Chapter 46: Fed to the Mouth, and It Still Ran Away

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Fed to the Mouth, and It Still Ran Away

While Wei Yuan was marveling at Li Yuan Farm’s blueberries, he hadn’t forgotten the business at hand. He immediately opened another bag the driver had brought over. "Boss Zhang, in addition to these new blueberries, our county also has Furong plums, developed through multiple grafting experiments. Please, have a taste."

The bag was filled with purplish-red Furong plums, a common fruit in Min Province, though the ones before him were noticeably larger.

Zhang Lin nodded, took a Furong plum, and tried it. The flavor was decent, and it tasted fine, but it didn’t vastly outperform other fruits on the market. Its larger size, however, was a distinct advantage.

’They’re decent,’ he thought. Outwardly, he smiled and said, "Director Wei, these Furong plums are quite good."

His internal evaluation was based on a comparison with his game’s products. Compared to a "Quality 1" item from the game, this real-world fruit was naturally nothing special.

In reality, however, these Furong plums were indeed a cut above the rest. Otherwise, the You City Agriculture Bureau wouldn’t be pushing for local farmers to grow them and the blueberries.

"Boss Zhang, shall we discuss selling the Furong plums and blueberries through Li Yuan Farm, then?" Wei Yuan asked with a smile upon hearing the positive review. Both fruits were now ready for market, and he was eager to finalize the arrangements.

"Okay." Zhang Lin nodded, leading Wei Yuan and the others to a wooden table in the lounge.

Wei Yuan began to lay out the details. "Boss Zhang, we’ve already settled things with the farmers. For both fruits sold through Li Yuan Farm, the wholesale price will be 30% lower than the going rate."

"Alright, we’ll go with the price you’ve set, Director Wei," Zhang Lin agreed with a smile.

It was a very sincere offer.

’After all, the wholesale price I’m being offered is 30% lower than the market rate. Crucially, my farm is a tourist attraction. If the fruit sells for 25 yuan per jin in You City, I could easily sell it for 30.’

’By that calculation, my profit margin would be 10.5 yuan per jin. Selling 1,000 jin would net me 10,500 yuan.’

’This must be squeezing the farmers’ profits pretty hard,’ he thought. ’After all, with online sales, shipping is another major expense.’

’However, that part is negotiable. Bulk packing and shipping costs can be very low. Since the Agriculture Bureau is spearheading this, I’m sure they’ll handle it properly.’

Besides, Zhang Lin understood that they weren’t willing to take such a hit on the price just for the profits they’d make selling from his farm. Their main goal was to build a reputation.

If they could ride this wave of online traffic to establish their name, everyone would learn about You City’s two specialty fruits, making future promotions and sales much easier.

"Boss Zhang, since that’s settled, we can sign a contract later. As for the finer points, Mengxi will discuss them with you. She’ll be your point of contact for this project moving forward," Wei Yuan said, gesturing to Lin Mengxi beside him. After all, this had been her proposal.

Besides, he really only had a superficial understanding of all things internet-related.

Lin Mengxi gracefully produced a planning document and handed it to Zhang Lin. "Boss Zhang, this is a proposal I’ve drafted. Please take a look. I’m happy to clarify anything that’s unclear."

Zhang Lin took the proposal and began to read.

The proposal didn’t just cover selling the two fruits at Li Yuan Farm; it also detailed the plans and procedures for a live-stream shopping event.

A government-backed live stream to support farmers was naturally different from one hosted by a typical online influencer; they had to be mindful of its public image.

That was why many local governments hosted these events themselves. However, You City’s official accounts lacked the necessary online traffic, so they had no choice but to seek help from Li Yuan Farm.

Essentially, the Agriculture Bureau wanted to borrow Li Yuan Farm’s account and online traffic, but they would handle the actual event themselves.

Of course, the Agriculture Bureau wasn’t doing this out of pure altruism; what they were after were political achievements to add to their record.

Lin Mengxi’s proposal was excellent. She had even included strategies for Li Yuan Farm to maintain and even increase its online traffic.

Zhang Lin worked with social media himself, so he could tell at a glance that her strategies were solid.

’No wonder the Agriculture Bureau put her in charge of this matter.’

He read it through carefully, then said, "Miss Lin, there are no major issues with the proposal. The only problem is the host. You might not know this, but Fu Yao was just someone I hired temporarily for the promotional video. On top of that, she’s a junior in high school and has classes to attend."

"A high school junior?" Lin Mengxi’s expression turned strange as she stared at Zhang Lin.

She’d guessed from the video that the model was young, but she hadn’t expected her to be only a junior.

’She’s so young!’

Zhang Lin quickly said, "Miss Lin, please don’t look at me like that. I have no live-streaming skills!"

"Huh?" Lin Mengxi was taken aback. ’Is that what I was implying?’

She was simply surprised by the model’s age.

’Shouldn’t a man his age, when hiring a model, pick a beautiful woman who fits his personal... preferences?’

Wei Yuan hadn’t expected the girl to be a junior either.

The original plan was to have her host the live stream. After all, the Flower Sea video had gone viral, and the girl herself was clearly very popular.

Now that plan was off the table.

He could only suggest, "Boss Zhang, how about Mengxi steps in for the blueberry and plum stream? Our Mengxi is excellent, too."

"Miss Lin would certainly be a good choice," Zhang Lin agreed with a nod.

’Lin Mengxi has a great figure and is very attractive. Crucially, she works for the government, which gives her a unique, professional air that typical influencers lack. As long as she has an audience, she’ll have no problem as a host.’

"I can do it," Lin Mengxi replied, as poised as ever. "However, I’d like to ask Boss Zhang to please check with Fu Yao for us. See if she could spare some time in the coming days to shoot a few short videos. Even just a brief appearance during the live stream would be great. It’s clear from the Li Yuan Farm ad that she’s very popular. Naturally, we would compensate her for her time."

Hearing this, Wei Yuan added, "Her school schedule should be easy to work around. We can just have her use some of her evening self-study time. The Agriculture Bureau will issue an official written notice and coordinate with her school."

"Alright. I’ll ask her when she gets out of school for her lunch break," Zhang Lin agreed.

’This could be a good opportunity for Fu Yao,’ Zhang Lin thought. ’Building a good relationship with the Agriculture Bureau now could make things easier for her down the line. If she ever struggles to find a job she likes after college, returning to You City to take the civil service exam would be much easier for her than for others.’

Of course, that all depended on whether Fu Yao was interested.

The negotiations went very smoothly. In the end, Wei Yuan’s team produced a contract, and after confirming there were no issues, Zhang Lin signed it.

Just as everything was settled, Zhang Lin’s phone suddenly rang. He frowned when he saw it was another unfamiliar number.

Nevertheless, he answered. An urgent voice came through the receiver. "President Zhang, my apologies for calling so abruptly. I’m Zhao Han, Director of the You City Tourism Bureau. We previously invited you to our office to fill out the application for the tourism project subsidy, and our team has carefully reviewed your materials..."

Zhang Lin was visibly taken aback. He hadn’t expected it to be the Tourism Bureau again.

He really didn’t want to get involved with them right now. Who knew if he’d be expected to be "understanding" again?

Crucially, he was already cooperating with the Agriculture Bureau, making a partnership with the Tourism Bureau unnecessary.

With that in mind, he cut in, "Director Zhao, after careful consideration, I’ve decided that Li Yuan Farm doesn’t need the subsidy. Please give it to a project that truly needs it. You can go ahead and withdraw my application. Besides, our farm is in the middle of a collaboration with the Agriculture Bureau, so we’re going to be quite busy. Thank you for your concern, Director!"

After name-dropping the Agriculture Bureau and offering his thanks, he hung up the phone.

’By mentioning the Agriculture Bureau, the Tourism Bureau shouldn’t pester me anymore,’ he thought.

Across the table, Wei Yuan’s attention was immediately captured by the words "Tourism Bureau." He realized they were trying to poach from him again. The jurisdiction over the terraced fields scenic area had been snatched away from the Agriculture Bureau by them in the past.

’It was clearly a place for farming.’

And now they were trying it again? Even if he and Zhao Han were friends, this was intolerable.

’That guy specializes in poaching from his own friends.’

But hearing Boss Zhang so decisively shut down the Tourism Bureau’s advances made him ecstatic. Thank goodness he’d moved quickly this time.

With that thought, he couldn’t resist pulling out his phone. He found Zhao Han on WeChat, took a quick video of his surroundings, and sent it with a message: "Might be pretty busy for a while, collaborating with Li Yuan Farm."

Three seconds later, he sent another message: "Zhao, how did this get sent to you? Whoops, wrong person!"

「Elsewhere.」

Zhao Han was left stunned by Zhang Lin’s polite but firm shutdown. The words of persuasion he had prepared were caught in his throat.

He hadn’t been given any chance to plead his case.

Crucially, he had heard "Agriculture Bureau." ’Has that guy Wei already gotten his hooks into Li Yuan Farm?’

No matter how composed he usually was, he felt like cursing. This was supposed to be a sure thing! Zhang Lin had come to the Tourism Bureau first, after all.

Just then, he received the video and two messages from Wei Yuan.

’Wrong person, my ass!’

’Wei was just rubbing it in.’

But under the circumstances, all he could do was send back a "feeling wronged" emoji and a "speechless" emoji.

Still, You City had finally produced a viral hit with this Flower Sea. Its popularity had only exploded further in a short time. This morning, the video had around 400,000 likes; now it was approaching 600,000. Even videos filmed by tourists were piggybacking on the hype and getting tons of likes.

So, there was no way he could give up on this.

It was just that Boss Zhang’s attitude suggested he had a deep-seated misunderstanding of the bureau. He was clearly disgusted by Chen Ting’s behavior. ’So, firing that guy was just him getting what he deserved.’

He thought of his cousin, Chen Shengfei. He had been the one to alert him to this opportunity in the first place, so he must know the owner of Li Yuan Farm. Perhaps he could ask him for an introduction.

He immediately made the call. As soon as it connected, his cousin Chen Shengfei’s voice came through. "Zhao Han, the tip about Li Yuan Farm was solid, right? I practically gift-wrapped this massive opportunity and put it in your lap. How are you going to thank me this time?"

"..." Hearing this, Zhao Han was at a loss for words.

It was true. The opportunity had been placed right in his lap, only for someone else to snatch it away.

How utterly depressing.

...