410: Chapter 404: In Short Supply 410: Chapter 404: In Short Supply Peach Blossom Wine Industry’s distillery was located not too far from Chen Hai’s home, just over a kilometer away.
After dinner, with nothing better to do, Chen Hai pretended he was taking a stroll as he walked toward the distillery.
He had been busy refining Fine Gold for some time recently.
Although he knew that with the advertising on CCTV now live, Peach Blossom Fairy Brew had officially hit the market, he hadn’t yet been to check it out.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the affairs of the distillery, but rather the Storage Bag had a clear, more significant appeal to him.
All the way there, Chen Hai’s pace was unhurried.
His visit to the distillery was just to have a look around; he was not in a rush.
When he arrived at the gate of the distillery, half an hour had passed.
A row of more than a dozen trucks was parked next to the Great Path at the entrance to the distillery.
None of the license plates on those trucks started with “Xiang”, clearly all from out of town.
“Old Sun, what number are you in line?”
“I’m number nineteen, what about you, Li?
Your truck looks just like mine, and you’ve already been waiting here for two or three days.
You must be up soon, right?”
“I’m number sixteen.
After the two vehicles in front of me are done, it’s our turn to load up.
I reckon that before dawn, my truck will be loaded and ready to go.”
“Well, that’s soon.
After waiting for two or three days, there’s no harm in a little more time!”
“Old Sun, Li, I’m really envious of you two.
You’ll get your goods and be on your way soon.
Damn, I’ve been placed at number forty-something.
Who knows how many more days I’ll have to wait to get my hands on the Peach Blossom Fairy Brew!”
…
Near the distillery’s main gate, a group of men squatted, smoking cigarettes and idly chatting.
Among these people were drivers, owners, and companion personnel who came along with the trucks.
In those days, transportation was quite inconvenient.
Highways were still out of sight, and long-distance transportation mainly relied on national highways.
On the national highways, taking a wrong turning was a common occurrence.
Moreover, there was always the risk of bandits and highwaymen appearing en route.
Liuyuan County was just an unremarkable eighteen-line small town.
Considering that, finding trucks for long-distance hauls here was not easy.
Many owners came to purchase Peach Blossom Fairy Brew, having called trucks from their own localities all the way here.
Naturally, they would have called Peach Blossom Wine Industry’s sales department in advance to make inquiries.
For a six-bottle case of Peach Blossom Fairy Brew, if they purchased over a thousand cases at once, the distillery offered a wholesale price of only 988 yuan per case.
With the product in stock, there was simply no worry about it selling.
Once they got the goods and hauled them back to their location, even if they didn’t jack up the price and just sold them at the recommended retail price suggested by Peach Blossom Wine Industry, 198 yuan per bottle, they could make a profit of two hundred per case.
The trucks they called in could load about three thousand cases of Peach Blossom Fairy Brew.
A quick calculation showed that by selling all the goods, they could make a profit of six hundred thousand.
Of course, that was just the ideal scenario.
After obtaining the products, these owners were likely not to sell them directly to retail customers.
Even if they added only a few tens of yuan to the price per case before wholesaling it, they would still make a hefty profit.
“As the saying goes, ‘All hustle and bustle is for profit,’ and the ancients did speak sense.”
It was precisely because Peach Blossom Wine Industry’s Peach Blossom Fairy Brew offered such substantial profit potential that those owners were desperately scrambling to buy it, even if it meant waiting for several days.
Concerns about not being able to sell the liquor after getting it?
Nobody thought that way.
The barrage of advertising from CCTV continued.
“Heroes drink Peach Blossom Fairy Brew…”
Anyone who watched TV had heard this catchphrase.
In that era, the king of advertising on CCTV had such tremendous power.
An obscure little distillery, a brand of baijiu unheard of before, had, within just one week, become well-known and recognized by many liquor enthusiasts.
If it were local boutique brands like Moutai or Five Grain Liquid, those owners might worry about overstocking.
But as for Peach Blossom Fairy Brew, their fear wasn’t that it wouldn’t sell—they feared not getting their hands on it…
Approaching the distillery’s gate and hearing the discussions of those people, Chen Hai paused for a moment.
“The Peach Blossom Fairy Brew produced by the distillery is truly in demand now.”
“Securing that king of advertising on CCTV was indeed the right move.”
“It seems, aside from cultivation, I do have some knack for business!”
Feeling somewhat smug, Chen Hai muttered to himself.
Taking the ad for Peach Blossom Wine Industry’s baijiu straight to CCTV was all his idea.
Even the person in charge of the distillery, Qiu Dazhi, only found out after Chen Hai called him to notify him, asking him to contact CCTV and negotiate the deal that Chen Hai had already clinched directly with them for the “King of Advertising” spot on CCTV.
The success of the venture he had led made Chen Hai feel as if he had consumed honey—completely sweet within.
“Who is number fourteen?”
Two workers, one fat and one skinny, both clad in sky-blue uniforms with “Peach Blossom Wine Industry” emblazoned on the back, came out from within the factory.
Approaching the gate, the portly middle-aged man on the left shouted loudly at the group of men who were chatting idly outside.
“I am…” A tall man in his forties, his face lit with excitement, stood up from the crowd.
He stepped forward a few paces and, separated by the iron gate, confirmed with the people inside the factory, “Can I pick up my order of Peach Blossom Immortal Brew now?”
“Yes, the 2,800 cases of Peach Blossom Immortal Brew you ordered are ready!”
“Remember to bring the balance payment.
Once you’ve paid in full, you can go straight to the warehouse to pick up your goods!” the chubby worker inside nodded and responded.
While the thinner factory worker walked straight into the security room.
After communicating with the guard on duty inside, the iron gate at the entrance finally slowly opened.
The tall man known as number fourteen and his two companions had already driven their truck over promptly, slowly making their way into the factory.
“Halt, what are you doing…”
Just as Chen Hai, who was planning to walk into the distillery, had barely taken two steps from the small path beside the security room, a shout stopped him, and the guard quickly stepped out and blocked his way.
“Don’t you recognize me?” Chen Hai paused, stopping in his tracks.
“Why should I recognize you?” The guard sized Chen Hai up and down.
With an expressionless face, he added, “Visitors are required to make an appointment and have their identity confirmed before I can let them through.”
“If you don’t have an appointment and are not involved with the factory, then I’m sorry, but please leave for now!”
Chen Hai couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless in this situation.
He came to the distillery on a whim, without any sort of appointment.
This was only his second visit to the distillery since he had acquired it.
The last time he was here, the people in charge were Sun Jinzhong and Tong Daqiang.
At that time, the factory was in complete disarray.
The factory gate didn’t even have an iron gate installed; it was like trying to keep cats in a cattle pen—anyone could come and go as they pleased.
There was a security room, but it was as if it didn’t exist.
Because of this, Chen Hai had severely reprimanded Sun Jinzhong and Tong Daqiang.
Now, the distillery was under the management of Qiu Dazhi, the person from Xiangjiang.
The fat and thin factory workers and the guard in the security room were probably newly hired employees.
They had never seen Chen Hai, so it was reasonable that they didn’t recognize him.
To be blocked by security from entering his own distillery…
While the situation made Chen Hai feel awkward, he couldn’t complain too much.
After all, the guard was just dutifully doing his job.
There was no fault to speak of.
“In the security room, there is a telephone.
Give Qiu Dazhi a call.”
“If he’s not available, then let Sun Jinzhong or Tong Daqiang know.”
“Tell them that someone named Chen Hai is waiting here and ask them to come out…” Chen Hai took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, and gave the guarding security officer his instructions.
“Chen…
Chen Hai…
Are you the legendary big boss of our Peach Blossom Wine Industry?”
“Please wait here; rest in the security room.
I’ll make a call to confirm!” The guard was startled and suddenly froze.
He took another look at Chen Hai and then tentatively said.
It seemed that Qiu Dazhi and the others must have informed the new employees that the big boss of the place is named Chen Hai.
Otherwise, the guard wouldn’t have reacted the way he did upon hearing Chen Hai introduce himself.
It was perfectly normal for him to want to confirm the identity by phone.
Just because he’s heard the name Chen Hai doesn’t mean he can recognize Chen Hai in person.
Although Chen Hai appeared to possess an extraordinary aura, his youthful appearance was still quite surprising.
For such a young man to stand here without the confirmation from a few big shots inside the distillery, it was difficult for the guard to believe in the validity of his claim.
If by some mistake, they treated a random youngster as the big boss of Peach Blossom Wine Industry and welcomed him in, the guard alone definitely could not bear such responsibility!
“There’s no need to go inside the security room; I can stand here for a while.”
“Just go make the call and notify the people I mentioned!” Chen Hai smiled and nodded, not wanting to trouble the security guard further, and replied.