Chen Yang could clearly sense that Zhang Weiyang's demeanor had changed as they left the hospital.
The panic and flusteredness of moments before had transformed into a deep-seated stubbornness and determination, a hint of the mettle of a business magnate from his past life.
A man's growth often happens in an instant.
"Now, can you tell me why you're looking for me?"
Zhang Weiyang's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't rested in ages, betraying an undeniable weariness. The recent events had clearly taken a significant toll on him.
"Do you believe me if I say I'm here to help you?"
Looking at this young, raw, future titan of commerce, Chen Yang felt an indescribable sense of self-satisfaction.
In his previous life, Zhang Weiyang had been a business giant who overshadowed him. But in this life, Chen Yang would be his guide into the world of business.
No matter what Zhang Weiyang achieved in the future, in the eyes of outsiders, he would be someone Chen Yang brought up!
"I believe you!"
Zhang Weiyang hadn't expected Chen Yang to say that, but his gaze towards Chen Yang was remarkably firm.
Chen Yang had accompanied him all the way to the hospital. Chen Yang had supported him when he was in a state of panic and near collapse. It was Chen Yang who had told him that a kidney transplant could save his father.
Zhang Weiyang would believe Chen Yang for all these reasons!
He was just an ordinary factory worker; there was no reason for anyone to scheme against him.
"Your temperament still suits me as much as ever."
Hearing Zhang Weiyang's unwavering reply, Chen Yang smiled. In their past lives, he and Zhang Weiyang had been friends who understood each other.
His Meng Xue Group focused on real estate, and there was no business conflict with Zhang Weiyang's Tian Yin Holdings. On the contrary, the massive cash flow generated by Tian Yin Holdings' sales had helped Chen Yang through several financing crises.
Zhang Weiyang had helped him many times in his past life; now it was his turn to help Zhang Weiyang!
Of course, it wasn't just about helping Zhang Weiyang, but also helping himself. With Zhang Weiyang as a trump card, Chen Yang could seamlessly take over the second-hand radio business that had led to his wealth in his past life.
"Here's a thousand yuan. Take five hundred to cover your uncle's medical expenses, and keep the remaining five hundred. Get ready to find a junk collector named Old Liu and ask him to help you collect broken radios."
Without any hesitation, Chen Yang directly took out a stack of neatly bound "Da Tuan Jie" bills – one hundred of them, a full thousand yuan!
Looking at the stack of bills Chen Yang casually tossed to him, Zhang Weiyang felt as if his heart was about to explode!
That was a thousand yuan!
His monthly salary was only thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents. After deducting living expenses, he could save at most two hundred yuan a year. This money was enough for him to save for five years.
And Chen Yang, meeting him for the first time, gave him so much money. Anyone would feel like they were dreaming!
However, Zhang Weiyang quickly regained his composure from the shock of the thousand-yuan windfall.
"Aren't you afraid I'll run off with this money?"
Zhang Weiyang looked at Chen Yang. After his emotions stabilized, he realized he had never met Chen Yang before. His eyes were filled with curiosity. He couldn't understand why Chen Yang was helping him so much when they had only just met.
"If you really take this money and run, then I'll admit I was blind."
"Of course, you'll know in the future what you missed out on for this thousand yuan."
A confident smile bloomed on Chen Yang's face. Faced with his father's serious illness and the sudden windfall of a thousand yuan, he could regain his composure so quickly.
At least in terms of psychological fortitude, Zhang Weiyang was a natural businessman!
To remain absolutely calm in the face of opportunities and challenges was the key to truly seizing opportunities and having the courage to overcome them – something many people never learned in a lifetime.
Zhang Weiyang's success in his past life wasn't just due to luck.
"You're very confident. Although I don't know why you believe in me so much."
"But in the future, I will show you with my actions that you haven't trusted the wrong person."
"From now on, I, Zhang Weiyang, will follow you. Even if you ask me to quit the Hongxing Machinery Factory immediately, I will follow you without a second thought."
Looking at Chen Yang, Zhang Weiyang gritted his teeth. He had a very strong premonition that only this man could help him earn enough money, and only by following Chen Yang could he have a chance to save his father!
"Congratulations. Your judgment is excellent."
"You'll realize in the future how smart a decision you made today."
Chen Yang greatly admired Zhang Weiyang. At least compared to him, Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng, whom he had spent time cultivating, were like children playing games.
When they found out other brigades were collecting fish, why didn't they dare to compete? By following Chen Yang, they at least knew in advance the benefits of collecting fish.
If they collected fish from other brigades and then sold them to Chen Yang, wouldn't they earn more than catching fish themselves?
Ultimately, Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng were only good for being ordered around. People like Zhang Weiyang were the talents Chen Yang could truly utilize in his future business endeavors.
"You want me to find Old Liu, the junk collector, to get old radios? Are you planning to repair them and sell them?"
Zhang Weiyang looked at Chen Yang, trying to ascertain if his assumption was correct.
"You're very smart, you get it right away. If I'm not mistaken, you're in the precision machinery repair workshop, right? You're an electrician, so you should be able to fix minor circuit board and short-circuit issues, shouldn't you?"
Chen Yang looked at Zhang Weiyang. He had already prepared himself for this young man's intelligence but couldn't help but be delighted. With just one sentence from him, Zhang Weiyang grasped his intention.
If you say he isn't cut out for business, then who is?
"I can generally handle minor issues, but for major ones, my skills might not be enough. Also, we don't have many of the necessary parts or power supplies for repairing radios."
Zhang Weiyang understood better than anyone the price difference between a working radio and a broken one.
As an electrician in the precision machinery repair workshop, people often asked him to fix equipment, and radios were a major part of that.
Of course, these favors weren't entirely free. Those who asked for radio repairs would usually give some form of compensation, which was considered an unspoken benefit for their workshop.
As the only "sound" appliance among the "three turns and one sound," radios were very popular in that era.
Take the Peony brand radio, for example. One cost 120 yuan, plus a radio ticket. If you didn't have a ticket, buying one from a ticket scalper would cost around 135 yuan.
Even a fourth-grade worker like Zhang Weiyang had to save for more than half a year after deducting living expenses to afford one, let alone first and second-grade workers who only earned twenty-something yuan a month.
It was evident how expensive radios were at that time.
But once these electrical appliances broke, they became useless lumps of metal. Not everyone had the connections to ask electricians like Zhang Weiyang for repairs.
There were no appliance repair shops at that time, so many people could only bear the pain of letting their broken radios sit idly as decorations.
If someone were to buy them, they might offer ten to twenty yuan, and many would accept the loss, as it was better to sell them and recover some of the cost than to have them serve no purpose.
However, a broken, useless radio in the hands of an ordinary person could be transformed into something of vastly different value in the hands of skilled electricians like Zhang Weiyang after being repaired.
Not to mention the price of buying a new radio, even selling it at half price would represent a profit of many times over!