I'm a Master in India

Seeing the items on the table, Vikrant hurriedly closed the door halfway.

This was to tell the people outside that business was being discussed here, and strangers should not enter.

"Now, let me take a look at these little darlings."

Vikrant stretched out a fleshy hand and grabbed one of the cameras, while the other hand turned on the flashlight.

Such swift and rude movements made Mary and Lena frown.

The two couldn't help but doubt his professionalism. Ron wasn't like this just now.

Vikrant moved quickly, mainly looking at the lenses and other parts.

After putting everything back in place, he tapped the table with his thick fingers and asked in Marathi, "Will you do it? Or will they do it themselves?"

"I'm just a middleman, but considering they're my clients, go easy on them."

After speaking, Ron took a step back, giving Mary and Lena the space.

"Wait, is that it?" The two girls looked at him warily and confusedly.

"I'll take you to a place where you can sell these things and take a 5% commission. That's the industry standard.

But if you hire me to help you bargain, the commission will be 10%. Which one do you choose?"

Mary and Lena looked at each other. There were so many tricks to getting rid of things?

"Okay, what's the difference between the two? Will you get us a better price?"

"The difference is huge," Ron said meaningfully, looking at them. "Enough to make you feel like you're getting more than your money's worth."

Mary's eyes wandered over him before she decisively said, "10%! The following negotiations are up to you."

"So sure?"

"Being able to reject the advances of beautiful girls, I'm willing to take a gamble."

Ron smiled, but Vikrant's face fell.

"Brother, you shouldn't be so straightforward."

"You heard it too. I've already rejected such a beautiful girl once. I can't possibly reject her a second time."

In the following bargaining, Mary and Lena couldn't get a word in at all.

The two of them spoke a string of Marathi like a machine gun, which even native Indians might not understand.

Just when Mary was wondering if they were going to start fighting, the scene suddenly went silent.

"OK, done," Ron gestured to them, and Vikrant got up and went to the back room.

"What's done? How much money did he offer for these things?"

"You'll know soon enough," Ron smiled mysteriously.

If the items weren't still on the counter, Mary and Lena would have suspected it was a scam.

Just when their patience was about to wear out, Vikrant came back, carrying a whole bundle of rupees.

"60,000 rupees for the four cameras, 15,000 rupees for the three Walkmans. That game console is hard to sell, so I'll give you 2,500 rupees for it."

"Oh, God!" Mary and Lena were so excited that they were incoherent.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was beyond their expectations.

"Don't get excited yet. Count the money."

"God, we've made a fortune."

"What's going on? How did he do it?"

Amidst the praises, Ron ultimately took over the job of counting the money, as the two foreign girls couldn't distinguish the authenticity of the rupees.

After confirming that everything was correct, Ron flicked his fingers, and a dozen or so notes popped out from the neatly stacked rupees.

"This is my reward, 7,750 rupees. It's been a pleasure working with you."

He quickly put the money clipped between his fingers into his pocket. The speed and efficiency of the action were like an octopus's tentacles grabbing its prey and putting it into its mouth.

Mary and Lena, who were full of happiness and dazed, didn't even confirm the specific amount before hurriedly stuffing the rupees into their backpacks.

After saying goodbye to Vikrant, Ron led them back the way they came, feeling light as a feather.

Along the way, the two had too many questions they wanted to confirm with him, but they couldn't wait to speak until they returned to the hotel.

"Ron, what's going on? This price..."

"Too high, right? Almost the same price as brand new electronic products?"

"Yes, that's right. It's... unusual..."

"Don't be surprised. Anything can happen in India."

As mentioned earlier, India had just liberalized its economic policies last year. Before that, in order to protect its local manufacturing industry, India had always imposed high import tariffs on electronic products.

From electronic watches to household appliances, the minimum tariff threshold was 30%, and the maximum was 100%.

This meant that normal electronic products, if they wanted to be sold in India, were generally much more expensive than internationally.

A $500 camera would have to sell for $1200 in India for distributors to make money.

Such a high price made most people shy away. But market demand would not disappear because of this, so the black market came into being.

Local vendors often offered $600 to buy a $500 camera from tourists.

When tourists heard this, they thought, "Wow! My used item is selling for more than a brand new one. This is a good deal."

The two parties hit it off, and the deal was made.

The same principle applied to the items in Mary's hands. Ron directly sold them at the price of brand new ones.

After Vikrant took them away, he would resell them and easily earn a 30% difference.

This was only because the Indian government had just relaxed import and export taxes. Otherwise, Ron would have asked for an even higher price.

Unfortunately, in a few years, when the tax rates gradually returned to normal, there would be no such good things.

Four cameras, three Walkmans, and one handheld game console, with a total value of $3100.

The rupee exchange rate has been a bit strange recently. Last month it was 1:18, but this month it has fallen to 1:25, a big dive!

$3100 can now be exchanged for 77,500 rupees, cough, according to the official exchange rate.

Vikrant actually earned far more than a 30% difference, but since he and Ron were partners, the latter turned a blind eye.

But Mary and Lena wouldn't understand these details, so they were naturally surprised by such an outrageous "high price."

Ron explained the rough reasons to them, but didn't mention any details.

As the saying goes, if you explain everything too clearly, what will the middleman earn?

"Are you really not considering staying and having some fun?"

"I still have to go back and manage the company's operations. You know, the fun of making money is also very exciting."

In fact, Ron had already seen that these two beauties didn't have that kind of intention from the beginning.

Perhaps they were testing him in some way that they came up with this.

After all, the items the two were carrying were valuable. If the middleman they found was greedy and couldn't control his desires, it would be very dangerous.

Similarly, Ron didn't want to explore their identities. Judging from the clean and efficient methods of the other party, he knew they weren't ordinary tourists.

But that wasn't important. Black market rule number one: don't be curious about the identities of the parties involved in the transaction.

Having made a small profit of more than 7,000 rupees, Ron was in a good mood all morning.

Oh, after touching such a big deal, why does the weather feel hotter and hotter?

Ron couldn't help but think of his little Niya at home. Tsk, a little too young, right?

Forget it, I'll go back and take a look first. See if she's figured out her accounts for the past week.