Chapter 118: Longines Watch

At the counter.

Wang Qiang counted the money. He felt no resentment toward the group for temporarily declining additional goods; he understood that they had not yet fully let their guard down. However, since he had worked hard to secure this business, he could not simply give up just because they showed no immediate interest. As the saying goes, all beginnings are hard. He and Old Zhu were currently experiencing this as they partnered in the wholesale trade. Since Cheng Weihong did not actively express a need, Wang found it difficult to push the sale, so he and Old Zhu wandered around the nearby counters, occasionally scouting other shop owners to see if they needed inventory.

One... two...

Wang Qiang, Old Zhu, and the other owners chatted and laughed from time to time.

Watching from a distance, Sister Qian lowered her voice and said, "If he really has the resources, what if someone else snatches him up?"

Zhang Qian laughed. "Don't worry, rest assured. Even if he really has the goods, if we go to purchase them, he’ll want to make money, won't he?"

"But after all, Wang Qiang did get us those cheap cassette players. I think he might have some real connections..." Hou Zhiqiang said with a hint of worry.

Sister Qian couldn't help but suggest, "Should I go over and talk to him?"

Zhang Qian stopped her. "Don't. If you do, it’ll look like we’re begging him, and then he’ll be the one dictating the terms for deposits and such. Let's wait a couple of days. If he’s not in a rush, we can go to him to get the goods later."

Sister Qian had no choice but to agree. "Fine."

Cheng Weihong looked at them again. "I’m quite keen on doing business with them. If you guys aren't going to decide, I’m going to seek them out myself tonight."

Zhang Qian immediately interjected, "Brother Cheng, what's the rush? You act as if you're out of stock. To put it bluntly, what if he really is a con artist? We aren't talking about a small order. If we get scammed out of a deposit of tens of thousands, who can afford that?"

Hou Zhiqiang found this reasonable. "It won't hurt to wait a couple of days."

After a round of walking, Wang Qiang and Old Zhu actually managed to strike a deal. It was with a storefront near the west end of the shopping center. The owner was willing to take one hundred cassette players to test the waters. They only signed a simple agreement, with not a cent paid in deposit. That owner shared the same suspicion as Cheng Weihong and his group, fearing that Wang Qiang and Old Zhu were scammers. Had it not been for the temptation of the ultra-low price of thirty-eight per unit, he might not have placed the order for a hundred players.

Something is better than nothing, so Wang Qiang and Old Zhu agreed.

Once business was concluded, they prepared to head back and went to bid farewell to Cheng Weihong and the others.

Wang Qiang walked over and said, "Brother Cheng, Brother Zhu and I are heading back now. If you need anything, give us a call."

Cheng Weihong nodded and grunted an acknowledgement.

Zhang Qian, however, smiled and held Wang Qiang back. "Little Wang, is it inconvenient to reach you at the landline number you left? Do you have any other contact information?"

Wang Qiang slapped his forehead and laughed. "I forgot, I forgot. My apologies. Let me leave you a number where you can reach me at any time."

Sister Qian's eyes lit up. "A mobile phone?"

Zhang Qian took the opportunity to probe. "It would certainly be more convenient to have a mobile number. When we want to order, we could call you directly. But those things are quite expensive; I still haven't been able to bring myself to buy one." He added, "Brother Cheng bought one, but he’s too stingy to even use it, haha."

Cheng Weihong retorted, "You think the call charges are cheap?"

"It's not a mobile phone, it's a pager," Wang Qiang clarified.

The group responded with an "oh," feeling slightly disappointed.

In their view, a major dealer who claimed he could source any kind of goods but didn't even own a mobile phone seemed a bit too shabby. It was like someone driving a Chery QQ to a company and claiming to be the chairman of a listed firm—nobody was a fool, and nobody would believe such empty boasting.

Unless Wang Qiang could truly prove his strength, they wouldn't trust him for a while. Even if five hundred cassette players were placed in front of them, they would remain extremely cautious. Because even at the forty-five yuan price they got from others, five hundred units only totaled twenty-two thousand five hundred. Moreover, Wang Qiang had already collected nineteen thousand in payments. If he were determined to scam them out of a deposit, could he pull off a loss of three thousand to gain tens of thousands? He certainly could!

However, compared to the first time, they felt slightly more at ease with Wang Qiang, which is why they wanted to wait two days. If Wang Qiang didn't seem anxious, they would go ahead and source the goods. Generally speaking, scammers hit and run; they wouldn't waste time lingering around them.

In fact, they had spent the last two days investigating the background of Old Zhu and Wang Qiang. They couldn't find anything on Wang Qiang, but they had thoroughly checked out Old Zhu, who did indeed run a hotel and had some capital. What surprised them, however, was that the well-established Old Zhu seemed to follow Wang Qiang’s lead in everything.

Wang Qiang took the chance while writing down the number to have a quick word with Old Zhu.

"Brother Zhu, let's check out the game room later."

"Sure. That kid Xiaofeng is lazy, but Ergou is quite diligent. He's a good lad, I like him."

"Ergou is indeed capable. By the way, I have something to tell you. Brother Yao is interested in joining us. What do you think?"

"Whatever you decide is fine. I listen to you, don't worry about my position."

"Alright, I understand. Let's find an opportunity to call Brother Yao out and talk."

He finished writing the pager number and handed it over.

Zhang Qian took it, glanced at it, and passed it to Cheng Weihong. "You mentioned a game room just now?"

"What game room?" Sister Qian asked curiously. "You guys also run a game room?"

Wang Qiang laughed. "Yes, just a small side business with Brother Zhu. I’ve given you the number; call me whenever you want to place an order."

"Alright then, we’ll call you if we reach a decision," Zhang Qian said.

*Beep, beep.*

Just then, Wang Qiang's pager went off. He took it out and looked at it; it was the hotel's number, with a message: "Urgent, call back."

Not knowing what the landlady wanted, Wang Qiang didn't hesitate.

"Do you have a phone here?" he asked.

Seeing his pager, Zhang Qian looked surprised. "Oh, you have a pager with a Chinese character display? That must have cost a pretty penny."

Cheng Weihong knew a little bit about them. "The Chinese display ones are expensive. I heard they cost three or four thousand."

"It wasn't that expensive. It's a domestic Wave brand, less than three thousand," Wang Qiang said.

"More expensive than my numeric one. Not bad," Zhang Qian remarked.

Cheng Weihong had a landline behind his counter; he pulled it out from under the counter and lent it to Wang Qiang.

Lifting the receiver to his ear, Wang Qiang dialed a few numbers. The buttons were a bit stiff.

The call was answered almost instantly. He asked what was wrong, and the landlady told him there was a call from Shenzhen, from a woman surnamed Xu, asking him to call back before twelve o'clock.

It was the garment wholesaler, Ms. Xu. Wang Qiang guessed it had to do with the four-piece bedding sets, but he didn't have her number on him. Having spent time wandering the mall with Old Zhu, he didn't know how much time had passed, so he instinctively raised his left hand to check his watch to see how long he had until twelve. Fortunately, he was safe; it was only eleven, and it would take just over ten minutes to get back.

Cheng Weihong had a sharp eye. "A Longines watch?"

Wang Qiang, having just hung up the phone, replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, it's nothing special. A few thousand yuan, I suppose."

Sister Qian exclaimed, "A few thousand yuan isn't 'nothing special'?"

Zhang Qian smiled and explained, "Sister Qian, a few thousand yuan isn't considered a very good watch these days. A Cartier alone costs several thousand, and expensive ones go into the tens of thousands. For example, Brother Cheng's Longines watch cost over ten thousand, and even that isn't considered high-end." The 1990s felt as though they had entered a different society and era overnight. Luxury goods were flooding the mainland market. Compared to the exotic curiosities of the past, people were learning to treat these changes with a normal mindset, though many still held a sense of envy for luxury items like Longines or Omega that easily cost tens of thousands.

A few thousand yuan?

That didn't seem quite right.

Cheng Weihong had been staring fixedly at Wang Qiang's watch.

Sister Qian understood now. "Oh, I see." Since it was cheaper than Brother Cheng's, she stopped paying much attention to it.

But unexpectedly, Cheng Weihong made a strange request: "Boss Wang, could I borrow your watch to take a look?"

"What for? Sure." Wang Qiang asked, taking off the watch and handing it over.

Zhang Qian said dismissively, "It's just a watch worth a few thousand, what's there to see? Little Wang, about how much did you buy it for?"

Wang Qiang really didn't know. The watch was a gift from Lu Dahai, and he had no intuitive sense of its price. He shook his head and said truthfully, "A friend gave it to me, so I don't know how much it cost."

"Oh, a gift," Zhang Qian said. "Then it probably isn't worth much."

Sister Qian nodded. "Still, being able to give a watch worth a few thousand is quite generous."

Wang Qiang was anxious to return and call Ms. Xu, but he couldn't rush Cheng Weihong, as it would seem impolite.

But suddenly, the unexpected happened.

Cheng Weihong looked up, stunned. "You just said this watch cost a few thousand?"

Zhang Qian looked over, confused. "Yeah, Little Wang said a few thousand. What's wrong?"

Wang Qiang gave a vague "hmm" and said, "About that much, I guess."

Cheng Weihong then looked at Wang Qiang with a strange expression, saying nothing for a long while, his mind clearly racing.

Hou Zhiqiang pressed him, "Brother Cheng, what's wrong?"

Sister Qian looked at Cheng Weihong, puzzled. He had a watch worth over ten thousand; why would a watch worth a few thousand surprise him so much?

Even Old Zhu didn't understand why Cheng Weihong was asking this.

Cheng Weihong handed the watch back to Wang Qiang with a look of envy, muttering, "Heh, Boss Wang, you are certainly low-key."

Old Zhu agreed, "Indeed. I’ve known Little Wang for quite some time, and he has always been very low-key."

Not understanding what Cheng Weihong meant, Wang Qiang was baffled, but he took the watch and put it back on.

Hou Zhiqiang asked, "Brother Cheng, what do you mean, 'low-key'?"

Sister Qian also pressed, "Yes, tell us."

Everyone present was confused by Cheng Weihong's comment, including Wang Qiang.

But when Cheng Weihong spoke his next sentence, everyone was stunned.

"Wearing a watch worth at least twenty thousand yuan on your wrist and telling people it's a few thousand—if that's not being low-key, then what is?" Cheng Weihong cast a sidelong glance at Zhang Qian and the others.