In Wang An's view, this kind of thing was all about the money. Aside from getting money, things like pursuing the person's responsibility or punishing someone's negligence were all complete bullshit.
As long as the money was secured, there was no need to even think about anything else.
After Wang An finished speaking, Wu Dong thought for a moment and said
"Then how much do you reckon the coal mine should pay your brother-in-law?"
Hearing this, Wang An pondered for a long while before saying "solemnly"
"Up until now, it's already cost nearly 20,000 yuan to treat my brother-in-law's injuries. The doctor said that once he's fully recovered, it'll probably cost another 20,000 or 30,000. I reckon if we ask the coal mine for 50,000 yuan, it should be about right; that way he can definitely get cured, right, Brother Wu?"
When Wu Dong heard this, his lips twitched with anger. He stared straight at Wang An, looking as if he might give him two punches at any moment.
Wang Li, sitting in the driver's seat, was also stunned. Clearly, 8,000 yuan in total would have been enough, but Wang An had gone ahead and whipped up a figure of 50,000. This was just too damn wicked!
Seeing that Wu Dong wasn't speaking, Wang An put on a face of complete innocence and said
"What's wrong, Brother Wu? Why are you looking at me like that? You couldn't possibly be unable to get this small amount of money, could you?"
By the end, Wang An's eyes clearly conveyed the meaning of "you're useless at this, aren't you?"
Wu Dong could no longer hold back and slammed a fist into Wang An's shoulder, saying with great dissatisfaction
"Speak properly! 50,000? Do I look like I'm worth 50,000 to you? Why don't you just have me take over the whole coal mine while you're at it?"
Wang An immediately seized the opportunity and said with absolute confidence
"Sure! That would be great! Brother Wu, you take over the coal mine, and then hand it over to your brother here to manage. No bragging—I'll make sure you take home a pure 500,000 a year."
To his surprise, after Wang An finished, Wu Dong replied irritably
"Get the hell out of here! If I had a coal mine in my hand, why would I bother with a pharmaceutical factory? Everyone knows you can make money with a coal mine with your eyes closed, let alone an open-pit mine."
After a pause, Wu Dong added crossly
"I'm definitely not getting 50,000. Even 30,000, I want—"
Before Wu Dong could finish, Wang An immediately interrupted
"30,000 is fine. Seeing how troubled you are, 30,000 it is. We'll make do."
Wu Dong said urgently
"No, can you kid just let me finish? I said even 30,000—"
Before Wu Dong could finish again, Wang An interrupted once more
"I have a business for making big money. Do you and the others want to look into it, Brother Wu?"
The moment Wang An said this, Wu Dong was suddenly speechless.
After holding it in for a long time, Wu Dong said with a face full of helplessness
"Xiao An, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? So we absolutely have to get 30,000 yuan in compensation for your brother-in-law?"
Wang An blinked his eyes, appearing genuinely surprised
"No, Brother Wu, didn't you say 50,000 couldn't be gotten, but 30,000 could?"
Wu Dong's lips moved, and he let out a sigh. He stopped arguing with Wang An, clearly accepting the number, and then asked with great interest
"This business for making big money you mentioned—what is it? Tell me, I'll listen first."
Wang An smiled slightly and asked with an air of seriousness
"Brother Wu, you'd say that asking the coal mine for 30,000 yuan in compensation isn't too much at all, right?"
Wu Dong was stunned for a moment, then gave Wang An a fierce glare and squeezed a single word through his teeth
"Yes!"
Wang An chuckled and said hypocritically
"As long as it's not too much. I was just afraid you'd be troubled, Brother Wu. If I make your life difficult day after day, that would be my sin. Given our relationship..."
Just as Wang An wanted to ramble for a few more sentences, Wu Dong said impatiently
"Can you just spit it out? If you don't say it now, you won't get a single cent!"
Wang An chuckled and stopped wasting words
"Right now, the Jialing 70 motorcycles and those Honda 125s don't seem to be selling that well, but the quality of those two is truly great. I reckon the prices are about to rise. So, I was thinking we could all pool our resources, go directly to the motorcycle factory, and buy a few hundred units. By next year at the latest, we could make at least four or five hundred yuan per bike."
Wu Dong was instantly stunned. He looked at Wang An with a face full of shock and said
"Mo... motorcycles? No, wait, holy shit, why are you thinking about motorcycles? Can you actually make money with those things?"
Clearly, Wu Dong had absolutely not considered this idea.
Of course, it was also possible that Wu Dong simply looked down on the business of peddling motorcycles, feeling that it wouldn't make much money.
However, this also showed that people at the time had no idea just how explosive motorcycles would become across the land of China over the next 30-plus years.
It could be said that any random motorcycle brand, even those with mediocre quality and a poor reputation, ended up making a fortune in the end.
As for the agents of joint-venture brands like Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki—even those at the township level—made so much money they practically took flight.
It wasn't until the 21st century, when various motorcycle bans were introduced, that they gradually disappeared from first- and second-tier cities. But in cities without bans, as well as in counties and villages, motorcycles could be seen everywhere. The number of motorcycles owned remained ridiculously high and continued to increase year by year.
Generally speaking, if one started a motorcycle brand now—even if it were like Jialing, simply importing parts for assembly without any R&D technology—they could amass a staggering amount of wealth.
Seeing the expression of doubt on Wu Dong's face, Wang An said calmly
"Take out the 'can' from your question."
After a pause, Wang An added
"Let me put it this way, Brother Wu. You, Brother Wang, and Brother Ma used to deal in second-hand equipment, right? If you could bring in a few motorcycle parts production lines and then import engines from the Japanese, we could assemble and sell the finished products while finding people to reverse-engineer them. Even if we manufactured our own motorcycles, following the Jialing factory's lead, it would be even more profitable than just trading them."
After Wang An finished, Wu Dong hesitated for a long time. He then frowned and said with a face full of skepticism
"How do you know motorcycles can make money? One bike costs around 3,000 yuan; a family has to save for years to afford one. I mean, how many people could possibly buy this thing? I reckon dealing in motorcycles is less stable than dealing in bicycles."
Having already witnessed how crazy the motorcycle craze would become, Wang An naturally didn't bother arguing the point with Wu Dong.