In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 608 Retrieve the Vehicle
"What do you think about that scrapped car? Didn't you say yesterday that you also do used car refurbishment? So I wanted you to come and take a look. If you don't need it here either, then just sell it for scrap metal." Captain Liu stood next to Yu Dawei, trying to persuade him with kind words.

The two have now established initial trust, and it's hard to say how far they will go in the future, but Captain Liu wants to express his goodwill to Yu Dawei and pave the way for the future.

“Judging from the photos, the entire front of this car is severely deformed, and it’s unrealistic to expect it to be repaired. The engine, transmission, battery, and so on are definitely all destroyed.” Yu Dawei took out the photos tucked inside the A4 paper again and stared at the wrecked Land Cruiser for a close examination. “If we’re talking about anything that’s somewhat intact now, it’s the two rear wheel rims, the tires, the chassis, and the trunk.”

There's something else Yu Dawei didn't say: after all, someone died in this car. Even if he takes it back and manages to refurbish and sell it, it still makes people feel uneasy.

Fanfan Repair Shop sells refurbished used cars, so they must clearly explain the previous condition of the vehicles.

To paraphrase David, we earn money through service, which is intangible money, so reputation is very important. Car repair has always been a service industry.

So, if you don't say that someone died in the car, you're making money against your conscience. But if you do say it, not many people will buy it, unless the price is ridiculously cheap.

So Yu Dawei was actually quite hesitant at this moment, but when he thought of the old lady's love for her granddaughter and Captain Liu's tireless help, it would be unreasonable for him not to accept it.

"I can only offer 50,000 yuan for this car; that's the highest price I can give." Yu Dawei's eyes were very honest. This price was actually based on the fact that the old lady wanted to leave some inheritance for her granddaughter.

Otherwise, the price might be even lower.

"What?! Are you kidding me?! Only 50,000!" The woman was the first to object the moment Yu Dawei said the price. She glared at Yu Dawei angrily, "This car is my brother's new car that he bought last year. It cost more than a million yuan back then, and you're only offering 50,000 yuan now! Are you crazy?"

The woman's roar was so loud that it made Yu Dawei's eardrums feel uncomfortable. It sounded like a shrew. Given the woman's behavior, it was a great blessing that the old lady on the sickbed hadn't been angered to death.

With so many people watching, including Captain Liu who was also looking over, Yu Dawei patiently explained, "This car is currently considered a scrapped vehicle. Even if it was worth two million before, it's not worth much after being hit so badly. Plus, someone died in the car. Even if I can repair it, it's not certain that anyone will want to buy it as a used car."

"So, all things considered, this car can only be turned into a vehicle made from salvaged parts."

Selling a car as a complete unit doesn't mean selling the car as a whole. Instead, it means taking a scrapped car apart and breaking it down into parts. If someone repairs the same model, they replace the missing parts with the replacement ones, thus squeezing out the last bit of value from the car.

With Yu Dawei's explanation, spending 50,000 yuan on parts that might not even be usable is something that sensible people will understand: actually, it was the old lady's side who profited.

But the woman still wouldn't let it go, and even her younger brother started making sarcastic remarks: "Hmph! Who knows about the shady dealings of you car mechanics? Who would do something that doesn't make money!"

"Exactly! Fifty thousand yuan is definitely not enough, it's too little." The woman looked at Yu Dawei with disdain and finally rejected him outright.

"Alright then, you can keep it and sell it for scrap metal. You can still get a few thousand yuan." Seeing that the woman was so ungrateful, Yu Dawei didn't bother to be polite anymore and turned to leave.

Captain Liu also sensed how difficult the woman in front of him was. He thought he would explain a few things to her after he went out with Yu Dawei. He didn't know that the old lady's children were such scoundrels.

Before the two could leave the ward, they heard the old lady on the bed making "hmm hmm hmm" sounds.

Yu Dawei turned around at the sound and saw the old lady looking at him, her right hand seemingly waving at him with all her might.

Seeing that the old lady had something to say, Attorney Xu took the initiative to walk to the bedside, put his ear to her mouth, and nodded seriously after listening to her finish speaking.

“The old lady said it’s fine, we’ll sell it at the price you said.” Attorney Xu stood up and looked at Yu Dawei. “You’ll handle the transfer with me in a bit, and I’ll collect the money for the old lady.”

“Sure, no problem.” Yu Dawei raised an eyebrow, arms crossed, looking nonchalant.

Today, Yu Dawei encountered this situation as if he had seen a penny on the ground, and it was a tiny penny he saw on the street on September 10, 2024.

Go ahead and pick it up. It's quite a chore to bend over for a dime, since a dime wasn't really worth much back then.

If I don't pick it up, I've developed a thrifty lifestyle over the years. In short, it's neither good to eat nor worth throwing away.

But the woman next to him persisted: "How can this be! Why should he get such a big advantage! I don't believe my mother said that!"

"Then you can hear your mother's confession with your own ears." Attorney Xu wasn't angry. He had encountered many arrogant and domineering people with a little money in his daily life, and he had seen many of these minor storms and was used to them.

As soon as Attorney Xu finished speaking, the woman actually moved closer. However, when she heard the old lady speak, for some reason, her expression turned extremely ugly, and she even gripped the purse in her hands even tighter.

He seemed to compromise in the end, but still glared at Yu Dawei as he stood up.

Yu Dawei was completely baffled by that glare, and inwardly cursed the woman as "crazy."

The rest was much simpler. Since Attorney Xu still had to deal with the old lady's affairs, he had his assistant accompany Captain Liu and Yu Dawei to the traffic police brigade for vehicle inspection.

When Yu Dawei saw the black Land Cruiser again, he shook his head helplessly several times.

The hood was flipped up by the impact, and the headlights, bumper, and everything else were completely destroyed.

The entire windshield, steering wheel, and center console were basically unbearable to look at.

The key issue is the bloodstains left on the car; most people wouldn't dare touch it.

Only someone as burly and honest as Yu Dawei, who never does anything wrong, would climb into the car and thoroughly inspect it.

In the end, Yu Dawei concluded that he lost money, but not much.

At least the water tank is broken but can be repaired, and the engine block is still relatively intact, so it's not as bad as I imagined.

The entire car body and interior are ruined.

"Alright, since we agreed on 50,000, then it's 50,000. But if we take this car, we definitely won't make a profit." Yu Dawei shook his head helplessly. Captain Liu patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay, we'll lose money on this car. If we find another one you like later, we'll take a look."

Yu Dawei felt a little better at this point. If Lao Liu had this idea, then there would be another source of used cars in the future. If that were really possible, he would call Taozi over to discuss this matter with Lao Liu.

After the three of them confirmed the location of the black Land Cruiser, they returned to the hospital. Yu Dawei didn't waste any words and transferred 50,000 yuan to Attorney Xu.

Just as Yu Dawei was about to leave, the old lady in the hospital bed passed away, and her remaining children howled in the ward.

However, Yu Dawei was extremely disdainful and sarcastic.

He initially intended to leave, since the money and goods were settled, but then he thought that since the car was stained with blood, it would be better to respect the deceased and pay his respects.

I accompanied Attorney Xu to handle the old lady's final affairs.

According to Attorney Xu, this old lady raised three children single-handedly many years ago and also started an ice cream factory, first in the oil city and later in Harbin.

The Harbin branch factory had always been managed by the deceased son and daughter-in-law, who were considered the factory's heirs by the old lady.

So when he was dying, the popsicle factory in Harbin was also adopted by his granddaughter, Xiaotong.

However, her eldest daughter and youngest son were unwilling. If it weren't for Attorney Xu, the two children might have had to have their oxygen tubes removed.

Later, it was only through the mediation of Attorney Xu that the two popsicle factories in Harbin and Youcheng were given to the old lady's youngest son and eldest daughter, respectively.

Then there's the matter of the deceased son's property and the old lady's private assets. The old lady entrusted Lawyer Xu to sell all of them, dividing them into three parts. One part was given to her granddaughter, Xiaotong, and Lawyer Xu will keep it safe until she reaches adulthood.

The fees for hiring Attorney Xu are also included, as are all of the deceased son's assets, which were all given to Xiaotong.

It seemed like a loss, but the old lady realized on her deathbed that her children would never let it go if she didn't make any concessions.

Before leaving, Attorney Xu told Yu Dawei that the old lady's children were the kind of people who only knew how to squander money but had no ability. If the popsicle factory were in their hands, they would definitely lose everything.

These were the words the old lady said to Attorney Xu before she died.

There was another layer to this statement when it was made to Attorney Xu. Attorney Xu was an outsider, but because he had served as a legal advisor to her deceased son for a period of time, he spared no effort in helping this old lady navigate this situation.

The old lady also hoped that if the popsicle factory were to be destroyed by these two people one day, Lawyer Xu, if he had the ability, could take over both popsicle factories. As long as he did things steadily and surely, the business would definitely not be too bad.

Attorney Xu also understood the old lady's other meaning, but he was not good at doing business, and besides, he was not interested in doing business.

As for Yu Dawei, firstly, his father received care from Yu Dawei, and secondly, Yu Dawei is a good person with ability.

Why not pass the news on to Yu Dawei? If Yu Dawei is interested, he can tell him about it. As long as he keeps an eye on things, Yu Dawei might be able to acquire the two popsicle factories at a low price in just a few years.

Yu Dawei refused, but his words were very subtle.

“The old lady is a good person, you can tell she’s capable of handling things at home. Her children are really useless. No matter how good the factory is, it won’t be any better if they take over in the future.” Yu Dawei stood at the entrance of the funeral home, not far away in Fu Zi and Shunli’s old, beat-up SUV.

Yu Dawei's meaning was also very clear: no matter how good a factory is, if it is abandoned, it will be difficult to recover. Rather than having unrealistic fantasies, it is better to just let it go.

If it's not yours, don't even think about it.

“That makes sense. Take care on your way.” Attorney Xu saw Yu Dawei off at the gate. He had to take Xiaotong to a distant relative's house later. Although they were relatives, they were not related to the old lady by blood at all.

However, the old lady knew that family and had met them a few times. She knew that the family was quite nice. Perhaps the first thing the old lady would think about when she woke up was which family to put Xiaotong in.

To put it bluntly, it's because the other children are unworthy and their character is questionable; otherwise, why would anyone choose to seek help from so far away?

"Then we'll be going now. By the way, how has Old Xu been feeling lately?" Yu Dawei had actually wanted to ask this for a while, but there were too many outsiders around.

“Sigh, his memory is getting worse and worse. Now I have to put a little card in his pocket when we go out.” Attorney Xu subconsciously pointed to the frame of his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I’m thinking of taking him to Kyoto for another check-up in a while. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll hire a 24-hour caregiver for him.”

"Alright, give me a call before you go to Kyoto. I know some people at Peking Union Medical College Hospital there, maybe they can help you." Yu Dawei didn't make any grand promises, just mentioned it briefly before preparing to leave.

Attorney Xu waved to the other party. Yu Dawei was a good person. Whenever the old man thought of him, he would always unconsciously advise him to become a legal advisor for Yu Dawei's company or something.

However, Attorney Xu was very busy with his own affairs. There were many cases that the law firm couldn't handle, and all sorts of other random things would occasionally come his way. He really didn't have the energy or the strength to deal with them.

Standing at the entrance of the funeral home, watching Yu Dawei and the others drive away until they disappeared from sight, Attorney Xu turned around to deal with the next matters.

Besides sending Xiaotong away, he also had to deal with issues such as dividing the family property among the old lady's eldest daughter and youngest son.

However, Yu Dawei was unaware of all this. He first took his brothers to the traffic police brigade, and then towed the scrapped Land Cruiser to the oil city equipment factory.

Yu Dawei hadn't considered the monkey's side, since Dawei's repair shop there didn't have the refurbishment equipment, while the oil city equipment factory not only had the latest hydraulic lifting tools, but also a dedicated sheet metal and painting workshop.

When Yu Dawei first supplied hydraulic tools to Fanfan's repair shop, he thought he should stock up on several sets. Not only were they available in the oil city, but they were also available in equipment factories in Harbin. However, due to the desolate surrounding area, business was rather poor.

However, for Yu Dawei, who is a time traveler, although the equipment factories of the Eighth Bureau seem relatively remote now, they will definitely become very valuable locations in ten or even twenty years.

(End of this chapter)