If there are eight computers, Zhao Qiang currently has two CDs and two USB drives, which means he can optimize four machines simultaneously. Each machine takes more than half an hour, so it will take more than an hour. Zhao Qiang then said to Luo Xiaowei, "Junior Sister Luo, it will probably take quite a while. If you have anything to do, I'll call you when I'm done here."
Luo Xiaowei waved her hand and picked up a book from the back seat: "I'll read while I wait for you. I'll read at home too, so it won't bother me." Why didn't Luo Xiaowei get out of the car? Because she was afraid Wang Yidong would recognize her. She had once paid a high price to buy surveillance videos from Wang Yidong, and she thought Zhao Qiang was unaware of this. In order not to affect her relationship with Zhao Qiang, she couldn't meet with Wang Yidong. If Zhao Qiang got angry and broke up his cooperation with her cousin, then she would be in big trouble.
Zhao Qiang could only say, "I'll get out as soon as possible."
When Wang Yidong joined Home Inns Computer Company, the new technician was named Wu Hongguang. He was a young man in his early twenties who had graduated from a vocational school. His skills were even worse than Zhao Qiang's. However, Wang Yidong couldn't hire any good technicians in such a short time, so he could only let Wu Hongguang learn through practice.
Ma Xiaohua greeted him warmly, "President Zhao is here." She knew that Zhao Qiang was running his own business, but she didn't know the scale of his Shunfeng Technology Company. Everyone privately thought it was a dormitory-sized place with a repair table.
Zhao Qiang didn't see Wang Yidong, so he asked, "Is President Wang not here?"
Ma Xiaohua said, "He went to get three more computers. He brought them to the company so it would be easier for you to optimize them. Otherwise, it would be a hassle for you to go to the customer's house. The other five are in the repair room. Go in and take a look."
Before the optimization of the five computers was even finished, Wang Yidong returned by taxi. Zhao Qiang and the other two came out to help him unload three of the mainframes. Wang Yidong looked at the Ford sedan parked at the door with a puzzled expression: "Who's that? Is it a client's car?"
Ma Xiaohua said, "It was driven by Mr. Zhao when he came. It must be his friend's."
Zhao Qiang said, "It's my classmate. I'm going to her house to fix her computer in a bit."
Ma Xiaohua chuckled: "Female classmate, right? Is she the one who said she was coming to work last time? She has her own car and still works. Rich girls these days are really hard to understand." The car's windshield was tinted with one-way glass, so you couldn't see the person inside from the outside.
Wu Hongguang said to Zhao Qiang, "Engineer Zhao, I really admire you. You learn so quickly and well, and you've already started your own business in such a short time. You're really capable. Haha, and you also have a rich and beautiful girlfriend. I wish I could be like you someday."
Zhao Qiang was taken aback: "When did I get a girlfriend?"
Wu Hongguang pointed to the Ford sedan and said, "Isn't that her? I saw her from the store when you got out of the car and opened the door. She's really beautiful and very gentle. She even has her own car. You're so lucky."
Wang Yidong patted Wu Hongguang on the shoulder: "Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Learn from President Zhao in the future. By the way, Xiao Zhao, did you know about the lock factory in Donghai City going bankrupt?"
As Zhao Qiang plugged the computer he had brought back into the monitor and began optimizing it, he said, "The lock factory is going bankrupt? I don't even know where my chain factory is. Heh, I rarely pay attention to national affairs."
Wang Yidong said, "This is not a major national event. The reason I mentioned it to you is because they are dealing with the computer consumables that were sealed off today. I bought a batch of old computers from the municipal government last time, so we don't need them for the time being. You're new to this industry, so you might find them useful. I heard there are a few brand new Core 2 Duo machines, and at least a few AMD machines of the same level. I think there are also two laptops. If the price is right, you can go and take a look."
Zhao Qiang was overjoyed to hear this. Last night, Xiao Wei had talked to him about collecting discarded electronic products. Since only a small scrap of the black box remained, future modifications would require purchasing raw materials. However, some raw materials were expensive, and some might be unavailable even if one had the money. The lack of sufficient raw material channels would seriously hinder Zhao Qiang's development. Later, Xiao Wei mentioned that discarded electronic products could replace the raw materials needed for its modification, although the required quantity would be larger. However, considering the low price of discarded electronic products, it should be cheaper and more convenient than purchasing raw materials.
Thinking of this, Zhao Qiang asked anxiously, "President Wang, is it too late for me to go now?"
Wang Yidong checked the time: "There's still time. The official bidding starts at 10 o'clock, and it's only a little past 8:30 now."
Zhao Qiang felt relieved. "Okay, I'll go check it out after I finish optimizing these computers. Tell me the address."
Wang Yidong said, "Okay, but you need to prepare cash. There's no such thing as credit."
Zhao Qiang frowned slightly; what he lacked right now was cash. "Mr. Wang, approximately how much money do you need?"
Wang Yidong said, "I heard that the starting price is 8,000, and the highest bid will not exceed 15,000. In addition to the high-end computers I mentioned, there are a bunch of old Celeron 2 and Pentium 3 machines. Although they are not valuable, their hard drives should all be 20G. There are also some early Pentium 4 and Celeron 4 machines. These models may have 40G hard drives. You know, the most valuable part of an old machine is the hard drive. Add to that the scrap circuit boards and cases, and you can sell them for scrap metal. You can still get between 15,000 and 20,000. If you take parts for repair, the profit will be much higher. It is possible to get more than 30,000. Hehe, for example, a 128M SD memory stick is bought as junk for one yuan. If we repair and sell it, it will be worth at least 20 to 30 yuan. This alone has a 20-fold profit margin."
It didn't matter how much he sold it for; Zhao Qiang didn't intend to make money by collecting junk. He just wanted to prepare some raw materials for Xiao Wei's renovation. Zhao Qiang currently had a little over 14,000 yuan in cash, which he estimated should be enough to buy that pile of junk.
As they were talking, the remaining four machines were also optimized. One of them had a broken graphics card, which caused the screen to distort after optimization. Wang Yidong didn't mind and went to the repair shop to find an old graphics card to replace it for free. They were all taken from old machines and weren't worth much. The money he made from optimizing the system was enough to make up for dozens of times the loss. After finishing the work, Zhao Qiang hurriedly took eight hundred yuan and got into Luo Xiaowei's car. Only then did he realize that he had forgotten to explain to Luo Xiaowei beforehand.
Zhao Qiang slapped his forehead in frustration, "Look at the things I arranged..."
Luo Xiaowei didn't start the car right away. She put the book back on the back seat and asked Zhao Qiang, "What's wrong?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I just heard from Mr. Wang of Home Inns Computer Company that the lock factory in Donghai City went bankrupt, and they have a batch of sealed computers to clear out. They'll be auctioning them off at 10 a.m. I'm planning to go take a look. What about you...?"
Luo Xiaowei smiled easily: "I thought it was something serious. I don't have class today, it's Saturday. I'll go with you. We can go to my house to fix your computer later."
Zhao Qiang chuckled awkwardly, "I feel bad making you run around so early in the morning."
Luo Xiaowei laughed and said, "Don't be so polite with me." Then she started the car. "Besides, you don't even know where the lock factory is, do you?"
Zhao Qiang nodded, blushing, and finally said, "Thank you, Junior Sister Luo. After I finish dealing with things here, I'll optimize all the computers in your house for free."
Luo Xiaowei stopped refusing and just chuckled, "Okay, just don't regret it later."
(An extra chapter added, please vote! I'll catch up later ^_^ Also, thanks to 363909517514 and CoffeeTeaSichuan for their generous donations!)
Volume 1 [061] Auction
Donghai City Lock Factory was once a provincial-level outstanding enterprise, but it failed in the restructuring process. The current leaders only cared about making money for themselves, which led to the lock factory's business declining year by year. In the end, it became insolvent and its capital chain broke, resulting in its closure.
The land of the old state-owned factory was originally worth a lot of money, but the location of the lock factory has not been developed in recent years, so no one is interested in it. The government can only auction off the lock factory's equipment little by little to make up for the shortfall.
There were already six or seven people in front of the warehouse. Zhao Qiang got out of the car and saw his former colleague Zhang Chunjiang. However, this time he was not with Qian Gang, but a young man in his early twenties who looked somewhat like Qian Gang. He was probably Xiao Qian, Zhang Chunjiang's current small boss.
With an attitude of observation, Luo Xiaowei also got off the car. It was indeed not an easy thing to read a book alone in the car. Zhao Qiang walked in front and Luo Xiaowei followed behind. The buyers who had already arrived all looked at Luo Xiaowei behind Zhao Qiang because she was too beautiful.
Zhang Chunjiang sneered at Zhao Qiang, who was walking over, and said, "What, you couldn't vent your frustrations at the tire factory, so you came here to find balance?"
Zhao Qiang said to Zhang Chunjiang, "Engineer Zhang, we don't have any grudge against each other, so why are you targeting me?"
Zhang Chunjiang took two steps forward and lowered his voice to Zhao Qiang's ear, saying, "So what if I don't like you? Let me tell you, you're not going to buy a single data cable this time! If you don't let me have an easy time, I won't let you have an easy time either!"
Zhao Qiang sighed. The days when they repaired things together, drank and ate together were gone forever. Why do people's thoughts have to be so complicated?
Zhao Qiang ignored Zhang Chunjiang, squeezed the cash he had just withdrawn from the ATM on the street, and added the 800 yuan Wang Yidong had given him that morning for computer optimization, totaling 15,200 yuan.
With a clang, the warehouse door was pushed open, and a well-dressed man walked out accompanied by the custodian. Seeing the large crowd, he nodded with satisfaction to the buyers present: "First of all, I welcome everyone to come and bid. I have already checked the quantity of the warehouse and estimated the reserve price. Now you can go in and take a look, and then bid."
Everyone present was a boss, including Zhao Qiang, who was the legal representative of Shunfeng Technology Company with a registered capital of two million. They politely declined each other's presence as they entered the warehouse, which was extremely dark. However, the darkness did not affect Zhao Qiang much. Zhao Qiang himself was also very surprised. Had his eyesight improved recently?
The bald boss at the front said, "Two DELL laptops, good brand, but unfortunately we can't turn them on to test them. The maximum I can pay for one is 800 yuan."
A shop owner in a white shirt pointed to a pile of assembled computer cases and said, "Why are lock factories still buying assembled computers? Although the outer casing of the cases isn't old, who can be sure what's inside? How are we supposed to price them?"
A shopkeeper in a T-shirt said to the man who had spoken earlier, "Director Wang, if you won't let us turn it on for testing, you should at least let us open the case and take a look. Otherwise, how can we estimate the price?"
Director Wang considered for two seconds and could only nod. These IT elites were not easy to fool. Who would dare to buy this pile of junk if they weren't shown the general configuration?
Someone carrying a screwdriver quickly pried open the computer case. Upon seeing the internal components, they were met with a collective gasp. What a terrible setup! The motherboards were small, taking up less than a third of the case's space. The RAM was also a no-name brand. Even worse, the optical drive was refurbished, with only a layer of bright white paint on the outside. It might fool others, but it couldn't fool these old foxes.
Why did the lock factory go bankrupt? Now these people understand it much better.
"Six thousand," one boss stated the value. "I'll only offer six thousand at most. If you offer more than that, I'll leave immediately."
Zhang Chunjiang whispered a few words in Xiao Qian's ear. Xiao Qian nodded, and then he said to the boss who had just spoken, "You can leave now. I'll offer 10,000. Anyone else who isn't going to bid, leave immediately."
Ten thousand? Several bosses cursed the small amount of money under their breath, then left dejectedly. They came to make money, not to argue with people.
There were four other bidders on the field: the man in the white shirt, the bald man, Xiao Qian, and Zhao Qiang. Although the goods didn't look very good, there was still a profit to be made. It all depended on how they were used. There were nearly two hundred of them on the field, and they would be worth a lot of money even if they were sold as scrap metal.
The bald man cautiously stated his price: "I'll offer ten thousand five hundred."
The man in the white shirt chuckled and said, "I'll offer twelve thousand yuan."
The bald man cursed, "Are you crazy?" and left the warehouse.
Director Wang, who was in charge of the bidding, was very happy. Selling more money would also show that he had strong work ability and would be praised by his superiors in the future. He waved to the remaining three people and said, "There are still three bosses left. How much will you bid?"
Xiao Qian glanced at Zhao Qiang disdainfully and quoted the price again: "Fifteen thousand yuan!"
Zhao Qiang gasped. This must have reached the total value Wang Yidong had estimated. Although there was profit to be made from dismantling parts, where were they going to find so many old machines for replacement and repair? Whoever bought them might end up with a worthless machine. Of course, this wasn't a big deal for Zhao Qiang, because he needed the raw materials from these broken computers and wasn't worried about being stuck with them. But the asking price was almost exceeding the total amount of money in his pocket. What was he going to do?
The man in the white shirt shook his head and left the venue. Director Wang said to Zhao Qiang with some excitement, "This young boss with his beautiful secretary, aren't you going to buy it? There are plenty of good machines inside. You can make ten or twenty thousand yuan selling them as used computers."
Zhao Qiang hesitated. If he bid again, he would only have a 200 yuan increase, because that was all his assets. After thinking for a moment, Zhao Qiang said to the person in charge, "Could you allow me to make a phone call first?"
This wasn't a formal auction, so the person in charge naturally hoped that Zhao Qiang would stay and try to drive the price up with Boss Qian. So they agreed. Zhao Qiang dialed a number for Xu Xiaoya as he left the warehouse, since he couldn't find anyone else to borrow money from.
"Hey, squad leader, where are you? Do you have any cash on hand?"
"Cash? What do you need cash for? I've already stocked up on all the company's goods."
Zhao Qiang said, "Because you've tied up all your cash in inventory, I'm in a very passive position now. The lock factory has a batch of old computers that I want to buy, but I don't have enough money. Do you have any cash on hand that you can lend me? Can you come over right away? I need it urgently."
Xu Xiaoya was puzzled: "Zhao Qiang, why are you buying an old computer? We're not a junk-collecting company."
Zhao Qiang certainly couldn't explain that it was for Xiao Wei's modification and use; he could only say, "Why do you care what I say? Just tell me if I have money or not."
Xu Xiaoya denied it immediately: "No, I'm really not lying to you. I used all my savings to pay your electricity bill. I even paid for my own gas these past two days while I was out doing business. You have to reimburse me when I make some money."
Damn it! Zhao Qiang angrily hung up the phone. He hadn't even borrowed the money, and he was supposed to reimburse her.
Xiao Qian and Director Wang also left the warehouse. Since they had already seen what the computer looked like, there was no need to torture their eyes in such a dark place. Luo Xiaowei had followed Zhao Qiang out earlier. She had overheard Zhao Qiang's phone call, returned to the car to get her bag, and by then Xiao Qian had already come to Zhao Qiang's side with a smug look on her face.
"Zhao Qiang, right? I heard you have a pretty good optimization software. Sell it to me. Our Xinhua Computer Company is the largest IT company in Donghai City. I will never let you suffer a loss. As long as you are willing to sell that software, I will give you this pile of junk for free."
Zhao Qiang ignored the small amount of money and said to Director Wang, "I'll pay 15,200."
Director Wang finally got to bid, and although it was only an increase of two hundred yuan, it was a good sign. He happily said to Xiao Qian, "Boss Qian, it's your turn."
Xiao Qian waved his hand decisively: "Sixteen thousand yuan."
Director Wang beamed with joy, then turned to Zhao Qiang and said, "Boss Zhao Qiang, it's your turn. Don't back out at the last minute!"
Zhao Qiang's face turned red. He wanted to bid, but he had no cash on hand. Even if he was allowed to write checks, he had nothing to write! Damn it, what should he do?
Volume 1 [062] Ambush
Suddenly, Luo Xiaowei walked up to Zhao Qiang and opened her handbag a crack. Zhao Qiang looked inside in confusion and found two thick stacks of RMB, which should be a stack of 10,000 yuan each.
Zhao Qiang asked in a low voice, "Why are you carrying so much cash?"
Luo Xiaowei said, "Never mind, just consider it my cousin's first sale payment to you. You can bid with confidence."
Zhao Qiang thought about it and realized it made sense. He had given the software to Hu Qian, and she hadn't even asked for a deposit or anything. His cousin really knew how to handle people. This wasn't considered taking advantage of a woman, so Zhao Qiang had no qualms about it. He confidently told Director Wang, "I'll offer 18,000!" He was afraid that if he didn't offer something substantial, she would try to rip him off.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Qian, without batting an eye, loudly shouted out the price: "Twenty thousand!"
Director Wang was excited. "Twenty thousand! Boss Qian has offered twenty thousand! Boss Zhao, what about you? Don't let him intimidate you with his momentum!"
Zhang Chunjiang, hands in his pockets, craned his neck and said to Zhao Qiang, "Zhao Qiang, what are you pretending for, you poor student? Even if you borrowed money, can you turn this pile of stuff back into money? You're obviously clueless."
Zhang Chunjiang disliked Zhao Qiang, and Zhao Qiang disliked Zhang Chunjiang's demeanor even more. He said to Director Wang, "Twenty-three thousand!"
Director Wang's face turned bright red, looking like a monkey's bottom. He turned to Xiao Qian and said, "Boss Qian, the other party has offered 23,000. Aren't you going to haggle?"
Xiao Qian was a little uneasy this time. He glared at Zhao Qiang and gritted his teeth, saying, "Twenty-five thousand!" Zhang Chunjiang cheered from the side and provocatively said to Zhao Qiang, "Hold on, I'll make you vomit blood."
Zhao Qiang was really going all out with Zhang Chunjiang at this point, and without thinking, he raised the price: "Twenty-seven thousand!"
Xiao Qian whispered to Zhang Chunjiang, "Didn't you say he didn't have much capital? He just made a little money by optimizing systems for others, but his willingness to pay is no less than mine."
Zhang Chunjiang smiled and said to Xiao Qian, "Yes, he was just a young apprentice working part-time a few days ago. Where would he get so much money? You saw it just now, it was that woman who lent him the money. He's just putting on a brave face even when he's down on his luck."
Xiao Qian then asked, "So how much profit do you think we can make from this batch of computers? I don't want to buy a pile of junk and get scolded by my dad."
Zhang Chunjiang said, "Actually, these computers are not worth much at all. At most, we can buy them for 10,000 yuan and dispose of them as electronic waste."