Chapter 16: The Demand Continues to Grow

Chapter 16: The Demand Is Growing

“Wanqiu!”

Chen Jianghai called out, quickly striding over.

“Jianghai, are you alright? How did the police station handle it?”

With a face full of anxiety and worry, Lin Wanqiu approached, her eyes scanning her husband from head to toe.

“Hey, what could be wrong with me? Everything’s fine. Once they got the facts straight, they just let me go!” Chen Jianghai gestured as he spoke.

“By the way, weren’t you supposed to go to the hospital? Why did you come here instead?”

Chen Jianghai grabbed Lin Wanqiu’s hand and asked.

“I already went. The hospital said there’s nothing serious. But when I heard you were taken to the police station, I couldn’t rest, so I came over.”

Lin Wanqiu bit her lip as she spoke.

“Silly girl, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re still here waiting, haven’t eaten yet—you must be starving.”

Chen Jianghai wiped the sweat off Lin Wanqiu’s forehead, speaking with heartfelt concern.

“If you weren’t back, how could I focus on eating?”

Lin Wanqiu shook her head.

Seeing how deeply his wife cared about his safety warmed Chen Jianghai’s heart.

“Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you something good to eat and help you recover.”

Chen Jianghai gently embraced Lin Wanqiu.

“Jianghai!”

“Yes?”

Nestled against the man who could protect her and had taken responsibility, Lin Wanqiu softly said, “Promise me, don’t be so impulsive again, okay?”

“Alright, I promise I’ll listen.”

Caressing his wife’s hair, Chen Jianghai wholeheartedly agreed.

In his heart, he silently vowed: Wanqiu, as long as you’re safe, everything else is fine. But if anyone dares to hurt you, I, Chen Jianghai, will still stop at nothing!

…

“Brother Hai! Brother Hai!”

Early the next morning, before Chen Jianghai was ready to leave, he heard Fang Aiguo’s voice outside.

“Coming so early, what’s the matter?” Chen Jianghai asked with a smile.

Fang Aiguo, agitated, said, “What exactly happened yesterday? Why did you end up at the police station?”

“Ah, nothing serious, just got into a fight.”

Chen Jianghai replied lightly.

Fang Aiguo rubbed his hands eagerly: “Why didn’t you call me to join? If anyone dares to challenge you, I’ll make sure to teach them a lesson!”

“Oh, by the way, did your wife get that certificate?”

“It’s done. What do you need it for?” Lin Wanqiu nodded in response.

“With this, we can make that scoundrel stay in the lockup for a while and learn a lesson,” Fang Aiguo said cheerfully.

Chen Jianghai nodded: “Alright, then please thank your uncle for me when we go.”

“No problem, don’t mention it.”

Fang Aiguo waved his hand and laughed: “Brother Hai, here’s some good news — I sold both radios! Got a hundred bucks!”

Waving two fifty-yuan notes, his face flushed as if he’d been drinking.

“Not bad, you really have a knack for business, selling at a good price.”

Chen Jianghai patted Fang Aiguo’s shoulder and gave a thumbs-up.

Fang Aiguo beamed with pride. This was his first successful sale; nothing could make him happier.

“Well, Brother Hai, here’s the money.”

Fang Aiguo handed the cash to Chen Jianghai.

Chen Jianghai accepted it without hesitation and pulled out two notes from his pocket, handing them to Fang Aiguo.

“Alright, Aiguo, if you can sell at this price, I’ll give you a ten-yuan commission for every radio you sell from now on.”

Seeing the bills in his hand, Fang Aiguo was excited but waved his hand: “Brother Hai, that’s a bit too much!”

“Too much? As long as you work hard, there’ll be plenty of money to make.”

Chen Jianghai laughed.

With Fang Aiguo handling sales, Chen Jianghai’s workload would be much lighter.

Fang Aiguo nodded emphatically, patting his chest: “Brother Hai, I won’t complain. Wherever you point, I’ll go.”

“Good. I still have a dozen or so radios here for you to sell. You decide the price, but don’t go lower than forty yuan if you can help it.”

Fang Aiguo paused: “A dozen or so? Brother Hai, where did you get so many radios?”

Before Chen Jianghai could answer, Fang Aiguo looked around cautiously, then whispered in his ear, “Brother Hai, you’re not smuggling these, are you?”

Chen Jianghai couldn’t help but chuckle.

Seeing he didn’t reply, Fang Aiguo’s eyes widened: “Brother Hai, I heard smuggling can land you in jail! Serious cases even get prison time or worse!”

Seeing Fang Aiguo’s worried expression, Chen Jianghai shook his head: “Hey, who smuggles secondhand goods anyway?”

“Uh, that does make sense. Brother Hai, I was overthinking it.”

Hearing this, Fang Aiguo scratched his head awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.

In this relatively conservative country with limited information flow, few knew of such ‘foreign junk’ trade.

…

“Alright, I still need to get some parts. Come by in a few days.”

Chen Jianghai lifted the lever of his old bicycle.

“Got it!”

Fang Aiguo didn’t ask more and happily turned away.

Watching him leave, Chen Jianghai’s lips curved slightly.

Brother, I’m grateful for your support in the past life; I’ll repay you this time!

Bumping along on his bike, Chen Jianghai arrived at the Component Factory, parked, took out a cigarette, greeted the security staff, then headed to the warehouse along a familiar path.

The factory’s performance was poor, the atmosphere somewhat bleak, except for the warehouse.

As before, the same group of people were there, in the same smoky, chaotic place, playing cards.

Chen Jianghai looked around but didn’t see Xu Dong.

“Comrade, is Brother Dong here?” Chen Jianghai asked, flicking ash.

“He’s in the office,” someone replied.

“Thanks!”

Chen Jianghai hurried toward the office.

Inside, Xu Dong was in his office, looking displeased. The tea had gone cold without a sip.

He’d smoked half a pack; the office was filled with smoke, as if on fire.

The factory hadn’t paid wages this month—a bad omen.

Especially after his brother-in-law explained the factory’s situation a few days ago; it might not last long.

If the factory closed and he lost his job, what would he do next?

With elderly parents to care for and young children, no stable income would be disastrous.

Thinking of this gave Xu Dong a headache.

The era’s progress was merciless; elimination came without warning, sudden and harsh.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Brother Dong, are you there?”

At the knock, a familiar figure appeared at the half-open door.

“Oh, Little Chen, come in.”

Xu Dong glanced over and nodded in greeting.

Chen Jianghai smiled broadly: “Brother Dong, sorry to bother you again.”

“Hey, we’re all friends. No trouble at all.”

Xu Dong’s mood lifted a bit, seeing Chen Jianghai’s tactful approach.

Chen Jianghai took out a sheet of paper, spreading it on the desk: “Brother Dong, this time I need quite a few components. Is that okay for you?”

Xu Dong nodded: “Alright, let me take a look.”

“You do need quite a lot this time!”

Scanning the list, Xu Dong looked up meaningfully.

Chen Jianghai wasn’t worried by Xu Dong’s serious reaction.

The more earnest Xu Dong appeared, the more he cared, making things easier to handle.

Chen Jianghai smiled faintly: “Brother Dong, as I said before, the demand will only grow.”

“Okay, wait here a moment.”

Without waiting for a reply, Xu Dong stood and left the office.

Chen Jianghai exhaled quietly.

As long as Xu Dong was willing to help, the appliance assembly business would have no major obstacles.

After all, the gap between internal and retail prices was significant.

Half an hour later, Xu Dong returned leisurely, carrying two bulging black bags.

“Here are the parts you asked for. Count them; the quantity is definitely more, not less.”

After setting the bags down, Xu Dong puckered his lips.

“Brother Dong, I trust your work.”

Chen Jianghai glanced at the bags and nodded silently, then pulled out two crisp bills still smelling of ink and placed them on the desk.

Wow, Chen Jianghai’s generosity increased with each deal!

Though the factory price for these parts was about two hundred yuan, piled up in the warehouse, even at twenty yuan no one wanted them.

Xu Dong’s eyes flicked as he stepped forward, pressing the money down with a newspaper and casually asked, “Little Brother Chen, business seems good recently.”

“Hey, Brother Dong, I’m just getting by. Can’t compare with your steady job.”

Chen Jianghai laughed, staying humble.

“Ha, these days they keep talking about market economy; even iron rice bowls aren’t so iron anymore.”

Xu Dong shook his head jokingly: “Brother, if you really have connections, don’t forget to bring your old buddy along!”

“Brother Dong, aren’t we already cooperating?”

Chen Jianghai raised an eyebrow.

Xu Dong waved his hand: “When you needed fewer parts, I could claim losses. Now, with so many, I have to buy at internal factory prices. Honestly, there’s not much profit.”

Chen Jianghai nodded inwardly; Xu Dong wasn’t blinded by greed and understood the rules.

This was something he would have brought up anyway, to avoid criticism.

“Brother Dong, my demand will definitely grow. How about this: I’ll buy parts from you at factory price. How much you make depends on how low you can negotiate prices inside.”

Chen Jianghai said candidly.

Xu Dong froze for a moment, then understood Chen Jianghai’s meaning.

He was basically giving him money!

Otherwise, Chen Jianghai could have bypassed him and dealt directly with sales.

“How many a month do you estimate?”

Xu Dong couldn’t hide his curiosity.

Chen Jianghai smiled: “Brother Dong, how many parts did I take last time and this time?”

Xu Dong thought for a moment, then raised his eyebrows; the demand was indeed growing fast.

“Tell me honestly, how many per month? So I can have a clear idea.”

Xu Dong took a deep breath and looked at Chen Jianghai seriously.

The profit margin on components was small, but volume meant big money.

If the quantity got too high, a discount would have to be applied, which meant Xu Dong would have to ask his brother-in-law, the factory director, for help.

Chen Jianghai had already estimated and said without hesitation, “At this rate, at least five thousand components per month.”

Five thousand?

Xu Dong stared wide-eyed, incredulous: “Little Brother Chen, do you really need that many?”

The factory mainly produced electrical parts for radios and TVs, with few varieties, low tech content, and limited market competitiveness.

That’s why the factory’s performance was worsening, red flags everywhere.

Adding the leadership’s rigidity and lack of reform vision, only superficial efforts had been made, exhausting the factory’s reserves.

Welfare and management issues lowered worker enthusiasm, reducing yield and efficiency, raising costs.

Now, with massive losses from triangular debts, it was the last straw; bankruptcy loomed.

The factory was on the brink; management had already planned their exit.

For relation-dependent employees like Xu Dong with no skills, it was a catastrophe.

Chen Jianghai’s thousands of parts weren’t much to the failing factory but represented a significant income for Xu Dong.

Chen Jianghai said calmly, “Brother Dong, I intend to cooperate with you long-term. Why would I lie?”

Though he spoke of long-term cooperation, Chen Jianghai knew the factory wouldn’t last much longer.

He recalled that in his past life, this factory went bankrupt and was liquidated by year’s end.

At least until then, he could still profit from it.

Xu Dong felt awkward: “Little Brother Chen, I didn’t mean that.”

Chen Jianghai smiled slightly: “Brother Dong, in business, it’s a straightforward exchange—money for goods. You don’t need to worry.”

His words truly moved Xu Dong.

Xu Dong nodded and took a sip of water. “Let me think it over.”

Ultimately, Xu Dong was still a bit skeptical.

“That’s fine. No rush. Take your time.”

Chen Jianghai gathered his things, prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Xu Dong quickly stood and helped carry a bag, warmly saying, “Little Brother Chen, there’s a lot today. Let me help you take it out!”

Before Chen Jianghai could respond, Xu Dong had lifted the bag. Chen Jianghai thought for a moment and said nothing.

The two chatted as they walked. At the gate, Chen Jianghai mounted his old bike, waved goodbye to Xu Dong, and hurried away.

Watching Chen Jianghai’s retreating figure, Xu Dong squinted, lost in thought.

…

Chen Jianghai first went home, placed the two large bags of components inside, then rushed to Pozi Street in the county center—Linhai’s famous commercial street, home to Zhongbai store, the First Foodstuff Store, Xinhua Bookstore, Workers’ Cultural Palace, cinema, and more, plus the county government nearby. The residents’ living standards were generally higher.

Previously, he had operated on the west side of Pozi Street, considered the urban-rural fringe.

Besides, his reputation had grown with recent efforts.

The number of people coming from surrounding areas for appliance repairs was increasing.

Therefore, Chen Jianghai decided to focus next on the east side of Pozi Street.

Once funds and raw materials accumulated, he planned to shift focus to assembly and refurbishment; repairs would be secondary.

He spent the afternoon busy and earned over a hundred yuan.

He wasn’t greedy; otherwise, he could have doubled that easily.

After all, with appliances broken, people were clueless and had to trust the repairer’s word.

It was just like car repairs in the future.

Counting a thick stack of bills into his pocket, tying the old radios to his bike seat, Chen Jianghai wiped his forehead.

Checking the time, it was almost four o’clock—time to buy groceries and cook.

Riding past Qianjin Street, he was suddenly stopped by someone.

(End of chapter)