Back to the prime of life

Chapter 130 All Elements Are Complete
At the end of February 2008, Lu Changge began searching the Chinese Internet and found a piece of news that was not very eye-catching: Apple officially released the iPhone OS software development kit SDK.

The so-called SDK is the full name of Software Development Kit, and its Chinese name is translated as software development kit.

This SDK can only be run on the latest MAC OS systems with Intel processors. Other Microsoft systems or older versions of MAC OS systems are not compatible.

In other words, he had to spend money to buy Apple computers, and he couldn't develop it all by himself, so he had to buy two more.

Lu Changge took this matter very seriously. He even went to find Chi Yongsheng and expressed his intention to buy a computer.

Teacher Chi did not expect that his student was so enthusiastic. Mac computers are rare among students due to their high prices, and even teachers do not use them much. But now he wants to buy four at a time.

Teacher Chi advised, "Why don't you wait a little longer until you've mastered Xcode and other tools, and have gained more confidence in developing iPhone OS apps? Then it won't be too late to buy it. If you're doing this now, it's more than just learning; it's clearly entrepreneurship. I'm not saying you'll give up halfway, but many students try this, then give up and start something else. By then, you'll have wasted all your money."

Lu Changge nodded and said, "Teacher Chi, I am indeed starting a business. I also rented a garage, so I have space for storage. I feel that constantly learning and memorizing these concepts is too inefficient, including tools like Xcode. I feel that it might be faster to learn directly in that system environment."

Chi Yongsheng had already discussed this issue with him before the Chinese New Year.

At that time, and even now, he still only regarded Lu Changge as a student.

But at this moment, the idea in his heart was a little shaken: maybe they really are determined.

"Then buy them. How many are you going to buy?"

"Four. Because of the limited space in the garage, we can only buy four right now. Then I'll have to trouble Teacher Chi to move to the main campus to teach us. I'd also like to increase the frequency of the classes. Of course, the labor fee and other expenses are no problem. I'll pay for everything, including the computers and the rent."

At this point, things were gradually beyond Chi Yongsheng's understanding. "What exactly are you going to do?"

Lu Changge said, "We're developing products, specifically smartphone-based applications. My intuition tells me that the iPhone will usher in a new era of the internet, with phones becoming increasingly powerful. However, in the past, all applications were tailored for PCs. There's definitely opportunity here."

“But the iPhone hasn’t even entered the country yet.”

"I know. I believe it will enter the market soon. The iPhone is selling so well overseas now, and our domestic market is flooded with foreign-brand phones. There's no reason why such a product wouldn't enter the domestic market. Once it enters the domestic market, there will definitely be cheap copycat smartphones entering the low-end market."

Chi Yongsheng is also considered an "insider" and he fully understands Lu Changge's thinking.

Following this line of thought, the software adapted for this type of smartphone is still in a blank stage, and the Internet is a winner-takes-all situation. Once the right software is found, the number of users will grow exponentially.

No, no, he shook his head.

This kind of thinking assumes that everything will go smoothly. In reality, does an iPhone really have such great power that it can easily revolutionize the mobile phone market?
What if the speed is slow and there are not enough users? Who will use the software that has been developed with so much money and effort?

Chi Yongsheng felt that Lu Changge was a bit radical, but he was spending his own money to let him come here to take classes, and he was also making money, so for him there was not only no risk, but also a profit.

Just sacrificing your own time.

But deep down in his heart, he also had some complicated feelings, what if the other party succeeded?

After thinking it over, he replied, "Okay, I promise. It doesn't matter where I take the classes, they're all on campus anyway. As long as I don't have classes, I can go, including Saturdays and Sundays."

Lu Changge was delighted. It seemed that spending some money and making some determination were useful.

Come to think of it, otherwise why would people believe what a sophomore like you is doing.

"Okay, thank you Teacher Chi!"

"No need." After Lu Changge left the office, Chi Yongsheng called his wife.

The extra income and free time will be taken up, which will directly affect family life. Of course, I have to tell my wife about it.

Her wife is also a teacher, but a high school math teacher.

She had seen Lu Changge before. This student had come to her home, but she didn't understand what was going on.

After returning home that night, she asked a few more questions and finally figured out a few ideas. "So, your student wants to make this a career?"

Chi Yongsheng nodded, "Yes, I promised them that Saturdays and Sundays are also available. So I will definitely be busy this year."

"One class costs hundreds of dollars. Are you sure you can do it?"

"Of course I have no problem teaching them. I've developed usable Apple OS software before. But to achieve the kind of hit software he's talking about, I still need some technical support."

His wife immediately grew concerned when she heard him say that. "If that's the case, then I think you'd better forget it. They're risking their entire fortunes and spending money recklessly on this. It's nothing like a student failing a course because they didn't learn well. At this rate, your tuition fees would be over 100,000 or even 200,000 yuan. That's enough to hire several full-time technical experts."

Chi Yongsheng was stunned. "I didn't think so... I just kept hearing him say that, and thought it was pretty much the same pattern as before."

"No, you have to think like this. Even if he doesn't realize it now, he'll get used to it as he spends money. What if he finds out you're still a half-witted person? This is prone to conflict, and if it gets out of hand, it'll be tough on everyone. You can't do this."

Why not...

But Chi Yongsheng felt it was a pity, because to be honest, the pie that Lu Changge painted for him was really tempting.

"Well, let me renegotiate the tuition fee with him and give him a reasonable amount."

Mrs. Chi continued, "What's a reasonable number? Didn't you say you'd put all your free time into it in the future? Anything less wouldn't be worth it."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"I don't understand what you're thinking."

After saying this, Chi Yongsheng found it difficult to refute. Husband and wife understand each other best. After all this, he felt itchy in his heart and wanted to do more than just teach.

Now his wife found out.

In the bedroom, the two people lying on the bed were silent for several minutes.

Finally, Chi Yongsheng said slowly, "I think it's an opportunity, and I don't have to take any risks."

After he finished speaking, the room returned to silence.

On the other side, Lu Changge acted quickly. It was just buying a computer, and there was no special direct-sale store in Jiangzhou, so he asked Zuo Shuya to buy it in Shanghai, as she was also coming over.

By March 3, tables, chairs and benches started to be put into the garage he had rented.

Hui Chuankun didn't know what Lu Changge was going to do yet, but he saw that after the tables were moved in, Apple computers were also moved in one by one, and there were workers installing the network. Everything was done in an orderly manner.

Lu Changge half-jokingly said to him, "College students, a garage, and a few computers, don't you think you have all the ingredients for starting a business?"

(End of this chapter)