First Batch of Televisions Sold Out

Fang Bai had Zhang Guoping drive the truck to the entrance of Chen Fumin's auto repair shop. Seeing the shop was still open and Chen Fumin was there, the truck came to a stop.

Fang Bai got out and walked toward the shop, calling inside, "Master Chen, come take a look!"

"Boss Fang, it's you. Need a repair?"

Chen Fumin spotted a truck parked in front of his shop and assumed it was a customer. When he stepped out, he saw it was his acquaintance Fang Bai.

"Not the truck—the motorcycle. Take a look first."

"Oh?"

Chen Fumin looked around but didn't see any motorcycle.

Fang Bai had Zhang Guoping open the truck's cargo door. At the very front of the compartment sat a beat-up old motorcycle, with some spare parts piled around it.

Master Chen walked over to inspect it. He saw the dilapidated bike, then glanced at Fang Bai with some doubt: You're giving me too much credit, aren't you? You want me to fix this?

If I had that kind of skill, I'd be repairing airplanes. Why would I run an auto repair shop?

He knew Fang Bai had a knack for finding bargains. He'd thought that first time was just luck. Now Fang Bai wanted to try his luck again with a motorcycle?

Was he joking?

If luck were on his side, there'd been a city-wide raffle a few days ago with a motorcycle as the Special Prize. He could've just tried his luck there instead of messing with a junker.

Still, he was secretly pleased. Fang Bai coming straight to him for repairs meant he was seen as capable.

Master Chen's mind raced in that brief moment.

Noticing his puzzled expression, Fang Bai chuckled and said, "I want you to refurbish this motorcycle for me."

"Boss Fang, I'll be straight with you. Refurbishing isn't a big problem, but getting it running again? That's unlikely. Look how beat-up it is."

Master Chen was honest. He wanted the money—he couldn't just turn it down. Boss Fang was well-off; he'd made a good profit from that Drilling Machine he'd snagged. But he had to be clear. He wouldn't take money under false pretenses.

Fang Bai tapped the motorcycle's engine area and smiled. "Hey, don't worry about that. I've checked it. The engine's fine—just a bad gasket. The other key parts, like the axle and chain, are in good shape. The bike just looks old. It hasn't been around long—only about ten thousand kilometers on it. It just wasn't maintained well."

"Still, I can't guarantee I can fix it. I think the odds are against it. If I had that skill, I'd be flipping used motorcycles myself."

"It's fine if you can't fix it. The repair is really tough. Just do the refurbishing—do your best. I've already bought the parts you'll need to replace, and I'll get the rest. Just name your price. If you don't take it, I'll take it to another shop. It's just a refurb—clean off the grime, sand and polish the rust, spray-paint the shell, and clean every single part."

This time, Master Chen didn't refuse outright. He studied the bike more carefully, calculating how many days it would take.

After about two minutes, he said, "Refurbishing isn't easy either. I figure it'll take at least ten days. A lot of sanding, polishing, and painting. It's a big job."

"Alright, name your price."

Chen Fumin said sheepishly, "Two hundred Yuan. I'd suggest you just scrap it. Even after a refurb, it probably won't run. Don't waste the repair money."

Fang Bai didn't waste words. He pulled four fifty-Yuan notes from his backpack and handed them over. "Just get the refurb done. I told you, if it doesn't run, that's not your problem."

He'd estimated the workload. At best, it would take seven days. If things went badly, ten days or more was normal. Running his own shop, two hundred Yuan was a fair price.

Master Chen hesitated, then took the money. "Since you put it that way, I'll take the job."

With the cash in hand, he and Fang Bai unloaded the motorcycle from the truck.

Seeing them struggling, Zhang Guoping came over to help lift. After working together twice, he and Fang Bai had gotten familiar. Fang Bai was polite, shared his cigarettes, and was loyal and bold.

Oh, and there was that rooster.

So, as long as the load wasn't too heavy, he'd lend a hand. But if there was too much cargo, he couldn't help—his arms would go weak, and driving would be unsafe.

The whole thing weighed 130 kilograms. The three of them had a tough time getting it off the truck. When it had been loaded, professional movers had done it—four guys had lifted it up in one go.

Once all the motorcycle parts were unloaded, Master Chen invited everyone inside to wash their hands.

After washing up, Fang Bai gave Master Chen a rough rundown: start by disassembling and cleaning, and he'd drop by when he had time. He also left his BP Pager Number.

With that settled, Fang Bai and the driver left Master Chen's auto repair shop. Soon after, they arrived at Fang Bai's own shop.

Before coming to T City, Fang Bai had told his parents and the shop staff that he might be back in the afternoon. He'd need them to help unload the goods. On top of their regular wages, each person would get One Yuan for moving work.

If he couldn't make it back before seven in the evening, the students should head back to school and not wait for him. If the unloading had to wait until the next day, Zhang Guoping would have to drive back then, which would mean extra fees—something Fang Bai wanted to avoid.

Having money is one thing, but in business, you have to calculate every step carefully to reduce expenses and lower costs.

As soon as the box truck stopped, the staff from the store came out, and the parents who had been at home also walked out.

Fang Shi saw his son getting out of the passenger seat, walked over to him, and patted him on the shoulder. "You're back. Hard work."

"It's alright. Let everyone help unload the goods, or it'll get dark soon." Fang Bai said to his father, then called out to the part-time college students in the store, "Everyone, move the goods first. After we're done, we'll eat and drink together."

"Got it!"

Hearing there was free dinner and alcohol, everyone became more motivated. Once the driver opened the door and set up the loading ramp, they started moving the TVs.

Fang Bai took out a cigarette and handed it to the driver. "Brother Zhang, take a rest. You've been driving all afternoon without a break. After we finish unloading, let's grab a meal before you head back. If you're worried about driving in the dark, you can stay overnight here—no problem. We can even have a few drinks tonight."

Zhang Guoping chuckled. "Haha, forget about staying overnight. I need to get back tonight. We'll drink together another time."

He was more focused on butchering that chicken and making a potato stew with it tomorrow.

Ah, eating someone else's chicken was always satisfying.

"Up to you. You've got my BP pager number anyway. Whenever you're in town, come by for a drink." Fang Bai nodded.

He'd be hiring this driver again in the future. After dealing with him more, he felt the guy was pretty reliable.

At seven in the evening, the unloading was finished, and Fang Bai treated everyone to dinner.

After the meal, everyone went their separate ways.

Fang Bai returned to his rental place and looked at the piles of TVs in the two storefronts. All he felt was excitement. If this batch sold smoothly, he'd make even more than the first one.

According to his dad, it had rained yesterday, so they couldn't set up the stall. Today was clear, so they went out.

Back in his bedroom, he opened the Golden Finger's virtual panel.

His personal wealth was still 85,000 yuan—unchanged.

That was normal. His parents hadn't handed the money over to him yet. Only after he got the cash would his personal wealth increase. That was what he'd figured out from last time.

His father had had a bit to drink, his face slightly flushed and tipsy, walking behind.

Once home, seeing his son there, he took the money out of his backpack and placed it on the table. Dozens of stacks of cash—100-yuan notes and 50-yuan notes bundled together.

The 10-yuan notes were stacked in bundles of a hundred, and the 5-yuan notes in bundles of two hundred, each bundle worth a thousand yuan, along with some smaller bills.

After selling everything this afternoon, he and his wife had sorted the money and also calculated how much the first batch of goods had earned in total.

Once they figured it out, the two of them kept marveling. In less than a month, they'd made over a hundred thousand yuan—like stealing money.

Seeing his son's delighted expression, he said, "Your mother and I have it all sorted. We sold 60 TVs today, and that batch of yours is completely sold out. There are some spare parts left, but I don't know if they're still useful, so I didn't dare toss them."

"Dad, you've worked hard."

Fang Bai accepted the money with a grin and asked, "How much is this?"