"Xu Duo, you're here!" He Dong enthusiastically waved and took the initiative to greet her. With the scale of his business these days, it was rare for him to take the first step—usually others came to flatter him instead. "Hey... Luo Ye, what you just mentioned is quite the coincidence."
"Come, come—Xu Duo, this is Luo Ye, an old acquaintance of mine. He's planning to start a mold factory. Not a small investment. But money alone isn't enough—those CNC mold processing machines? They're terrifyingly expensive. And he needs three of them at once."
"This is my friend Xu Duo. Don't be fooled by how young she looks—she's got deep pockets." As He Dong spoke, he introduced the two to each other.
"Brother Dong, you're flattering me. Brother Luo, I'll just call you Brother Ye." Xu Duo generously took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to everyone present—even the few customers who came to pick up goods from He Dong weren't left out. Such a small gesture could easily leave a favorable impression. "I'm just a middleman, really, just making a modest profit from price differences."
"You're too modest, young lady!" Luo Ye smiled, giving Xu Duo a quick once-over with a polite attitude.
"I'm not being modest—it's just small money to get by. Sure, sometimes the transactions involve millions, even tens of millions, but that's all someone else's money."
Xu Duo said this to avoid drawing suspicion, especially in front of He Dong. She didn't elaborate. Then, changing the subject, she said, "Brother Ye, CNC mold machines are high-end stuff. If you want decent quality, each one will cost at least two to three million."
"That's exactly what's got me so stressed."
Luo Ye gave a bitter laugh, shaking his head like a rattle drum, his face full of frustration. "I asked around earlier—imported, brand new, latest semi-automatic model—they quoted 3.2 million each. I said I'd buy three at once, and guess what? They offered me a discount of 10,000 per unit."
"Only 10,000? That's basically nothing! That's just insulting!" Luo Ye was clearly suppressing his anger.
"Luo Ye, don't fixate on new machines. Maybe you could get second-hand ones instead?"
He Dong was just trying to connect people—he didn't hold out too much hope. "Xu Duo... do you have any contacts for this kind of thing? If you do, keep an eye out. We're all friends here."
"If we can get second-hand ones, that'd be amazing!" Luo Ye looked at Xu Duo with hopeful eyes.
"Well… I can't promise anything, but I can ask around for you. Why don't you tell me the model and specs? That way I'll know what I'm looking for."
Though Xu Duo spoke hesitantly, her mind was already racing with plans. If I can find them, the price will definitely be way lower!
"Great, I'll send you the model and everything via text. What's your number?"
"134****1314!"
Xu Duo gave her number and waited for the message, not dwelling on the topic any further. "Brother Dong, do you have any phones with a broken motherboard? I've got a good motherboard, just missing the screen and some other parts."
"This old N73 should've retired ages ago." Xu Duo shook her outdated Nokia in her hand, showing no embarrassment at all.
"My god..."
He Dong looked stunned—he hadn't noticed she was still using such an ancient phone, and was genuinely shocked. "I mean... did you time-travel here from the past? Touchscreen phones have gone through so many generations, and you're still using that relic?"
"Heh... at least this N73 counts as semi-smart! And besides, I'm using it for nostalgia, okay?"
Xu Duo cracked a playful joke. In Huashenbei, getting a new phone wasn't hard. "Come on, find me a phone shell with a busted motherboard. I want to build a phone myself—keep up with the times. Maybe get an iPhone 4."
"There's a ton of phones on my shelf. The small box on the bottom layer—all good stuff. Want one or two? Take your pick."
He Dong looked at her like she was hopeless, then added, "And don't mention money—in Huashenbei, even iPhones aren't that big a deal."
"Can't let that good motherboard at home go to waste," Xu Duo insisted, only wanting a shell with a broken board.
"Alright... actually, I do have one. Still intact. Hang on, I'll find it for you!"
He Dong rummaged through the cabinet and found a phone, but frowned as he did. "Damn... the screen's cracked!"
"No problem, it's just the outer screen!"
Xu Duo took the phone and inspected it carefully. She had a sense of its condition. What really caught her attention was the refurbishing system, but there was no response at all. She frowned and asked, "Brother Dong… are you sure the motherboard is broken?"
"Positive—absolutely sure!"
"Alright then!"
Xu Duo didn't ask further. If the motherboard really was broken and the system didn't respond, it likely meant the damage hadn't reached the 30% threshold—so no prompt was triggered. She chatted with them a bit longer, then left with a large box of scrap screens.
Once outside Feiyang Building, Xu Duo found a secluded corner, picked up the iPhone 4 she'd just gotten, and smashed its screen hard against the sharp edge of a flowerbed.
The next second—
…
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]