Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 204 The Six-Cylinder Soul Banner and the King of Spades
Let's rewind to a few hours earlier, before Zhai Da finished class.

Craft brewery.

"Hey bro~ I checked the security footage, your car was practically taking off. Do you think that accent is right?"

The new "delivery team" employee nodded:

"There are basically no problems. There are many accents in the three northeastern provinces, and they are slightly different in different places. As long as it feels right, it's fine."

"Go ahead and get busy, I'll try to get into the swing of things."

Wu Yue practiced a few more times, then called over Wang Xiaolong, who was leading people to move goods, and asked for his cousin's phone number, dialing a number.

When the phone rang, I turned on speakerphone and placed it next to me, while holding a small notebook in my hand to take notes.

An impatient voice came from the other end: "Hey, where are you?!"

"Brother, it was such a hassle to call you! I'm the owner of that Iveco van."

“I watched the surveillance footage. Your car was practically flying off the road. You know that’s a hit-and-run. If you say your wife was driving, I’ll consider it a favor to female drivers. But if you’re driving yourself, you’re a grown man, so be straightforward.”

"It's not easy for me either. That's the boss's delivery truck. I only make about a thousand yuan a month. You drive such a nice car, what's a little extra?"

"Brother, I'm not an unreasonable person. I can tell you're not very old. What's your zodiac sign?"

"Really? Does mentioning your name help? That would be great, I was just looking for someone I know."

--------

The night was hazy, and the music was lively in the bar.

Zhai Da gave a thumbs up: "Now I know where your accent came from today!"

Wu Yue held up her notebook and said earnestly:

"Li Chao, 25 or 26 years old, no fixed job, unmarried, his family runs a small decoration company, and he has a close relative who is a minor official in the system, most likely a city management officer."

The level of detail is comparable to opening a box.

"His economic situation is neither good nor bad. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be able to afford a car in that price range. He got one that has been owned by who knows how many people. I guess it's just to show off."

"In every sense of the word," Wu Yue added to himself.

He said that it was already difficult for him to renew his car insurance, and it would be even more difficult to handle if he had another accident. He wanted to settle the matter privately and offered 500, but I did not agree for the time being.

Wu Yue closed the notebook, took a sip of lemonade, and said, "Let's see what your plans are. I still don't understand why you're investigating him."

Although he didn't understand, he still completed the task assigned by Zhai Da perfectly, even exceeding expectations.

"I want to buy his car."

Wu Yue was stunned for a moment: "That beat-up Porsche? It's probably been driven around eight hundred times, and the difficulty in renewing the insurance must have been due to a major accident. Even if you're buying a used one, there's no need to choose that one. I can help you find a used car dealer."

That car model is called a Porsche Boxster S, it's really cool, but there's no need for Zhai Da to buy a brand new one.

Even assuming you don't buy a brand new one, you should at least buy a reliable used one, like the other party's car.
This is equivalent to the difference between "second marriage" and "technician".

Zhai Da shook his head: "No, I only need his car, I won't buy anything else."

Wu Yue pondered for a moment: "Then I'll have to use a different identity to make contact."

Alternatively, you could disguise yourself as a used car dealer, pretend you can't see the problem with the car, and buy it at a premium. The other party would probably feel like they got a great deal.

Why did I suddenly remember that time a long time ago when I helped Zhai Da exchange that broken TV at the Hongqi Department Store?
It's a lot of effort to replace a piece of junk.

Well, Zhai Da's persona of liking "old things" has been established for a long time, and Wu Yue can't figure it out, so she's given up on thinking about it.

"Should I check that car's accident record? We don't want to get ripped off."

Zhai Da quickly waved his hand: "Don't bother checking, save your time."

Although it's a car that's changed hands hundreds of times, and accident records aren't easy to find, who knows, Wu Yue might be incredibly powerful?

If it turns out that nine car owners died, wouldn't they have to kneel on the ground and beg Zhai Da not to buy it?
At this moment, the bartender came over with Wu Yue's lemonade, placed it on the table, and said warmly, "Brother Yue, here's your lemonade. I've added some honey to it for you."

Wu Yue nodded and accepted it.

However, as the bartender left, he subconsciously glanced at Zhai Da and wondered to himself, "Is this Brother Yue, the boss?"
He noticed that Wu Yue had just appeared to be giving a work report.

Wu Yue was someone he greatly admired; he was young, highly capable, and incredibly shrewd.
I think I heard from the wine delivery guy that above Brother Yue there's a Brother Da, who's their real boss.
Zhai Da didn't notice the bartender's gaze. After the bartender left, he winked at Wu Yue and teased him:
"Great, 'Brother Yue'~ You're a well-known figure now. Will it be effective to mention your name in bars and nightclubs from now on?"

Wu Yue scratched his head: "It might actually work. At least getting a contract shouldn't be a problem."

Zhai Da got back to the main point: "Don't worry about the car. The craft beer business is more important. Anyway, we've found the owner of the car. Let's figure out a solution slowly."

As long as this car owner doesn't die again.
Well, to put it bluntly, death isn't entirely a bad thing. Zhai Da is very curious whether the [Nine-Turn Resurrection Chariot] will become the [Ten-Turn Resurrection Chariot] if it has another victim.
If the girl in the passenger seat also got involved, is it some kind of "eleven reincarnations"? That name doesn't even sound right.
How about calling it the "Six-Cylinder Ten Thousand Soul Banner"?
Wu Yue said he would try to find a way and would let him know if he could get the car.

Zhai Da glanced at his phone; it was already November 11th. Back in 2008, there was no such thing as the "Double Eleven Shopping Festival." Currently, this day is only known online as "Singles' Day."

He had been busy with this matter for more than half a month and finally achieved a preliminary result.

Market feedback has been even better than initially expected; the previously estimated "2000 liters/day" is likely far more than that. For example, the store where the two worked would need at least 150 liters (300 cups) per day to supply at full capacity. 2000 liters would only be enough to supply a dozen or so stores, not even enough to meet the demand around Harbin Institute of Technology, let alone the entire Nangang District or even Harbin.

Zhai Da predicts that even during the off-season in winter, it is possible to challenge the "sales volume of 10,000 units per day".

With a price of 16 yuan per liter of liquor, an 80% gross profit margin would be 12.8 yuan. After deducting miscellaneous costs (rent, labor, transportation) that will be diluted as production capacity expands, a net profit of 10 yuan would be a reasonable figure.

This means earning 100,000 a day. This level of profitability already surpasses Utopia and is far from its limit.

The situation has improved.

The next step is to see how to expand and how to stabilize the business. In such a special industry, as it expands, "Yueda Catering" will face challenges that are not only "commercial".

Although the real world is not like a movie or TV show, and it's not as crazy as it seems, we still need to take precautions.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhai Da produced a metal playing card, its unique texture appearing particularly mysterious under the bar's intoxicating lights.

I glanced at it, and coincidentally, it was the King of Spades.

Zhai Da handed the card to Wu Yue.

"You should carry this card with you at all times, such as in your wallet or an inner pocket of your clothes, the closer to your body the better."

Wu Yue knew these were Zhai Da's magic props, but didn't understand Zhai Da's intentions.

"What's it for?"

“Remember Shahe Temple? You didn’t go to the summer gathering, so I had an old Taoist priest in a monk’s robe bless it. You can take it as a talisman.”

Wu Yue was somewhat puzzled, but still accepted it.

Perhaps unsure whether to criticize the old Taoist priest in his robes or the blessing of playing cards, the temple seems to offer a variety of services.
This is a Joker Poker card with the "attention-grabbing" ability disabled. With this card, Zhai Da can locate Wu Yue's position at any time through the system.

Of course, he hopes he will never need to use it.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any "suitable" or "reasonable" equipment around, otherwise it wouldn't have been a bad idea to provide Wu Yue with self-defense.

Let's see if any items will be sold in this round of judicial auctions.

Zhai Da sighed:
"We've laid a good foundation, but I'm already halfway through the semester, and I need to get back into the swing of things at school. The school has notified me that next month I need to set aside time to visit four different academicians' labs for a week each, and then decide which big shot I should follow next semester."

"I understand. Your studies are more important. Leave the outside world to me."

If it were someone else, they might say something like, "Going to a 'chicken neck school' is just about making money, isn't it?"

But Wu Yue was different; he knew very well that Zhai Da's path was far greater than his own.

Ever since that day at the mobilization meeting of Maofang Middle School, I watched through the iron fence as my good brother spoke eloquently in front of hundreds of students.

But now that he could no longer walk into the school campus while wearing his school uniform, Wu Yue understood that their paths were different.

Fortunately, he found a series of "intersections" that witnessed his own growth.

Or rather, all of Utopia's companions underwent changes along with their "intersection" with Zhai Da.

He was like a lone wave surging forward, carrying every fish that passed by.

Wu Yue once again lamented how right it was to choose to follow Zhai Dalai to Harbin instead of going with the flow to venture into Beijing, Shanghai, Yangcheng, and Shenzhen.

With the craft beer project launched, he finally had a solid foundation.

Zhai Da chuckled lightly: "It's not like I'm not coming. We live in the same neighborhood, and the craft brewery is only a ten-minute walk from the campus."

He raised the "Baiwei" in his hand and clinked it against Wu Yue's lemonade: "Roll up your sleeves and get to work!"

Wu Yue: "That won't do, Harbin is too cold. We should wear gloves and work harder!"

The clear ice cubes in the lemonade and the brown foam reflected in the beer bottle swayed together as they clinked glasses, colliding through the glass.

It was pushed even higher.

"By the way, is the 'Mist Tavern' still planning to open?"

"Let's just put on a show and hire two people to install it. I'll see if there are any college students who can work part-time."

"Let me know when it's done, and I'll take my classmates out for drinks later."

“It’s no big deal. It’s your own shop. Everyone knows you’re the big boss.”

　Many people may not know what day it is today.

　　Today is a very special day—

　　It's time for me to ask for monthly votes!

　　(*▽*) Chu mi!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)