The visitor was a young man in his mid-twenties. The computer was a Tsinghua Tongfang brand machine, but it was an older model and definitely out of warranty. Zhao Qiang took it and carried it into the repair room, plugged in the mouse, keyboard, and monitor, and turned it on. Zhang Chunjiang wasn't there, so he had to learn how to fix it himself. Fortunately, Xiao Wei was there to help, so Zhao Qiang wasn't too worried.
"Look, when I edit a file in Word, saving it always fails. Occasionally it succeeds, but after editing for a while, saving it again fails." The young man explained the problem to Zhao Qiang and demonstrated it himself, and sure enough, it was the same.
Zhao Qiang scratched his head, then quietly glanced at the notification on the electronic watch screen. Xiao Wei's laptop was right next to him, so it could definitely receive the young man's voice. Sure enough, the watch had repair instructions: "First, determine if it's caused by a virus."
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's try killing all the poisonous creatures."
The young man said, "My computer has all genuine software installed. I just upgraded it at the company, and the scan results showed no viruses."
Zhao Qiang glanced at the screen of his electronic watch again, which displayed: "Try a different save location."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Where are you saving your files now?"
The young man said, "My documents, I always keep them here."
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's try a different position."
The young man seemed reluctant: "Change seats? Will that even make a difference?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Whether it works or not, you have to try it before you can say for sure, right?"
The young man said, "Okay, I'll save the new file to drive E. There's still 20GB of space on drive E... Hey, it worked!"
Zhao Qiang quickly glanced at the screen of his electronic watch, which read: "'My Documents' may be located on a drive with bad sectors, either logical or physical. You can try formatting the entire hard drive. If the problem persists, you'll have to replace the hard drive. If you're worried about losing data during formatting, there's a temporary solution: move the 'My Documents' folder to another drive, or change the location where your editing software is saved. However, this is not a perfect solution."
Zhao Qiang wasn't actually incompetent; he was just new to things and didn't know where to begin analyzing them. Xiao Wei happened to help him, acting like a mentor. With these hints, Zhao Qiang could handle the rest. He told the young man, "Your hard drive has bad sectors. The bad sectors might be located in the sector where 'My Documents' is located, which is why you failed to save the file. I suggest you replace it with a new hard drive to avoid losing important data."
Zhao Qiang would never suggest formatting to try and fix it; that doesn't align with Wang Yidong's business philosophy. He also wants to learn the art of thick-skinned ruthlessness—make money wherever possible, exaggerate minor problems into major ones, otherwise, how can he be called a shrewd businessman?
The young man suddenly realized, "That's right. My documents are saved and read dozens or even hundreds of times a day. It's normal for bad sectors to appear after so many years. It's because of the bad sectors that I can't write data. It seems that this computer needs to be upgraded. Hehe, but we don't have the final say on the company's assets. Okay, give me a new hard drive. You don't need to install the system. I'll transfer the data to the new hard drive myself when I get back."
Zhao Qiang was happy to avoid doing it himself and said, "Okay, let's not talk about the repair fee. Just bring in a customer. A 500G serial hard drive with an invoice is 290."
Although the young man knew how to install operating systems, it was probably the kind of one-click Ghost version. He didn't know much about hardware, so he asked, "A 500GB SATA hard drive? Can my old machine support it? Do you have any smaller ones? I can't use such a large capacity."
Zhao Qiang opened Device Manager and said, "The entry-level hard drive is now 300G or more. Buying a 500G drive is the most cost-effective. Hehe, your host has an Intel 865 chipset, so don't worry, it should support a 500G hard drive without any problem. I'll give you a serial hard drive cable and a power adapter."
Seeing that Zhao Qiang's explanation was logical, the young man readily agreed, "Okay, issue the invoice for 340."
Zhao Qiang was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was going on. The young man said the computer was company property, which meant he was asking for kickbacks by issuing fake invoices. Damn, what kind of world is this? Everyone is getting more and more cunning, including himself.
The day passed quickly, and when Zhang Chunjiang arrived at work the next day, he was already listening to music in the repair shop. It seemed that he might not have really had a cold yesterday; this guy was inconsistent with his work, it was an old problem.
With a creak, the shop door was pushed open, and a woman at least 1.75 meters tall walked in. She was probably around 28 or 29 years old, mature and sexy, with an alluring face. She wore a pleated shirt, a black short skirt, purple stockings, and high heels. A fragrant breeze wafted as she passed by. Zhao Qiang stared at her, his eyes wide. She was beautiful and had the charm of a mature woman, something that the beauties at school couldn't compare to.
Ma Xiaohua stepped forward and said, "Hello, are you looking to buy a computer?"
The woman took off her shoulder bag and said, "I'm here to get my computer repaired. Could you please take a look at this netbook? There was a power outage at home last night, and I'm worried about what part of it burned out. I need to use it urgently."
Ma Xiaohua called out to the repair shop, "Engineer Zhang, come out for a moment."
Zhang Chunjiang said lazily, "What's all the fuss about so early in the morning? Can't you let people have some peace and quiet... Hehe, hello, you need your computer repaired, please come to the repair room." Zhang Chunjiang bowed and scraped as if he were changing faces, and invited the woman in. Zhao Qiang and Ma Xiaohua exchanged a glance and cursed, "Shameless."
"Xiao Zhao," Zhang Chunjiang suddenly called out, "get a laptop power adapter, 19V 1.58A, quick, quick, can't you see the customer is waiting?"
Ma Xiaohua found the corresponding adapter and handed it to Zhao Qiang, saying, "Zhang Chunjiang still has some ulterior motives. This woman is obviously not simple. His little bit of chaff is nothing compared to her!"
Zhao Qiang took the power adapter into the repair room. The woman sat on the chair with her body slightly tilted to one side, while Zhang Chunjiang was tinkering with the netbook with a big smile on his face.
(Third update, please vote!)
Volume 1 [032] Zhang Gong ran away in anger
Zhao Qiang handed over the power adapter, saying, "Zhang Gong, here you go."
Zhang Chunjiang said in an unusually gentle voice, "Zhao, you should learn from this. You've been with the company for so long, you should be able to do repairs independently by now. I think the problem is with the netbook's power system. Let's try replacing the power adapter first."
Zhang Chunjiang's masterful attitude reassured the woman; someone who could mentor an apprentice must be skilled enough. Although Zhao Qiang found the woman in the repair shop very attractive, with particularly full breasts—the type he fantasized about—he knew he shouldn't even think about her. So he obediently listened to Zhang Chunjiang's instructions.
Zhang Chunjiang plugged in the power adapter and tried to turn it on, but there was no response. He then removed the battery from the netbook and turned it on again. The power indicator light flashed, and the netbook screen lit up. This was all from experience. Zhao Qiang was studying it diligently on the side.
Zhang Chunjiang pointed proudly at the netbook and said, "See, it's that simple, the netbook's battery is broken."
The woman casually said, "Let's get a new one." She didn't even ask the price; it was obvious she was wealthy.
Zhang Chunjiang was certainly willing to rip off the beautiful woman, but the store simply didn't have that kind of stock. Firstly, batteries rarely failed, and secondly, netbook batteries never sold well, so they rarely kept stock to avoid inventory buildup. Zhang Chunjiang smiled apologetically and said, "I'm really sorry, we don't have any in stock. If you need them, you'll have to wait until the day after tomorrow. But in the meantime, you can plug them in and use them; it won't interfere with your work."
After a moment's thought, the woman agreed: "Okay, call me when the goods arrive. But why isn't the computer running yet?"
Zhang Chunjiang turned his head and saw that the screen was still stuck on the startup screen. He turned off the power and restarted it, but the problem persisted. So he restarted again and entered the BIOS settings to check the basic options. Zhang Chunjiang said, "Oh, it turns out the hard drive wasn't detected. It seems that the abnormal power supply in your house last night caused you a lot of damage. A power adapter and a battery. I don't think the hard drive has much of a chance of surviving."
The woman's expression changed: "How could this happen? Are the documents inside safe?"
Zhang Chunjiang said, "It's hard to say; we need to see the extent of the hard drive damage to determine."
The woman said urgently, "Then please help me take a look right away. You must save the data inside; it's extremely important to my company!"
Zhang Chunjiang picked up the netbook and looked at it, saying, "Generally speaking, for products still under warranty, we still recommend that you go to a repair shop, as this will provide better protection."
Zhang Chunjiang didn't not want to earn that money, but he was afraid that disassembling the casing without permission would void the warranty, and he would then be sued by the customer.
The woman glanced at her watch. "I bought this computer in Beijing. I don't know if there's a repair shop in Donghai City. Besides, I urgently need to access the data on the computer this morning. Could you take it apart for me?"
Zhang Chunjiang said, "Then I'll take it apart. I won't care if the manufacturer doesn't provide warranty service."
The woman said, "Take it apart. As long as we can get the data back from the hard drive, we don't need this laptop."
Zhang Chunjiang stretched out his hand and said, "Xiao Zhao, get the screwdriver and watch how I take this laptop apart."
Zhao Qiang had actually disassembled a laptop once before, and it was indeed much more complicated than a desktop computer. Today he could learn again. Zhao Qiang stared at Zhang Chunjiang without blinking. In fact, you don't need to open the case to remove the hard drive. There is a dedicated hard drive bay in the lower right corner of the back. Just unscrew the screws on it and remove the cover to see the hard drive. A burnt smell came out.
Zhang Chunjiang said regretfully, "The situation is not good. The hard drive is badly burned." As he spoke, Zhang Chunjiang pulled the hard drive out, and there was a small, black hole burned through the circuit board on the back. No one knew how this happened.
The woman's forehead was covered in a fine sweat: "What are the chances of it being repaired? Or maybe it doesn't need repair at all. Just copy the data out for me. I'll pay you, but you have to be quick. You have to get it done for me before 9:30."
Zhang Chunjiang said, "Let me try replacing the circuit board first. If we're lucky, this will be simple. If the hard drive is also burned out, I'm sorry, but to do professional-grade data recovery, you need to go to the provincial capital or Beijing, where you need special vacuum equipment. Donghai City doesn't have that kind of equipment."
The woman took out a tissue from her LV bag and gently wiped her forehead, pretending to be calm as she said, "Okay, thank you for your trouble, sir."
Zhang Chunjiang opened a drawer and found a broken laptop hard drive. He compared it to the one from the burnt-out netbook; the model matched, so the motherboard should be compatible. Zhang Chunjiang said to Zhao Qiang, who was standing next to him, "Zhao, bring me an Allen wrench!"
Zhao Qiang, as if attending to a surgeon, hurriedly grabbed a screwdriver from the workbench and handed it to Zhang Chunjiang. Disassembling a laptop hard drive motherboard wasn't a particularly technical task, and it was done quickly. Zhang Chunjiang plugged the laptop hard drive with the replaced circuit board into the serial hard drive cable and power cable, then plugged it into the repair machine and turned it on for testing.
The computer booted directly into the BIOS. The woman stood up and stood behind Zhao Qiang, her voice trembling slightly as she asked, "Master, how is it? Is it fixed?"
Zhao Qiang felt his ears getting hot, and his nose filled with a fragrant woman's scent. Zhang Chunjiang shook his head in disappointment: "The system self-check couldn't find the hard drive. It looks like we've failed. Your hard drive not only burned out the host, but also has major internal problems. It will be extremely difficult to repair the data inside, and even if it can be repaired, it will take time."
The woman stamped her foot anxiously and said, "But I can't wait any longer. Can you find a way to fix it for me right away? I'll give you ten thousand."
Ten thousand yuan! Zhang Chunjiang's eyelids twitched. That was equivalent to three or four months' salary, but the problem was he didn't have the ability to earn that kind of money. Zhang Chunjiang could only shake his head again: "Sorry, I really want to earn that money, but it's simply impossible."
"What should I do?..." the woman muttered to herself, her panicked expression a stark contrast to her composure when she entered, giving her a pitiful look. Coupled with the alluring charm of a mature woman, any man would be captivated by her.
Zhao Qiang couldn't help but say to Zhang Chunjiang, "Engineer Zhang, please help me think of a solution. I think this lady is in a hurry to use it. You know a lot of people in the repair industry in Donghai City. Why don't you help me contact other repair engineers?"
Zhang Chunjiang glared at Zhao Qiang and said, "Do you think you have a place to talk here? What do you know! If I say it can't be fixed, then no one in Donghai City can fix it. Do you doubt my skills, Master?!"
Zhao Qiang didn't expect Zhang Chunjiang to get angry over this, so he quickly explained, "No, no, Engineer Zhang, you misunderstood. How could I doubt your skills? I just saw that she was very anxious about the data inside, so we should help her as much as we can."
Zhang Chunjiang snorted coldly: "Hmph, overestimating yourself. Some things are beyond your ability to help with just because you want to!"
The woman, anxiously considering how to resolve the immediate crisis, didn't pay much attention to the conversation between Zhang Chunjiang and Zhao Qiang. Zhang Chunjiang lowered his voice and said to Zhao Qiang again, "You want to show off in front of a beautiful woman? Fine, I'll give you your chance. You fix it! Let's see how you embarrass yourself!" With that, Zhang Chunjiang abruptly left the repair shop, opened the door, and strode away!
Zhao Qiang looked embarrassed. Zhang Chunjiang was too arrogant; even Wang Yidong was starting to find him unbearable lately. Ma Xiaohua poked her head into the repair shop and asked, "What happened? Why did Zhang Chunjiang leave?"
Zhao Qiang shrugged: "He's angry. He sentenced this hard drive to death. When I told him to think of another way, he just quit."
Ma Xiaohua said, "Ignore him. Zhao Qiang, I have faith in you. You do the repairs, I believe in you!"
"This...?" Zhao Qiang hesitated for a moment, but his expression became a sign of hope in the eyes of the woman waiting for repairs. She grabbed Zhao Qiang's hand and said, "Master, you must help me. As long as you can copy the data out for me, you can name your price!"
Zhao Qiang considered for a moment and said, "Okay, I can give it a try, but could you go outside for a cup of tea first? I don't want to be disturbed while I'm doing the repairs."
The woman heard Zhang Chunjiang's assessment and guessed that other repair shops would give the same result. Sending it to the provincial capital or Beijing would be too late, so Zhao Qiang became her only hope. Naturally, she wouldn't stay and interfere with Zhao Qiang's work.
The door to the repair room was locked from the inside. Because of Zhang Chunjiang's objection, no surveillance cameras were installed in the repair room, so there was no fear of Wang Yidong discovering anything during his inspection. Zhao Qiang opened the laptop screen, and Xiao Wei was already waiting.
Zhao Qiang asked, "So? What's the chances of it being repaired? How much data can be recovered?"
Xiao Wei said, "As long as you allow me to use the store's power supply, repairing this hard drive is no problem, and the data will be 100% preserved."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Is it going to cause the whole company's power outages again, like when we modified the electronic watch?"
Xiao Wei chuckled and said, "We were in a rush that time, so the power output was a bit too high. We can fix it slowly this time. It's 8:30 now, and she wants the data by 9:30. An hour should be enough."
Zhao Qiang decisively said, "Okay, let's get started. She promised to give me 10,000 yuan for the repairs, so Mr. Wang should at least give me a thousand or two as a reward."
As Xiaowei ran the repair commands, she said, "Brother, you need to think long-term."
Zhao Qiang placed the burnt laptop hard drive next to Xiao Wei and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Xiao Wei said, "First, the 10,000 yuan repair fee will go into the company's account, and you probably won't get more than 20% of it, which is too much of a loss. Second, this woman is so generous and has such a good temperament, so she must be a person of status and position. Brother, you will be starting your own business in the future, and you will need to get to know all sorts of people. Now you have the opportunity to get to know a beautiful woman. You know what to do, right?"
Zhao Qiang nodded: "I understand. I didn't expect you to be so worldly-wise. With your adorable cat sister by my side, I'm not afraid to face the real world after graduation."
Xiao Wei was a little shy and even rolled her eyes at Zhao Qiang with her cat-like eyes. "Brother, why don't you sit down and rest? I'll let you know when it's fixed."
(We now have 41 recommendation votes, so this is an early update! Thank you all for your support.)
Volume 1 [033] I'll treat you to a midnight snack
Perhaps due to insufficient energy output, the laptop hard drive being repaired this time was not enveloped in white mist and rose into the air. If you don't look closely, you can hardly notice the layer of white mist swirling on its surface.
Zhao Qiang played a game of "Baohuang" on Zhang Chunjiang's repair computer for a while. At 9:10, Xiao Wei sent a message to Zhao Qiang via her smartwatch: "Brother, the hardware repair is successful. Come and take a look. It would be best to find a laptop hard drive enclosure and connect it to my system so I can verify the data's correctness. Because several sectors have been significantly modified, almost all the data on them is destroyed. I need to scan her entire disk before performing intelligent repair."
The laptop hard drive's main circuit board had been replaced with a new one. Xiao Wei's task was to repair the internal components of the hard drive, so it should be done in about forty minutes. Judging from the brightness of the desk lamp, the repair had hardly affected the stability of the shop's power supply. Zhao Qiang found the hard drive enclosure in Zhang Chunjiang's drawer, inserted the hard drive from the desk, and then connected it to his laptop via USB cable.
This time it took a very short time; in less than five minutes, Xiao Wei appeared on the screen with a big smile, "OK, brother, I've discovered a big secret, do you want to know?"
Zhao Qiang unplugged the USB cable, plugged the hard drive back into the netbook's hard drive bay, and then tightened the screws. "Big secret? Tell me quickly."
Xiao Wei suddenly disappeared from the screen. The laptop screen went dark for a moment, then a photo appeared on the screen. Zhao Qiang's face turned red and his hands trembled. He pressed the power button several times but failed. The person in the photo was a woman who came for repairs. If it were just an ordinary photo, it wouldn't be a problem, but the problem was that she was wearing a very revealing three-piece outfit, somewhat like the sexy lingerie that Japanese people like to wear. Her ample breasts were swollen and bulging. Zhao Qiang felt like he was going to vomit blood, and his genitals swelled up rapidly like a sponge absorbing water!
"Quick, turn it off!" Zhao Qiang roared, his eyes still darting nervously toward the door. Xiao Wei had already copied the photos into his laptop. This... this is the Y-photo scandal!
The screen lit up and the photo disappeared. Xiao Wei reappeared on the screen, tilting her cat head in confusion, and said, "Brother, don't you like looking at this? I found that men all like it online. Besides, this girl is prettier than those so-called beauties online. Is there something wrong with your aesthetic sense, brother?"
Zhao Qiang lowered his voice and said, "Even if I like it, I can't watch it here, understand?"
Xiao Wei chuckled, "I understand, brother. Don't worry, I've copied them all to our hard drive. These photos are at least several gigabytes in size, and there are even more revealing ones. I'll save them for you to enjoy later. But brother, don't misunderstand her. I've seen some documents on her computer. Her name is Liu Yiyi, and she's the general manager of Yiyi Fashion Apparel Co., Ltd. These clothes are all products of her company; she was just trying them on."