Buying Cars
The meal left everyone happy. The village chief got Ye Huan's promise, and Da Hu's grandfather put his worries to rest. Da Hu stayed the night, entrusted the house construction to Ye Huan, and hurried back to his company first thing in the morning.
"Dad, should we buy a car too? It'd be faster, after all." Ye Huan brought it up over lunch with his family the next day.
His dad's eyes lit up. Right! Then he looked at Ye Huan's mom.
"What are you looking at me for? If our son says we should buy one, then buy one. That three-wheeler isn't a long-term solution!" Ye Huan's mom was speechless. Was it any wonder she wanted to smack her husband?
"Dad, I'll go with you to deliver the vegetables tomorrow. Once we're done, we can look at cars. But you'll need to practice your driving properly when we get back!" Ye Huan said.
"Don't worry!" Ye Huan's dad nodded happily.
"What kind of car should we get? Not a minivan, right?" he asked.
"Definitely not. A pickup is the best choice for delivering vegetables, and they're sturdy too. It can handle the road out of the village if we drive slowly. Most importantly, we really can't do without a car when it rains or snows. Otherwise, we'd hold up other people's business and suffer ourselves." Ye Huan had a target in mind.
"Then let's get a pickup!" Ye Huan's dad said with a smile.
"Sure, we'll take a look tomorrow!" Ye Huan didn't mind. He also wanted to check out off-road vehicles while they were there. It didn't have to be anything fancy. What man didn't dream of having a car to drive?
Early the next morning, after loading up the vegetables and peaches, Ye Huan left his little electric scooter behind and sat in the cargo bed of his dad's three-wheeler, going along to deliver the vegetables.
It was only eight thirty when they finished, and the dealership wasn't open yet. Father and son had breakfast nearby before heading over. This was a small city, with few 4S dealerships. Most were general dealerships like this one, selling a mixture of brands across the low, middle, and high price ranges.
"Hello, gentlemen!" A pretty woman greeted them.
"Do you have pickups? We'd like to take a look." Ye Huan got straight to the point.
"Yes, both domestic and imported models. This way, please!" The woman led them over.
"These are domestic models from Great Wall. They're sturdy and durable, priced at around 100,000 yuan!"
"This is Foton. The best model is around 180,000!"
"Jiangxi Isuzu-the most expensive is a little over 130,000. These sell quite well!"
The woman introduced them one by one.
"SAIC Maxus-the top model is around 210,000!"
"These pickups look pretty nice. What about the imports? Let's take a look," Ye Huan said.
"This way, please!" The woman led them onward again and rounded a corner. "This is the Ford F-150 Raptor. This particular model is 680,000!"
The moment Ye Huan's dad heard the price, he gave up on it.
"This Jeep Gladiator is around 500,000, about the same as Ford's family-use model, the F-150 Tremor."
"We also have a few Japanese models. This one is the Toyota Tundra-"
"We'll pass on Japanese cars. Not considering those." Ye Huan interrupted her introduction. The woman smiled. She had met plenty of people like him, so she stopped introducing them.
"Why does this Jeep Gladiator look so much like a Wrangler?" Ye Huan asked.
"It was built on the Wrangler platform. Its dimensions are 5,592 × 1,894 × 1,856 millimeters, with a wheelbase of 3,488 millimeters, an approach angle of 40 degrees, a departure angle of 25 degrees, a breakover angle of 18 degrees, and ground clearance of 249 millimeters." The saleswoman rattled it all off.
"Any discounts?" Ye Huan had taken a liking to it. When buying a car, if he had the means, there was no need to buy one of the cheap ones.
"The price is already pretty much as low as it goes, but we can throw in accessories and maintenance!" the woman said.
"Son, over 500,000 is too expensive. I think that Maxus is pretty good," Ye Huan's dad said. He liked the vehicle costing over 500,000, but he would probably lose a layer of skin when he got home. Getting past his wife wouldn't be easy.
Besides, he would be satisfied with a vehicle costing a hundred thousand or so. He really had never imagined suddenly driving one worth 500,000.
Seeing that his dad was serious, Ye Huan said no more. "All right, then the top-spec Maxus. Sorry about that, miss."
"No problem at all!" The woman smiled. After all, they were still buying a vehicle worth over 200,000 through her.
"Then let's go look at that one. Dad, go take it for a test drive. I'll sign the contract!" With that, Ye Huan left with the woman.
"I'd like to look at the Wrangler," he told her.
The woman glanced at the handsome young man in surprise, then smiled. "This way, please."
"The top spec is close to 580,000, and the standard model is 460,000. We currently have these two colors," the woman explained. "The new four-door Rubicon is 580,000, while the four-door Sahara starts at 470,000!"
Ye Huan took a liking to one of them. "Which model is this? How much?"
"This is the four-door Sahara. It starts at 470,000!" the woman said.
"Let's go sign the contract." Ye Huan nodded. That was acceptable.
After the contract was signed, Ye Huan's dad came in, took the keys, and went for a test drive. Ye Huan also drove a couple of laps around the grounds himself. With his body strengthened, driving wasn't difficult anymore. He nodded. As long as he wasn't a menace on the road, that was enough.
"He's fine, not too rusty. He can drive on the road!" the test-drive instructor said as he returned with Ye Huan's dad.
Seeing his dad's smug expression, Ye Huan smiled. "Then please help us secure the three-wheeler in the cargo bed, and we'll head home!"
"Huh? Aren't you riding it back?" Ye Huan's dad asked.
"I've got a car to drive home too!" Ye Huan smiled, opened the Wrangler beside him, and climbed in. "Come on. What are you standing there for?"
Ye Huan's dad followed in his vehicle. They filled up and headed home. He drove carefully the entire way and finally made it back.
Seeing two vehicles come back, Ye Huan's mom wanted to say something, but when she saw how happily the old man was smiling, she held her tongue. Forget it. Her son could earn money, so she would let him be. Besides, having a nice car would make it easier to find a partner, wouldn't it?
But when she heard that her son had also wanted to buy her husband a pickup costing five or six hundred thousand, she got a fright. "So you see, I refused to take it and picked this cheap one instead. No matter what, I wouldn't let our son buy such an expensive vehicle. It's one thing for him to buy himself a nice car, but I deliver vegetables. What would I need such a nice vehicle for?"
Ye Huan's mom smiled and gave her husband a thumbs-up. Ye Huan's dad smiled. See? He had passed that hurdle.
That afternoon, Ye Huan's dad went to catch up on sleep, while Ye Huan took Saihu to the village's grain-drying yard. The village chief had already called all the villagers who were home and had a say in their households out for a meeting.
Seeing that Ye Huan had bought luxury vehicles-two of them, at that-after being back for just over a month, the villagers began taking what the village chief had said to heart. They came over with little stools, gathering in twos and threes and talking among themselves.
"Quiet down, everyone. Let me say a few words." The village chief coughed twice and began speaking.
"You all know by now. This time, I swallowed my pride and went to see Xiao Huan. He's agreed to what I proposed. Now, here's the thing. Those of you who are willing should come get seeds in a bit, then grow vegetables at home using the same methods as Xiao Huan's family. No spraying pesticides, and you must irrigate with mountain spring water."
"Don't think it's too much trouble. I know you all wish money would fall from the sky, but let me tell you, the reason we're doing this in the second half of the year is to let you see that Xiao Huan doesn't make big money for no reason."