Chapter 149: Hawking Wares

"Wow, Boss Chen really knows how to talk."

"He certainly has a way with people."

"I never imagined Boss Chen had this side to him."

Black Tiger and his crew watched from the sidelines, stunned. Clearly, they had never expected Chen Huajiang to be so eloquent and persuasive.

This style of "hawking," which only began to gain popularity across the country in the nineties, immediately captivated the crowd the moment it began.

Next, Chen Huajiang brought out three water kettles—or "water wagons," as most people in Nanming City called them at the time.

"The Kunlun coal stove utilizes cutting-edge technology to lock in the heat of the coal briquette, increasing energy efficiency by fifty percent compared to traditional stoves."

"In other words, using the same amount of coal, the Kunlun stove can boil more water while consuming less fuel."

"According to the latest research data from Qingbei University, one Kunlun coal stove is stronger than two traditional ones combined."

Chen Huajiang shouted at the top of his lungs, spinning a tall tale with ease.

The crowd below began to murmur and point.

"Is that for real? Can one of these stoves really do the work of two?"

"But their stove does look different from the standard ones. It has a concave top, not the flat opening like a regular stove."

"I think it's just bragging. It can't be that good. A coal stove is a coal stove—how much difference can there really be?"

The crowd buzzed with skepticism.

But soon, the kettle on the center Kunlun stove began to steam, the lid rattling and clattering as white vapor billowed out.

"It's boiling! The water's boiling!"

"That was fast!"

"My goodness, look at the kettles on the left and right—they haven't even started whistling yet."

A stir went through the crowd as people excitedly pointed at the Kunlun stove in the middle.

Chen Huajiang poured the boiling water onto the ground, steam rising in a cloud. Then, right in front of everyone, he refilled the kettle from a wooden bucket and placed it back onto the center stove.

After a few more minutes, the kettles on the left and right began to steam, and shortly after, the center one followed suit.

With the "experiment" as a direct comparison, carried out right before their eyes, the crowd grew increasingly excited and amazed.

"My god, it really is better than two put together."

"This is a great stove. It boils water so fast—I just wonder if it wastes coal."

"That's a good point. If it doesn't waste coal, then this stove is definitely a great find."

The crowd was buzzing, their eyes fixed on the Kunlun stove with a mix of admiration and desire.

"Rest assured, everyone. Our Kunlun coal stove uses the latest polymer thermal insulation technology. With the same amount of coal, our stove will burn longer and save you more fuel."

"We will now proceed to the second experiment: the heat and combustion test. You'll see for yourself just how much coal the Kunlun stove saves."

"Talk is cheap and claims are grand, but it’s better to let the facts speak for themselves!"

Chen Huajiang had Er Mao and his men replace the stoves with three new ones and displayed the coal briquettes to the crowd.

As they lit the fires simultaneously, the audience immediately noticed something surprising: the Kunlun stove in the center was the first to catch fire.

"That stove lights up so fast!"

"Indeed, much faster than the other two. I just wonder if it's fuel-efficient."

"What brand is this? Kunlun? I wonder how much it costs. It’s bound to be more expensive than the other two."

The crowd chattered, men and women, old and young, packing the Dazha entrance until it was completely blocked.

Once the fires were lit, Chen Huajiang had his team use a blower to increase airflow, accelerating the combustion until flames roared out of the stove openings.

The crowd noticed that the flame from the center stove was distinctly blue. The ones on the sides had flames too, but they weren't as intense.

"That’s a sign of a high-heat fire!"

"The middle one is burning too fiercely. It’s bound to burn out before the ones on the sides."

"Right, that fire is too strong."

Some of the "clever" onlookers, relying on their own habitual thinking, pointed at the Kunlun stove with confidence.

But soon, as the flames on the left and right began to dwindle, the fire in the Kunlun stove remained intense.

The crowd erupted.

"My heavens, the coal in that middle stove is incredibly long-lasting!"

"The one on the left has gone out, the one on the right has gone out, and the middle one is still burning!"

"Could it be some kind of trick? No, I watched them put the coal in with my own eyes."

The crowd was in an uproar, gasps of astonishment rippling through them. They looked at the Kunlun stove with even greater intensity.

Chen Huajiang then signaled for Er Mao to pull the coal out with tongs. The coal from the side stoves was clearly spent, the surfaces turned to gray ash.

However, the coal from the center was still glowing. Although it had some ash on the surface, it was still encased in flames, clearly capable of burning for a while longer.

"How much for this stove?"

"Great piece of gear! How much for the Kunlun stove?"

"What's the price?"

The crowd was now agitated, looking at the Kunlun stove as if it were a treasure.

Many people were quick to do the math. Whether it was the speed of boiling water or the fuel savings, this Kunlun stove outperformed the standard models.

Of course, this was a "little trick" of Chen Huajiang's. Compared to the ordinary coal used in the side stoves, the coal in the center had been specially processed.

In simple terms, he had utilized some of the honeycomb briquette technology. Honeycomb briquettes, which would appear in the late nineties, were named for their perforated, honeycomb-like structure that allowed for more complete combustion.

Chen Huajiang couldn't make it too obvious, so he simply added a few cracks to the briquettes and reduced the clay content.

That was the reason the middle briquette lasted longer. Meanwhile, the briquettes on the sides hadn't actually finished burning—traditional briquettes were notoriously hard to burn through completely, often leaving large unburnt cores in the center.

This was why, well into the late nineties, many rural people had the habit of going into town to scavenge coal ash from near factories, as they could peel away the exterior and re-burn the unspent centers.

"Put up the sign!"

Chen Huajiang had Er Mao display the pre-prepared sign on the stage.

It featured a large drawing of the Kunlun stove, with the original price of "2" crossed out by a red line, and the promotional price of "1.6" written below—a twenty percent discount.

"Two yuan? This stove is too expensive. Even with the discount, it's 1.6, which is more than a regular stove."

"You're right. This is more expensive than the ones from the stove factory, and theirs are only 1.5."

"I just bought a stove in the first half of the year; no need to buy another one."

Looking at the price, the crowd whispered, feeling it was a bit high.

"I’m doing, you’re watching. Your eyes are calculating, your heart is calculating. This stove saves you one briquette a day, three hundred a month."

"The more you use it, the more you save, and you save time too. Tell me, isn't 1.6 a bargain?"

"Buy one and take it home. The elders will be pleased, the young ones will praise you, and in less than a week, everyone will call you a savvy manager. We are only selling two hundred stoves today, one per person!"

Chen Huajiang shouted, his voice ringing out.