Chapter 10: Retreating To Advance, Bargaining!
Yu Dongdong left behind three prize-winning bottle caps.
He found three wooden stoppers for Jiang Tao to reseal the wine bottles.
“See you later, Boss Yu.”
Jiang Tao waved goodbye to Yu Dongdong with a smile and left the supermarket carrying three boxes of liquor.
Less than ten meters from the entrance, Jiang Tao saw an acquaintance approaching.
“Hey, Xiao Jiang, not out working today? Came to buy liquor, having guests over?”
The speaker was a tall old man with curly silver-grey hair and a rosy complexion.
The old man’s name was Lu Qian, and he was Jiang Tao’s landlord.
Although Uncle Lu was already 70 this year, his physical and mental state were excellent.
He received a pension of 16,000 to 17,000 yuan a month.
From the dormitory building he owned, he collected over 30,000 yuan in rent each month.
The income of a 70-year-old landlord was equivalent to that of seven or eight young men.
The per capita income in the Capital City was so high, and retired individuals like Uncle Lu contributed significantly.
The old man usually had nothing to do; he spent his days smoking, drinking, getting perms, walking birds, and fighting crickets, living a more comfortable life than young people.
“I don’t have any guests. I just bought a few bottles of liquor while buying cigarettes and am about to head to work.”
Jiang Tao smiled and greeted his landlord before preparing to leave.
“Hey, isn’t this Qinghua Lang? Not bad, Xiao Jiang, have you struck it rich recently? Your taste in liquor has really improved!”
The landlord’s gaze swept over and saw the liquor boxes peeking out of the bag Jiang Tao was carrying; it was indeed the Qinghua Lang he loved to drink the most!
Hearing the old man’s words, Jiang Tao suddenly had an idea.
Any long-term tenant who had rented from his landlord for a few years knew that the landlord loved to drink.
Moreover, the landlord was not short of money; the cheapest liquor he drank was several hundred yuan a bottle.
In the old man’s words, he was 70 this year, how many good years did he have left?
From now on, he would eat well, drink well, play well, and enjoy the rest of his life!
Of course, he also had the capital to enjoy it.
Jiang Tao’s parents were also over 60 this year.
The old couple took a foreman’s van to work every day at four or five in the morning and returned home after dark.
Working hard, they only earned about 5,000 yuan a month, which wasn’t even a fraction of the landlord’s pension.
Some people are born in Rome, while others are born to be laborers.
The difference between a village in the Capital City and the rural village where Jiang Tao grew up was vast.
“Uncle, let’s go over there. I want to tell you something.”
Jiang Tao said, gesturing for the landlord to move aside to talk.
“So mysterious.”
The landlord followed Jiang Tao a few steps with a look of confusion, and they stopped at an alley entrance.
“Uncle, these three boxes of Qinghua Lang I have were just bought from Boss Yu. You can ask him if you don’t believe me.”
“Besides scanning the QR code in the bottle cap to redeem prizes, I haven’t touched this liquor at all.”
“I’ve already redeemed the prizes from the QR codes in the bottle caps, so now they’re just ordinary bottles of liquor.”
“If you don’t mind that they’ve been opened, I’ll sell them to you cheaply.”
Jiang Tao got straight to the point without any further pleasantries with the landlord.
“Oh? How cheaply?”
The landlord appeared very interested.
For true Qinghua Lang enthusiasts, the QR code campaign was just a small bonus.
Even without the promotion, those who liked it would still buy it.
Besides, the prize-winning rate was so pitiful.
An ordinary person might not win even a Second Prize after buying ten times.
99.99% were Third Prizes, a bottle of 100ML trial size.
Only someone like Jiang Tao, a lucky person, could win three First Prizes in a row.
Rather than gambling on that pathetic prize-winning rate, a discount on the price was much more practical!
As for being opened, for true liquor enthusiasts, this was not a problem at all.
Good loose wine still sold for several hundred yuan a jin!
Jiang Tao thought for a moment and said, “2700 for 3 bottles, that’s about a 40% discount for you!”
Upon hearing Jiang Tao’s quoted price, the landlord’s eyes lit up.
If he could buy three bottles of Qinghua Lang at a 60% price, he could save over 2,000 yuan!
The landlord pondered for a few seconds and held up two fingers to Jiang Tao: “I’ll take them for 2000.”
“Uncle, you can’t bargain like that! You’re trying to kill me!”
“I spent 4500 on three bottles, and you’re cutting the price in half!”
Jiang Tao covered the grocery bag in his hand, a look of insult on his face, his acting skills were superb.
The landlord compromised, “2100, no more.”
“2600, no less!”
Jiang Tao also retreated to advance, his control of the situation was perfect.
“How about we both compromise a bit? I’ll add a little, you reduce a little, a final price of 2300!”
“Uncle, your family is so prosperous, what’s a little bit of difference! I’ll give you my sincere price, 2400!”
“Alright, alright! 2400 it is. Let me inspect the goods first.”
The landlord was too lazy to haggle with Jiang Tao over a hundred yuan and took the bag with the liquor boxes with a smile, starting to inspect them.
He bargained with Jiang Tao just for the fun of bargaining.
Jiang Tao bargained with him for a living.
400 yuan was enough to buy a good down jacket for his daughter.
Selling 3 bottles of Qinghua Lang for 2400 yuan, which was double the price from Boss Yu at the supermarket, was completely acceptable to Jiang Tao.
Originally, he had planned to keep them for himself to drink.
However, when he thought about the 80,000 to 90,000 yuan in external debt his family owed, he wavered.
What kind of family do I have to drink liquor worth over a thousand yuan a bottle!
If he wanted to enjoy life, it wouldn’t be now; he would pay off the family’s external debt first!
“The liquor is fine! Come on, Xiao Jiang, I’ll scan you.”
The landlord had drunk Qinghua Lang often and could tell if it was real or fake just by smelling it.
Moreover, he had known Jiang Tao for over six years, and he trusted Jiang Tao’s character, believing he wouldn’t try to cheat an old comrade with fake liquor.
“Okay, scan here.”
Jiang Tao happily took out his mobile phone from his pocket, flipped it over, and let the landlord scan the WeChat payment code on his phone case.
“By the way, Xiao Jiang, what prizes did you win with these three bottles?”
While the old man spoke, he scanned Jiang Tao’s payment code with a ding and directly entered the amount of 2400.
【 WeChat payment of 2400 yuan received! 】
Hearing the payment notification, Jiang Tao was delighted; it sounded much better than A Xin’s ten-beat E6!
Jiang Tao replied with a smile, “I just won three First Prizes.”
“Three First Prizes? What are you dreaming about, kid!”
The landlord shook his head with a smile.
He didn’t believe Jiang Tao had won three First Prizes.
He had just asked casually, and if Jiang Tao didn’t want to say, he wasn’t bothered to pry.
Anyway, no matter how many prizes he won, it had nothing to do with him.
By spending 2400 yuan to buy 3 bottles of Qinghua Lang from Jiang Tao, he saved over 2000 yuan.
For a true Qinghua Lang enthusiast like him, it was very cost-effective!
“Haha, believe it or not, I’m going to work now, bye-bye!”
Jiang Tao waved goodbye to the old man and turned to walk outside the village.
“This young man, just daydreaming, are First Prizes that easy to win?”
“I’ve drunk dozens of bottles and only won one Second Prize.”
The landlord watched Jiang Tao’s receding back and shook his head with a smile, firmly believing Jiang Tao was joking with him.
…
Inside Pang Dongdong Supermarket, not far from the landlord.
Yu Dongdong saw that Jiang Tao’s luck was explosive today, winning three First Prizes in a row.
He couldn’t help but feel a stir of impulse.
So, he opened a new case of Qinghua Lang, selected two bottles, and started scanning.
【 Congratulations, you have won a Third Prize! 】
【 Congratulations, you have won a Third Prize! 】
The result, as expected.
Yu Dongdong scanned two bottles and both were Third Prizes, with a 100% winning rate.
He happily received two bottles of 100ML trial-size Qinghua Lang.
“Why is the gap between people so vast…”
Yu Dongdong slumped onto a chair, no longer wanting to challenge the prize-winning rate!
