Chapter 44: The Director’s Confidence

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Director’s Confidence

After Zhang Lin hung up, he couldn’t help but marvel. It was clear Director Wei really took this matter seriously; otherwise, he wouldn’t be rushing over right after just one phone call.

After putting down his phone, he looked at the game in his mind again and opened the Procurement Market.

This time, he had received two new items for purchase, and he hadn’t even seen their attributes yet.

Blueberries (Quality 1), wholesale price 4 yuan/pound, available wholesale quantity: 500 pounds/day.

Special Fast-Growing White-Fleshed Sweet Potato Seedlings (Quality 1), purchase price 0.5 yuan/seedling, available purchase quantity: 10,000 seedlings/day.

The price for these two items wasn’t expensive. Purchasing all of them would only cost 7,000 yuan.

Zhang Lin clicked to purchase both items, and a notification popped up, confirming the successful purchase and that the items had been stored in the warehouse.

He immediately went to the warehouse. There, he saw basket after basket of blueberries, as well as bundles of fast-growing, white-fleshed sweet potato seedlings stacked in a corner, forming a lush, emerald-green pile.

He walked over, picked up a blueberry, and saw its description:

[Blueberry: Quality 1]

[This is a special quality blueberry produced by the game. Its flavor is excellent, and it leaves a sweet aftertaste. Special Effects: Flavor +1, Texture +1, Sweet Aftertaste +1]

Zhang Lin was taken aback by the description.

’Flavor +1 and Texture +1, I get that. After all, the honey peaches and Sunshine Rose grapes had those attributes.’

’But what’s with this "Sweet Aftertaste"?’

’Sweet is just sweet. But a "sweet" aftertaste? What’s that supposed to mean?’

’The best way to figure it out is to try one.’

Zhang Lin grabbed a few blueberries, rinsed them under the faucet, and popped them into his mouth.

With Flavor +1 and Texture +1, there was no way the blueberries could taste bad. Just like the Sunshine Rose grapes, one bite left you wanting another.

After eating a few, he understood what "Sweet Aftertaste" meant.

When people drink tea, a single sip allows them to savor the lingering aroma. The quality of this aromatic aftertaste is one of the most important criteria for judging a good tea.

And now, after eating these blueberries, he was experiencing a similar effect.

However, this aftertaste was a unique kind of sweetness.

It wasn’t a sugary sweetness.

It was a faint yet thoroughly enjoyable sweetness that lingered after he finished eating, a magical sensation that seemed to drift around the tip of his nose.

With these three attributes, he wouldn’t have any trouble selling the blueberries.

Even though the market price for blueberries had plummeted to a level similar to that of Sunshine Rose grapes, he planned to sell these for 60 yuan a pound.

This was the premium price for blueberries before the market crash; he could probably even sell them for more!

But even though the game system made it easy to earn money, he still believed in following the laws of the market when it came to produce.

After all, the extra profit from the fruit was nothing compared to selling another 1,000 entry tickets.

However, he didn’t plan to wholesale them. Instead, he would sell them directly at the farm’s service center. 500 pounds would sell out easily.

Next, he walked over to the fast-growing, white-fleshed sweet potato seedlings, picked up a bundle to examine it, and when he saw the description, he couldn’t help but exclaim, ’Holy cow!’

[Special Fast-Growing White-Fleshed Sweet Potato Seedling: Quality 1]

[This is a fast-growing, white-fleshed sweet potato seedling produced by the game. After planting, it has Growth Speed +1. When the resulting sweet potatoes are harvested, steamed, and eaten, they will have a Skin Whitening Effect +1!

Restriction: The special effect is only active when planted on land within the farm’s boundaries!]

These special fast-growing, white-fleshed sweet potatoes only had one attribute besides Growth Speed +1: Skin Whitening Effect +1.

But that single attribute alone would give the harvested sweet potatoes immense value.

After all, countless women spent fortunes on cosmetics or even endured painful whitening injections just to lighten their skin.

So, what would happen if something came along that could whiten skin just by being steamed and eaten?

Beauty-conscious women would go absolutely crazy for it.

The only shame was that he could only get 10,000 seedlings a day.

This variety of small sweet potato seedling required 5,000 seedlings per mu of land, so the daily supply was only enough to plant two mu.

And with the Growth Speed +1 attribute, considering the normal growth cycle for sweet potatoes, if he bought and planted seedlings daily, he’d be able to harvest the first day’s crop before he even finished planting 100 mu.

Regardless, this was definitely something that would attract female tourists. He absolutely had to plant it.

With that, he called over two farmhands. He ordered one to lead a team to plant the sweet potato seedlings, and the other to take a team to move the blueberries to the service center.

When Zhang Lin got to the service center, he called Zhao Lin, the head of the restaurant waitstaff, over to the lounge area.

In a corner of the lounge was a sales counter, which had been set aside for selling products. With 500 pounds of blueberries now available, it was the perfect time to put one of the counters to use.

He gave Zhao Lin direct orders, "Get a few people to clean this sales counter. A batch of blueberries will be delivered shortly. Display them for sale, and assign one of your staff to manage this spot."

"Yes, Boss!" Zhao Lin nodded, immediately grabbing the walkie-talkie at her waist and giving orders for the restaurant staff to come over and help clean, since the restaurant was empty at the moment.

Zhang Lin had specifically provided these walkie-talkies to make it easier for employees to report and coordinate with each other.

...

A short while later, a sedan drove into Li Yuan Farm.

Wei Yuan and Lin Mengxi stepped out of the car, accompanied by a driver from the Agriculture Bureau. After getting out, the driver did the heavy lifting, retrieving two bags from the trunk.

The moment the three of them entered the service center, they were captivated by its appearance.

"This service center is really well-built!" Wei Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim in praise. "You can see the care that went into it. This Boss Zhang’s success is no accident."

"I agree." Lin Mengxi nodded.

Even though she knew nothing about design, she could tell the service center’s style was unique. It gave off an instantly comfortable feeling that was not something just any building could achieve.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan found a staff member and said, "We’re from the Agriculture Bureau. We have an appointment with your Boss Zhang. Could you please take us to him?"

The staff member glanced at him and said, "Follow me."

Wei Yuan nodded and followed, leading Lin Mengxi and the driver into the lounge. They arrived in front of the newly cleaned sales counter.

The staff member walked right up to Zhang Lin. "Boss, these people are from the Agriculture Bureau. They say they have an appointment with you."

Wei Yuan, knowing who Zhang Lin was, immediately stepped forward to shake his hand. "Boss Zhang, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m the one who spoke with you on the phone earlier!"

"Ah, Director Wei! Welcome, welcome!" Zhang Lin, knowing who he was, responded warmly.

After shaking hands, Wei Yuan made the introduction. "Boss Zhang, this is Lin Mengxi. She’ll be in charge of our collaboration with Li Yuan Farm, as well as future endeavors like livestream sales. She’s planned it all out!"

"Miss Lin, a pleasure." Zhang Lin shook hands with Lin Mengxi, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

’She’s gorgeous,’ he thought. ’Her figure and looks are both top-notch, and she has a unique air about her.’

’The fact that Wei Yuan brought her along and gave her such a specific introduction means she must be extremely capable.’

After shaking hands with Zhang Lin, Lin Mengxi took the two bags from the driver and placed them on the table. "Boss Zhang, Director Wei mentioned some new fruit varieties on the phone. These are the two. I brought some for you to try!"

Zhang Lin curiously opened one of the bags. He froze for a moment when he saw what was inside.

"Blueberries?"

’You City’s Agriculture Bureau is promoting these too?’

Just like with Sunshine Rose grapes, this kind of widespread promotion was a major reason the price of blueberries had plummeted from its peak.

When everyone saw it was profitable, they all rushed to plant it. Once the supply went up, the price came down. The next stage was brand competition. If two farms grew the same thing, the one with a recognized, well-promoted brand would always sell better.

And that was precisely what the You City Agriculture Bureau was trying to do now.

At that moment, Lin Mengxi began her introduction. "Boss Zhang, these blueberries are a new variety, a little different from the standard ones. They’re sweeter and juicier. Give them a try; I’m sure you won’t be disappointed."

Hearing this, Zhang Lin picked one out and popped it into his mouth.

They did taste pretty good.

They were indeed sweeter and juicier than any he had eaten before.

’They really are quite good,’ he thought.

But unfortunately, no matter how delicious these real-world blueberries were, they were still a far cry from the ones produced by his game system.

"So, Boss Zhang, what do you think?" Wei Yuan asked, his face full of confidence. "I can’t speak for other products, but when we were developing these blueberries, we brought in experts from the Ming City Agricultural Laboratory for guidance. I can say with pride that our new variety is absolutely the best on the market. All we’re lacking now is promotion."

...