Reborn in 1982: I Became the Richest Man by Repairing Cars

After riding for nearly half an hour, I casually bought a sesame seed cake to fill my stomach.

When Jiang Hui arrived at the BAIC parts store, his face and hands were red from the cold.

Upon entering the store, the sales staff were neither enthusiastic nor indifferent.

Do you have wheel bearings for the Shanghai SH760 model in stock?

The other party checked the inventory and shook his head: "We mainly supply spare parts for BJ212 and light trucks."

"The SH760 is manufactured by Shanghai Automotive Plant. Occasionally, there are spare parts available, but we have recently run out of stock and it will take at least a week to get them back."

"We can't wait, the car owner needs the car tomorrow."

Jiang Hui said somewhat anxiously.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. That's how the inventory is. You either have to wait, or you can try asking around elsewhere."

After the salesperson finished speaking, she ignored Jiang Hui.

Having no other choice, Jiang Hui went to the Friendship Store to check on the situation.

If it's a common imported car like the Toyota Crown or Nissan Cedric, the foreign-related shops at the Friendship Store might sell spare parts.

However, it's not necessarily the case for the SH760.

As expected, Jiang Hui's trip was in vain.

It took almost two hours to complete one lap.

It's not that they're out of stock, it's just that they're stuck on the "letter of introduction".

Jiang Hui rode his bicycle back, feeling quite anxious.

There's only one way left now.

When Lin Yuanwu returned to the repair shop, he was with the driver in the Zhongshan suit, warming himself by the fire inside the shop.

The driver looked anxious, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.

"Master Jiang, how's it going? Did you manage to buy the bearings?"

Upon seeing Jiang Hui return, the driver immediately stood up, his eyes filled with anticipation, yet also harboring a hint of unease.

Jiang Hui rubbed his hands, which were numb from the cold, pulled up a chair and sat down. His tone was frank and straightforward: "To be honest, I went to several places, including the city's auto repair and parts station."

"There's only one place that has it, but you need a letter of introduction."

"There's simply no inventory anywhere else."

The driver's face instantly fell, and he stamped his feet in frustration: "A letter of introduction? What are we going to do?!"

"I'm just a driver, how can I just use a letter of introduction from my employer?"

"The boss needs the car tomorrow. If this can't be fixed, I won't be able to explain it to him!"

"Don't panic."

Jiang Hui raised his hand to comfort him, his tone firm, "I've asked, the problem lies with the letter of introduction."

"State-run auto parts depots only accept letters of introduction from government agencies. Which agency are you from?"

"I'm Luo Xiehao, a driver at Yanshan Petrochemical. I was just transferred here from another place with my supervisor."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hui couldn't help but look at the other person with newfound respect.

Yanshan Petrochemical did not gain much recognition nationwide in later generations.

However, in the capital region, that's considered a top-tier unit.

Not to mention that Luo Xiehao was also the driver.

Nowadays, they are not white-collar workers, but definitely "gold-collar" workers.

"This car is an official vehicle of Yanshan Petrochemical. Go back and tell your office."

"Just say that the vehicle needs emergency repairs and we need a letter of introduction to purchase SH760 wheel bearings."

"Getting the company seal stamped shouldn't be difficult."

He paused, then added, reassuring Luo Xiehao, "As long as you can bring me the letter of introduction, I'll go to the city's auto repair parts supply station immediately."

"They have genuine bearings readily available. I can fix it today once I get them, and I guarantee it won't delay your use of the car tomorrow."

"If it can't be done, then there's nothing I can do."

The driver hesitated for a moment, then his face lit up, and he nodded hurriedly, "I can do it! I can do it!"

"I'll go back to the office now; someone's on duty today."

"They know this car is for officials only, so they'll definitely issue a letter of introduction!"

"Master Jiang, wait for me, I'll be right back, in an hour at most!"

Luo Xiehao gripped his car keys tightly, rushed out of the repair shop, started the car, and headed to his workplace.

"No rush, drive slowly and be careful."

Jiang Hui saw Luo Xiehao off, then turned and asked, "Yuanwu, hasn't Weimin returned yet?"

"Not yet, probably haven't bought it yet, so they're still looking."

Lin Yuanwu's mood was also affected to some extent.

As the store's business expands in the future, similar incidents will certainly occur again.

"Jiang Hui, besides getting a letter of introduction from your company to buy parts, are there any other methods?"

Lin Yuanwu truly treats "Xiao Jiang Auto Repair" as his own business.

So I take this matter very seriously.

"The place with the most complete selection of auto parts in the capital region should be the parts station of the city's auto repair company."

"But without a letter of introduction, it's definitely impossible to buy the parts."

"And then there are the foreign-related shops I just mentioned. Some relatively common imported cars can be bought there, but you need to use foreign exchange certificates or US dollars."

"Another source of spare parts will be the auto parts stores run by collectives and street offices. This should be our main source of spare parts in the future."

Even without Lin Yuanwu asking, Jiang Hui was already considering this issue himself.

Today's problem is solvable, but it has made me confront the spare parts issue that I had been avoiding before.

Not all cars can be repaired by manual labor alone.

If some parts are not replaced, no amount of repair will solve the problem.

"There's another one. There's a car dismantling market in Nanyuan. We can go there and see if there are any opportunities."

Jiang Hui racked his brains, recalling some information about the auto repair market in the capital city from his previous life.

Finally, we've made some progress.

About forty minutes later, Luo Xiehao rushed back.

Clutching a neatly folded letter of introduction tightly in his hand, his face beaming with joy: "Master Jiang, it's done!"

"The office issued a letter of introduction, and it's stamped with the official seal. Look!"

Jiang Hui took the letter of introduction, unfolded it and glanced at it. It clearly stated, "Our unit's official vehicle (Shanghai SH760) is in urgent need of repair. We need to purchase one wheel bearing. Please cooperate."

The signature is stamped with the bright red official seal of Yanshan Petrochemical Office, making it immediately recognizable.

"No problem, let's go, I'll go to the parts store and buy bearings right now!"

"I'll take you there, it'll be faster."

It was already 3 p.m., and Luo Xiehao was worried that he wouldn't be able to get things done today.

"Okay, driving will be faster."

Jiang Hui naturally had no objection to not having to go out in the cold wind.

As for having Luo Xiehao come along, it's a minor issue since he can't easily raise the price on the wheel bearings.

We can just charge a higher labor cost then.

Jiang Hui put away the letter of introduction and got into the car with Luo Xiehao.

The car slowly drove out of Wudaoying Hutong and headed towards Zhushikou.

Upon arriving at the city's auto parts supply station, Jiang Hui handed over a letter of introduction. After the experienced mechanic verified the information, he quickly retrieved a brand-new wheel bearing from the warehouse.

The packaging is printed with the words "Shanghai SH760 Dedicated Original Parts".

Jiang Hui took the bearing, weighed it in his hand, and then carefully inspected the balls and raceways again.

I only paid after confirming that the parts were brand new and genuine.

48 yuan each.

This is more than many workers' monthly wages.

Indeed, for China, which is still largely an agricultural country, the prices of industrial products were still too high.

It's like seeing news reports in later generations saying that a bicycle that sells for around 200 yuan in China can sell for over 1,000 yuan in some parts of Africa.

In those places, a lobster weighing several kilograms might only cost ten yuan, while in China it would sell for thousands of yuan.

In agricultural countries, agricultural products are cheap, but industrial products are expensive.

This logic seems to hold true at all times.