After seeing Ru Xiaodan off, Ye Xiaoming immediately returned to the store and called his friend Feng Shijie.
Feng Shijie, 34 years old, was tall and thin, with an honest look on his face all the time. He ran a car beauty shop on Renmin Road, also dealing with car circuit repairs, car audio installations, tire inflations, and puncture repairs. After receiving Ye Xiaoming's call, he gave a few instructions to the shop assistants about business matters, then drove his Beijing 213 Jeep to find Ye Xiaoming.
After parking the car, he walked in and asked, "What's up? I'm busy over there."
Ye Xiaoming was still fixing the power amplifier. While soldering the components, he said, "Let me tell you some news first. That woman who's been coming a lot these days just ordered a set of audio equipment. She wants two sets of kits of the flagship model of Le Sheng to make a pair of bookshelf speakers, pushed by two pre-amplifiers and four power amplifiers of Srek. Maybe two power supplies are needed as well. You have a set with one pair of Le Sheng flagship speakers, one pre-amplifier, and two power amplifiers of Srek, but you've already changed them three times. Look at how high her starting point is. What are you so proud of? All that effort for nothing, right?"
Feng Shijie pulled up a chair and sat down. After thinking for a while, he asked in puzzlement, "How is it going to be pushed?"
Ye Xiaoming said, "Separate a set of signals from the CD player and send it to another pre-amplifier. Don't you understand this, since you're in the circuit business? Besides, more advanced CD players usually have two sets of outputs. There's another advantage to using two sets of pushing. That is, reducing the amplitude of the power amplifier pushing the low frequencies in one set will cause this set to shift slightly towards the mid-high frequencies. In this way, through the adjustment of the two pre-amplifiers, the most balanced waveform can be adjusted according to different records and listening environments. This is definitely not the same as the effect of gating filtering."
Feng Shijie understood now. He gasped and exclaimed, "Oh my god! How did anyone come up with this? So daring! To put it bluntly, this idea is to sacrifice the low-frequency reflection efficiency to improve the sound quality. The sound must be so stable and so tense! Using so many devices to push a pair of small bookshelf speakers, just thinking about it is so domineering! I've been wasting my time playing with audio all these years. I'm ashamed, so ashamed!"
Ye Xiaoming said, "You've made speakers yourself, and there's an existing woodworking workshop in your village. Do me a favor, will you?"
Feng Shijie lit a cigarette and said, "Don't say it's a favor. I'll make a pair for myself first. Since your store isn't closed yet, I can still get the kits and power amplifiers at the purchase price. But I just don't get it. She's a woman. How did she come up with this?"
Ye Xiaoming smiled and said, "I met an expert today. I didn't dare to tell you, afraid you'd faint."
Feng Shijie also laughed and said, "I'm almost fainting already."
Ye Xiaoming stared at the soldering point with his head down and said, "A pair of bookshelf speakers made of two sets of KTA47 kits, two Arna power supplies, a set of top-of-the-line Arna separated CD player, two Arna vacuum tube pre-amplifiers, four Arna 160-watt power amplifiers, and the wire is Blue Star Space-Time. You often read audio magazines, so I don't need to needlessly elaborate."
Feng Shijie took a moment to react and then exclaimed in amazement, "Wow... Oh my god, I'm really going to faint! Is this for real?"
Ye Xiaoming said, "I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, just an hour ago. That sound—I don't even know how to describe it. It was like an eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benz."
Feng Shijie asked urgently, "Where?"
Ye Xiaoming said, "Nan Cun Community."
Feng Shijie said doubtfully, "Nan Cun Community? Ordinary families live there. There aren't any wealthy households."
Ye Xiaoming said, "Do you remember the second-hand records you bought from Liu Bing? It's the person whose name was on the seal."
Feng Shijie asked in surprise, "Yuan Ying? Male or female?"
Ye Xiaoming replied, "Male. His surname is Ding. He looks less than 40 years old, unmarried, and sounds like he's from Beijing."
Feng Shijie let out a long "Oh" and said, "He's a die-hard audio enthusiast. Has he burned through all his money?"
Ye Xiaoming finished soldering the components and started connecting them to the CD player. He said, "Connect the speakers. I'll give it a try."
After connecting the signal lines and the power supply, Ye Xiaoming turned on the machine, and the speakers made a sound, which meant the power amplifier was fixed.
Ye Xiaoming turned down the volume to use it as background music and began to pack the tools into the toolbag. He said, "This guy isn't just a die-hard audio enthusiast. He's a true connoisseur. That set of kungfu tea utensils of his clearly shows that he's into the tea ceremony. The two laptops are obviously IBMs at first glance, and he smokes State Express 555. This isn't how die-hard audio enthusiasts usually play. Selling off records must mean he's hit some snag."
Feng Shijie said, "I feel like there's more to what you're saying."
Ye Xiaoming went to the inner room to wash his hands after packing up the tools and came out, saying, "I'm interested in the idea of his speakers and also that cabinet. That cabinet has 12 compartments, with no extra materials. You can't find the stress points at the front, back, left, or right. It achieves stability through simplicity and simplicity through stability. It's beautiful! I've never seen anything like it in the market."
Feng Shijie guessed, "You mean..."
Ye Xiaoming waved his hand and said, "Who am I to have wild ideas? When you ask them to make the speakers, get them to make one of those cabinets too. We'll include it in the audio configuration in the end. Anyway, someone's paying for it. Why not give it a try? No furniture factory will take on such a small job. Even if they do, we can't trust them. It's not the same trade."
Feng Shijie said, "I'm confident about making the speakers. I've done it before. But I'm not so sure about the cabinet. After all, it's a small village workshop, mostly relying on manual work. I can't promise you without seeing the thing."
Ye Xiaoming said, "It can definitely be done. It's much simpler than making speakers. It's just a matter of getting the idea, and it'll click right away."
Feng Shijie put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and said, "When will you take me to have a look? At least let me broaden my horizons and have an audio treat. After all, I should have some experience."
Ye Xiaoming smiled meaningfully and said with a hidden message, "Just for having a look? Isn't it a bit too plain? Haven't you always wanted to do something for the village? As for this Mr. Ding, do you know what kind of big shot he is? I'm just supposing. Maybe it could be an opportunity. You won't lose anything, and you might just reap some benefits."
Feng Shijie finally got the hint and said, "Your mind is really more flexible than mine. You can spot opportunities."
Ye Xiaoming said, "Come on. I'm more flexible? I'm closing up. I'm just saying this casually. Audio enthusiasts have a mutual understanding. Just communicate, have fun."
Feng Shijie said, "Your mind is flexible. Why don't you go and communicate? I know this is about currying favor."
Ye Xiaoming leaned back, spread his arms, and laughed, "Look at me. Although I have a bit of a bookish air, I look like a shrewd merchant at first glance, and it's hard for people to get close to me. You look honest and easy to get along with. You have a car and some savings. You can afford it."
Feng Shijie stood up and walked around the room a few steps. He said, "Then... communicate?"
Ye Xiaoming said meaningfully, "Communicate!"