I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

The buildings on both sides of Baiyi Road are low, with tin signs standing side by side.

Yan Jiefang found an open space, parked the car, and took his three sons to the roadside.

Looking up, I was surprised to see that the sign belonged to a computer company under the tutelage of a computer expert.

Someone who's on the right path is pretty good; let's go check out his house first.

Upon entering, you'll find a small hall with a cardboard sign that's about half your height.

The specifications and price of the newly released Great Wall 386 computer are clearly displayed above.

When Yan Jiefang saw the specifications, he immediately shook his head inwardly, realizing he had overestimated them!

The configuration listed here looks extensive, but it's mostly imported from overseas!

The manufacturer of this computer looks high-end and sophisticated, but it's actually just a downstream assembly plant.

Nothing!

It's estimated that the foreign exchange earned by the radio company has been squandered by them again.

Foreign companies make all the real money; they only get a small share.

ChunChun is a subsidiary of a foreign company!

Helping others make money in the country.

"Damn, a bare-bones 386 costs 38000 yuan?! That's several thousand yuan more expensive than our Jeep?"

Yan Xueheng exclaimed in surprise.

Yan Xueqian and Yan Xueyuan's expressions changed drastically when they saw the price written under the GG sign.

Thinking about those old IBM PCs at home, I imagine they weren't cheap when I bought them.

Yan Jiefang knew that computers shouldn't be cheap at this time, but he didn't expect them to be this expensive.

He was a little reluctant to spend so much money on a broken 386.

Afterwards, the group visited several stores, including 4Tong, Jinghai, and Kehai.

I found that the prices of 386s were all about the same, with the cheaper ones only being a few hundred or a thousand yuan cheaper, which wasn't much different in terms of the total price.

Moreover, these computer stores generally don't have stock on hand; it takes one or two weeks for the goods to arrive.

In addition, having money alone is not enough; you also need special approval for controlled purchases.

However, Yan Jiefang still planned to buy one just to make a show of it.

After all, he also needed to go to the manufacturer to beg for two or three more similar computers.

There's no purchase record, and if this gets exposed, things could get complicated.

After all, he doesn't stay at home all the time; he always has to go out.

With that in mind, he took his three sons back to Factory 774, got the approval slip from his old leader, withdrew 4 yuan from the bank, and then returned to Zhongguancun to order a computer.

Because of the addition of the Chinese character card, this computer cost him a total of 4.1 yuan!

It's a full 10,000 yuan more expensive than the BJ212!

The prices alone demonstrate just how much money foreigners and hardware companies make.

Today, the three children witnessed what it means to spend money like water, and they gained some worldly experience, which should be beneficial to their growth.

Seeing their father's decisiveness in doing things can serve as a reference for them in doing things in the future.

Don't be timid or hesitant.

In fact, Yan Jiefang also wanted to get into hardware, but at that time there were no restrictions, and his little money wouldn't even make a splash.

I think I'll pass.

After all, his computer skills are already 99/100. If he can't handle the hardware, he can start with the software.

First, create a window and make it free for all computer users!

They'll also make antivirus software, also for free.

Later on, we can also develop software for logistics, supermarkets, graphic design, internet cafes, and many other areas.

There are endless ways to make money!

For him, this was a true blue ocean.

The future is bright!

However, there's no rush. We can start by creating a private technology company in the south after the New Year.

Many companies were founded during that time, and there's definitely a reason for that.

It's no longer possible to establish a private technology company in these 49 cities; you have to be affiliated with a street-level government agency, collective, or state-owned enterprise.

Given his situation, it's not impossible for him to be affiliated with a collective, but if he were to switch to a private enterprise later, it would definitely leave some stain on his record, which is something Yan Jiefang is unwilling to do.

That evening, Yan Jiefang went to that company and begged for two 386s.

He didn't ask for more; there was no need for it.

This kind of old computer only looks advanced now. In a few years, when you look again, the 586 will be out.

386 is like a piece of junk thrown into a ditch.

While waiting for the computer to load, he even went to the power company to have someone replace his home's electricity meter with a 10A one.

In this era, computers were definitely huge power consumers. The old 5A power meter was enough for computers from 84, but it was a bit of a stretch for 386 computers.

In addition, he also installed a telephone/internet line at home, which cost over a thousand yuan.

And the internet fee is 2 yuan per hour.

It is precisely because of Yan Jiefang's design that the domestic communication network has developed very rapidly in recent years, which has reduced communication costs.

Otherwise, they'll charge you 3 to 5 yuan for the cable and 5 yuan per hour for the internet, and you'll have to accept that!

Two days before the Lunar New Year, the computer Yan Jiefang bought finally arrived.

He took his three excited children to Zhongguancun and moved back.

With the attention of them and Liu Ruyan, who had come specifically to watch the spectacle, they quickly connected all the cables, then plugged in the power and network cable to turn it on.

The fans inside the case immediately started whirring and made a slight "humming" noise.

White detection English characters began to appear on the dark screen.

After two redirects, the text "Sixth Research Institute of the Ministry of Electronics Industry of China" finally appears.

Below are some related operation tips.

For example: Alt+F1 = location, Alt+F9 = set frequently used symbols, etc.

Computers at that time were so rudimentary.

Liu Ruyan got bored after watching for a while, turned around and left, and went back to sitting in the fruit shop, looking at the daily income, which made her feel comfortable.

Yan Jiefang then took out about ten 5.25-inch 1.2M floppy disks and copied their contents one by one to the computer's 40M hard drive.

These are Chinese operating system software programs that he wrote in his spare time using an old computer.

He then began operating the computer and installing a new operating system.

This system will completely replace the old system.

Even the most basic DOS system will be replaced.

However, due to limited storage at the time, this system was only a simplified version.

With less content, installation is faster.

The new Chinese system was installed in less than ten minutes.

Yan Jiefang restarted the computer.

Under the astonished gazes of the three children, a system interface almost identical to the operating systems of later generations appeared on the computer.

However, due to the rudimentary system and poor hardware, the interface looks slightly blurry.

The icons for my computer, recycle bin, and other icons are also rough and have jagged edges.

But it's so much better than the old situation where it was all just text and letters!