If Xiao Wei hadn't explained, Zhao Qiang probably would have categorized her as a slut. What respectable woman would be posing for photos like that for no reason? But it turned out it was for work, and Zhao Qiang's goodwill and respect for her instantly returned.
Xiao Wei added, "Brother, I have some bad news for you. The repair just now almost depleted the power stored in my chip. If it can't be replenished, I won't be able to do any more repairs or modifications." Because the instantaneous discharge during the repair was too large, simply drawing power from the power adapter wasn't enough. Therefore, Xiao Wei had to release some of the normally stored power to assist during the repairs and modifications. However, the power stored in the chip needs time to accumulate, which greatly limits the number of modifications that can be made.
Zhao Qiang ran a hand through his hair: "I'll take the afternoon off to rent a place! We can't let electricity affect our future plans." As he spoke, Liu Yiyi's netbook started up, and the familiar XP screen appeared on the screen. Zhao Qiang's slightly uneasy heart finally settled down.
With a creak, Zhao Qiang pushed open the door to the repair shop. Liu Yiyi, who was sitting inside drinking tea, jumped up abruptly. "Master Zhao, how's my hard drive? Can the data be copied?"
Zhao Qiang coughed knowingly, "Fortunately, it's finally been fixed, as expected."
"Really!" Liu Yiyi was quite frightened by Zhang Chunjiang's judgment. Her heart had been filled with anxiety for an hour. Suddenly hearing that the repair was done, her eyes lit up. She stared at Zhao Qiang as if she wanted to hug him. Zhao Qiang couldn't resist her burning gaze and pointed to the repair room, saying, "Let's go in and take a look."
Liu Yiyi walked into the repair room with slightly unsteady steps, while Zhao Qiang leisurely sat in the seat that Liu Yiyi had just been in. His bottom was still warm, and there seemed to be a lingering fragrance in the air. Ma Xiaohua poured a cup of tea and handed it to Zhao Qiang, saying, "Here you are, our great hero, Comrade Zhao Qiang. I think you are fully capable of handling the repair tasks of our shop."
Zhao Qiang chuckled, then rolled his hand into a tube shape and whispered to Ma Xiaohua, "Sister Ma, let me tell you, Zhang Chunjiang had already fixed it, but there was a problem with the connection, so the hard drive wasn't detected. I cleaned all the pins on the hard drive's circuit board and it was fine. The reason it took so long was to make her think that the repair was difficult."
Ma Xiaohua pointed a finger at Zhao Qiang's forehead: "Zhao Qiang, you're really cunning. You've learned all of President Wang's tricks. By the way, how much money should you charge her?"
Zhao Qiang considered for a moment and said, "Let's charge her 300. Replace the hard drive and circuit board for 100, and the other 200 is for data recovery. We charge the lowest industry standard here, which is an internal discount price."
Ma Xiaohua coughed and said, "Such a low fee, are you just attracted to her because she's pretty? If the company were yours, you wouldn't charge her, right?"
Zhao Qiang blushed: "Sister Ma, don't say that. I just wanted to make friends with her. Besides, these three hundred are practically free money. We should be content." In fact, nearly one hundred of these three hundred should be included in the electricity cost. Although the voltage change is not noticeable, the electricity consumption in these forty minutes is actually quite high.
The crisp sound of leather shoes came from the repair shop. Liu Yiyi, holding her netbook, had regained her initial composure and calmness. "Thank you, Master Zhao. I can indeed log into the system now, and most of the folders are still there. Can you be sure that none of the data is wrong?"
Zhao Qiang patted his chest and said, "I'm sure, the data has been verified and is 100% correct!"
A strange glint appeared on Liu Yiyi's lips: "Oh, you've verified it? Fine, I trust your character, Master Zhao. You won't let me down, will you?"
Zhao Qiang didn't understand at first, but Liu Yiyi's strange expression startled him. Then he realized, "Oh no, did saying that I had verified it mean that I had told Liu Yiyi that I had seen those photos? Although they weren't nude photos, the level of exposure was still quite high. They were private photos that were sexy enough. Liu Yiyi was warning me!"
Zhao Qiang was still quite inexperienced, and his expression couldn't remain unchanged once he thought of this. This was different from when Luo Xiaowei suddenly attacked him; he had genuinely forgotten about the 'Dark Night Legend' that time. But this time, he hadn't recovered from the shock yet, so how could he forget? Thus, his face flushed red.
"No, I will definitely not let you down." Zhao Qiang could only implicitly indicate that he would not speak carelessly.
Liu Yiyi glanced at her watch. She had originally planned to give Zhao Qiang a few more pointers, but time was running out. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been in such a hurry to access the data on the hard drive. With a rustling sound, Liu Yiyi took out a check from her bag, filled it out, tore it off, and handed it to Zhao Qiang. "I promised to pay the repair fee. Please remember what Master Zhao promised me."
Zhao Qiang glanced at it; there was a 1 followed by four zeros. Good heavens, she really was asking for 10,000 yuan for repairs! This woman doesn't value money at all! Zhao Qiang handed the check back and said, "No, that's too much. I'll charge you 300 yuan in total. 100 yuan for replacing the hard drive and motherboard, 200 yuan for data recovery, and you can pay for the power adapter as it costs."
This was the first time Liu Yiyi had encountered someone who wouldn't accept money. She glanced at Zhao Qiang a couple more times, somewhat surprised. She didn't insist, asked Ma Xiaohua about the price of the power adapter, and handed her 500 yuan. Before leaving, she said to Zhao Qiang, "My name is Liu Yiyi. Are you free tonight, Master Zhao?"
Zhao Qiang was puzzled. He had to work at the company until nine o'clock that night, so he said, "I get off work at nine, and then I go to sleep."
Liu Yiyi smiled calmly: "Alright, I'll pick up Master Zhao at nine o'clock and treat you to a late-night snack as a token of my gratitude."
Zhao Qiang was somewhat reluctant because he felt that this woman was much more difficult to deal with than Luo Xiaowei. "Hehe, no need, Miss Liu, you're too kind. Fixing your computer is part of our business, and you've already paid for it, so let's skip the meal."
Liu Yiyi opened the shop door but then turned back and said, "How can we let it go? I'll come pick you up at nine o'clock sharp tonight. I'm a lady, so please give me face."
Liu Yiyi got into a Mercedes and left. Before leaving, she rolled down the car window and waved to Zhao Qiang in the store. Ma Xiaohua exclaimed, "My god, she came in a Mercedes! I didn't see her when she came in. Zhao, you've struck gold! This Liu Yiyi is incredibly rich. You should have left her ten thousand yuan with you! She seems to like you a lot. You should work harder. If you win her over, you'll never have to struggle again."
Zhao Qiang thought to himself, "Nonsense, they're just worried and planning to use dinner tonight as an opportunity to give me more warnings and intimidate me."
(Today's update: two guaranteed chapters, plus one more chapter for every 50 recommendation votes. Thank you all for your support!)
Volume 1 [034] Renting a Room
Wang Yidong returned home just before leaving get off work in the morning. After looking at the ledger, he was quite satisfied. Apart from Liu Yiyi repairing the hard drive, there were some other sales. After deducting the day's expenses, Wang Yidong still had two or three hundred yuan left.
Zhao Qiang said to Wang Yidong, "Mr. Wang, I would like to ask for leave this afternoon."
Wang Yidong glanced at the maintenance room and noticed that Zhang Chunjiang was not there again. His expression turned somewhat grim, and he asked, "Did Zhang Chunjiang leave early again?"
Ma Xiaohua teased, "Yeah, you left him right after you left. That's your Mr. Zhang, how can we compare?"
Wang Yidong patted Zhao Qiang on the shoulder and said, "Zhao, you don't have classes this afternoon, right? Why did you ask for leave?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'd like to rent a place outside and go out for a walk this afternoon."
Wang Yidong said, "Oh? Rent a house? Yes, it's inconvenient to stay in the dormitory, and you get back too late from your night shift."
Zhao Qiang nodded. The main problem was the inconvenience of electricity. Zhao Qiang felt bad about letting Wang Yidong pay the electricity bill for nothing, as Wang Yidong had already lost several thousand yuan last month. Zhao Qiang was a kind person, otherwise Wang Yidong would have continued to lose money.
Wang Yidong said, "I think it would be good to rent a place near the company. It would be convenient for you to commute to and from get off work. I'll hire you after you graduate. Don't worry, I will definitely treat you well."
Zhao Qiang said, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Mr. Wang. I'd better go check out the suburbs; the housing prices here are too expensive."
Wang Yi didn't force the issue. "Okay, if you can't rent one, just let me know, and I'll set up a bed for you in the repair room. You can sleep here tonight."
Zhao Qiang certainly wouldn't do that, otherwise Wang Yidong would have to pay several thousand yuan in electricity bills every month. However, renting a house is really not an easy task, especially since Zhao Qiang has high requirements for electricity. Xiao Wei said that the wiring must be able to handle high-power appliances of more than 8 kilowatts, otherwise it would be difficult to maintain its renovation.
After searching for half an afternoon without success, he contacted two real estate agencies, but both failed to secure a rental due to the circuit's inability to handle the load. Most of the residential buildings' electricity meters were only 5A, capable of four times the overload, with a maximum power of only 4400 kilowatts, nearly half of Zhao Qiang's minimum requirement. If such a power supply were used, it would likely cause the circuit to overheat and start a fire. Helpless, Zhao Qiang could only return home dejectedly. He still had to stay at the company for the night shift, which had become his sole job since he started working part-time there.
Zhang Chunjiang was still nowhere to be seen in the repair shop. Ma Xiaohua was watching a movie alone, bored. When Zhao Qiang returned, she immediately turned off the screen. "Xiao Zhao, how's the house rental going?"
Zhao Qiang said listlessly, "I couldn't rent one."
Ma Xiaohua said, "Really? Housing isn't that scarce in Donghai City."
Zhao Qiang said, "My standards are too high."
Ma Xiaohua said, "Whatever your needs are, I'm a local, so I might be able to help you."
Zhao Qiang said, "The quality of the house doesn't matter, the key is that the electricity must be stable, at least enough to ensure that appliances with a power of 8 kilowatts can work normally."
Ma Xiaohua said, "You run an internet cafe? Even household electricity doesn't have that much power."
Zhao Qiang explained, "It's like this: I use an induction cooker to cook, an electric heater to keep warm in winter, and I also use several computers, a TV, and a stereo system. All of these add up to almost eight kilowatts."
Ma Xiaohua said, "You're thinking too far ahead. You can't use all these appliances at the same time."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "This is called being prepared. In case I need to do some repairs at home, insufficient voltage will affect my work."
Ma Xiaohua said, "Why don't you just rent a factory building?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm thinking about it, but factory buildings are so expensive, I can't afford to rent one."
Ma Xiaohua suddenly slapped her thigh: "I remember now, there really is a factory for rent not far from your school! There's definitely enough electricity there for you."
Zhao Qiang said, "Sister Ma, don't tease me. I really can't afford to rent a factory." Although Zhao Qiang had more than nine thousand yuan, he estimated that it wouldn't even cover half a month's rent for a factory.
Ma Xiaohua said, "Who said you were going to rent it? I'm just finding you another good job. Wait a minute, this matter is handled by Mr. Wang's friend. I'll call Mr. Wang and ask him to come back and help you negotiate."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't trouble President Wang. I'll go down and try again myself."
While dialing the phone, Ma Xiaohua said, "Xiao Zhao, you're really not being honest. Zhang Chunjiang is always slacking off, and the company is counting on you to keep it afloat. Boss Wang is trying to curry favor with you right now. How can you not take advantage of this?"
Sure enough, Wang Yidong came back immediately after receiving the call. It turned out that a friend of his had opened a repair shop, but due to a lack of skilled repairmen and poor management, it closed down in less than six months. The repair shop was full of equipment and parts, and without anyone watching over it, it was easy for thieves to break in at night. A few days ago, he had asked Wang Yidong to help him find a night watchman, and now the perfect one had arrived.
Ten minutes later, Wang Yidong and his friend reached an agreement and agreed to meet at the repair shop immediately. Zhao Qiang then rode on Wang Yidong's electric scooter, and the two headed straight for Shunfeng Repair Shop in Donghai City, which was a little over a kilometer away from Donghai University, making it very convenient.
Wang Yidong's friend's surname was Qi, and his given name was Lai, which sounded like "rise." He looked to be under fifty years old and was quite amiable. He was very enthusiastic when he saw Wang Yidong, and the two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. "Little Wang, I've really had enough of guarding this place. You've finally found someone for me. How about 800 a month for just night watch? It's basically just a place to sleep. If anything happens, just call 110. There are also security cameras in the room, so it's practically like earning money while sleeping. It won't affect my daytime work, so it's quite a good deal."
Zhao Qiang looked around the repair shop. The tall walls were covered with electric fences and buried glass shards. The large iron gate was also covered with sheet metal, so the inside could not be seen from the outside. The yard was not large and was completely covered with an aluminum alloy roof. The main building faced the repair workshop, the east wing was the warehouse, and the west wing was the office, where people slept at night. Overall, it was a courtyard house.
Wang Yidong turned to Zhao Qiang and asked, "Little Zhao, what do you think? Old Qi's offer isn't low."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Boss Qi, I don't know if the electricity here is stable. I might use some high-power appliances, and of course I'll pay for the electricity myself."
Qi Lai chuckled and said, "This is a repair shop. Although it has closed down, all the fees are still being paid, so the electricity is still running. We have both 220V lighting and 380V power. You can use whatever power appliances you want without any problem. Of course, the premise is that I need to charge you according to the kilowatt-hours. If it's just ordinary household electricity, I'll waive it for you."
With electricity so convenient, Zhao Qiang felt relieved, and he even received a monthly allowance. It was like a windfall. However, there was still one issue Zhao Qiang needed to explain to Wang Yidong: "Mr. Wang, what about my night shift?"
Wang Yidong said to Qi Lai, "It's like this, Xiao Zhao is a technician at my company. He has to work the night shift until nine o'clock. Lao Qi, do you leave a little later during the day?"
Qi Lai looked troubled. "Xiao Wang, I hired someone to keep watch because I wanted to be free, but this puts me in a difficult position."
Seeing that Zhao Qiang was indeed very satisfied with the place, Wang Yidong couldn't bring himself to say that he didn't want Zhao Qiang to rent it. In the end, he could only say, "Xiao Zhao, you don't need to work these next few days. I'll hire an apprentice later. You can study the technique more in your spare time at night. I have faith in you, so don't let me down."
What could Zhao Qiang say but be extremely grateful? Wang Yidong might be cunning, but he was still incredibly kind to him. Qi Lai led Zhao Qiang into the west wing office. Qi Lai lived in the manager's office; all the furniture and decorations remained even after the repair shop closed. The luxurious decor drew admiring glances from Zhao Qiang. However, this office wasn't Zhao Qiang's territory; Qi Lai had assigned him to the finance department. Although there was a large safe inside, it was long gone.
The finance department consists of two rooms. The outer room is a spacious office area with four desks arranged in pairs facing each other under the window. Along the west wall are rows of filing cabinets and a large safe. In the center of the office area is a sofa surrounding a coffee table, complete with tea set, though it's a bit dusty. In the corner is a 29-inch flat-screen TV.
The desk furthest inside was the most luxurious, and it even came with a pretty good genuine leather computer chair. Zhao Qiang went up and tried it out, and it felt amazing. It was at least three levels better than Zhang Chunjiang's computer chair!
Qi Lai opened the door to the finance department suite, and Zhao Qiang was amazed by the interior decoration. There were white walls, smooth wooden floors, and a double bed, but it was missing bedding. There was a high-end dressing table on one side of the bed, and a smaller desk against the wall opposite the foot of the bed. It was clear that a computer used to be on it, but it was no longer there. The computer chair in front of the desk was also high-end, but it was not as big as the one outside.
On the wall in front of the computer desk hung an oil painting of a girl carrying a basket on her head. The surrounding walls were covered with a light pink wallpaper, and above was an expensive crystal chandelier. Qi Lai said to Zhao Qiang, "This used to be my daughter-in-law's room, but now it belongs to you. You can use whatever you want, but you can't damage it. I trust the people Xiao Wang introduced, so there's no need to bother with contracts or anything like that."
Zhao Qiang thought he was dreaming to be paid 800 yuan for a room like this. However, he also thought about his responsibilities. As long as this repair shop did not perform any work, he had to ensure the safety of the workers at night. Otherwise, it would be his dereliction of duty, and he would be responsible.
(This is an extra chapter; Xiaoqiang bows in gratitude for everyone's support!)
Volume 1 [035] Western Food as a Late Night Snack
Zhao Qiang immediately returned to school, packed his clothes and belongings, and moved them to Shunfeng Repair Shop. Qi Lai gave him a key to the main gate and two keys to the finance department. Zhao Qiang spent half the afternoon cleaning up with his laptop plugged in, working up a sweat. However, the repair shop had a solar-powered bathroom, so Zhao Qiang happily took a shower. Then he went back to Home Inn Computer Company to work his last night shift. Starting tomorrow night, he would have to stay at the repair shop to guard the gate, which was exactly what Zhao Qiang had been looking forward to. He needed the space and time to study Xiao Wei. After Xiao Wei tested the wiring and current, he found they were fully capable of meeting his needs. Zhao Qiang couldn't wait any longer.
The night shift was quiet, with only two groups of people coming to look at the computers. Zhao Qiang spent the rest of the time studying. At 8:50, a car horn sounded outside. Zhao Qiang peeked out of the store and saw Liu Yiyi waving at him from the lowered car window. Although she looked stern and assertive, Zhao Qiang still felt excited thinking about her hot photos.
Zhao Qiang wiped his nose and said, "Miss Liu, please go back. I will not let you down."
Liu Yiyi chuckled as she got out of the car. "Master Zhao, how can you go back on your word? How much longer until you get off work?"
Knowing he couldn't refuse, Zhao Qiang could only say, "Alright, I'll close the door now."
The Mercedes was indeed comfortable to sit in, and it even had a pleasant fragrance inside. Liu Yiyi started the car and asked, "What would you like to eat, Master Zhao? Thanks to your help today, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to close this contract. You're my hero!"
Zhao Qiang dared not claim to be a hero. He guessed that in Liu Yiyi's mind at this moment, he was just a lecherous thief who stole the photos. So Zhao Qiang said, "I don't deserve such praise. I'm not picky about food. I'll just find a ramen shop and have a bowl of ramen."
Liu Yiyi smiled and stopped talking. Fifteen minutes later, the Mercedes stopped at the French-style restaurant. Zhao Qiang knew a little about this place; it seemed to be the best place for romantic young men and women to enjoy an elegant atmosphere. He and Liu Yiyi only had a business relationship. At most, he had offended her by secretly looking at the photos. But what was she doing here?
Liu Yiyi got out of the car and gestured for him to enter. Zhao Qiang had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in. The hall was dimly lit because it was already past 9:30 p.m., so there were very few customers, scattered in a few corners. Liu Yiyi also chose a quiet spot, and a waiter came over to take their order.
Liu Yiyi gestured for Zhao Qiang to eat. Zhao Qiang thought to himself, "Since I'm here, I might as well eat. This is the first time I've ever seen foreign food!" Zhao Qiang casually picked up the menu from the waiter's tray, but when he opened it, he was dumbfounded. What kind of Western restaurant is this? He could hardly recognize any of the foreign letters on it, and what was even more infuriating was that there was no Chinese translation.
Zhao Qiang glanced at the waiter, hoping he could explain, but the young waiter's eyes were fixed on Liu Yiyi's mature and beautiful figure, ignoring Zhao Qiang's pleas for help. Helpless, Zhao Qiang could only cough and say, "Just bring me some noodles."
The waiter, startled by the sound, quickly bowed slightly to Zhao Qiang to acknowledge him. Liu Yiyi, however, calmly picked up the menu and ordered several dishes, but she only pointed to them with her fingers, so Zhao Qiang had no idea if she understood French. Liu Yiyi's actions reminded Zhao Qiang that he should have just randomly pointed to a few dishes; it was a complete failure.
The waiter quickly brought out all the dishes ordered. There was steak, which Zhao Qiang recognized. Even if he hadn't eaten pork, he'd seen pigs run; it was on TV and in movies all the time, and he could even guess how it was eaten. There was soup, its colorful appearance leaving Zhao Qiang wondering what was in it, but it smelled quite good. There were also two dishes whose ingredients were unclear, seemingly containing little meat. Zhao Qiang didn't pay much attention; after all, it was a late-night snack, so the elaborate presentation was quite impressive.
Liu Yiyi asked in a low voice, "Would you like some wine?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head and said, "Miss Liu, just say what you need to say. I'm not used to making things too complicated."
Liu Yiyi paused, seemingly considering how to phrase it, "...Our Yiyi Fashion Apparel Co., Ltd. specializes in women's intimate apparel..."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "It has nothing to do with us men."
Liu Yiyi continued, "I often try on the clothes I design to test their effect."