Chapter 34: If the Price Is Right, I'll Take It!
“Dad, look, I’m watching a livestream,” Yinyin said, handing her phone to her father.
Zhang Lin took the phone just as Wang Yang appeared on screen, introducing the price of an F22 fighter jet.
“This guy is a livestream seller. Half a year ago, after a comment from some haters, he went all the way to the United States to buy an F22 fighter jet. Now, six months later, he’s back, saying he has two F22s for sale—originally priced at over three billion, now only three hundred million!”
“Is that so?” Zhang Lin smiled, his eyes suddenly brightening as he looked at the F22 on the livestream. “You don’t say, it does look convincing. Must be a model, right?”
As a retired army veteran, Zhang Lin had always been fascinated by military hardware like fighter jets and tanks. Unfortunately, when he served, his eyesight wasn’t good enough to qualify for the Air Force.
That dashed his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot.
Yet, his passion for fighter jets never waned.
During his service, he often visited Air Force bases with his superiors and secretly admired the jets he longed for—from the J6 to the J10, he had seen them all.
From a distance, they looked incredibly imposing.
The thought of piloting one, soaring through the skies, thrilled him, though that excitement was quickly tempered by regret.
After a few years in uniform, he took his demobilization allowance and boldly ventured into entrepreneurship. Years of hard work later, he had become the CEO of a well-known publicly listed company in Fancheng, worth tens of billions, nearing a hundred billion.
Over the years, in his spare time, he continued to study fighter jets—the American F22, F35, and China’s J20—delving deep into information and research.
Sometimes, he even entertained an impractical idea: to buy a fighter jet and keep it at home, even if just a model, something to gaze upon daily.
But acquiring such a model in China was no easy task.
Simply making a hollow shell model was pointless—it looked fake and lacked realism. Yet a fully replicated, exhibition-grade model would cost an astronomical amount, and even with money, it would be nearly impossible to obtain.
Business kept him busy, so it remained just a passing thought.
Now, with his daughter watching this livestream selling an F22 model, he felt unexpectedly intrigued.
“It must be a model, Dad. He’s just an internet celebrity. There’s no way he could buy a real F22. Even if he went to the US, he’d never meet the top brass,” Yinyin laughed.
Having a military-enthusiast father made it hard for her to avoid these topics sometimes.
Zhang Lin smiled but didn’t reply, instead focusing intently on the F22 in the livestream.
Should he buy it and keep it at home?
The model looked incredibly lifelike—an exact one-to-one replica of the F22.
Only such a model would satisfy his long-held desire.
“Dad, are you tempted?” Yinyin teased, as if reading his mind.
Zhang Lin waved her off. “Go on, get back to your homework. I’ll hold your phone for now and give it back when you’re done.”
With that, he left her room, ignoring her calls and playful protests, closing the door behind him.
Seated in the spacious living room, his eyes never left the F22, barely registering what Wang Yang was saying.
Three hundred million…
Honestly, for just a model, that price was quite steep—an enormous markup.
If it were priced at a few tens of millions, maybe eighty million, he would consider it.
After all, it only looked like the real thing on the outside; he wondered about the interior. Was it as authentic as the real F22?
Curious, he typed in the livestream chat: “Does this F22 model only look like the real thing on the outside? Is it hollow inside, or does it have internal components?”
Almost immediately, the chat exploded.
“Whoa, is that a real buyer? Interested in Yang’s model?”
“Crazy! Three hundred million for a broken model? The cost to make it couldn’t be more than a million. Honestly, even a robbery wouldn’t be this fast. Wang Yang must be trying to make money for the rest of his life in one go!”
“Surprised someone actually asked! Haha, is this another hater trying to troll?”
“Dude, why would you want to buy a fake F22? Three hundred million could buy several clubs—you could have fun for two years! What’s the point of a broken model?”
“They didn’t say they were buying. Unlike you haters, who just talk and never buy. Even a scoundrel knows to say nice things; you haters aren’t worth anything. Tch!”
“Right, right. If Rich Brother really wants it, V me 500 to prove it.”
“This is Yang’s livestream—selling F22s! 500 won’t cut it. Rich Brother, V me 50,000 so I can verify your funds.”
“Man, no way he’s serious. Why be a sucker? Let those two F22s rot in the warehouse. A broken model for 300 million? Must be nuts!”
“Wang Yang, I advise you to stop now. If you sell it and the buyer finds it’s not as promised, you can be sued for fraud! With that much money involved, you could face the death penalty!”
Wang Yang ignored the comments and responded quickly.
“To the friend asking what’s inside, I’ll show you. Hey, someone bring me a ladder.”
Zhang Lin paid no mind to the chat as he watched Wang Yang climb a ladder with a camera, pointing it inside the F22 model.
“Look inside, brother. The interior is exactly that of an F22 cockpit. No parts missing, everything intact. I guarantee it’s original, never opened before. Even the fuel tanks are clean.”
Zhang Lin smiled, resting his chin on his hand, pondering.
From the footage, the interior was indeed meticulously crafted—an authentic replica of the original controls, every button identical. Truly impressive.
Still, 300 million was a bit much…
If he could negotiate it down to around 150 million, he might seriously consider it. At worst, he’d write it off as a costly hobby for a quarter.
Thinking it over, he typed again: “Is there any room for negotiation on the price? Three hundred million seems a bit high.”