Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 677 XP Speed ​​Edition
It took several employees a lot of effort to finally persuade their boss.

Compared to the glamorous headquarters of those tech giants, their awesome online company was just a small workshop crammed into an old office building.

The office was small, crammed with a dozen or so people, the air filled with the sounds of voices, keyboard clicks, and most annoyingly, computer fans.

Fifteen computers, their fans are like fighter jets, making a fuss that makes your scalp crawl.

Luo Yonghao stared at his computer screen, which was practically an antique, his dark, chubby face clouded with worry, his brows furrowed into a tight knot.

The cursor on the screen blinked reluctantly. He had just finished typing a passionate blog post and was about to insert a picture when, after clicking the upload button, the entire interface froze as if under a spell.

"Move it, you fucking move it!" Luo Yonghao cursed under his breath, slamming his hand on the keyboard. The dust on the keyboard was shaken up and made visible in the dim light filtering through the blinds.

This is not an isolated incident, but rather a common occurrence in the offices of NiuBai.com.

The fifteen computers were almost all old models that had been salvaged from several years ago, with outdated Pentium 3 CPUs and a paltry 256MB of RAM.

Running the original Windows XP system is already difficult enough, but opening a web page editor, image processing software, and a dozen or so research websites at the same time turns the entire system into a large-scale slideshow.

Lag, delay, unresponsiveness.

At this moment, employee Xiao Wang walked up behind Luo Yonghao with a water cup, glanced at his unresponsive screen, sighed with a sense of sympathy, and said, "Teacher Luo, why don't you have a glass of water and wait a bit? It'll be fine after a while."

"Lag? Is this what you call lagging?" Luo Yonghao suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide open, and roared, "This is fucking a system crash! It's the operating system giving me a life-or-death interrogation!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, waving his thick arms and saying, "I've really had enough! I'm writing a rant, and it always gets stuck at the most emotional part of my writing. Who even bought this piece of junk?"

"Teacher Luo, isn't this the place you moved from New Oriental School?" Xiao Wang reminded him, "I also think we should upgrade it."

"Upgrade? Where will we get the money to upgrade? Hardware prices are skyrocketing." Luo Yonghao couldn't help but snort.

After saying that, Luo Yonghao kicked the computer case.

"Teacher Luo, please don't be like this!" Xiao Wang quickly said, "You don't need to get angry with the machine!"

"Not angry? Look at this!" Luo Yonghao pointed at the screen and said angrily, "How can I not be angry? All my inspiration has been blocked. The efficiency is outrageously low. Are we making content or practicing patience?"

While comforting him, Xiao Wang's mind raced. He suddenly remembered the advertising flyer he saw at the subway entrance that morning and quickly said, "Teacher Luo, please calm down. I heard this morning that Microsoft seems to have launched a speed-up version of XP specifically for older computers. It's said to be factory optimized to eliminate lag and give older computers a new lease on life. They're having a promotion right now, with a free two-year trial. Why don't we give it a try?"

"Microsoft? Lite?" Luo Yonghao looked at Xiao Wang suspiciously and snorted, "What can you expect from Microsoft products other than their classic blue screen error messages? Lite? How much faster can it be? If you ask me, we should just install that Momo system."

"This Dell computer is not optimized for the Momo system, so it can't be installed," Xiao Wang said quickly.

"These capitalists are disgusting, disgusting!" Luo Yonghao cursed for a while, looking at the computer in front of him that was still deep in thought, and then at the other colleagues in the office who were also struggling in PPT mode. A feeling of giving up surged up.

Let's try anything, even if it's a hopeless situation. How bad can things get?

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's give it a try. Go and find out where you can install this 'speed version'. If it's still like this after you install it, I'll curse Microsoft too."

“There’s a Samsung authorized service center in the core area of ​​Zhongguancun that also promotes and installs Microsoft XP Speed ​​Edition. Why don’t we try going there?” Xiao Wang said.

"Okay, let's set off now!" Luo Yonghao slammed his hand on the table and then asked, "It won't cost any money, right?"

"I said it would be free," Xiao Wang replied.

"That's fine. Even if the experience isn't great, it's acceptable if it's free." Luo Yonghao nodded in satisfaction.

Soon, Luo Yonghao called over a small truck and directed several employees to carefully carry the fifteen bulky mainframes from the office downstairs and load them onto the truck.

"Be gentle, be gentle, don't break the hard drive." Luo Yonghao nervously instructed from the side. These days, the most vulnerable thing for computers is the hard drive. If it is bumped, all the data on the hard drive will be lost.

In less than ten minutes, the truck arrived at the Samsung service center. The storefront looked quite professional, with a striking blue and white logo.

The place was bustling with people, many of whom were individual customers bringing their computers for repair or upgrades.

A huge XP Speed ​​Edition promotional poster was plastered on the wall, with the words "Say goodbye to lag, factory optimization, and two years free" prominently displayed.

Upon seeing the car stop, a young salesman wearing a polo shirt with the joint Samsung and Microsoft logo immediately approached with a professional and enthusiastic smile, saying, "Gentlemen, are you here to install the high-speed version of the system?"

"Yes, that's it, fifteen units." Luo Yonghao pointed to the pile of computers that had just been moved down by the door.

"You've come to the right place," the salesman said with a smile. "Our XP Speed ​​Edition has been meticulously tuned by a team of experts at Microsoft headquarters. It's specifically designed to fix the lag, slowness, and latency issues on all kinds of older computers. After installation, it's guaranteed to make your computer run like lightning. Plus, it's officially licensed, so it's safe and stable..."

"Alright, alright, enough with the nonsense, let's get this installed." Luo Yonghao impatiently interrupted the salesman's boasting.

"Okay." The salesperson immediately called the technician over to check the machines, and then took out a form to fill out.

As he filled out the form, he asked, "Boss, is this the company computer?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Luo Yonghao was taken aback.

"Oh, if it's for corporate users, we'll charge a system environment setup fee," the salesperson said with a smile that remained unchanged and a natural tone.

"Service fee? Doesn't your poster say free installation?" Luo Yonghao frowned again.

"Yes, installation is free for individual users, but it's charged for enterprise users," the salesperson explained, pointing to a line of small print on the order form. "We need to ensure driver compatibility and stability for each computer, which is a lot of work. It costs 100 yuan per computer, and 1500 yuan for fifteen computers."

"One hundred yuan a unit? Why don't you just rob us?" Luo Yonghao almost jumped up.

1,500 yuan is not a small amount for Niubai.com, which is currently facing a tight cash flow.

"Boss, you can't say that." The salesman maintained his smile, but his tone became firmer. "We are an authorized service center, providing professional service. If you don't want to, you can find somewhere to install it yourself, but we won't be responsible for after-sales service if the system is unstable or the drivers have problems. Besides, moving fifteen computers around is a hassle, isn't it?"

“Okay, then ask me that same question again, the one I used when filling out the form,” Luo Yonghao said. The salesperson paused slightly, then instinctively asked, “Is this a company computer?”

Luo Yonghao pointed to one of the computers and said, "This is the company computer, the others are not."

"???" The salesperson was stunned.

Can you still play like this?
He couldn't help but say, "Boss, you can't do this."

“What did I do wrong?” Luo Yonghao said, “If you had just stated that it was a corporate charge, I wouldn’t have charged you a penny less. But you’ve raised the price at the last minute. If we only have one company computer and you’re not willing to install it, then we’ll switch to another company. Once we switch to another company, it will all be personal computers.”

The salesperson paused for a few seconds, then said, "Let's move it in and take a look."

Several technicians immediately came over and moved the computer onto the table.

They turned on the 15 computers one by one. After a while, a technician said, "These are all Dell office computers, and they run office software. We can't treat them as personal users. We also need to install this software for you, so we have to charge 100 yuan per computer."

“Then we’ll go to another store.” Luo Yonghao had never been treated like this before, and he got up to move the computer.

The salesperson seemed to have known Luo Yonghao would do this, and couldn't help but laugh and say, "Boss, it's the same even if you switch to another store. It's easy to distinguish between personal computers and corporate computers, and we just entered the machine code of your corporate computer, which can be found in other stores as well."

"Isn't this just being shameless?" Luo Yonghao's face darkened.

"Boss, we'll reinstall your office software for you. It's only 100 yuan per unit, which is very cheap," the salesperson said with a smile.

Luo Yonghao frowned and said, "Then let's install one first and test it."

"Sure," the salesperson said with a professional smile. "However, there's a 30 yuan setup fee for each unit. Our technician just turned on and checked each of your computers."

"???" Luo Yonghao was so angry at the salesperson that he laughed.

The salesperson had a knowing smile on his face, which made Luo Yonghao so angry that he pretended to slap himself, but was stopped by the two employees who accompanied him.

Xiao Wang said, "Teacher Luo, let them pretend. We're already here."

Looking at the pile of machines, and recalling the sluggish work environment in the office, a sense of powerlessness welled up inside Luo Yonghao.

He gritted his teeth and finally gave in, saying, "Show it off! Then hurry up and show it off! I want to see just how fast this 100-yuan high-speed version can go."

After waiting for several hours, Luo Yonghao was restless in the service center, watching the technicians work.

Finally, all fifteen computers were upgraded.

The salesperson handed over the order with a beaming smile, saying, "Boss, all done. If you have any questions later, feel free to contact us."

Luo Yonghao, his face dark with disgust, paid the bill as if he'd swallowed a fly, then directed his employees to load the pile of computers onto the truck and take them back to the company.

He reconnected and turned on the computer.

The familiar Windows startup screen flashed by, and the desktop did seem to load a little faster?

Luo Yonghao and his employees held their breath, filled with anticipation.

Luo Yonghao couldn't wait to open his usual web page editing software and then clicked on a few more web pages.

At first, it did seem a bit smoother than before, and the mouse movement was less sluggish.

"It seems a bit too fast?" Xiao Wang said cautiously.

Luo Yonghao didn't speak, but tried to quickly type a piece of text into the editor.

After typing a few dozen words, he habitually pressed save...

Then, the familiar scene appeared again.

The editor interface turned gray, and the hourglass cursor, a symbol of utter despair, appeared in the center of the screen.

He spun and jumped, then closed his eyes in anger.

"I'll f*** you!!!" Luo Yonghao's pent-up anger exploded instantly. He jumped up from his chair and swung his arm around.

"Slap!!!" A slap that was even louder than the one in the office landed on his face, the sound echoing throughout the entire office, making all the employees shudder in fright.

"Lite version? Lite my ass!" He pointed at the computer, trembling with rage, and said, "Is there any difference between this and the previous one? Huh? It's still laggy! It still crashes! I spent 1,500 yuan just for a faster boot screen? These liars! Let's go back to them and get our money back!"

Fueled by anger at being deceived and determined to get an explanation, Luo Yonghao once again instructed his employees to load the fifteen computer mainframes back onto the familiar small truck.

Throughout the journey, Luo Yonghao remained silent, his face ashen, creating an oppressive atmosphere in the car.

He kept replaying the salesman's boastful face and the 1,500 yuan in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, to the point that his hands were itching with anger.

As soon as the truck stopped in front of the Samsung service center, Luo Yonghao was the first to jump out and storm into the Samsung service center in a rage.

The salesperson was still there, explaining something to another customer. When he saw Luo Yonghao return and the employees behind him starting to move computers again, a hint of annoyance flashed across his face, but it was quickly covered by a professional smile.

"Boss, why are you back again? Is there something you don't understand about the system?" The salesperson greeted him with feigned concern.

"Don't understand? I understand perfectly!" Luo Yonghao suppressed his anger and pointed at the computer that had just been moved in, saying, "This speed version of yours is practically useless. It still freezes when it's supposed to. Give me a refund right now, uninstall this lousy system, and restore the original system."

The salesperson's smile faded slightly, but his tone remained professional as he said, "Boss, you're not quite right. Our system installation was successful. It booted up and entered the desktop, and all functions were normal. There were no serious problems such as blue screens or inability to start. Moreover, what we charge is a system environment debugging and service fee, which is based on the professional installation and debugging services we provided."

(End of this chapter)