Chapter 148: The Computer Acquired

Early the next morning.

Just as Wang Qiang had finished brushing his teeth and washing his face, he heard his pager beep. Gritting his teeth with the toothbrush still in his mouth, he walked over to the bed, picked it up, and saw a page from Boss Ding, asking him to rush over immediately.

Seeing the message, he figured that the matter of finding thirty people with Home Return Permits was likely to succeed. He hurriedly returned to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, washed his face, and left the house without even having breakfast.

Jiahua Foreign Trade Garment Wholesale Market.

Upon arriving at Boss Ding’s shop, Wang Qiang walked straight in and eagerly asked Boss Ding, who was eating breakfast, "Boss Ding, is there any news?"

Boss Ding, sitting in front of the counter eating fried rice noodles, let out a hum and said, "My niece called just a moment ago to say she has already found thirty people with Home Return Permits. She told you to go to Hong Kong right now. I'll write down the address for you."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Wang Qiang said with genuine gratitude.

"No problem, it's a small matter." Boss Ding put down his chopsticks, took a pen and paper from the drawer, wrote down the address and contact information, and handed it to Wang Qiang.

Taking the slip of paper, Wang Qiang glanced at it. It bore the name and phone number of Boss Ding’s niece, whose name was Ding Yujuan, living in the Mong Kok area.

Boss Ding instructed, "If you're going to Mong Kok, you'd better clear customs through Huanggang or Shenzhen Bay Port. Before passing through customs, buy a direct bus ticket to Mong Kok. They accept RMB, not HKD for the tickets. Get on the bus after clearing customs, and get off at Portland Street. Call my niece when you get there, and she'll come to pick you up."

These were all important points to keep in mind. Wang Qiang silently committed them to memory, expressed his thanks once more, and hurriedly set off.

...

Wang Qiang cleared customs at Huanggang. The reason he chose Huanggang was that it operates twenty-four hours a day, unlike other checkpoints with time restrictions.

Leaving the mainland was relatively simple, though the inspection was a bit tedious. The customs officers were quite casual; after glancing at his travel permit, they handed it straight back to Wang Qiang.

However, upon reaching the arrival hall, the Hong Kong police were much more serious. They compared the travel permit with Wang Qiang's face for two or three minutes, repeatedly asking for his name and other details from time to time, such as where his home was and what his family did for a living. Wang Qiang answered honestly.

Although the attitude of the Hong Kong police was rather poor, that was simply the way things were right now, and Wang Qiang felt no particular resentment.

After clearing customs, travel speeds were extremely fast.

In about an hour, the bus arrived at Portland Street in Mong Kok.

Wang Qiang got off the bus. Whether in his past life or this one, it was his first time in Hong Kok, and he looked around with immense curiosity.

The long Portland Street was bustling with activity, lined with all sorts of shops including cinemas, record stores, tailor shops, funeral parlors, leather goods stores, roast pig shops, Taoist halls, general merchandise stores, herbal medicine shops, second-hand bookstores, printing shops, fabric stores, architectural and interior decoration material shops, interior design studios, Chinese and foreign liquor distributors, various Chinese and Western restaurants, and schools.

Wang Qiang exchanged some small change for Hong Kong dollars nearby, then found a telephone booth to call Boss Ding's niece.

Beep, beep.

Before long, the call connected.

A pleasant-sounding Cantonese voice came from the other end, which he could barely understand. "Hello, hello, I'm Ding Yujuan. Who might you be?"

Wang Qiang immediately stated his identity, "Hello, Miss Ding, I was introduced by Boss Ding. My name is Wang Qiang."

"Little Boss Wang? Where are you? I'll come pick you up," Ding Yujuan said.

"I'm on Portland Street, right here by a Chow Tai Seng jewelry store," Wang Qiang specified his location.

Ding Yujuan seemed to know the area like the back of her hand. "I know it. Wait for me at the entrance of Chow Tai Seng Jewelry."

After telling her the color of the clothes he was wearing, Wang Qiang hung up the phone and hurried over to stand outside the Chow Tai Seng jewelry store.

Ten minutes...

Twenty minutes...

Whether it was because standing there for so long aroused the suspicion of the Chow Tai Seng security guards, they kept holding rubber batons and glaring at him vigilantly, as if terrified that Wang Qiang might be there to pull off a robbery.

Wang Qiang noticed it too and was rather speechless.

Fortunately, at that moment, a white BMW drove up, relieving the awkwardness.

The car window rolled down, and a woman leaned out. Medium-length purple hair was draped casually over her shoulders, and her slanted bangs brushed moderately right across her eyelids. Her long eyelashes blinked, and her watery eyes seemed to speak. Her petite nose was of a moderate height, and her face appeared to be dusted with a light foundation. Her flush, moist lips filled one's mind with infinite imagination. She patted the car door and called out in Mandarin, "Little Boss Wang?"

At first, Wang Qiang was merely admiring her appearance and had no idea it was Ding Yujuan. Hearing her call out, he hurriedly raised a hand, walked over to the car, and asked, "Are you Miss Ding Yujuan?"

"Right, get in," Ding Yujuan said briskly.

Wang Qiang walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and slid inside.

Ding Yujuan slowly pulled away.

Inside the car.

At first, neither of them spoke. Feeling that it was impossible to remain silent the whole time when asking someone for a favor, Wang Qiang broke the ice by making small talk. "Your name doesn't sound very much like a local Hong Kong name."

"Oh, I used to be from Shenzhen. I only came to Hong Kong with my parents when I was five," Ding Yujuan said, her hands resting on the steering wheel. "My second uncle told me—you want to buy thirty computers in Hong Kong and take them back to the mainland?"

Wang Qiang gave an affirmative hum. "Because the quantity is a bit large, if I go through regular customs, they'll be confiscated. So I'm imposing on you to find thirty people with Home Return Permits, with each person carrying one computer across the customs checkpoint."

Ding Yujuan smiled and said, "That's a pretty good method. I've already found the people for you. Once everything is done, just hand over the one thousand Hong Kong dollars you promised them. Let's talk about the four-piece bedding sets instead."

Hm?

Give the money directly to those people?

Hearing this, Wang Qiang looked rather surprised. At first, he had assumed Ding Yujuan was helping him out because she wanted to make a profit from the middle. He hadn't expected that she wouldn't even handle the money in the end. Involuntarily, he felt a surge of admiration for this woman's conduct, though he found it somewhat strange—why was she helping him? Was it really just because of the bedding sets?

"The samples of the four-piece sets should arrive tomorrow. Would you like to come take a look then?" Wang Qiang asked.

"Sure. After we buy the computers later, I'll go back to Shenzhen with you." Ding Yujuan turned the steering wheel, and the car made a turn ahead. "Where do you want to buy the computers?"

Wang Qiang let out an "uh," saying, "It's my first time in Hong Kong, and I'm not very familiar with the place. Why don't you suggest somewhere?"

"Mong Kok Computer Centre, then."

"Sounds good."

"After buying the computers, I'll take you to meet the people who are going to help you."

"Thank you."

After chatting for a while, Wang Qiang asked out of curiosity, "Why are you willing to help me?"

Ding Yujuan was slightly taken aback, then casually replied, "No particular reason. My uncle called and asked a favor, so I couldn't very well refuse. Besides, if your four-piece sets turn out to be good quality, you'll be my supplier in the future. Helping out with a small matter like this is no big deal, nothing to it."

Though she made it sound simple, Wang Qiang still felt deeply grateful.

Finding thirty people with Home Return Permits between last night and this morning wasn't as effortless as she made it sound. Perhaps she didn't have any ulterior motives in helping him.

Recalling his earlier suspicion that Ding Yujuan might be trying to squeeze out a labor fee, Wang Qiang felt a tinge of quiet embarrassment, realizing he had measured a noble heart by his own petty yardstick.

...

Mong Kok Computer Centre.

Ding Yujuan parked the car in the underground garage, then led Wang Qiang to the elevator and up to the third floor.

The elevators in Hong Kong were extremely fast. Wang Qiang, riding one for the first time, was completely unaccustomed to it. With the sudden surge upward, he almost stumbled, and fortunately, Ding Yujuan caught him by the arm.

The third floor.

Two dense rows of computer shops of all different sizes stretched out before them.

Originally, Wang Qiang had intended to go around and ask at each one, but to his surprise, Ding Yujuan led him directly to "Huiyu Computers" at the far western end.

Walking inside.

There weren't many people there; only a balding man in his forties sat in front of the counter typing away on a computer.

Ding Yujuan called out, "Dad, I've brought you a big client."

Wang Qiang: "..."

Fine, he was indeed a bit naive. So it turned out her family ran a computer shop—no wonder she had offered to help him out of nowhere.

Through introductions, Wang Qiang learned that Ding Yujuan's father was named Ding Huiyu, and the two parties exchanged a few polite pleasantries.

Ding Huiyu pulled Wang Qiang over to introduce various computers, with Apple, Acer, and others all readily available.

Wang Qiang had already resigned himself to being ripped off. There was no helping it; when you needed a favor from others, you just had to accept being overcharged.

"What kind of computers do you want?" Ding Huiyu asked, standing in front of the shelves.

Wang Qiang said directly, "Fifteen units of Acer 368 and fifteen units of Acer 468."

Ding Huiyu nodded and said, "Ah, Acer computers are quite good." He paused for a moment. "I can let you have the 368s for eight thousand five hundred each, and the 468s for twelve thousand. How does that sound?" He was speaking in Hong Kong dollars.

Could he say it didn't sound good?

Wang Qiang was just about to bite the bullet and agree.

Yet, who could have guessed that Ding Yujuan, who was sitting in front of the counter playing on a computer, would suddenly interject, "Wait, Dad, how come I remember you buying the 368s for seven thousand five hundred, and the 468s only sell for eleven thousand?"

Ding Huiyu: "..." He immediately forced a laugh and said to Wang Qiang, "Oh, look at my memory. Getting old, I don't remember prices so well. Ah, yes, the Acer 368s are only seven thousand five hundred, and the 468s are eleven thousand." As he spoke, he glared fiercely at his daughter, as if saying he would deal with her later.

Because Ding Yujuan had spoken up for him just now, Wang Qiang completely changed his view of her, feeling a rush of goodwill toward this twenty-three or twenty-four-year-old woman. He shot her a grateful look. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Ding. Do you have thirty computers here right now?"

"Just wait a moment, I'll call someone to have them delivered over. They should arrive around one o'clock this afternoon," Ding Huiyu said.

After chatting a bit more, Wang Qiang was dragged out by Ding Yujuan to grab some lunch.

Just as they stepped out of the computer shop, Ding Yujuan suddenly asked and answered her own question: "You must be wondering why I helped you just now, right?"

Wang Qiang nodded with an affirmative hum; indeed, his heart was full of doubt.

Ding Yujuan smiled faintly and said, "I'm guessing you'll only need to source computers this one time, am I right?"

"Right," Wang Qiang replied.

Ding Yujuan reached up to brush the bangs from her forehead, speaking calmly, "Perhaps this transaction allowed my dad to make a few extra tens of thousands of dollars off you. But I believe you can tell that if I eventually decide to source those four-piece bedding sets from you, I'll try every possible way to make that money back—and even more. So, there's no point in haggling over such petty profits."

What a remarkably rational woman.

And her depth of mind was quite profound as well.

In a situation like this, she didn't have to spell it out at all; she could have just let Wang Qiang harbor a silent sense of gratitude. Yet Ding Yujuan chose to lay it out in the open, and the message she conveyed was crystal clear: I didn't rip you off, and if there's an opportunity for us to cooperate on the bedding sets in the future, you shouldn't try to rip me off either.

Wang Qiang smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more. Regardless of anything else, Ding Yujuan had truly helped him out today. Phew, the computer matter was settled. Now it all hinged on whether he could successfully clear customs and bring them back to the mainland—truthfully, even now, he still didn't feel entirely certain in his heart.