Chapter 40

I'm not sure if the fourth-generation internet cafe management technology can be realized by the late 90s. If there are any errors, please point them out... I'll have another update a bit later! Your support is appreciated!

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In the evening, Qiulin brought seven classmates to the computer room, making a total of nine people including himself and Xu Xiaoying.

At this time, the computer room was still bustling with business, and the computers could not afford to stop for a moment. Song Chen gestured for Qiulin, Xu Xiaoying, and the other eight to wait, then turned to ask the customers, "Is anyone going to log off soon?"

A customer who was anxiously waiting also called out, "Let me on if someone logs off! My brother will treat you!"

"Sorry! I'll play at least until 9 o'clock!"

"No one is, boss!"

Song Chen smiled and said, "We'll be upstairs, just call if you need us!"

"No problem!"

Only then did Song Chen gesture for Xu Xiaoying to take the money and lead the group of classmates, both male and female, upstairs.

It was still the bedroom on the second floor. The boys sat on plastic stools, the girls on the bed, and Song Chen stood by the desk in front of the window.

Thinking about how Song Chen and that beautiful woman had once been intimate on this bed, Xu Xiaoying, sitting on the bed, felt restless, her face flushed, and she dared not meet Song Chen's gaze.

"I believe Qiulin has mentioned my proposal to all of you!" Song Chen cleared his throat, leaning against the desk, looking very composed, "Since you've come, I assume you're quite interested!"

A girl who was not particularly outstanding pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and asked, "We have some idea of what the internet cafe needs, but what the boss wants might be different. Could you elaborate on your requirements?"

"Do you all bring your notebooks?" Song Chen asked.

Everyone nodded, and Song Chen smiled, nodding, "Good, but before I start explaining my requirements, I hope everyone can introduce themselves. Who among you has the best grades?"

The answer was clear. Qiulin and the other dozen or so classmates all looked at Xu Xiaoying, whose face was flushed. Qiulin sighed, "Our professor said Xiaoying is the best architect in our class!"

Song Chen nodded and said, "The company is still on paper, but we can start building its framework. Let Xu Xiaoying be the team leader for the internet cafe project. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No!" Everyone was convinced of Xu Xiaoying's abilities.

So, Qiulin and the others cheered and clapped. Xu Xiaoying stood up and bowed slightly, saying nervously, "I'll do my best!"

"Next..." Song Chen smiled and asked, "Who among you has the best social skills?"

"Qiulin!" Everyone pointed at Qiulin, and a girl laughed loudly, "He's even the president of the school's software design association! ——Although there are hardly any members, and they're all boys! Haha!"

"Since that's the case, Qiulin will be the deputy team leader for the internet cafe system project, responsible for coordination."

Qiulin stood up with a shy face and bowed slightly, "Please take care of me!"

"Promoted to a big position! Treat us, Qiulin!" A boy called out.

"Treat us! Treat us!" Qiulin chuckled.

Song Chen clapped his hands and smiled, "Regardless of whether Qiulin treats us or not, I'll treat you all later!"

"Oh! The boss is so nice!"

Xu Xiaoying looked at Song Chen, who was a few years younger than her, with a complex expression. She marveled at the vast difference in people's abilities. While everyone else was still studying in university, he had already thought about starting his own business! A first-year student on leave already had the ability to command seniors two years older than him!

"Now, the last thing I want to clarify! Do you have a place to develop software on your own?"

The students looked at each other, and Qiulin pondered, "Actually, boss, I've noticed this problem too. Although we have many computer classes, we have our own homework to complete, and the teachers are watching us, so we can't easily find time to develop this software. We can only work on it when the computer room is not in use for classes. We... also need a lot of floppy disks!"

Song Chen nodded, closed his eyes, and thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, let's go all the way and buy ten computers for your use!"

"Oh! The boss is so great!" Everyone cheered and stood up to celebrate.

"No computer games on them!" Song Chen added, drawing a chorus of boos.

"Ah! The boss is so mean!" Everyone looked like deflated eggplants, dejected.

"Consider this a rehearsal for your real jobs!" Song Chen smiled and comforted them, "Although you can't play games, I don't mind if you listen to music or play some small games like Solitaire or Minesweeper! Now, everyone take out your pens and write down my requirements for this software!"

The nine people immediately sat up straight, their faces serious.

"First, a robust database structure and a complete client! This is the most important. I don't want this software to be cracked as soon as it's released! This would cause huge economic losses to any internet cafe using the system and ruin our company's reputation!"

"Second, a clean, clear, and easy-to-use graphical interface! No need to give examples, just compare the operability of DOS and Windows 95 to understand its importance! After all, the users of this software will not be software developers!"

"Third, flexible and variable billing rate settings! I believe Xu Xiaoying and Qiulin understand that the computer room downstairs charges differently for university students and non-university students! You need to consider the difference between members and non-members of the internet cafe!"

"Fourth, a user-friendly membership management system..."

"Fifth, ..."

Song Chen explained the internet cafe management system of the future, breaking it down and explaining it to everyone. As an outsider, Song Chen naturally didn't realize that his requirements for the internet cafe billing system had already transitioned to the "card reader + IC card" era, which belonged to the fourth-generation internet cafe management technology!

After writing down Song Chen's technical requirements, everyone was deep in thought when Song Chen continued.

"Important features can be developed first, including a robust database structure, flexible billing management, and a user-friendly interface! Qiulin." Song Chen pointed at Qiulin, who raised his hand in a "present" manner, and smiled, "You're responsible for the internet cafe project! You'll manage it specifically! The computers will arrive in a few days. In the meantime, discuss among yourselves and start developing the software's main body at school, then divide the tasks accordingly!"

Qiulin and the other eight people looked at Song Chen in surprise, then turned to look at Xu Xiaoying, who was biting her lower lip, pointing at her and then at himself, puzzled, "Isn't Xiaoying in charge? She's the team leader!" Xu Xiaoying also looked at Song Chen with bright, beautiful eyes.

Shaking his head, Song Chen said, "Xiaoying, I have another software project for her!"

Qiulin suddenly understood and also felt relieved, smiling, "No problem, leave it to me!"

"Discuss it among yourselves first, Xiaoying, come with me for a moment!"

Song Chen waved to Xu Xiaoying, leading her to the back of the second floor. He looked at her beautiful, round chin and asked, "Have you used ICQ before?"

"Used it!" Xu Xiaoying bit her lower lip, "It's an Israeli-developed communication program, but I rarely use it!"

Song Chen was stumped, thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you know where the nearby internet cafe is?"

Xu Xiaoying nodded.

So, Song Chen immediately had Xu Xiaoy lead him to an internet cafe called Minglong. They opened a computer in Song Chen's name and shared it. Xu Xiaoying sat on a plastic chair, and Song Chen stood behind her, bending over to guide her, their faces only a few centimeters apart, the posture quite ambiguous.

The steady, long breaths of the boy on her face reminded Xu Xiaoying of the events of the afternoon. She reminded herself of the danger and infidelity of the man beside her, who had a girlfriend but still slept with another woman... Thinking about it, Xu Xiaoying's round face turned red despite her efforts.

Song Chen didn't notice Xu Xiaoying's emotions. He knew about ICQ but had never used it and didn't know what its logo looked like! However, the ICQ icon on the Windows 95 desktop reminded him of his goal.

"This!"

At this time, ICQ did not have a Chinese version, but this level of English was not a problem for college students. Under Song Chen's guidance, Xu Xiaoying registered an account and logged into the ICQ interface.

"I want to develop a software like this! Can I entrust this task to you, Xiaoying?" Song Chen asked softly while staring at the screen.

"If I can refer to its source code, I think I can quickly provide you with a Chinese version!" Xu Xiaoying felt her cheeks burning, trying to focus on work to distract herself.

Suddenly, she saw a thumbnail icon on the desktop and asked in surprise, "What's this?"

"Don't open it!" Song Chen, as someone who had experienced the internet boom, especially as a proud member of the "glorious" otaku community, knew exactly what it was. But it was too late to stop her; Xu Xiaoying had already opened the icon.

A few seconds later, a pornographic image of Western adults appeared on the screen.

"Boom," Xu Xiaoying's delicate face almost bled, and as she turned to look, her lips accidentally touched Song Chen's.

Both of them widened their eyes. Xu Xiaoying's body stiffened, stunned on the spot. Song Chen was also surprised for a moment, but his experience told him how to handle the situation. The soft lips gave him great pleasure, and he no longer hesitated, tasting the slightly parted lips of the beauty and tentatively licking her tongue.

To Song Chen's surprise, the beauty did not resist his invasion but tried to use her small tongue to respond to his advances.

Xu Xiaoying, in a daze, endured Song Chen's invasion in her mouth, passively accepting the advances of the man a few years younger than her. It wasn't until she heard strange comments from nearby that she hurriedly pushed Song Chen away, turning her head, not daring to look at Song Chen or the pornographic screen.

Song Chen licked his sweet lips, closed the image, went to the counter to pay for the computer, and then led Xu Xiaoying out of the Minglong internet cafe.

On the way, the two of them kept a few meters apart, neither speaking.

Unable to bear the awkward silence, Song Chen cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry! I just..."

"It's okay!" Xu Xiaoying said softly.

Song Chen, helpless, said, "I'll buy an ICQ installation CD for you to study tomorrow! Where are we going now? Back to the dorm?"

At this moment, Xu Xiaoying seemed to remember something, looked at the sky, and her face changed, saying, "I have something to do, I'll leave first! See you tomorrow!"

Without waiting for Song Chen to respond, she ran away without looking back.

Song Chen shook his head and went back alone. When he returned to the computer room, Qiulin was sitting with his legs crossed, studying his notebook. Seeing Song Chen return, he quickly put his legs down and greeted him. Song Chen, curious, asked, "Where are the others?"

Qiulin pointed upstairs and said, "They're discussing the division of labor, and..."

Qiulin rubbed his hands and said with a smile, "Everyone is waiting for you to treat them! This isn't my idea! The boss promised it himself!"

Song Chen, both amused and exasperated, could only shake his head and sigh, "You continue your discussion, I'll go get some food for you! Or... you stay behind?"

"Don't... Boss, have a good walk! Long live the boss!"

{Piaotian Literature www.PiaoTian.com Thank you for the support of all the readers, your support is our greatest motivation}

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