Chapter 46: Is This Child Simple-Minded?

As it turned out, Qin Hongfei truly did know how to fix computers. The secondhand desktop, which wouldn’t even start up, was soon revived under her hands; after typing out strings of code on the blue screen, she quickly rebooted it and entered the main desktop. She also discovered the root of the problem: a burnt-out motherboard and an outdated system that hadn’t been updated for a long time, which was why it couldn’t access the desktop. This had nothing to do with how long it had been used. The memory stick, on the other hand, was indeed damaged, but replacing it would solve the issue.

She didn’t hide anything and explained the computer’s situation to the young man and his mother. “It can still be used after repairs. Are you sure you want to sell it?”

The woman looked at her in astonishment. How could someone so young be so capable? How did her family raise her? “How much will it cost to fix it?”

The motherboard and memory stick are core components—pretty expensive. Factoring in market price and repair fees, it would cost several thousand yuan at least.

She quoted the price truthfully.

“If we fix it, will it just break down again after a short while?” the young man asked worriedly.

“No, unless you smash it yourself. For basic tasks, it should last a few more years without issue,” Qin Hongfei replied after a moment’s thought, her tone sincere. “To be honest, I really need a computer. But if I were to buy this, I’d only be able to pay a little over a thousand yuan—about the market price, not high nor low. You can check around first and let me know.”

The young man immediately took a liking to Qin Hongfei. If she’d wanted, she could have exaggerated the problems to lower the price, but she hadn’t.

Anyway, it was already a broken computer, and leaving it unused wouldn’t help anyone. He agreed to the deal without hesitation.

Qin Hongfei happily paid five hundred yuan upfront and hired a tricycle to move the computer back to the repair shop. Old Zhang saw her hauling in such a wreck and sneered, “What’s this, Xiao Qin? Have you started collecting junk electronics now?”

Electronic recycling, after all, was mostly about buying up old devices for refurbishment and resale. Poor families who couldn’t afford new ones would settle for secondhand units that still worked. There was also the aspect of resource recovery—breaking things down for reusable materials.

Qin Hongfei, in good spirits, ignored Old Zhang’s sarcasm. Instead, something in his shop caught her eye—a discarded item tossed aside. She walked over and picked it up: a computer motherboard processor with intact circuitry, probably scrapped from someone’s unwanted machine. “Uncle Zhang, do you have any more of these in the shop?”

Old Zhang was dumbfounded. Was this kid a fool? He’d just mocked her, yet she was still speaking to him.

Still, after glancing at what she held, he recognized it as a circuit board. He did have a few—two or three at most.

He dug up a couple more, along with a memory stick and a hard drive, all sorts of odds and ends piled together.

Qin Hongfei examined them; they were all still usable. “Uncle Zhang, I’d like to buy these. How much for all of it?”

Old Zhang couldn’t repair computers himself, but he was no stranger to such things. He knew these were computer parts, but to him, they were just junk. Yet seeing Qin Hongfei’s eagerness, he said, “These are expensive parts from a computer. Planning to take them home and make them work again?”

Qin Hongfei immediately picked up on his tone; he meant to drive a hard bargain. She was prepared. “Name your price.”

Old Zhang saw this little fool was serious about buying and his eyes glinted. “Well, since these are computer parts, if I took them to a computer shop, I could get a decent price. How about this—one hundred yuan, and they’re all yours.”