Chapter 121: Wuchang, Northeast

"Business is getting harder and harder to do," Liu Changhe sighed, looking at his small shop, which had not seen a customer in quite some time.

Liu Changhe was a veteran of the trade—or rather, his entire family was. His grandfather had been a clerk at a grocery store, and his father had followed in those footsteps. After the economic reforms, his father opened a small convenience store. By the time Liu Changhe took over, he had rebranded the shop from "The Honest Man’s Grocery" to "The Honest Man’s Convenience Store."

It was said that this was the trendiest way to name a shop, though unfortunately, Liu Changhe didn't quite grasp the essence of a modern convenience store. He had simply changed the sign; in reality, it remained the same old shop, selling snacks, beverages, and basic staples like rice, flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

Consequently, he couldn't keep up with the times, and business remained mediocre. That was until one day, a salesman claiming to be from "Jiangnan Blind Box" approached him.

"You can start stocking the rice and cooking oil sold in your shop through us from now on!" the salesman said, handing Liu a slip of paper.

"What is this, forced buying and selling?" Liu asked, eyeing the man suspiciously. He looked at the note and saw it was from a company called "Northeast Wuchang Grain Company."

"Not at all, please let me explain!" the man replied with a smile. "Our company sells a large volume of grain and oil exchange vouchers. To make it convenient for our customers to redeem these across the city, we are setting up designated points at shops like yours. I noticed you already sell these items, so this shouldn't interfere with your daily operations at all."

"If someone brings one of these vouchers to your store, you simply provide the corresponding quantity of grain or oil. You don't charge them any money."

"If you source your stock from this Wuchang Grain Company, the rice costs forty cents per jin. At the same time, you can hand these collected vouchers over to the company's representatives, and they will buy them back from you at a rate of fifty cents per jin," the salesman explained.

"I see. So, you're saying I earn a ten-cent profit for every jin I sell, just with a bit more hassle in the redemption process?" Liu calculated. "But normally, I can make fifty cents on a jin of rice. You're only offering ten cents—am I a fool?"

"You’re joking, sir. The point is, without our vouchers, those people wouldn't be coming to your shop to buy rice in the first place!" The salesman’s words left Liu speechless. The man continued, "Any rice you purchase from us can be returned for a full refund without any fees, so there is no risk to your sales."

"Furthermore, we will send people to deliver the goods and collect the vouchers, sparing you the labor of restocking."

"Finally, we are only setting up one designated redemption point on this street. We estimate that at least 5,000 jin worth of rice vouchers will be redeemed here every month. Are you sure you want to pass up that money?"

"5,000 jin!" Liu was stunned. Even with a profit of only ten cents per jin, that was 500 yuan in profit. His little shop usually only cleared a few thousand yuan in net profit a month—barely enough to get by. Adding 500 yuan to that would be fantastic.

In truth, he didn't even need 500; he would have been happy with 100.

Liu Changhe happily reached an agreement with the salesman. Similar scenes were playing out on every street in Shanghai, and the process was remarkably smooth. Unlike large supermarket chains, small shops weren't too proud to overlook the potential of a few hundred yuan. They cherished every bit of profit they could get. Thus, Liu Xiangjiang’s layout proceeded without a hitch. In just one week, he had integrated the entire grain and oil blind box redemption system into every street in Shanghai, reaching even the oldest and most dilapidated residential neighborhoods.

The other partner, Northeast Wuchang Grain, had been introduced by Shen Yuequn, who was based in the Northeast.

Shen Yuequn had already gained significant status and influence across the three northeastern provinces. Remembering the popularity of Wuchang rice in his previous life, Huang He had instructed Shen to contact Wuchang City in Heilongjiang to see if they could arrange the transportation of rice and oil.

Shen reported back that Wuchang was currently striving to promote its local grain industry. Led by the local government, they had established the Northeast Wuchang Grain Company and were trying to promote their products nationwide, though they had struggled to gain a foothold.

Shen’s arrival was exactly what both parties needed. Huang He immediately changed his flight to South Korea, flew to Harbin in Heilongjiang, and drove for several hours to reach Wuchang City. Within a single day, he had secured a partnership agreement.

On one hand, the Jiangnan Group was facing a supply shortage for its nationwide expansion. On the other hand, Wuchang Grain, despite official support, had seen disastrous sales performance in major cities across the country. Large quantities of grain were piling up, and they had been operating at a loss for three years. The proposal from the Jiangnan Group was a perfect match.

The purchase price of forty cents per jin was excellent for them, as they often had to sell their grain for thirty cents or even less.

At the same time, Jiangnan reached a procurement agreement for many other grain and oil products from the Wuchang Grain Company. Future Jiangnan grain and oil blind boxes would exclusively use their products, saving a great deal of trouble.

Of course, only high-volume staples like rice, flour, and cooking oil would be redeemed at these small shops. Higher-value items would still be redeemed on the spot at the main stores; after all, it was unlikely anyone would have the luck to draw multiple hidden-edition blind boxes at once.

Consequently, the Jiangnan Group stood to make even more. The redemption value of the vouchers was five yuan. A voucher for 10 jin of rice would net them a 5-yuan profit, one yuan more than when they sourced vouchers from supermarkets.

While the initial market setup required some manpower, the tedious tasks—such as delivery and voucher collection—were handled by Wuchang Grain. In the future, Jiangnan only needed to settle the accounts with them.

Boss Huang was very satisfied with the result, and Wuchang Grain was happy as well; at least their business now had a future. The only person unhappy was Leng Zhimeng, because of the sudden trip to Wuchang for inspections, signings, and other collaborative matters.

Although Wuchang was only a province away, and Huang He had worked quickly to finish in two days, by the time they arrived in Seoul, South Korea—the venue for the first World Cyber Games—the first day of the competition had already begun.