Chapter 33: Buy Whatever Comes to Mind

Chen Xie's purchasing scope expanded rapidly, and targeted online searches proved very effective. He found a military green cotton overcoat that was not available in military supply stores, and it was incredibly cheap, sold by a uniform factory in Zhili for 55 yuan each. Without caring whether it was made of inferior cotton, he immediately ordered 10,000 pieces, but the seller replied that they didn't have that much stock and it would take three months to deliver. These uniform factories also produced military-grade cotton quilts, the cheapest of which cost only 63 yuan. Chen Xie was overjoyed and placed an order for 10,000 sets. The seller responded again, saying they didn't have that many and it would take six months to deliver.

After half an hour of online negotiation, Chen Xie learned that this was a prison-run uniform factory, which explained the low prices. Chen Xie decisively expressed his intention to establish a long-term partnership, focusing on cotton overcoats, quilts, thermal underwear, and thermal pants. The factory was delighted and agreed to expand production as long as Chen Xie paid 20% of the total cost upfront.

Chen Xie, the cunning businessman, personally visited the factory's office in a county town and met the manager, Mr. Gao. After a meal and two pounds of erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), Chen Xie, with slurred speech, offered to pay half the cost upfront. When he sobered up, he regretted it, but he had to accept it, considering it a rare act of kindness.

An order for 20,000 sets of cotton overcoats and quilts would keep the factory busy for a year. There were over 1,000 sets of each in stock, which Chen Xie bought on the spot, with the factory responsible for transportation.

After resolving this, Chen Xie looked for seeds. Winter wheat was too late, but there were still corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Modern corn seeds were high-yielding, cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and pest-resistant, but the seeds were only good for one season. Chen Xie didn't care about this, as the shuttle machine would solve the problem. For the people of the Ming Dynasty, who couldn't even afford coarse grains, they had no right to be picky. Considering the difficulty of the first promotion, Chen Xie only brought a small amount of seeds, enough to plant one or two thousand acres. He planned to plant these in Zhangjia Village next year, and once the harvest was good, he would have a convincing argument.

For the pharmaceuticals, Chen Xie's flagship product, he didn't need to bring more this time, as he had enough from previous trips and hadn't used much. He brought back several ten thousand counterfeit blue pills, as the rich in the Ming Dynasty had money to spare.

To earn money from the rich, Chen Xie thought a lot and decided to go for a high-end route. Glass, which was cheap in modern times, was not available in the Ming Dynasty. Zhangjia Village's courtyard now had glass windows, so this time, he could bring about 15 tons, which should sell smoothly. Mirrors had already gained a reputation, so he had to bring some, but not too many, as too many would devalue them. He also decided to bring some cigarettes, but finding an underground cigarette factory was not possible, and he didn't know the production techniques, so he had to buy from various tobacco and alcohol specialty stores. After buying about 1,000 cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, he stopped. He found a hardware factory to customize 50-pack cans, and in the Ming Dynasty, he would hire illiterate women to repackage the cigarettes, essentially running an underground counterfeit cigarette factory. Of course, this was a temporary solution, and he still needed to find an underground factory or solve the production technology issue, which seemed more challenging.

Pencils, pocket knives, notebooks, and schoolbags were all ordered online, with the only requirement being "three-no" (no brand, no quality assurance, no production date). Despite the lack of conscience, the online stores forgot about it in the face of large orders and agreed to Chen Xie's demands without hesitation, delivering the goods within half a month.

Considering the Ming Dynasty was an agricultural society, Chen Xie also brought 10 tons of steel bars, thinking about training a team of blacksmiths to start with agricultural tools and gradually expand into other industries.

Thinking about food, Chen Xie bought 20 tons of flour and 20 tons of cement for building houses, along with 10 small carts for construction sites. After all the hustle and bustle, the total weight of the goods was over 120 tons. He confirmed with Wu Qi that it was fine to bring them, but they would have to be transported in batches. Only then did he feel reassured and prepare for another trip.

After all the purchases and orders, Chen Xie found that after paying for the house, the travel costs, the assistance fees, and the shopping expenses, he still had over 10 million yuan left, which was a pleasant surprise. He finally had some savings.

Just before leaving, a call came in. Chen Xie saw it was from Yang Lili and remembered his house renovation. He quickly answered, and Yang Lili's soft voice complained, "You bought such an expensive house and don't care about it at all? Are you not afraid I'll mess up the 2 million yuan renovation? Or run away with the money?"

Chen Xie laughed, "I trust you completely. Lili, I've been busy lately. Once I finish this, I'll treat you properly."

Yang Lili was speechless. She hadn't seen Chen Xie in a while and had only been in touch by phone. She had chosen the renovation company, and Chen Xie had no objections. The renovation plan was sent to him via computer, and he had no objections. The 2 million yuan for the renovation was directly transferred to Yang Lili's account.

Such trust made Yang Lili feel uneasy, and she even thought Chen Xie might be interested in her. But since he never showed up, the idea of him pursuing her was debunked. Who pursues a girl like that?

"Fine, you win! When the house is done, if you don't show up, I'll move in," Yang Lili said casually. Chen Xie agreed quickly, "That's great, I need someone to watch the house. I'm abroad for half the year, and there's no cell phone signal there. You can help me, and I'll pay you."

Yang Lili was defeated by this rich man's arrogance. After a moment, she laughed softly, "Alright, I'll live there permanently. When you come back, I won't move out."

Chen Xie replied heartlessly, "Sure, I'd be happy to." Yang Lili's face lit up; she was actually hinting that she wanted to be the mistress of the house. Most people wouldn't answer so casually, but Chen Xie, with his slow reaction to romantic signals, didn't catch it.

Feeling sweet inside, Yang Lili said softly, "Be careful abroad. If possible, call me. The internet says it's very chaotic in Africa, with wars everywhere. Make sure you come back safely."

Chen Xie couldn't think of a better response.

After hanging up, Chen Xie was thinking about what he might have missed when a black hole appeared in the air, and the virtual beauty Wu Qi emerged, looking at him with a complex expression. "You missed something important. Since you paid for the assistance, I need to remind you that your soldiers lack protective gear."

Chen Xie slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "How could I forget something so important?" He was so surprised that he missed a detail: how did Wu Qi have expressions? Wasn't she a virtual character?

"There are two solutions. One, you can find a company to produce plate armor or bring enough steel to the Ming Dynasty to have it manually crafted. The other, you can provide the steel, and I will produce the plate armor, provided you give me the size data," Wu Qi's words hit Chen Xie like a bolt of lightning.

"Really? You can do that?" Chen Xie asked subconsciously, and Wu Qi, with no expression, replied, "I received 5 million yuan for assistance. For two months, I will provide solutions to any difficulties you have. Do you think the Ming Dynasty could produce Minié bullets? I told you I could solve the bullet problem. You provide the materials, and I produce them."

Chen Xie suddenly felt he had a powerful cheat. This way, he could do anything, right?

"Can you solve any problem?" Chen Xie asked, and Wu Qi coldly replied, "Only production-related issues involving metal, such as plate armor and Minié bullets. The technology cannot be too advanced; a 200-year gap is the limit."

"Wait, what if I want to add bayonets to the rifles?" Chen Xie asked again, and Wu Qi looked at him coldly, "Yes, you can. You provide the raw materials. Remember, the assistance period is two months. For the next assistance, you need to pay again."

Chen Xie quickly checked the date on his computer and looked at Wu Qi with a sad expression, "Why didn't you say this earlier? The two-month period is almost over."

Wu Qi vanished into the air, leaving a message, "I wanted to!"

This...! Even with his slow reaction, Chen Xie noticed something was off with the virtual woman. He couldn't pinpoint what, but something was definitely wrong. How could a virtual character, who had no emotions, be off?

After thinking for a long time without a result, Chen Xie decided to stop. He contacted the fatso Zhang Guangming, and they drank together that night. He got the driver's license Zhang Guangming had obtained and discussed buying a car together. Chen Xie's next journey began.

Reappearing in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Xie found himself at the same spot he left. Seeing no one around, only the white frost on the ground, and it being early morning, he sighed in relief, feeling a bit cold. The time difference between the two worlds was within a week, and the seasons were the same, but it was much colder in the Ming Dynasty.

After a half-hour walk, it was already bright. When Chen Xie returned to Zhangjia Village and the Zhang family courtyard, Changsheng, who was sweeping the ground, saw him and rushed over, "Young Master, you're finally back! Mr. Liu has been looking for you like crazy."

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