The laborers on the dock were dumbfounded. The sight of the India holding 20,000 Hong Kong dollars in his hand made their hearts pound. Two Hong Kong Hong Kong dollars for a single Braid?
"Of course, of course, Mr. Gao, you're so generous." Mei Dirang wasn't an idiot. Three thousand Braids were only worth six thousand Hong Kong dollars. Besides the initial ten thousand Hong Kong dollars deposit as capital, and the eighteen thousand Braids he received, the twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars he had now were all his profits.
Earning Hong Kong dollars 20,000 from a single trip to India —of course, the more of this kind of business, the better.
Holding this large sum of money, Mei Dirang both happy and nervous. He was happy because his Scribe Hui, Hui, had kept his word. They had agreed that he would pay immediately upon the goods arriving at the Hong Kong port, and he had called Hui as soon as his ship arrived, and Scribe Hui had indeed arrived promptly, proving his integrity. He was nervous because the port was a chaotic place; with so many people seeing him with the money, he feared he might be robbed before he even got to the bank to deposit it.
"Boss Gao, this money..." Mei Dirang held up two rolls of banknotes and looked at the Scribe Hui: "I'm afraid someone will rob me."
"Don't worry, Ah Long. Take two men and accompany Boss Mei to the nearest money exchange or bank. After you see Boss Mei off, come back and bring the workers to transport the goods." Scribe Hui said to Nine-Tattooed Dragon behind him, carrying his briefcase.
Nine-Tattooed Dragon beckoned to two workers to escort the nervous Mei Dirang away from the dock, Scribe Hui circled the pile of hair, examining it as if it were not hair but a mountain of gold.
After seeing that Mei Dirang nowhere to be seen, Xia Harry forced a smile onto his face and walked toward Scribe Hui.
He knew Scribe Hui and knew that Scribe Hui worked for Song Tianyao.
"Boss Gao, it's been a long time." Xia Harry approached and said to the Scribe Hui.
"Boss Xia." Scribe Hui looked up at Xia Harry, gave an impatient reply, and then continued to focus his gaze on the large clump of hair.
Xia Harry's eyes swept over the other man's briefcase, and he said with a half-smile, "Did Boss Song ask you to acquire this batch of hair? You look like a rich man now, paying twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars without batting an eye."
"Boss Song is worried that your brotherhood will only supply other factories and cut off his raw materials, so he asked me to collect some hair in advance. What? Is the dock your territory? You won't allow me to do business here?" Scribe Hui's attitude towards Xia Harry was very cold.
Instead, Xia Harry smiled warmly, "We won't do that. Mr. Song just helped my brother get a loan. With that favor in mind, we will definitely continue to supply his factory."
"Boss Song is willing to help you because he wants you to sell the raw materials only to him. He doesn't want you to sell to all the factories. Don't you two brothers know that Boss Song has fallen out with the others?" Scribe Hui glared at Xia Harry with an unfriendly tone. "Speak plainly. I only care about hair now, not personal relationships."
"I have ten thousand Braids..."
"I wouldn't accept your goods, not even if they were two yuan each. Don't even mention two yuan a piece, I wouldn't accept them even if they were one yuan a piece. You bastard, you act all loyal to my boss, but secretly supply other factories behind his back? Even if you were to sell to them, you should have talked to my boss first. Don't forget who was the one who took care of you in the first place!" Scribe Hui simply turned his back, not even bothering to look at Xia Harry.
Xia Harry wasn't angry at Scribe Hui's attitude. He had already guessed Song Tianyao's reaction if he found out that the two brothers had been supplying raw materials to other factories behind Song Tianyao's back. Scribe Hui was Song Tianyao's man, so naturally he wouldn't give him a good look.
"Really not buying?" Xia Harry said with a smile, "Mei Dirang just started this business and isn't as skilled as we two brothers. It took him two or three months to collect 18,000 Braids. That's too slow. Such a small amount of hair is nothing in India. How can they steal our raw materials and cut off other factories' supply? Cooperating with us brothers is the only way they have a chance."
"Cooperate? Do you dare now?" Scribe Hui turned around angrily and glared at Xia Harry: "Do you dare sell me your current inventory and the inventory that will arrive in half a month? Don't say two yuan, I'll buy even a single Braid for five or ten yuan! Do you dare?"
"I wouldn't dare, I was just joking. We have contracts with those factories, how could we possibly sell them all to Boss Song?" Xia Harry said with an unchanged smile.
"Let me put this out there, Mr. Xia, when that batch of hair arrives in Hong Kong in half a month, if you sell it to Boss Song, we'll still be friends. Even if the price is five or ten yuan a strand, Boss Song won't haggle. You know he can afford it. And after the deal is done, Boss Song will even take care of you. But if you still sell it to other factories after half a month, Boss Song will only have Mei Dirang hair from now on." The Scribe Hui, said this to Xia Harry before instructing the workers to load the hair onto the truck and prepare to leave.
Xia Harry watched as Scribe Hui's workers loaded all the hair onto the arriving truck. Scribe Hui then rode away on his bicycle again, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "Five yuan a strand, ten yuan a strand, Song Tianyao is determined to turn against Tang Boqi."
Although the price of the Braids was tempting, Tang Boqi already knew the quantity of the raw materials that would arrive in half a month. He dared not sell a portion to Song Tianyao at a high price on his own. Moreover, Tang Boqi had already made it clear that if he dared to cooperate with Song Tianyao to further inflate the price, the ten factories would join forces to boycott his raw materials. He could not push his business onto the suddenly emerging Mei Dirang.
If only I had a surplus of goods, I could pretend it was raw material arriving in Hong Kong in two weeks and make a hefty profit off Song Tianyao. Since we've already fallen out, what's the harm in taking another piece of flesh from him? Business is business. I'm India, and Song Tianyao is China person; there's no sentimentality between us.
He looked at the departing Scribe Hui, his regret barely concealed in his eyes. Meanwhile, on a small boat not far away, Lei Danzi, wearing a black raincoat and a rain hat that covered his face, saw Xia Harry's expression clearly.
The damned Song Tianyao, after hoarding so many 200,000 Braids for so long, was waiting for this moment? To prey on the greed of the India and make a killing?