Xing Baohua had visited many times in her previous life, and this time she came again to take another look and maybe trade some things.

Seagate does a better job with hard drives. Even though IBM also makes them, they don't research them as thoroughly.

Actually, the quality and capacity were pretty much the same in this era; it's just that IBM was too diversified and didn't focus on it much in the later stages.

After meeting the Seagate manager and exchanging a few words, we began a factory tour.

Finally, they went to the office and sat down for a detailed discussion. Xing Baohua, representing Dami Technology, a computer manufacturer, needed a large number of hard drives.

Of course, there aren't even any catties left yet, but it's still beneficial to stock up early.

Seagate asked Xing Baohua how many hard drives he could order in a year. This guy spouted nonsense, saying he wanted 300,000 10MB/s hard drives and 100,000 20MB/s hard drives.

That's roughly ten million US dollars.

The Seagate manager was pleased and offered Xing Baohua the best price. A 10MB/s hard drive was already considered outdated at that time.

Nowadays, even the minimum configuration for a computer is over 20MB/s.

Furthermore, Xing Baohua also wanted to meet with Seagate's CEO, saying that there were still some projects to discuss.

Clients with tens of millions in assets should indeed be approached by higher-level personnel.

The supervisor then learned what the rice was for.

Xing Baohua deliberately introduced the matter, boasting and showing off, saying that they had a joint venture with Motorola in China to build a new factory to produce chips, etc.

People believed it because the story had been reported in the newspapers in America.

Motorola built a factory in China because of strategic needs in the global market. Many experts have analyzed this, saying that costs are lower and the market is larger there.

Tell the CEO the news, and by the way, tell him what Xing Baohua has developed. Even the grey market phone that the CEO uses is made by him.

The CEO's name is David. He's tall and thin. He looks like he's over 1.8 meters tall, but he's very thin.

He looked to be in his forties and was wearing black-rimmed glasses.

While drinking coffee in the CEO's office, they unexpectedly started chatting on their phones.

The reason is that David bought a grey market phone last year.

It works very well and is much more convenient than a motorcycle. The only downside is that the appearance is too ugly.

Well, having never seen a domestically produced version before, Xing Baohua had no choice but to take out his own phone to show the other party.

David immediately said it was beautiful.

"David, you said you could fit the hard drive in there, is that even possible?" Xing Baohua asked David, who was looking at his phone.

This involves a professional field.

David shook his head and said, "Xing, your phone is too small, unless it's as small as a Motorola phone. We can design an even smaller hard drive, but can your power supply system keep up?"

What they said is true; unless you carry a power cord, it won't last long. But if you carry a power source, then you lose portability and it's no longer a landline phone.

Xing Baohua nodded and said, "David, I'm here for three things. First, I want to place a large order for hard drives for use in the computer industry. Second, I want to customize micro hard drives for use in pagers and mobile phones. Third, I'd like to purchase one or two production lines. If you don't sell production lines, could you consider a joint venture with Motorola to build a factory in China, similar to what we've done with them?"

David thought for a moment and said, "The first point is no problem. We can supply as much as you need. The second point is that the price is not cheap because we also need to conduct research and development, and the research and development costs need to be passed on to the product. As you know, it takes a long time from experimentation to mass production."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the third point, it requires board approval, and I cannot give you an answer."

"I hope to hear your reply before I return to China, and I also hope to become a strategic partner with you. Actually, my partner, Manager Henry, recommended that I use IBM hard drives. I don't know why, but I prefer Seagate's quality."

Then the two of them burst into laughter.

This is a typical tactic of using the opponent to exert pressure.

You're not the only ones selling hard drives; there are several other companies to choose from.

David said he would give Xing Baohua a reply as soon as possible.

According to the American mindset, there's nothing in the world that can't be sold if you have money; the only thing you can't sell is if you don't have the right amount of money.

Aside from faction-related issues.

They're a very unreliable group of people. If you have a good relationship with them, they'll sell you anything; if you don't, they might not even pay you.

After leaving Seagate, Xing Baohua began his tour of Silicon Valley.

The first company is Intel; we must prepare for the supply of chips for high-end machines.

Even if someone offers you a high price, there's nothing you can do about it.

Intel's latest chip, developed last year, is what we commonly call the 386 chip. It was priced at nine hundred US dollars per chip when it was first released.

The price is extremely high; Xing Baohua estimates he won't be able to get it, at most it will be around 286.

However, compared to the 386, its performance is twice as bad; the 286 is a 16-bit chip, while the 386 is a 32-bit chip.

It had very strong computing power at the time.

Intel sends out chips at each stage of its product line. Sure enough, they won't supply the 386, citing insufficient production volume as the reason.

286 can be given in small quantities, but the price will be a bit higher.

It cost over seven hundred US dollars per piece, which was a third more than Xing Baohua had expected.

An order for 50,000 pieces.

Including other types of chips, Xing Baohua managed to purchase a total of 100,000 chips.

For the sake of money, Intel ruthlessly targeted Xing Baohua. Logically, the 286 shouldn't have been shipped, but the 486 they were developing was already nearing completion in the lab.

Given that generational gap, selling 286 to Xing Baohua was theoretically legal.

Besides, Xing Baohua didn't haggle over the price. This money is too easy to make, so why not sell it?

I'm mentally prepared to be ripped off, and it's normal to get scammed. My only fear is that the other party won't deliver the goods.

As long as the goods are delivered, the high-end computers will eventually be passed on to consumers. As we mentioned earlier, high-end computers are first sold overseas.

It's only comfortable to fleece foreigners.

After a preliminary agreement is reached, the subsequent ordering agreement and even the contract must be reviewed by both parties' lawyers, and only after there are no objections can they be signed.

Payment method, supply method, etc.

It was almost evening when Xing Baohua left Intel. He called Wozniak and asked him to come out for drinks.

The two grabbed a quick bite and then went to a small bar for drinks and conversation.

The founder of this big fruit is really casual; he doesn't care where he drinks.

Xing Baohua said to him, "Brother, my lab is almost finished. My next step is to sell computers. I already have samples."

As he spoke, Xing Baohua took out photos of his laptop and desktop computer from his briefcase and showed them to the other party.

"Wow! It's really beautiful. I bet even Lisa's looks better than yours. Apple's design designers should go eat shit," Wozniak exclaimed.