My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 54: Chapter 53: This Is Still the Fastest Way to Make Money

”How about you just ride with me today?” He Zhixiang offered enthusiastically.

”No problem!” Li Xiang replied, making an ”OK” sign with his hand.

”It’s settled then! That’s great, my friend!” He Zhixiang was thrilled, feeling like his trip hadn’t been a waste after all.

The kapok trees were in bloom and the coffee cherries were turning red on his farm. The harvest was already more than halfway complete, and they had begun the deep processing of this year’s new beans. The remaining batches were being picked in an orderly fashion. For the foreseeable future, his inventory would be quite plentiful; running out of stock wouldn’t be an issue.

In previous years, He Zhixiang had always sold raw beans directly, which was how most coffee from Yunnan Province was sold. This year, however, he wanted to build his own brand. Always selling raw materials meant that coffee from Yunnan Province wasn’t well-known and struggled to make a name for itself.

In truth, the quality of coffee beans produced in Yunnan Province was on par with those from world-renowned regions like Ethiopia, Brazil, and Colombia.

Li Xiang quickly packed a few things into the same suitcase he had used on his last trip back from the big city.

The suitcase was cheap, but since he had bought it in the city, its style was relatively modern and trendy, so it was presentable enough to take along.

Although he had a one-cubic-meter ”warehouse” provided by his system, it was only suitable for private use. In situations like traveling with someone else, it wasn’t very convenient.

While in the car, He Zhixiang made a call, telling his staff to prepare for the livestream. His company had a ready-made streaming studio with a full set of equipment. He had tried livestream selling once before, even hiring a famous big shot from the entertainment industry, but the results had been far from satisfactory.

That big celebrity was gorgeous and had been famous for many years, yet the sales were disastrously bad.

At the time, He Zhixiang had prepared a full three million yuan worth of products. He had thought that with the celebrity’s fame, the stock would probably be snapped up instantly. He’d planned for a full day of streaming, but figured they might be done in less than an hour—no, maybe even half an hour.

In the end, he was brutally slapped in the face by reality.

The actual sales amounted to just a single order. The other hundred-plus orders were all from shills he had hired—you know, ”e-commerce hype men,” the ”atmosphere squad.”

It was enough to make him cough up blood. The commission wasn’t the issue, but he was out a massive eighty thousand yuan for the ”slotting fee.”

So this time, He Zhixiang changed his strategy and set his sights on Li Xiang. He figured, ’Instead of paying a high appearance fee for those big celebrities, why not try a streamer like Li Xiang, who might not be massively popular but has impressive, real ability?’

’Li Xiang might be a rustic-style streamer and not very ”yuppie,” but he’s handsome enough, especially his physique. Even I, a man, appreciate it, let alone the women. And isn’t the demographic that loves coffee and has strong purchasing power primarily female?’

’Besides, rustic-style streamers seem more ”down-to-earth” and ”genuine,” which gives them an edge in trustworthiness over the trendy bloggers.’

’As for the driver’s idea, it’s clearly wrong. When it comes to selling to women, how could a female salesperson ever be as effective as a handsome man?’

The driver was thinking from his own perspective, finding pretty women to be easy on the eyes. But He Zhixiang was putting himself in the customer’s shoes.

That evening, Li Xiang stayed at the coffee-themed resort hotel owned by He Zhixiang. Since the resort had only recently opened, it was quite empty, so Li Xiang was given the most luxurious suite—the kind that was a full one hundred square meters. It was fully equipped with everything you could imagine: a sofa, coffee table, rug, bathtub, desk, safe, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, massage chair, large-screen TV, a small private pool, and more.

Furthermore, all the equipment inside was smart-home integrated, including the air conditioning, lights, curtains, bathtub, and even the toilet.

This was the first time Li Xiang had ever stayed in such a nice hotel. In the later stages of his previous life, he had achieved a certain status, but because of the Apocalypse, the quality of lodging and food was actually worse than that of a normal life before it all began.

Back then, most people hid underground like rats, just trying to survive. This was one of the reasons Li Xiang particularly cherished his peaceful, pastoral life now. Without that contrast, you can’t truly appreciate what you have.

’Days as heavenly as this are numbered.’

He felt that every day he lived now was the height of luxury, and he was in a wonderful mood each day.

Just the free sunlight alone was something that no amount of money could buy after the Apocalypse arrived.

That’s why Li Xiang didn’t want to run himself ragged by pouring all his energy into building a Shelter. It was like having a bunch of bananas, some good and some bruised. Why not enjoy the good ones first?

’If you eat the bruised ones first, by the time you’re done, the good ones will have gone bad too. You’ll never have a single good day. What’s the point of that?’

The Apocalypse was an unstoppable, despair-inducing disaster. Even if he prepared as thoroughly as possible now, he didn’t know if he could survive the ”Eternal Night” and see light and peace again.

So, he might as well enjoy himself to the fullest while he still could.

”Hey, bro, want me to find a few girls to give you a massage?” He Zhixiang joked.

Li Xiang quickly refused. ”No, thanks.”

Then he raised an eyebrow. ”You’re in that kind of business too?”

”Where’s your mind going? It’s all legitimate business. Massages, foot baths... they’re everywhere in the country. Don’t get the wrong idea.” He Zhixiang’s hotel did indeed have ”clubhouse” services, but they were the completely ”vanilla” kind.

”Want to give it a try? It’s my treat, anyway,” He Zhixiang coaxed.

”Alright, then. Find some skilled ones.” Li Xiang nodded. A little enjoyment was fine, as long as it didn’t cross any lines.

It was his first time experiencing this in either of his lives. He had to admit, the three beautiful masseuses He Zhixiang found were truly top-notch. After the massage, Li Xiang felt comfortable all over—even more relaxed than after practicing his advanced Breathing Technique and Body Techniques.

But that’s all it was. Two hours later, the three masseuses left, and Li Xiang fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Li Xiang toured He Zhixiang’s largest coffee farm. At He Zhixiang’s request, he also filmed a short video and posted it on his social media account.

Well, this video had a lot of ad content and was a bit long—over ten minutes—so the price was slightly higher, at thirty thousand yuan.

When the livestream began, the explosive results came in!

Over two days, they streamed for a total of nine hours, but sales reached a whopping 1.363 million yuan. They sold a total of 6,815 orders, averaging around 200 yuan per order, and sold out completely. This was because He Zhixiang had been burned so badly last time, and Li Xiang’s fame was lesser, so he had only prepared one million yuan worth of stock.

The expectation was to sell a million, but who would have thought they’d sell over three hundred thousand more? Fortunately, it was harvest season, so they wouldn’t truly be out of stock; the products for the extra three hundred thousand-plus in sales would just need to be shipped a few days later.

A little rush at the factory would sort it out.

He Zhixiang was pleasantly surprised, but his driver was utterly shocked. Compared to the big celebrity from last time, Li Xiang’s performance could only be described as explosive.

Keep in mind, Li Xiang only had about a hundred thousand fans, while the big celebrity who flopped had over 16 million.

According to their agreement of a 25% commission, Li Xiang netted 340,000 yuan from this one livestream. Adding the 30,000 yuan for the ad video and the 10,000 yuan appearance fee, his total earnings came to a full 380,000 yuan!

You had to admit, livestream selling was a fast way to make money.