1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 97 Kenny Zhang (3/5) Requesting first subscription!!!

Xu Shengjie was very happy.

His senior brother and his fellow disciples were another layer of protection for him in this world, besides the James Huang family.

He hoped they would be doing well.

But to be honest, it's not easy!

The living conditions of people of Chinese descent are not bad, but they are not good either.

They are ostracized by various ethnic groups, including the Asian community.

The eldest brother and his buddies were born and raised in Chinatown. They lacked impressive academic qualifications and extensive networks. They relied on their fists to build a haven for most Chinese Americans in New York, but outside of Chinatown, they had no other survival skills. This is a country where everyone owns a gun; no matter how strong your fists are, they are ultimately no match for the threat of bullets.

Xu Shengjie wanted them to have a better life and hoped they could earn more money.

Internet cafes are a good way out for them.

Many martial arts school students can also find another way to make a living by working in internet cafes.

It's a strange thing that internet cafes in the United States have never achieved widespread adoption.

Now that Xu Shengjie's internet cafe has received support from Microsoft, what will the future hold? We can't say for sure.

But within ten years, it will make life more comfortable for the senior brothers, which is also Xu Shengjie's original intention in proposing to start an internet cafe.

It wasn't just the senior brothers.

Also Zhang Ping'an, Roger, and Tommy —

The better they are doing, the happier Xu Shengjie is.

On Monday, Toni Ann officially ended her contract with the Sundance Writers Lab.

Meanwhile, Xu Shengjie also completed his contract with Diane.

He spent his weekends completing the outline and detailed script for the first season of "Buffy," a total of twelve episodes. Each episode was worth $20,000, for a total of $240,000. ABC would initially pay 30% of the writing fee; after the script doctor's evaluation, he would receive 40% upon finalizing the contract. The remaining 30%, along with the 7% viewership share, would be deposited into the studio's account after the show aired—further negotiations would then proceed based on the show's performance.

Yes, this is basically the process for all five major television networks.

ABC is very efficient.

On Wednesday, Xu Shengjie's studio earned $7.2.

At the same time, the process for the (revocable) trust fund is completed and it officially takes effect.

Xu Shengjie's initial investment of 600,000 yuan was transferred from his personal account to the trust fund account, then transferred to the studio through the trust fund account, and finally transferred to the production team's special account through the studio's account, which also meant that the production team had officially started.

Everything is transitioning in a positive direction.

This made Xu Shengjie feel exceptionally happy.

On the one hand, he was in charge of the pre-production preparations for the film crew, and on the other hand, he accelerated the creation speed of "Fight Club".

On Friday, he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the internet cafe with Charlize Theron and Zhou Wenqiong.

The internet cafe on Canal Street is also the flagship store of the seven internet cafes.

The nearly 200-square-meter space, in addition to offering coffee and desserts, also houses 50 computers.

As mentioned earlier, in 94, a computer in the United States cost $1980. Of course, internet cafes didn't need such high-end computers, and with Tong Zhen's help, they were able to purchase them from IBM at half price through a partnership with Microsoft.

The cost of a computer is only about eight hundred dollars.

The main event is the internet —

The internet in this era was 64k, which was extremely slow but expensive.

The network setup for the seven stores cost nearly 100,000 yuan.

So much so that the eldest brother kept nagging after seeing Xu Shengjie.

"They're robbing us! These high-tech guys are just robbing us!"

"Just a few lines, and it's a fucking 15,000! Twelve, give me the truth, is it even possible to make money? I'm starting to panic."

"Who cares about that? Hasn't Microsoft already received the million?"

"Um, if you put it that way—"

Beside her, Tong Zhen, though not tall, possessed a voluptuous figure. She wore a women's suit with a white shirt underneath, three buttons undone, revealing her cleavage and attracting the attention of many lecherous men. However, she looked utterly helpless at the moment.

"I've already told you, Little Twelve's idea is pretty good."

"I've never done this before, but if you ask me to open a martial arts school, I'll know exactly what to do."

But this thing—”

Woodward whispered in Xu Shengjie's ear, "Xiao Shi recruited fifteen students from the Stony Brook campus, six hundred dollars a week—they do absolutely nothing, and the net cost is over thirty thousand a month. If it weren't for the contract she brought, I would never have agreed."

The network administrator, I suppose!

However, Xu Shengjie referred to him as an internet cafe engineer.

They're all college students, so it's cheap!

If you really want to find an experienced one, the monthly expenses will be at least four or five thousand US dollars.

Moreover, there are fifteen people working in two shifts.

Night shift engineers are paid more, mainly because New York nights aren't so peaceful.

My schedule is usually quite relaxed; I mainly keep an eye on network and computer malfunctions.

Xu Shengjie felt that monthly expenses of over 30,000 yuan were really not high! It's just that Wu Dehua didn't understand; if he did, he would be ecstatic.

This group also had another job: while maintaining the software system and computer operation, they also looked for software vulnerabilities.

A bonus will be awarded for each vulnerability discovered.

Internet cafes have a partnership with Microsoft, so the money will basically go through the internet cafe's account.

If Xu Shengjie hadn't been ignorant about this stuff, he might have even been willing to take the job. He'd heard that Win95 was riddled with vulnerabilities when it was first released. If he had that skill, he could fleece Microsoft and make Bill Gates beg him to leave.

But he couldn't say it too explicitly!

Zhang Ping'an and a few others also arrived, but Song Dechang and his fellow disciples did not show up.

They're based at the internet cafe on Sixth Avenue.

Mainly to prevent harassment from gang members —

Sixth Avenue isn't very safe.

Unlike Chinatown, which is all the same.

They are all Chinese gangs.

Master Wu's reputation is very useful here; almost every gang will warn their subordinates not to go there and cause trouble.

But Sixth Avenue —

Korean gangs, Black gangs, Irish gangs, Russian gangs.

Especially the Russian mafia; with the fall of the Red Bear, the situation there has been dire, leading to a large influx of Russians into the United States. These people are armed and extremely ruthless. Midtown is also a place where gang warfare is most intense.

As the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the internet cafe was completed, curious onlookers, drawn by the lion dance performance, gathered around.

The internet cafe is located very close to the exit of the Yunhe Street subway station.

The passenger flow is also very large.

Americans love to join in the fun too!

Moreover, internet cafes are a novelty for most Americans.

The environment is excellent, with fragrant coffee and exquisite Chinese snacks, as well as expensive computers with internet access.

After all, the bill on the information superhighway was only passed by Congress at the end of last year.

Even for Americans, going online is a novelty.

Having a cup of coffee and surfing the internet for an hour costs only $1.5, which is affordable.

The internet cafe was packed with people in no time.

Woodward watched with delight.

"What's wrong with Uncle Kenny? He doesn't look happy, and he seems very tired."

Xu Shengjie didn't join in the fun. He noticed that Kenny Zhang of the Ghost Shadow Gang, who was Zhang Ping'an's father, was sitting alone in a corner, looking sullen.

He found Zhang Ping'an and asked him in confusion.

Zhang Ping'an glanced in Kenny Zhang's direction and whispered, "It's a falling out between the gang and Apoo of the Flying Dragon Gang, namely David. Shit wants to overstep his bounds, but Kenny disagrees. Before, when Johnny was around, they could still discuss things, but now that Johnny has been arrested and Michael has been shot, the Flying Dragon Gang is basically run by Jack Chen and Shit, and there's no room for negotiation."

The Flying Dragon Gang was also a major gang in Chinatown.

Centered around Mott Street and PeIISt, it extends to the eastern section of Bowery Street and the edge of East Broadway.

That's right, it's East Broadway where Xu Shengjie lives.

The Ghost Shadows' territory was centered around Motte Street and Canal Street, and was jointly governed by the Flying Dragons on Dispatch Street.

The former leader of the Flying Dragons was Johnnyeng, nicknamed "Onionhead".

He expanded the Flying Dragon Gang by selling drugs, but was arrested in 92.

The other leader was Michael Chan. Compared to Johnny, he was calmer and more intelligent, and was the mastermind behind the Flying Dragon Gang. He had a nickname: The Scinentist. However, after Johnny was arrested and sentenced in 92, Michael Chan was attacked by gunmen on his way home and was reportedly riddled with bullets.

The killers were those Vietnamese monkeys from BTK.

After Johnny and Michael died, the Flying Dragons were led by Jack Chen, not that Jack Cheng.

When Johnny and Michael Chen were around, he was a key member of the gang. In addition, the Flying Dragon Gang was under the jurisdiction of the Hip Sing Tong, and Jack Chen had a good relationship with the older members, so he received their favor and became the leader of the Flying Dragon Gang.

The problem is, besides Jack Chen, there's also David, "Shit Bro".

He was once someone Johnny valued, known for his ruthlessness and brutality. Before Jack Chen became the leader, Shit's status was above Jack Chen's. Now that Jack Chen is the leader, Shit is definitely unhappy about it.

But Jack Chen has the support of the old folks.

Although Shit Bro was unhappy, he couldn't openly rant.

So he set his sights on Disclosure Street, wanting to monopolize it and expand his power.

But the Ghost Street gang also had interests on Disclosure Street—especially after Mr. Yin had Kenny hand over Bloom Street to the Flushing Wong gang in May, which, to some extent, reduced the Ghost Street gang's profits. Therefore, Disclosure Street became very important!

One wants to dominate the street.

One reason is to protect the interests of Disclosure Street.

Doesn't that create a conflict?

"They got into a fight?"

Roger suffered a small loss after doing it twice this month.

Mr. Yin took most of the gang's funds, so Kenny was somewhat powerless to start a war.

Fortunately, Director Huang intervened and even invited Master Wu and the others.

David has toned it down a bit, but he still crosses the line and provokes people from time to time. The gang members aren't too happy about this.

The key issue is that Mr. Yin has been in Sheepshead Bay recently, and Kenny is under a lot of pressure. Last week, I lent him $500,000, otherwise he might not have come today. It's mainly David who's putting too much pressure on him.”