After finalizing the details of the agreement, Feng Yu called Fu Guangzheng to ask him to look for a location near to the Jinling branch factory to build a battery factory.
As usual, Fu Guangzheng invested some money for a 10% stake in the battery factory. He also arranged for the management staffs, and Tai Hua Trading will hire the staffs for the finance department.
Feng Yu made a call to Kirilenko and ordered a few battery production lines. He does not care whether if the production lines were used or brand new, as long as they were cheaper than the ones from Europe and US. China still does not have such advanced production lines. Overall, China’s industrial level was still below averagepared to the rest of the world.
It was almost the end of February, and Feng Yu returned to Beijing. Li Na and the rest will return to Beijing a few dayster. Feng Yu went to Zhongguancun to buy aputer.
Although there was still no good operating system now, the VCD will beunched soon. Feng Yu’s target was to use CD-ROM to rece floppy disk. He needs to look at the currentputers had reached what standards and if it could use CD-ROM.
At a small shop, Feng Yu saw a few CRT monitors and someputer parts on disy. A dirty looking man saw Feng Yu and warmly greet him: “Brother, what are you looking for? We have the most advanced 486puters with internal storage of 8M, 3.5in floppy disk driver, most advanced video card, 420M hard disk, 14-inch CRT monitor, DOS system. You will not regret buying it!”
What? Feng Yu was shocked. Luckily, he was here to look around first. If he wasn’t here, he still does not know how backward theputers were in this era.
This was considered the most advanced? The CPU, internal storage, etc. could not evenpare to a handphone in the future years. Hard disk space of 420M? Can it even store an HD movie?
The shop owner had rmended thisputer proudly. Were these specs really the best?
“Boss, do you have anything that’s better?”
“These are the best secs avable. The Government had also bought theseputers. Which unit are you from and how many do you need? If you are buying a lot, I can give you some 3.5in floppy disk drive as free gifts.”
The shop owner had thought that Feng Yu was purchasingputers for his unit. Buying a personalputer? Stop kidding. Why would anyone buy aputer? Computers were too expensive and other than units, who would spend money to buy? Also, how many people know how to useputers?
In this era, all the elites in China who had received a higher education were mostly working in the government agencies or state-owned enterprises units. There was only a handful that started their own business. Maybe there might be more in the coastal regions but not a lot in Beijing.
How much did one 486puters cost? 12,000 RMB! The current average annual sry was not even 1,600 RMB. Who would buy such an expensive item for personal use? It must be purchased for the units.
Even if it was purchasing for the units, it was different from the future years, where the shop owners will ask how many dozens or hundreds ofputers. If one unit could afford two or moreputers, it will be considered a big unit. Many units do not even have oneputer.
The units in this era were only equipped with phone lines, fax, photocopier machines, and typewriters! Even scanners were rare.
In this era, theputers were still pre-assembled Monoblockputers. There was no such thing as self-assembledputers. The CPU was still ced horizontally below the monitor.
“Brother? Are you buying? Which unit are you from and how many do you need? Come on, speak up.” The shop owner was getting anxious.
There were not a lot of shops sellingputers, and the shop owner must cherish every customer. The money he earned from selling oneputer would be more than working for one year!
The series of questions from the shop owner woke Feng Yu from his daydream.
“What brands do you have?”
“We have IBM, DELL, Lenovo……”
“Wait, you have Lenovoputers?” Feng Yu heard Lenovo and immediately interrupted the shop owner.
Feng Yu remembered that Lenovo was set up in the 1980s and started from manufacturing Chinesenguage card. It was in the 1990s when they ventured into the personalputers industry. He did not know that Lenovo had its ownputers now.
Feng Yu rubbed his chin. He thought if he could recruit Liu Chuanzhi and the rest from Lenovo. Lenovo had not undergone restructuring and was still a subsidiary of a research facility. Liu Chuanzhi and the rest should still be getting sries.
They should have other thoughts when thepany was making so much money, and they do not have a share. But if Feng Yu were to poach them over, he will have to set up a research facility for them. This would be a considerable investment.
“Brother, do you want to buy Lenovoputer?” The shop owner pointed to aputer and asked.
“How much is thisputer?” Feng Yu pointed to the Lenovoputer and asked.
“Are you buying one unit?”
“One unit is enough.”
The shop owner was slightly disappointed: “I will give you a discount. 11,800 RMB. Do you need a receipt?”
Feng Yu smiled and said: “10,000 RMB!”
The shop owner jumped: “10,000 RMB? Impossible! This is thetest model. You can ask around in Zhongguancun. No shops are selling this cheap. The lowest I can go is 11,500 RMB!”
Feng Yu: “10,000 RMB!”
“Are you a serious buyer? This is aputer and not a game console. This is not the way to bargain. I had already offered you a discount, and you should not insist on the price.”
“I only have 10,000 RMB, and I am not buying for any unit. I am buying on behalf of my boss.”
“How about 11,000 RMB? I can write you a 12,000 RMB receipt. You can bring the receipt back and im from your boss.” The shop owner moved closer and said softly. He does not believe that Feng Yu only had 10,000 with him. He thinks that Feng Yu had said this to bargain with him.
Feng Yu looked at the shop owner speechlessly. Nowadays shop could write receipts this way? It was a pity that he was buying theputer for himself. No matter what amount was written on the receipt, he still has to pay.
“10,000 RMB. Not a single cent more. If you are not selling, I will go to other shops. You had said that you are not the only one selling thisputer in Zhongguancun. If you do not want to sell, other shops will be willing.”
“eh, brother, don’t go. Let’s discuss. How about 10,800 RMB? This is an auspicious number.” The shop owner pulled Feng Yu back.
Feng Yu looked at the shop owner without any expression: “10,000RMB!”
The shop owner was going crazy. This was the type of customer he was afraid of. Only insist on a specific price and refuse to bargain. Could it be that this kid knew what his cost price was? Domestic producedputers were much cheaper than imported ones. If he sells this unit for 10,000 RMB, he would still make a few hundred RMB of profits. But his shop rarely has any customers. Sometimes, he might be able to sell one or twoputers in a month. His rent was high and had invested a lot in theseputers. He had even sold his house to set up this shop!
Feng Yu was clear that importedputers would cost about 12,000 RMB, but localputers should be much cheaper. It does not need to pay so much taxes. Lenovo had only bought some parts and assembled it together, making it its own product. Other than the outer casing and the Chinesenguage card inside, the rest were not manufactured by them.
That was the reason why Feng Yu thinks that 10,000 RMB was a reasonable price. The shop owner would still be able to make some profits.
“Fine, fine, fine. I am scared of you. 10,000 RMB and the receipt will also be 10,000 RMB!”
“Okay. Write the receipt.”
Trantor notes: Zhongguancun is a technology hub in Haidian District, Beijing, China. It is very well known in China, and is often referred to as "China''s Silicon Valley". There are five prominent IT and electronics markets. They are technology bazaars, famous for their "shops with a shop", where prices are easily but grudgingly bargained. Zhongguancun shops mainly deal in PCpatible hardware, peripherals, and software.