The rolling door of the hardware store was half-open. Mou Xuan was delighted and pushed the door open. A smell of motor oil mixed with a cold metallic breath hit him in the face.
However, the scene that came into view made his heart sink.
On the shelves, there were only a few steel pipes, barbed wire, engineer shovels, etc. that he urgently needed, and some shelves were even empty.
"Boss, business is so good?" Mou Xuan asked in a nonchalant manner, but his eyes kept scanning the shelves, wondering in his mind whether the remaining supplies would be enough to fill his stomach.
An old man with gray hair and wearing oily work clothes walked out from the inner room with a wrench in his hand. He was the owner of this hardware store, and everyone called him Feng Wujin.
Feng Wujin glanced at Mou Xuan and sighed, "Oh, don't mention it. The world has been in turmoil recently. Everyone has started to stock up. My little shop is almost empty."
When Mou Xuan heard this, he became even more anxious.
He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to stock up on supplies, but he didn't expect everyone to have the same idea as him!
If it had come a few days later, there wouldn't be even a single hair left.
He looked at the empty shelves, feeling annoyed as if he saw his doomsday safe house plan collapsing.
The clanging sounds of the hardware store, the bargaining of customers, and the honking of cars outside the store all pierced his eardrums like needles.
He must find the source of goods as soon as possible, otherwise all his plans will fail.
He paced back and forth in front of the hardware store, his heart in turmoil.
Ask the boss directly to reserve the goods?
If I get rejected, wouldn’t that alert the enemy?
But if you don't speak up, these remaining supplies will soon be snatched away by others.
Confusion, hesitation, anxiety, all kinds of emotions intertwined together, and Mou Xuan's eyes became erratic.
He felt that everything around him became blurry, and only the few remaining supplies in the hardware store emitted an alluring glow.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. His hands clenched and unclenched unconsciously, and a layer of fine beads of sweat oozed out of his palms.
Finally, he made up his mind, turned around and walked into the hardware store again.
"Boss," he said, "I want to discuss a big deal with you..."
Mou Xuan rubbed his hands, walked up to Feng Wujin, and put on a heroic look: "Boss, to tell you the truth, I like the goods in your store! I want as many as you have! Of course, the price is negotiable."
Feng Wujin pushed his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked Mou Xuan up and down, and said slowly: "Young man, you are so arrogant. I have opened this shop for 20 years. I have seen all kinds of people. You want to buy the whole shop? First, see if you have enough money in your pocket."
"Money is not a problem," Mou Xuan assured, patting his chest. "The key is that you have to keep the goods for me. I'll pay a part of the deposit in advance, and I'll pick up the rest in a few days."
When Feng Wujin heard this, his face immediately fell and the wrench in his hand fell to the ground with a bang.
"Reserve? There's no such rule! My store has always been on a first-come, first-served basis, and you pay before you get the goods. If you really want to buy, pay now and move the goods, otherwise don't delay my business."
Mou Xuan didn't expect the old man to be so rigid, and was speechless for a moment.
He looked at Feng Wujin's wrinkled face, which was like a piece of stone that could not be gnawed, and felt annoyed.
"Old man, you are too inflexible! In today's world, what's wrong with stockpiling some goods? You are..."
"The world? What does the world have to do with me! I do business based on my conscience! If you want to buy, buy it. If you don't want to buy, get out. Don't talk to me about that nonsense!" Feng Wujin waved his hands impatiently, as if to drive away a fly.
Mou Xuan was disappointed and could only walk out of the hardware store in dejection.
He stood at the door, looking at the few remaining supplies in the store, feeling mixed emotions.
It seems there is no hope of relying on this old man, we have to find another way.
He took out his cell phone and dialed a number: "Hello, Brother Hu, how is your business lately? I need a batch of goods here, steel pipes, barbed wire, engineer shovels... Yes, large quantities! Can you see if you can get them?"
A slick voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hey, brother, you've come at the right time! You know the current market situation! But, this price..."
"Brother Hu, we are old acquaintances. You can give me a price. However, you also know that I am short on time and have a heavy task. You have to get the goods to me as soon as possible." Mou Xuan said in a firm tone. He knew that he had to take the initiative when dealing with such people.
Agent Hu was silent for a while, then he laughed: "Brother, you are straightforward! Okay, since you said so, I can't not give you face. How about this, I'll give you a 10% discount?"
"90% off? Brother Hu, you are too greedy! The current market price..." Mou Xuan began to bargain with agent Hu, revealing all the market information he had. After a heated argument, he finally lowered the price to 70% off.
After hanging up the phone, Mou Xuan let out a long sigh and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Although the price was still a bit higher than expected, at least we got the supply.
He looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "30% off... Humph, this is just the beginning..." He paused and took out his cell phone, "Hello, Lao Li..."
As soon as Hu Jiejie's slick voice fell, Mou Xuan felt something was wrong.
This old fox is indeed not that easy to talk to!
The steel pipes delivered were rusty, the barbed wire was limp, and the handle of the engineer shovel was almost falling apart.
That’s it?
Do you have the nerve to say it is the “best”?
"Brother Hu, this 'best' of yours, I'm afraid you didn't pick it up from some garbage dump?" Mou Xuan had a sneer on his face, and his fingers tapped on the rusty steel pipe, making a dull "dong dong" sound.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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