Chapter 11: 11,200 times the profit
At Blue Star's home.
"Damn it, that girl, it hurt like hell!"
Lu Yao rubbed the inner side of his thigh where Liao Qe had pinched him hard.
"I was asking for your sizes to buy clothes for you two. At worst, all I could do was think about it; I couldn't do anything more, even if it was rude, there was no need to go this far!"
Lu Yao placed the Cordyceps he brought back on the table, intending to contact the herbal medicine merchants he knew to sell them off.
"1 jin should be enough to resolve the urgent crisis."
He opened WeChat and searched through his contacts, the first one he found was the owner of Jintong Pharmacy—Boss Li. They had often gone to him for medicine and were familiar with each other.
Lu Yao sent several high-definition pictures of the Cordyceps and asked directly:
[Bro Li, I've got some Cordyceps here, they are in decent condition. Are you interested in buying them?]
The response came instantly: [Little Lu, why don't you keep them for your own use? Your illness makes these perfect for you.]
Lu Yao replied: [I'm tight on cash recently, looking to sell cheap to someone I know]
He didn't have the time to dabble in commerce in Blue Star, so he wanted to sell them off quickly, even if that meant a lower price. After all, the cost was only a tael or two of silver, merely 250 yuan.
But to his surprise, Boss Li replied: [The quality is average, I'll offer you 10,000 yuan for it.]
Lu Yao's face fell. His Cordyceps weren't top-notch, but they were still worth 70,000 to 80,000 yuan.
To sell them quickly, he didn't mind if the price was 20-30 percent cheaper, or even half-priced, but to only offer 10,000 yuan was too much! It was clear that the man was taking advantage of his urgency for money to pay for his treatment!
And it didn't stop there. Seeing Lu Yao didn't reply for a long time, Boss Li had the audacity to send an even more outrageous message:
[Brother, I'm tight on cash too lately, how about you consign them with me? Once they're sold, I'll transfer the money to you immediately.]
Lu Yao, utterly furious, laughed in irony: Does this guy think I'm not long for this world, wanting to mooch off me?
First get the goods, then just wait for Lu Yao to die, and naturally, there would be no need to pay up.
Once a person is downtrodden, countless mean-spirited people will use all sorts of unethical methods to kick you.
Lu Yao immediately blacklisted this person.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Boss Li, still watching his phone, fantasized about swindling a freebie.
After a long wait without a reply, he sent a message: [Brother, what do you think?]
WeChat popped up a notification—The user has enabled friend verification, and you are not his friend yet. Please send a friend request first, and after your request is verified, you can chat with the user.
"Fuck! This dying bastard has deleted me!"
Boss Li was enraged, slamming his hand on the table! The few strands of hair remaining on his head, shocked by the action, fell and covered his eyes.
He couldn't afford to be angry, and he hurriedly straightened his hair, carefully covering the scalp, making sure not to leave a gap.
"That dying bastard's goods are worth at least 80,000. I could turn it around for 200,000. If I had known, I would have offered more money... Damn it!"
Having been in the business for 30 years, Boss Li believed he would never misjudge, and at this moment, he deeply regretted it.
~~~~~~~~
Lu Yao started to consider other options.
Just then, he noticed a business card on the coffee table. Li Lei—Wanfu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, General Manager.
"This is the girl who sells the herbal decoction machines, she's quite alright. She'll probably take the Cordyceps too, let's ask her."
Lu Yao first added her as a friend using her mobile number, and then resent the same message he had sent earlier.
A few minutes later, Li Lei called him directly: "Lu Yao? You want to sell Cordyceps? I have limited experience, I need to see them in person before I can give you a quote."
"I'm at home, the same place you visited last time."
"Okay, I'll come right now."
It wasn't long before that white X6 parked downstairs.
"Bang!" The sound of the car door closing had just ended when immediately there followed the sound of footsteps thumping up the stairs, the girl not taking the elevator, rushing up to the 5th floor in one breath.
After entering the room, her face wasn't red, and she wasn't gasping for breath, her body extremely fit.
"Where are the cordyceps? Let me have a look."
Li Lei wore jeans, which made her legs look long.
She had wanted to get straight to the point, but after seeing Lu Yao, her face showed a look of shock! Her phoenix eyes widened into perfect circles: "You..."
They had just met the day before yesterday, and she was certain this young man was terminally ill and didn't have long to live.
Working in the pharmaceutical industry and coming from a family with a rich medical background, she couldn't have possibly misdiagnosed.
Furthermore, Lu Yao's withered and skinny body, and the faintly greenish color on his face, made it hard for anyone to make a wrong judgment.
But today, she saw that he was only pale, far from being on his last breath.
Only two days had passed, and he had improved so much! Had he eaten thousand-year ginseng or what?
Seeing her frozen in place, Lu Yao reminded her, "The cordyceps are here, take a look."
"Ah~ Oh, I'll take a look." Li Lei then remembered why she had come and quickly took out a magnifying glass to scrutinize the otherworldly cordyceps.
She could tell upon touching them that Lu Yao's goods were of good quality, with a purchase price above 80,000.
After some deliberation, she cleared her throat and spoke, "Not bad, my offer is 50,000. Don't think it's too little, it's hard to sell at a good price without my channels..."
"Okay, pay up."
Li Lei was in the midst of speaking non-stop when she suddenly heard Lu Yao agree, and she paused in surprise, "Huh!?"
She had thought there would be some bargaining, a verbal sparring, but the other party had agreed straight away, which made her feel like she had punched cotton, leaving her disoriented and her waist aching.
Lu Yao pushed the cordyceps towards her and said indifferently, "Transfer the money."
Li Lei held the cordyceps somewhat dumbfounded. The entire transaction process took less than three minutes, completely different from the "intense business battle" she had imagined.
Lu Yao was very satisfied, after all, the cost was only 250 yuan, and selling them for 50,000, a profit of 200 times, was enough. Don't be too demanding, or life becomes too exhausting.
~~~~~~~~
With money and goods exchanged, there was again a balance in the account.
Lu Yao was in a good mood and said to Li Lei, "I'll have another batch of medicinal herbs to sell in a few days, I'll contact you then."
"More!?" Li Lei's eyes lit up, hurriedly agreeing, "No problem, just call me directly, I'll be there whenever you need!"
Li Lei was extremely excited in her heart. She had started her own online store but lacked supplies and could only purchase from others, cutting into her profits.
Having a fixed supplier would be very beneficial to her business.
Lu Yao said, "I'm not demanding too much for the price, as long as it's reasonable. What I care about is efficiency, I hope you'll remember that."
"Relax, I'm the most efficient person there is!" Li Lei laughed heartily, assuring him with confidence.
Noticing that Lu Yao clearly had other things to attend to, the girl cleverly said her goodbyes and left.
Slipping into her car, she excitedly punched the air, shouting out, "Yes!!! I'm not just a freeloader! I can do it!"
~~~~~~~
Next, Lu Yao went on a buying spree.
2 kg of silver (40 taels) cost him 10,000 yuan; diesel for a generator, thirty liters;
He bought four pairs of shoes and outfits for each of his sisters; he also downloaded an old-fashioned traditional Chinese version of "Steel Refining Process and Procedure" from the internet. This information was outdated on Blue Star many years ago.
Lu Yao only needed the content in the middle, so he trimmed the unnecessary parts and printed it out. Since he had encountered the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, it was best to be prepared for any eventuality.
He spent half of the money he earned from selling the cordyceps right away, but Lu Yao didn't feel hurt at all.
With the ability to travel between doors, there were many ways to make money. For example, he could bring back "Natural Bezoar" from the Otherworld.
But the price of this stuff was even higher than gold! The profit was too high; now was not the right time.