met free Chapter 1293 No wonder they look down on selling digital watches
Chapter 1293 No wonder they look down on selling digital watches
Chapter 1293 No wonder they look down on selling digital watches
On the bus to Shantou, Yang Xun noticed that Qin Hao wasn't asleep, so he cautiously asked, "Brother Hao, are we really not going to do business with electronic watches anymore?"
Qin Hao smiled at him and asked in return, "What do you think is the reason our electronic watch business is profitable?"
After biting his lower lip and pondering for a moment, Yang Xun tentatively replied, "Because not many people are buying digital watches now?"
“That’s right.” Qin Hao nodded approvingly. “Guangzhou to Shantou is such a short distance. If we can find the goods, others can too. The reason we’re able to make money is because not many people were doing this business before us. We pioneered the market; we were the first to try something new.”
At this point, Qin Hao paused, his gaze drifting to the farmland rushing past the window: "Although we've acquired quite a few new customers in the past two weeks, our sales volume hasn't increased significantly. This indicates that more and more people are eyeing the electronic watch business. Instead of struggling to make ends meet with those people, it's better to step back and pursue a more profitable business."
Yang Xun gave a thumbs up, his eyes shining with admiration: "Brother Hao, this trip with you has not only broadened my horizons but also taught me so much."
Qin Hao raised his hand to interrupt: "Alright, stop flattering me. It's still early, take a nap. We'll have a lot of trouble once we get to Shantou."
Yang Xun closed his eyes with a smile, and soon began to snore softly.
Qin Hao gazed at the darkening sky outside the window, his thoughts drifting away. For the past month, he and Yang Xun had been shuttling back and forth between Guangzhou and Shantou; though arduous, it had been very fruitful. While the electronic watch business was profitable, the market would soon become saturated, and they needed to shift their focus promptly.
The other passengers in the carriage were also drowsy. There weren't many passengers on this night bus; most were small-time vendors who carried their hard-earned savings to Shantou to buy goods. Qin Hao noticed that several burly men in the front row would occasionally turn around and sizing up the other passengers in the carriage, their eyes clearly harboring ill intentions.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Xun was suddenly awakened by a sudden stop. He groggily opened his eyes, and before he could even react to what had happened, a gleaming butcher's knife swept past him, its blade gleaming coldly in the dim headlights.
"Don't move! This is a robbery!" A burly man with a face full of scars stood in the aisle, brandishing a butcher's knife and shouting.
Behind him were five accomplices, each looking fierce and carrying a knife.
Yang Xun's voice trembled with fear: "Brother Hao, what do we do now?"
Qin Hao smiled, his expression unchanged: "What else can you do? You think you can fight them with that little physique?"
Yang Xun's face was more bitter than a bitter gourd: "Brother Hao, at a time like this, stop making fun of me."
His heart was pounding, as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest. The five thousand yuan he had worked so hard to earn over the past month was sewn into his inner pocket. If it were found, he would truly be back to square one.
Just as the two were talking, a robber came up in front of them.
The man, his face covered in pockmarks and a gruesome scar above his left eye, brandished a gleaming butcher's knife and roared at the two men, "Hand over your valuables! If I find anything, don't blame my knife for being ruthless!"
Yang Xun instinctively clutched his chest, a gesture that immediately attracted the robbers' attention. Scarface grabbed Yang Xun by the collar: "Hey kid, what's hidden inside? Hand it over now!"
"I...I have no money!" Yang Xun tried to break free, but his strength was no match for the robbers.
Seeing that Yang Xun still dared to resist, Scarface's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he raised his hand to smash Yang Xun's arm with the back of his knife.
Several female passengers nearby closed their eyes in fright, unable to bear the bloody scene. However, the next second they heard the burly man's screams.
"what--"
When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the scarred man was already under Qin Hao's feet, and the pig-slaughtering knife was now in Qin Hao's hand, pressed against the robber's throat.
"Brother, let's talk this out," Scarface said, his face pale and his voice trembling.
Seeing this, several of his accomplices immediately surrounded him. One of them, a bald, burly man, glared menacingly at Qin Hao: "Kid, if you know what's good for you, let my brother go, or I'll make you regret it!"
Qin Hao sneered and slightly increased the pressure on his foot, causing the scarred man to let out a pig-like scream. This sound provoked the other robbers; the bald, burly man roared and charged at Qin Hao, brandishing his iron rod.
At the same time, another tall, thin robber circled around behind Qin Hao, pulled out a dagger, and stabbed Qin Hao in the back.
"Brother Hao, watch out behind you!" Yang Xun exclaimed.
Just when the tall, thin man thought he was about to succeed, a fist suddenly loomed large in front of him.
Before he could react, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning in the chest. He was thrown into the air, crashed heavily against the carriage wall, and then slid to the ground, losing consciousness.
It all happened so fast that the passengers on the bus were stunned. Before the bald, burly man's iron rod could even fall, Qin Hao dodged it with a sidestep and then delivered an elbow strike to his ribs. With a crisp "crack," the bald, burly man doubled over in pain, and the iron rod clattered to the ground.
The remaining robbers were stunned for a moment, and at the same time, a middle-aged passenger on the bus roared angrily.
"Party members and veterans, come with me!"
Immediately, several more passengers stood up and joined Qin Hao in surrounding and tying up all the robbers.
"Well done!"
"These damn bastards, someone should have taken care of them a long time ago!"
"That young man is really amazing!"
A cheer erupted in the carriage.
Qin Hao tied up the scarred man tightly and threw him and the other robbers onto the aisle of the train carriage.
"Let's discuss how to deal with these people."
The middle-aged passenger who led the group stepped forward: "I'm a veteran named Zhang Hongbo. In my opinion, we should tie these robbers up and leave them by the roadside to fend for themselves."
"Aren't we going to the police station?" Yang Xun asked in a low voice.
Qin Hao shook his head: "Many of the people on the truck are going to Shantou to buy goods. If they go to the police station and are questioned about the source of their funds, they might be accused of speculation and profiteering and end up in jail."
As Qin Hao had expected, the proposal was approved by the majority of people.
Qin Hao walked over to the robbers and casually pinched their arms a few times.
The robbers immediately let out pig-like screams. Their collarbones had been crushed by Qin Hao. From now on, let alone robbing houses, even carrying a bucket of water would be difficult.
The driver parked the car on the side of the road, and the group worked together to lift the robber out of the car and casually dump him in the roadside bushes.
The robbers were ashen-faced and begged for mercy. But no one sympathized with them; these thugs who specialized in robbing merchants had caused countless families to be torn apart and lives lost.
Once they were back on the road, the atmosphere in the carriage completely changed. The passengers, who had been wary of each other, were now all warm and friendly, thanking Qin Hao profusely. The middle-aged passenger named Zhang Hongbo gave Qin Hao a thumbs-up: "This young man must be a trained martial artist, right? That skill level couldn't be achieved in less than ten or eight years of practice."
Qin Hao smiled and said casually, "I practiced farming techniques with the elders in my family for a few days, enough to deal with a few petty thieves."
Zhang Hongbo shook his head: "Those aren't just a few petty thieves. To be honest, young man, I'm also a retired soldier, but even I have absolutely no confidence in dealing with a few desperados like that with my bare hands."
The other passengers also praised Qin Hao, some even offering to treat him to a meal as a token of their gratitude. Yang Xun quietly gave Qin Hao a thumbs-up and whispered, "Brother Hao, you were amazing just now! I didn't even see how you made your move, and that robber was sent flying."
Qin Hao laughed and scolded, "Stop flattering me. If you want to learn, you have to pay tuition."
Yang Xun scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly, "With my small frame, I'd better not. Anyway, I'm not afraid of any kind of robbers when I'm with Brother Hao."
The passengers chatted and laughed, and time flew by. Around 2 PM, the bus finally arrived at Shantou Bus Station.
As soon as Qin Hao and Yang Xun got off the bus, they saw A-Qiang standing at the exit, looking around. Over the past month, Qin Hao had become one of his biggest clients, and every time he came to buy goods, he made a considerable profit.
"Boss Qin! How many digital watches do you plan to buy this time?" A-Qiang greeted him warmly, his face beaming with smiles.
Qin Hao's words immediately wiped the smile off A-Qiang's face: "This time, we're not buying a digital watch."
Ah Qiang's expression instantly fell, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Seeing this, Yang Xun patted him on the shoulder: "Do you have any other appliances?"
These words made Ah Qiang's eyes light up again: "Yes, I have everything here! Radios, televisions, refrigerators, you name it!"
Qin Hao said seriously, "Do you have a television? Preferably a color one."
Upon hearing this, A-Qiang's face fell again: "Color televisions are very expensive now; the wholesale price of one is eight or nine hundred."
Qin Hao said calmly, "I'm not afraid of high prices. As long as you have the goods, I'm willing to pay."
Ah Qiang bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his voice: "We don't have any color TVs in stock. If you want one, you'll have to pay half the deposit first."
Yang Xun was immediately displeased: "We don't even know where you live. If you give us half the deposit and then run away, who are we supposed to turn to?"
Just as A-Qiang hesitated, Zhang Hongbo walked over: "You two young men are here to buy color TVs? To be honest, I'm also here to buy color TVs. Why don't we go together?"
A-Qiang glared at Zhang Hongbo, a flash of anger in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said to Qin Hao, "Come pick up the goods in two days. I won't take your deposit!"
Qin Hao nodded: "Okay, as long as your price is right, I'll take any quantity."
Afterwards, Qin Hao and Yang Xun followed Zhang Hongbo onto a tricycle, which drove off in another direction.
On the way, Yang Xun lowered his voice and said to Qin Hao, "Why do they do this in every village? Doesn't anyone do anything about it?"
Before Qin Hao could answer, Zhang Hongbo explained with a smile, "Much of the land here in Shantou is saline-alkali land, unsuitable for growing crops, so people rely on the sea for their livelihood. They used to make a living by fishing, but in the last two years they've started smuggling goods. A few households in the village do this, and the whole village gets involved. Besides, the local people are quite tough; most of the time, as long as it's not too outrageous, the higher-ups turn a blind eye."
The tricycle traveled for about half an hour before arriving at what looked like an ordinary village. A few young men were squatting and smoking at the village entrance. Upon seeing the tricycle approach, they immediately stood up and warily eyed the strangers on board.
The leader got out of the car, said a few words to them, and offered them a pack of cigarettes before the young men let them go.
The tricycle continued driving in and eventually stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary house.
"We've arrived." Zhang Hongbo jumped out of the car and led Qin Hao and the other man into the yard. Various cardboard boxes and wooden crates were piled up in the yard, and several workers were loading and unloading goods.
After crossing the courtyard, the three were led into a warehouse. The warehouse was filled with various brands and models of electrical appliances, mostly radios and televisions, with very few refrigerators and air conditioners in stock.
"These are all from Hong Kong," the leader explained. "The quality is guaranteed, and the prices are much cheaper than in state-run stores."
Qin Hao carefully inspected several sample units and found them to be genuine, only lacking proper import documentation. He turned to the person in charge and asked, "What's the price of a Sanyo color TV?"
"980 per unit, minimum order of 10 units." The leader was a lean man who spoke with a heavy Chaoshan accent.
After some haggling, the price was negotiated down to 950, at which point the other party refused to budge any further.
After discussing it, Qin Hao and the other two decided to join forces to acquire 100 units. Qin Hao would take 50 units, Yang Xun would take 5 units, and Zhang Hongbo would take the remaining 45 units.
Because of the large volume of goods, the other party specially arranged a truck to transport the goods directly to Guangzhou.
In this way, Qin Hao and his two companions no longer need to squeeze onto the shuttle bus; they can comfortably ride back in the truck.
While loading the truck, Yang Xun whispered to Qin Hao, "Brother Hao, who are we going to sell all these color TVs to?"
Qin Hao chuckled and patted Yang Xun on the shoulder: "Don't worry, color TVs are a scarce commodity right now. Once they get to Guangzhou, as soon as word gets out, people will be scrambling to buy them. There's no worry about selling them."
"How much can you earn from that machine?" Yang Xun licked his lips and asked eagerly.
Qin Hao thought for a moment and said, "That depends on whether it's wholesale or retail. If it's retail, it should sell for at least 1800 per unit, and if it's wholesale, it'll be 1300."
Yang Xun's eyes widened. He used to work himself to the bone for a month and only earned five thousand yuan. Now, he could earn at least three hundred yuan a day selling a color TV, and if he sold it at retail, he could even make double the profit.
"Brother Hao, no wonder you look down on the business of selling digital watches."
As they spoke, Zhang Hongbo walked over and offered Qin Hao a cigarette: "Brother Qin, I can see you're quite skilled, and you have a keen eye for business. Interested in a long-term partnership? I have some connections in Guangzhou; if we join forces, we're sure to make a fortune."
Qin Hao accepted the cigarette but didn't immediately agree: "I appreciate Brother Zhang's kindness. However, I'm used to working alone, so let's talk about cooperation later."
Zhang Hongbo didn't press the matter, smiling and nodding, "Okay, let's cooperate again in the future. We owe you a lot this time, otherwise all of our hard-earned money would have gone down the drain."
After the truck was loaded, Qin Hao and Zhang Hongbo climbed into the cab, while Yang Xun went to the back. It wasn't that they were bullying him, but these kinds of trucks were just a few steel frames with a canopy on them, without a proper cargo compartment. If no one was watching over them, the cargo could be stolen at any time.