Chapter 7: I'll Give You More Money, so Please Stop Eating
Translator: Vicky_ Editor: Vicky_
After various experiments and tinkering from the two, they finally accepted the fact that the massage chair was truly broken.
"S*it, that insurance salesman is evil. I bet that if it weren't for the fact that this chair was broken, he would still be using it right now," Hans said sadly.
"Does that mean that this thing has become worthless?" Li Du asked.
Hans shook his head. "Not exactly. It's just that we'll have to drop our price by about half. I estimate that we could have originally sold this chair for ten thousand dollars, but now it's only worth five to six thousand."
"Didn't you say that this is worth twenty thousand?"
"I was talking about a new one. This is used, okay? Half of the selling price."
Hearing that his original ten thousand dollars had just been reduced to three thousand, Li Du's excited mood immediately frosted over.
However, this was still not enough for him to entirely give up. "Can't we try to fix it ourselves? Also, is your pickup really worth only 2,500?"
The Ford F-150 was one of the most popular pickup trucks in America. The starting price for a new one was 26,000 dollars. So Li Du felt that it should have been mortgaged for at least ten thousand.
"First of all," Hans said, "my pickup already has twenty thousand miles on it, plus I do a lot of heavy work with it, so its value has depreciated a lot. Second, I didn't sell it; I only mortgaged it. Mortgage estimates have always been very low, but when I go reclaim it, that cost will also be low."
"Then can't we borrow money to fix it?"
"Do you have friends who're willing to lend you money? I don't," Hans bluntly stated.
"I only have Hannah to borrow money from," Li Du replied as he glanced at Hans from the side.
Hearing this, Hans immediately jumped up and face Li Du. "Absolutely not! We'll just sell it in its current broken state. Despite everything, we'll still be able to make some money. It should be enough as our starting fund."
Li Du didn't argue. Hans's protective attitude towards his sister left him with a good impression. If this guy had actually tried to persuade Li Du to get money from his own sister, then this would be the only time that Li Du cooperated with him; he didn't want to socialize with people who were willing to take money from their sister.
That night, while Li Du slept in his bedroom, Hans slept on the massage chair.
The chair was luxurious and high tech. With the ability to lie flat in it, with the backrest that hugged the body, sleeping in the chair was even more comfortable than sleeping in a bed.
When Hannah got back from work, she was pleasantly surprised with what she saw. "God bless! You guys managed to get that massage chair?"
"Did God also tell you that your dear brother likes a bottle of beer when he wakes up?" Hans, in a half-awake state, said as he got up.
"There is no beer, but we do have two glasses of warm milk," Hannah replied as she glared at him.
As Hannah washed up, the two men carried the massage chair outside. After a quick breakfast, they closed the door and left Hannah in a quiet environment to rest.
"Alright, now where do we go to sell it?" Li Du asked.
Hans slapped his chest as he replied, "Leave that to me. Big Fox has a great social network!"
He wasn't boasting. Before noon, they contacted the truck company from yesterday and took the chair to a secondhand shop.
America had a very well developed secondhand market. Secondhand vehicles, computers, and even clothing, could all be found in secondhand shops. Also, these stores didn't just sell items; they also purchased items from others.
Seeing Hans, a slim faced elder with silvery hair came out smiling. "Yo Big Fox, my little buddy, didn't you go to Los Angeles? Why are you back in this tiny place?"
"I went to Los Angeles to broaden my horizons. My roots are still in Flagstaff," Hans said.
"You're not here to borrow money, right?"
"Of course not!" Hans exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. "I'm here to give you money, old chap, and I'm not joking. Look what I have!" He opened the back of the truck, and the massage chair was revealed.
Glancing the chair, the shop owner grinned. "Very nice! Kassrow's Multipurpose Electrical Space Capsule. Is this the second generation? You lucky guy."
"Then can you tell me about this chair? I want to broaden my horizons and learn more about this kind of stuff." Hans was intrigued.
The owner nodded his head. "I'll skip the history about Kasrrow and directly explain the background of this chair. As we know, high-class chairs were first motorized in 1956, while integrated circuit technology was first introduced into the manufacturing, military, telecommunication, and other markets in the 1970s.
"Kasrrow got their ideas from these inventions. They then successfully developed and entered the market with their motorized massage chairs and integrated electronic control massage chair.
"In 2008, Kasrrow even added integrated memory microcontroller technology to their massage chairs, evolving them into micro-computerized massage chairs. And that was the first generation multipurpose electrical space capsule."
After introducing the technology, the owner asked Hans and Li Du to unload the chair from the truck. He plugged the chair in before continuing, "That model of massage chair also integrated both Bluetooth and LED technology, which, along with its space cradle design through the use of the SL type guide rail, makes it very similar to a space capsule. And that's why it was given that name.
"Compared to the first generation, the second generation improved some of the design. For example, the addition of a foot massage, adjustable lower back massage, Thai style lower leg massage, and so on."
The owner then paused as he operated the LED display. Then he frowned. "Oh dammit, this one's broken."
"It's not too bad. Only the motors have some problems," Hans immediately came to the rescue. "With Handy Man Uncle Kevin taking a look, I bet it could be fixed."
"Of course I can fix it, but the price won't be ideal" Kevin said.
"Are you willing to buy it?"
Kevin nodded and said, "Yes. If it were new, I would have been willing to pay ten thousand. Now that it is broken… how about five thousand?"
"No, Uncle Kevin, you can't trick us. I think that this is worth at least eight thousand, right?"
"Eight thousand? Can you help me fix it? How about fifty-five hundred, I can't pay any more."
"I'm willing to take a step back, seventy-five hundred and this chair is yours. After you fix it, you can sell it for at least seventeen thousand five hundred dollars!"
"You really can bullsh*t. Considering the friendship between our families, six thousand."
"Alright, alright. It's almost lunchtime, so let's not fool around. How about this, I'll sell you the chair for seven thousand, but you'll have to invite us to lunch and let my buddy try your barbecue lamb chops!"
"Sixty-five hundred, and you can eat as many lamb chops as you want."
Hans looked towards Li Du and asked, "Buddy, what do you think?"
Li Du was speechless in the face of this the bargaining. He flashed back to a scene he saw in a farmer's market back in China— a farmer and an old housewife bartering back and forth. Hans's question dragged Li Du back to reality. He nodded and replied, "I don't have any objections. What you said is fine."
After they moved the massage chair into the shop, Kevin gave them a stack of green bills before guiding them into the backyard and setting up the BBQ.
"Kevin's barbecue lamb is famous in Flagstaff. All the lamb is from his farm, so feel free to eat your fill," Hans told Li Du.
"As long as you don't mind." Li Du grinned.
The lamb chops had already been marinated, and each of them was perfectly marbled and dripping with juice. One could tell how delicious they were just by looking at them.
Americans were generally very good at barbecues, especially when using backyard grills, which were owned by most American families.
Kevin carefully watched over the lamb chops while occasionally flipping them with his tongs. It wasn't long before the juice and oil started to seep out, glistening under the light, giving the lamb chops a golden shine. The sizzling sound and delicious smell made Li Du salivate.
The first plate of lamb chops was ready. Hans ate two pieces while Li Du finished the rest.
The second plate of lamb chops was ready. Hans ate one while Li Du finished the rest.
The third plate of chops was brought to the table. Hans did not take any, while Li Du finished them all.
After the fourth plate of lamb chops were also finished by Li Du, Kevin started to sweat. "Hey guys, if I give you guys another two hundred dollars, can we be done with lunch right now?"