The three of them did not waste any time and immediately separated to start working on their tasks that afternoon.

In order to reduce the renovation cost to the lowest possible level, Lin Cheng traveled almost all over the city. He even went to great lengths to persuade the owner of a store selling anti-corrosion wood to give them a piece of burnt-wood storefront sign as a gift.

… …

[Lin Cheng’s image in my mind is gradually collapsing. ]

[Hahaha, the way Lin Cheng bargained really didn’t look like a ‘shop owner’ or a celebrity at all.]

[Lin Cheng’s stingy behavior makes him look more and more like his stingy daughter.]

[Maybe it’s the other way around? It’s possible that this is Lin Cheng’s true form, and Momo inherited it from him. Lin Cheng just concealed it well before. ]

… …

Lin Cheng and Lin Momo couldn’t see the comments roasting them in the livestream channel. At this time, the Lin father and daughter have gone down farther and farther on the road to saving money.

Lin Cheng and Lin Momo spent half a day to finally buy all the necessary materials. After their efforts, the materials that were originally planned to cost around 7,000 in the end only cost 5,400.

In the evening, after the masters¹ who had been invited to help out had a meal, they started to renovate the store.

Several people began to work almost all day and night.

Taking into account the presence of residential areas and schools nearby, in order to avoid noise pollution, the main tasks during the day were mostly moving, installing, and laying down materials. All the work that required cutting and hammering was arranged to be carried out during rush hour and school time so as not to disturb others. At night, everyone did some noise-free work such as plastering and painting.

After two days of continuous hard work, the entire store finally took shape.

Lin Cheng brought Lin Momo to the second-hand market in the east side of the city.

This was a place recommended by a fellow villager of Huang Yang.

Here, stainless steel stoves and sinks, second-hand appliances, and industrial furniture were all available—but the prices were only 20% to 40% of brand new ones.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Lin Cheng and Lin Momo walked around the entire market and finally came to an inconspicuous-looking but large, second-hand electrical appliance store.

Seeing a customer coming, the owner of the store walked out to meet them, walking around the piles of second-hand goods.

“What are you looking for?” the shop owner asked.

“We just opened a small restaurant, and I came to see if I can find something useful here,” Lin Cheng explained his purpose.

The store owner immediately took over and said, “We do have a lot of useful things in our store.”

After that, the owner introduced several items to Lin Cheng. 

“Over here, we have freezers, disinfection cabinets, refrigerators—all suitable for small restaurants. We also have air conditioners of various horsepower. Over there, we have stainless steel stoves, sinks, and cutting boards for restaurant kitchens. 

“In addition, we also have small electrical appliances if you need them, such as the air curtain for the entrance door, ultraviolet lamps, induction cookers, and water dispensers. These items are in the warehouse at the back and are not available here on display. If you want, I’ll take you there to have a look.”

“Let’s take a look at the large appliances first,” Lin Cheng said, telling the shop owner the approximate size needed.

“I see, then come with me and have a look.” 

The shop owner led Lin Cheng and Lin Momo into the store, pointed to a few appliances and recommended them to Lin Cheng. “Take a look at this freezer, it’s 90% new. The previous owner took good care of it. Look at the paint—from top to bottom, there’s no rust at all, and this sealing strip is basically new, too. How about it, I’ll give it to you for 680 if you want it.”

Lin Cheng didn’t say anything. Even though the shop owner praised the freezer in front of him to the sky, Lin Cheng still carefully checked the entire freezer.

“Is there another freezer?” Lin Cheng asked as he stood up.

Hearing this, the shop owner was stunned. “Why— this one is so new, how come you’re not satisfied with it? The others are not as good.

“Just buy this one, you really can’t go wrong,” the shop owner urged.

The shop owner was still strongly recommending it, but Lin Cheng directly pointed out the problems with the freezer.

“The paint on these areas was only re-sprayed later. As for the sealing strips, you must have just replaced them with new ones. Otherwise it would be impossible for them to be this new after much use. You can even see the processing marks here. The mold line is obvious. It should be a pirated copy from a small factory. The rust spots underneath have also been polished away…”

In fact, the appliance-refurbishing skills of the second-hand shop owner were simply superb. If one didn’t look very carefully, one couldn’t possibly see anything wrong—but Lin Cheng still found some tell-tale clues.

When the shop owner heard Lin Cheng accurately point out several places that showed the refurbishments done, the expression on his face changed slightly.

At this time, Lin Cheng pointed to the metal covering on the back of the freezer and said, “This cover has also been refurbished and reshaped. In addition, judging from the wear on several of the screws, it should have been opened more than once.”

This place where fluorine was stored was generally not something one opened during the normal use of the freezer—not unless there has been damage, there was fluorine leakage, or it has been used for too long and has been repeatedly repaired.

Before coming here, Lin Cheng borrowed Hu Mao’s mobile phone to research matters like this.

Sure enough, after hearing what Lin Cheng said, not only did the shop owner’s expression change, but even the way he looked at Lin Cheng changed.

“Haha, you are quite knowledgeable about home appliances,” the shop owner laughed with a bit of guilty feeling. He said nonchalantly, “This appliance is a bit old, but most of the parts have been replaced with new ones. In fact, I’m not lying when I say it’s 90% new. Some customers come here just to pick up things like this.

“Let me show you other items then,” the shop owner said. He recommended a few other freezers to Lin Cheng.

This time, having learned from the previous lesson, the shop owner didn’t dare to fool Lin Cheng again, but instead gave a truthful introduction.

Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 91.1 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 91.2 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 91.3 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 92.1 — Opening
Chapter 92.2 — Opening
Chapter 92.3 — Opening

1. ‘Master’ here is not in the sense as ‘master craftsman’ but rather a polite title to call skilled workers, such as carpenters, plumbers, or taxi drivers. ↩︎