Chapter 26: To Give or Not to Give?

"Junk? Where do you think the radios you've been selling come from?" Chen Jianghai asked, shaking his head.

Fang Aiguo immediately realized what he meant, his eyes widening in pleasant surprise. "Brother Hai, could those radios be..."

"Alright, that's enough. No need to say it out loud." Chen Jianghai interrupted him, nodding with a smile as a reminder.

"Got it, I understand, I understand. I won't say a word, I absolutely won't tell anyone," Fang Aiguo promised with a grin.

If that was the case, the money was far too easy to make. A broken radio was only worth a few dimes or a dollar at a scrap yard; if he offered a few dollars, he could definitely buy them. Once repaired and sold, they would fetch fifty—that was a tenfold profit! While the profit margins on televisions weren't quite as extreme, their high price point made up for it. Even if he bought one for a few dozen dollars, he could sell a second-hand unit for at least two or three hundred.

Tsk! Just thinking about it was exhilarating. At this rate, the "ten-thousand-yuan household" status Chen Jianghai mentioned didn't seem so far off after all.

True to the adage "if you employ someone, do not doubt them," Chen Jianghai pushed the money on the table toward Fang Aiguo. "Aiguo, take this money and collect as many household appliances as you can. No issues with that, right?"

"Brother Hai, don't you worry. I’ll make sure this job is done beautifully," Fang Aiguo said, taking the money, straightening his back, and patting his chest.

Chen Jianghai nodded, encouraging him, "Work hard. As long as you find the right direction, making money isn't a difficult task."

"Following you to make money, Brother Hai, is truly easy," Fang Aiguo said, looking at the cash in his hand and nodding in complete agreement.

...

Over the next few days, Chen Jianghai stayed around Pozi Street. While he didn't take on many jobs, his earnings remained high because he frequently received major repair requests for air conditioners and refrigerators. In this era, these were luxury items; any one of them was worth a small fortune, and the repair fees were significantly higher.

After finishing work that day, Chen Jianghai totted up his recent income: it was over eight hundred. This didn't even include the five hundred he had given to Fang Aiguo for collecting scrap appliances.

Earning a thousand in just one week was something no one would believe if he told them. However, in this day and age, the saying that "having a skill means you can make money" was no empty promise.

Chen Jianghai organized the large bills, planning to hand them to Lin Wanqiu for safekeeping that evening. He wanted to put his wife's mind completely at ease while slowly changing some of her perspectives. She had suffered so much for him in the past, enduring hardship and misery that eventually led to the illness that took her early. Now that he was living a second life, he had to ensure she lived a life of leisure and comfort. Otherwise, given Lin Wanqiu’s personality, she would never be willing to stay home and live off his efforts without working.

Before long, Lin Wanqiu returned, carrying a box.

"Wanqiu, what do you have there?" Chen Jianghai asked casually as he brought in the food.

Lin Wanqiu smiled. "I ran into a promotion at a shoe store on my way home from work, so I bought you a new pair of leather shoes. Try them on and see if they fit."

Hearing this, Chen Jianghai beamed, his heart filled with happiness. "Honey, you're so good to me!"

Lin Wanqiu’s face flushed instantly. She lowered her head, embarrassed. "I told you! You’re not allowed to call me that anymore!"

"Why not?" Chen Jianghai sat down beside her, wrapped his arm around her slim waist, and leaned close to her ear. "Isn't it only natural for a husband to call his wife that?"

Lin Wanqiu’s body went rigid. Her heart began to race, and not just her face, but her entire body felt like it was burning up. Chen Jianghai didn't notice; he simply held her gently in his arms and continued, "Since I call you 'honey,' shouldn't you call me 'darling'?"

When he finished, he looked at her and realized she had buried her head almost into her own chest. Seeing this, he didn't press the issue. He was afraid that if he kept going, she wouldn't even be able to eat dinner.

"Alright, alright, let's eat!" Chen Jianghai let go of her and served her a large bowl of rice.

During dinner, Lin Wanqiu seemed to forget about the television. She kept her head down, eating, not daring to look at him even once. She was deeply conflicted, silently wondering: *Does Chen Jianghai want me? If so... should I give in or not?*

*A woman follows her husband wherever he goes. If he wants it, I'll give it to him.* After all, he had changed so much; he was no longer the high-minded but useless man he used to be. Their current life finally had a future! Finally, she made a secret decision.

After washing the dishes, Chen Jianghai entered the bedroom and found that Lin Wanqiu wasn't watching TV; she was already in bed.

"Wanqiu, why are you sleeping so early tonight? Are you not feeling well?" Chen Jianghai walked to the bed, reached out to touch her forehead, and asked with concern.

Lin Wanqiu shook her head, her voice trembling. "No, I just wanted to sleep early. You... you should... sleep early too." She had mustered all her courage to say these final words.

Chen Jianghai nodded. "It has been exhausting these past few days. I'll get to sleep then."

Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu quickly closed her eyes, trembling with nervousness. *Snap.* The room went dark. She felt her heart thumping as if it were about to burst out of her chest. But after waiting for a while, she slowly opened her eyes and realized that Chen Jianghai was already asleep on the opposite bed.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief, unsure whether she felt relieved or disappointed.

...

On Friday, a sweating Fang Aiguo pulled a tricycle, hauling a full cart of old, discarded appliances to Chen Jianghai’s home.

"Whoa, Aiguo, you collected all of these?" Chen Jianghai asked in surprise, looking at the mountain of old appliances.

Fang Aiguo nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. His face, which seemed to have tanned quite a bit, was full of smiles. "Brother Hai, I had to make sure I got the job done right."

Chen Jianghai scanned the pile; aside from a few radios, the rest were all black-and-white televisions. If he broke these down and scavenged parts to assemble second-hand units, then refurbished them, he could definitely sell them for a good price.

As China's economy continued to grow, production technology and levels had improved, leading to a massive increase in the output of various appliances. Although the prices of home appliances like televisions had dropped, there was still no problem selling a refurbished second-hand unit for two or three hundred in this small county, especially with good after-sales service. Even the farmers in the surrounding countryside who were becoming wealthy would surely choose to buy them. After all, if they could get the same functionality, they would naturally prefer to save half the money.

Compared to repairs that earned him anywhere from a few to a few dozen dollars, the speed of making money this way was much faster.

"Good work, well done. How much did it all cost?" Chen Jianghai asked.