"It’ll still cost several thousands even if it’s cheap, right?"
Zhen Yu pouted and shook her head, which meant—I can’t afford it.
Seeing this, the female boss’s smile faded again.
With a look of gloom, she said, "Sigh! Once you buy these things, they become a burden! I mean, it’s only been two or three years, and they’re already outdated. Technology evolves too quickly!"
"Can’t you just not update it?" Zhen Yu made small talk.
"It’s okay, and it’s not okay," the female boss said. "Without updating, you can’t install some new games, but you can still play others. Just like the computer your brother plays on, you’ve seen it."
The female boss didn’t mind Zhen Yu’s lack of response; she seemed to have gotten a bit addicted to complaining, "And after a while, this thing starts having more issues, it loves to break down! Repairing it costs quite a bit, too."
"Don’t these big electrical appliances come with warranties? Don’t the computer sellers provide repairs?" Zhen Yu pretended to be clueless.
"There’s a warranty for the parts, but if there’s an issue with the system, they don’t deal with it!" It seems that after running the computer parlor for a long time, the female boss had learned a thing or two.
Zhen Yu, feigning ignorance, asked, "Can’t you fix it yourself?"
"How would I have that skill?" The female boss had a look of envy and resentment, "If I could fix it myself, I’d save so much money over the year!"
"Then who do you ask to fix it?"
"The youngster that the computer seller put me in touch with! Specializes in this stuff! Relies on his skills to make a living."
"Do you fix it every time it breaks?" Zhen Yu hadn’t realized that even in ’96, computer repair was treated like fixing household appliances. "Can’t you hire someone to stay in the store?"
"Who can afford that! He runs his own appliance repair, probably makes more in a month than I do!"
Hearing this, Zhen Yu displayed an embarrassed yet polite smile.
An hour passed quickly; as soon as Zhen Yan’s time was up, someone else who was waiting took his place at the computer.
It was obvious that the female boss’s business was booming.
The siblings left the game parlor, with Zhen Yan still rambling on about his first encounter with a computer.
"Little sis! That mouse is way too sensitive, just a slight touch and I lose it! I struggled so much just to get the hang of it, and I didn’t even get to play much! How come time’s up already?"
"Hurry up! Master Xu is getting impatient." Zhen Yu promptly brought up Xu Lin, and Zhen Yan immediately quieted down.
When she returned her brother to the Martial Arts Hall, she didn’t expect that both Zhang San and Li Si would be there.
Zhen Yu, who had planned to wander around First High School alone that afternoon, somehow coaxed them in just a few words to go with her.
Until they descended the stairs, Zhang San’er was still somewhat incredulous and asked Zhen Yu, "Little sis, are you serious that the skill you mentioned is easy to learn?"
"Of course! Do I look like someone who brags?"
Zhang San’er scrutinized the young girl’s face; even though she wasn’t as fierce or chilly as when they first met, she still seemed rather indifferent.
Indeed, she didn’t look like someone idle with nothing better to do!
"Then, is your family really opening a game parlor?" Li Si’er was also uncertain; he always felt there was something off about how this matter was unfolding.
After all, the first time they met they wanted to snatch her bag, and even with such a first impression, she dared to hire them? What on earth was she thinking?!
"Really! Do you know if there are any shops for sale around here?"
Zhang San and Li Si simultaneously shook their heads, "We just do odd jobs, we don’t know any landlords or anything like that, where would we even begin to look!"
"Then let’s split up and ask around! See if there are any storefronts with ’For Sale’ signs on them." Zhen Yu thought about it and then added, "First or second floor is fine."
"Sure! We brothers don’t have anything else to do today anyway, we’ll run this errand for you!" Zhang San agreed.
"Meet back at the Martial Arts Hall." Zhen Yu finished speaking, pursed her lips, picked a direction at random to walk, and without turning back, she left them with a promise, "I’ll treat you to dinner!"
Zhang San and Li Si looked at each other, both scratching their heads and starting to laugh.
Both of their families weren’t well off, each with a mother to support, relying on the help of their sisters, and they didn’t have any real skills themselves.
Dropping out of middle school, they had been mixing in society, and now pushing thirty, neither could find a wife.
Although they used to hang out with Xu Lin, he had a father at home keeping an eye on him. After being sent to study martial arts, he came back to be set up with someone, and it was said he was already discussing marriage.
It was impossible not to be envious! But their own family situations were clear for all to see! Plus, in their youth, they had often taken to petty theft, and even snatching bags and running, giving them a bad reputation in the neighborhood.
Not even an ordinary girl would be willing to get involved with them! After all, loafing around all day, with what could they provide for a family?
In recent years, as they got older, their mothers constantly nagged at them.
After Xu Lin came back, the three of them would occasionally have meals and drinks together, and he also gave them plenty of advice.
Seeing Xu Lin’s life improving, they began to think they couldn’t keep living .
So they found a place that offered martial arts training to be sparring partners, hoping to earn an honest living and save for a future wife.
But even after being honest and upright for over half a year, aside from Xu Lin, the people they knew still kept their distance!
The two were really getting discouraged! It was a bit early to throw in the towel, but they also lost the motivation to do any serious work, treating the sparring partner job just as a way to pass time.
Unexpectedly! This young lady didn’t seem to look down on them at all!
Even if it was just for Xu Lin’s sake, to let go of the past prejudice about bag snatching was moving enough for them.
"Let’s go! For this meal! We’ve got to really make an effort to ask around!" Li Si, being more honest, spoke his mind.
Zhang San also sincerely sighed, "We’ve got to properly inquire! If we can learn the craftsmanship she mentioned, maybe we can work in her store! She’s a nice person!"
"Yeah! I’ll check this end, you take the other!"
Zhen Yu, taking advantage of her youthful appearance and sweet mouth, would approach any nice storefront to inquire, but unfortunately, either the landlord was running their own business, or there were only tenants.
Walking down the street, she didn’t find any shops for sale.
It’s understandable though, since this place was close to the key high school, with a large flow of people, any business would be booming!
Even though Zhen Yu understood this, she was still not willing to give up just yet, and she spent the whole afternoon wandering near the school.
She even climbed up to ask about the price when she saw signs for ’For Sale’ on the third-floor residences above some street-front shops.
But when they saw she was just a young girl, the owners nonchalantly quoted her a high price and sent her on her way.
Zhen Yu wasn’t angry, after all, even that high price was much lower than the steep prices of the future!
Zhen Yu also paid special attention to the small restaurants nearby, after all, she had to treat people to dinner that evening, so the place couldn’t be too shabby.
She checked out a few restaurants with good signs, eventually settling on a homemade-style restaurant.
Roughly estimating the time, she returned to the Martial Arts Hall, and Zhang San and Li Si were already there.