Chapter 11: The BP Machine

TL: Etude

Seizing the moment.

Chen Jianghai promptly stood up, greeted everyone with a polite bow of his hands, and said with a candid expression, "I want to thank you all in advance. If any of you have old, unused appliances, I can take them off your hands. I guarantee you a fair price."

After a day of interaction, Chen Jianghai knew he had left a good impression on the group. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he expressed his request.

"Broken appliances? They aren't worth anything. Why would you want them?"

"Yeah, aren't they just junk?"

Some people inquired with a touch of surprise.

Chen Jianghai smiled subtly and explained half-truthfully, "How do you think I honed my skills? By disassembling these broken appliances, of course."

Upon hearing Chen Jianghai's explanation, the crowd had a moment of realization.

"Ah, that makes sense! No wonder! So, Master Chen honed his skills this way!"

"My kid also loves to take things apart. I've smacked him a few times for it. Little did I know that Master Chen here turned it into a good way to learn a skill."

"Can your kid even compare with Master Chen? Is he as smart?"

Two older women, who apparently didn't get along, began to bicker after just a few words. Neither would back down.

Watching the two women's unyielding behavior, Chen Jianghai felt somewhat exasperated.

"Do either of you have broken appliances at home?"

To divert the conversation, Chen Jianghai had to ask.

One plump woman, surnamed Sun, said, "My husband used to have a broken radio. Do you want it?"

"Sure, bring it over. If it's suitable, I'll take it and try to offer you a good price since I'm just starting my business," Chen Jianghai nodded.

Once someone had spoken up and received such a promise from Chen Jianghai, others started to chime in. However, most were inquiring about prices.

Chen Jianghai waved his hand and said, "Don't rush. If you want to sell, bring your items over and I'll give you a quote. Today, since it's the opening of my business, I guarantee fair prices. If you find the price acceptable, then sell it to me. If not, no problem. What do you think?"

Hearing this, many people went home to look for broken appliances.

Before long, Sun returned, holding a radio.

"Little Chen, will you take this? I'm your first customer!"

Chen Jianghai, clearly understanding her implication, smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Sister Sun. I'll give you a satisfactory price after I take a look."

After inspecting the radio inside and out, he found that although it looked somewhat old, there were no signs of tampering. Presumably, the internal components were still functional.

"No problem, I'll take it for three yuan," Chen Jianghai quoted directly.

Sun's face lit up. She felt Chen Jianghai had indeed given her a high price.

This thing would usually sell for mere pennies as scrap. Now she could get three yuan, enough for two pounds of pork!

"Deal," Sun couldn't wait to say.

Without hesitation, Chen Jianghai handed over two bills to Sun.

"Little Chen, do you also buy TVs? How much could I get for it?" Sun, clutching the money, asked with some anticipation.

Someone nearby jokingly said, "Sister Sun, you ask as if you have a TV to sell."

Sun instantly became displeased, glaring at the person, "So what if I don't? My sister has one, doesn't she? What electronic appliance does she not have?"

Hearing Sun say this, people didn't dare to comment further.

Chen Jianghai laughed and said, "Sister Sun, I can't take it if you bring someone else's stuff!"

"Don't worry, Little Chen," Sun explained, "Last year, my sister upgraded to a color TV and her old black-and-white set doesn't work anymore. I was thinking she might as well sell it and get some money."

So that was her idea...

Chen Jianghai nodded, "No problem. As I said, if it's suitable, I'll buy it. And I promise a fair price."

"Little Chen, could you give a quote?"

Sister Sun hesitantly inquired.

After some thought, Chen Jianghai said, "Sister Sun, for televisions, you really have to see the physical item. But since you asked, I'll give you a rough estimate. If the appearance is fine and it's just old, it should be between 30 and 50."

"Alright, I'll head to my sister's house now."

Knowing the price, Sister Sun hastily took her leave.

Others also came by with their old appliances, primarily radios, except for one item—a pager.

Chen Jianghai glanced at it; it was a Motorola, but it was quite worn from years of use.

Pagers were in high demand at the moment, as cell phones, those expensive "bricks," weren't affordable for the average person. However, in a few years, as cell phones would become more popular, pagers would be phased out.

Chen Jianghai had been wanting a pager; it would make it easier for customers to contact him. This was like being sleepy and having someone bring him a pillow.

After all the hustling, Chen Jianghai had bought all the appliances except for one radio that was beyond repair.

In doing so, he spent all the money he had earned that day and acquired a collection of broken radios and a pager.

To others, it appeared that while Xiao Chen was skilled, learning his craft was quite costly.

Since he had collected quite a few items that day, Chen Jianghai decided not to visit other streets; he would take the items home first.

Pushing his bike, he returned home sweating profusely. After washing his face with cold water, he eagerly began to dismantle the old appliances, taking out all the useful components.

It took him the entire afternoon to disassemble all the appliances. He sorted the useful parts into different boxes.

Looking at the clutter, Chen Jianghai frowned slightly. The space was indeed too small.

For now, he would have to make do. Once he had more money, he could rent a storefront.

Alright, time to cook dinner for my wife!

When Lin Wanqiu returned home that evening, she saw the boxes and couldn't help asking, "Jianghai, what are all these?"

Chen Jianghai served Lin Wanqiu a bowl of rice and smiled, "Oh, these are radio parts I've dismantled."

"Where did you get them?" Lin Wanqiu asked in return.

"I bought them," Chen Jianghai pointed at the dismantled radio casings by the wall. "Look, those are the outer shells I took off. I spent half the day in Qianjin Street; I'll need to find another location for tomorrow."

Lin Wanqiu frowned slightly, "Bought them? Weren't you going to fix appliances? Why did you start buying them?"

"Hehe, these will be very useful, you'll see in a few days. Now, let's eat," Chen Jianghai didn't say much more and passed her the chopsticks.

As they ate, Lin Wanqiu couldn't help asking, "How was business today?"

"Today, I made quite a bit, but I spent it all," Chen Jianghai replied as he picked up a piece of meat for Lin Wanqiu.

From yesterday's earnings of over a hundred, Chen Jianghai had given fifty to Lin Wanqiu and kept the rest as a reserve.

Though the funds were limited, for his small-scale operations, it was enough.