"Heh, that's very kind of you, young man, but this old-timer can still get around. I won't trouble you."
This old man… He really was as stubborn as his surname, Gang, implied.
Seeing the old man about to leave, Fang Chenyi spoke up again.
"Sir, sir, don't be so quick to refuse! Look, I'll be honest with you. I have a pretty good channel where I can sell scrap for more money than other places. How about this? I'll buy your trash at a price higher than the local recycling station's. What do you think? Please don't refuse me this time. After all, I'm counting on your trash to make a profit here."
Hearing Fang Chenyi's words, Old Gang hesitated this time. After a moment of thought, he looked at Fang Chenyi doubtfully and said, "Young man, you're not trying to fool an old man, are you? You really know someone who buys for a high price?"
"Hey! Why would I lie to you? Look at me, I'm so young. If it weren't for this, do you think I'd be out here collecting scraps?"
Fang Chenyi wasn't lying at all. He really did know a high-priced garbage buyer. And it wasn't just any high price—a single ordinary water bottle could sell for a hundred yuan. Of course, recycling Old Gang's trash definitely wouldn't earn him that kind of reward.
"Well… alright then. Since you can make money from it, I'll sell it to you. But you don't have to pay more than the recycling station. The same price is fine. It saves me the trip, after all."
After much hesitation, Old Gang nodded and agreed to Fang Chenyi's request.
Delighted, Fang Chenyi said, "Great! In that case, how about this, sir? About how much can you collect in a month?"
"That's… hard to say. My legs aren't what they used to be, so I can only collect within this residential complex. I can probably make about seven or eight hundred yuan a month."
Fang Chenyi nodded. "Alright, how about this? I can't come here every day, so I'll give you a month's worth of money upfront. You just save the scraps for me, and I'll come pick them all up at once later. We can settle any difference then. What do you think?"
Of course, he only said this because he was afraid the old man wouldn't accept his money.
But as expected, Old Gang wouldn't agree. He insisted on collecting the scraps for Fang Chenyi first and would only take the money when he came to pick them up.
After a great deal of persuading, Fang Chenyi finally managed to convince Old Gang, who nodded and let out a long sigh.
"Sigh… alright. Heh, there really aren't many good young men like you around anymore…"
Seeing Old Gang finally agree, Fang Chenyi was thrilled. He reached for his wallet, but the moment his hand touched it, he froze. He'd forgotten he didn't have any cash on him. 'Well, this is awkward…'
He glanced around, looking for a young person he could use WeChat to trade for some cash with. Just then, a heavily made-up figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
Seeing this person, Fang Chenyi couldn't help but curse inwardly, 'Holy crap.' 'It really is a small world. How long has it been, and I'm already seeing this woman again?'
That's right—the heavily made-up woman was the very same one who had called him an idiot last night.
Fang Chenyi hadn't wanted to deal with her, but after looking around, he realized there were no other young people nearby. As for the few old men and women cooling off under the tree over there, even if they had cash, it was unlikely they knew how to use WeChat for a transfer.
Just as Fang Chenyi spotted the heavily made-up woman, she saw him too. She flinched and immediately turned to run.
"Hey, you, wait a second!"
Having finally found someone who would definitely know how to use WeChat, Fang Chenyi couldn't let her get away. After telling Old Gang, "Wait for me a moment," he took a couple of quick strides and was in front of the woman.
He reached out, intending to tap her shoulder, but then thought better of it. Instead, he simply took a step forward to block her path. "Hey, wait a second."
Startled by Fang Chenyi suddenly blocking her, the woman flinched again, a look of fear appearing on her face. "Mister, I really didn't mean it yesterday! It was all my fault. You're a bigger person than that, please don't hold a grudge against a girl like me."
"Uh… seriously? Is that really the kind of petty person you think I am? Look, yesterday is water under the bridge. Anyway, do you have any cash?"
Fang Chenyi rubbed his nose, a look of exasperation on his face.
Hearing his words, the woman was clearly taken aback for a moment before she quickly nodded.
"Yes! Yes!"
She nodded as she started pulling money out of her purse. She had no idea why a guy who drove a sports car worth tens of millions would be asking her for money, but she didn't dare refuse.
Fang Chenyi finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the thick stack of hundred-yuan bills in her hand. He took it, counted out ten bills, and stuffed the rest back into her hands. After telling her to wait a moment, he turned and walked back to Old Gang.
"Sir, here's a thousand yuan. We'll settle the difference later. Take it for now. Oh, and here's my phone number. If you end up collecting too much, you can give me a call."
As he spoke, Fang Chenyi pulled a handsome fountain pen from his pocket, picked up a random scrap of paper from the ground, and quickly jotted down his phone number on it. He then handed it to Old Gang.
After saying goodbye to Old Gang, Fang Chenyi returned to the woman.
"So, should I send it to you via WeChat or Alipay?"
The woman stared blankly, not understanding. It was only after Fang Chenyi repeated himself that she realized she had completely overthought things. He didn't want to take her money at all; he just wanted to exchange for some cash.
'That makes sense. Why would someone who can afford a multi-million-yuan sports car care about a thousand yuan or so?'
But perhaps because Fang Chenyi hadn't done anything to her and was acting so calm, or for some other reason, the gears in her mind suddenly started turning.
'This guy is not only handsome, but he's also loaded. If I could hook him, I'd be set for life, right? Tsk tsk, even if I can't reel him in, a one-night stand with a hottie like him would be an amazing experience in itself.'
With that thought, her eyes darted around, and she said in a feignedly shy voice:
"Mister, I use WeChat… so, how about we add each other as friends first?"
He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "No need. Just show me your payment QR code."
Seeing his firm attitude, the woman didn't press the issue. She readily opened her payment screen. After receiving the thousand yuan from him, she tugged shyly at the corner of her shirt and began to speak, "
[To be continued...]
The next chapter will be very exciting, everyone.
PS:
Thanks to 'Shang Wuhua' for the ten 100-book-coin tips yesterday and today! Haha, your name looks so cool appearing here every day!
Thanks to 'Tang Ying' for the two 100-book-coin tips!