Chapter 8

Pacing back and forth on the wooden floor, Yang Rui was waiting for his laptop to charge. He didn't dare to turn it on rashly, even though he knew the power adapter would protect it and there shouldn't be any problems, he still felt uneasy. He decided to charge the laptop first before turning it on. After pacing for half an hour, Yang Rui couldn't wait any longer. Seeing the completed manuscript, he thought it would be boring to wait, so he decided to mail the manuscript and then go for a meal. By the time he returned, the laptop should be fully charged. Just as he was about to leave with the letter, he turned back at the door, looked at the laptop charging on the table, and felt very uneasy. After some thought, he found a suitcase, put the laptop inside, zipped it up, locked it, and placed it against the wall, hiding the power cord. Only then did he feel reassured enough to close the door, lock it, and hurry out.

When he returned, everyone in the courtyard was back. As he was going upstairs, Old Deng called out to him, handing him a few letters and a money order. After thanking him, Yang Rui returned to his room and carefully read the letters. One was from the Agricultural Journal, another from the Women's Journal, and the third from the Suzhou Journal. The third one not only included a money order but also a letter. Since Yang Rui had never used his real name when writing to the journal, only an address and the pen name "Tingzijian," the sender addressed him as Mr. Tingzijian. The handwriting was very neat and elegant, much better than Yang Rui's own handwriting. The letter praised the article he had submitted on the rise and fall of dynasties and expressed hope for more contributions. It also briefly summarized the feedback after publication—mainly that the rise and fall of dynasties were due to the moral decay of rulers and ministers, the exhaustion of the dynasty's fate, the prevalence of corrupt officials, and the rebellion of the people. Yang Rui wasn't surprised by these views; people of this era could only think in such terms. The payment for the article was ten yuan, which wasn't bad. With the other two letters, he had earned twenty yuan, ensuring that he would be financially secure for the near future.

Putting the letters aside, he opened the suitcase. The laptop was fully charged, so he unplugged it, carefully placed it on the desk, and gently pressed the power button. The computer hummed softly, the screen lit up, and he entered the password in DOS—Yang Rui had set a password from the DOS level because there was a lot of company data on the laptop. The familiar Windows startup sound played, and upon hearing it, Yang Rui felt much more at ease. Soon, the account page appeared, and after entering the user password, the desktop popped up.

The entire room was bathed in the bright light from the laptop. Yang Rui sat at his desk, browsing through the files. Although he used the computer every day, he mostly used it for emails, reading novels on起点 (Qidian), and downloading movies. He rarely went through the files on the hard drive. After a quick review, he found that the files were mainly in a few categories: company data, agricultural information, movies and novels, university course materials, and personal items like photos. He couldn't help but open a photo. In the photo, he was wearing a T-shirt, smiling broadly, standing by the railing of a ship, with a clear blue sky and the white wake of the ship behind him. The sunny sky, the sea, the waves, and the long coastline made everything look bright and cheerful. It was a photo taken during a business trip to Qingdao with colleagues. Yang Rui touched the smiling face in the photo, feeling as if it were from another lifetime. His eyes welled up; in this life, he might never see his family and friends again!

As he was lost in thought, he heard footsteps outside. Mrs. Xu's voice rang out, "Mr. Yang, your light bulb is installed." Yang Rui quickly wiped his eyes, closed the laptop, hid it under the blanket, and ran to open the door. When he opened it, he saw Mrs. Xu and her daughter standing outside.

"Oh, Mrs. Xu, the light bulb is installed, but I haven't turned it on yet. Please come in," Yang Rui said. He stepped aside and turned on the light, and the room immediately brightened. Mrs. Xu exclaimed, "Wow, this is an electric light. It's so bright. Foreign things are really good." She slapped her daughter's hand, which was reaching out to touch the light bulb. The light wasn't actually very bright—it was only fifteen watts—but it was certainly better than an oil lamp. As they were looking, the sound of footsteps came again, and Mrs. Huang came upstairs to see the electric light. Mrs. Xu, being talkative, asked, "Mrs. Huang, were those two people who came to rent the room?"

Mrs. Huang was delighted that the room, which had been empty for over two months, was finally rented out, and she wouldn't have to listen to her husband's complaints about the lost rent. She smiled and said, "Yes, they said they would move in tomorrow morning. Oh, this electric light is so bright."

Mrs. Xu, being a gossip, continued, "That's great. An empty room isn't profitable. Where are they from, and what do they do?"

"They seem to work for some foreign company. They speak Cantonese, but I didn't quite understand. They just arrived in Shanghai," Mrs. Huang said, in a good mood. "I'll go clean up the room; they're coming tomorrow morning." She left, and Mrs. Xu, not wanting to stay, pulled her daughter downstairs, probably because her husband had already finished dinner and was waiting for her. The little girl didn't want to leave but was carried down by her mother.

After their visit, Yang Rui wasn't as melancholic. Being alone made him feel lonely and sad, but the bustling life around him kept him busy with trivial matters, leaving no time for loneliness. After locking the door, he lay on the bed, propped up by a pillow, and continued browsing on the laptop. After searching for a while, he found something new—a set of high school physics and chemistry textbooks. In his third year of university, he had tutored high school physics and chemistry. Since the textbooks in Shanghai were different, he had downloaded the complete set of physics and chemistry textbooks to avoid teaching incorrectly. Now, these books seemed very useful. Apart from their educational value, they contained a lot of valuable information, especially in physics and chemistry. The chemistry section, in particular, had chapters on ammonia synthesis and alkali production. If any of these could be realized, he would be rich.

Although the books only introduced the principles without detailed processes or technical diagrams, they still contained a lot of valuable information. For example, the catalysts for ammonia synthesis, which would take a lot of time and effort to find in practical applications, were simply listed as iron oxide or iron compounds. This was much easier than the trial-and-error approach used by Haber. While these could only be researched and implemented after earning money, knowing the key points would speed up the development process.

Thinking about this, Yang Rui couldn't stay still. He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth, the floorboards creaking under his feet—he was excited. If he could develop these, he would be very rich, not only financially secure but also well-known in society. Of course, once developed, these technologies would need to be kept secret. Many of them were advanced, and if they were revealed, not only the Japanese but also the Europeans would be a threat. As an individual with no roots or support, even with money, it would be hard to stand firm. He needed an identity or to bring in someone with an identity as a partner. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a solution. Sighing, he realized he was overthinking. With only twenty yuan in his pocket, he was dreaming of making hundreds of thousands or even millions. It was unrealistic.

After a few rounds of thought, he calmed down. He wasn't a young man just out of society; the internet had taught him that behind every great achievement lay a lot of despicable actions. In the pursuit of profit, there was no room for morality, and every means was used. In the end, he needed money, people, and power to survive in this society. Thinking this, he sat down calmly, remembering the letter from the Suzhou Journal. He turned off the computer and started writing.

The previous article on the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties was a compilation of others' ideas with his own additions. Since the journal liked it and requested more, he decided to continue in this vein. To earn more money, he planned to write a series. The first issue would be about why China was lagging behind, and the next would be about how China could catch up. He had a clear plan to write a long serial.

The next day, the people who moved into the second-floor bedroom arrived. They were two Cantonese men, around twenty years old, who seemed to be brothers. They spoke Cantonese, which Yang Rui could only partially understand. Later, they started chatting in English, and he learned that the older one was called Hu Da and the younger one Hu Er. When asked their full names, they said they didn't dare to reveal them, and Yang Rui didn't press further. They were actually from Chaozhou and worked for a relative's trading company, which wasn't exactly a foreign company but a subordinate institution that sold goods for foreign companies, with a semi-independent status. It turned out to be a domestic wholesaler for imported goods. The company was originally based in Guangdong, but the boss wanted to expand and opened a branch in Shanghai. The new branch lacked everything, and they had no place to stay, so they were given money to find their own accommodation. They were introduced to this place. Since they started speaking English, they would come over every day after work to invite Yang Rui to eat or have a late-night snack. It seemed they were treating him as a foreigner to practice their English. Their English was very informal, probably the pidgin English of the time, and Yang Rui would correct their mistakes, for which they were very grateful and often tried to pay, but he always refused. In Yang Rui's view, their monthly wages, after paying rent, left them with little money, and they worked hard, getting up at four in the morning to supervise unloading at the dock and sometimes working until midnight. The brothers didn't fear hard work, or perhaps people of this era didn't fear hard work.