Chapter 102: Penguin (Requesting Recommended Tickets)

That night, he went to discuss the order with Charlie. The last order of seventy units had already surprised him, and now, learning that more than two hundred computers were to be purchased, Charlie, the retail store owner, was utterly shocked. He probed subtly, trying to find out how Sumu managed to sell so many.

Sumu wasn’t foolish enough to divulge business secrets; he simply claimed to know an influential figure in a certain company, and this time the quantity was even greater. He offered Charlie a ten-dollar commission per computer.

After much haggling, Charlie managed to raise the profit to twelve dollars per unit and, delighted, made a call to IBM’s sales department to place the order as Sumu requested. With just one phone call, he earned nearly three thousand dollars, didn’t have to handle delivery, and as for future maintenance, that was the company’s concern.

IBM’s warehouses were full of stock, so the next day the computers were delivered to various training centers. To avoid arousing suspicion, delivery times were scheduled for morning, evening, and night. The quantity was so large that Sumu spent two hundred dollars hiring a truck driver to assist, and the entire Sunday was devoted to this task.

News of the competitors purchasing computers quickly spread, prompting two hesitant programming training centers to respond to Sumu, ordering twenty-seven and forty-five computers respectively, adding another handsome profit.

Li Ping’an received three thousand dollars for his hard work and was so overjoyed he couldn’t stop grinning, mumbling about “getting rich” and “making money” even as he slept. When Monday came and Sumu went to class, Li Ping’an earnestly studied computer specifications and pricing, preparing to take on the role of salesperson in the company.

While delivering goods, they learned from a programming school owner that he intended to sell off his old computers. When Sumu heard this, he immediately sensed another business opportunity.

The next day, he sent Li Ping’an to a training center specializing in computer repair, and helped sell twenty old computers, earning over nine hundred dollars in the process.

The computer sales business was booming, and Sumu was increasingly convinced of its prospects, especially seeing how much money could be made just around Stanford University.

On October 24th, he took a “sick day,” went to Daniel’s house, and invited Mrs. Josiah to help him quickly register a company, so as to better expand his business.

Describing the computer sales market of this era as “fields of gold” was apt.

The individual retail market had yet to broaden, but companies needing computers were already driving significant demand.

Sumu was among the earliest entrants, and so was Michael Dell.

The now-famous founder of Dell Computers was, at this time, a nineteen-year-old youth with large glasses and a slightly chubby appearance. Compared to Sumu, Michael Dell had developed even more successfully, having already opened up the Houston market.

In January of this year, Dell registered a “PC Limited” company, placed ads in local newspapers, and sold assembled computers branded with his own name, “Dell,” to customers. Business was good, earning him tens of thousands of dollars each month. Soon after, he registered the Dell Company, making over thirty thousand dollars in just two months over the summer and even attracting the attention of journalists.

Last night, he unexpectedly learned from his friend George that several programming training centers were collectively upgrading their computers, and the salespeople were two young Chinese boys. This piqued Michael Dell’s interest greatly.

There is no secret that cannot leak; within just a few days, the owners of those training centers had already grasped the gist of what had happened. They were speechless, but since replacing their computers was inevitable, no one pursued the matter further.

George, a friend of James, now worked at IBM and lived in the same room as Sumu.

Michael Dell was eager to meet these two young competitors and, with George’s consent, paid them a visit on the evening of October 24th, bringing a bottle of red wine as a gift…

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That evening, Sumu was in his room doing homework. The teacher had assigned them a book last month, and the book report was due next week. He spent over an hour reading “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and couldn’t help expressing his dissatisfaction with racism in his reflections.

Looking back, he saw Li Ping’an still hugging the contract and grinning foolishly. Sumu rolled his eyes and said, “Can you stop making that face? You look like an idiot.”

“I can’t help it. Just seeing it makes me smile. I’m actually a company owner now—you’re the big boss, and I’m the junior boss.” Li Ping’an carefully flipped through the contract, seeing that he held ten percent of the shares, and his smile grew even wider.

That morning, they registered a company in Mrs. Josiah’s name and then found a lawyer to sign several documents.

For the symbolic price of one dollar, Mrs. Josiah transferred her shares in the company, continuing to serve as “Chief Executive Officer,” earning one hundred and fifty dollars a month until Sumu came of age.

Worried about future complications, they had the lawyer draft an agreement proving Mrs. Josiah was not actually involved with the company, mainly to prevent any disputes down the line. Two notaries assisted in confirming this.

Sumu held ninety percent of the shares, Li Ping’an ten percent. The company, named “Penguin,” was officially founded today, utterly unremarkable.

They spent a long time brainstorming names—“Stellar,” “Cherry,” and “Blueberry” had all been registered, so Sumu settled for this backup. He liked chubby penguins.

With a registered capital of twenty thousand dollars, Sumu invested all the profits he’d made recently, and Li Ping’an contributed two thousand dollars.

Though he held shares in two companies, Sumu was still quite poor. He laughed and asked, “How about hiring a few salespeople this weekend? Adults would seem more reliable, and with so many high schools in California, there’s no way the two of us can manage it all.”

“Sure, but how do you plan to recruit? We don’t even have an office yet—should we rent one?” Li Ping’an perked up at the prospect of business.

Sumu put down his pen and stretched. “No rush for now—we don’t have enough people to need an office. We could rent a warehouse nearby. We lose a lot of profit dealing through intermediaries, so next we’ll buy directly from IBM. But first, we need a big deal to prove we have what it takes to be distributors.”

His dream of sitting in an office and bossing employees around would have to wait. Li Ping’an pressed, “Don’t you have that Stanford student who’s interning at IBM? Can’t he help?”

“Not really. He just started, and he’s not even in the right department.”

As soon as George was mentioned, he arrived. There was a knock at the door, and from outside he said, “Leon, I have a friend who’d like to meet you. He’s also selling computers lately—maybe you two can talk.”

Sumu tensed instantly, instinctively fearing that the person whose business he’d recently poached had now come to confront him…