Feng Jian immediately abandoned the client he was helping with a high-value credit card, handing them over to a colleague. Compared to the commission from selling 25 million worth of gold, a small credit card commission was nothing! Feng Jian quickly approached Lin Shi with his most sincere smile. "Mr. Lin, hello. I'm your new account manager, Feng. What business can I assist you with today?"
"Let's talk inside," Lin Shi said.
"Of course, this way, please." Feng Jian eagerly led Lin Shi to the VIP room, basking in the envious glances of his colleagues and feeling quite pleased. Lin Shi had casually spent 25 million on gold; he must have even more deposits at other banks! If he could bring those deposits here, his performance would skyrocket. The other bank staff thought the same. For them, performance meant salary, and premium clients were their bread and butter. But Feng Jian had acted too quickly, leaving them to curse silently.
Lin Shi walked to the VIP counter, about to speak. Feng Jian hurriedly said, "Mr. Lin, please sit down for a moment." He then quickly left. Lin Shi had no choice but to wait. Soon, Feng Jian returned, carrying an exquisite gift box. The bank prepared gifts for its premium clients every year, with different levels receiving different tiers of gifts. This year, the highest-tier clients received two bottles of high-end liquor. Lin Shi wasn't originally in the highest tier, but Feng Jian, to secure this big client, had personally bought the gift. If Lin Shi came back to complete another large transaction, not only would Feng Jian recoup his costs, but his performance and salary would also rise. He had planned to call Lin Shi in the next few days to deliver the gift, but Lin Shi had come directly.
"Mr. Lin, this is the gift for you this year, with some personal touches from me," Feng Jian said. Lin Shi nodded, not particularly concerned. He got straight to the point, "I need to process the repurchase of these gold bars." He opened the suitcase, revealing 60 kilograms of gold bars.
Feng Jian was stunned. His expression was a mix of surprise and disbelief. He confirmed, "You mean you want to sell these gold bars?"
Lin Shi nodded. Feng Jian checked the current international gold price and forced a smile. "Mr. Lin, if you sell these gold bars now, you'll be taking a loss."
Lin Shi had already prepared his reason on the way: "I know. I've realized that buying so much gold was impulsive. It's not a good investment, and I plan to use the money for something else."
Despite Feng Jian's attempts to persuade him, Lin Shi remained firm and began to show signs of impatience. Reluctantly, Feng Jian started the repurchase process. Repurchasing gold was more complicated than buying it, requiring verification of each bar's certificate number, checking for any damage or scratches, and ensuring the packaging was intact. It wasn't a quick process. Feng Jian called in a counter clerk to help. The clerk, hearing that Lin Shi was selling the gold bars he had just bought, looked at Feng Jian with a hint of schadenfreude. Feng Jian's face darkened. He didn't get a share of the commission when the gold was sold, but now he had to do all the work for the repurchase. If it weren't for the potential of Lin Shi as a valuable client, Feng Jian would have cursed him out loud.
It took the entire morning to complete the repurchase. Lin Shi's account received 24,780,000, a loss of over 200,000. With his goal achieved, Lin Shi didn't mind the small loss. After declining all of Feng Jian's financial products, Lin Shi left, and Feng Jian still managed to smile as he watched Lin Shi take the two bottles of liquor. Inside, Feng Jian was regretting his decision. He had spent over 1,000 yuan on the gift and a carton of cigarettes. To make matters worse, he would be ridiculed by his colleagues for being a fool.
Lin Shi, of course, didn't care. After leaving the bank, he went straight to the wholesale market for grains and oils. He ordered 100 tons of rice, 1,000 bags of flour, 100 cases of cooking oil, and 1,000 cases of salt. He stocked up on salt because, after the sea froze, extracting salt would become much more difficult. Salt was cheap and didn't take up much space, so he bought a lot. He also ordered 100 cases of various seasonings, 1,000 cases of instant noodles, sausages, luncheon meat, and noodles, and 100 cases of hot pot base and seasoning packets. In the extreme cold, having a daily hot pot with boiled meat would be a luxury. He also picked up various other items. The total purchase filled seven container trucks and cost him over a million yuan. The wholesaler treated Lin Shi like a major supermarket buyer, offering the lowest prices and hoping for future orders. Loading the goods took several hours, and Lin Shi requested more workers to speed up the process. After paying a deposit and leaving his address, he went to the nearby farmers' market. He ordered several thousand pounds of live fish, all cleaned and scaled, and one ton each of chicken, duck, fresh pork, beef, mutton, and eggs. These would be delivered the next day, especially the live fish, which needed to be freshly killed, adding an extra yuan per pound and requiring several days to deliver completely. He also ordered several hundred pounds of dried seaweed, various dried seafood, and ginger, scallions, and garlic. The time-stopping feature of his space ensured that everything stayed fresh. If the space could hold live animals, he would have ordered fresh shrimp and crabs. He also pre-ordered 3 tons of various vegetables and 3 tons of fruits for delivery the next morning.
Next, Lin Shi went to several pharmacies, buying 50 boxes of antibiotics, 72 boxes of cold medicine, and various antiviral powders and oral liquids. He bought 126 bottles of vitamin C, 2 yuan per bottle containing 100 tablets. However, this wasn't enough. In the apocalypse, medicines were extremely scarce, and a simple cold could be fatal in extreme cold. Lin Shi planned to order more online.
By this time, the first batch of goods from the wholesale market had arrived near the warehouse Lin Shi had rented. After receiving the call, Lin Shi drove back. As he reached the warehouse, his phone rang again. It was Liao Peng. Liao Peng had been in Shashi for four days, and it seemed he had made some progress.