Buying a Car

After coming to his senses, Zhang Yi took the lead in walking toward his little truck, with Zhang Yingying following behind. But when he reached the truck and got in, Zhang Yingying did not climb in after him. Instead, she circled the truck once and said in surprise, "No way! You're still driving this junker? I remember you drove this same wreck last time! Who are you trying to fool? You're the big boss of a factory now, a filthy rich tycoon, yet you're still driving such a broken-down truck. Aren't you being a little too low-key?"

Hearing Zhang Yingying's words, Zhang Yi felt rather embarrassed. Taking such a beautiful woman out to dinner in this battered little truck really was hard to justify. Besides, if Zhang Yingying had not brought it up today, he would never have given the matter any thought. "Uh, this is the truck our factory uses to haul goods. But now that you mention it, I really do need a car. Since it's still early, how about you come with me to take a look?"

"Fine, I'll go with you, so you don't get fleeced. You clearly don't know anything about this stuff. Drive," Zhang Yingying agreed without hesitation.

Zhang Yi then drove toward Zhou Tai City's Automobile City. Although Zhou Tai City was not a first- or second-tier city like Hangzhou, it still ranked among the best in all of Jiangnan Province. It was also one of Jiangnan Province's manufacturing hubs, so there were plenty of wealthy people here. Naturally, there was no shortage of 4S dealerships, including many selling famous international brands.

Since Zhang Yi was unfamiliar with Zhou Tai City, Zhang Yingying naturally had to show him the way.

Before long, they arrived at Automobile City. Though Zhang Yi wanted to buy a car, he had no intention of purchasing any imported foreign luxury brands. First of all, he felt there was no need for them. Imported cars also tended to cost far more than domestic ones, and considering his current financial situation, he could not afford a foreign luxury car for the time being.

After visiting several domestic car 4S dealerships in Automobile City, Zhang Yi was not very satisfied with any of the cars. They soon arrived at Ji Li Automobile's Zhou Tai City 4S dealership. As a native of Zhou Tai City, Zhang Yi was extremely familiar with Ji Li Automobile. Its production base was located in Zhou Tai City, and its president, General Manager Li, was also from Zhou Tai City. Many locals took pride in that, so how could Zhang Yi not know about it?

"Beautiful Zhang, what brings you here today? And who is this? Could he be that legendary little boyfriend of yours?" Just as Zhang Yi and Zhang Yingying reached the entrance of the Ji Li 4S dealership, a soft, sweet female voice called out from inside.

At the same time, a tall, beautiful woman walked out of the dealership. Her looks were outstanding as well, no less impressive than Zhang Yingying's. The two had their own distinct charms.

"Fangfang! Why are you here today? Don't you usually never come here? Oh, right, this is my client. He was originally planning to treat me to dinner today, but he suddenly decided to buy a car, so I brought him here to see you." As Zhang Yingying spoke, she pointed at Zhang Yi's battered little truck.

"Wow, you really have personality. This car must be pretty old by now, right? It's so beat-up that you should have replaced it ages ago." As she spoke, she circled Zhang Yi a few times, then said to Zhang Yingying, "Honestly, is he really just your client? As far as I know, you've never had dinner with a client before, much less brought one here to buy a car. Did you fall for him? But judging by what he's wearing, he doesn't look rich, and he's driving such an old car. Could he be one of those low-key rich second-generation heirs from the rumors?"

"Fangfang, don't talk nonsense! He really is my client. But you got one thing wrong. He may be wearing street-market clothes, but he has dozens of patents in his hands! And they aren't just ordinary, useless patents, either. Every one of them has tremendous potential. Haven't you noticed the very novel Aerodynamic Bicycle that has recently appeared in Hangzhou's stores and online? The patent for that bicycle belongs to him, and he's the one producing it." Zhang Yingying tugged on Fangfang's arm as she spoke.

"I never would have guessed it! He's the one producing that bicycle? I tried to order one online just the other day, but I couldn't get one." After saying that, she walked over to Zhang Yi, circled him a few more times, and said, "Not bad. Looking closely, you're actually quite handsome. No wonder our Beautiful Zhang thinks so highly of you. And your Aerodynamic Bicycle is great too—I like it a lot myself. How about this? I want to be your sales agent for this bicycle in Zhou Tai City. What do you think?"

"Sure. Since you're Yingying's friend, that naturally won't be a problem." Zhang Yi welcomed the idea. Now that the production line had been successfully developed, the factory's biggest issue—production capacity—had more or less been resolved. The more agents he had, the better.

The three of them chatted as they walked into the 4S dealership. Although Ji Li Automobile was a domestic brand, it still had cars priced at over a million yuan. That was still far too expensive for Zhang Yi, though. He only had a few hundred thousand yuan on hand, nowhere near enough to buy a million-yuan car. In the end, he took a liking to a model priced at around three hundred thousand yuan. When it came time to pay, he only paid about two hundred sixty thousand yuan, including insurance, registration, and other fees. Since the dealership belonged to Fangfang's family, he got it for that price. If anyone else had bought it, the final price would have been at least three hundred fifty thousand yuan.

"Alright, now that the car has been bought, let's talk about becoming an agent for the Aerodynamic Bicycle," Fangfang said to Zhang Yi once all the paperwork had been completed.

"Doesn't your family run 4S dealerships? Why do you really want to become an agent for the Aerodynamic Bicycle?" Zhang Yi asked curiously.

"What's so strange about that? Just because we sell cars means we can't sell your Aerodynamic Bicycle? Besides several car 4S dealerships, my family also has quite a few electric vehicle specialty stores in Zhou Tai City. Those stores happen to be mine. But the electric vehicle market isn't easy these days, and I've been wanting to change industries for a long time. Now I can sell your Aerodynamic Bicycle instead. With my eye for business, your bicycle has excellent prospects and will definitely make a lot of money in the future. Of course I can't miss out on it." Fangfang spoke as if it were nothing remarkable.

Zhang Yi then signed a contract with Fangfang. It was only when they signed it that Zhang Yi learned Fangfang's full name was Hu Yifang and that she was one year older than him.

"Sister Fang, how many Aerodynamic Bicycles are you planning to order? I can have the factory produce them and ship them to you right away," Zhang Yi asked after the agency contract was signed.