Chapter 56: One Must Leave Others a Way Out
Though he thought otherwise, Shou refused to admit how impressive Qin Hongfei’s computer was, his expression cold and indifferent as he muttered, “It’s just average.”
Tang Jinnan, well aware of his friend’s prideful nature, didn’t expose him. He simply added, “The market price is between twenty to thirty thousand.” And there would be people scrambling to get one, for nowadays, it was normal for computers to take over a minute just to boot up.
Qin Hongfei’s eyes brightened a little. She had some understanding of the current electronics market, though not fully. The price Tang Xiaojin quoted gave her a clear idea.
A fortune was within reach.
“So, what do you think, Uncle? Don’t just stay silent—are we partners or not?” Qin Hongfei thought it over. If her uncle refused, she’d have to find someone else, though honestly, she wasn’t sure if others would be as trustworthy.
Summer Shangxu’s feelings were rather complicated. “Did you really assemble this yourself? Don’t lie to me.”
He still doubted her?
Qin Hongfei was a little exasperated, but quickly decided to prove it to him. She shut down the computer, unplugged it, and then had Qin Yun and Summer Shangxu help her disassemble the parts. Then, piece by piece, she put it all back together herself—system installed, everything restored perfectly.
Now, even if Summer Shangxu wanted to doubt her, he couldn’t. His cousin truly knew how to assemble a computer. If that was the case, his eyes lit up, “How much did it cost you to put this together?”
Qin Hongfei replied, “Someone else didn’t want it anymore and sold it to me for fifteen hundred. I replaced some parts for another three hundred and fifty! Altogether, it was eighteen hundred. I heard from the seller that the original price was over ten thousand, but the configuration was very basic. If I use second-hand parts and assemble it myself, the performance could be even better than this one.”
Even better than this?
Tang Jinnan looked at her in surprise.
Was it true?
Maybe it was…
After all, the Summer family was truly poor—they couldn’t afford a new computer or brand-new parts. But if she wasn’t lying, then this sister of Qin Yan…
Shou kept a straight face. So what if the performance was good? It’s only average, nothing special! If this little girl could assemble it, so could that other guy!
The others’ attention was elsewhere.
Summer Shangxu’s focus was, “Eighteen hundred and fifty? Is he still selling?”
You’re not lying to me, are you?
You really aren’t lying, right?
This computer only cost eighteen hundred and fifty—what kind of fool would sell it for that!
Take me to him, I’ll buy a dozen for five thousand!
Qin Hongfei glanced at him, her gaze tinged with helplessness. Summer Shangxu gave a sheepish laugh, realizing it wasn’t realistic. Still, he was truly shocked! To assemble such a computer for only eighteen hundred and fifty—if you put it up for sale, it would easily fetch twenty thousand. That was a huge profit. But he wasn’t stupid; not everyone would sell their old computers, and it wasn’t so easy to collect second-hand parts. Even so, with a budget of five thousand, it was more than enough.
Buy up second-hand parts. For five thousand, you could build a computer like this, and sell it for fifteen thousand more.
“In that case, why bother opening an internet café? Why not just sell computers?” Summer Shangxu couldn’t help but say.
“No.” Qin Hongfei rejected the idea. Seeing the puzzled looks of the others, she calmly explained, “We have to leave others a way to make a living.”
If this batch of computers flooded the market, they could certainly be sold at a high price, and it wouldn’t affect the ordinary market.
But the internet was just emerging. If a group of high-performance computers suddenly appeared, it could easily shatter the confidence of hardworking computer engineers. If years of diligent research couldn’t keep up with someone’s casually assembled machine, it would be a heavy blow. Besides, Qin Hongfei’s skills came from the future—they couldn’t be made public, nor could she share them too freely. If it affected the development of the internet and society in the future, it would go against her original intentions.