad the sales manager had gifted him, looking absolutely delighted.

"The Big Boss is truly the best."

"I’m definitely going to work hard when we get back!"