He saw off the group of satisfied staff members.
Lu You was about to close the shop door and take stock of his gains for the day.
Just then, several figures quickly walked over from the shadows of the street corner and stopped him.
"Excuse me, are you Boss Lu, Lu You?" The leader was a middle-aged man wearing business casual clothes and gold-rimmed glasses.
Behind him were two equally capable-looking young men, both with somewhat anxious expressions.
Lu You sized them up; they looked a bit familiar.
"I am."
"Great!" The middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly handed over his business card.
"Boss Lu, sorry for the intrusion. My name is Sun Hongwei, and I'm the Chief Technology Officer of Xingguang Technology."
"We... we are the ones who came to your challenge this afternoon and bought that 'Gallium Nitride High-Frequency Power Amplifier Module'!"
Lu You remembered now.
There were indeed a few people like that in the afternoon, and their requirements were very professional.
They had asked for a top-tier module that currently only one top company in Plaster Country could produce.
Although the unit price of that thing was less than a hundred thousand yuan...
...it was one of the technologies where the domestic industry faced the most severe 'chokehold'—it was extremely difficult to buy even if you had the money.
Lu You had brought it out with the same nonchalance as always.
Seeing that Lu You remembered, Sun Hongwei's expression became even more excited:
"Boss Lu, to tell you the truth, after we got that module, we immediately had a specialist take the fastest high-speed rail to deliver it to our branch laboratory in the provincial capital!"
"Just now, the test results came out!"
One of the young men behind him timely handed over a tablet computer.
It displayed a densely packed data report.
"After a series of rigorous performance tests, including gain flatness, output power, efficiency, and linearity..."
"The module you sold us—all its key indicators are identical to the samples we went through so much trouble to obtain from abroad!"
"In fact, in terms of stability at certain high-frequency bands, it's actually slightly superior!"
Sun Hongwei's voice trembled slightly:
"Most importantly, your price is only one-third of the international quote!"
"Boss Lu, do you... do you know what this means?!"
Lu You knew, of course.
It meant that a blockaded industrial chain now had the possibility of being revitalized.
He looked at these researchers before him, who were so excited they were almost incoherent, but his heart remained as calm as water.
Everything was within his expectations.
Of all the bait he had cast today...
...this module was undoubtedly the highest value, and the 'big fish' he most expected to take the hook.
And now, the fish had bitten.
"So, what brings you here so late to find me?" Lu You's tone was very flat.
This kind of composure—staying calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him...
...made Sun Hongwei and the others, who originally carried a hint of superiority, suddenly feel a chill in their hearts.
They realized that this young man in front of them was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
Well, having a system makes your backbone strong!
He wasn't just a Hardware Store owner.
He was a dominant player holding all the trump cards.
"Boss Lu, let's get straight to the point." Sun Hongwei put away all unnecessary emotions and spoke in an extremely solemn tone.
"We at Xingguang Technology hope to reach a deep strategic cooperation with you... and your Hardware Store!"
"We hope you can become the most important link in our upstream industrial chain! We are willing to purchase these types of high-end components from you in large quantities over the long term!"
Here it comes.
Lu You thought to himself.
He stepped aside and made a 'please' gesture. "It's windy outside, come in and talk."
He led them to the VIP reception room he had slightly modified using business points.
With its minimalist modern design, comfortable leather sofas, and the faint scent of tea lingering in the air...
...it was practically a different world compared to the down-to-earth, shabby little Hardware Store outside.
Sun Hongwei and the others were once again shocked by Lu You's hidden depth and sat down stiffly.
Lu You personally brewed a pot of tea for them.
Then he sat in the main seat and listened quietly.
Sun Hongwei and the others spoke incessantly, introducing their company's strength and its position in the domestic industry.
They also shared their grand blueprints for the future, trying to demonstrate their value as partners.
Lu You listened patiently to the end, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"In principle, I don't object to the purchase and cooperation methods you've proposed." Only after they finished did Lu You speak slowly.
"After all, I opened this shop to do business."
A look of joy appeared on Sun Hongwei's face. "Then, regarding the price..."
"The price..." Lu You picked up his teacup and gently blew on the steam.
"The price during the challenge was an introductory price and a promotional price. Bulk procurement is, naturally, a different price."
He quoted a figure.
This figure caused the smiles on Sun Hongwei and the others' faces to instantly freeze.
Because the unit price for this bulk purchase was a full three times higher than the one they bought during the challenge!
"Boss Lu, you're..." a young assistant couldn't help but speak up. "Isn't this price a bit too high?"
"High?" Lu You set down his teacup, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.
"Is this price higher or lower than what you've tried everything to get from the international black market?"
"Is it higher or lower than the losses your project suffers from being stalled due to the lack of this part?"
"I only ask you: how much cheaper is it than the international procurement price?"
Sun Hongwei opened his mouth but was speechless.
Although the price Lu You quoted was higher than the introductory price...
...it was still at least 20% cheaper than the price they paid for international procurement!
Moreover, it saved them the long shipping cycles and the massive risks of uncertainty!
"But..."
"The price is non-negotiable." Lu You didn't hesitate at all, directly cutting off the other party's attempt to argue, his tone decisive.
"I used low prices to build a reputation today precisely so that large companies like yours would take the initiative to find me. My goal is to make money."
That's right, to make money.
Make lots of money! The more the better!
His bluntness actually left Sun Hongwei and the others unsure of how to respond.
Lu You looked at them, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes.
Besides improving his quality of life, making money had another... very ambitious goal.
His thoughts drifted back to half a month ago.
At that time, he was still a 'lying flat' graduate guarding a shabby little shop, unable to even afford hotpot.
While scrolling through his phone, he saw a news report: a certain cutting-edge device that Dragon Country had poured all its efforts into developing was at the final stage of success.
However, because a core sensor only the size of a fingernail was monopolized by foreign countries, the supply was cut off.
The entire project came to a standstill, and the years of hard work by countless researchers went down the drain.
Below the news was a sea of sighs and helplessness.
At that moment, Lu You's heart was deeply stung.
That sense of powerlessness, that frustration of having one's lifeblood choked by others, was fresh in his memory.
And now, he had the ability to make money.
More importantly, he had the heaven-defying 'Golden Finger'—the system.
That dream that was once out of reach, and perhaps even a bit ridiculous...
...now actually had the capacity to start!
He would use the system to break these damned blockades!
He would make those 'chokehold' technologies as common as the screws on his shelves!
And to achieve all this, he needed an astronomical number of business points.
Therefore, he had to make money!