92: Got a Mercedes GLE? Time to sell it for silver-plated gold!
Chen Kai checked the time—11:50. He had specifically switched his network to 5G and opened the official website of Beijing Mercedes-Benz on his phone in advance, constantly refreshing it.
After refreshing for over ten minutes, Chen Kai's arm holding the phone felt a bit sore.
At exactly 12:05, Beijing Mercedes-Benz officially released an announcement regarding the launch of the new GLE coupe model.
Chen Kai immediately clicked into the announcement, scrolling down rapidly with both hands, his eyes fixed on the time.
"Found it!"
Right at the very bottom of the announcement post, there was an obscure link. Clicking it directly didn't work; it indicated that it needed to redirect to a browser.
He quickly copied the link into his browser. Watching the browser's refresh progress, it was incredibly slow; a full minute had passed, and the page still hadn't loaded.
He hurriedly refreshed the browser again, and only then did he enter the linked page.
A black page appeared before Chen Kai, with [Beijing Mercedes-Benz Internal Car Purchase Webpage] displayed at the very top.
The webpage was basically an introduction to this new, upgraded generation of the GLE, with the interior, car model, and various other data recorded very comprehensively.
Chen Kai impatiently checked the time—12:07—only three minutes left!
He quickly used both hands to scroll down the screen to the very bottom of the page, where there was a yellow internal car reservation button.
He tapped it quickly, and the page redirected immediately. A white webpage appeared with several grids, asking for various details to be filled in.
[Name:] [Contact Information:] [Car Purchase Address:] [Full Payment/Loan:]
In just two minutes, Chen Kai filled out all the forms.
The next moment, another pop-up appeared, making him curse under his breath.
[Please select the purchase model: GLE350 4MATIC Sport / GLE450 ...]
He checked the time at the top of his phone—it was already 12:09!
He hurriedly selected the cheapest one, the 699,800 yuan GLE350, and clicked pay!
[Calculating your internal discounted price. Base car price: 699,800 yuan. After discount: 276,000 yuan.]
The webpage redirected directly to the Alipay payment page, and Chen Kai paid the money without hesitation.
"It's in the bag!"
Once the money was paid, it was set! They couldn't possibly refund the money the same way, could they?
He returned to the website from Alipay, wanting to take a screenshot to confirm if he had filled in the address correctly in his haste, but unexpectedly, the website refreshed and displayed a 404 error!
Chen Kai was stunned for a moment. He went back to the official Beijing Mercedes-Benz website and discovered that the official announcement post for the new generation GLE had already been deleted!
"Damn, they move fast."
He checked the time—it was just 12:09. It had been deleted in four minutes!
He had been fast enough himself, managing to fill out so much information and make the payment in four minutes.
Chen Kai gave a sheepish smile, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and prepared to pack his things and check out; he still had to go sell the silver-plated gold ring.
Just as he lit the cigarette, his phone suddenly rang.
He looked at it—it was a call from Beijing. Was Mercedes-Benz really that fast?
He slowly answered, and a respectful voice came from the other end of the line.
"Hello, is this Mr. Chen Kai? Did you just... purchase a mercedes-benz gle350 for 276,000 yuan through our internal link?"
Chen Kai paused. He had a feeling the tone of this call was not friendly.
He rubbed his nose and spoke slowly, "What internal link? I bought it because I saw you guys launching the new generation mercedes-benz gle. Isn't a link posted on your official website a pre-sale? What's the problem with me buying it?"
The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds. "Um... it's like this... the car you purchased was an internal discounted quota..."
Chen Kai immediately interrupted him, "What are you trying to say? You posted the link on the official website; isn't that meant for selling?"
"Um... please hold on, our leader would like to speak with you."
Chen Kai clenched his fists. This was going to be tricky. He had expected it to be like with Pan Dongdong, where they would just announce it was permanently valid and let him go pick up the car.
Listening to this tone... were they afraid they were going to ask him for a refund?
A moment later, an elderly voice came from the other end of the line, "Hello Mr. Chen, I am an executive at Beijing Mercedes-Benz. This time, it was indeed an internal mistake where we posted the wrong link, putting our internal quota link up by accident."
"How about... we compensate you with a 20% penalty fee on your principal?"
Chen Kai shook his head firmly, his tone gradually turning cold.
To deal with people like this, you have to have an attitude even tougher than theirs!
"I only want the car. Your programmer posting the wrong link shouldn't be paid for by us consumers."
"This... alright... Sir, where are you in Jiangnan City? Would it be convenient for you to pick up the car at the 4S Store in the New District?"
"That's convenient."
"Very well. Let's add each other on WeChat. Please go to the 4S Store in the New District in three days to pick up the car with your payment record."
Chen Kai grunted in agreement and hung up the phone, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
The 300,000 yuan that was almost in his hands had nearly flown away.
He opened WeChat, accepted the Mercedes-Benz executive's friend request, and a moment later, he sent him a car purchase voucher.
[We have already contacted the Beijing Mercedes-Benz 4S Store in the New District. Please proceed there in three days.]
Only then did Chen Kai feel relieved. He packed his things, went downstairs, and checked out.
He got on his Electric Scooter and rode towards the shop where he had sold gold last time.
...
Less than half an hour later, Chen Kai stopped his bike in front of the shop that bought gold at a high price.
Standing at the door, he looked at today's gold buyback price: 763 per gram, which was 50 yuan cheaper per gram than the last time he came to sell gold.
But gold is the kind of thing that skyrockets in price and drops just as fast.
However, the system's suggested buyback price was... 38,000. Did such a small ring weigh over 60 grams?
He weighed the ring in his hand and looked at it carefully. The ring was indeed very thick—as thick as the tip of his thumb.
It felt quite heavy in his hand.
Thinking this, he walked quickly into the shop.
The Old Man who had bought his gold last time was lying on a lounge chair, fanning himself. Seeing Chen Kai arrive, he immediately stood up.
"Young Man, selling gold?"
"Yeah, see how much this ring can sell for."
Chen Kai placed the ring on the table, and the weight of the ring made the table go "thud."
"This...? Isn't this silver? Silver isn't worth much, only eight or nine yuan per gram."
The Old Man waved his hand, looking uninterested.
"What a pity. If it were gold, this weight would be worth something."
Chen Kai chuckled, "It is gold. It's silver-plated gold, solid inside."
"What? silver-plated gold? What genius designed that?" The Old Man scratched his head, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard.
"Should I cut it open and take a look?"