Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 388 - 389: Opening an Internet Café

Chapter 388: Chapter 389: Opening an Internet Café

"An hour costs two, three, four yuan, and there are morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. However, no matter which one it is, it’s just the merchants’ way to make money.

But at that time, a computer was indeed very expensive, costing about 10 to 20 thousand each. Initially, at least 50 computers would be necessary, which would be a total of over 500 thousand. Qin Xiangnuan only had about a hundred thousand in her hands, which was nowhere near enough.

So, in order to save costs, she planned to build two more floors on top of her family’s Siheyuan; this way, she wouldn’t have to pay rent. The geographical location of the Siheyuan was good, situated right among several universities. As long as the construction was completed, and the rear wall was knocked down, it would create a storefront facing the street. The rent, to put it bluntly, was a significant chunk. Although it seems small now, each month it would increase a bit. The larger the rented area and the more square meters, the more expensive the rent. Plus, once an internet cafe is opened, it cannot be casually relocated, and one’s own place is immovable.

She had crunched the numbers, and the internet fees were quite expensive at the time, three yuan an hour, sometimes even five. This industry indeed had huge profit margins. Catching the early market meant big investments, but it also allowed for earning while investing and even speculating in Capital City’s real estate market.

In fact, people also said, if you could afford to open an internet cafe, why not start another business? But Qin Xiangnuan was set on this path, mainly for her brother to get in touch with these things sooner. It’s said that his school was recruiting people to stay on as faculty. Those who stayed must be outstanding. Her brother had two more years until graduation. If he became a soldier skilled in high technology, he would be among the top in the army. Then her brother could stay at school and wouldn’t have to serve elsewhere, away from home for years. Given Granny Lu’s advanced age, she could hardly bear to be without her son.

She did another calculation: one computer making three yuan an hour for 20 hours a day would bring in 60 yuan. Ten machines would make 600, and fifty, 3000 yuan. What about in a month? Initially, she didn’t plan to use brand new computers. She wanted to wrangle a batch of used ones, costing about 4000 yuan each. So, a month down the line, minus the costs, she’d rather not say too much, but conservatively, she could make one hundred thousand yuan. If this wasn’t outrageous profit, what was? As for internet cables and such, their location had the perfect conditions because the telecommunications office was not far away. Even though internet access was expensive, the earnings were high too.

Qin Xiangnuan explained all this to Jian Zhiqing, who, despite not knowing exactly what was going on in Qin Xiangnuan’s head, was genuinely taken aback by such huge profit margins.

He didn’t think much of it. Qin Xiangnuan loved to be busy; let her be. The girl was too stubborn; once she decided on something, not even ten bulls could pull her back. So, her internet cafe was bound to open.

"Let’s do this..." he pondered, "Don’t mess with your family’s backyard. My Siheyuan is bigger than this one and has a quite large backyard, with even better geographical conditions, closer to the telecommunications office. Just build there. Don’t worry about the formalities; I’ll handle them."

"As for the money..." He tapped the table lightly with his finger. The table was slightly thick, and the sound it produced was heavy and solid.

"I have over a hundred thousand there; I’ll give it all to you. If it’s not enough, I’ll figure something else out, maybe take out a loan from the bank."

Qin Xiangnuan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

"What’s wrong, got an idea?" Jian Zhiqing chuckled as he watched Qin Xiangnuan’s suddenly widened eyes.

"No, nothing," Qin Xiangnuan finally gritted her teeth. This man usually cried poor, but it turned out he had such substantial savings, and at home, she also had eighty thousand, and Granny Lu had quite a bit too. It seemed she could only first take some from Granny Lu. It was best not to take out a loan if she could avoid it. She disliked the idea of being in debt; she dreaded the thought of waking up every day to the memory of owing money.

Now that both the funds and location were set, the next step was staffing.

"So, have you thought of staff?" he asked. "We’re all computer illiterate after all."

"Yes, I’ve thought of it," Qin Xiangnuan had indeed considered this, and not just for a day or two.

"Brother Jian, do you know some soldiers who were discharged due to injuries?" She was fond of the soldiers of that era—honest, straightforward. The internet cafe didn’t need particularly handsome or beautiful staff, just some knowledge in electronics, which could be acquired through training in a month. The staff didn’t need to be good-looking or smart. Even those with disabilities, missing a leg for instance, would be okay. She needed staff and wanted to provide an income opportunity for these disabled soldiers.

Jian Zhiqing was stunned for a moment, then reached out to rub the top of Qin Xiangnuan’s head.

With Jian Zhiqing taking charge, the paperwork was processed quickly. From the business license to the renovation of the backyard in Jian Zhiqing’s Siheyuan, the courtyard walls were strengthened, the original enclosure was demolished, and a two-story building was constructed—all designed like a large hall. As many partitions were omitted, the construction was surprisingly quick.

Qin Xiangnuan brought out her own eighty thousand yuan, Granny Lu contributed fifty thousand, and Qin Xiangyang also took out his saved twenty thousand yuan. Jian Zhiqing put in one hundred and fifty thousand. All in all, they had just reached three hundred thousand. Jian Zhiqing’s connections were really formidable; somehow, he managed to import around sixty second-hand computers from abroad. Though they were used, they were in good shape and not expensive, around four thousand each.

He also found several disabled soldiers: two had been injured by bombs, with problems in their legs, one had a broken arm that hadn’t healed well, precluding him from military service or heavy labor. There were several others with various disabilities, the most severe of whom now relied on crutches, having lost both legs. This man, named Tian Qiang, walked with the aid of crutches, and his cheerful smile showing white teeth was endearing. Wounded and disabled soldiers, indeed. Qin Xiangnuan found none of them unacceptable.

"Brother, go with soldier Tian Qiang and the others."

When Qin Xiangnuan found the time, she asked Qin Xiangyang to visit home and take a leave from school to go learn about computers.

Qin Xiangyang felt a sense of kinship, perhaps because they were all soldiers. He thought these people, each constrained in their movements, needed care. Now, he was the only one available from home. Without hesitation, he took half a month’s leave from school and went with the disabled veterans to a Southern city to learn about computers.

At that time, there wasn’t much to learn about computers; after all, they didn’t have as many uses as they would in the future. It involved some basic software, hardware, network cabling, as well as typing. These people not only needed to assemble computers, but also learn how to repair them, troubleshoot issues, and provide basic typing instruction."

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