TL: Etude
"Changgui, we're in the repair business," said Chen Jianghai. "If he pays, I'll fix it; if he doesn't, I won't. Amiability brings prosperity; there's no need to get worked up over someone like that. Do you understand?"
Chen Jianghai believed this was not an isolated incident; who knows how many more he would encounter in the future.
Of course, he hoped Zhao Changgui, who was by his side, would also grasp this concept.
Zhao Changgui nodded, half understanding and half not, and followed sullenly at a distance, saying no more.
Chen Jianghai didn't care whether Zhao Changgui understood or not and kept walking forward.
With Zhao Changgui's temperament, explaining this to him was not going to be clear-cut, better to keep it simple and straightforward.
Certainly, with more experience and exposure, Zhao Changgui would eventually understand this principle.
As soon as Chen Jianghai arrived at the warehouse, he saw Fang Aiguo pacing around, seemingly having waited for a while.
"Brother Hai!"
Fang Aiguo promptly came forward when he finally saw Chen Jianghai appear.
"Changgui! Why are you here too?"
Upon seeing Zhao Changgui behind him, Fang Aiguo's face changed, and he couldn't help but step back.
Witnessing this scene, Chen Jianghai remembered.
Fang Aiguo was frightened of Zhao Changgui for a reason.
There was a time when Fang Aiguo had crossed Zhao Yuxi and was severely taught a lesson by Zhao Changgui.
From that moment on, whenever Fang Aiguo saw Zhao Changgui, he was as timid as a mouse in the presence of a cat, extremely well-behaved.
Zhao Changgui glanced emotionlessly at Fang Aiguo and then shifted his gaze away, no longer paying him any attention.
Chen Jianghai laughed and said, "Alright, loosen up. You guys are comrades starting a business together. Spend some time to communicate more."
"What?"
Fang Aiguo was taken aback, quickly glanced at Zhao Changgui beside him, swallowed hard, and said, "Brother Hai, is he... also selling TVs for you?!"
"No, he's helping me look after the warehouse and the storefront, and doubles as my personal bodyguard," Chen Jianghai explained, shaking his hand.
Hearing Chen Jianghai's explanation, Fang Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn't working side by side with this simple-minded, physically strong blockhead, it was fine.
"Come on, Aiguo, with Changgui watching over here, let's go check out the store."
After putting down his tool bag in the warehouse, Chen Jianghai turned and spoke.
"Brother Hai, all the TVs from the last batch have been sold out. I came over to pick up more stock," Fang Aiguo whispered.
He was obviously still somewhat uncomfortable with Zhao Changgui's presence.
Chen Jianghai, somewhat surprised, asked, "Huh, weren't there five left yesterday? You sold them all in half a day?!"
"Heh, sold them all!"
When it came to this, Fang Aiguo slightly lifted his chin, a look of pride on his face, as if he had instantly regained his confidence.
"Met a big customer today, took all five remaining units in one go."
Hearing this, Chen Jianghai frowned and asked, "Bought so many in one go, who is it?"
"I'm not too clear on that; he came to me on his own initiative," Fang Aiguo hesitated before replying.
At the time, he was just thinking about selling off all the TVs and didn't pay attention to these details.
Now that Chen Jianghai asked, he suddenly realized that he might have been negligent.
Chen Jianghai pondered for a moment before saying, "Aiguo, next time this person comes to buy TVs, try to find out more about them."
"Brother Hai, what do you mean?" Fang Aiguo asked with a frown.
Chen Jianghai said calmly, "Money stirs people's hearts; we're making money too fast with these TVs, we have to be more cautious."
"Brother Hai, I understand," Fang Aiguo nodded earnestly.
"Alright, let's go in and move the TVs!"
Chen Jianghai waved his hand and said.
Following him into the warehouse, Fang Aiguo glanced at Zhao Changgui, then at Chen Jianghai, looking as if he had more to say but hesitated.
Chen Jianghai couldn't help but give a push to the other party, "What's the matter, Aiguo, we're all our own people here. If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need for secrecy."
Fang Aiguo hurriedly took out a stack of bills from his pocket and handed them over. It should be the payment for those five televisions.
Chen Jianghai took a look and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
The money from yesterday was a mix of different denominations, all small and scattered. But today, it was all crisp bills, uniform old man portraits, all brand new, with the scent of ink still on them.
It seemed that this big client Fang Aiguo spoke of was indeed not just anybody.
Seeing the stack of hundred-yuan notes, Zhao Changgui glanced at Chen Jianghai with a hint of surprise, then resumed his usual expression.
Chen Jianghai took the money and pulled out five notes, handing the rest back to Fang Aiguo.
"Brother Hai, should I continue to collect appliances?" Fang Aiguo asked as he took the money.
Chen Jianghai smiled slightly, "Correct! However, someone has already collected them. You and Changgui just need to handle the transportation."
"Already collected? By whom?" Fang Aiguo asked curiously.
Chen Jianghai's gaze turned stern, his expression slightly serious, "Why so many questions? If you're free, ask Changgui to take you there and move the stuff as soon as possible. I've already negotiated the price, thirty per television. For the rest, you can make the offers yourself."
"How many are there?"
Fang Aiguo was asking the crucial questions, it seemed that his recent experiences were quite effective.
Chen Jianghai thought for a moment, "Probably a few hundred. We'll move them in batches and pay accordingly. Don't make it too obvious."
Hearing this, Fang Aiguo was dumbfounded, admiring inwardly.
He realized more and more that Brother Hai was unfathomable.
He himself had been toiling for a week and had only collected a few dozen old televisions.
Whereas Brother Hai, who had been busy in the warehouse every day, had negotiated a few hundred in the blink of an eye.
That was the difference!
If Brother Hai couldn't make a fortune, then nobody could!
Seeing his reaction, Chen Jianghai couldn't help but pat Fang Aiguo on the shoulder, "Alright, stop dazing off. Didn't you say you had an appointment with a landlord? Let's go!"
Fang Aiguo smiled awkwardly, mounted his tricycle, and with Chen Jianghai, they headed towards Pozijie Street.
The two stopped at the east end of Pozijie Street. Fang Aiguo pointed ahead and said, "Brother Hai, that's the place, the second shop over there."
Chen Jianghai took a glance; the location of the shop seemed quite good, but the trash in front of the door was a bit excessive, as if it hadn't been cleaned in a while.
He looked around, and it seemed the surrounding shops were doing fairly well, with people coming and going.
So why was this shop closed?
The shop had no sign, and the door was closed; it was not immediately apparent what it sold. Chen Jianghai asked, "Aiguo, what business was this shop in before?"
Fang Aiguo scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, "Brother Hai, I'm not quite sure about that."
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the landlord Fang Aiguo mentioned did not appear.
Chen Jianghai couldn't help but ask, "Aiguo, what time did you arrange to meet?"
"Ten o'clock!" Fang Aiguo also started looking around restlessly.
Chen Jianghai couldn't help but reminisce about the future, a time when everyone had a mobile phone, information was plentiful, and communication was highly developed.
Thinking this, Chen Jianghai couldn't help but glance at the beeper attached to his waist.