Chapter 117: Delivery

After buying the pager, Old Yao drove him back to the hotel.

Although spending over three thousand yuan—including the network access and service fees—made Wang Qiang’s heart ache a little, the thought of how much easier it would make his business dealings made it all feel worthwhile. The costs for such services had dropped significantly; back when they first emerged, the access fee alone was a hundred yuan, and the annual service fee for a digital display pager could reach six hundred. With competition intensifying, the access fee had fallen to just thirty yuan, with annual service fees dropping to a little over three hundred.

Wang Qiang even spent an extra six yuan a month to subscribe to weather forecasts, stock market information, and news updates. It wasn't that he had money to burn, but rather a desire to keep a pulse on useful information. For someone like him, constantly on the move, weather forecasts were essential, and the news helped him keep track of current events—he couldn't possibly remember every major historical detail, and perhaps a headline might spark an idea for a profitable venture. As for the stock market, his interest was purely academic; he just wanted to get a feel for the current climate.

As he walked inside, two departing guests caught sight of the pager in his hand and cast envious glances his way. An item costing several thousand yuan wasn't something just anyone could afford.

When he reached the front desk, Old Zhu had just finished bookkeeping. He had a sharp eye and spotted the device immediately. "Hey, Xiao Wang, you bought a pager?"

Wang Qiang smiled, tucked the pager into his waistband, and covered it with his shirt. "Just bought it. Still trying to figure out how to use it."

Old Zhu rested his arms on the counter. "I know how. I'll teach you."

Wang Qiang laughed. "That would be a big help, thank you."

"No trouble at all," Old Zhu boasted. "I used to have a brick phone, but it fell into the water and broke. A pager? That's small change."

From the back, the landlady’s sharp voice rang out: "It was a gift from Boss Wang, not something you bought yourself. What’s there to brag about?"

Seeing the slight embarrassment on Old Zhu’s face, Wang Qiang chuckled, knowing that Brother Zhu just loved to show off. In truth, given the volume of his hotel business, owning a brick phone wouldn't have been out of reach. He had heard the couple mention they cleared about two hundred yuan a day, totaling fifty or sixty thousand a year. However, with the landlady’s stingy nature, Old Zhu would likely never see a luxury like that. Even though Wang Qiang was earning money quickly now, his actual net worth was still far behind the couple's.

He would catch up eventually. There was no point in comparing himself to others.

Wang Qiang was in a good headspace. He left his pager number with the landlady and called for Old Zhu to help deliver the goods.

They hired a car, and all the way there, Old Zhu kept talking—perhaps out of a desire to save face, or perhaps just his nature. Wang Qiang listened with a smile. People were naturally vain, and showing off was common. Truth be told, Wang Qiang had his own share of vanity, but he felt a pager wasn't much to flaunt. Having lived through the era of smartphones, why would he show off a pager? Unless he was truly sheltered, but even if someone handed him an iPhone X right now, he wouldn't dare parade it around—who knew if he’d get kidnapped for it?

In short, without sufficient strength, showing off items beyond one's station was risky, especially in the nineties when public security wasn't quite what it would become later.

...

Qiujiang Electronics and Digital Plaza.

Business in the Qiujiang Road area was not as prosperous as it had been in the eighties, but the competition was fiercer than ever.

More and more people realized that selling electronics and machinery on Qiujiang Road was profitable. Whether it was smuggled goods, second-hand items, or original stock, there was a market for everything. Everyone was fighting to lower their prices, as affordability was the only way to win over customers.

On the second floor, in front of Cheng Weihong's stall.

Thirty-something Zhang Qian frowned. "Brother Cheng, why hasn't that kid Xiao Wang delivered the goods yet?"

"Isn't it normal that he hasn't shown up?" another young man, Hou Zhiqiang, chimed in. "He doesn't look like someone with much capability to me; he looks more like a con man."

Cheng Weihong didn't offer an opinion. "Let's wait and see if he comes."

Zhang Qian spread his hands. "He only left a landline number last time. Not to look down on him, but every big distributor is wealthy. Even if they don't have a brick phone, they should at least have a pager, right, Sister Qian?"

The middle-aged woman with a ponytail nodded. "That makes sense."

"More than just sense, it’s the absolute truth," Hou Zhiqiang said, offering a cigarette to the others and lighting his own. "For one thing, I bought a digital pager just to do business. And look at Brother Cheng—he’s wealthy enough to wear a Longines watch."

Sister Qian added, "It’s not that we’re blinded by money, but Old Xiao’s introduction, this Xiao Wang, just looks too ordinary. He doesn't look like a big boss."

"Alright, stop gossiping behind his back," Cheng Weihong said, tapping the counter.

Hou Zhiqiang replied, "Fine, we’ll stop talking about him."

"By the way, what if he actually brings the goods?" Zhang Qian asked anxiously. "What if he gritted his teeth and bought five hundred cassette players from somewhere else just to swindle us out of a deposit?" He suggested a devious plan: "I think we should leave him hanging for a bit. See if he gets anxious. If he’s desperate, he’s definitely a scammer."

Sister Qian raised her hand in agreement. "That works."

Cheng Weihong frowned. "Don't come up with such nonsense. Get back to your own business."

The merchants on Qiujiang Road might not have been the best in the business, but they were in the middle tier. The money they made every year was an astronomical figure to the average person, which naturally gave them a sense of superiority—a feeling that they were a cut above the rest.

"Hey, it's Xiao Wang."

"He actually brought the goods."

They all looked toward the stairs.

Wang Qiang was leading two porters up, and both he and Old Zhu were carrying two bundles of cassette players each.

The four of them soon arrived at the counter. Wang Qiang set the players down, pulled out two five-yuan notes, and handed them over. "Thank you for the hard work, gentlemen."

"No trouble at all."

"We're heading off."

The two porters turned and left.

Cheng Weihong and the others crowded around. They had lost hope in Wang Qiang, as three or four days had passed since the agreed-upon time, but they hadn't expected him to show up quietly with the goods today.

Old Zhu smiled. "Gentlemen, sorry to have kept you waiting. Xiao Wang and I have brought the five hundred cassette players. Why don't you inspect them, and if everything is in order, we can settle the payment?"

Wang Qiang smiled slightly. "If you find anything unsatisfactory, Brother Zhu and I can take the goods back immediately."

"You really got them?" Cheng Weihong asked in surprise. Realizing that might sound unprofessional, he quickly corrected himself. "I'll take a look now. Zhang Qian, Hou Zhiqiang, Sister Qian, you all take a look too. Old Du and Old Zhou aren't here, but if there are no issues, we’ll set aside fifty for each of them." He crouched down, pulled a box at random, and began to inspect it.

The others followed suit, crouching down to check the merchandise.

Why bring the goods directly into the plaza?

Anyone with experience would have lured the buyers to a separate location, especially someone like Cheng Weihong, who wouldn't want others to know who their supplier was. So why did Wang Qiang do it? Because he was standing on the opposite side of the equation—he wanted as many merchants as possible to know he could supply these goods.

He did it on purpose. If he wanted to break into the Qiujiang Road market, he had to build his reputation. He and Old Zhu intentionally delivered the goods to the plaza so that neighboring stall owners would see that Old Cheng and his group were sourcing from this young man. He would figure out how to get the others to buy from him later; for now, this was his grand entrance.

After a while, Wang Qiang took the initiative. "How about it, gentlemen? Any problems?"

Cheng Weihong slid the player back into its box, stood up, and nodded with satisfaction. "Looks good. Alright, I'll take these five hundred units."

He asked Wang Qiang and Old Zhu to wait a moment while he went to fetch the payment.

Wang, Old Zhu, and the three other stall owners were left behind.

Sister Qian looked at the two. "Xiao Wang, did it really take three or four days to get the stock?"

Wang Qiang nodded. "The distance is a bit far."

Sister Qian asked curiously, "Don't you have a phone number or a bank account to leave with them so you can just call and have them ship it?"

"Heh, I didn't think of that before," Wang Qiang said casually. "Deliveries will be faster from now on."

"Does it really take three or four days to get five hundred units?" Zhang Qian blinked. "If we need a large order, will it take too long?"

"Not at all. I can get you ten thousand in the same amount of time." Wang Qiang smiled, exaggerating his capability just slightly, but not excessively.

Hearing this, Zhang Qian clearly didn't believe him, his tone tinged with mockery. "Boss Wang is doing big business, then? You can easily get ten thousand players? In the past, when we needed large orders, we had to give advance notice."

Wang Qiang replied, "Yes, advance notice does allow for better preparation."

From their tone, Wang Qiang could tell they didn't fully trust him yet. But that was fine. As long as they were willing to keep cooperating, trust would build over time; they just hadn't seen the true extent of his supply chain yet.

No rush.

He would talk to them in a moment.

Wang Qiang had already prepared his strategy. If necessary, he would waive the deposit again, but this time, he would insist on a strict supply agreement—no backing out like the first time.

As they were talking, Cheng Weihong hurried back, carrying a small bag. He pulled Wang Qiang and Old Zhu into the storage room behind the counter.

The others leaned against the doorway.

Inside, Cheng Weihong pulled a stack of cash from the bag. "Nineteen thousand. Count it to make sure."

"I'll count it." Wang Qiang took the money and began counting it bill by bill.

While he was counting, Cheng Weihong asked Old Zhu, "Brother Zhu, can you get digital watches, CD players, and things like that?"

Old Zhu said, "You'll have to ask Xiao Wang. Let him finish counting first."

Seeing Cheng Weihong start to probe, Zhang Qian felt anxious—they had agreed to test Wang Qiang and Old Zhu further, so why was he rushing? "Actually, our inventory is quite full right now. We're not in a hurry to order more."

Wang Qiang didn't say a word, still counting the money.

"I'm not in a hurry either," Sister Qian added.

"I don't know about Old Du and Old Zhou, but I feel the same," Hou Zhiqiang chimed in.

Cheng Weihong didn't commit one way or the other, likely feeling he should stick with the group.

Wang Qiang didn't respond until he finished counting the money. He looked up and smiled. "Exactly nineteen thousand. Spot on."