It was another foggy morning.
The Wang family shop on the street opened early. The assistant came out yawning to sort out the door bolts, but never returned. The owner, Lao Wang, was too busy and angrily shouted outside:
"Damn it, where did you die off to? Did a wild ghost snatch your soul outside?"
"No, no."
The assistant rushed into the room, lowering his voice with excitement: "Uncle, go outside and take a look! Something great is happening outside!"
"I told you, do not call me Uncle in the shop."
After scolding him, he added:
"Nowadays, if a stray dog on the street corner drops a pile of crap, someone will fight for it. What good thing could possibly fall into your lap?" Despite saying this, he shrank his neck and went out anyway.
Just as he stepped out—
Crackle and pop, the sound of firecrackers echoed through several streets. Through the thick smoke, one could vaguely see that the six-door shop enclosed nearby had been completely renovated and reopened.
A plaque with a red background and gold borders bore four large characters.
"Su Family Fertilizer."
Lao Wang recognized a few characters, squinted his eyes, read them out, and the next second screamed: "Fertilizer! Miss Su's fertilizer is actually going on sale! Good heavens, why was this not in the newspapers!"
After saying that, he rushed into the shop like a cannonball.
He rummaged through chests and cupboards to find where he hid his money, carefully took out ten silver dollars, pressed them warmly against his chest, afraid to let go, and hurriedly prepared to leave.
His wife got anxious:
"What kind of madness has gotten into you? What are you going out with so much money for? The whole family relies on these little savings to survive. Business is getting worse year by year, and you still want to squander it..."
"Fertilizer."
"What?"
The spring chill was sharp, but Lao Wang's face was flushed red: "The fertilizer everyone has been talking about lately, the one the newspapers say makes wheat and rice grow like crazy when you sprinkle it! Is this squandering money? You silly woman, I am building our family's fortune."
After he spoke, a tremendous force hit his waist.
"Then why are you not hurrying over there."
Although their family had a small shop in the city, their hometown was in the countryside. They knew the hardships of farming, and right now, his old parents and siblings were still in the village.
With fertilizer, this year's harvest would be bountiful.
Lao Wang hurried out the door.
He was dumbfounded.
The Su's fertilizer shop, which had been quiet just moments ago, was suddenly swarming with a massive crowd out of nowhere. There were wealthy people dressed in silk, as well as commoners in coarse hemp garments with deep wrinkles on their faces.
Their only common trait was:
They were all shouting to buy fertilizer.
...
On the second floor of the shop.
"Congratulations, Miss Su. It looks like the shop's business is going to be an instant hit. The date your uncle picked is indeed auspicious." The speaker spoke appropriately, but his demeanor and tone were somewhat sour.
You really could not blame him.
Su Ning acted in a domineering and forceful manner. Not only did she require everyone pulling goods from the fertilizer factory to add her "Su's" brand at the front, shattering some people's petty calculations, but that was not even the end of it.
Take this "direct-sale" shop, for example.
According to the quotas, three-fifths of the fertilizer was brought here for stock—actually, at first, many people were happy to see her open it here, laughing about it in private:
"Miss Su trusts her uncle too much. Instead of choosing a prime location, she picked such a remote spot, and she did not even let the newspapers advertise it."
"Do not mention that. That guy is a bit mysterious... But Miss Su definitely made a wrong move here. Doing business involves good luck, but you cannot rely entirely on luck."
"Three parts are destined by heaven, seven parts depend on hard work."
This person, originally from southern Fujian, could not shake his Minnan accent no matter how many years he had been in Peiping.
"Yes, even the best wine fears a deep alley. Not to mention, fertilizer is such a novel thing. No matter how good it is, people need to try it first to know. If you ask me, she should have advertised heavily in the newspapers!"
After speaking, everyone exchanged a smile.
Everything was understood without being said.
If Su Ning misfired and failed this time, they would have a reason to "advise" her, and maybe they could squeeze out a larger share of the fertilizer—God knows, Su Ning alone took three-fifths of the quota.
So many of them had contributed money and effort, and had to clear connections and channels.
They could only fight tooth and nail among themselves.
To snatch the remaining two-fifths!
Just amidst many people's gloating anticipation, the shop finally reached its opening day. But no one anticipated that the real situation would be like this—
A remote location, no announcements, early in the morning.
And then, it was packed with people...
Su Ning's lips curled into a perfunctory smile. She slowly rose from the center seat, looked down from the window, and saw the massive crowd gathered anxiously at the door.
Tapping the window frame rhythmically, her tone was cold:
"My uncle is impressive, but more so, you underestimated these commoners' expectations and desire for fertilizer. I do not need to advertise; once they hear the word fertilizer, they will desperately try to learn about it."
She turned around to face the crowd.
Raising her chin slightly:
"So, rejoice. We have the vast market of China, with hundreds of millions of potential customers. Not only will this shop become an instant hit, but all of you are also about to soar into the sky because of fertilizer!"
Instantly, the room fell extremely quiet.
Many rapid breaths merged together, seemingly growing loud enough to become a wave of sound.
Their thoughts shifted with Su Ning's words.
Looking again at the bustling customers, they no longer felt sourness or unwillingness. Instead, the more they looked, the more they loved it. This was all money; it was silver dollars and gold...
Lao Wang finally managed to squeeze into the crowd, his forehead covered in sweat. As he raised his hand to wipe the sweat, he inadvertently looked up and met a bunch of affectionate eyes.
He shuddered.
And sweat flowed even more.
Su Ning smiled. Actually, there was another reason for choosing this place to open the business. In the original plot, there was a secret tunnel under this place leading outside the city, which could be used to escape at critical moments.
At this moment, Lin Sen beside her shot a glance toward the corner.
Click—the flash went off.
Time froze.
Ye Tang lowered her camera, her heart surging with emotion. Even though she had merely pressed a button, her fingers trembled uncontrollably. Fortunately, heaven also wanted to remember this great moment, resulting in a perfect shot.
Fertilizer. China could finally produce fertilizer independently.
Clutching the camera tightly.
Ye Tang thought of many things: the various discriminations she suffered abroad, classmates who were devastated by the huge gap between the two sides and despairingly chose to stay abroad as second-class citizens.
Her final thought was that this reporting job she stumbled into was actually very meaningful. Originally, she had wanted to be a teacher, to educate and cultivate the next generation.
But now, she preferred being a journalist.
"Ding. The host's heartless wealth-hoarding has caused a change in the life goals and destiny of the tier-one plot character Ye Tang, severely disrupting this chapter's plot. Reward: one million."
It could actually work like this?
Su Ning was stunned. She glanced at Ye Tang, who did not look disappointed or unhappy at all, and subconsciously frowned:
"System, even though I have said this before, I really feel your reward mechanism is not quite right."
"What is not right?"
"None of it is right."
Su Ning spoke faintly. They had agreed that heartlessly oppressing plot characters and causing emotional fluctuations would yield rewards. But what was this situation now?
Ye Tang was incredibly happy!
"Internal mechanisms are not displayed. The host is advised to carefully study the terms and strengthen her thinking."
The Heartless Rich System reverted to its mechanical voice.
Alright then.
Su Ning knew it would be like this. After a moment of thought, she raised a hand to summon an assistant, instructing them to take Ye Tang closer to take pictures of the fertilizer. A moment later, she saw the surprised smile on Ye Tang's face as the girl nodded vigorously.
Her short hair bounced up and down.
Like a little mushroom.
Su Ning watched her with a touch of amusement, taking a few extra glances. She thought to herself that if she couldn't figure it out, she might as well run a few more experiments. She wanted to see exactly what would happen if Ye Tang continued down the career path of a journalist.
Why would there be a reward of one million?
Su Ning was the absolute center of attention in the venue.
Countless people noticed this brief interlude, their minds churning with their own speculations. They scrutinized Ye Tang's background, but most simply could not fathom why Miss Su would show such favor to her.
Only Lin Sen's eyes held a look of knowing understanding.
"Let's go. The auspicious hour is almost upon us, and we should head down for the ribbon-cutting ceremony," Su Ning said.
…………
The launch of the fertilizer brought joy to some, which naturally meant it brought displeasure to others.
Such as the Zhao family in Beiping.
