Fang Bai had Zhang Guoping drive to Chen Fumin's auto repair shop. The shop was still open, and Chen Fumin was there as well.
After the vehicle was turned off, Fang Bai got out and walked inside, calling into the shop, "Master Chen, come take a look for me!"
"Boss Fang, it's you. Need a vehicle repaired?"
Chen Fumin saw a box truck parked in front of his shop and thought it had come in for repairs. When he stepped outside, he found that it was his acquaintance, Fang Bai.
"Not the truck. It's a motorcycle. Help me take a look first."
"Oh?"
Chen Fumin looked around but did not see any motorcycle.
Fang Bai had Zhang Guoping open the cargo compartment. A battered old motorcycle was visible right at the entrance, along with a pile of parts.
Master Chen walked over to inspect it and saw the battered motorcycle. Then he glanced at Fang Bai again, looking doubtful. You think too highly of me, asking me to repair this?
If I had that kind of skill, I'd be fixing airplanes instead of running an auto repair shop.
He had seen Fang Bai's knack for finding overlooked bargains.
He had thought that time was just luck. Now Fang Bai wanted to rely on luck again to pick up a motorcycle bargain?
What a joke.
If he had that kind of luck, there had been a Lottery Event in the city a few days ago, and the special prize was a motorcycle. He could have gone and tried his luck there. Why bother with a battered old motorcycle?
At the same time, he was still quite pleased. Fang Bai had come straight to him for repairs, which showed that Fang Bai thought he was capable.
The instant Master Chen saw the motorcycle, countless thoughts ran through his mind.
Fang Bai looked at Master Chen's puzzled expression and said with a smile,
"I want you to help me restore this motorcycle."
"Boss Fang, I'll be honest with you. Restoring it isn't a big problem, but getting it running again probably won't be possible. Look at how wrecked this thing is."
Master Chen spoke frankly. He wanted to make money, so he could not simply refuse. Boss Fang was rather wealthy and had made quite a bit from picking up that Drilling Machine bargain.
But he had to make things clear. He would not earn money against his conscience.
Fang Bai tapped the motorcycle's engine and said with a smile, "Hey, don't worry about that.
"I've checked it. There's nothing wrong with the engine at all; only the gasket is damaged.
"The other key parts, like the axles and chain, are all fine. The bike only looks old.
"But it isn't that old, and it's only been ridden a little over ten thousand kilometers. It just wasn't stored properly."
"Even so, I can't guarantee I can fix it. I think there's a high chance it can't be repaired. If I had that kind of skill, I'd be tinkering with used motorcycles myself."
"It's fine if it can't be repaired. It really is difficult to fix. You just need to restore it as best you can. I've already bought the parts that need replacing, and I'll buy whatever else is still needed.
"Just tell me how much it'll cost. Name your price.
"If you won't do it, I'll take it to another shop. It's only restoration—clean off the grime, sand and restore the rusted parts, then repaint the body. Every part needs to be cleaned."
This time, Master Chen did not refuse outright. He inspected the motorcycle more closely while considering how many days it would take.
After about two minutes, he said, "Restoring it won't be easy either. I figure it'll take more than ten days. A lot of parts need sanding and polishing, plus painting. The workload is huge."
"Mm. Give me a price."
Chen Fumin said somewhat embarrassedly, "Two hundred yuan. I suggest you just sell it. Even after restoration, there's a good chance it still won't run. Don't waste the repair money."
Without another word, Fang Bai took four 50-Yuan Notes from his backpack and handed them over. "Just restore it first. I told you already, it's not your responsibility if it can't be fixed."
He had estimated the workload. Even if things went quickly, it would take at least seven days to restore it.
If things did not go smoothly, taking more than ten days would be normal. Since Master Chen was running a business, two hundred yuan was a reasonable quote.
Master Chen hesitated for a moment before accepting the money. "Since you put it that way, I'll take the job."
After taking the money, he and Fang Bai worked together to get the motorcycle down from the truck.
Seeing that they were having trouble moving it, Zhang Guoping came over to help carry it down. After working together twice, he and Fang Bai had become familiar. Fang Bai had always treated him politely, offering him cigarettes, and he was loyal and bold.
Mm, and there was also a rooster.
So long as the load was not too large, Zhang Guoping would help when he could.
But if there was too much cargo, he could not help either. After hauling goods, his arms would go limp, making it hard even to drive.
The 130-kilogram beast took all three of them considerable effort to lift down from the truck.
When it had been loaded earlier, four professional movers had lifted it up in one go.
After all the motorcycle parts had been moved down, Master Chen invited everyone inside to wash their hands.
After washing up, Fang Bai gave Master Chen a rough explanation, telling him to dismantle and clean it first. Fang Bai would come by whenever he had time to check on it, and he also left his BP Pager Number.
After explaining everything, Fang Bai and the driver left Master Chen's auto repair shop. Before long, they arrived at Fang Bai's store.
Before going to T City, Fang Bai had told his parents and the store staff that he might return in the afternoon and would need their help unloading the goods. In addition to their normal wages, everyone would get one yuan for moving the cargo.
If he had not returned by seven in the evening, the students were to go back to school first and not wait for him.
If unloading had to wait until tomorrow, Zhang Guoping would not be able to drive back until tomorrow either, and the transportation fee would increase. Fang Bai did not want that.
Having money was one thing, but in business, every step had to be calculated carefully to cut expenses and lower costs.
As soon as the box truck stopped, the store staff came outside. His parents, who had been waiting at home, came out as well.
When Fang Shi saw his son get down from the passenger seat, he walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "You're back. You've worked hard."
"It was all right. Let everyone help unload first, or it'll be dark soon." Fang Bai spoke to his father, then called out to the Part-time College Students in the store. "Everyone, start moving the goods. Once we're done, we'll eat and drink together."
"Okay!"
Hearing that there would be a free dinner and alcohol, everyone became even more enthusiastic. Once the driver opened the door and set up the steps into the truck, they began moving the televisions.
Fang Bai took out some cigarettes and handed them to the driver. "Brother Zhang, get some rest first. You've been driving all afternoon without a break.
"Once we finish unloading, have dinner with us before heading back.
"If you think it'll be hard to drive after dark, you can stay over at my place. We can have a few drinks tonight too."
Zhang Guoping chuckled. "Haha, forget staying over. I have to head back tonight. We can drink together some other time."
He was more eager to slaughter that rooster and make potato chicken stew with it tomorrow.
Ah, eating someone else's chicken really was satisfying.
"Suit yourself. You have my BP Pager Number anyway. If you come this way someday, come over for a drink." Fang Bai nodded.
He would still use Zhang Guoping's truck in the future. After dealing with him more, Fang Bai felt that the driver was a decent guy.
By seven in the evening, they had finished unloading. Fang Bai treated everyone to dinner.
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.
Fang Bai returned to his rental home. Looking at the piles of televisions in the two storefronts filled him with excitement. If this batch sold smoothly, it would earn even more than the first batch.
His father had told him that they could not set up their stall yesterday because of the rain, but the weather had cleared up today, so they had gone out to sell.
Returning to his bedroom, he opened the Golden Finger's Virtual Panel.
His personal wealth was still 85,000 yuan. It had not changed.
That was normal. His parents had not handed him the money yet. Only after he received it would his personal wealth increase. That was what he had figured out last time.
His father had drunk a little, his face flushed and his steps unsteady as he walked behind him.
After returning home and seeing his son there, he took the money from his backpack and placed it on Fang Bai's desk. There were dozens of bundles, with 100-Yuan Notes and 50-Yuan Notes tied together.
The 10-Yuan Notes were bundled in stacks of one hundred, while the 5-Yuan Notes came in stacks of two hundred. Each bundle was worth one thousand yuan, along with some smaller bills.
After finishing sales that afternoon, he and his wife had sorted the money and calculated how much the first batch of goods had brought in altogether.
Once they finished the calculation, the old couple could not stop marveling. In less than a month, they had made over a hundred thousand yuan. It was practically like robbing money.
Seeing his son's delighted expression, he said, "Your mother and I have sorted everything out. We sold sixty televisions today, and all the televisions from your batch are sold out.
"There are also some spare parts. I don't know whether they're still useful, so I didn't dare dispose of them."
"Dad, you and Mom have worked hard."
Fang Bai accepted the money with a broad grin and asked, "How much is there?"
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