Volume 1, Chapter 37: Filming a Short Video

The service at 4S dealerships these days is truly excellent! At least, that is the case before you actually buy the car. Guo Dong had never enjoyed such treatment before. As soon as he walked into the showroom, a saleswoman immediately ran over to serve him with great enthusiasm. After asking about his needs, she launched into a barrage of introductions that left Guo Dong’s head spinning. Even when he went to the restroom, the saleswoman would lead the way. Her zeal was so intense that it momentarily made Guo Dong wonder if perhaps he was just too handsome and had caught the lady's eye.

He had originally assumed Li Tianhu was a veteran at this, but it turned out the guy was no better off than he was. As soon as they sat down and the young lady brought over a cup of coffee, Li Tianhu looked so delighted and excited that it became clear this was his first time at a 4S dealership too. All the cars he had owned previously were secondhand. Knowing the truth of the situation left Guo Dong speechless. Fortunately, he had looked things up online beforehand and brought all the necessary documents; otherwise, given Li Tianhu’s personality, this entire afternoon trip would have been a waste of time.

While the saleswoman went to process the paperwork, Guo Dong shot a fierce glare at Li Tianhu. "Didn't you say you knew a lot about this? How did you end up getting played like a fiddle?"

Li Tianhu chuckled, lit a cigarette, and said with a grin, "Didn't I just help you haggle over two thousand yuan off the price?"

Guo Dong: "..."

It was true, they had knocked off two thousand. But the way they had bargained had made the saleswoman giggle uncontrollably several times. Why was she laughing? In Guo Dong’s view, she was definitely laughing at their ignorance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had a momentary lapse in judgment and listened to the other party's suggestions.

"Why did she keep insisting I pay in installments? Isn't it better to just pay in full?" Guo Dong really couldn't wrap his head around this. He had already stated he wanted to pay the full amount, yet the woman kept pushing the benefits of financing.

"You're asking me? How would I know? Didn't you say you checked everything online before we came?"

Guo Dong: "..."

He had checked online, but he hadn't looked into things like that.

"Don't overthink it. No matter what you buy, don't regret it afterward. A car is something to be enjoyed as soon as you get it. That model you picked—driving it out will be absolutely stylish. Look at that front-end design, how imposing it is! And the interior, it's luxurious! People will definitely crowd around to look when you drive it back. Even if you told them it cost half a million, they’d probably believe you."

Li Tianhu was getting carried away, and just mentioning the price made Guo Dong angry. His original budget was under 150,000 yuan. As it turned out, after the purchase, he realized he had exceeded it by tens of thousands, shelling out over 200,000 yuan in one go. This was just... he was almost broke again! He had worked so hard to make money selling fruit, and he had hoped to have 100,000 or 200,000 left over to put into savings after buying a car. Now, after a careful calculation, it seemed he only had around 90,000 left in his account!

"Alright, stop worrying. Money is something you can't take with you when you're born and you can't take with you when you die. What's the point of making money? Isn't it for enjoyment? With the speed you're making money now, you'll earn it all back by next month. What are you afraid of?"

That might be true, but his heart still didn't feel right! "Tell me, when I get back, if my grandfather finds out the price of this car, will he scold me?"

Li Tianhu thought for a moment, exhaled a smoke ring, and said, "He will definitely scold you. But I bet that once you drive it back, your grandfather will be the first one to hop inside! He might even make you drive it around to show it off."

Guo Dong shook his head with a bitter smile. Li Tianhu understood his grandfather's personality quite well. Feeling bored, he sat in the waiting area and cast his eyes around the dealership. Most people buying cars here were couples. Compared to them, even though they were all young, the vibe he and Li Tianhu gave off was completely different. They looked like hicks, like country bumpkins! Even the clothes they were wearing weren't as trendy as everyone else's!

"Stop staring. Use your phone to take a video for me; I want to post it on my social media!"

"What are you filming?"

"Filming me! Remember, you have to capture these words in the background. And those cars over there, you have to include them. I'm going to show off a little too!"

Guo Dong sighed endlessly; he really couldn't tell who was the one actually buying a car.

"It's not like you don't have a phone yourself!"

"My phone doesn't have as high a resolution as yours!" With that, he snatched the phone out of his friend's hand. Only the videos he shot himself were authentic! Watching Li Tianhu act out, Guo Dong had no choice but to sit in the waiting area for a long, drawn-out wait.

It wasn't until the kid was tired of filming that he ran back. He performed a series of maneuvers on the phone with such flair.

"What is that thing?" Guo Dong’s phone was a high-end model; otherwise, the saleswoman wouldn't have had such a gleam in her eyes when he used it to transfer the money earlier. But aside from checking information and reading the news, he had never played with anything else on it.

"This is a short-video platform. Sharing the video I just took can also attract a wave of followers." Whenever the subject came up, Li Tianhu got fired up. "Once my followers reach a certain level, I'll start livestreaming. You know what livestreaming is, right?"

Guo Dong retorted, "Do you really think I'm that old-fashioned? Even if I haven't eaten pork, haven't I seen a pig run?"

Li Tianhu chuckled. "Do you know that you can make big money from livestreaming?"

"I know, tips, right? How much can that really make?"

"I tell you that your knowledge is limited, and you refuse to believe it." Li Tianhu operated the phone for a bit and opened a video, handing it to Guo Dong. "See this streamer? He used to be very poor. Relying on livestreaming, he suddenly hit it big one day. It hasn't even been half a year, and I heard he's made at least a few million. And this one here, same thing—rural background, and now she uses live streams to help her hometown sell products; the entire village has become wealthy. This is what we call an influencer, and this is the effect brought by traffic. As long as you're popular enough and capture your fans' psychology, you can make money. Not only can you earn for yourself, but you can also boost the local economy!"

Li Tianhu was very excited, seemingly filled with admiration for such people. Guo Dong felt excited listening to it too, but he felt that he wasn't cut out for livestreaming. So, he just felt a brief thrill. Thinking about it carefully, farming was still a faster way to make money. He had the ancestral gourd, and now that the gourd had evolved, he was like a fish in water. Just relying on that, he would be rich sooner or later.

"So, how do you livestream on this?"

"It's simple!"

The two of them, having nothing better to do, huddled together in the waiting area and started gesturing with the phone. Everyone else was paired up as a man and a woman, but they were different—two grown men, leaning in so close! Anyone who didn't know better might think they had some questionable preferences.

The two had so much fun playing around that they lost track of time. It wasn't until the paperwork was finished and the 4S dealership notified them to come pick up the car tomorrow that they realized it was already past five in the afternoon.

Phew! Driving Li Tianhu’s small truck, they returned to the village in high spirits. Guo Dong figured he was in for another sleepless night. Even now, his mind was still filled with that pickup truck!