"Jun, your uncle-in-law and I don’t have any experience, and we’re getting on in years. I’m afraid we won’t be able to handle a sales job," Second Aunt Ma Qiumei said, her face etched with worry.
"That’s right, Jun," Second Uncle-in-law Qian Liangping added. "I’ve never worked in sales in my entire life. Isn’t it a little too late to start now?"
Bian Xuedao was about to open his mouth to refuse, but Qian Na stepped on his foot under the table. She wanted to hear what else Wu Jun had to say. First Aunt’s family had already stated their position, and their youngest uncle’s wife was also willing to go in with her cousin. ’Maybe there’s actually something to this,’ she thought.
Wu Jun understood his second aunt’s family’s concerns. After all, talk is cheap. He couldn’t expect them to give up careers they’d had their whole lives and come work for him based on his word alone.
"Waiter, bring out the main dish," Wu Jun called to the server standing by the door. He then turned back to his family. "There’s no need for anyone to rush into a decision. It’s not too late to make up your minds after you’ve seen the product."
Tonight’s main dish was rice. Less than three minutes after Wu Jun spoke to the server, it was brought out, with a small bowl for each person.
"This rice... it smells amazing!" everyone marveled, looking at the bowls in front of them. Though they hadn’t taken a single bite, they were already captivated by its fragrance.
This rice was nothing like ordinary rice.
Each grain was plump and translucent. It sat in the bowl like uncooked rice, with every single grain separate and distinct. Someone skilled with chopsticks could pick up a single grain without any others sticking to it.
Both its appearance and its fragrance set it apart from any normal rice.
Taking a bite, as their teeth broke through the grains, they could almost feel a burst of rich, fragrant rice essence.
’Is this even rice?’ After eating rice for decades, none of them were sure if what they were tasting could still be called rice!
Wu Jun took in everyone’s reactions and said, "This is the rice I’m selling. Right now, I’m supplying the Shimen Grand Hotel and over thirty other decent-sized restaurants. Sales are booming."
"Jun, you can tell this is premium stuff just by looking at it. It can’t be cheap, can it?" asked Second Uncle-in-law Qian Liangping. He was a huge rice lover and had been eating it for decades, but he’d never tasted anything so delicious. He looked at Wu Jun in astonishment.
"Dad, Jun came by our restaurant yesterday. This rice... it’s only five yuan per jin," Qian Na said, still in disbelief. The bag of rice Wu Jun had delivered yesterday had been tossed in the storeroom by her boss’s brother-in-law—the one in charge of purchasing—and left there. This was her first time tasting Hongyun Rice, too.
Qian Na thought with a touch of schadenfreude, ’Once my boss’s brother-in-law in purchasing tastes this rice, he’ll be begging and pleading for my cousin to make a delivery.’
"Daughter, you’re not pulling my leg, are you?" Qian Liangping said, completely shocked. "Rice this delicious for only five yuan a jin? People will be fighting over it! You wouldn’t even need to sell it."
And it was true. Just as Qian Liangping said, five yuan for Hongyun Rice was far too cheap, an incredible bargain. Every customer who had bought it said the same thing.
However, in order to sell the 10,000 tons of rice required for his next upgrade, level up his game sooner, and reinforce his main city’s defenses, Wu Jun had no plans to raise the price. He would keep selling it as is.
At five yuan a jin, he could achieve a certain sales volume. If he raised the price to ten yuan, the unit price would be higher, but the sales volume would surely take a massive hit compared to the five-yuan price point.
To be fair, even if Hongyun Rice sold for fifty or even a hundred yuan per jin, there would still be a market for it. But that market would be nothing compared to the one he could capture at five yuan.
Besides, the rice was free for him; there were no production costs. He could use high sales volume to compensate for the low unit price, and the total profit wouldn’t be much less.
Dong Lizhu and Ma Chaoyun were just as shocked. They thought the same thing as Qian Liangping: the price was so low they wouldn’t have to worry about sales at all.
"Since we’re all family, I won’t beat around the bush. For every bag you sell, I’ll give you a ten-yuan commission." Seeing that they were tempted, Wu Jun delivered another boost of confidence. "I’ve been out hitting the market for two days, visiting over thirty restaurants, and in that time I’ve already sold more than a thousand bags."
’Two days of sales calls, over thirty restaurants, and more than a thousand bags sold... At a ten-yuan commission per bag, that’s over ten thousand yuan already,’ they calculated.
Food is the staff of life. And in a place like Shimen City, with its thousands of streets and alleys, which one of them didn’t have a restaurant? The market was enormous, and the profit potential was staggering!
Hearing Wu Jun’s figures, they didn’t dare to think any further. This was the kind of business that could make you a millionaire in a year!
"Cousin Wu Jun, I’m going to my office tomorrow to resign. I’m in!" Bian Xuedao declared. He was no longer thinking about his "iron rice bowl." ’A golden rice bowl is sitting right in front of me, who needs an iron one? If this rice sells well, one month’s earnings could be more than a whole year’s salary. You’d have to be an idiot not to take this money. To hell with my stable job.’
"Jun, we’ll do it too!" his second aunt exclaimed, no longer mentioning her age. ’Rice this good at a price this low? Even a fool could sell it.’
"I’ll go put in my resignation tomorrow," Ma Chaoyun agreed, his face flush with excitement.
He was only making about five thousand yuan a month right now. If what his nephew said was true and the rice sold well, he could make more in a single day than he currently did in a whole month.
Besides, even his brother-in-law Bian Xuedao, a civil servant, had agreed to quit his job. What was there for him to hesitate about?
Now that they understood the price and had witnessed the quality of the rice for themselves, everyone was brimming with confidence. One after another, they declared their intention to work with Wu Jun. Even Chen Xingyang and Duan Xiangyan wanted to shut down their packaging factory to sell rice with him.
"Cousin, Sister-in-law, you two should stick to what you’re doing," Wu Jun said with a smile. "As I sell more and more rice, I’ll need more and more packaging. Making the bags for me will earn you no less than working sales."
"Oh, right..." Chen Xingyang scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin. "The alcohol’s gone to my head. I wasn’t thinking straight."
Little Chen Meng dragged a delicate finger across her cheek, teasing her father. "Shame on you, Daddy! And you still drank so much."
Everyone laughed at Chen Xingyang’s honest goofiness and little Chen Meng’s impish charm.
"What about you?" Wu Jun turned to ask Ma Siyu, who had been leisurely sipping her juice without saying a word.
Among everyone present, Ma Siyu had the most respectable job and the highest salary, earning over ten thousand yuan a month. But that was definitely less than what could be made selling rice.
"I’m not doing it," Ma Siyu said, setting down her juice. "I’m not interested in money."
Everyone was speechless...
’Sure enough,’ they thought, ’this oddball of the Ma Family can’t be judged by normal standards. Turning down a job that could make millions a year...’
Ma Siyu said, "I really like my current job. When I’m off work, I can go traveling and see the world. Life isn’t just about making money; there are plenty of things that are more interesting."
"Alright, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to." Wu Jun didn’t press the issue. Having been on the sales beat for a few days himself, he knew that while it was profitable, it was also exhausting work. ’Once I start making good money, I’ll make sure she has plenty of spending money anyway,’ he thought.
"At this very moment, is everyone excited? Are your spirits high?" Ma Siyu started acting up again. She stood up, raised her arm, and proclaimed, "Let us follow CEO Wu toward a glorious tomorrow! A new car in one year, a new house in two, and in three years..."
"Are we going to break into a chorus of ’I Believe’ or ’True Hero’ next?" Seeing her speech veer into territory that sounded suspiciously like a pyramid scheme rally, Wu Jun quickly cut her off, pushing her back down into her seat.