Chapter 99: Perhaps we have to take a risk—it's like knowing there are tigers in the mountains…
After leaving the hotel, they got into a taxi.
According to Pete, the pharmaceutical company they were going to was quite far away, so it would take some time.
It seemed like fate was conspiring against Pitt; shortly after they went out, they encountered a workers' strike and demonstration.
Those people were talking about things like the resignation of the British colonial government in Hong Kong, and they seemed extremely radical.
Zhao Shuyi and her group's car was stuck at the intersection and couldn't get through at all.
She didn't study this period of history very well, so she didn't know the specifics.
Most of what she knew came from Gu Yan and the hospital.
Pete was clearly annoyed and said, "Let's wait a bit. It would be bad if we went out directly and got hurt. I don't know what they're doing."
Zhao Shuyi had heard Gu Yan say that the strike was mainly caused by the conflict between the rulers and ordinary people.
These ordinary people in Hong Kong, whose lives were not good, naturally wanted to rebel.
Lacking sufficient military force, the only way they can resist is through radical and desperate measures, as they are doing now.
Zhao Shuyi suddenly realized the point she had been wondering about: why the leaders didn't allow them to contact these people.
Because these people, the choice of whom they support may not guarantee genuine support, but rather they may use it as a weapon.
If they contact those people before they have enough trust, they might be taken advantage of.
In that case, it would be better to just find a middleman like Pitt who handles the transaction directly.
However, this is just Zhao Shuyi's guess.
The shouts outside continued, and people held up signs with angry and anxious expressions on their faces.
The police officers, armed with guns, tried to stop the increasingly out-of-control march, but it was all in vain.
After being stuck at the intersection for about half an hour, and apparently after a few people were arrested, Zhao Shuyi and her group were finally able to move their car.
When they arrived at the pharmaceutical company, it was already 10 a.m. The other party was clearly unhappy about their lateness, and even after hearing their explanation, they still did not seem very pleased.
It seems they don't really need these mainlanders who come to buy medical equipment.
The group was aware of each other's attitudes, but none of them showed it. Instead, they went together to see the CT machine that the other party could provide.
As soon as she entered, Zhao Shuyi recognized the CT scanner as one she had seen in a medical journal. Although she couldn't remember the specific model, it was indeed a very old piece of equipment.
Buying them back to the mainland would be costly in terms of manpower and resources, and their effectiveness would be minimal, making it not worthwhile.
However, the representatives from those pharmaceutical companies, who had previously been arrogant at the door, began enthusiastically promoting the product to them.
In their words, this thing is simply the most advanced CT machine in history, and if they buy it, it will definitely advance the medical level in mainland China by a hundred years.
Upon hearing these words, Zhao Shuyi couldn't help but sneer.
Everyone looked at her, and Zhao Shuyi said, "Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue when you talk like that?"
Several senior colleagues at the hospital already knew Zhao Shuyi well and knew that she would not speak without certainty.
By saying that, she must have confirmed that the other party's product was not as perfect as they claimed.
Sure enough, after the other party accused Zhao Shuyi of being impolite, Zhao Shuyi immediately pointed out several shortcomings of the CT machine.
"As far as I know, the problem with this CT scanner is insufficient power supply initially, and there are also significant issues with imaging. The most critical technical challenges remain unresolved. I would like to ask, is this what your company calls one of its best pieces of equipment?"
"Then I think your company should just shut down and stop causing trouble for people. You should just go bankrupt as soon as possible."
Hong Kong people are the most superstitious, especially business people.
Upon hearing Zhao Shuyi so bluntly curse their company, the other party's face immediately darkened.
Gu Yan instinctively stood in front of Zhao Shuyi, staring at her with a serious expression.
He disliked these things from the moment he arrived, and they dared to cheat them? No way!
With his wife around, any lies these people tell can be exposed, and with him around, these people can't even touch a hair on his wife's head.
Sure enough, when they saw the tall and burly Gu Yan step forward, the arrogance of those men immediately subsided.
From Zhao Shuyi's words, they knew that she had truly understood the matter, and understood it very thoroughly; it was something that she couldn't understand simply by going to the hospital.
This left the two Hong Kongers completely baffled, and in the end they could only try to justify their actions.
"Although it is not perfect, our hospitals in Hong Kong have been using it for several years without any major problems, so it will definitely be helpful to you as well."
These words struck a chord with Zhao Shuyi.
In fact, these obsolete items do have a purpose for them.
Because their greatest strength is learning, if they don't study these successful models and rely solely on their own research, they will inevitably take a very long and arduous path.
However, if they do research, they will achieve twice the result with half the effort.
But it's really not worth it for them to make a special trip to Hong Kong just to buy such junk.
However, Zhao Shuyi still inquired about the price, and the other party quoted a price of one million US dollars, looking as if they were in pain.
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.
At the current exchange rate, that's over two million.
They don't need to eat, drink, or spend money; it would take them 10,000 months, or over 800 years, to save up.
Without thinking, Zhao Shuyi said, "What else? Let's take another look."
"So, are you going to order this one?"
Zhao Shuyi rolled her eyes at him dramatically. "What do you think? Do you really think we're easy targets?"
Actually, Zhao Shuyi's words were quite an exaggeration.
These machines are indeed expensive these days. If they are newer, two million is not an exaggeration.
But these people clearly wanted to scam them.
Several people in Hong Kong have truly never seen someone like her.
Who does business like this, not even discussing the price, just saying they don't want it?
And aren't all the mainlanders who come to Hong Kong careful and trying to please others?
Why is she acting like this?
They did offer room for negotiation, but Zhao Shuyi wasn't interested at all.
"Madam, do you think this price is too high, or what?"
Zhao Shuyi: "This piece of junk will cost us a lot of manpower and resources to transport back. It will cost 200,000 yuan. To be honest, I would even think 100,000 yuan is too much."
Upon hearing this, the other party's face darkened. "This thing may not be perfect, but it shouldn't be worth only 100,000 yuan, let alone 100,000 US dollars."
It's something they've researched for years; even if it's a defective product, it's something these poor, stingy mainlanders can't afford.
But seeing Zhao Shuyi's disdainful look, the other party could no longer muster the arrogant attitude he had shown at the beginning.
However, they still had to talk. The other party said, "Two hundred thousand yuan is too low, ma'am. If you can add some more, we can talk more."
Zhao Shuyi said, "I knew you wouldn't agree. Two hundred thousand yuan isn't enough, is it? So I didn't want to talk about it. There's no need to talk about it. We don't want this stuff."
Actually, Zhao Shuyi came up with a somewhat bad idea. She herself roughly knew some of the principles behind this thing. She and Gu Yan might as well buy some useful books in Hong Kong and take them back, and spend more time slowly tinkering with the space.
Anyway, Gu Yan is very interested in this area, and he knows some people who understand mechanics. They will probably have the opportunity to build it themselves someday... right?
Although Zhao Shuyi knew that her idea might be a bit wishful thinking, holding onto this hope was still better than spending so much money to transport a bunch of junk back home.
The group was surprised that Zhao Shuyi spoke so frankly, and even more surprised that none of the people who came with her raised any objections.
Do they all think this price is appropriate?
Why would they let such a young girl make the decisions when they have so many seemingly respected doctors around?
But they didn't dare underestimate this little girl, because she seemed to really know something.
The group felt frustrated, but one of the leaders, dressed in a suit, seemed unwilling to give up.
“Madam, the price you offered is far too low. Why don’t you consider it? Let’s be friends. We’ll give you a 50% discount. Five hundred thousand US dollars. If you’re willing, you can take it. We can also introduce you to better products from our company.”
The group of people traveling together were astonished to hear that the other party had chopped it in half in one go.
Although they had already listened to Zhao Shuyi and felt that this thing wasn't very good, the price was half off, so it seemed that it wasn't entirely unnecessary to bring it back.
Just as the Hong Kong people said, if they take it back and study it carefully, they might be able to modify it and make better use of it.
But before they could even express their interest, Zhao Shuyi had already refused, "Look at other things, look at other things, stop trying to fool us. Being friends with you is really expensive, half a million dollars for a friend, who would want to be friends with you?"
"We business people should stick to business."
The other person had never seen her like this before; she seemed genuinely uninterested.
They could only hope to make up for it elsewhere, in case the other party just had some knowledge of CT machines?
Unexpectedly, when Zhao Shuyi tried it under the microscope, she flew into a rage.
"What kind of junk is this? Are you trying to fool us with defective products? Director Cao, let's leave first. They have no intention of doing business with us. Let's go look at other companies. I believe there shouldn't be only pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong that want to rip us off."
After she finished speaking, she gave Pete a deep look. Pete didn't expect Ms. Zhao to be so capable. Not only was she very knowledgeable about these machines, but she could also tell that their people were criticizing her in Cantonese and was able to fight back. Moreover, she was also very good at speaking English.
This time, things might not be so easy to do.
They wanted to leave, and the other party became anxious.
Having finally found a sucker willing to take on these things, they naturally wanted to recoup some of their losses, so they dragged Zhao Shuyi and the others to look at other equipment.
No matter what kind of equipment they bring out, Zhao Shuyi can always find something wrong with it.
It wasn't that Zhao Shuyi really knew that much about these machines, but rather that because she had seen the good ones, she could easily figure out which aspect of these devices was weak and point it out, and she could usually get it right eight or nine times out of ten.
If the other party wants to frame her, they're dreaming.
In the end, they agreed to let the group take away a CT scanner and two surgical microscopes for $300,000.
Instead of agreeing immediately, Zhao Shuyi said, "Let's go check out other places first."
"Madam, the price we're offering is really the lowest we can go. If it were any lower, we'd be better off destroying this item."
Zhao Shuyi could roughly tell that this was their bottom line, but who cared?
"For you, it may be a little less money, but for us, it will cost a lot of money. We not only have to buy it, but also transport it back. We also have to find someone to repair this piece of junk, so the cost to us is far more than the three hundred thousand dollars you proposed."
"Besides, we definitely want to buy some newer stuff. Maybe we'll buy new ones and they'll give us old ones for free. You guys only have junk here, and you're unwilling to bring out the good stuff. Who wants to talk to you? If we can't buy anything else, we'll consider these few."
Zhao Shuyi's words were so direct that they all felt embarrassed.
But their superiors said they couldn't bring out anything truly good, so they dared not disobey and could only watch Zhao Shuyi and the others leave.
Pete was particularly puzzled. "Gentlemen, I can tell they're offering very low prices, why aren't you buying?"
He had never seen anyone as good at bargaining as Zhao Shuyi, but she had clearly already gotten the lowest price, yet she still showed no intention of buying. What did that mean?
Pete really couldn't understand it.
Zhao Shuyi said, "Didn't I just say that these things are too expensive? Buying them would be a waste of resources for us. We've come all this way, so we definitely want to buy something useful to take back with us."
"No matter how good that stuff is, it's still a bunch of junk. If I spend my budget on that, what if I come across something better but can't afford it? I definitely need to save my money for the good stuff."
There are some things that the older generation shouldn't say, so she says them.
"But is this the attitude of all business owners in Hong Kong? I am worried about our mission this time."
After sighing, Zhao Shuyi leaned back in the car seat and pretended to doze off. Pete didn't want to disturb her any longer, so he took them to another pharmaceutical company.
As expected, these pharmaceutical companies clearly had a unified narrative, and most of what they presented was of questionable quality.
They even encountered the kind of situation Zhao Shuyi described, where the equipment they brought out appeared to be good, but contained broken parts.
Those parts are made with precision instruments, and with their current manufacturing capabilities, they simply cannot produce them.
If the equipment breaks down halfway through transporting it back, they'll be helpless and will have to ask people here for help with repairs. It's like they're digging a hole for themselves.
Those people had received the news long ago and heard that Zhao Shuyi was capable, so they came up with such a clever method, but they didn't expect that Zhao Shuyi would still expose them.
The senior colleagues who were traveling with them were so angry that they glared and puffed out their beards. They had originally planned to visit a pharmaceutical company, but they didn't go and went straight back to the hotel.
Zhao Shuyi and Gu Yan naturally followed them back.
Pete looked extremely embarrassed, but there was nothing he could do; he was just an ordinary, incompetent real estate agent.
After they returned, the others had not yet come back, so the group gathered together to discuss their day's harvest.
Several senior colleagues had heard Dr. Cao say that Zhao Shuyi was exceptionally talented and had great expertise in medicine, but they did not know that Zhao Shuyi was really that amazing, even knowing about those medical instruments.
They wouldn't ask Zhao Shuyi where she learned it. Regardless of where she learned it, Zhao Shuyi was now working for them and was their good comrade. They couldn't be more eager to worship Zhao Shuyi.
"Comrade Zhao Shuyi, look at the current situation, I'm afraid we won't be able to buy anything suitable. What do you suggest we do?"
Zhao Shuyi was genuinely troubled; she hadn't expected the other party to be so shameless.
“Let’s take another look. If all else fails, we can spend some money to buy some junk and renovate it. I’ll talk to them about it then. If I can’t get them to agree, you guys can’t blame me.”
Her sudden joke immediately eased the anger of the group.
"You'll be in charge of making arrangements this time, but before you make a decision, please discuss it with us, okay?"
"Of course."
After discussing it, Zhao Shuyi suggested that she and Gu Yan go out together.
The senior colleagues disagreed, saying, "It's dangerous for you to go out now."
They realized that these Hong Kong people had no morals whatsoever.
Perhaps Zhao Shuyi's outburst at those companies has made her a target.
If something happens to them outside, they won't be able to find anyone here since they're unfamiliar with the area.
Zhao Shuyi also knew this was the reason.
"It's alright, Gu Yan is with me. We need to go and check the situation again. We've been here for so long, we definitely need to investigate, otherwise the other party won't feel at ease."
Since she had already said that, no one stopped them anymore, only telling Zhao Shuyi and the other person to be careful.
The two naturally agreed.
They did go out to investigate, but more importantly, they wanted to find out about Xu Wanqing's situation and also to uncover their "true" identities.
This time when they went out again, even Zhao Shuyi sensed that someone was following them, probably people from those companies.
Zhao Shuyi was a little confused. They were just there to buy things, so why were they following them?
They visit those companies and buy those medical devices, it's simply a matter of whether they can buy them or not. What are these people staring at them for?
As long as they don't buy my things, isn't that enough?
However, Zhao Shuyi could never guess what other people were thinking, but avoiding being followed by these people was not a problem.
They darted through the crowd again, and soon Zhao Shuyi and her companion disappeared into a small alley.
It was fortunate that this was in a densely populated area like Hong Kong; if it were in a more spacious location, Zhao Shuyi probably wouldn't have been able to manage it.
When the two reappeared in public, they had changed their clothes again, and Gu Yan was impressed by his wife's disguise skills.
Hearing him call his little skill "disguise," Zhao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh.
"It's just a matter of slightly altering our appearance with makeup and changing our clothes. Actually, given our height and build, if the other side sends professional people to keep an eye on us, it would be quite easy for them to recognize us, so we have to be extra careful."
The two of them went to the place where they had paid the deposit as quickly as possible, obtained new identification documents, and also received news from Xu Wanqing.
It has to be said that Hong Kong detectives these days are quite skilled.
"The person you're looking for should be in the Black Tiger Gang."
Zhao Shuyi's face showed a shocked expression. It's no wonder she was shocked; the dignified female lead had actually joined a gang.
Moreover, judging from what the private investigator said, the other party also had influence within the gang, which made Zhao Shuyi sigh again, "As expected of the female lead, she is truly capable."
The two then asked the other party if there were any channels to purchase medical equipment. The other party looked at them with surprise and said, "I don't have any, but I can introduce you to some channels, but the price will not be low."
Zhao Shuyi handed the other party a stack of Hong Kong dollars, saying, "Keep this a secret for us. We'll come back to you later to introduce us. If you reveal this now and our whereabouts are discovered, this business deal will fall through."
The other party nodded in agreement, but whether he would tell anyone or not, Zhao Shuyi and the other person naturally had no idea.
However, they had already made their plans, and of course, neither of them would come to the other to buy any more medical equipment.
What if, what if the other party is just trying to scam them?
Even if they were to buy it this way, they would have to find another detective and start from another channel.
At least now they know that it's not only the authorities who can help. However, they came to Hong Kong with legitimate identities this time, not as illegal immigrants or smugglers, so it's better to go through official channels if possible.
After they finished, the two went straight back to the hotel.
Qiu Jiawen and the others have returned. They were the same group that went to the hospital for a check-up as usual, and she was furious.
"You have no idea. When we went for a checkup, they said our identities were wrong, that our identities were wrong. It was all just a perfunctory job. They didn't want us to see their equipment at all. They even took our pulses. With their medical skills, do you think I would respect them?"
"Shuyi, you're right. They probably really want to scam us. How's the situation on your end?"
Before Zhao Shuyi could speak, Doctor Cao came to tell them to go to a meeting.
During the meeting, everyone discussed the situation and expressed pessimism about the outcome.
The most optimistic people were actually those who went out with Zhao Shuyi today. It wasn't for any other reason than that Zhao Shuyi was good at bargaining. As long as the other party could bring out something decent, Zhao Shuyi could lower the price and give them a good scolding.
Ultimately, they decided to continue negotiating with the pharmaceutical companies the next day, hoping to get something decent in return.
The next day, Pete took them to a new pharmaceutical company, but the company refused to lower its prices.
They would shout for a million dollars if they wanted to, and even when Zhao Shuyi pointed out that it was junk, they wouldn't budge.
Zhao Shuyi had a bad feeling. She felt that even if they returned to the two companies from yesterday, they would probably be treated the same way.
Some people don't want them to take these instruments back.
Sure enough, they still didn't get access to good equipment later on.
Even those things that Zhao Shuyi called junk, the other party was unwilling to sell cheaply, only wanting a high price.
The team members were somewhat frustrated, feeling that they would not be able to complete the mission.
When they spent time together privately, Gu Yan asked Zhao Shuyi, "Should we try to find our own channels?"
Zhao Shuyi pursed her lips and said, "I think they're just waiting for us to walk right into that."
Perhaps she shouldn't have asked the detective beforehand; it was clear that the information had been leaked from him.
They're from the mainland, buying medical equipment; I doubt there's anyone else like them.
Fortunately, Zhao Shuyi had already considered this possibility.
"Perhaps we have to take a risk."
Gu Yan: "You mean, utilizing space?"
Zhao Shuyi nodded, "Now, only by utilizing space can we possibly achieve our goal."
"No way!" Gu Yan refused sternly. "If you use your spatial ability, how do you explain how you stored things away and how you moved them?"
Such a big thing.
Exposing the space poses a huge risk.
Society will eventually develop, even without their success this time, it will still develop in the future, and he didn't want Zhao Shuyi to take any risks.
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Shuyi said, "It's not as complicated as you think. Aren't you very interested in those things?"
“We can try to make it ourselves. We have enough time to figure out their manufacturing techniques. If all else fails, we can break down the parts, reassemble them, and then float them on the sea in another way.”
“We’ve come all this way, and I’d be really unwilling to leave without gaining something. The main thing is that these people are clearly taking advantage of our current technological backwardness, and I want to make them unable to reach us.”
After listening to Zhao Shuyi's idea, Gu Yan felt that it was somewhat feasible, and he also thought of another way.
That means having Zhao Shuyi pack up the things first, and then finding someone from Hong Kong to transport them back later. That's not entirely impossible.
"But how can we get to see those things?"
We still need to find a detective.
Zhao Shuyi said, "No rush, let's go buy books first."
They were afraid that the other party would discover their intentions and prevent them from even seeing the books, so they wanted to take advantage of the other party's inattention to search for a batch of books first.
The two quickly disguised themselves and shook off their pursuers, then split up and went to the bookstore.
They picked and chose and bought a lot of books. Of course, they bought not only the books they needed, but all kinds of books.
In Hong Kong, there are no tickets or permits required; you can buy anything as long as you have money. Fortunately, the young couple wasn't short of cash at the moment.
So the two of them spent a day shopping, basically buying all the relevant books in the entire Hong Kong bookstore, as well as various other professional books that they might not be able to buy in mainland China. They could even open a book rental shop in the future.
Having not seen so many books in so long, Zhao Shuyi felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with them.
After preparing all the books, they went to find a detective that Gu Yanxin had inquired about, intending to find the medical equipment.
The other party agreed very readily, which seemed suspicious.
However, the two of them did not let this opportunity pass and arranged to meet with the so-called boss in charge of the matter. The meeting was scheduled for the early hours of that night.
Gu Yan said, "We must be careful in a moment. If things go wrong, run first and then hide in the space."
“Don’t say that,” Zhao Shuyi said. “You’re not allowed to sacrifice yourself to protect me. You know I’m capable, and the spiritual spring water can save lives, so even if we encounter any danger, you must stay with me.”
"Even if we are exposed, we can move to another place to continue our lives, whether it's deep in the mountains or abroad. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario."
Gu Yan thought about it and agreed. Besides their child, they only had a few other people in the world they cared about, and those people were all doing quite well.
If it really comes to a critical moment of survival, they can temporarily escape.
After Zhao Shuyi said that, Gu Yan suddenly felt that their trip was not difficult at all.
Time flew by and it was time to leave. The two of them didn't bother to hide at all and swaggered out of the hotel, still sensing that someone was following them.
The streets were less crowded at night, making it difficult for the two of them to disappear quietly. But that didn't stop them. They just needed to go into a small alley, find a passageway, and walk through it to vanish.
Hong Kong has plenty of places like this.
In no time, they shook off their pursuers.
They arranged to meet near the dock, where the goods were said to be on a ship, and they could help transport them out to sea if needed.
Zhao Shuyi, of course, didn't believe what they said. She trusted herself more than them. Even if they could help transport it out to sea, Zhao Shuyi wouldn't let them do it. She felt more at ease keeping it in her spatial storage.
The two of them quickly found their contact, who led them to a port where ships were indeed moored.
There were many ships docked at the port, including merchant ships and fishing boats.
Soon the guide led them onto a fishing boat that didn't look particularly impressive. Gu Yan held Zhao Shuyi's hand the whole time; his palms were sweaty, and he was obviously very nervous, but the two of them walked with unprecedented firmness.
Zhao Shuyi could even understand why Gu Yan and his group always carried a strong sense of conviction when they went on missions. Now she seemed to have that feeling too, a kind of resolute determination to knowingly walk into danger.
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