Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 860 - Chapter 860 Chapter 860 Out of Wine

Chapter 860: Chapter 860 Out of Wine Chapter 860: Chapter 860 Out of Wine Ye Qingyi had never imagined that by simply stepping out to pick up a delivery, she would bump into Feng Jun.

She knew a lot about Feng Jun–after all, she was an employee of Li Dafu.

Even Li Dafu’s boss, Li Yongrui, knew that she was acquainted with Feng Jun and had even promoted her to assistant store manager because of it.

However, she could also feel that the distance between them was growing; not that their friendship was fading, but rather… the disparity in their social status was becoming more pronounced.

Now, Luohua Manor had become a juggernaut in Zhengyang–even in Funiu–and was known throughout neighboring provinces as the go-to place for quality Jade. Maintaining good relations with Luohua Manor was a must for anyone aspiring to acquire top-notch jade.

Luohua Manor still had high respect for Li Dafu, but on ordinary days, only Sister Hong’s subordinates would deal with Li Dafu’s relevant business staff, and Sister Hong hardly ever made an appearance herself.

Only on certain significant occasions would Sister Hong show up when invited by Li Yongrui as a gesture of giving face to Li Dafu.

As for Feng Jun? He had long transcended such commercial settings, and even Li Yongrui didn’t feel comfortable saying anything about it.

In such situations, if Ye Qingyi attended, managing to secure a spot and mix at a table was already quite an achievement.

It wasn’t that friends had forgotten each other, but rather… society was evolving, and each was advancing on different channels and at different rates.

When Feng Jun spotted Ye Qingyi, he was extremely delighted. He had been fretting over a lack of someone in charge of his liquor company and eagerly suggested, “I’ve got a great business opportunity here. Come over and make some money.”

The deal would benefit anyone, so why not her? His initial fondness for her was profound.

Upon seeing him, Ye Qingyi was completely bewildered, she couldn’t even remember what she had said.

In short, Feng Jun was willing to invest in a company’s shares, letting her manage them on his behalf, with the shares registered in her name. He also expressed that he was willing to grow the company.

Ye Qingyi… she’d accepted the deal in a daze, without really thinking it through–any goddess would cherish a company coming as a gift from a handsome, wealthy suitor, right?

Moreover, Feng Jun stressed it was a limited liability company, meaning the liability would end with the company’s bankruptcy, with no impact on personal assets.

In her heart, Ye Qingyi thought: If you need it, I’d even shoulder an unlimited liability company for you, what’s the big deal?

As a result, she found herself the bewildered owner of ninety-eight percent of the shares in Zhang San Liquor Company.

Only then did it occur to her, “Ah, does this mean I can’t continue working at Li Dafu? I was about to become a store manager.”

In many respects, Ye Qingyi could be quite clueless, but how to put it? There’s a saying: “Fortune favors the foolish.”

The first issue she faced was the need to rename the liquor company to “Sansheng.”

It wasn’t a significant issue, just altering the name, but the second problem was about launching a new brand of liquor, which would require everything from trademark registration to bottle design–time-consuming and demanding tasks.

Ye Qingyi ran all over managing these affairs, even enlisting the help of two sisters to weigh in on the matters she faced.

But those two sisters were straightforward–if you don’t put in the money and still get a company, I’m up for the task if you’re not.

This management took her over ten days, after which she finally realized an issue: She’d been busy for so long, getting almost everything in order, but what exactly was she supposed to sell?

To ask what to sell seemed like a joke; she already knew the company’s plan. What puzzled her, in fact, was: How are we going to sell our liquor?

Feng Jun, though, didn’t bother with such details and went on to invest over three hundred thousand to acquire a distillery in the outskirts. He then instructed Ye Qingyi to start buying loose liquor.

Right, he wasn’t intending to set up a distillery; just to process the raw liquor and do some minor blending.

The liquor he had given to Wang Shiwei was actually just loose liquor he had bought, to which he had added a touch of Spiritual Wine, at a ratio of about two thousand to one–he couldn’t add more; any more would give away the obvious presence of Spiritual Energy.

In other words, a catty of Spiritual Wine could be blended into two thousand catties of “Sansheng Liquor.”

This was the liquor Feng Jun gave to Wang Shiwei, positioned as a top-tier liquor. There was also a mid-tier liquor, with a blending ratio of ten thousand to one. As for producing liquor with a ratio of one hundred thousand to one in the future, well, that’s a decision for another day.

So, the liquor he sold was essentially the collected loose liquor, just with a splash of Spiritual Wine added–of course, the bulk liquor had to be pure grain alcohol, with a fine taste.

High-quality loose liquor wasn’t lacking around Zhengyang, but acquisition wasn’t as easy as one might think.

Firstly, there was the issue of pricing; when buying loose liquor in large quantities, a few cents difference per catty could matter a great deal. It was essential to precisely gauge the right purchase price.

Feng Jun didn’t mind raising the buying price slightly, but he didn’t want to seem like a fool to others. Moreover, as a newcomer in the industry, disrupting market prices was a big no-no.

Moreover, liquor companies are highly vigilant about new players entering the field–what do you plan to do, and could it eventually impact our market?

Therefore, leaving 2% of the shares to the former liquor company’s boss is quite fitting, since Boss Zhang has always been in this industry and has even tried branding. He explained that the new boss planned to do branding, which inclined people to believe him.

Another point is that during the process of purchasing liquor, it’s essential to guard against the substitution of inferior products for good ones.

Although Feng Jun was buying bulk liquor, his standards for quality were very high; you could say it was the top-tier bulk white liquor, not cheap at all. He simply couldn’t be tricked with low-quality alcohol.

This is long-term work, also requiring the supervision of professionals; Boss Zhang and the former technicians could all be put to good use.

This time, Ye Qingyi finally showed the capabilities of a local, as she found two blending technicians in the area, one of whom was even a roundabout relative of hers. She hired both as part-time quality inspectors.

Xiao Yezi did not distrust Boss Zhang and his people, but as the nominal majority shareholder, she had to have her own people in crucial roles–anything less would be amateurish.

When she first started buying liquor, she really didn’t acquire much–just over three tons in three days.

After discussing with Boss Zhang, Ye Qingyi finally decided–why not have an opening special? For half a month, anyone who came to sell liquor would have the purchase price increased by 5%.

This had an immediate effect; within half a month, she collected over two hundred tons of liquor.

Once they had enough liquor and the custom glass bottles arrived–very luxurious and high-end–

Ye Qingyi’s relative who knew about blending started to feel the headache, “Qingyi, going at it this way, each bottle’s cost will reach fifteen. How do you plan on blending, and how much do you intend to sell it for?”

“Blending is easy,” Ye Qingyi took out a measuring cup and a bottle of colorless liquid, “Add fifty milliliters of this liquid to every two hundred jin of liquor, stir it up, and the treated liquor can be bottled.”

Her relative was incredibly curious about the colorless liquid in her hand, pleading with her for a good while, wanting to know what it was–he knew it was taboo, but as a technician, he couldn’t control his curiosity.

Ultimately, Ye Qingyi couldn’t ignore her relative’s insistence and let him take a sniff, “It’s actually liquor inside… As for giving you some, I really can’t, I’d be sued.”

Still not satisfied, he asked, “Then may I taste it?”

“That’s really not possible,” Ye Qingyi firmly shook her head, “It’s not that I begrudge you a taste, it could be deadly!”

Feng Jun had repeatedly warned about this, Spiritual Wine really shouldn’t be consumed openly by the average person.

This was just mid-grade Spiritual Energy wine he had bought from Fang Market; if it were the optimized Spiritual Energy wine from Luohua Manor, even his eight disciples couldn’t drink it without restraint.

When Boss Zhang heard that the wine was ready, he immediately came over, happily grabbing more than half a jin with a wine ladle, eager to taste the new brew.

He wouldn’t ask for her blending secrets; that would be too obviously malicious. However, having a taste of the wine wasn’t a problem.

After tasting, he was slightly disappointed, “The taste of the wine is okay, but the blending is still off… The earthy smell hasn’t been removed, it won’t fetch a good price.”

“No worries, this is pure grain wine,” Ye Qingyi replied with a smile, “Our selling points are all-natural, nourishing… and healthy.”

Thinking it over, Boss Zhang asked, “CEO Ye, what’s our market positioning? How much are we looking at?”

“It’ll be expensive,” Ye Qingyi replied with a smile, “Once the supply and sales stabilize, I’ll hand out bonuses to everyone.”

“Expensive…” Boss Zhang stroked his chin, asking further, “I don’t want a whole bottle, would it be okay to just fill a pot a little?”

In good conscience, his request wasn’t outlandish; what brewer would miss such a small amount of liquor? Not to mention he still owned shares in the company; even if he didn’t, if he were just helping out and asked for some loose liquor, who could refuse him?

However, to his disappointment, Ye Qingyi politely shook her head, “Director Zhang, it’s not that I don’t want to save you face, it’s just inconvenient. Let’s do this… two jin, at most two jin.”

Boss Zhang smiled and shook his head, “CEO Ye, you really are stingy… Alright then, two jin it is.”

Seeing that he was unhappy, Ye Qingyi felt obliged to explain, “Director Zhang, I’m truly sorry, but I have total volume control and accounting to consider.”

Boss Zhang nodded, showing that he understood, but deep down, he felt somewhat miffed. As he left, he called Wang Shiwei, “Damn it, it’s my own company, and there are restrictions on drinking the liquor… what, haven’t they seen liquor before or what?”

Wang Shiwei was taken aback upon hearing this, “The liquor’s ready?”

“What liquor? It’s just mixed a bit, and the effect is so-so, not even the earthy taste is gone,” Boss Zhang complained unhappily, “And they guard it so closely, not even allowing a full pot, just letting me take two jin, and it’s not to be repeated… Haha, it’s laughable.”

“That’s a bit inappropriate,” Wang Shiwei replied calmly, “Two jin, are they giving alms to a beggar? There’s no sincerity… By the way, since there’s only two jin, let me have a taste first?”