Dev Menon came to the Kulashekaran Kirana store, or what used to be the Kulashekaran Kirana store, the first thing in the morning.

Dev Menon was madly in love with the cars that were newly introduced in the empire; it was safe to say he was obsessed. All his colleagues and even the managers working in his company had already bought a car for themselves, ranging from the Veers, Surya S12, to the newly hot Tata Surakshas. But despite being envious and jealous, he did not make the decision to purchase a car for himself. Not because he was a reserved person who didn't want to show off or he didn't have an actual need for it, no, it couldn't be any further from the truth, as the reason was actually simple.

Ever since steam-powered cars were unveiled, a single model caught his eye, the Raya Imperial R1. Of course, he hadn't seen it directly, but even looking at the image in the newspaper made his heart beat rapidly. Although he knew that he was in over his head when he dreamed about purchasing such a car, he could not help it, but his hopes were completely dashed when he realised that Raya Mobility would only sell its cars to those it deems deserving.

Unless his company became one of the biggest in the heavy industry sector, he basically had no hope. After coming to such a realisation, he looked for the next best thing, the Aakarsh A-7, the most exquisite car in the empire that was making waves in the elite circles.

He saw it first when he attended a birthday party of a manager in the Shivaji Shipyard, so beautiful and mesmerising that he almost lost his mind. From that day onward, he was obsessed with owning the A-7, and in order to have that exact car, he even rejected a colleague's offer to introduce someone who could get him the Kashi VK3. Maybe if he hadn't seen the A-7, he might have taken the offer, since the car in the empire with the most demand apart from the Aakarsh A-7 is the Kashi VK3, not because it is an absolute beauty or the most reliable car on the market, but because it is the car of Prince Agni. When it comes to reliability, there are two or three other cars that can beat the Kashi VK3, but since he already had his eyes on the A-7, he felt like he wouldn't be satisfied getting the Kashi VK3.

Unfortunately, purchasing the A-7 turned out to be harder than he imagined, for one, there was only one outlet of Aakarsh Mobility in the whole state of Charanadu, and as soon as the car was in stock, people who had relations with the manager or even the third-party suppliers of Aakarsh Mobility itself purchased the car themselves and left nothing for an outsider like him. But now, since a shop near him somehow got the permit to sell the A-7, he did not want to miss the opportunity.

Dev Menon could see the coming soon board on the shop; he could also see the workers working on the interior decor. From his mother's words, he judged that the showroom was yet to open for business, but he wanted to meet the manager or whoever was in charge in order to establish a relationship so that a car would be reserved for him.

He did ask the contractor boy if the manager would be coming, and to his surprise, the guy said there were actually sales staff who were accepting pre-bookings.

"Where can I meet this person? Please lead me to them."

His excitement was palpable, and the eagerness on his face couldn't be controlled.

The young contractor was a little taken aback by this sudden change of expression, but, scratching his head, he looked around.

"She was here just a few moments ago, but it looks like she left somewhere. Please sit down, I will tell her about your arrival as soon as she comes to the showroom." Saying that, he pulled out his tool and went back to work.

Dev Menon did not feel annoyed that he had to wait; he was so happy that nothing could destroy his good mood. Thankfully, he did not have to wait for long. A young girl dressed in pleasant green attire came directly to him after the young contractor boy said something to her.

"I am sorry to keep you waiting, sir."

"Are you looking to purchase an A-7?"

"Yes," Dev answered straightforwardly.

"Then please come with me."

Dev was confused as to where he was being taken, but since the girl did not ask him to get on a carriage and only walked, he was not worried. Besides, he knew the locality very well.

Soon, Dev entered a very familiar restaurant he used to dine at quite frequently before, but after his company got bigger, he contracted all the meals and lunches of his company to a permanent catering company.

"Murugan brother, how are you?"

"Oh, Sir Dev, I haven't seen you in a long time. Have you been well?"

He casually said a few words to the familiar restaurant owner and came to a table where a middle-aged man and a young boy were seated.

"This is the manager of the store, and this is our accountant."

"Manager, this is the gentleman who wants to purchase the A-7."

After introducing both parties, the young girl who had brought him swiftly left.

The manager put on a pleasant and cordial smile. "Thank you for showing interest in the A-7, sir."

"But first, let me show you this. These are the credentials of our company. We have legally purchased the dealership directly from Aakarsh Mobility throughout Cheranadu. This document should be enough for you to see our company's legitimacy."

Dev Menon had no doubt about the company to begin with, since doing things like this was too easy to get caught and end up enjoying more than a decade of jail food. Still, he took the document, and as soon as he read through it, he confirmed that what the man said was true.

"I have seen enough."

"How do I purchase the car?"

"It is my great regret that I say the car cannot be delivered to you until the end of the week. However, you can pre-book it with a down payment of 50,000 Varaha. The total price is 120,000 Varaha GST inclusive, which includes a two-year engine warranty and a four-year parts warranty. You'll also receive two complimentary services, four additional services at a 50% discount, and a lifetime 20% discount on all maintenance at any Kulashekaran showroom across the state."

"Oh, I remember the A-7 sold for 115,000 Varaha in the first batch. Is 5,000 Varaha profit enough for your showroom?"

The manager was surprised that a customer would actually ask why the price was low. This is the first time he has ever seen one. "The Ex-factory price has been reduced, sir, so we have some leeway to provide you with all these services."

Dev was caught off guard. For some reason, he felt like the reason why the car prices had gone down and why he is getting so many orders were somehow correlated; he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Do you know why, and also, if possible, can you say how much the price has gone down?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm not aware of. The logistics department of the company should have this information, but I don't know if it could be publicised. I will have to verify with the company's lawyer if there are any binding conditions."

"Forget it, I was simply curious, no need to go through all that trouble. Let's close the deal. Can I see the contract?"

The accountant swiftly took out the contract that had already been prepared and placed it in front of Dev Menon. Dev Menon carefully looked through the document, and after making sure everything was alright, he went through with the purchase and made a payment using the 10,000 Varaha bond papers he had with him.

After receiving the document, he left in a pleasant mood.

---

A similar scene happened throughout the day, and this is not only in one city but in all five cities where the Kulashekaran showrooms were present, and in all the partnering showrooms across the state as well.

The 200 cars, the deadline which Sheila set for herself according to the credit line she had gotten from Aakarsh Mobility, were sold out within a day.

Looking at the sales figures, Sheila and the old lawyer Aravind were at a loss for words.

In the blink of an eye, they earned millions of Varaha. Although the cash was not in their hands, it was as good as in their hands.

"Uncle, let's immediately place an order for the 200 cars."

Aravind's eyebrows jumped.

"But with the down payment, we can only purchase 50 to 60 cars. What about the funds for the rest?"

"I will secure a loan from the bank."

"But Miss, all tangible assets, including the master's house, have already been mortgaged. I don't think the banks are willing to lend more."

"No, uncle, that was before. Now, if they see that we have already recovered nearly half of the money spent on purchasing the permit by reselling it to other showrooms, and examine the contracts we hold, they will be willing to extend a loan."

"Worst comes to worst, we can mortgage the contracts. Our profit margins are 25%. I am confident the banks will recognise our ability to repay the loan, and the interest will certainly be attractive to them."

Aravind paused thoughtfully and nodded. "It might work, young miss, but…" His brows furrowed. "Our profits will be significantly reduced, and the repayment of the previous loan will take longer."

Sheila didn't take the profits to her mind at all. She shook her head nonchalantly, "Don't worry, uncle. There's still plenty of time to repay the loan. Besides, delivering the 200 cars is far more important. Know why?" Aravind shook his head. "As a new showroom, we lack experience and public trust. Customers have no reason to choose us over other cars in the same price range unless they are seeking the A-7."

"So the first sale must establish our reputation. Delivering all 200 cars to our customers on the same day will generate far greater attention than handing them over gradually while recovering funds."

"Think about it, uncle. Something like this has never happened before. If we take the initiative, it will surely be covered in the newspapers. And if it is, won't that save us considerable effort on publicity?"

"In this situation," she continued, "consider which approach is more advantageous: maintaining immediate profits but delivering slowly, which may not enhance our reputation, or sacrificing short-term gains to build a strong reputation across the state? Besides, we only need to make this sacrifice once. If we increase our credit limit for a second or third transaction with Aakarsh Mobility, the money we forgo now will return manyfold."

Aravind's eyes lit up as he considered the proposal. Smiling, he said, "Let's proceed as you envisioned, young miss." Pride shone in his expression. What more could he say? The young miss has planned so much. He simply agreed with her decision and contacted his personal connections at Bharatiya Southern United Bank to arrange the loan and inquire about the interest rate.

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