Chapter 122 Selling Electricity

John was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"There is one more thing." Mu Xin's expression became more serious. "I don't intend to use this batch of machines only in Oxford Town."

"With an installed capacity of 400 megawatts, Oxford Town cannot use that much. The peak load is only 20 megawatts, so the remaining 380 megawatts are surplus."

Mu Xin stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, drew a line under "20 Russian-made engines," and then wrote a few lines:

— Oxford Town self-use: 20 megawatts

— Surrounding towns power supply: 100 megawatts

— AI data center power supply: 200 megawatts

— Reserve: 80 megawatts

John walked to the whiteboard and frowned as he looked at the numbers. "AI data centers? Mr. Mu, are you planning to do power business with those internet giants?"

"Not with them." Mu Xin shook his head. "It's with those small and medium-sized companies working on AI."

"Internet giants have their own power plants and don't need me, but those small and medium-sized companies are different. They can't afford to rent computing clusters worth tens of billions of dollars, but they do need electricity."

"AI training requires a massive amount of electricity. The peak power consumption of a single H100 is 700 watts, and a data center has tens of thousands of cards. Electricity bills are one of the biggest operating costs."

Mu Xin added another line of small text under "AI data center power supply": "Price per kilowatt-hour: 20% above market rate."

"You're robbing them blind..." John's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at that line.

"It's not robbery." Mu Xin put down the marker. "I am doing the right business at the right time in the right place."

"AI is a bubble right now. NVIDIA's market value has already soared to several trillion dollars, and everyone thinks AI will change the world."

"But imagine the internet bubble around the year 2000. Back then, everyone thought the internet would change everything, and every stock related to the internet was skyrocketing."

"Then the bubble burst, hundreds of companies went bankrupt, and countless dollars evaporated."

"Which ones survived? Not the ones peddling internet concepts, but those selling shovels."

"Cisco, Intel, Microsoft—they didn't run websites; they sold equipment, software, and technology."

"Regardless of whether your website goes under, you still have to buy routers and servers from them."

"It's the same with AI now. NVIDIA is selling shovels, TSMC is selling shovels, and every company providing infrastructure for AI is selling shovels."

"Right now, electricity is a more fundamental shovel than the shovels themselves. Without electricity, your H100s are just a pile of scrap metal."

"Regardless of whether the AI bubble bursts, as long as people are training models, they need electricity."

"And I currently have 400 megawatts of power generation capacity in my hands, which can deliver electricity to those who need it most in the shortest amount of time."

"During the Gold Rush, the people who sold shovels made money, but the people who sold jeans made more, the people who sold water made more, and the people who sold tools made more." Mu Xin leaned against the windowsill, his hands in his pockets.

"Because the people digging for gold might not find gold, but for those who provide services, every transaction is guaranteed."

"Electricity is the most guaranteed transaction of this era."

"Do you think the AI bubble will burst?" John asked.

"I don't know," Mu Xin said. "But right now, everyone is short on electricity."

"Ramaswamy's 20 machines are just the beginning. If he can get more engines, I will buy more machines and build larger power plants."

"Not to provide power to Oxford Town, but to provide power to those willing to pay a high price."

John took a deep breath. He had originally thought Mu Xin bought these machines just to solve the hotel's power plant expansion issue, but now he realized this man's ambition went far beyond that.

The hotel was just a fulcrum, and the power plant was just a springboard. What Mu Xin wanted wasn't a hotel or a power plant, but the infrastructure lifeline of a city.

Water, electricity, security, medical care—he held every single lifeline of Oxford Town in his hands.

And now, he was starting to export these capabilities.

John shook his head without speaking and picked up the purchase letter of intent from the table, putting it into his pocket.

"When should we start talking with Ramaswamy?"

"This afternoon," Mu Xin said. "I've already made an appointment with him, at the Morris Building again."

"You don't need to avoid it. This matter was meant for you to handle. You are the legal representative of the Oxford Town Security Management Company; it is only natural for you to negotiate the procurement contract with him."

"Then how should I negotiate with him?"

Mu Xin thought for a moment and then said four words: "Use both soft and hard tactics."

John was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It means you need to let him know two things. First, you are the only one who can help him clear this inventory."

"Second, if he dares to pull any tricks with this shipment, you will let him know what a retired special forces soldier is like." Mu Xin looked into John's eyes.

"It's not threatening him; it's making him understand a fact: you have guns in your hands, your company has many people just like you, and you fear nothing."

"And for a politician like him, what he fears most is someone who doesn't value their own life."

John nodded. "I understand."

"One more thing." Mu Xin took a check out of the drawer and pushed it in front of John; the amount field was blank.

"Keep this check. Whenever Ramaswamy transports the machines to Oxford Town, you fill in the number. Anything under 50 million is your call."

John looked at the blank check, his fingers trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of fear, but because he suddenly realized that what Mu Xin had given him wasn't just a job, a house, or a blank check, but a kind of unconditional trust.

He had felt this kind of trust in the army, but that was the trust between brothers who had carried guns together, a trust earned with life.

But the trust Mu Xin gave him didn't require him to trade his life; it only required him to do his job well.

This feeling was heavier than any paycheck.

"Mr. Mu," John's voice was a bit hoarse. "I won't let you down."

"I know," Mu Xin patted his shoulder. "Go ahead. We'll talk about the negotiations this afternoon."

Mu Xin stood by the window, watching John's car drive out of the parking lot and disappear at the end of the street.

Afterward, he added another line to the whiteboard:

"AI Power Supply Plan — Phase 1: 400 megawatts. Target Customers: Small and medium-sized AI companies. Pricing Strategy: 20% above market rate."

He looked at this line, was silent for a few seconds, then drew a line under "20%" and wrote a phrase next to it: "No cap."

In a bubble economy, electricity prices are more resilient than chips.

Chips can drop in price, can be iterated, and can be replaced by competitors.

But electricity cannot. Training models requires electricity, inference requires electricity, cooling servers requires electricity. Without electricity, everything is zero.

This game of chess was getting bigger and bigger.