Chapter Sixty-Three: A Successful Deal

“Are you bluffing?” Wang Mei scoffed, “Tell me, what business is guaranteed to make money?”
“Is that so?”
Everyone turned to Xu Fei.
Xu Fei smiled, set his wine glass down, glanced at the group, and said, “Selling televisions.”
“What?”
“My goodness, Fourth, you really dare to dream, don’t you?”
“Haha, Xu Fei, are you out of your mind? Televisions, do you know how much those cost?”
Wang Mei’s words brought the others to realize the issue.
“That’s right, Fourth. A television sells for over three hundred; the wholesale price must be at least two hundred. This isn’t like rice—you can’t just collect it from the countryside. They say these things are shipped in from the south.”
“Exactly.”
Xu Fei nodded.
“Friends, I gathered you here tonight because I want to discuss the capital for this business.”
“Money?”
Zhang Mingyang thought for a moment, “Counting what we’ve earned so far, plus what I have on hand, I could maybe pull together about a thousand.”
“My family can spare just under two thousand,” Chen Da said, a little embarrassed, “Can’t help it, the little one is costing us a fortune these days.”
Wang Yiming held up three fingers, “Three thousand, that’s all I can manage.”
Xu Fei calculated; adding his own, they could scrape together seven or eight thousand at most.
But for his plan, he needed to buy a hundred units at once.
That would mean twenty thousand.
“What about you?” Xu Fei looked at Sun Qigong.
“Me? Haha, Xu Fei, you know we’re both out of work, so…”
Sun Qigong glanced at Wang Mei beside him.
“Why are you looking at me? Don’t you know how much we have?” Wang Mei shot Xu Fei a glare. “We can spare about three hundred. Really, for such a big venture, all together we don’t even have ten thousand. Do you have enough capital?”
Xu Fei shook his head, “Not enough.”
“Tch, I knew it. Without money, how can you do any business!”
Wang Mei tossed back her drink.
“That’s right, Fourth. We just can’t pull it together. Even if selling televisions is a good business…”
Xu Fei smiled, “Did you forget there’s a place in this world called the bank?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“A loan.”
Xu Fei raised his glass, “You understand?”
“A loan? You mean borrowing from the bank to do business? No way.” Chen Da was first to protest.
Wang Yiming bowed his head, “If that’s what you mean, I don’t think it’s wise either.”
Xu Fei looked at them, “Brothers, tell me, what’s unwise about it?”
“Borrowing to do business—we’ve never heard of it. How do you know this will make money?”
“Opportunities must not be missed.”
Xu Fei drained his glass.
He set it down, looked at everyone, and smiled faintly, “Friends, business is like war; sometimes opportunities are like battle chances. If we miss it, once we finally have the money, the window may be gone.”
“I don’t get it. But borrowing to do business seems far too risky,” Sun Qigong said, glancing at Wang Mei. “Xu Fei, we’re just small folk, we really can’t take such risks.”
Xu Fei looked at Wang Mei, “Are you two planning to pull out?”
Wang Mei snorted, “Xu Fei, if you want to lose your mind, do so by yourself. We’re not playing along, we can’t afford it.”
She got up to leave, tugging Sun Qigong after her.
“Enjoy your meal, everyone. We’re heading to bed.”
Watching Sun Qigong and Wang Mei leave, Xu Fei could only shake his head, “They really can’t help us.”
“Fourth, how is this even helping them? No one would dare play along with you,” Chen Da said, shaking his head at Xu Fei’s words.
“Alright, Fourth just wants to make money with us, doesn’t he?” Zhang Mingyang poured Xu Fei another drink, then smiled and shook his head, “Fourth, not to be harsh, but this time I really don’t have faith.”
“That’s right, Fourth. I think our rice business is going well, isn’t it? If we keep at it, supply all the city’s grocery stores, we’ll be making plenty of money, won’t we?”
Wang Yiming looked at Xu Fei, “Why bother with televisions?”
“Second Brother, I never said we’d stop collecting rice. But if we want to accumulate funds quickly, we need to diversify.”
“It… it does sound reasonable.”
Zhang Mingyang glanced at Chen Da and Wang Yiming.
“But if we owe the bank, and then go trying to make money… it just feels off,” Chen Da said, shaking his head.
Wang Yiming nodded, but said nothing.
“Alright, if you trust me, I’ll go to the bank and see if we can get a loan. Meanwhile, I’ll research the supply channels.”
The three looked at each other.
“Fine.”
Chen Da raised his glass.
“Fourth, you’ve got the brains. We brothers will follow your lead.”
Wang Yiming nodded, “Right, right. But you know, Fourth, a bank loan needs a guarantor, and I…”
Zhang Mingyang shot Wang Yiming a look, “Second Brother, are you hinting you’re a government official?”
Wang Yiming smiled awkwardly.
“Third Brother, you know I have my difficulties.”
Zhang Mingyang waved his hand, “Alright, Big Brother probably feels the same, right?”
Chen Da laughed, “Okay, Fourth, I’ll vouch for you.”
Xu Fei nodded to him.
“Big Brother, Second, Third, rest assured, I, Xu Fei, won’t deceive you. Don’t forget, I have a family depending on me.”
He raised his glass,
“Come, brothers, let’s toast to the success of our television venture!”
“To success!”
“To big profits!”
“Cheers!”
The four drank themselves into a stupor.
When Xu Fei returned home, it was already past eleven.
To his surprise,
Du Man was still awake.
“You’re still up?”
“Are you busy these days?”
Xu Fei was taken aback,
“Why do you ask?”
Du Man looked at Xu Fei, her expression sour, “You’ve been drinking again?”
“Oh, with the brothers.”
“You could’ve at least told me.”
Du Man cleared away the dishes she’d prepared for him.
Xu Fei felt a little guilty, smiled, “Sorry, we… we were discussing business.”
“You’re quitting your job? Why are you always talking business nowadays?”
Du Man never really understood Xu Fei’s business endeavors. She looked downcast, “Men should earn money at work. What if you lose money in business?”
Xu Fei smiled, “I won’t lose.”