My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 105 Ah Qiao
After taking inventory of the goods, the four discussed how much to give to Awei and his group.

After much discussion, they finally decided to give Awei some jeans, bell-bottoms, and shirts. They also gave him half a box of microphones, half a box each of digital watches and lighters, and finally 120 blank TDK cassette tapes.

The price of these items, including the tapes, will be based on the price we just discussed, with a slight profit added, and will be packaged together with other goods for resale. The price of all other items will be halved to Awei based on their current retail price.

In other words, once Awei gets his hands on these goods, he can make a profit of 100% as long as he can sell them, which is actually quite a high profit.

In reality, for Zhou Jiye and his team, their profit margin from cost to retail was nearly four or five times. Even if they wholesaled to Awei at this price, they could still make nearly double the profit by reselling.

Xu Guoqing carefully wrote down the goods and price for Awei on a piece of paper, checked it with Lin Ying, and put it in his pocket after confirming that it was correct.

“I’ll talk to Awei first. All these things aren’t cheap, so I’ll see if he can afford them. If there’s no problem, I’ll transfer the goods to him and get some money back.”

At this point, Xu Guoqing thought for a moment and added, "Let's put the other goods aside for now, and don't go to Xigong for the next couple of days. We'll talk about setting up the stall in a few days."

"Why?" Old Wen immediately became anxious upon hearing this. Due to the supply problem, their business at the Xigong stall had been poor these past few days. They were just waiting for the goods to arrive so they could make a good profit. Now that the goods have arrived and the varieties and quantities have all been counted, why is it suddenly going to be suspended again?

"Brother Qing, are you considering the warehouse?" Lin Ying couldn't help but ask. She felt that Xu Guoqing must have a reason for doing this, otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly had this idea.

Xu Guoqing nodded: "I just thought about it. The matter at the warehouse isn't over yet. As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as being able to guard against a thief for a thousand days. Although the goods have been moved here, the issue there is still there. If this matter isn't resolved, it will remain a hidden danger."

"We can't just stop doing business because we're afraid of thieves!" Old Wen objected. He felt that since the goods had already been moved out, it would be pointless for someone to keep an eye on the warehouse. Was it really necessary to be so cautious?

"Brother Wen, don't be in a hurry, let Brother Aqing finish speaking first."

Seeing that Lao Wen was anxious, Lin Ying quickly tried to persuade him. Zhou Jiye seemed to have thought of something and remained silent, waiting for Xu Guoqing's explanation.

Xu Guoqing lowered his voice and said, "This ticking time bomb is still a worry. We don't know what that guy is up to. Is he planning to break in and steal? Or is he trying to use this to get some benefits from us? In any case, this matter is not over yet. Only by completely resolving it can we eliminate any hidden dangers."

After a pause, Xu Guoqing continued, "Besides, because of my negligence, several colleagues at work also know about what happened in the warehouse. Although they may not know exactly what's inside, it's still a problem. So we have to clean up this mess before we can feel at ease. I thought about it and decided that rather than waiting for this bomb to explode on its own, it's better to detonate it in advance, so that we won't have any worries later."

"Detonate it ahead of schedule? That sounds good, but how do you plan to do it?" Lin Ying pressed.

Xu Guoqing smiled and said, "I have my own way of doing this, and it won't take long. Just wait for my news. It will be done in two or three days at the shortest, and no more than four or five days at the longest."

"Would you like some help?"

"No need, none of you are suitable to handle this. I'll find someone else to take care of it."

“Alright! I’ll leave this to you, Brother Qing.” Lin Ying nodded without hesitation. Although Zhou Jiye didn’t know what Xu Guoqing planned to do, he agreed because he trusted Xu Guoqing and he was so confident. As for Lao Wen, he thought that three to five days wasn’t a long time, and waiting wouldn’t hurt. Besides, what Xu Guoqing said made sense, and since Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying had both agreed, he didn’t object anymore.

After they reached an agreement, Xu Guoqing left first. He needed to talk to Awei about the goods, and he also needed to make some arrangements for the warehouse.

When they found Awei, he was overjoyed to see Xu Guoqing and insisted that he stay and have a good drink with him today.

Xu Guoqing smiled and waved his hand to refuse, saying that he had just returned and still had a lot of things to deal with. He had come to see him today for two things. One was about the wholesale sale of some goods that Awei had mentioned to him before. Xu Guoqing had discussed it with everyone after returning home, and they had already prepared the goods list and prices. He brought them over for Awei to see so that he could decide whether it was acceptable. If it was acceptable, he could complete the handover as soon as possible, with payment and delivery done at the same time.

"Take a look at the list."

Xu Guoqing handed Awei a piece of paper with the goods details and prices written on it from his pocket, and lit the cigarette Awei had given him.

Ah Wei quickly took it and examined it closely. After a couple of glances, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and a look of delight appeared on his face.

When Awei approached Xu Guoqing with this request, it wasn't without reason. He had done his research beforehand and learned about Xu Guoqing and his group's business of selling goods at the West Palace entrance.

Besides, Ah Wei already had his underlings selling movie tickets at the West Palace. It was no secret that Xu Guoqing and his group's stalls were selling so well. Ah Wei already knew the prices of these goods and which ones sold well.

Upon seeing the names and prices of the goods written on the paper, Awei immediately compared them with what he already knew. To his surprise, he discovered that based on the prices Xu Guoqing and his group had previously sold the goods at, he was making more than double the profit.

Moreover, apart from the cassette tapes, the other items were all particularly easy to sell. Although this batch of goods was quite valuable, he had some money on hand, and if it wasn't enough, he could scrape together the rest with a few of his brothers.

"Ah Qing, these tapes..." Suppressing his joy, Ah Wei pointed to the tapes on the paper and asked.

"I won't lie to you," Xu Guoqing said frankly, "Cassette tapes aren't as easy to sell as other goods right now, but it's not like they can't be sold at all. Besides, the batch of tapes I gave you isn't much; the price of 120 tapes is at cost price. The goal is to sell in volume and recoup the money as quickly as possible." "You have a lot of brothers here, so if you divide it up, ten or so tapes each, it'll sell quickly. It shouldn't be difficult for you, what do you say?"

Ah Wei was a smart man, and he immediately understood the implication of Xu Guoqing's words. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Since you've put it this way, then I won't say anything more. I'll take the whole batch of goods. Give me two days to raise the money, and at the latest, the day after tomorrow, we'll exchange money for goods."

“No problem!” Xu Guoqing nodded and smiled. “But you have to hurry. The sooner you get the goods, the sooner you can sell them. These are all good products. Once they’re sold, the money will come.”

"Haha, yes, yes, yes." Awei laughed and nodded repeatedly in agreement. Xu Guoqing stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and whispered to Awei, "Also, I have something I'd like you to do me a favor for."

"what's up?"

"It's a small matter. Help me find a reliable brother. I'm of some use to him..." Xu Guoqing whispered a few words in Awei's ear. Awei frowned upon hearing this, not understanding for a moment what Xu Guoqing wanted to do.

"That's it...?" Awei looked at Xu Guoqing in confusion: "What's going on here? What are you up to?"

"Hehe, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. Some things are better left unknown than known. Anyway, people must be reliable and obedient, and must do as I say. Consider this a favor I owe you."

Ah Wei immediately laughed: "Hehe, then I guess I'm taking advantage of you. Okay, let me think... who should go...?"

Soon, Awei thought of a suitable person and immediately got up and called Xu Guoqing to go with him.

The two rode their bikes to Fengyang Road, which was not far away, and quickly found the person in front of a movie theater.

"Amin! Come here!"

"Oh, brother, what brings you here today?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a thin young man wearing glasses looked up, saw Ah Wei waving at him, smiled, and quickly walked over.

However, his walking posture is somewhat different from ordinary people. He has a limp in one leg and walks with an uneven gait, which suggests that he has a disability.

"How's business?" Ah Wei asked with a familiar smile, patting the young man on the shoulder.

"Things have been alright these past few days. A movie called 'The Prisoner in Handcuffs' just came out. It's a good movie, lots of people are watching it, and tickets are selling well," Amin replied with a smile. Then his gaze fell on Xu Guoqing next to Awei. Although he didn't know Xu Guoqing, he saw that the other man had come with Awei, and the two of them looked very familiar with each other. Amin quickly took out cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to each of them, and even lit them for them with a match.

After Awei and Xu Guoqing lit their cigarettes, Amin took out a cigarette from his other pocket. Although his action was so natural that no one would notice it, Xu Guoqing could see it clearly. The cigarettes Amin gave them were of a certain quality, Peony, while the one he took out from his pocket was just an ordinary Pegasus. This action alone made Xu Guoqing look at Amin with new respect.

He's a meticulous and clever guy. Although he has a physical disability, he's resourceful and seems quite quick-witted.

"This is your brother Qing, my best brother since childhood," Awei introduced to Amin.

"Hello, hello, Brother Aqing, I'm Aming. You can just call me Aming like you do, or just call me Aqiao, hehe..." Aming said cheerfully.

"Ah Qiao?"

At this moment, Amin noticed Xu Guoqing's attention to his nickname. He didn't shy away from it, patted his disabled leg, and said self-deprecatingly, "Polio. I got sick when I was in elementary school. My family was poor, so this is how it happened. The neighbors have always called me 'poor'. I'm used to it."

Xu Guoqing smiled and nodded, glancing at Awei beside him. Awei naturally understood Xu Guoqing's meaning and immediately asked Aming, "Do you want to do what we talked about last time?"

"About last time...?" Ah Ming paused for a moment, then immediately understood and asked with delight, "Brother, is it about selling Hong Kong goods?"

Seeing Ah Wei nod, Ah Ming was overjoyed.

"Yes, yes! Of course I'll do it! Brother choosing me to get rich is a sign of your respect for me, Ah Qiao. How can I not give you face? Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!" The boy was so happy that his small eyes narrowed into slits, and he couldn't help but rub his hands together.

Ah Wei laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "The goods will be available in a few days. I'll give you some to sell then. But if you want to do this business, it's not that simple. You know this business is definitely profitable. I don't know how many brothers are eyeing it. It's very popular."

"You're honest and sensible, so I'll give you a chance today. But Brother Qing needs to find someone to help with some things these next few days, so you'll have to stay with him for now. If you do a good job helping him, the goods on Fengyang Road will be yours from now on. How about that?"

"No problem!" Amin agreed without hesitation, patting his chest to assure Awei that he would show him his performance. Then he looked at Xu Guoqing, his eyes asking what the other man wanted him to do, with great eagerness and excitement.

(End of this chapter)