A Booming Market

In the audiovisual room, more than a dozen figures appeared one by one on the enormous screen.

"President Chu!"

"President Chu!"

The general managers of the Six Great Base Cities, along with the deputy managers responsible for various departments in each city, had all joined the call.

"Let's hear how each of you is doing," Chu He said, his gaze sweeping across the screens. "Manager Bai, Northeast Base City, you can go first."

"Yes, President Chu!"

Bai Zebin stood up on the screen, a document in hand, and began his detailed report.

Chu He appeared to listen quietly, but his mind was elsewhere.

With Passion Fruit Dew and Ginseng Essence Wine as its two flagship products, and Chu He and Chu Tianxiong as the two War Gods publicly associated with Jiuzhou Group, the company's growth was as unstoppable as Qin Shi Huang riding a rocket to the heavens!

There was no need to mention Passion Fruit Dew. Its sweet-and-sour flavors came in countless varieties, and the series of more than a dozen Fruit Wines had practically swept up every child, woman, and elderly person.

Ginseng Essence Wine was a new series Chu He had launched after reaching Planetary Level, to fill a gap in the market.

It was brewed primarily from ginseng, a specialty of the Northeast, with more than a dozen auxiliary herbs and dozens of other ingredients.

Its flavor resembled that of sauce-aroma liquor, but it was richer than ordinary sauce-aroma liquor, with a lingering aftertaste.

Besides replenishing qi and nourishing the body, as ginseng was known to do, it also offered what men loved most: improved vitality, stronger kidneys, and a healthier body.

As a result, Chu He Winery was practically taking over the liquor market.

Many Warriors even made a point of bringing a few bottles with them before heading into the wilderness. They wanted the wine's qi-replenishing and restorative effects, so they could recover quickly from injuries and restore their energy if they were hurt out there.

If Chu He hadn't deliberately raised the prices of the two series, a great many wineries around the world might have gone out of business.

Under the circumstances, there was no reason for Jiuzhou Group not to thrive. The only question was how much it would earn.

One general manager after another gave their reports, all the while watching Chu He's expression.

Yet no matter how impressive the financial reports were, Chu He remained impassive and aloof, as if he couldn't care less.

The general managers were getting frustrated. They exchanged glances, silently venting to one another in perfect unison. Our young President Chu is one shrewd man!

Chu He wasn't particularly shrewd. He genuinely didn't care.

There were only three things about Jiuzhou Group that mattered to him.

The first was how well the group had mastered the new techniques for brewing Spirit Wine.

The cultivation of raw materials at the medicinal herb farms and Fruit Orchards, as well as the wineries' Spirit Wine brewing process, all fell under this.

This was tied to his plans to promote Jade Dew Wine and improve the bloodlines of humanity around the world. It was the matter that required the most attention.

The second was the new Toy Factory in Jiangnan Base City. The Spirit-Pointing Needle was key to Chu He's worldwide material acquisitions and the growth of the White Jade Wine Pot, so it was important too.

The third was to use Jiuzhou Group's operations in Jiangnan Base City to find the right opportunity to kill Li Yao and earn Luo Feng's gratitude.

Two of the three matters involved Jiangnan Base City, so Chu He had deliberately left it until the end.

Soon it was Ye Likang's turn to speak for Jiuzhou Group's Jiangnan Base City branch. Chu He kept his expression neutral, but focused his attention.

"President Chu, our development here in Jiangnan Base City is much the same as everyone else's. I'll organize a detailed financial report and upload it to you later, so I won't take up everyone's time."

The first five general managers nearly ground their teeth to dust.

You little punk!

We're treating you like a brother, and you're playing mind games with us?

You're not wasting everyone's time? You just know how President Chu operates, and you didn't bother telling the rest of us, did you?

But whatever the five general managers were thinking, Ye Likang kept talking, and none of them dared stand up and interrupt him.

"President Chu, aside from the financial report, what are your plans for that new Toy Factory?"

"Almost no one is buying the Spirit-Pointing Needle. Should we take on contract manufacturing for other toys?"

"No one's buying?" Chu He immediately sat up straight. "How can no one be buying it?"

"Did you distribute the set of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Atlas that I asked you to?"

The Classic of Mountains and Seas Atlas was the title Chu He had settled on for the book documenting all the materials he knew about.

It consisted of four chapters: the Monster Chapter, the Herb Chapter, the Mineral Chapter, and the Special Chapter.

Of course, this was only the first edition. If they acquired unfamiliar Spirit Materials in the future, Chu He would keep updating it.

To distribute the book, he had not only uploaded a free digital edition to the Martial Artist Forum, but also told Ye Likang to give away a copy with every Spirit-Pointing Needle sold.

"Well... President Chu, the Spirit-Pointing Needle is basically only useful in the wilderness. If Warriors aren't buying one, why would ordinary people want it?" Ye Likang was just as puzzled, so he laid out all his questions.

"Besides, even when the occasional Warrior does buy one and brings back materials mentioned in your book, the needle seems to stop working for some reason. It just won't turn."

"The Warriors complain about it, and we can only buy the materials back at the original price."

"President Chu, do you think we should put the acquisitions on hold for now?"

Chu He hadn't expanded the acquisitions to all six Base Cities yet. At the time, he had thought there wouldn't be enough Spirit-Pointing Needles to distribute among all six.

So he had opened an acquisition channel at the medicinal herb farm in Jiangnan Base City first.

After hearing Ye Likang's explanation, Chu He thought it over and realized he had made an assumption.

Warriors gathered herbs while hunting monsters, picking them up along the way. Naturally, they only sold them when they returned to a Base City.

Unless they raised the purchase price of Spiritual Machine Material, no Warrior would go out of their way to do this.

Moreover, Warriors spent a long time away on each trip. Once herbs containing spiritual energy were picked, that energy would slowly dissipate.

After enough time passed, how could any spiritual energy remain?

If they didn't solve this problem, raising the purchase price probably wouldn't help much.

It might even disrupt the collection of Spiritual Machine Material.

"Mm, I understand." Chu He nodded. "Keep producing the Spirit-Pointing Needles, but don't sell them to the public for now. Stockpile them first."

"As for acquiring Spirit Materials, stop for now. I'll look into it some more, and we can revisit it later."

Chu He already had a rough idea.

If he could develop the Spirit-Pointing Needle from the Seed of Divine Ability for the Spirit Guiding Technique...

Then he could also develop a Spirit Preserving Bottle from the Spirit Nourishing Technique...

Or something like a Spirit Insulating Bag from the Spirit Sealing Technique.

In any case, the acquisitions could be put on hold, but production of the Spirit-Pointing Needle couldn't be allowed to fall behind.

With the booming market for Passion Fruit Dew and Ginseng Essence Wine, Jiuzhou Group could easily afford it.

"General Manager Ye, I'll be heading to Jiangnan Base City for a few days to settle this matter once and for all."

That was what Chu He said aloud, but he wondered, I wonder if Li Yao has reached Jiangnan Base City yet. Once I've dealt with this, could I take the opportunity to invite Xu Xin over too and have her run the Toy Factory?