Gazing at the rice in its brand-new packaging, Wu Jun stepped forward to feel it again and again, feeling thoroughly satisfied.
With the new packaging, the rice looked much more high-end.
These custom-ordered bags were made from premium material but had no special design. They were simply printed with the "Hongyun Rice" brand logo.
After admiring them for a while, Wu Jun summoned four Farmers, had them neatly stack the three metric tons of rice on the floor, and then sent them back into the game.
He took a shower in the bathroom and went to bed.
The next morning, Wu Jun got up, washed his face, and opened the supermarket door.
As he opened the door, he saw Xu Fei leaning against the wall outside, staring blankly at her toes.
"Good morning, Mr. Wu." Hearing the door open, Xu Fei looked up, saw Wu Jun, and greeted him.
Wu Jun asked, "How long have you been waiting? Why didn't you knock?"
"I just got here, not even a minute ago," Xu Fei said. "I thought you might still be sleeping, Mr. Wu. There are no customers this early, so I figured I'd let you sleep in a bit."
"Come on in. From now on, just knock as soon as you arrive. It doesn't matter if I'm sleeping or not." Wu Jun was growing more and more pleased with this considerate young woman as he led her inside.
"Oh, Mr. Wu, what time did you get up? Why did you change the packaging by yourself? I was planning to come in early to help you," Xu Fei asked in surprise when she saw the newly packaged rice inside the supermarket.
"I couldn't sleep last night. I was just tossing and turning, so I figured I might as well get it done," Wu Jun said with a smile. "And what do you know, after I finished, I hit the bed and fell right asleep."
Xu Fei turned to Wu Jun and said, "Mr. Wu, from now on, please leave tasks like repackaging to me. You work so hard all day; you should get more rest after closing."
"We won't need to do it anymore," Wu Jun said. "From now on, the shipments will all come in this new packaging. We only had to repack what was left from yesterday."
"Oh, I see," Xu Fei replied, not asking any more questions.
It was just a few minutes past 5:00 AM, and even the breakfast vendors outside the residential complex hadn't set up their stalls yet. Seeing no customers, Xu Fei asked Wu Jun for permission, then went into the kitchen, measured out a scoop of rice, and put it on to cook.
The porridge was ready quickly. Just as the two of them had filled their bowls, a customer arrived.
"Mr. Wu, you eat first. I'll go take care of the customer." Xu Fei had just picked up her spoon, but she put it down again and got up to leave the kitchen.
'It's really nice having a thoughtful employee.' This was the first time Wu Jun had been able to sit down for a proper breakfast since the rice started flying off the shelves.
"Miss Xu, could you weigh out 20 jin of rice for me?" Mr. Hu from upstairs had met Xu Fei yesterday. He walked in and held out a 100-yuan bill toward her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hu," Xu Fei said. "The manufacturer has switched to new packaging for all our rice. It now comes in 25-kilogram bags. All the loose rice has been sent back to be repackaged."
"Fifty jin, huh..." Mr. Hu hesitated for a moment upon hearing Xu Fei's words.
'How long would it take to get through that much?' But his family had specifically requested this rice, so he didn't have much of a choice.
Hearing the conversation outside, Wu Jun also put down his spoon and listened intently.
Today was the first day they were selling by the bag. The minimum purchase was now 50 jin, which cost 250 yuan.
'He had no idea how customers would react, or how well they would accept it.'
"This is the 25-kilogram bag," Xu Fei said, seeing Mr. Hu's hesitation. She pulled out a bag for him to see.
Mr. Hu took one look and was impressed. 'The packaging is actually quite nice.' There were no flashy patterns on the bag; it was clean and simple. The material seemed special, giving it a premium, high-class feel.
He reached out and touched it. The texture was great, not like a plastic bag at all.
"This... with the new packaging, has the price gone up?" Mr. Hu asked, a little uncertain as he looked at the high-end, impressive packaging.
Even though he didn't work in the packaging industry, from a layman's perspective, he guessed a bag like this must cost at least a few yuan on its own.
"It's still 5 yuan per jin." As Xu Fei spoke, she pulled out the electronic scale and placed the bag of rice on it.
The scale's digital screen displayed a weight of 25.3 kilograms.
Xu Fei said, "As you can see, Mr. Hu, not only is our rice's packaging more exquisite, but we also never shortchange you on the weight."
"The manufacturer of the rice you distribute is pretty decent," Mr. Hu complimented. He pulled out his wallet, counted out two more 100-yuan bills, and handed them to Xu Fei, saying decisively, "I'll take this bag, then. Give me one."
"Of course, Mr. Hu. Thank you for your purchase." Xu Fei took the 300 yuan, gave 50 yuan in change, and sold the first bag of rice in its new packaging.
Listening from the kitchen, Wu Jun breathed a sigh of relief when he heard how smoothly it had gone.
'If sales were worse after switching to bags than when it was sold loose, he'd have to readjust his strategy: sell it loose in the supermarket and sell full bags while expanding business outside, implementing two different sales plans.'
Fortunately, that didn't happen. Customer acceptance was exceptionally high.
After Mr. Hu left, several more waves of rice-buying customers came in, and not a single one left empty-handed. They all paid up.
One older lady said she didn't have enough money and had to go back to get more. Wu Jun thought she was just making an excuse to leave, but less than ten minutes later, she returned. After she paid, Wu Jun helped her carry the bag to the elevator.
From a little after 5:00 AM, they were busy straight through until 9:00 AM, when the morning rush finally subsided.
Wu Jun checked his earnings: 18,000 yuan. The morning's revenue had set a new record!
The first shot after the packaging change had been a resounding success.
The store was empty now, leaving just Wu Jun and Xu Fei, the boss and his employee.
Wu Jun said, "I was worried at first that suddenly changing the packaging would cause sales to drop. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."
"You were overthinking it, Mr. Wu," Xu Fei said with a smile. "Rice has a long shelf life, so it won't go bad if you buy a lot. The packaging is more exquisite, but the price is the same, which is like getting a beautiful bag for free. It even looks good enough to give as a gift for social occasions. A lot of the older folks felt like they were getting a great deal."
"That's a very good analysis," Wu Jun said with a nod of approval.
With no customers in the shop, the two of them chatted for a while. Then, Wu Jun called Chen Xingyang to ask how the search for a factory building was going.
Chen Xingyang and Duan Xiangyan had gone out around 6:00 AM and had been looking ever since, but they hadn't made any progress yet.
Wu Jun told them not to worry and to take their time before hanging up.
After contacting Chen Xingyang, Wu Jun scrolled through his contacts and found Jiang Yi's number.
Over twenty days ago, Jiang Yi had told him to contact her as soon as he had packaging.
Although the packaging had arrived yesterday, he couldn't repackage the rice during the day with Xu Fei around.
By the time he finished repackaging at night, it was too late. He didn't want to disturb her rest, so he held back from calling.
He himself had been up working since 5:00 AM, and it was obviously too early to make a business call then.
After a busy morning, he was only now finding a spare moment.
A customer came in to buy rice, and Xu Fei went to help them.
Wu Jun dialed Jiang Yi's number.
"Hello, may I ask who is calling...?" The call connected, and Jiang Yi's voice came from the other end.
Wu Jun rubbed his nose, embarrassed. 'It's only been about twenty days, and she's already forgotten me?'
Wu Jun said, "Hello, Miss Jiang. This is Wu Jun, the guy who sells rice at the small supermarket in Tianyuan Residential Complex."
"Oh, I remember now. Your rice is very special." With Wu Jun's reminder, Jiang Yi immediately remembered his rice, though not him.
Wu Jun ignored these details and got straight to the point. "Miss Jiang, the rice I distribute now has proper packaging. Are you in need of any at the moment?"
"Mr. Wu, the timing is truly unfortunate. Your call is just one step too late," came Jiang Yi's regretful voice from the other end.
Wu Jun was stunned. "What do you mean, Miss Jiang? Have I... missed something?"
Jiang Yi explained, "Our bank is about to hold an event to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and we need a large number of gifts for our new and existing clients. The budget includes 5,000 gift packages of 50-jin premium rice. I heard from my colleagues in the procurement department that it seems they've already reached a preliminary purchasing agreement with a rice distributor."
When Wu Jun heard Jiang Yi's words, it felt like a sharp jab to his heart.
Five thousand 50-jin bags of rice... that was a full 125 metric tons!
'Was the biggest order since he started selling rice just snatched away by someone else?'