Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1188 Why are you asking such nonsense?

Xiao Wei turned his head and saw Xiu'er pointing to a strangely shaped black flat box. He didn't know it was the hottest portable computer at the moment, so he asked, "What's that?" and walked over.

Xiuer said, "Computers are so convenient. You can just close the case, pick it up, and go. Those old-fashioned ones are only good for sitting at home. They have the same function."

Xiao Wei was a little curious: "Is this a computer? Is it even big enough to work? What if I buy it and it doesn't work?"

Xiuer said, "This is the most advanced technology right now, you know? It's just that it's too expensive, hehe."

By 95, computer prices had started to drop. A desktop computer cost around seven or eight thousand yuan, while an imported one cost around fifteen thousand yuan. Compared to the previous two years when a computer cost thirty or forty thousand yuan, the price had dropped by more than half.

Moreover, the concept of a laptop already existed in 95, although it wasn't called a laptop yet; it was called a portable computer (box-type, the Japanese term), while Americans called it a handheld computer (laptop computer).

During this period, the laptop market was led by two major brands: IBM from the United States and Toshiba from Japan. Both claimed to be the world's number one. Even now, if you look at the history of these two brands, they still claim to be number one in many areas.

The product Xiuer was referring to was the IBM ThinkPad 755cd, released in 94. It was a true laptop computer, released more than half a year earlier than Toshiba's. However, Toshiba's machine was the first to use a dedicated laptop processor, so Xiuer considered herself to be the first.

To call this machine a true laptop means that it possessed all the functions and usage modes of later laptops, even though its memory and hard drive seem like a joke by today's standards. It also had a CD-ROM drive.

Where a hard drive is typically installed in a modern laptop, this was a CD-ROM drive, which was quite large, as computers at that time were at least five centimeters thick.

"Are you sure this is the same as that one? Functionally?" Xiaowei looked at the flat black box and then at the desktop computer sitting to the side.

Xiuer nodded firmly: "I'm sure, absolutely certain. That's what our teacher said."

Xiao Wei waved, and the salesperson glanced at him and walked over, looking somewhat impatient, and asked arrogantly, "What do you want to buy?"

In the early 90s, computer sellers were all very arrogant, or thought they were very arrogant. They looked down on everyone, and no matter who came in, they would look at them like they were looking at an idiot.

Xiao Wei pointed to the flat box, then to the desktop computer: "What's the difference between these two?"

The salesperson glanced at Xiaowei and said, "This one is expensive, that one is cheap."

Xiao Wei looked up at him: "Are you selling computers?"

The salesperson glanced at Xiaowei: "If I'm not you, then who are? Are you buying or not?"

Xiao Wei frowned: "How can you talk like that? Can't I ask questions before buying something?"

The salesperson's lips twitched: "If you're going to buy, then buy. Otherwise, why are you asking so many questions all day?"

The salesperson glanced at Xiaowei, then his gaze swept over Xiuer's face: "Don't block the way here. If you're not buying, hurry up and leave. You're just wasting time."

Xiao Wei looked him up and down a few times: "Call your boss over here."

The salesperson's face twitched: "Who are you? You think you can just come here whenever you want? If you're going to buy, pay up. If not, get out of here and stop causing trouble."

Xiuer said, "How dare you talk like that?"

Chen Hui walked over: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Wei asked the salesperson, "Are you looking for it?"

The salesperson didn't utter a sound, just raised his hand and waved it at them as if to shoo them away, then turned to leave. Xiao Wei reached for the laptop on the counter and slammed it down on the counter, shattering the glass with a loud crash.

The kid turned around and said, "What the hell? Are you crazy?" He reached out to grab it, but Xiao Wei took a step back and said, "Call the boss."

The girls were a little scared and huddled behind Xiuer, watching nervously.

Wang Jiwei, Hou Qiang, and the newcomer Zang Yuanwei sandwiched Xiao Wei in the middle, looking him up and down.

The salesperson tried to jump out, but the glass in front of him was broken and he couldn't grab onto it. There were also things blocking his way. He looked around, pointed at Xiaowei, and shouted, "Are you trying to steal it? Fuck you, put the computer down!"

Xiao Wei swung the laptop at the counter again, and with a loud bang, the glass, however, was quite sturdy and didn't break. Xiao Wei picked up the laptop again, and a voice next to him shouted, "Don't smash it! Don't smash it! What's wrong, buddy? What's wrong? What's wrong?"

A middle-aged man with a buzz cut and wearing a traditional Chinese overshirt ran out from inside, followed by two burly men.

"Ping Ge smashed our computer!" the salesman shouted to Ping Ge.

Several men also walked over from outside the counter.

Ping walked to the counter, looked at it, and then looked up at Xiao Wei: "What's up, buddy?"

Xiao Wei asked, "Are you the boss?"

Ping nodded: "Yes, you came here for me?"

Xiao Wei said, "Can't I ask or inquire about things I buy at your house?"

Ping glanced at the salesperson: "What? What's going on? Don't get excited, put the computer down. This thing costs tens of thousands of yuan. If it gets broken, you can't afford to repair it. It's all imported stuff." The men next to him came closer, but Wang Jiwei and Hou Qiang blocked them.

A crowd gathered to watch the spectacle, and some who witnessed the event pointed and commented, "This guy selling things is a scoundrel, but this young man has a terrible temper."

"Oh no, that's tens of thousands."

"These computer sellers are all snobbish and prejudiced; buying anything from them always leaves you frustrated."

"This young man is going to suffer a loss. In this business world, there's no such thing as being easy to deal with."

Xiaowei said, "I wanted to buy a computer, and I asked him what the difference was between this one and that desktop. He told me one was more expensive and the other was cheaper. Is this how you sell things? When I asked again, he just told me to pay up if I wanted to buy, and not to ask questions if I wasn't going to buy. He was just trying to shoo me away like a fly. Can you explain this to me?"

Ping looked at Wang Jiwei and Hou Qiang, then at the computer Xiao Wei was holding: "Which one do you want to buy?"

Xiao Wei said, "I just asked what the difference is between this and that desktop model. I don't understand what I'm buying or how to buy it. You don't even allow questions when you sell things, and you don't even explain the products to me?"

Ping licked his lips: "This is convenient to carry around. It's the latest model from the end of last year, made in the USA. It's the smallest machine on the market right now. In terms of performance, it's definitely a bit inferior to a desktop, since it's so small. But it has all the functions, so it's generally enough."

A desktop computer is definitely stronger than a laptop in terms of memory and processing power, but it's too big and can only be used in one place. That's the difference. A desktop costs 13,000, while this one you have costs 35,800.

Xiao Wei looked at the desktop computer, thought for a moment, and asked, "I don't understand this. Could you explain it in more detail? What are the specific differences?"

I'll be going out of town in a few days, so I'll be updating extra chapters for now to build up my drafts. I'm completely out of drafts. Extra chapters will be released irregularly. Please vote and support my new book!

(End of this chapter)