The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 28: Star Gear (3)

Harry buzzed around Jason while he worked like an annoying fly. After all, he was highly interested in what kind of skills his grandson had been keeping from him. Harry had nothing but honest praise for Jason's work as his expression turned from being doubtful to impressed. Jason deftly handled the various pieces of metal as he processed them into his business sign.

He had opted to shape each part into a piece of each letter before screwing them together. This was solely for the aesthetics, as he could have easily made each letter from a single piece of metal. Jason began to arrange the elements that made up his symbol as well, and he smiled proudly as everything was finally completed. 'It's missing something.' Jason pondered as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

It did not take him long to realise that his symbol and the words STAR GEAR would look strange with only the building as its background. With a slight sigh, Jason tossed a few credits at the annoying old man and told him to buy a large board of wood to fix them on. 'I need to think about what I'll use as a wall to separate the workshop and the store.'

Jason silently measured up the area where the partition would go while he awaited Harry's return. Jason only considered it for a moment before deciding to combine the various scrap sheet metal and wood pieces that he had to make a solid wall. Each piece was practically worthless to him now anyway, so using it this way would actually save him the cost of buying some more.

Since it was just a matter of quickly securing them into one whole piece, Jason made rapid progress with this small project. So much so in fact that he had even completed the makeshift wall before Harry lumbered into the unit, trailing a heavy piece of dark wood.

"Hoh! You've been busy!" Harry chuckled as he watched Jason finish up bolting the makeshift partisan to the walls.

"Yeah, we got lucky with these wooden beams. If they weren't here, I have no idea how I could fix it to these solid walls." Jason stared intently at the concrete walls as he tried to guess how much power would be needed to penetrate them.

"Would your tool not manage it?" Harry asked in surprise as he stroked his facial hair.

"Of course not. The drill bits aren't hard enough. They'd break if I apply to much pressure. Even setting that aside I doubt it could generate anywhere near enough pressure to create a hole in this stuff." Jason scoffed in reply as he lost interest for the time being.

"Hm, I'll take your word for it." Harry reluctantly replied as this made him realise that his dreams of conquering his secret area might not be feasible yet.

"Let's take a look at what you got." Jason placed his tolls to the side before walking over to look at the piece of wood that Harry had bought.

He inadvertently gasped as he looked at it. It was a dark brown colour and had some serious weight to it. The edges were rounded, and it had a slight shine to it. "Where the fuck did you get this?"

Harry chuckled lightly before he replied. "There's a woodshop down the road a bit. I thought the dark colour of the wood would look better for the metal's shine. It did cost a pretty penny, though."

Jason scoffed in response as he rolled his eyes. The happy expression on Harry's face told him that he had actually got it for a bargain. He was just aiming to keep the extra credits he had been given for himself. 'Whatever. I'll let it slide this time since he actually brought me something good.'

Jason eagerly placed the gorgeous piece of wood on the counter before hurrying into the back to retrieve his tools and his sign parts. Fifteen minutes of heavy grunts later, they finally had their completed sign. Jason had to admit that the dark wood definitely brought more attention to the metal lettering. His symbol sat to the left of the signboard with the words STAR and GEAR placed one above the other sat neatly to the right of the more prominent logo.

Jason's eyes glimmered with anticipation. There was no way that anybody could mistake his store for another with this outside now. The dark wood's beauty spoke for quality, while the metal gave off an innovative feel with how it had been put together. All in all, his sign pretty much embodied the qualities that he wanted to project in his work! How could he not be ecstatic with it?

The pair of them had wide grins plastered on their faces as they carried the sign outside, which gathered some attention from their nearby neighbours who wondered what they were up to. Jason deliberately lay the signboard against the wall so that the onlookers could only see the rear of it for now. He did not want to reveal it until it was time to fix it to the metal bars that ran across the space above his unit's door.

Jason quickly ran inside and fetched the hooks that he had made earlier as he pieced the metal together and the rotten wooden ladder that had been left behind in the building. He snatched his Multitool off of the counter on his way back outside and got to work fixing the hooks to the rear of the sign.

He deliberately chose to do this part outside to showcase his tool to his neighbours. There was a good chance that some of them would become his customers once they saw what his business was actually about. So why not make use of the nosey crowd that was slowly gathering to do some free advertising?

Quite a few people in the crowd admired his tool's versatility as they watched him put it to use. They would be lying if they said that they were not interested or even wondering if he could produce something similar for their own trade-specific tools. This was precisely the reaction that Jason was after. Word of mouth was definitely the best form of advertising that he could hope for! Especially when his store had not even properly opened yet!

With the hooks now attached to the sign, the crowd watched on with eager expressions as Jason set up the ladder at one end. The wooden steps let out dangerous groans as he slowly applied his weight to each one during his ascension. 'Please don't break!' Jason silently prayed. It would be nothing short of embarrassing if he fell from it in front of so many people as he was trying to set a good impression.

Standing at the top of the ladder, Jason signalled to his Gramps to pass up one end to him. As he took it in his hands and with one swift movement, the duo flipped it as Harry quickly raised the other end using his strong tail. It only took a moment for the pair to swiftly slot the hooks over the bar and revealing the majesty of their sign to the onlooking crowd!

Jason broke out in a smile as he heard the gasps of those gathered around. It was evident that they were not expecting something like this! In one swift move, the newcomers on the block immediately elevated their business status to look like a more professional one than their own! Although their store was still mostly empty, this caused a chorus of jealous sighs amongst the crowd.

Even Adam, who was amongst the crowd, expressed a look of shock and envy. This sign spoke of prestige which instantly made him reevaluate his request to Jason earlier. 'Sure enough, I won't be able to afford his services either.' Adam sighed in exasperation as he felt like his hopes had been ground into the dirt.

Soon enough, Jason had descended the death trap of a ladder and brought himself to stand before the crowd. Just about every eye turned on him to look at this youth. Many of them wondered why he would take this chance to approach the group as their gazes went to Harry by the side.

"Everyone! Let me introduce myself." Jason announced loudly as the crowd shifted their attention back to him with raised eyebrows. "My name is Jason Wright, and I am the owner of Star Gear!"

Many gasps rose into the air as the crowd expressed their disbelief. They could not help but glance at the old man behind Jason. Naturally, they had assumed that Jason was merely an apprentice. However, their view of the world was overturned when Harry failed to refute Jason's comment! However, Jason had more to shock them with up his sleeves.

"We're a relatively new business compared to all of you guys, and I hope we can get along as neighbours. We'll be opening up shop at the end of the week, and I hope you will pay us a visit. In the spirit of goodwill, I'm willing to offer discounts on my goods and services to those of you who are willing to cooperate with us in an exchange of goods and services." Jason declared confidently, which even made Harry raise his eyebrows in surprise!

"Those who wish to work with us should be aware that I'm willing to offer a 20% discount on my goods and services for the same discount at your own stores. You can approach Harry here behind me to make the arrangements before we officially open. Thank you!" Jason performed a polite bow to the crowd before swiftly disappearing within his unit.

It only took the crowd a few moments to get over the stunning effect of Jason's speech before they eyed Harry like a hungry pack of wolves! Many of them quickly realised that the discount offered would amount to higher savings on their end than Jason's. Harry silently cursed as he was promptly swarmed by these quick-witted bargain hunters!

Jason chuckled away to himself as he heard the commotion that he caused going on outside. "Don't blame me, old man. I said I'd put you to work, and I meant it!"