897 Buying a Pager
Once he made more money in the future, he would be able to pay for the goods upfront. It would always take time to build up a business.
Qiao Mei already knew that they would definitely close this deal, so she had already bought two bigger pots and modified them so that it would be easier for Li Gui to use. If Li Gui had to use the original small pot to prepare 60 pounds of popcorn, she would have to sit in front of the pot the entire day without rest.
“I’m back!” Li Gui shouted happily.
“Auntie, why are you so happy? Have you closed the big business deal!” Xia He asked as she stood outside the door of Zhang Qin’s room.
Li Gui was so happy that she almost danced with joy. She would be able to earn 210 dollars a day! In a month, that would be… Oh my goodness! More than 6,300 dollars!
The cost price of the corn was only a few cents, so it was not a big deal at all. In less than two months, she would be able to buy this house from Qiao Mei! She would be able to have a house of her own in the capital!
However, what she was thinking of was the most ideal situation. After all, if it was raining with strong winds, Zhao Fei would not be able to set up his stall, which meant that he would sell much less than usual.
Furthermore, when it was windy or rainy, there would be a problem for them to keep in touch and communicate with one another. Qiao Mei did not have a phone in the house, and it was not as easy to install a phone line like what she did in the village. The city was too big and it was impossible for every household to pay to install a phone line. It would also be a lot of trouble.
Qiao Mei vaguely remembered that pagers were already available in this era, the kind which one could use to receive messages from others. She could buy one for Li Gui to try out.
She would also buy one for Zhao Fei so that the two of them could contact each other at any time. This could also be considered her small gift for Zhao Fei. After all, the amount of money they could earn in a month depended on how much Zhao Fei could sell.
“Elder sister! Can you come over for a while!” Qiao Mei stood at the door and shouted towards Zhang Qin’s room.
When Xia He heard this, she came out to look for Qiao Mei. She put her hands on her hips and asked smugly, “Why? Do you still need my help!”
Qiao Mei pouted and said, “Then I don’t need you… I won’t look for you then! I’m really so pitiful. My elder sister isn’t even willing to help me…”
Xia He could not bear to see Qiao Mei looking so aggrieved. When such a beautiful person looked so aggrieved, it made her uncomfortable and anxious. If Xia Zhe was the one who pretended to be aggrieved and tried to look pitiful in front of Xia He, she would have slapped him at the first instance and not indulged his antics at all.
“Oh my! Tell me! I’ll help you! I’m really scared of you!” Xia He said helplessly.
“Elder sister, can you get me four pagers? No, no, no, I want… eight!” Qiao Mei said.
Xia He looked at Qiao Mei in shock and said, “What did you say? Say that again?”
“I want eight pagers!” Qiao Mei repeated.
“Qiao Mei! Are you crazy! Do you know how much eight pagers cost!” Xia He suddenly remembered that Qiao Mei did not lack money at all, so she added, “Even if you have money, where can we find a place that sells so many pagers?”
During this time, not everyone could have a pager. Xia Mao had only been issued with one this year, and the army only issued it to him so that it would be easier for them to contact him.
Even Xia Jun did not receive such treatment. It was very difficult to buy this item. Even if one went to the shopto get it, one had to order it in advance and would only receive it after a month!
Furthermore, the cost of one pager was about 2,000 dollars. Ordinary people would not be able to afford it. It was rare even for people who already had a phone at home.
Eight pagers would cost more than 16,000 dollars! Was Qiao Mei crazy! Where could she get so many!
“Who are you buying these for? Why do you need so many?” Xia He looked at Qiao Mei in puzzlement.
Qiao Mei did not intend to tell Xia He what she wanted them for. It was almost the new year and she wanted to give everyone in the family a new year gift. It was better to keep this matter a secret.
“I’m not telling you! I’ve changed my mind. I want 10 pagers. The sooner the better,” Qiao Mei said.
“Let me ask around and I’ll try to get them for you as soon as possible. I’ll ask people to find the goods for you. I don’t think there are even 10 pagers in the entire capital. You’re really crazy!” Xia He complained as she walked out of the house to find a supplier for Qiao Mei.
In this era, cell phones were already available but they were really too expensive. One cell phone would cost around 20,000 dollars! Although He Ning still owed her more than a million dollars, it would be very dangerous if someone with ulterior motives filed a report against her.
