He had to orchestrate a few setbacks.
Pei Qian said in his heart, “Zhang Yuan, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’ll give you a greater bonus in the future as compensation…”
After that, Pei Qian called Little Sun.
“Send me to the warehouse in the afternoon. Go back to the office and fetch Tang Yishu as well.”
Chapter 373 - The Halo Effect
At 3 PM…
In the warehouse in Jingzhou City’s outskirts…
Little Sun and Pei Qian alighted from the car. Tang Yishu followed behind them timidly. She had no idea why her senior had pulled her along, but she did not dare to ask too many questions either.
Zhang Yuan was already standing outside the warehouse, ready to receive them.
The warehouse was not huge. Zhang Yuan had reported beforehand that the warehouse had a total area of about four thousand square meters. There was only one level, and rent cost 0.7 yuan per square meter per day.
In sum, rent cost eighty thousand yuan per month.
Bigger warehouses normally measured ten to twenty thousand square meters. Naturally, rent would be more expensive. However, since this warehouse would mainly store computer parts, four thousand square meters was already more than enough.
Upwind Logistics’ main purpose was to solve the problem of the last kilometer. Other delivery companies would deliver packages to Upwind Logistics, and Upwind Logistics would then deliver those packages to customers’ doorsteps.
Thus, the Upwind courier stations provided most of the storage space required. Upwind Logistics did not need much more storage space at the moment.
However, for various other reasons, some packages were still stored in this warehouse.
For Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and ROF Computer-Installation-which Zhang Yuan was in charge of, working with Upwind Logistics proved to be a win-win situation. Upwind Logistics delivered ROF’s parcels to customers’ doorsteps while ROF allowed Upwind Logistics to store some of their packages in the former’s warehouse.
In any case, they were under the same parent company, and they were not spending their own money. Thus, they were all quite easygoing.
At first, the warehouses around Jingzhou City only served to burn money. They offered great assistance to Boss Pei.
However, ROF’s losses had already turned to profits. Not only could the revenue cover the costs of renting the warehouses, but they could also serve to expand ROF’s business. This pained Pei Qian terribly.
Zhang Yuan felt nervous initially because he had thought that Boss Pei had come to inspect the warehouses for the first time.
Yet, Pei Qian had told him over the phone that he was only going to visit for fun and that Zhang Yuan should not make a mountain out of a molehill.
Zhang Yuan knew that Boss Pei was a practical person who did not like his employees to make a big deal out of him. Thus, Zhang Yuan only bothered to arrive slightly earlier. He had also instructed his employees to tidy the place up, but he did not go so far as to organize a spring cleaning.
He was quite confident about the warehouse’s state.
Zhang Yuan led Boss Pei and the others in.
It was Pei Qian’s first time visiting the warehouse. His first impression was not a bad one. It was neat and tidy, and the lighting was quite good. Various computer parts had been split into sections and displayed on shelves. Although they were a little messy, it still almost passed for being orderly. After all, all of these parts were to be assembled into a system unit, which was the biggest item in the warehouse. They did not take much space.
“Boss Pei, look. These are the shelves where we place various computer parts. Since we order the computer parts in bulk, they would be delivered to this warehouse at regular intervals.
“Once they arrive, someone would be put in charge of moving the parts to their respective shelves.
“We also have an assembly line.
“We use pure manpower, and the process is extremely simple. Boss Pei, it might be quite embarrassing to show you.” Zhang Yuan led Pei Qian around the warehouse as he introduced different parts of it to him.
Obviously, he took a lot of pride in ROF’s computer-installation business. This was his niche after all.
The so-called assembly line was made up of a couple of long work tables lined up side by side.
There was a belt on the work table, and several people were evenly spread out around it. Those people had various individual parts behind them and partly-assembled machines in front of them.
Each person was put in charge of one step in the process, and the various steps took about the same time to complete.
Two people would be put in charge of the more complicated steps that took slightly longer than others, such as cable management. Each of them would work on one machine at a time.
Everyone also had a button in front of them. Once they were done with their machine, they would hit the button. Once everyone hit their respective buttons, the belt on the work tables would automatically move to the right.
That way, everyone only needed to focus on their respective tasks and make sure that they were completed on time. If they finished earlier, they could rest for a while. That was much more efficient than making each of them assemble an entire system unit on their own.
From the first step of installing the CPU into the motherboard to the last step of installing the system lights, everyone would focus on their respective tasks and work in an orderly fashion.
Once the system lights were installed, the machines would be checked. Then, a professional would package the system unit and prepare for it to be shipped to various distribution points around Jingzhou City.
After customers placed their orders, Upwind Logistics’ delivery men would retrieve the machines from various distribution points and deliver them to the customers’ doorsteps.
Pei Qian immediately felt threatened.
This Zhang Yuan was really quite good. He could come up with so many tricks for such an ordinary and boring computer-installation business.
“Not bad.”
Against his true feelings, Pei Qian briefly praised Zhang Yuan so that the latter grinned brightly. After that, Pei Qian led Tang Yishu and Little Sun around the warehouse.
Nothing happened even after they completed their round.
Pei Qian was shocked and slightly disappointed.
Places like warehouses normally contained many hidden threats to safety. For example, there could be electrical, fire, or physical safety hazards.
As Pei Qian walked around the warehouse, he had remained on high alert in case a fire suddenly broke out, a short circuit occurred, or something dropped from a shelf.
Yet, even after they completed their round, nothing happened!
Pei Qian had to say that something had gone wrong with logic-no, metaphysics. He took a closer look around the warehouse and realized that there were indeed no safety hazards.
Since the warehouse was so huge, the shelves were very well spaced out.
Those shelves had only been purchased a few months ago. All of them were very steady, and they all stored digital hardware. Of course, it was almost impossible for collapsing or dangerous stacking to occur. In terms of electric cables, Pei Qian guessed that Zhang Yuan had stuck strictly to safety standards. All electrical guidelines had been strictly adhered to; power points were cased up, mains switches were located outside the warehouse, and everything was inspected and maintained regularly.
All in all, at this stage, it would probably be extremely difficult for one to find a safety hazard in the warehouse! Pei Qian felt melancholic after walking around.
I’ve already brought Tang Yishu here. Am I really still helpless?
Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan… are you really that awesome?
Pei Qian found nothing helpful despite having looked around the warehouse. He had no choice but to go back to the computer-assembly area and find a chair to sit down.
At that moment, Pei Qian noticed
that the assembly line was made up of special, custom-made, elevated work stations. There were even chairs behind each young man in the line.
The work stations would be raised or lowered every now and then. If the young men felt tired from sitting down for too long, they could stand. If they felt tired from standing for too long, they could sit. Their health was being very well taken care of. Zhang Yuan looked extremely proud of himself as he asked, “What do you think, Boss Pei? I haven’t disappointed you, have I?” Sorrowfully, Pei Qian said, “Yes, you’ve done well…”
Pei Qian had not expected things to turn out like that before he came. Zhang Yuan was practically invulnerable.
Could Pei Qian really not find anything wrong with the warehouse despite having brought the halo effect with him?
That was illogical!
Tang Yishu sat by the side. Environments like that naturally made her feel uncomfortable. At that moment, someone served them a can of cold cola and a bottle of warm green tea.
This was a warehouse after all. Of course, the conditions were not as good as the internet cafes. However, Zhang Yuan had set up refrigerators commonly found in convenience stores and insulated heated cabinets. That way, at least everyone could drink some beverages and release steam when they were stressed.
As Pei Qian sipped his cola, he slowly lost his courage.
As the saying went, man proposed and God disposed.
It looks like the Heavens are intent on driving me to my death.
Since that’s the case, I should let him be. So what if ROF generates profit? I’ll think of other ways to spend that money…
Just as Pei Qian started drinking his cola, he heard one of the young men in the assembly line in front of him mutter, “Eh?”
Pei Qian’s eyes lit up. There seemed to be some hope. He could see very clearly that the computer had not lit up!
This meant that something had gone wrong with the computer, and it could not work as per usual!
The young men at the assembly line were all adept at their work. The chances of them making mistakes while assembling the systems were very low. The only explanation for that faulty computer was that something had gone wrong with the hardware!
Obviously, the man knew that he was being supervised by his superiors. Thus, he did not dare to raise his voice. Instead, he quietly handed the system unit to the man beside him, who was in charge of quality control. The latter was to find the problematic part.
The next computer from the assembly line quickly arrived before him. The man tested the next computer and heaved a sigh of relief when he found no problems.
However, the newly-assembled computer before the young man in front of him crashed.
He scratched his head, confused. However, without saying a word, he also handed the computer to the man in charge of quality control beside him.
Pei Qian kept drinking his cola, pretending that he had not seen all of these.
Beads of cold sweat began to form on Zhang Yuan’s forehead.
What’s going on?! Everything has been fine up until now. Why are you only messing up when Boss Pei’s here for inspections?
All of the workers were very experienced. They had already assembled many computers before. The problem was probably not with their handiwork.
However, there was a screen that could not light up and a blue screen of death. Obviously, there was a problem with the hardware.
A broken motherboard, a broken CPU, a broken hard disk, or a broken RAM… could have caused it.
Indeed, any of those parts could have been problematic. However… how did two computers get affected in such a short period?
Pei Qian finished his cola and smiled inexplicably.
Then, he stood up and said, “The warehouse is not bad. Keep working hard. I still have work to do. I’ll make a move.”
Zhang Yuan felt like he had just been shown great mercy. He quickly answered, “Alright, Boss Pei! You’re welcome to conduct inspections again any time!”
It was only after he had sent Boss Pei off that Zhang Yuan heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Thankfully, Boss Pei didn’t seem to notice!
Zhang Yuan would have had a hard time explaining himself if Boss Pei had noticed them since the problems only cropped up when Boss Pei came to inspect the warehouse.
Boss Pei probably would not have believed Zhang Yuan if the latter explained that everything had been fine until the former came around!
Zhang Yuan quickly walked towards the assembly line and asked, “What’s happening? Haven’t things been fine all along?”
The young man in charge of quality control looked equally confused. “I’m not sure either. There are problems with the hardware…”
Zhang Yuan was speechless. “Fix it quickly. Arrange for refunds if we can. Otherwise, send the parts for repair.”
They had just gotten the new stock not long ago. The seven-day unconditional refund period still had not passed for most of them.
Although a portion of the parts could not be refunded unconditionally, they were still under warranty.
However, whether they refunded the parts and placed a new order or repaired the parts, they would require more time.
The journey to and fro would hold back their progress. After some consideration, Zhang Yuan said, “Order a new batch of low-quality hardware like batteries, motherboards, hard disks, RAM… oh yes, order more RAM.
It was unlikely for there to be problems with RAM, but ROF was in the business of selling high-end, custom-made system units. High-end units that cost over ten thousand yuan normally contained many RAM sticks.
One computer only required one CPU, one motherboard, and one monitor. However, it required four RAM sticks. There was a higher chance that problems would occur with those RAM sticks.
Thus, Zhang Yuan decided to be prepared. RAM sticks were not that expensive anyway. There would be no harm in purchasing more.
Chapter 374 - First Stab in the Back of the Year 2011!
December 31st…
Zhang Yuan arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s Handong University early in the morning. After ordering a cup of coffee, he sipped it nonchalantly and browsed Tieba, intending to see if any interesting posts had been made by the netizens.
He had arranged for his employees to either refund all the problematic parts or send them for repair yesterday. He had also spent the remaining funds in the account on computer parts that had higher chances of malfunctioning. In particular, he had placed more orders for RAM sticks.
Although there were significant costs involved in hoarding parts like that, Zhang Yuan was more concerned about ROF’s reputation.
When the business had just started out, Boss Pei had poured huge sums of money into running 1024 Digital Day to build a name for it.
If the reputation was ruined by quality problems, wouldn’t Boss Pei’s hard work all be wasted?
Thus, Zhang Yuan had to guarantee good quality! He had to make sure that none of the computers malfunctioned. He also had to provide the best after-sales services to customers and ensure ROF had enough stock so that customers could receive their system units on the day that they placed their orders.
After working on all of those things, Zhang Yuan finally found time to relax.
Tomorrow was New Year’s Day of 2011, and the holiday would last for three days. That meant Zhang Yuan could take a good break.
Zhang Yuan sipped his coffee slowly as he browsed Tieba.
All of a sudden, a post on Tieba caught his attention.
‘MSC’s Factory Caught Fire Again?’
“F*ck! RAM prices are going to rise, right?”
“Unscrupulous!”
“Sh*t, it looks like the prices are already rising.”
“I was waiting for New Year’s Day to see if there would be any promotional events online so that I could assemble my own system unit! Now, that’s all gone down the drain! What a waste!”
“We’re finished. The unscrupulous merchants have res
ponded instantly!”
“What exactly is happening? Why are their factories catching fire so often? Would their factories burn from Singles Day last year to 618[1] this year?”
“The experienced ones among us would know whether this really was an accident or not. I’m guessing that the manufacturers had set the factory on fire on purpose.”
“I think so, too! These manufacturers’ factories are taking turns to catch fire. On top of that, there would be floods and power shortages. Why don’t they just tell us directly that they would be reducing supply and increasing prices?!”
“The fire seemed quite serious this time. Wafer production was probably gravely affected as well. That means that RAM aside, the prices of flash drives would likely rise, too…”
As he read the netizens’ discussion, Zhang Yuan first felt confused and then pleasantly surprised.
He quickly accessed a shopping website to check the prices of the RAM sticks he had purchased before. They were now over thirty yuan more expensive!
What’s more, this was only the beginning. Zhang Yuan guessed that the prices would only continue to go up over the week.
After all, Zhang Yuan had been keeping up to date with Tieba for a long time. He knew very well how such things would develop. Each time prices of RAM sticks dropped to new lows, a factory would catch fire or experience a power shortage. Then, there would be news reports about manufacturers losing thousands of millions of yuan. After that, unscrupulous merchants would increase the prices of RAM sticks at once.
Even so, nobody knew when the ‘accidents’ would occur.
If they did, they would have bought a huge batch of RAM sticks for storage so that they could generate profits during that period. To Zhang Yuan, the news would have been bad.
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