Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: Second Life

A dreamless night.

The next day.

Bo Bing and his son Li Feng drove a van full of medicinal herbs toward the city.

Rather than saying that the place is a pharmacy that buys medicinal herbs, it's more accurate to say that this place is a collection and souvenir shop that can be found everywhere in Q City.

The store is located next to the downtown business district. The store is not small. It is decorated with exotic paintings and carpets, and there is even a realistic fake deer head sculpture placed in the middle of the hall. It looks lifelike. The antlers of the male deer are strong and powerful, and it has the majesty of wild animals.

The surrounding area and the center are all glass display cases and large platforms.

On the far left are local specialties: sugar, tea, cigarettes, and alcohol. Of course, apart from the local specialty barley wine and butter tea, the other items are basically things that are sold all over Northwest China and are not particularly rare.

Behind these are cigarettes, which are mostly from Lanzhou and are the most prominent. There's even an entire display case dedicated to Lanzhou cigarettes. Other good cigarettes are displayed on separate shelves, and it seems that almost nothing is cheap.

Further on, you'll find dairy products, yak jerky, and other pastoral specialties. Bo Bing glanced at them and noticed that they weren't cheap, ranging from 100 to 160 yuan per jin (500 grams), with prices varying depending on the specific gravity of the dried and dehydrated products.

Further back, there was the store's spacious front desk. Li Feng was discussing the price of medicinal herbs with the owner. The middleman was someone Li Feng knew, and the owner thought he was quite familiar with him. Moreover, the amount of herbs he brought was large, and the owner urgently needed to replenish the warehouse.

So they didn't push the price down to the lowest possible level.

With June approaching and the peak tourist season nearing, the number of tourists visiting Northwest China will increase significantly, and these newly opened shops will also have a large number of customers coming to shop.

Therefore, medicinal herbs and local specialties are always more popular at this time.

It's good to stock up.

The store sells both large and small items. The best-selling items are local specialties that appeal to all ages, such as highland barley wine, yak meat, and dairy products. These are things that ordinary tourists can afford and just want to try, so they sell well.

People who come to the store usually bring low- to mid-priced medicinal herbs, regardless of whether they are useful or not. They buy them to make tea, give as gifts, or show respect to their elders.

Regardless of its efficacy, it has to look presentable.

Raw materials or processed products such as goji berries, black goji berries, astragalus, codonopsis, and sea buckthorn are things that may not have obvious effects when consumed, but are unlikely to harm people. They don't require elaborate processing and are simply prepared and then claimed to be good for health.

Moving up a notch, you'll find things that are clearly high-end, like deer antler and cordyceps... These things are obviously expensive and have great effects, but the processing methods are difficult and demanding, and most people wouldn't get their hands on them for personal consumption.

When you encounter this type of buyer, you basically have to let the shop go a year without opening, and then make a living from the business for the whole year.

For wealthy and powerful families, it was either used as a generous gift or, if they were truly rich and powerful, used for their own health and wellness.

For medicines like this, the supply is generally not very stable.

But what Li Feng brought this time wasn't this kind of expensive stuff.

Astragalus, Codonopsis... these are local specialties from a certain place in G province. The farmers here produce high-quality products at low prices. Even if you come to Q province, you can still make a small profit after factoring in transportation costs.

This is how Li Feng deals with the sources of goods.

The items he has are also resold, but he has connections, so the processing fee is actually lower than the market rate.

Raw products like Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus are readily available, and farmers in G province can get them for only 20 to 30 yuan per kilogram. However, after processing, Astragalus membranaceus can sell for 125 yuan, and Codonopsis pilosula is generally priced at around 200 yuan.

Logically speaking, since both provinces are located in the Northwest region, the planting conditions should be similar. Why didn't the boss look for places nearby, but instead asked Li Feng to drive for several hours to collect the produce?

Bo Bing managed to glean some insights from what she overheard.

He had no prior experience in this field, and few of the people he knew were in the medicinal herb business.

Li Feng was beaming with joy. After weighing the goods, he became sworn brothers with the shop owner, having a wonderful time. The shop owner also urgently needed to replenish his medicinal herbs, so this was a perfect opportunity.

Moving the goods, negotiating prices, and securing the cargo took quite a bit of time. Forty kilograms of astragalus and fifty kilograms of codonopsis, totaling nearly ninety kilograms, eventually both parties compromised, and the transaction was successful.

It was past noon by then. Li Feng took the two brothers to the car, along with a bag of yak meat that the boss had insisted on giving them. He said he didn't like it because it was tough, and told Bo Bing and Li Bo to open and eat it. He then drove them to a restaurant, planning to have a nice little meal first.

"The boss was good today, he didn't try to drive the price down too much," Li Feng said, opening the window. "I made nearly seven thousand yuan this time! Haha, my childhood friend is reliable. He gets the meat from clearing out old medicinal herbs, and I can at least get a taste of the broth!"

After saying that, Li Feng muttered to himself, looking somewhat regretful.

"Sigh, you can only drink a sip of this stuff if there's soup in it. There aren't many privately bought ones like this."

During this moment of self-praise among middle-aged people, Bo Bing and Li Bo did not say anything to spoil the atmosphere.

Li Bo obediently took out a packet of dried meat for Bo Bing first.

Thin ice was chewed in his mouth, and he frowned.

Ouch, something stuck in my teeth...

The young man rubbed his cheeks.

He roughly estimated that the profit from that batch of goods, excluding transportation costs, was probably over ten thousand.

The processing fee is taken by the middleman. The middleman seems to own a small pharmaceutical factory. He takes a negligible three or four thousand yuan as processing fee, and the rest is basically the profit from personal relationships. It's obvious that whoever delivers the goods gets the cut.

Li Feng can earn six or seven thousand yuan per trip, which is also a benefit of drinking soup.

The boss only cares about buying low and selling high. Li Feng's profit margin is different when he sells. This shop also has connections with tour groups. Even in the off-season, they can sell medicinal herbs at rock-bottom prices. With more tourists, the large volume will definitely generate orders. Not to mention the peak season, the boss will definitely make a profit from every order.

Medicinal products are not like ordinary snacks; they don't expire so easily.

Is this also a way to make money?

Bo Bing fell into deep thought.

However, processing is an unavoidable aspect. Assembly line processing is generally only available in factories; relying on personal connections is definitely not an option.

They told you to stay on the sidelines, but they didn't tell you to fight over the meat.

Moreover, it's impossible to profit from such personal acquisitions; large orders still rely on various people in the sales channels.

Medicinal herb growers, factories, distribution channels, transportation... all are indispensable. In addition, there must be professionals to check qualifications, comply with relevant laws and regulations, and have various relationships to protect you.

The young man closed his eyes listlessly, his head aching.

All beginnings are hard.

He joked that he hadn't even secured the start-up capital or connections yet, and he was already indulging in wishful thinking because of a single transaction.

—Take it slow and steady.

His phone rang. He opened it and saw a preview video sent by Yin Su, along with the internal release date of his film.

The film took more than three years to complete, from casting and training to filming and editing, plus reshoots of Yin Su's scenes.

Before being shown externally, the film is first shown internally. Investors, producers, staff, and actors will all watch the film as a warm-up before its official release.

[Flower: I want to watch this movie with my godfather... Can he come over?]

Yin Su lowered his eyes and added a sentence.

[Flower: My birthday is the day after the internal premiere, and my godfather hasn't celebrated my birthday with me for two years... I'll clear two days off... Is that okay?]

Yin Su thought about it again, worried that the other party might bring up the matter of travel expenses.

[Flower: I'll reimburse my godfather's travel expenses, cover his food and lodging, and have celebrities accompany him throughout... Please come see me, okay?]

This message was sent more than four hours ago, at 10 a.m.

It felt like he was trying too hard to be relaxed.

Bo Bing was driving into the city at the time, so he ignored the messages on his phone. When he got to the store, he was mostly looking at the "Making Money" section and didn't pay any attention to his phone.

After waiting for several hours, the other party couldn't sit still any longer.

[Flower: Will you like me? [crying cat emoji]]

[Flower: Busy?]

There has still been no reply.

Flower: You're not ignoring me on purpose, are you? [crying cat emoji]

[Flower: Did I say something wrong? Is something bothering you?]

Bo Bing pursed her lips.

strange.

It's as if it's subtly hinting at something.

The other person's expectant, almost overflowing, coquettish tone was palpable.

Bo Bing is a typical example of someone who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. He admitted that he had a moment of weakness when faced with the other party's pitiful pleas.

He carefully considered his words.

【ICE: Sorry】

[ICE: Something came up]

Bo Bing felt a little guilty and sent out a [patting a cat's head] .gif emoji.

[ICE: I might not be able to make it. Is your birthday around this time? I'll remember your birthday present this time.]

[ICE: What do you want?]

As Agent Sun was planning the itinerary and about to report it, she noticed that Yin Su's gentle mask was beginning to crack.

The man stood up and slammed the schedule in his hand onto the table.

[Flower: Will my godfather give me anything I want?]

[ICE: ...We can't afford that.]

It seems we've entered another cycle of silence.

Tai Chi and game theory.

Yin Su raised his hand and gently pressed his temple.

—Take it slow and steady.