A bag of rice had appeared in the room out of thin air. Xu Fei couldn’t find out about this, or there would be no way to explain it.
He heard Xu Fei walk away, and a moment later, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Wu Jun let his guard down and turned his gaze back to the bag of rice on the floor.
Grabbing a small pair of scissors from a shelf, he cut open the bag. Wu Jun reached his hand inside and pulled out a handful.
When he saw the rice in his hand, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
’Golden rice?’ The rice was actually golden, a brilliant, glittering gold like the color of millet.
Golden rice was rare, but not unheard of. There was a type called large yellow rice, also known as "soft yellow rice," which was made from processed and hulled broomcorn millet.
Large yellow rice is rich in the eight essential amino acids the human body needs, and in very high concentrations—twice that of ordinary rice or millet. It’s highly nutritious and has a pleasant, soft, and chewy texture, though it’s not advisable for children to eat it in large quantities.
There was also Gleditsia rice, which turned golden when dried, but it didn’t look very appetizing and wasn’t a grain crop.
But the handful of rice before him was completely different from large yellow rice or Gleditsia rice. The grains were plump and naturally rounded, no polishing needed.
It had a rich, "new-money" gold color, giving it a high-end, classy appearance that exuded an air of nobility. Without even leaning in, he could smell the faint fragrance of rice blossoms.
’This is uncooked rice, yet I can already smell its fragrance. Even Hongyun Rice can’t do that.’
Although he didn’t know how it would taste, Hongyun Rice seemed like nothing more than ordinary rice in comparison. This new rice was clearly in a league of its own; its quality was self-evident.
The arrival of Hongyun Rice had been like a missile hitting the rice market. This tycoon-gold rice, however, was an absolute atomic bomb!
’From now on, I can sell this as a flagship product. It’ll be the face of my business.’
Hongyun Rice was already selling for five yuan per jin. This tycoon-gold rice was not only higher quality but also much rarer. It couldn’t follow the same affordable, mass-market path.
This time, Wu Jun decided to target the wealthy. He was going to fleece the big fish!
Just last night, Wu Jun had been heartbroken about spending 350,000 yuan. Now, he didn’t feel the sting at all. A ton of rare, premium-quality rice every day—that money had been an absolute bargain.
"Wu Jun, I’m done in here. You can come take your shower," Xu Fei’s voice called from outside, just as Wu Jun was lost in thoughts about the future.
"Okay, I’ll be right there." Wu Jun shoved the rice in his hand back into the sack, used the game’s interface to put it back into his storage, and only then did he open the door and step out.
Xu Fei had already returned to her room. Wu Jun saw her door was cracked open, with light spilling out. Afraid mosquitoes might get in, he walked over to close it for her, then turned and went into the bathroom.
When he came out after washing up, the effects of the alcohol had completely vanished. He returned to his room and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, before Wu Jun had even opened his eyes, he heard a noise from outside his room.
He picked up the watch he had left by his pillow and glanced at it. It was only five in the morning.
Since Xu Fei was already up, he felt too embarrassed to keep lying in bed. He tried to bolt upright but failed, so he resignedly got up the normal way.
He spent ten minutes washing up. When Wu Jun came out of the bathroom, Xu Fei had already finished making breakfast. She had served the food and was calling him into the kitchen to eat.
It was a simple meal of two side dishes, fragrant rice porridge, and a hard-boiled egg for each of them. After finishing breakfast, Wu Jun said goodbye to Xu Fei and headed out.
He had arranged to meet a bunch of his relatives at the warehouse today. He planned to head over early to meet them and, at the same time, withdraw the 23 tons of rice the game had produced last night.
His pickup truck was still in the Shimen Grand Hotel’s parking lot, so after leaving his apartment complex, Wu Jun hailed a taxi by the roadside.
The taxi driver was much more skilled than him and got him to the warehouse entrance in less than ten minutes.
Before he even got out of the car, Wu Jun saw a crowd of people standing at the warehouse entrance. The husbands of his two aunts, his younger uncle, and his uncle’s wife were all there. ’Well, so much for my plan to get the rice,’ he thought.
"It’s so early, what are you all doing here already?" Wu Jun called out to the crowd after paying his fare and getting out of the car. "Have you eaten? Let’s go get some breakfast first."
"No need, Wu Jun—no, I should be calling you President Wu now," Bian Xuedao said. "I’m still digesting everything we ate last night. I’m not hungry. Let’s get down to business."
Wu Jun laughed. "Brother-in-law, you don’t have to be so formal. Forget all that ’President’ stuff. Just call me what you always have."
"No," Bian Xuedao insisted. "We’re starting a company. Down the line, what would it look like in front of our employees if we’re all calling you, the boss, ’brother-in-law’ this and ’aunt’ that?"
"Your brother-in-law is right," Qian Na chimed in, backing up her husband. "We can’t let people say our family business has no sense of propriety. We have to keep our work and private lives separate."
"I agree with Xuedao and Qian Na," Ma Chaoyun said.
Dong Lizhu added, "Qian Na is right. Business is business, and personal is personal. We absolutely have to keep them separate."
"Alright, then." Seeing their insistence, Wu Jun gave in. ’It’s just a title, after all.’
Wu Jun asked Bian Xuedao, "Brother-in-law, don’t you need to go sort out your resignation?"
"I’ll find time to do it," Bian Xuedao said. "I already wrote my resignation letter last night."
"I wrote mine too. I’ll just swing by and submit it today," Ma Chaoyun added, his face still flush with excitement. He was rubbing his hands together, eager to get started.
Seeing how motivated everyone was, Wu Jun stopped wasting words, opened the warehouse door, and told them to drive their vehicles inside to load up.
Today’s main objective was product distribution, and he figured it would be difficult to get any actual orders. Wu Jun explained this to them beforehand to temper their expectations, so their morale wouldn’t take a hit if they came back empty-handed.
Everyone loaded up their vehicles and drove off, their faces flush with an excitement like they had just raided a landlord’s granary.
Bian Xuedao was the most enthusiastic of them all. He’d managed to find a small van somewhere and loaded up over twenty bags in a single trip.
While they were loading, Wu Jun took two calls and sold another 30 bags of rice.
Once everyone was gone, Wu Jun went back inside the warehouse and locked the door from within. He took out the phone linked to [Resource Tycoon], withdrew the 23 tons of rice from the game, and then summoned Xiao Hong and No. 2 to neatly stack the scattered bags.
After Xiao Hong and No. 2 finished their task, Wu Jun unlocked and opened the warehouse door again. Less than five minutes later, Wang Qidong showed up to report for his first day of work.
Wu Jun didn’t waste any words. He had Xiao Hong and No. 2 load up the vehicle, gave Wang Qidong an address, and instructed Xiao Hong to accompany him on the delivery and await further orders en route.
At 7:30, Wu Guangkun shuffled in for work, wearing slippers, with a Zhonghua cigarette pinched in one hand and a jianbing guozi in the other.
"Second Uncle, is that all you’re having?" Wu Jun said. "Let me order you something more."
Wu Guangkun waved him off. "No need. This is the deluxe jianbing guozi—two eggs, double ham sausage. I’m full."
Wu Jun stayed at the warehouse until nine o’clock, remotely coordinating with Wang Qidong to deliver nearly another 100 bags of rice.
With the matter of establishing the company still on his mind, Wu Jun said goodbye to his Second Uncle and headed toward the main road of the business park.
It was nine o’clock, and most businesses were open. Wu Jun hailed a taxi and went straight to the Tianyuan Small Commodity Wholesale Market. He got out at the entrance and walked toward the company where Chen Lin worked.
"Wu Jun, long time no see!" Chen Lin said with a smile as she saw him walk in. "What brings you here today?"
"I do have some business to discuss," Wu Jun said. He glanced around at the other employees in the main office area. "Can we find a place to talk privately?"
"Follow me." Chen Lin turned and led Wu Jun to a small meeting room in the back. She flicked on the light, gestured for him to have a seat, and then turned to get him a cup of water from the cooler.
"Don’t trouble yourself, Chen Lin. Come and sit down first," Wu Jun called out to her.
"Are you sure? You don’t have to be so formal with me," Chen Lin said, turning to ask him.
"I’m sure," Wu Jun said. "Come on, have a seat."
Chen Lin came back to the long table and sat down across from Wu Jun. "So," she asked, "what kind of business brings you here today? You didn’t even call ahead."
Wu Jun smiled. "I felt that coming in person showed more sincerity. Today, I’m here to poach you."