Xing Baohua didn't go to the train station but took several buses and arrived at the shore of Daming Lake. The surrounding area was full of houses, like a traditional courtyard house.
Ask around if there are any hotels or other accommodations nearby, and tell them to check around the West Gate area, where there are many.
The West Gate, the original western gate of the old provincial capital, used to have a gate tower, but it was demolished for urban development. West of the West Gate was what was traditionally called the commercial port, a place of great commercial prosperity.
There's a famous scenic spot near the West Gate, the First Spring Under Heaven. Xing Baohua wasn't really interested in visiting it, so she found a small inn on Furong Street in the middle of Quancheng Road.
Although it was unremarkable, it was packed.
It was getting late, so Xing Baohua wandered around looking for a place to stay. Luckily, a hotel employee told him there were more than a dozen places to stay on this street, but they were all quite expensive. If he thought that was too pricey, he could go to the air-raid shelter hotel near Nanmen Bridge. It only cost two yuan a night.
Just hearing the price, Xing Baohua would never go.
After inquiring at seven or eight guesthouses and hostels, Xing Baohua found them all fully booked. This puzzled him; it wasn't peak tourist season, so why were they all full?
I learned that the two highest provincial authorities were right next door, and cities and counties with better conditions had their own independent offices, while those with poorer conditions just rented guesthouses and hotels.
Left with no other option, Xing Baohua took the letter of introduction and found a hotel to stay in. The hotel was near Nanmen Bridge, and thankfully, it had rooms available, but the price? One night's stay cost more than a month's salary for an average person.
He settled in, but this caused Zhang Xuebao a lot of trouble. The guy was glued to the ticket hall, not even eating dinner, just staring at it, afraid of missing anything.
The provincial computer company's meeting was also quite lively.
The discussion was still about that learning machine; those in higher positions were more aware of the higher-ups' intentions. They knew that Deng Xiaoping's words weren't meant to be ignored, but rather that the available resources were insufficient to develop an entry-level computer.
They've actually fallen into a misconception. Computers are expensive, and the cost can't be reduced, preventing many educational institutions from widespread adoption.
The school relies on funding from higher authorities, and many teachers and staff are already struggling to receive their salaries, so it's unrealistic to invest in more expensive computers.
With this inexpensive learning machine, things are different. Schools and other institutions can grit their teeth and buy dozens of units for their students to use. That's the market potential.
The R&D department wanted to see the blueprints again, but they were gone. The head of R&D was so angry he slammed his fist on the table, and no supervisor dared to utter a sound.
Although there are no pictures, one fact remains: the audit department does not make mistakes in budgeting.
During the meeting, someone raised a question: with such low costs, could it be a counterfeit product, all show and no substance?
That makes sense. What's the difference between a computer learning machine and a computer?
Researchers who have seen the design drawings say that the structure is similar to that of a computer, except for important components such as IC management chips and CPUs. The other electronic components and voltage regulators are similar to those of boards from earlier years, and it even has a bit of the style of Apple LL.
Since someone says it's a good thing, why don't we take it? We can talk to the person after we find them.
As for the 1,000 yuan bonus, could it be increased?
Zhang Xuebao didn't return to the company until almost 9 p.m. The meeting was still going on, and he didn't know what they were discussing that took so long.
"Engineer Zhang, tell me about your friend's background." Zhang Xuebao has the title of engineer, but his administrative rank is not high. In the eyes of this group of leaders, he is still considered a middle-level employee.
So Zhang Xuebao started talking about how he met Xing Baohua, emphasizing that Xing Baohua was a talented person. He said that the continuous ink supply system they used before was invented by this guy.
Upon hearing this, the head of the R&D department remembered that it was he who had made the decision to award a bonus of two hundred.
"He's a real talent! How about we transfer him from a lower-level position and give him a promotion? He'd be ecstatic," someone suggested.
Zhang Xuebao replied, "I tried to persuade him to come to the company, but he was always unwilling."
"Why? We're all contributing to the revolution, it doesn't matter where we are! Here's what we'll do, you go to central Shandong in the next couple of days and tell him about the situation. When he comes to the company, we'll raise his rank by half a level, but his benefits will be one level higher. As for housing, have the logistics department check if there are any vacant rooms and give him a single room." The senior administrative leader spoke up.
They're trying to pull Xing Baohua over here to be their slave! Whatever you research and develop, it belongs to the state.
Xing Baohua had never worked within the system and was completely unaware of its intricacies. A promotion of half a rank at his age was considered exceptional, referring to administrative rank. Even setting aside whether Xing Baohua had one in the factory, anyone working in a government agency would have a rank even without one.
If there's no official rank, a half-rank promotion would make you a deputy section chief, which is only slightly higher than a low-level clerk.
Anyone who isn't a fool would choose either the factory manager of a village-run enterprise or a low-level cadre with an administrative rank.
What the leaders here didn't know was that Xing Baohua's rank was also quite high. He was the workshop director of the Luzhong City Machinery Factory, a section-level cadre. A proper promotion of half a rank would have brought him to deputy section chief.
Zhang Xuebao has only reached the level of a section chief after so many years. Of course, this level isn't much in a provincial-level public institution, but for a young man under 20, it's a topic of much discussion and has aroused jealousy.
Finally, the top leader made the decision: Zhang Xuebao and one administrative staff member would first go to central Shandong to have a good talk with Xing Baohua and clarify the terms of their employment.
In their eyes, it was already a stroke of luck for the other party to upgrade the product to a higher level, and they didn't take the matter seriously at all.
Xing Baohua stayed up very late at night, actually thinking about the possibility of OEM board manufacturing, since there were very few OEM companies at that time, and most companies were developing their own products.
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