Chapter 44: Cornering the Market

TL: Etude

After a bumpy ride, Chen Jianghai and his wife returned to the county town.

Indeed, no matter how luxurious other places are, there's no place like home—how comfortable it is to be back.

Lin Wanqiu changed into fresh clothes and hurried off to work.

Chen Jianghai originally didn't want Lin Wanqiu to go to work; having been busy all morning, she should have rested.

But Lin Wanqiu wouldn't listen to that.

She felt that now was the time to make money while they were young, so that they could have a better life in the future.

Chen Jianghai knew it would take time to change Lin Wanqiu's mindset; rushing it would be futile.

Afterward, Chen Jianghai also took his own bicycle out, looking for jobs to earn money.

Right now, the repair business was hardly making any money. After half a day's work, Chen Jianghai had earned only a few tens of yuan.

It was urgent to rent a shop and quickly start assembling a batch of electrical appliances.

With a shop, they could wait for customers to come to them, which would save the effort of going door-to-door, and there would be more time to assemble appliances.

This way, they could earn money much faster.

Chen Jianghai mulled over this in his mind.

These days, as long as one had ideas, courage, and ability, wealth wouldn't be far away.

Noticing it was getting late, Chen Jianghai bought some fresh vegetables from the market and rode his bike unsteadily home.

Just before he reached home, a familiar voice came from behind.

"Brother Hai, Brother Hai!"

Chen Jianghai turned his head to see it was Fang Aiguo, who had come rushing over, his head drenched in sweat.

Chen Jianghai couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, Aiguo, looking at you, the harvest must be good, right?"

Fang Aiguo nodded vigorously, excitedly saying, "That's right, Brother Hai, the money you gave me last time, I've spent it all."

Hearing this, Chen Jianghai didn't feel the slightest sting of loss, but instead was very happy.

The more scrap electrical appliances Fang Aiguo collected, the more they could assemble and refurbish, and the more money they would make.

"You're quite efficient, my brother!"

Chen Jianghai smiled and patted Fang Aiguo's shoulder, then gave a thumbs up.

Fang Aiguo grinned and said, "Brother Hai, everyone knows I'm paying a high price for these scrap appliances, and they're bringing them to me on their own. I wouldn't even have to go out. If I hadn't run out of money, I could have collected even more."

"That much?" Chen Jianghai was somewhat surprised.

Seeing Chen Jianghai's reaction, Fang Aiguo couldn't help laughing, "Brother Hai, the bigger the market, the more we earn, right?"

"Yes, you're right. I'll give you another sum of money later, keep collecting, and let's corner the market of scrap appliances in Linghai."

Chen Jianghai waved his arm vigorously, speaking with great enthusiasm.

Fang Aiguo hesitated and then reminded him, "Brother Hai, I think it's better to deal with this batch first. If we invest so much money and can't make a return, it will be troublesome."

"Let's go to your warehouse and have a look!" Chen Jianghai turned the handle of the bike and waved his hand.

Ten minutes later, Fang Aiguo brought Chen Jianghai to a small alley.

"Brother Hai, this is it," Fang Aiguo pointed to a building in front of them.

Chen Jianghai nodded, eager, "Open it up, let's have a look."

After parking the bike, Fang Aiguo quickly took out his keys and opened the door, "Brother Hai, it's a bit crowded inside, be careful."

Once inside, Chen Jianghai understood why Fang Aiguo had given him a heads-up.

The room was filled with appliances, leaving no place to even step.

"Wow, you've collected so much?" Even though Chen Jianghai was prepared, he was still surprised to see the volume.

Fang Aiguo, looking at his trophies, also said with a touch of pride, "Brother Hai, I told you, it's not hard to collect these things. Everyone has a lot of scrap appliances at home."

The house was quite old, with two rooms, front and back. With a little tidying up, they could make some space.

Chen Jianghai rolled up his sleeves and instructed Fang Aiguo, "Aiguo, clear out the stuff in the small room for me, I need some space to work on assembling."

Upon hearing Chen Jianghai speak in such a manner, Fang Aiguo didn't hesitate and got straight to work.

After more than half an hour, the two finally managed to tidy up the small room inside.

"By the way, keep an eye out for me, see if there are any suitable shops for rent on Pozi Street. I'm planning to rent a storefront," Chen Jianghai continued.

Upon hearing this, Fang Aiguo's eyes lit up.

This was a sign of moving up in the world!

He quickly nodded, "No problem, I'll go have a look in a bit."

"That's good, we're almost done here."

Chen Jianghai waved his hand, "Go talk to your parents about the rent."

Fang Aiguo frowned and then said, "Brother Hai, I've already talked to my parents about this, and they don't plan on taking any rent."

"That won't do."

Chen Jianghai was very firm, "If we're using your family's house, we must pay."

"Brother Hai, if it weren't for you, how could I be making so much money now?" Fang Aiguo was a bit anxious, "My parents said they don't want it, you can use it with peace of mind!"

Chen Jianghai shook his head, "Aiguo, we have to keep accounts clear even among brothers, I've told you before, I am definitely going to pay the rent."

Fang Aiguo couldn't win against Chen Jianghai and could only bring him to his family's small store.

"Mom, Brother Hai is here," Fang Aiguo called out.

Upon hearing this, Huang Shuifeng, who was sitting in the small store, hurriedly stood up with a smile plastered on her face and warmly greeted him, "Jianghai, you're here!"

If this had been in the past, Huang Shuifeng would have definitely given Chen Jianghai a cold shoulder.

But now, seeing Chen Jianghai, Huang Shuifeng couldn't be more amiable.

You see, in about a week, Fang Aiguo had made nearly two hundred yuan!

He used to boast about how much he could earn in a month, but that was just talk, never adding up.

Now the money was actually in Fang Aiguo's hands, and the couple had no choice but to believe it.

The reason Fang Aiguo could make so much money was because he followed Chen Jianghai.

Making money was one thing, but the most important aspect for the couple was that their son, who used to be idle and aim too high, finally had a serious job to do.

They were filled with gratitude towards Chen Jianghai, and that's why they went to thank him immediately after they found out about it.

As parents, they knew their son's character like the back of their hand.

Naturally, in the eyes of the couple, they assumed that if not for the old times' sake, such a good opportunity would definitely not have fallen into their son's lap.

"Auntie, I came today to talk about the rent," Chen Jianghai said.

He knew what the couple was thinking, but he insisted on principles, so he got straight to the point as soon as they met.

Hearing Chen Jianghai say this, Huang Shuifeng was somewhat displeased.