Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 28: Buying a Server

“Xiao Hao… what did you just say…?” Mrs. Zhang stared at Wang Hao in utter disbelief. Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan both stared blankly at Wang Hao. “I was immature back then, Dad, Mom… thank you both.” Wang Hao’s face took on a rare look of shyness at that moment, though he realized that, just as Lan Wei had said, speaking up wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined. Over the past four years, he had always kept in mind how his parents had taken care of him. In fact, for his sake, they hadn’t gone on a vacation in years; whenever they had free time, they would come over to spend time with him. He knew from Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan that in the past, they usually chose to go on trips during summer and winter breaks. But for the past four years, they had hardly gone anywhere at all. The only exception was a few days ago, when they went to see Jinggang Peak. So, seeing Mr. Zhang’s unreserved support, he could no longer hold back and blurted out the words he had kept bottled up for four years. “All right, Xiao Nan, go get a case of beer for me. Today’s a happy occasion…” Mr. Zhang said cheerfully. “All right. For Wang Hao’s sake, I won’t stop you from drinking today,” Zhang’s mother said, her face beaming with excitement. Wang Hao, however, felt a twinge of guilt. Four years… It was only today, thanks to their tolerance and understanding, that he was finally able to get past this hurdle. “I’ll go… I’ll be right back.” He didn’t usually drink, so there wasn’t any alcohol in the house. After saying that, he opened the door and headed downstairs. There was a convenience store right downstairs, and with the sweltering heat, there wasn’t a single one that didn’t sell beer. He quickly carried a case upstairs, his incredible physical prowess on full display once again. Mr. Zhang hadn’t bothered with lunch, and neither had Wang Hao. The college entrance exams were over; he only needed to go to school in three days to fill out his college application. After about thirty sips, it was time to stop. Wang Hao had accompanied Mr. Zhang in drinking three bottles of beer; he felt perfectly fine, while Mr. Zhang was already a bit tipsy. They stopped drinking and started chatting instead. “Wang Hao, would you like me to buy you an apartment in Gancheng?” Mr. Zhang said after pausing for a moment. “No need. If the drone goes into production, sales shouldn’t be bad. If I want to buy one later, it won’t be too late then.” Wang Hao shook his head decisively upon hearing this. He was going off to college; although he wanted to build a career in Gancheng, it probably wouldn’t be practical in the short term—leaving the place unattended wasn’t suitable for storing his servers. After all, he was going to attend Yan’da University, and he would certainly have to take Longnao with him to Yanjing. This place wasn’t suitable for storing Longnao, so buying a house here would be completely pointless for him. “You’re right. I almost forgot that you’re a potential millionaire yourself.” Mr. Zhang paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile. He’d completely forgotten that the other man was already a potential millionaire. As long as the drones were promoted effectively, sales were sure to be strong. After lunch, Wang Hao took Zhang’s father and the other three out. After meeting up with Fang Bing and his son, they headed to the factory, which was located on the outskirts of Gancheng. Since land was cheap there, it was the best option for them, given their limited funds. Although two million might seem like a lot, they soon realized it was practically nothing once they started spending it. Following Wang Hao’s advice, the vast majority of the funds went toward purchasing raw materials, leaving very little left over for hiring employees. The drone parts were all readily available off-the-shelf; there was no need to manufacture them. They simply had to assemble the parts one by one. Although this approach was costly, the investment was minimal—and it was Wang Hao’s suggestion to proceed this way first. Once they had recouped their funds, they would then consider producing some parts within their capabilities. So in the early stages, they had no intention of hiring anyone at all. It was entirely Fang’s parents, plus Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan—who were asked by Zhang’s father to gain some practical experience—all of whom worked for free. After returning, Wang Hao taught Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan how to assemble the drones, while Zhang’s parents, seeing how their three children were managing, stepped back and went off to enjoy some time together as a couple. Meanwhile, the bonuses from Wang Hao’s school and the Education Bureau had already been deposited into his account. With this massive sum of money—more than he’d ever possessed before—he took Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan to Computer City. Wang Hao wanted to buy a server to help Longnao move, and the three of them didn’t skimp—they hailed a taxi and headed straight to Computer City. Computer City in Gancheng was nowhere near as bustling as those in the neighboring provinces of Yangcheng and Shenzhen City; it looked quite deserted. Wang Hao, however, didn’t seem particularly surprised, as he had been here before when he was working on drones. Many salespeople noticed Wang Hao and his two companions enter, but most of the staff at the individual stalls paid them little attention—some continued chatting among themselves, while others attended to customers they deemed likely to make a purchase. Wang Hao walked straight to a large stall—a Lenovo flagship store. When the salespeople inside spotted him, they all turned to a petite young woman and said with smiles “Li Qin, that VIP you served last time is here.” “Hello, welcome back. What would you like to know about this time?” Li Qin was a salesperson at this computer store; the last time Wang Hao had visited, he’d come to inquire about server prices. So when he returned to Computer City, he didn’t stop by other server vendors to inquire; instead, he headed straight here. The last time he’d visited, many people—seeing how young he was—had been reluctant to take him seriously, assuming he was just a curious kid who couldn’t possibly afford servers costing anywhere from ten thousand to over a hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand. “Sister Qin, last time you mentioned there was a high-end IBM rack-mounted server here that wasn’t selling?” Wang Hao said, getting straight to the point as soon as he walked in; he’d heard her mention it during his previous visit to inquire about server prices. “Yes, there is. You don’t really want it, do you?” A look of surprise flashed across Li Qin’s face, as she already had a hunch that he might actually be interested in that very server. “I do. How much is the top-of-the-line model?” Wang Hao nodded slightly and asked. “The top-of-the-line model, fully loaded, comes to nearly 200,000. Do you… have that much money to spend?” Li Qin asked in a low voice, trying to save Wang Hao any embarrassment. “Let’s go with the top-of-the-line model. Can I take it home today?” Wang Hao nodded slightly. Originally, he’d planned to set up a server cluster, but since he was heading to Yanjing, a server cluster would have to be installed in Gancheng and couldn’t be moved. He had no choice but to settle for the next best option: buying the best server he could afford to run Longnao. Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan both exchanged surprised glances at Wang Hao. They knew he had a hefty sum of 250,000, but they hadn’t expected him to be willing to splurge it all here. Still, they didn’t try to dissuade him—they’d seen firsthand just how skilled Wang Hao was with computers.