Reborn in 1985: From Selling Braised Duck to Becoming the World's Richest Man

After Liang Ming finished eating the remaining sweet potato porridge in the kitchen pot at home, he pulled the mule cart and set off again for the city.

In less than half an hour, Liang Ming arrived at the gate of the No. 3 Steel Plant in the county.

The No. 3 Steel Plant in this county is one of the main industries in the county. It is quite large, with more than 300 formal workers and hundreds of temporary workers.

Most importantly, steelworkers had high work intensity, consumed energy quickly, and earned high incomes, making them the most willing to spend money on food at the time.

Liang Ming set up a stall here selling braised duck because he was after their wallets.

Moreover, because this third steel plant is an old plant, some of its layout and design are not reasonable.

To get to the steel plant's canteen, the workers had to walk out of the main gate and then turn left for a few minutes.

Liang Ming was confident that the steelworkers would be so engrossed in the aroma of his braised duck that they wouldn't be able to resist it.

After Liang Ming parked the mule cart, he began to set up his stall. One by one, the reddish-brown braised ducks were laid out, and the lid of the yellow enamel jar containing the delicious braising sauce was also opened a corner, and the aroma immediately filled the air.

Before long, it was time for the third steel plant in the county to close for the morning, and many steel plant workers walked out of the gate.

"Hurry up, the cafeteria won't have any good food if we go late."

"Hmm? What's that smell? It smells so good!"

As soon as the workers rushed out of the factory gate, they were attracted by the braised duck sauce at Liang Ming's stall and all looked over.

Liang Ming immediately shouted, "I created this delicious braised food, the braised duck is so fragrant and tasty, come and try it!"

"I guarantee you'll never forget it after just one bite. Once you've had one, you'll want another!"

Hearing Liang Ming's shouts, many steelworkers were drawn to his direction.

Seeing the brightly colored braised duck on Liang Ming's stall, their already rumbling stomachs immediately started pounding.

"Young boss, how do you make this braised duck? It smells so good!" a steelworker couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Master, my braised duck is made with various precious Chinese medicinal herbs. The process is complicated, which is why it's so fragrant," Liang Ming explained.

"How much is your braised duck?"

"It's sold by weight. If you have meat coupons, it's 1.4 yuan per jin; if you don't, it's 1.8 yuan per jin. A braised duck weighs about 3 jin," Liang Ming said.

"Hiss... So expensive?" The steelworker gasped, somewhat hesitant.

Although he was a formal worker at a state-owned steel plant, his monthly salary was only about 50 yuan.

Even though the government has optimized the salaries of employees in state-owned enterprises since last year, dividing them into three parts: basic salary, allowances, and bonuses.

But all he could calculate, his total salary was just over 60 yuan a month.

"Master, these ducks I buy at the farmers' market cost 9 cents a pound without meat coupons. Plus, I used a lot of Chinese medicinal herbs to braise them. Considering all these miscellaneous costs, I really didn't make any money," Liang Ming explained patiently.

In closing, he emphasized, "Most importantly, I specifically added two herbs, cloves and cinnamon, to this herbal medicine."

"You workers work so hard every day. Braising these two medicinal herbs with duck can help replenish kidney yang and strengthen the body..."

Before Liang Ming could finish speaking, the steelworker interrupted, "What did you just say?"

“I said, this braised duck is really inexpensive, only 18 cents…” Although he didn’t know why the other party made him repeat himself, Liang Ming still patiently said.

"Next sentence!"

"I added a lot of medicinal herbs..."

"Next line!"

"Can it nourish the kidneys and enhance male virility?"

"Boss, give me a braised duck!" The steelworker pulled out 5 yuan and 4 cents without hesitation and slapped it on Liang Ming's stall: "No need to cut it! I'll gnaw on the bones too!!"

“Uh…” Liang Ming was stunned for a moment, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

It turns out that what impressed the other party was not the taste of the braised duck, but its medicinal properties.

However, as long as the braised duck can be sold, it doesn't matter why the buyer wants to buy it.

Immediately, Liang Ming took a braised duck, put it in a yellow enamel mug, dipped it in the braising liquid, wrapped it in oil paper, and handed it to the steelworker.

The steelworker took the braised duck, squatted down, opened the oil paper, tore off a braised duck leg, and started eating.

After swallowing that mouthful, his eyes widened in surprise.

The rich aroma of herbs blends with the braised duck meat, creating an unparalleled flavor that instantly stimulates the taste buds.

The fatigue of the morning seemed to vanish in that instant.

"Young boss, your braised duck is really delicious! The sauce is savory and flavorful, and the herbal aroma is very strong!"

"And it seems to really have an aphrodisiac effect; I feel so much more energetic!"

After quickly finishing the braised duck leg, the steelworker tore off the rest of the duck meat while giving Liang Ming a thumbs-up:

"It's only fair that this braised duck is so expensive!"

The steelworkers around were excited when they heard that the braised duck really had aphrodisiac effects.

"Boss, give me a braised duck too!"

"I want one too!"

In no time, all 10 braised ducks on Liang Ming's stall were sold out.

Many later workers, seeing how much their predecessors enjoyed the braised duck and hearing that it had aphrodisiac effects, were filled with regret for arriving too late.

"Young boss, you only made 10 braised ducks? That's not enough to sell!"

"Are you coming again tomorrow? If you are, we'll have to make dozens more."

"Definitely, definitely!" Liang Ming quickly agreed.

He never expected that his braised duck stall business would be so popular; it sold out in less than half an hour.

Under the reluctant gazes of the workers, Liang Ming packed up his stall and left the No. 3 Steel Plant in the county town, pulling his mule cart.

After walking a little further away, Liang Ming finally had a chance to count the money in his shopping basket.

It cost a total of 54.54 yuan!

After deducting the cost of buying duck products and braising ingredients, Liang Ming earned a total of 27.27 yuan.

Although many people had already gone into business by the mid-80s, for ordinary workers, a month's salary was only thirty or forty yuan.

Only workers in important industries like steel mills earn higher incomes because they do heavy labor.

It can be said that Liang Ming's daily income from selling braised duck at his stall is equivalent to an average person's monthly salary!

There's great potential in the braised duck business!

"Based on today's sales trend, we'll need to increase the quantity of braised duck several times over tomorrow just to make it sell out."

"With so many ducks, it's probably hard to find them at the farmers' market..."

After the initial excitement, Liang Ming began planning tomorrow's business, muttering to himself:

"I need to go back to the village and ask the village chief to introduce me to a place where I can wholesale duck products in large quantities!"