CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 20: THE 560,000-YUAN DEAL

"How much did you say?"

"200,000? Why don’t you just sell me off?"

In the store, as soon as Lao Wang heard Qi Yun wanted to borrow 200,000, he was so shocked that the tea jar in his hand nearly slipped.

He quickly put the unlit cigarette back on the table and said grumpily, "Here, take it, I can’t afford to smoke with you."

Qi Yun chuckled, picked up the cigarette again, stuffed it into his mouth, and lit it for him.

"Uncle Wang, you should know my character, I wouldn’t act rashly without absolute certainty.

There’s no risk in lending me this money, I’ll pay you back with an extra 10,000 in interest in five days."

Lao Wang frowned, took a drag of his cigarette, and a trace of doubt appeared on his face, "Where did you get this information? Why are you so confident?"

Actually, it’s not that he doesn’t trust Qi Yun, after all, they’ve known each other for so long, and he has a good grasp of Qi Yun’s character.

He’s just worried that Qi Yun might be overconfident and suffer a big setback.

Qi Yun sensed Lao Wang’s concerns, but he certainly couldn’t disclose his source.

So he thought for a moment and pointed his index finger upwards, "You know I used to do business, I have some connections, the information is reliable."

Lao Wang scrutinized Qi Yun seriously, thought for a while, and slowly spoke, "I’ve saved some hard-earned money over the years,

but more than half of it can’t be touched, it’s reserved for Binzi’s future bride price.

I can lend you at most 100,000, and you don’t need to pay interest. Pay it back whenever you’re able.

If one day I’m not around, just return the money to Binzi."

Qi Yun was touched by his words.

Lao Wang usually presents the image of an aloof big boss, but he genuinely helps when it matters.

Such heartwarming words almost broke through Qi Yun’s defenses.

If he didn’t know that Lao Wang often visited Sister Xia’s massage parlor at night, he might have believed his nonsense.

But thinking about it, given their non-familial relationship, it’s not easy for him to go this far.

This favor has to be remembered.

Qi Yun didn’t say much, just nodded solemnly, "Thank you, Uncle Wang."

Lao Wang waved it off, picked up his phone, transferred 100,000 to Qi Yun, and then patted his shoulder, saying earnestly, "I know you want a comeback badly, but remember not to be impulsive."

"Understood," Qi Yun replied with a smile and started heading towards the door.

Just as he was about to step out of the store, he turned back and asked Lao Wang, "Uncle Wang, are you sure you don’t want to join the venture?"

Lao Wang sighed, "At my age, I’m content with my small lot. I earn enough money, I don’t want to hassle anymore."

After hearing this, Qi Yun didn’t push further and nodded before leaving.

Perhaps this is the calm and collected mindset of a seasoned landlord...

Upon returning to his rented apartment, he called Peng Ge and Wei Yong, arranging to meet them at Lao Feng’s hot pot restaurant, and then took a cab there himself.

It wasn’t lunchtime yet, and there weren’t many customers in the hot pot restaurant.

Little Blondie and Wei Yong’s wife had already arrived early and were helping tidy up ingredients in the kitchen.

When Qi Yun arrived, Lao Feng, Peng Ge, and Wei Yong were already waiting for him.

As soon as he walked in, Peng Ge pointed at him and laughed, "Here he is, come sit down, what’s so urgent that you had to call us here?"

Qi Yun walked over with a smile, sat down, took a sip of hot tea, then laid out the situation for the three of them.

Peng Ge’s smile gradually faded after listening, and his expression turned serious.

He rubbed his chin for a moment, then asked, "Is the information reliable?"

He didn’t press for the source, he directly asked about its reliability.

Clearly, he trusted Qi Yun’s judgment. If you say it’s reliable, I’ll believe it.

Lao Feng and Wei Yong also looked at Qi Yun with serious expressions, waiting for an answer.

Qi Yun’s expression also turned serious as he spoke slowly, "Putting Lao Wei aside, given our current situation, we can’t afford any mess-ups.

If the information wasn’t accurate, I wouldn’t involve you guys in this."

Hearing this, Peng Ge and Lao Feng nodded simultaneously. They knew Qi Yun all too well.

Before they could speak, Wei Yong interjected, "Old Qi, I trust you! I can spare 200,000 right now, after taking out my daughter’s 30,000 for tuition and living expenses, I’ll invest the rest.

Even if it ends up a loss, I’m fine with it, consider it like last time when the apples all rotted in the warehouse."

Hearing this, Qi Yun patted his arm and jokingly scolded, "You, stop worrying about losses and just trust me."

As he spoke, he glanced towards the kitchen, "Isn’t this something you’d discuss with your wife over such a big matter?"

Wei Yong waved his hand boldly, "No need to discuss, I make the big decisions in the family!"

Qi Yun chuckled and gave him a thumbs up.

Then Peng Ge spoke, "I don’t have much ready cash, just collected 50,000 yesterday from a payment.

But I’m busy with the factory these days, can’t help with this, so I’ll transfer you 50,000. Call it an investment or a loan, whatever you prefer."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lao Feng also nodded, "I’m thinking the same, you’ve seen the situation in the hot pot restaurant these days, I can’t spare any time either.

There’s still 70,000 in the account, I’ll transfer it to you shortly."

Qi Yun looked at the three, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, since you all trust me, there’s nothing more to say. I’ll arrange for the truck to load the goods tonight."

After the discussion, Peng Ge left first.

Wei Yong’s daughter was out of the hospital, so he didn’t need to stay anymore and offered to help Qi Yun.

Qi Yun didn’t refuse, and they got into his small truck and returned to the rented apartment.

...

Behind Lao Wang’s store was a big courtyard, which Qi Yun had arranged with him in the morning to temporarily use for a few days to store goods.

With the weather being cold, he wasn’t worried about spoilage.

Furthermore, there was a large iron gate on the side of the courtyard, allowing trucks to drive straight in, making loading and unloading convenient.

The two tidied up the courtyard together, giving Qi Yun some time to sit down and start calculating the amount of goods to purchase.

"Lao Feng transferred 70,000, Peng Ge 50,000, Wei Yong’s 170,000, my 170,000, and the 100,000 borrowed from Lao Wang, totaling 560,000."

After discussing with Wei Yong, they finally decided to buy 1,500 boxes of size 20-30 frozen shrimp, along with 1,700 boxes of size 40-50.

This way, there are various sizes, hopefully making them easier to sell.

Then they called the wholesale market owner, who was overjoyed to hear they wanted to order over 3,000 boxes.

After some negotiation, the price was reduced by two yuan per box.

However, the owner could only get 2,000 boxes ready by tonight, so they’d have to wait until midnight to get the complete order.

Qi Yun wasn’t in a rush, as the price hike was scheduled two days later, so they agreed to pick up the goods at 8 AM the next day.

Then he transferred a deposit of 5,000 yuan via WeChat to confirm the deal, and the owner started preparing the goods.

As for the contract, they planned to complete the paperwork when picking up the goods the next day.

With the plan in place, they began mapping out selling locations.

Mainly around large supermarkets, densely populated neighborhoods, and markets.

Besides the markets, other places risked being driven away by city regulators.

With Wei Yong’s years of experience in street vending, he quickly marked out five suitable spots.