Chapter 6: Testing the Waters

The village head was quite satisfied with the "imported" diesel engine and warmly invited Tang Wen to go sea-foraging at dawn tomorrow, but the latter decisively shook his head and refused.

The old Tang Wen was a master at wading into the water to catch shrimp, but the current Tang Wen is a pure landlubber.

Although the memories remain, he does not want to end up just like the old man, flailing a few times and then dying.

After seeing the village head off, Tang Wen immediately looked at the five thousand yuan in his hand and laughed aloud.

The profit from selling one diesel engine is equivalent to 100 silver coins; as long as he sells 10 units, he can save enough funds for the upgrade.

However, basically the whole village only uses the village head's tractor; to sell more, he would have to go to the town or even the city.

Realizing that relying on orders from the tax-exemption specialist would take a lot of time, by nightfall, Tang Wen immediately began constructing new diesel engines again.

The current Level 0 Shipyard can only produce two units at once; four units must be split into two batches, taking 12 hours to complete.

Early the next morning, Chen Yonggui saw Tang Wen standing at his doorway, pointing at the "Four-Like" which had just been fitted with a new engine, and said:

"Uncle, lend me the vehicle, I'm going to town to sell some things."

"Selling what?"

"A few more diesel engines, brand new."

Chen Yonggui, who had been fishing all night and delivering goods until dawn, was still a bit sleepy, but upon hearing "diesel engine," he immediately perked up:

"More? Did you invest all your money?"

"The first batch was just a few units."

Seeing Tang Wen hum and haw and refuse to say more, Chen Yonggui didn't ask further, but casually pointed to the hand crank in the corner of the wall:

"Don't drive it into the ditch!"

The shipyard already had a hoisting pulley; Tang Wen first hoisted two units into the cargo bed, then cut off most of the labels.

This time, he prepared to go to town first to test the waters and see how large the potential market was.

The dirt road into town was very bumpy; fortunately, Tang Wen had nailed a wooden frame in advance, otherwise there would have been no shortage of bumps and scrapes.

When nearing the town, Tang Wen could already see the bustling crowd.

Today was the second day of the lunar month; in Dawan Town, many merchants gather only on the second day of the lunar month each month. Before 9 o'clock, many adults brought their children out to stroll, squeezing the already narrow streets completely full.

Seeing that he couldn't drive in, Tang Wen found an empty space at the town entrance, turned the "Four-Like" around with the cargo bed facing outward, revealing the two diesel engines fixed inside the wooden frame.

He took out a board with writing prepared in advance, leaned it diagonally against the cargo bed, and then sat calmly nearby.

There was no need to specially shout to sell; this was not something people would buy just because of the commotion; naturally, someone would come up to ask.

The process of reversing had already attracted many eyes; as the crowd passed by, they looked into the cargo bed, catching a glimpse of the two brand-new diesel engines, and some stopped to cast curious glances.

Not long after, a middle-aged man with a little girl riding on his neck stopped in front of the "Four-Like," grabbed the little girl's legs, and looked inside.

The exquisite appearance manufactured by the System was very eye-catching; the middle-aged man stretched his neck, looked at the crude text on the board, and let out an "Eh."

Written boldly on it was: "Land-and-Water Dual-Use 25 Horsepower Diesel Engine."

"Can this machine really have 25 horsepower?"

Tang Wen looked at the middle-aged man who appeared to be an old fisherman, pointed to the front of the "Four-Like," and said:

"This tractor is also equipped with this one; try it and you'll know."

The middle-aged man was not polite; he put down the little girl on his neck, started the tractor, and then forcefully pulled the throttle cord.

The "da-da" exhaust sound of the diesel engine immediately became dense, simultaneously spewing a burst of powerful black smoke, with the rotational speed visibly increasing.

Hearing this sound, the middle-aged man felt confident in his heart; then he pulled the throttle a few more times, carefully listening to the running sound and vibration.

He inwardly exclaimed "Good machine," but his facial expression showed no fluctuation as he turned his head and asked:

"Is this domestic or imported?"

"Made in the mainland; there's a brand name, look for yourself."

The old fisherman looked at the nameplate; only the line "Gaijin Brand 25 Horsepower Single-Cylinder Low-Speed Diesel Engine" remained; all other information had been erased.

Gaijin Brand? Never heard of it.

However, on the surface, the workmanship seemed to have no problems; at least it was not inferior to "Changchai" or "Yuchai."

"Where is Gaijin Brand made?"

The old fisherman asked casually, but it directly stunned Tang Wen; he hadn't thought about this question yet.

"This... is a special product of Andong."

"Dandong? From Northeast China."

Tang Wen didn't correct his mistake; he nodded vaguely.

The surrounding crowd, hearing "Dandong," also cast surprised glances; in the south, it was not easy to buy products from the Northeast, especially from a brand never seen before.

"The horsepower is high, but the quality of domestic products is poor."

The fisherman seemed somewhat regretful, yet also somewhat disdainful, looking as if he was about to leave.

He hoisted the little girl back onto his neck and casually asked:

"How much for one of these?"

The onlookers immediately perked up their ears; although most of them wouldn't buy, they at least knew the market prices and were very curious about the price difference of the Northeast Gaijin diesel engines.

Tang Wen held up five fingers:

"If you sincerely want to buy, it's this number; no bargaining, no after-sales service; all sales are final, no returns or exchanges."

A chorus of hisses immediately rose from the crowd; hearing the latter half, the old fisherman shook his head like a rattle drum, his dark face full of refusal, and angrily questioned:

"Then what if your machine breaks? Won't the money be thrown into the water?"

Immediately, many voices of agreement arose around; although the "Three Guarantees" were not yet mandatory in this era, directly stating no after-sales service was rare.

"Our machines are all tested; feel free to try before buying; once used, no returns or exchanges."

Even with a dozen pairs of eyes on him, Tang Wen still persisted with a stiff neck; this wasn't because he was black-hearted; actually, the profit from selling diesel engines was enough to offer only replacements and no repairs; in any case, he wouldn't lose out.

But he had to consider how harsh the environment for potential customers would be; after all, they weren't installing it on a tractor or a fishing boat.

Wind and rain, splashing mud, seawater corrosion, even a single wave submerging it entirely in seawater—there was only worse, never the worst.

Maintaining this thing relied purely on the user's own conscience; improper use would break it easily.

As for repairs... if it broke, it could only be recycled as scrap steel, which was useless to him anyway.

Better to state outright that there was no after-sales service; anyway, he had already asked the village head, and 25-horsepower engines were rare goods on the market, generally only available in cities, and the price was extraordinary—ten thousand wouldn't even be considered expensive.

A brand-new diesel engine for five thousand yuan; if it broke, that was because the user didn't know how to use it!

Hearing Tang Wen's unreasonable after-sales policy, the old fisherman was about to leave, but after taking two steps, he suddenly turned back, opened his palm, frowned, and asked:

"Wait, how much did you just say? This number?"

"Yes, five thousand."

"Five thousand?!"

The dark and thin old fisherman's eyes nearly popped out, and others perked up their ears.

Many hadn't seen the hand gesture just now, and only now realized the diesel engine was selling for five thousand yuan.

"That's so expensive for just one machine; a walk-behind tractor costs only two thousand eight."

"You know nothing; this is a 25-horsepower one, while the two-thousand-eight one is only 5 horsepower!"

"25 horsepower??"

"..."

Those who knew a little about the trade immediately realized the appeal of this price and hurriedly squeezed forward.

The old fisherman carrying the little girl stepped forward, staring fixedly at the beautiful diesel engine, and asked without blinking:

"Truly five thousand yuan? Is it new?"

"Guaranteed new, guaranteed good, guaranteed delivery... guaranteed delivery is limited to Dawan Town; for farther distances, you figure it out yourself."

"I'll take it; I want both of these!"