Chapter 124: The Major Supplier

Just past five in the afternoon.

The sun was setting in the west, and the wind howled fiercely.

The sports car slowly drove into Samsung Die Shi Bridge. Even though it was dinner time, the roads of the home textile city were still crowded with people. Some were merchants coming to pick up goods, while others were individuals. Before many people in Haitong get married, they come to Die Shi Bridge to buy bedding sets—not only because they are affordable, but also because they can choose higher-quality four-piece sets.

Liu Guiyi parked the car. “This is Die Shi Bridge?”

Wang Qiang nodded. “Yes, it’s a place specializing in bedding.”

“Oh.” Liu Guiyi asked curiously, “Then why don’t I see any stone bridge?”

Wang Qiang paused for a moment, then chuckled, “Many first-timers ask that.” As he unbuckled his seatbelt, he explained, “There used to be a stone bridge here, back in the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty. At the bend of the western section of Samsung River, there was a boundary river without a bridge. People had to take a detour, which was inconvenient. Nearby, there was the Yang family kiln, and since they had no bridge, transporting goods was difficult. So, the kiln owner pooled money to build a bridge. The bridge piers were stacked in a pattern like the ‘stone well’ design, so locals called it Die Shi Bridge. Then, around the 1970s, the bridge was dismantled, but the name stuck.”

“You really know a lot,” Liu Guiyi said with a hint of admiration, opening the car door.

Wang Qiang got out as well, casually closing the door behind him. Watching the bustling crowd, he felt a surge of pride. Even though it was only 1994, business at Die Shi Bridge was already thriving.

He led Liu Guiyi eastward, back to the shop where they had bought the four-piece set last time.

They entered.

The shop was about forty to fifty square meters—not large.

Inside, it was piled high with all kinds of bedding; some spread out on beds, others stacked on shelves.

The owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, surnamed Zheng, whom Wang Qiang had asked about before.

At the moment, there were four or five customers inside. Among them was a young couple, seemingly about to get married, pulling Mr. Zheng over to a bed dressed in a bright red four-piece set, asking about the price.

No one was attending to them yet, so Liu Guiyi quietly followed Wang Qiang as he browsed along the shelves.

“You came all this way just to buy bedding?” she asked.

“Not just one set, a hundred sets,” Wang Qiang said, touching a floral plaid duvet cover.

Liu Guiyi gave him a strange look. “Can you really buy a hundred sets in such a small shop?”

Wang Qiang chuckled, turning back with a smile, “Don’t underestimate this shop.”

“Hmm?” Liu Guiyi responded, expressionless.

He whispered, “I checked last time. The owner runs a textile factory with two or three hundred employees. The shop may be small, but it’s easy to get stock. Not just a hundred sets—even a thousand sets wouldn’t be a problem.”

Most shops in the home textile city were small, but each had strong capabilities. Some sold factory-direct goods, others were small workshops. You could say that the wealthiest few in Haitong—or even the entire Jinghai region—were gathered at Die Shi Bridge. In a few years, this place might earn the nickname “Little Wenzhou,” which shows just how powerful these seemingly modest shops really were.

Before long, Mr. Zheng finished helping the young couple and turned to greet Wang Qiang. Mistaking Wang Qiang and Liu Guiyi for another soon-to-be-married couple, he smiled and said, “Young man, bringing your lady to buy wedding supplies?”

In Haitong dialect, “lady” means wife. Liu Guiyi seemed to understand, frowning slightly but saying nothing.

Wang Qiang quickly corrected him, “Boss, don’t get the wrong idea. She’s just a friend.”

“Oh,” Mr. Zheng apologized, “Sorry for the misunderstanding. You two make such a good-looking pair; I thought you were a couple.”

If he could see the woman’s beauty, could he really call the man talented as well?

Wang Qiang laughed at the comment but cut straight to business. He asked for fifty sets of the fifteen-yuan four-piece sets and fifty sets of the twenty-five-yuan four-piece sets.

Mr. Zheng’s face lit up with joy and he immediately called someone to take them to the warehouse to select the items.

They were busy until around seven o’clock, finally picking out a hundred four-piece sets. Since the sports car’s trunk was small, some of the sets had to be piled on the front passenger seat.

Afterward, Wang Qiang took the initiative to treat Liu Guiyi to dinner at a nearby small restaurant.

Night was falling, and it wasn’t as convenient to travel at night as it would be later with the Su-Tong Bridge. They found a nearby inn, each took a room to sleep—of course, Wang Qiang footed the bill.

...

The next day.

At dawn, the two drove back to Shanghai.

After more than three hours on the road, the sun had risen above the eastern clouds as the car entered the Taicang area.

Suddenly, Wang Qiang’s pager beeped. Half-asleep, he wondered who it could be so early. Taking it out, he saw it was a call from Cheng Weihong. He quickly borrowed a “big brother” phone from Liu Guiyi.

Beep beep—the call connected.

“Hello, Brother Cheng, this is Wang Qiang,” he introduced himself.

“Boss Xiao Wang,” came Cheng’s voice from the other end. “We’ve gathered the money. Should we come over now to pay the deposit?”

“Didn’t you talk to my Brother Zhu?”

“He called him, but he said you weren’t around and it was inconvenient to come.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in about forty or fifty minutes.”

After hanging up, Wang Qiang returned the phone to Liu Guiyi.

“Sister Liu, can you take me to Qiujiang Road first?”

Without asking any questions, Liu Guiyi nodded gently.

The car drove into the Shanghai area.

Wang Qiang pointed down the road and finally stopped in the parking lot of the Qiujiang Electronics and Digital Building.

They got out and headed inside.

...

Just as they reached the first floor, Wang Qiang suddenly overheard two women chatting by the counter.

“Hey, have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Cheng Weihong and his crew on the second floor have hooked up with a big supplier. I heard they can get very cheap goods.”

“Really?”

“I’ve heard many people say it can’t be wrong. That big supplier has eyes and ears everywhere. They can get any goods, and the prices are very low—like at least ten percent cheaper than what we usually pay.”

“Wow, that much cheaper? Then who exactly is this big supplier?”

“No one knows yet. Everyone’s trying to find out.”

Wang Qiang, who had been rushing upstairs, stopped and listened intently. Not bad, Old Yao’s execution was impressive; just one day and now people inside the electronics building were already talking about us?

Along the way, Wang Qiang had heard many whispers about this, though he could tell some were planted by Old Yao’s hired “internet army.”

“Looks like Cheng Weihong is going to get rich.”

“Yeah, he’s connected with a big supplier.”

“I envy them. I wish I could get connected too.”

“Don’t say that, it’s actually possible.”

“How so?”

“I heard that the big supplier Cheng hooked up with is right here in Shanghai. He’s even personally delivered goods here several times.”

“Really? We need to keep an eye on this. If that big supplier still delivers goods to Old Cheng next time, we should secretly try to get connected as well. Cheng Weihong’s business isn’t that big, yet he’s connected with that big supplier. Our business isn’t smaller, so there’s no reason they’d overlook us.”

It was as if overnight many merchants on Qiujiang Road had learned of Cheng Weihong’s good fortune in getting connected with the big supplier. Many were trying to pry out the supplier’s identity. Spending money to promote oneself showed remarkable results. When Wang Qiang reached Cheng’s counter, he saw many people eagerly trying to fish for information.

Such matters might not concern ordinary customers, but the wording of the promotion was clever—claiming this big supplier could get any goods, all at very low prices.

Thus, merchants in the Qiujiang Road area—whether dealing in machinery or electronics—were abuzz.

Many knew Cheng Weihong personally, and after wide discussions, they came to his counter now and then to inquire, each eager to know how cheap they could get goods from that big supplier. Everyone wanted to make more money.

On the second floor.

Wang Qiang saw Cheng surrounded by a crowd chatting. He stepped forward and greeted, “Brother Cheng.”

Cheng’s expression changed abruptly. Smiling apologetically to the crowd, he said, “My cousin just arrived. I can’t talk now.” Then he squeezed through the people and pulled Wang Qiang aside, lowering his voice to say, “Let’s go downstairs to talk.”

Wang Qiang smiled inwardly, knowing Cheng didn’t want others to know his sourcing channels. Since the act was in full swing, he leisurely followed behind, chatting casually with Liu Guiyi as they exited.

Soon, the three were outside the building.

Cheng glanced around to make sure no one followed, then grumbled, “How did everyone find out I’m buying from you?”

“Eh?” Wang Qiang feigned ignorance, blinking, “They know already?”

Cheng frowned. “Not everyone, but… sigh, never mind.” He cut to the chase. “I have the money ready. Should we sign an agreement?”

Wang Qiang nodded. “Cheng, let’s get it notarized by a legal office.”

“Okay,” Cheng agreed.

They found a notary nearby and spent a bit to sign a supply agreement.

The agreement was made in triplicate. The notary held one copy; Wang Qiang and Cheng each kept one.

After finishing, Cheng handed Wang Qiang 30,500 yuan in payment.

Leaving the notary office, Cheng hurried off.

Wang Qiang was lost in thought when Liu Guiyi’s voice broke through, “Was that your idea?”

“What?”

“You’re the one who leaked the supply information to that rough-faced boss just now, aren’t you?”

Wang Qiang played dumb. “What are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”

Liu Guiyi looked at him. “Never mind if you don’t want to say.”

Wang Qiang chuckled dryly, “Alright, it was me who leaked it.”

“I thought so. How could almost everyone in the building be talking about the same thing? Then when you talked to that boss, I understood.” She nodded and asked, “What method did you use?”

Seeing her curiosity, Wang Qiang briefly explained how he paid for a “water army” to spread the word.

“...You’re really unscrupulous,” Liu Guiyi said, but for the first time, a smile appeared on her face. “Your idea was clever. Didn’t think you were that sharp.”

Wang Qiang modestly replied, “Just average.”

Liu Guiyi said seriously, “Good is good, bad is bad. Excessive modesty is just arrogance.”

Wang Qiang: “...”

I can’t even be modest?

But all in all, promoting oneself seemed to have a good effect. Now everyone knew about this “big supplier.” Next, if he could slowly “emerge” in the market, it would surely attract more buyers.

Wang Qiang was already looking forward to it.