TL: Etude
As the group stepped out, they made their way toward the center of the dilapidated village.
Along the way, Chen Jianghai saw many homeless people, many of whom were holding various scraps in their hands, such as cardboard, plastic buckets, radios, and the like.
At this moment, Chen Jianghai's curiosity intensified.
In his past life, he truly had no knowledge that there existed such a place in Linghai.
"The things you want are all in there," Brother Qiang said, stopping in front of a black house.
Then, one of Brother Qiang's men opened the door, revealing the contents within to Chen Jianghai's eyes.
A flash of surprise crossed Chen Jianghai's face upon seeing the items inside.
There was indeed a large accumulation of old electrical appliances.
As for Zhao Changgui, his face was devoid of any expression, as if nothing could perturb him.
Chen Jianghai's surprise was fleeting, and he quickly regained his composure.
Brother Qiang had been observing Chen Jianghai's reactions and noted that aside from the initial surprise, there were no further changes in his demeanor.
Seeing this, Brother Qiang grew extremely curious.
Just what kind of background did this Chen Jianghai have?
Chen Jianghai walked in for a glance. The room was roughly over two hundred square meters, filled to the brim with electrical appliances, mostly radios and televisions.
Not only that, there were even air conditioners and washing machines, though in small numbers, not even totaling ten.
He roughly estimated that there were about a thousand various kinds of electrical appliances inside.
As Chen Jianghai walked, he casually assessed the damage to these appliances, finding that most were merely old. With some repairs, they could still be used, and after a refurbishment, they could be sold off.
"How about it? The goods are all here. How many do you want?" Brother Qiang approached Chen Jianghai, asking with a hint of anticipation.
If they could be sold at the price mentioned, it would be a great profit since selling the copper wires separately wouldn't bring much money.
Chen Jianghai replied with a slight smile, "I'll take all that can be used."
"Oh?"
Brother Qiang said with a playful tone, "That's quite the claim. Do you know how much it will cost to buy everything?"
"Of course, I know. But I'm not buying everything all at once; I need to take the goods in batches," Chen Jianghai responded with conviction.
The televisions he had previously given to Fang Aiguo had been selling for several days now, and if nothing unexpected occurred, he should be receiving the payment soon.
With that money, he could purchase a large amount of old electrical appliances here, which would be much faster than collecting them through Fang Aiguo.
In this way, there was no need to look around for work; he could just stay in the warehouse assembling electrical appliances.
Brother Qiang nodded, "Then I'll take your word for it. I'll hold onto these old appliances until you come to collect them."
Chen Jianghai nodded, "Good, I'll come back in a few days. I'll be leaving now."
With that, he turned to leave with Zhao Changgui and Scarface.
"No need to see you out!"
Brother Qiang nodded, watching as the figure of the young man disappeared from view.
...
Returning to the warehouse, Zhao Changgui remained silent, as if nothing that had happened concerned him.
As for Scarface, he had left halfway through.
"It's fine now, Changgui, you can go back early too," Chen Jianghai said, patting Zhao Changgui's arm.
But Zhao Changgui shook his head, "It's still early. I'll leave at five."
For someone like Zhao Changgui, a word once given was like water poured out, irrevocable.
Chen Jianghai didn't try to persuade him and instead turned to get busy with his work.
There were indeed many semi-new appliances at Brother Qiang's place. To acquire these appliances, he would need sufficient funds.
Chen Jianghai had never considered running a tab there. When dealing with someone like Brother Qiang, it was best to be cautious and not to get too close.
Fang Aiguo had already taken ten televisions to sell, and the warehouse still had enough broken televisions to assemble about ten or eight more sets.
Twenty televisions could bring in a profit of at least four thousand yuan for oneself.
With this four thousand yuan as capital, one could then talk business with Brother Qiang.
According to Chen Jianghai's original plan, it would take at least half a year to saturate the second-hand electronics business around Linghai.
But with the appearance of Brother Qiang, he greatly shortened this timeframe.
Chen Jianghai, who had returned from the future, understood a principle: to make a fortune, relying on oneself to earn money was unrealistic.
Earning money through others, this was the true path.
In the blink of an eye, it was already five o'clock. Chen Jianghai finally put down the tools in his hand, and seeing Zhao Changgui still squatting outside the door, he couldn't help but say, "Changgui, you haven't left yet?"
Zhao Changgui stood up, "Yeah, I'm leaving now."
Chen Jianghai waved his hand, "Go on, if you don't go back now, your sister is going to worry."
Zhao Changgui nodded, turned, and left.
But after a few steps, he turned back around.
"Brother Chen, will you need help tomorrow?" Zhao Changgui opened his mouth, forcing out a sentence.
It was clear that he had been thinking about this question for a long time.
Chen Jianghai thought for a moment. Zhao Changgui's question did serve as a reminder.
It was the 1990s now, and there were too many disorderly people around; you never knew when you might encounter them.
If Zhao Changgui was around, surely many problems could be avoided.
Consider it a kind of insurance, and incidentally, it would also be a help to Zhao Changgui.
"Yeah, Changgui, how about this? From now on, you work with me. You'll be responsible for watching the warehouse and the shop, four hundred yuan a month. What do you think?" Chen Jianghai held up four fingers and asked.
Zhao Changgui was stunned for a moment and said, "Brother Chen, isn't this salary a bit high?"
"Just tell me, will you do it or not?"
Chen Jianghai couldn't be bothered to explain to Zhao Changgui. It was just a waste of time, so he asked bluntly.
"I'll do it!" Zhao Changgui answered very straightforwardly.
This income was clearly very important to him. He hadn't found a proper job in a long time. Working on construction sites was unreliable, and his income was unstable, just when his family needed money.
Chen Jianghai smiled, "Alright then, come here at nine o'clock every morning."
"Okay." Zhao Changgui nodded and walked away.
Chen Jianghai watched his quickly receding figure and couldn't help but shake his head helplessly, "Really just a blockhead!"
On his way home, he picked up some groceries. Upon arriving home, Chen Jianghai began to busy himself with making dinner.
This seemed to have become a habit.
Being able to cook for the woman he loved was also a kind of happiness.
Dinner was only half done when the high-pitched voice of Fang Aiguo came from outside.
"Brother Hai! Brother Hai!"
Chen Jianghai poked half of his head out of the window and said, "Stop yelling, come in!"
Soon, a panting Fang Aiguo entered the kitchen, looking at Chen Jianghai with a bit of surprise.
"Yo, Brother Hai, you're cooking?"
Chen Jianghai casually said, "What's wrong with that? Isn't it only right to cook for one's wife?"
"I've never seen you cook before!" Fang Aiguo still felt it was strange.
Chen Jianghai said seriously, "Aiguo, when you get a wife later, you must be good to her. Women need to be cherished, got it?"
"What's that got to do with... Alright, alright, I know, I know, isn't that enough, Brother Hai?"
Fang Aiguo didn't want to continue the conversation, but seeing the sharp look in Chen Jianghai's eyes, he could only nod in agreement.
Chen Jianghai then asked, "Right, what brings you here at this time?"