Selling Fruit

The cruise ship, after more than ten days at sea, finally arrived in New York City, America. During these ten-plus days, Chen Changsheng had, as he wished, engaged in friendly and beneficial conversations with Little Pepper, Pepper Potts, leaving a good impression in Miss Potts' mind.

As for his impression of Tony Stark, Chen Changsheng was speechless. He truly couldn't imagine how one person could have in-depth interactions with over a dozen different women in more than ten days, yet still enjoy it and do it daily without fail.

Speaking of which, Tony Stark could indeed be considered exceptionally talented. He had been living so wildly for over ten days straight, yet he was still full of energy when disembarking.

As a Virus Will Aggregate that had already shed its base desires, Chen Changsheng could only lament that Tony Stark, despite possessing a genius brain, was wantonly wasting his precious time on meaningless pursuits. It was truly shameful.

Chen Changsheng, along with several other gifted teenagers from around the world, was arranged by Stark Industries to attend the best high school in New York City, Midtown High, thus beginning his high school learning journey in the Marvel world.

In Chen Changsheng's impression, Midtown High was a gathering place for talents, whether they were self-made geniuses or the children of the wealthy. In any case, this school was a good place to cultivate an elite social circle.

Chen Changsheng was already eighteen years old. He had completed his high school studies back in China. However, due to his Eastern origins, he needed to adapt to the new environment of America, which was why he was arranged to study at Midtown High.

In America, eighteen years old was considered an adult, so Chen Changsheng could now handle many things. With the proper procedures handled by Stark Company, Chen Changsheng's identity was completely legal and legitimate.

Therefore, the first thing Chen Changsheng did upon arriving in New York was to register a company in New York City.

The Marvel world's first extraterrestrial corporate giant, the Umbrella Corporation, officially appeared, its octagonal red and white umbrella-shaped logo shining on the American peninsula of New York in the Marvel world.

Of course, as Chen Changsheng from the Prototype world, he also intended to register the Gentek Corporation. However, considering future development, Chen Changsheng decided to make Gentek and Umbrella two unrelated companies. Only in this way could he have sufficient room to maneuver.

The money for registering the company through an intermediary naturally came from Stark Industries' bonus. When Chen Changsheng agreed to participate in Stark Industries' young genius cultivation program, he received a sum of $100,000, and this $100,000 was now the initial startup capital for Chen Changsheng's company.

Currently, the pharmaceutical industry in America had strict regulations, so Chen Changsheng did not plan to engage in his old line of work for the time being. As for what he would do, Chen Changsheng decided to start with the food industry to earn some capital, as the barrier to entry was low.

Eastern delicacies had been popular in America for a long time, but Chen Changsheng would not participate in that market. The reason was simple: it didn't make enough money.

Stored in the memories of the Web of Conspiracy were many rare plants modified by the Willow Tree in the Prototype world. He believed that the fruits of various flavors would be enough to give the natives of the Marvel universe a taste of the impact of exotic cuisine.

Through the person in charge of the young genius cultivation program at Stark Industries, Chen Changsheng rented a large tract of wasteland far from New York City at an extremely low price to plant various strange fruit trees.

The planting process was also quite simple and crude. Countless willow roots spread out from beneath Chen Changsheng's feet, burrowing directly into the ground and beginning to differentiate and grow.

Before long, a lush orchard covered the entire wasteland. It was fortunate that this wasteland was far from New York City and was a place no one wanted to go. Otherwise, if people discovered that so many fruit trees had suddenly grown on an empty lot overnight, it would have been considered a miracle.

In the center of the orchard stood a giant willow tree, with countless emerald branches extending down from its massive trunk, resembling a colossal green fountain settled upon the earth.

Beneath the willow tree was a small wooden house. This wooden house was integrated with the willow tree, as if it were naturally formed. It was the temporary residence Chen Changsheng had built for himself.

Starting from scratch, this was Chen Changsheng's home until he earned enough money. And one shouldn't underestimate this wooden house; in terms of safety, ordinary small bombs would be unable to harm this small wooden house. Without Chen Changsheng's permission, nothing could enter it.

There were few mature fruits on the trees in the orchard, and Chen Changsheng did not need many fruits for the time being. If he needed them in the future, he could catalyze many in a short period. After all, this orchard was merely a tool to cover his tracks.

The willow tree's roots delved deep into the earth, continuously absorbing nutrients and energy from the ground, while its canopy stretched straight into the sky, freely absorbing the stray radiation from the distant sun.

Chen Changsheng felt that in the future, he would definitely have to acquire some nuclear waste from the military. After all, the willow tree absorbed nuclear radiation much faster than it absorbed sunlight for growth.

As soon as the orchard was completed, Chen Changsheng began to find ways to sell the fruits. However, before officially starting sales, Chen Changsheng decided to test the waters and see if these fruits would be accepted by the local Americans.

The campus of Midtown High was crowded with the children of the rich and powerful. Chen Changsheng, pushing a small cart, strolled through the campus, beginning to sell the fresh fruits he had just picked from the orchard.

The appearance of these fruits was completely different from the fruits in this world. Chen Changsheng deeply understood the essence of attracting attention. The fruits he chose were like alien creatures, yet they also carried hints of other fruits from Earth. This way, he could maximize the attraction of people's eyes and pique their curiosity.

If the appearance of dragon fruit was considered eye-catching on Earth, then the fruits Chen Changsheng brought were like the sun, making it impossible for everyone to ignore them.

A fruit shaped like a cantaloupe, but only the size of a fist, looked ordinary on the outside. However, the fragrance emanating from it lingered for a long time, filling the entire Midtown High.

Anyone who smelled this peculiar fragrance couldn't help but swallow their saliva, looking around to see where this strange aroma was coming from.

Another fruit, similar to an orange, was golden all over, shining brilliantly under the sunlight, clearly extraordinary at first glance. There were also a bunch of not-so-ordinary bananas, as ordinary bananas wouldn't be the size of an adult's arm...

These rare and exotic fruits looked like immortal fruits from a celestial realm. In fact, they did have some peculiar effects. Although they didn't have the heaven-defying effects of changing one's destiny or cleansing one's marrow like the legendary immortal fruits, they were enough to attract many admirers.

Commendably, Chen Changsheng had also added a trace amount of life essence to these fruits. This life essence could slightly slow down human aging and increase lifespan.

As for relying on eating fruits to cure diseases, one would have to eat several tons of them for any effect. The life essence was accumulated by the willow tree bit by bit, so it couldn't be wasted on irrelevant people for no reason.

In short, there was only one sentence: I want to make money, but I cannot give away the life essence, not even a drop.

Pushing the small cart to the entrance of Midtown High, Chen Changsheng stopped the cart steadily, took out disposable paper plates and forks. After casually slicing a giant banana, Chen Changsheng began to promote it to the passing students.

"Step right up, don't miss out! Rare fruits from a mysterious ancient Eastern civilization. Guaranteed you've never eaten them, guaranteed you've never seen them..." Chen Changsheng's enchanting sales pitch echoed through the campus, attracting many gazes in a short time.

Ordinary American high school students were already quite outgoing, but Chen Changsheng, an ordinary-looking teenager from China, showed them what a "social butterfly" truly was, selling publicly without blushing. Chen Changsheng even proactively invited some pretty girls to try the fruits he was selling.

High school students were ultimately more reserved. With Chen Changsheng's few words of invitation, many classmates joined the tasting, becoming human billboards standing in front of Chen Changsheng's stall, continuously attracting more onlookers.

The main reason was that the fragrance emitted by these fruits was too enticing. Ordinary teenagers' self-control could not resist such a sweet taste.

After tasting these fruits, the rich kids of Midtown High began to inquire about the prices. Some planned to buy some to share with their parents, while others intended to give them to girls they admired. Children in adolescence were in the happiest time of their lives, eager to share joy.

Chen Changsheng didn't know the market price of fruits in America, but it was best to sell them at a high price. He could always lower the price if needed. But this was clearly Chen Changsheng. As for the rich kids, these classmates never lacked money.

As Chen Changsheng had expected, these classmates didn't care about the high price of one hundred dollars per fruit that Chen Changsheng quoted.

In a short time, Chen Changsheng had received a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, and the fruits on the cart gradually decreased, selling out quickly.

The fruits that filled the cart eventually turned into cash spread across the table. This left Peter Parker, a campus reporter passing by, dumbfounded. As a child from a not-so-wealthy family, Peter couldn't believe how easy it was for others to make money.

Watching the dispersing crowd, Peter Parker hesitated for a moment before walking up to Chen Changsheng with his camera. "Hi, classmate, I'm Peter Parker. Are you one of the exchange students who recently transferred to Midtown High?

I've never seen these fruits you're selling today. Could you introduce them to me and take some photos for the school newspaper?"

Chen Changsheng, who was tidying up the messy bills on the table, heard someone asking and looked over. He saw Peter Parker, wearing thick glasses, holding a camera, with a youthful and inexperienced look on his face. Hmm? Looking at the somewhat shy Peter Parker, Chen Changsheng didn't expect the current Spider-Man to be socially anxious.

"Of course. I am Chen Changsheng from China. You can call me Jack. These fruits are treasures from certain unknown places in my hometown. Very few people in the world know about them, but I plan to bring these fruits to the world and share them with more people."

As he spoke, Chen Changsheng took out a round fruit from the cart's drawer. It somewhat resembled a pear. The reason for saying "resembled" was that this pear was covered all over with charming patterns, making it appear exceptionally extraordinary.

Peter's gaze flickered briefly at the pear, and after snapping back to reality, he exclaimed to Chen Changsheng, "It's so beautiful, this fruit."

"Of course it's beautiful, but it tastes even better. It's for you, Peter. We're friends from now on, aren't we?" Chen Changsheng generously offered the future Spider-Man a hundred-dollar fruit, hoping to bridge the distance between them.

He wasn't doing it for any other reason than to get closer to future superheroes. Even though they might not be as powerful as he was... but didn't everyone have an unrealistic dream in their youth?

After bidding farewell to Peter Parker, Chen Changsheng prepared a fruit basket filled with various fruits and took a taxi to the headquarters of Stark Industries, Stark Tower, located in downtown New York.

On the cruise ship to America, Chen Changsheng had already established a good rapport with Pepper using his humorous language and had even obtained Little Pepper's phone number. Now, Chen Changsheng was heading to Stark Industries to discuss with Little Pepper how to use his fruits to make money from America's wealthy.

Yes, specifically to make money from the rich. Chen Changsheng disdained earning money from the poor. After all, what's the point of squeezing a few coins out of a pauper? It was much more satisfying to harvest the wealthy, like cutting leeks.

What's the easiest money to make in this world? Of course, it's luxury goods. And who buys luxury goods? Naturally, it's the wealthy who have plenty of money.

It made sense. A fruit worth hundreds of dollars was far beyond the reach of ordinary people. But to break into the circle of the rich, he needed special channels.

Currently, he was a recipient of Stark Industries' Young Genius Program, which provided a convenient sales channel. He wouldn't pass up such an opportunity.

At Stark Tower, with Pepper's permission, Chen Changsheng went directly to her office. To his surprise, he encountered an unexpected person there: the playboy Tony Stark. Honestly, Tony Stark shouldn't have been there. Even as the chairman of Stark Industries, he should have been indulging in his usual womanizing ways at that moment.

Tony Stark was also surprised by Chen Changsheng's visit. He had been deeply impressed by Chen Changsheng on the cruise ship.

After all, a man constantly chatting intimately with his personal assistant, and seemingly enjoying it, was something the boss wouldn't be happy about, even if the man was still a high school student.

Tony himself had witnessed plenty of romantic entanglements from a young age, so he couldn't help but be wary of Chen Changsheng, who was around his own age. That was his personal assistant, after all.

Chen Changsheng also noticed Tony Stark's gaze was somewhat peculiar, but he paid it no mind. He had come with sincerity to discuss business, and the final decision would undoubtedly rest with Tony Stark, the boss.