The gap between dreams and reality can be as wide as the difference between a plain steamed bun and a filled one. The next morning, Huang Xuan attended his second lesson in capital accumulation: "Don't make promises lightly, especially when dealing with someone more powerful than you." While he had anticipated that Lorin, the base guardian, would have a significant appetite for energy, he hadn't expected it to be this insatiable. The "great" Mr. Lorin claimed, "I calculated last night, and I need approximately 24.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is about 8.82 × 10¹³ joules."
Doing some rough calculations, Huang Xuan remembered that the electricity rate at his school was 0.52 yuan per kilowatt-hour. This meant that the 24.5 million kilowatt-hours would cost 12.74 million yuan—almost all of the money from the sale of the stamps, after taxes. The most frustrating part was that he couldn't even access that money.
Huang Xuan considered backing out but first asked, "Lorin, where am I supposed to charge your base?"
"The base belongs to the Alliance," Lorin corrected. "You can use the energy chain within a 10-kilometer range."
"Energy chain?"
"A type of transmission medium. I'll send it to your bedroom."
Huang Xuan wasn't interested in learning more about the energy chain. Instead, he pressed on, "That doesn't seem very safe. You know, with such a large amount of electricity, a lot of people would find it suspicious." Lorin had clearly thought of this, replying, "Given your family's resources, I believe you can complete it within thirty days."
"And what excuse should I give my family? I checked, and Nanjing's daily electricity consumption is only about seventy to eighty million kilowatt-hours. Even if we spread this out over thirty days, such a large amount of electricity would surely violate your first priority rule, wouldn't it?"
At the mention of the first priority, Lorin paused, clearly considering it, but still refused to budge, "The range can be extended to 10 to 100 kilometers, but it would result in a 10% loss. You can decide."
Huang Xuan was stunned, "A hundred kilometers is still within Nanjing. It's the same issue."
It seemed strange for Lorin to make such a mistake, but Huang Xuan didn't notice. After a pause, Lorin added, "The time frame can be extended, but you must still provide at least 10 million kilowatt-hours of energy within thirty days. Of course, thermal or solar energy would work as well."
"Would work as well," Huang Xuan muttered under his breath. He made one last effort, "Aren't you worried that I might expose you?"
"I believe you'll find a way, and I can offer you sufficient compensation."
Huang Xuan scoffed. He had little interest in empty promises, but as a member of the Huang family, he felt it was his duty, and within his ability, to establish a good relationship with this unknown entity. Since he had agreed to help, he couldn't afford to defy his mother's house arrest order. He quickly gathered his things, retrieved the energy chain—a small, black, phone-sized block—from behind his bed, and stuffed it into his inner pocket before sneaking out through the backyard.
This route was one Huang Xuan had taken many times since childhood. He hailed a taxi and headed directly to the nearby Fuxin District construction site, a property of Sifang Group's real estate subsidiary, managed by his cousin.
Fuxin District had only been under construction for less than half a year and was still in a state of disarray. The civil engineering work had just begun, with thick bundles of rebar sticking out from the ground. The entire site was filled with the roar of machinery. Huang Xuan passed through the gate, which resembled a dirt wall, and after a quick glance around, spotted the only row of complete buildings.
His cousin wasn't there, but a clerk-like man was sitting behind a rustic desk, looking very much like a village secretary. He wore a wrinkled suit that had turned gray, with two buttons undone on his shirt. Although he was dressed better than the workers on the site, the difference wasn't significant.
"Can I help you?" The man noticed Huang Xuan blocking the sunlight and looked up.
"Yes, I'm looking for Zhang Haoki."
"Mr. Zhang isn't here." Seeing that Huang Xuan was a well-dressed young man, Li Shenggang secretly assessed him. The Nike shoes alone probably cost as much as his monthly salary, and while he couldn't identify the brand of the clothes, Huang Xuan's fair complexion clearly indicated he wasn't some street thug. Li Shenggang didn't dare be rude and added, "He's probably at the head office right now. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm his cousin," Huang Xuan replied, disliking the man's shifty eyes, which in novels were almost always associated with villains. Seeing no one else around, he continued, "Give him a call and tell him Huang Xuan is looking for him."
"Sure, sure." Hearing that this was the boss's cousin, Li Shenggang's face broke into a broad smile. He instinctively reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes but thought better of it, offering Huang Xuan a chipped enamel mug of water instead. "My name is Li Shenggang, you can just call me Xiao Li. Please wait a moment while I make the call."
There's a saying that you can't be too polite. Although Li Shenggang's excessive flattery and constant use of "you" was a bit off-putting, Huang Xuan forced a smile, took the enamel mug, and placed it beside him, turning his head to look out the window.
Still grinning, Li Shenggang dialed the phone, talking as he did so, "The site is just getting started, but in half a year, there will be at least twice as many people here. In a year, a third of the houses will be built. If you want to pick a house, now's the best time."
It seemed that he had mistaken Huang Xuan for a relative looking to freeload, but Huang Xuan didn't bother to correct him, feigning interest in the view outside.
"Hello, Secretary Liu? There's someone here who says he's Mr. Zhang's cousin and wants to see him. He's at the site now… Yes, Mr. Zhang… He says his name is Huang Xuan… Oh…" Before he could finish, Huang Xuan snatched the phone and said, "Cousin, it's me, Huang Xuan. Are you in the city?"
There was a hearty laugh from the other end of the line, "Yes, I am. I have a dinner to attend tonight. What brings you to the site? You could've just called me. It's dirty and chaotic there, not much fun."
"It's not about fun." Huang Xuan forced a smile. "I need your help with something, and I thought I'd take a look at your site while I'm at it. It's close to home anyway. I have a classmate who wants to rent some generators but doesn't have anywhere to store them, so I thought of you."
"Renting generators?" Zhang Haoki was puzzled for a moment before responding, "Well, we can store them on the site. Where does he need the electricity?"
How could Huang Xuan answer that? He couldn't exactly say it was for charging a device the size of a phone. Sticking to his prepared story, he said, "He's building a factory nearby and needs a lot of electricity. They underestimated the load, and now the local grid is maxed out. There's a residential area nearby, so it's not convenient to place the generators there. That's why I'm asking for your help." This was a common issue for small factories. While industrial development zones had robust infrastructure, the more established they were, the higher the land value and associated costs. This made it difficult for small factories to afford entry. Even long-established factories in development zones might relocate to reduce daily expenses, trading some of their land value in the process. In such cases, incentives offered by towns could be attractive, but basic infrastructure like power could become a bottleneck. Large generators were so loud they could disturb not just a village but a small town as well.
Although Huang Xuan had little experience, he had often overheard such topics in family conversations and among his parents' friends. Hearing this, Zhang Haoki understood and figured it was just another eager young person trying to prove themselves. Since his cousin had asked, he thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. The site will have space available for the next couple of months. Feel free to use it. Let me speak to the assistant."
"Great." Relieved to have solved one problem, Huang Xuan then thought about the millions of kilowatt-hours needed and added, "By the way, can we divert some of your site's electricity as well? I'll pay you for whatever we use."
"Sure." With his cousin's easy agreement, Huang Xuan handed the phone back to Li Shenggang.
All that could be heard were a series of "oh, oh" responses from the assistant, as if there were some special instructions being given. After a while, he hung up the phone, wiped his forehead, and smiled widely, showing his front teeth. "Young Master Huang, Mr. Zhang says I'm at your service for the next few days. Just let me know when and what you need, and I'll find a place right away."
The title "Young Master Huang" sent a shiver down Huang Xuan's spine. He quickly waved it off, "Just call me Huang Xuan. There's no need for 'Young Master.' You know the site better, so find a large enough space to place the generators, and handle the rest as you see fit."
"Yes, Mr. Huang." Huang Xuan shook his head, not in the mood to deal with him any further.
Li Shenggang then asked, "What about the wiring? Where should it be connected?"
Huang Xuan hadn't planned on connecting the power to anything. He didn't want to deal with it and replied impatiently, "Just get everything set up first. By the way, my cousin said you're on loan to me?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhang said I'm at your disposal now."
"Fine, then get me some generators. Whatever's the most cost-effective. Just make sure they add up to a large capacity." Huang Xuan pulled all the money from his pocket, which totaled about 12,000 yuan. It seemed too little to be the total amount, so he said, "Consider this a deposit. Once everything's ready, let me know."
"Of course, of course." Li Shenggang nodded repeatedly, taking the small slip of paper with Huang Xuan's phone number, and then respectfully handed over his business card. Huang Xuan accepted it but felt the man was too ingratiating and didn't want to linger. He got up to leave, reminding him, "I'll be back this afternoon. Calculate the site's electricity usage and let me know how much extra there is. Also, get those generators rented as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, Mr. Huang." Li Shenggang squinted his eyes and swayed as he escorted Huang Xuan out.