Chapter 147 Asking a Favor

A day later.

With his Hong Kong-Macau travel permit finally in hand, Wang Qiang hurriedly boarded a flight bound for Shenzhen. Time was of the essence, and taking the train was far too slow. Fortunately, the state had begun lifting the regulation requiring an official letter of introduction to purchase plane tickets last year; otherwise, he would have had to jump through quite a few hoops.

Arriving at the airport, he went through security with his ticket and headed toward the boarding gate. As this was going to be his very first time flying in this lifetime, Wang Qiang suddenly recalled the question the taxi driver had asked him on the way to the airport.

The driver had asked: "What is flying on a plane actually like? Do you have to wear an oxygen mask?"

Hearing that, Wang Qiang had found it somewhat amusing and hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Wear an oxygen mask on a plane? Did you assume everyone on board suffered from a heart condition? After Wang Qiang offered a brief, popular science explanation, the driver finally had an epiphany, realizing that flying was fundamentally no different from riding a long-distance bus—if one really had to insist on a difference, it was simply that one traveled through the sky while the other stayed on the ground.

The flight, originally scheduled for noon, was delayed by half an hour. At 12:30 PM, Wang Qiang lined up to board.

...

Three hours later.
Shenzhen Huangtian International Airport.

Many people might not recognize the name Huangtian International Airport today, but if one mentions its later moniker, everyone would immediately say, "Oh, you mean Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport!" Indeed, Huangtian Airport was renamed in 2001, and very few people remember its former name now.

After disembarking, Wang Qiang hailed a cab straight to the Jiahua Apparel Wholesale Market.

The reason he came to Shenzhen was to ask Boss Ding for a favor. After all, he knew no one in Hong Kong, and finding thirty people holding Home Return Permits on his own would be quite troublesome. Previously, Boss Ding had mentioned that his relative in Hong Kong was planning to open a few home textile specialty stores. Even if that deal hadn't gone through, it was enough to show that Boss Ding's relative wielded a certain degree of influence there; and being Boss Ding's relative, they surely knew Hong Kong residents who possessed Home Return Permits.

Jiahua Foreign Trade Apparel.

When Wang Qiang arrived, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. He made a beeline for the very first storefront on the eastern side. As he walked up, he saw Boss Ding busy attending to a customer.

"They're pure cotton, top-notch quality."
"I know they're pure cotton, but the department stores sell them for over a hundred bucks. Why are you only selling them for seventy?"
"Because I get my stock cheap. If you don't believe me, go buy them at a department store."
"Uh, I don't not believe you, I just find it strange."

Boss Ding was about to explain when he caught sight of someone walking in. Without thinking much, he turned his head, ready to greet them: "Just give me a mo—Little Boss Wang!?"
"I'm afraid it's a fake," muttered the middle-aged man, who looked to be in his forties.

Wang Qiang overheard this remark and immediately chimed in with a cheerful smile, "Don't you worry, mister. Boss Ding's pure cotton four-piece bedding sets are the real deal. I've bought from him several times myself."

Upon hearing someone vouch for the goods, the middle-aged man let out an "ah" and broke into a smile. "So you really can buy a pure cotton four-piece set for seventy yuan?" He turned to Boss Ding, "Boss, get me a set."

Boss Ding stared at Wang Qiang with a peculiar look and couldn't help chuckling inwardly. Leaving aside the fact that they were genuine anyway, even if they were fake, would any supplying boss admit his goods were counterfeit? He immediately retrieved a tender yellow set adorned with white polka dots for the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man left happily, carrying his bedding set.

"Take care, come back again next time!" Boss Ding called out to the customer's retreating back, then turned around to look at Wang Qiang, smiling. "Not bad, Little Boss Wang, you just helped me close a sale."

Leaning against the counter, Wang Qiang waved a hand dismissively. "What kind of help is that? If anything, I'm the one here to ask you for a favor."
"Forget about you asking me for a favor, I was just about to page you anyway." Boss Ding pulled over a long bench for Wang Qiang to sit on, and while pouring hot water from a thermos flask, he said, "Remember that Hong Kong relative of mine who wants to open a bedding set shop that I told you about last time?"

There was news?
Wang Qiang had been feeling quite regretful upon hearing no movement earlier, but upon suddenly hearing Boss Ding bring it up, his heart leapt with anticipation.

"How's it looking?" he asked.

Boss Ding handed over a glass filled with steaming water. Wang Qiang muttered a thank-you, and then Boss Ding continued, "She wants to see samples of your various four-piece bedding sets. If the styles and quality are up to par, she might source her inventory from you."
"No problem, I'll call someone to mail a few sets over right now," Wang Qiang immediately proposed.

Boss Ding raised no objection.

Borrowing the phone, Wang Qiang directly dialed his father's number, instructing him to head over to Boss Zheng's place in Dieshiqiao immediately to pick up one set of each variety of the four-piece bedding sets and mail them over. Wang Qiang placed great importance on this potential transaction because, judging from Boss Ding's tone, if his relative were to open a bedding store, the required quantity of bedding sets certainly wouldn't be small. That would open up yet another sales channel—and a long-term, stable one at that.

After finishing the call, Boss Ding said, "I'll make a call to her as well to give her a heads-up."
Wang Qiang hastily interrupted, "Hold on a second. Let me talk to you about something first, and then you can call her."
"What is it?" Boss Ding asked with curiosity.

Without any hesitation, Wang Qiang took a sip of the hot water from his cup and laid out the matter in one breath: "Could you ask your relative if she can find thirty Hong Kong residents who hold Home Return Permits for me? I want to go to Hong Kong to buy some things. The quantities are a bit large, and if I go through customs, the tariffs will be too high, so I want to ask those people to bring the goods across for me."
"What kind of goods are you buying?" Boss Ding inquired. "Some things can't be brought in like that; they have to go through customs properly, like high-tech products."
"Computers," Wang Qiang fabricated an excuse. "I just recently started a trading company with some partners, and the office is in urgent need of dozens of computers to handle company operations. Buying them domestically is too expensive, so I was wondering if I could source some cheaper computers from Hong Kong. After all, it could save a lot of money."

Boss Ding nodded in deep agreement. "That's true. Computers in Hong Kong are much cheaper than domestic ones. The last time my relative got me one, the exact same model was a full three to four thousand yuan cheaper than in the mainland!" With that, he picked up the handset. "I'll ask her about it for you, though I can't guarantee whether she can find that many people."

Finding thirty people with Home Return Permits was indeed quite troublesome.

At this, a trace of anxiety crept into Wang Qiang's mind. If Boss Ding's relative couldn't find anyone, he would have to rush to Hong Kong to track people down himself. But doing that would waste precious time; he urgently needed to head straight to Hong Kong, purchase a batch of computers, and have people carry them back. He simply didn't have time to spare.

Over on the phone, Boss Ding punched a few buttons on the keypad.
Wang Qiang watched intently. After waiting for about ten seconds, the call seemed to go through.

"Hello, Yu Juan? It's your second uncle," Boss Ding announced himself. "Ah, about those four-piece bedding sets we talked about last time—there's news. I've notified Little Boss Wang, and he said he'll have the samples sent over to you in the next couple of days."

Then came a brief silence; the person on the other end was apparently speaking.

"Alright, I'll call you when they arrive... Hey, don't hang up yet, there's one more thing I need to tell you," Boss Ding said hastily, and then he brought up the matter of finding thirty Hong Kong residents with Home Return Permits.

Wang Qiang watched with bated breath, wondering if she could pull it off.
"Mhm, mhm, alright," Boss Ding nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Wang Qiang immediately cut in, "I can offer compensation—one thousand Hong Kong dollars per person."
"He says he's willing to pay one thousand Hong Kong dollars to hire people to help out. Can it be done?" Boss Ding asked again. Once he finished listening to the reply, a smile broke out on his face. "Got it, I'll let him know." With that, he snapped the phone down onto the cradle.

Wang Qiang hurriedly asked, "What did she say?"
"She said she can find the people for you," Boss Ding smacked his lips and said, "Only you'll have to make a trip to Hong Kong yourself. Do you have your Hong Kong-Macau travel permit?"
"I do, I do! I'll head over right now," Wang Qiang stood up impatiently.

Boss Ding laughed in exasperation. "What's the rush? Wait until she finds the people and calls back before you go."
Wang Qiang slapped his forehead and smiled. "You're right. If I rush over blindly, it might just waste time. I'll go find a hotel nearby to stay in. Once she finds the people, remember to page me."
"Got it," Boss Ding nodded, then added, "My stock of these bedding sets is running low. Get me another two hundred sets sent over."

Wang Qiang replied absentmindedly, "Alright, I'll call someone to ship them to you later."
Right now, his mind was entirely consumed by when Boss Ding's relative would manage to find those thirty people with valid Home Return Permits. After all, two days had already passed since he signed the contract with Ma Yuanheng, and the contract promised a turnaround within seven days.

Hurry up.
He sincerely hoped Boss Ding's relative would find the people soon.

In truth, Wang Qiang understood that the only reason Boss Ding's relative was willing to help was likely because of the lucrative reward of one thousand Hong Kong dollars per person—or perhaps out of a desire to secure the bedding set distributorship from him. Otherwise, nobody would help out of the goodness of their hearts.

No matter the reason, as long as she was willing to help him find people to get the job done, that was all that mattered. Thirty computers—he had to get his hands on them as quickly as possible.