Chapter Thirty-Two: Lacking Spirit

Jiang Xiwen didn’t return to school. What he wanted most right now was a long, deep sleep. At this hour, his parents were both at work, so the house was empty when he arrived. He lay down and slept for six or seven hours straight.

When he woke, he took a shower, tossed out Old Seven’s pants, then called Qi Huanchang to tell him about their new business from the department store, making no attempt to hide the fact that Fan Qiang had tried to extort money from them.

“Damn, that bastard Fan Qiang! And to think he’s an old classmate!” Qi Huanchang exploded with curses, ranting for three minutes before realizing the call had already been disconnected. Embarrassed, he quickly called back, his tone grandiose and unashamed: “Xiwen, you know me, I can’t stand injustice. Don’t take it personally. Looks like we can’t do business with Tianxing School either. Fan Qiang keeps saying Tian Weidong isn’t around—something’s fishy about that.”

Talking about these matters swept away the gloom that had hung over Jiang Xiwen in the hospital. He laughed. “Don’t worry. I have a plan. I can handle both of these deals. Now we just have to wait for his next move. When the time comes, Fatty Qi, you’ll need to help me bluff Fan Qiang—don’t back out.”

“Of course! Dealing with that scoundrel is my duty.” Qi Huanchang slapped his forehead on the other end of the line, then said, “But aren’t you afraid Fan Qiang will copy your software and try to sell it himself?”

“With Tianxing’s technical skills? Not a chance.” Jiang Xiwen’s tone brimmed with confidence. Qi Huanchang, curious, asked, “Did you put some kind of virus in your software so if they try to copy it, their computers will explode?”

“Fatty, your imagination is almost as wild as mine. Maybe you should write novels,” Jiang Xiwen chuckled. “I did put some special encryption in the software, but it’s not a virus. Even if I hadn’t, I doubt Fan Qiang would dare copy it himself—the risk is too great for someone like him. He’ll try to get his cut from the hundred thousand or so we’re making.”

Qi Huanchang couldn’t help but praise him, “You’ve got it all figured out. Still, be careful—Fan Qiang is cunning and sly. I thought he’d show some loyalty to his old classmates, but it turns out he only recognizes money.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be home all week writing new software, so don’t bother me. There are still some drafts on the school computers. Gong Xiang will come by the computer room every day after school—don’t stop him.”

“Please, Gong Xiang and I are on great terms now. Even if you tried to stop me, I’d just sneak your drafts to him anyway,” Qi Huanchang laughed.

“Damn, you two’s secret affair behind my back…”

“That’s right. By the time you’re back, the computer lab will be our love nest, not yours,” Qi Huanchang said with perverse delight.

“Get lost…” Jiang Xiwen hung up with a laugh, thinking that Qi Huanchang had been reading too many futuristic novels and now spoke just as irreverently.

After the call, Jiang Xiwen felt much better. He powered up his Pentium computer—the so-called 586 of the era. It was still a bit slow, but far more comfortable than the machines in the school’s computer lab.

All the programming environments were installed, along with some popular games of the time. Fan Qiang was a decent secretary, Jiang Xiwen mused, but with ambition like his, who would dare keep him around?

He reached into his pocket—a sudden jolt of alarm. The notebook recording all the requirements for the cash register system was missing. It must have been in the pants he’d given Zhang Ya to wear. In a rush, he dashed out, hopped on a bus, and headed to the hospital.

After finally arriving, the doctor told him Zhang Ya had been transferred to Yangjiang Hospital, the biggest in the city. Jiang Xiwen had no choice but to catch another ride there.

Once at the inpatient department, he found Zhang Ya’s room—a high-end private suite. Jiang Xiwen’s heart tightened. Was something more serious wrong with Zhang Ya? If it were just exhaustion and hunger, surely she wouldn’t need such a room.

As he was about to knock, a young man outside the room stood and said, “Kid, who are you? You don’t belong here.”

Irritated, Jiang Xiwen replied coldly, “I’m here for my things. The pants Zhang Ya’s wearing are mine.”

“What? You’re that little hoodlum?”

“That’s right. What are you going to do about it?” Jiang Xiwen didn’t like the man’s tone, smirking as he added, “I even took off my pants in front of Zhang Ya.”

The young man quickly grabbed him. “Keep your voice down. Zhang Ya’s mother told me to tell you—not a word about this to anyone. As for the kidnapping, we’ll report it to the police ourselves. Zhang Ya’s father is a city committee official and doesn’t want any complications. I’ll fetch your pants now.”

“You called my family? Making such a fuss over nothing. So much for being ‘special status’—not much backbone!” Jiang Xiwen was unfazed by Zhang Ya’s background. At Second High, even the children of provincial officials studied there. Their parents wanted them to be tough, so they sent them away from the capital to the second-largest city, Yangjiang.

“You…” The young man wanted to retort, but restrained himself. “I’m not going to argue with you. But if you let slip a single word, be careful.” With that, he went inside and soon returned with the pants.

Jiang Xiwen snatched them, checked the pockets, and finally found his notebook. Relieved, he tossed the pants back at the young man’s face. “Young man, do your secretarial work well and you’ll go far!” he said in the tone of an old cadre, leaving the young man dumbfounded. He muttered to himself as Jiang Xiwen walked away, “Even the local punks know all the tricks of the bureaucracy these days.”

Back home, Jiang Xiwen began his programming retreat. His parents, watching their son’s fingers flying over the keyboard, felt a deep sense of pride, even if they couldn’t understand a thing he was doing.

“Old Jiang, look how capable our son is. He’ll get into college and become a high-tech talent,” Wang Yanan whispered.

“Yes,” Jiang Hong replied, a trace of resignation in his voice. “He’s mastering technology—much better than I ever did.”

Coming out of his room to use the bathroom, Jiang Xiwen happened to pass his parents’ room and overheard their conversation. His father was such a stubborn man—of course he had ambition. If there was a way, perhaps he could help his father achieve greater success in his career. But no matter how he helped, his father would have to learn to be more flexible. Even to be an honest official, one must use many methods. Without power, how could one accomplish anything?

Jiang Xiwen decided to find a suitable chance to talk seriously with his father—though he’d have to choose his moment carefully, so as not to surprise him with his own maturity.

He spent four days in seclusion, writing code and practicing martial arts. At the end of the fourth day, a complete electronic cash register system was finished. After testing it in the school computer room, there were no issues. Of course, the system didn’t yet involve barcode scanning or integration with bank POS systems—otherwise, it would have been impossible to finish in four days.

Even so, the system was still closely tied to the building’s internal network hardware. Jiang Xiwen would need to test and install it on-site at the department store and resolve any issues with the internal network interface.

These past few days, Chen Tianhai had been on pins and needles. Every time he tried to reach Jiang Xiwen, he had to go through Fan Qiang, who always claimed he couldn’t get hold of him either. This made Chen Tianhai begin to suspect that Fan Qiang had tricked Jiang Xiwen into selling the software to the newly opened Xintian Shopping Mall in Yangjiang.