Chapter 1

In 1990, in the town of Sanjiang, on a winter morning—though it was a bit of a stretch to call it morning, as it was only four in the morning. At this time of year, at this hour, when many people were still sound asleep in their warm beds, Feng Xiaotian had already gotten up.

Feng Xiaotian was an orphan. When he was six years old, his parents died in a car accident. After that, he lived with his grandmother, who was a very kind and gentle person. To support her beloved grandson, she would get up early every day to collect trash to maintain their household. Sadly, five years ago, his grandmother, who was already quite old, fell ill and passed away. So now, the only person left in the family was Feng Xiaotian.

Feng Xiaotian was not without relatives, but they were rather cold and distant. Even when his grandmother passed away, they did not come to pay their respects. To be so indifferent to one's own family was truly a sign of a lack of kinship.

At a very young age, Feng Xiaotian learned to be independent. Compared to his peers, losing his parents at such a young age made him mature overnight. In his eyes, the world seemed to lose its color, turning gray and bleak.

"Phew—"

Feng Xiaotian got out of bed. The weather was extremely cold. As soon as he lifted the blanket, the warmth inside disappeared instantly. He wore an old undershirt, which had many patches. Despite this, he cherished it greatly, as it was one of only two undershirts he had. Although these two undershirts were left by his father and were a bit too big for him, it was already quite good to have undershirts to wear.

Feng Xiaotian quickly put on his coat, a military green one that was very old but very warm, lined with fluffy fur. After putting on the coat, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

After washing up with the icy cold water, Feng Xiaotian went out with a snake skin bag. He had to make a living—by collecting trash.

Feng Xiaotian was fourteen years old. Collecting trash was something he was already very familiar with. For years, he did this every day, rain or shine, without interruption. If he didn't, he would have no source of income and would go hungry.

Feng Xiaotian took out a pair of black, dirty cotton gloves from the snake skin bag and put them on. After locking the door, he walked briskly down the street.

It was very dark outside. Even though there were streetlights, they did not stay on all night. The electricity supply for residents was already insufficient, so it was a waste to keep them on all night.

Feng Xiaotian walked in the dark and soon arrived at the first garbage pile. He squatted down and started searching for valuable items. Although it was hard to see clearly, he could roughly tell what he was touching based on his years of experience. He knew exactly which items could be sold and which could be kept for his own use. Soon, he had finished searching the garbage pile and found only two empty bottles, indicating that his luck today was not very good.

Feng Xiaotian continued walking, stopping at each garbage pile to repeat the searching process. As time passed, the snake skin bag gradually filled up. By 6:30 in the morning, the bag was completely full.

Feng Xiaotian, satisfied, carried the full snake skin bag to the scrap collection station. There was a scrap collection station at the bottom of a hill near the market, where he often sold his collected items. When Feng Xiaotian arrived, the owner was brushing his teeth by the wall in the yard.

Feng Xiaotian pushed open the gate and walked in, smiling. "Uncle Li, you get up so early on such a cold day."

Uncle Li, a small old man in his sixties with messy hair and a scruffy beard, was known to everyone as Old Li. Few people knew his real name.

Hearing Feng Xiaotian's words, Old Li rinsed his mouth and stood up, smiling. "Am I early? Aren't you even earlier? Xiaotian, wait a moment, I'll come out after I wash my face."

Old Li went into the house, and Feng Xiaotian responded, dumping his morning's haul on the ground. He then sorted the items into categories. When Old Li came out, Feng Xiaotian said, "Uncle Li, please come and weigh them."

Old Li nodded and smiled, holding a scale. He first tied the old cardboard boxes and newspapers together and weighed them. "The waste paper weighs five pounds and four ounces. Five cents per pound, so that's twenty-five cents. Four ounces is two cents, making a total of twenty-seven cents."

Old Li put the waste paper aside and picked up a broken pot. "This pot weighs two and a half pounds. At thirty cents per pound, that's sixty cents. Half a pound is fifteen cents, making a total of seventy-five cents. Now, let's look at the plastic..."

Old Li was very skilled at his job and finished counting and weighing Feng Xiaotian's items in less than three minutes. He then said, "Xiaotian, you did well today. All the items together are worth one yuan and sixty-three cents. Here's the money, take it."

Feng Xiaotian took the money and carefully put it in his pocket. "Thank you, Uncle Li. I'll be going now."

As Feng Xiaotian turned to leave, his eyes were drawn to a strange iron box among the scrap. He stopped and examined it closely, his eyes fixed on it.

Old Li noticed and smiled. "I got this from the university town last night. A security guard sold it to me. He said it was... something the school had discarded. I don't really understand what it is."

Feng Xiaotian, now excited, asked, "Uncle Li, how much did you pay for it? Can you... sell it to me?"

Feng Xiaotian was excited because he knew what the iron box was. He had only seen it in books, never in real life.

Old Li blinked, a bit puzzled. "Xiaotian, what do you want it for? It's just like scrap metal. I bought it at the scrap metal price, which was... two yuan and one cent. Do you really want it?"

Feng Xiaotian nodded, trying to suppress his excitement. "Uncle Li, can you sell it to me?"

Feng Xiaotian was afraid Old Li would raise the price, so he tried to keep his tone calm. Old Li looked at Feng Xiaotian and the iron box, then said, "Sure, I can sell it to you. But I had to drag it back from the university town, which is over twenty miles away. It took a lot of effort. So, I'll add a little extra for my trouble. I'll sell it to you for two yuan and fifty cents. Is that okay?"

Feng Xiaotian pretended to hesitate, then took out the money from his pocket, counted it, and handed it to Old Li. "Uncle Li, here's the money. Please check it."

Old Li, having made a small profit, laughed. "No need, Xiaotian. You've never made a mistake."

Old Li was pleased. Scrap collection was a business of buying low and selling high. The iron box was brought back with other items, and the claim of the effort involved was just a way to raise the price. Selling something bought for two yuan and one cent for two yuan and fifty cents was a good profit. Old Li, with years of experience, knew this well.

In his excitement, Old Li continued, "Xiaotian, I also brought back two other items with this. Do you want them?"

Feng Xiaotian's eyes lit up, but he quickly put on a puzzled expression. "Oh? There are other items? Can I see them?"

Old Li, perhaps hoping to make more money from Feng Xiaotian, was very enthusiastic. "The items are inside. Come with me and take a look."

Feng Xiaotian followed Old Li into the house, already guessing what the two items were, but he kept his expression neutral. When Old Li pointed to the two items and spoke, Feng Xiaotian was already lost in thought.

—This was a computer. The iron box was the computer's main unit, and the two items inside the house were the monitor and the keyboard.

In this era, computers were very rare in China, and many people had never even heard of them. However, Feng Xiaotian knew a lot about them because he had found a book while collecting trash. The book was about computer knowledge and was titled "Computer Programming Language and Programming."

Feng Xiaotian, still a teenager, was naturally very curious about new things. When he found the book, he was immediately captivated by the title—computers? A book about computer knowledge?

Feng Xiaotian kept the book and read it every night. His curiosity about computers had reached its peak. What he found most incredible was how computers executed commands and how people gave them such amazing capabilities.

Through his studies, Feng Xiaotian finally understood the principles. He also developed his own unique insights into computer programming. Seeing the computer's main unit today, his intense curiosity was instantly heightened. If he could own a computer, he could turn theory into practice, couldn't he?

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