My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Additionally, they settled on the terms of the advertising partnership: a 60-second ad for 120,000—a special price.

As for the ad’s content, they would simply select from the photos and videos taken that day, edit them, and insert the ad into their regular short video updates.

Zhao Xueqing would also find time to film performance videos featuring the long-spouted pot Kung Fu Tea, complete with different costumes, settings, and difficult maneuvers. Sometimes she would even create story-driven content with Lei Xiaohui—for example, a dashing general (played by Lei Xiaohui in men’s clothing) visits a tea house, falls for the owner’s daughter, and it’s love at first sight, with sparks flying...

So, there was no shortage of video content.

Because Li Xiang had given them a discount on the advertising fee and his purchase volume was considerable, the factory offered a significant discount on their tea—about 70% of the normal wholesale price.

Of course, the pre-Qingming and pre-rain teas were also divided into different grades.

This particular tea factory had a total of five grades for its spring tea: First-Pick Reserve, Superior Grade, Choice Grade, Standard Grade, and Daily Drink.

The first four Tiers were all pre-Qingming tea, while the last was pre-rain tea.

The suggested retail prices were 1,500, 1,200, 800, 400, and 200 per 500g, respectively.

Of course, the wealthy could afford to use the First-Pick Reserve as their daily tea. These classifications were aimed at the average working person.

The price the factory gave Li Xiang was 50% of retail. In other words, if Li Xiang sold the tea at the suggested retail price, he would make a 100% profit.

But that wasn’t Li Xiang’s style. He felt the prices were a bit too high and genuinely wanted to give his fans a good deal, so he decided to sell the tea at 80% of the factory’s suggested retail price.

For example, the Daily Drink tea, priced at 200 per 500g, cost him 100 per 500g from the factory. Li Xiang would sell it for 160 per 500g. This meant a 60% gross profit, and after deducting other costs, the net profit would be around 40-50%.

And during special events or promotions, fans could get it for even less.

Li Xiang felt that compared to other teas of the same quality on the market, he had a considerable price advantage.

As long as his fans were willing to give it a try, they would definitely feel they got their money’s worth.

Once the prices were settled, they signed the contract and paid the deposit on the spot. The factory owner was thrilled and promised to send the goods to Li Xiang the moment they were ready.

By the time they finished, the sun was setting. The factory owner invited them to stay for dinner, but Li Xiang politely declined. He headed back with the three young women, and upon reaching the county town, they went to the new barbecue place they had tried before.

The atmosphere was good, and it had private rooms, so they could eat and talk business.

The only downside was that the "lady drivers" hadn’t gotten their licenses yet, so Li Xiang couldn’t drink.

Li Xiang discussed names for the National Tea House and National Style Tavern with them, because just calling them "National Tea House" and "National Style Tavern" sounded too plain.

Zhao Xueqing suggested giving each a prefix. After everyone shared their ideas, they finally settled on the names: "Green Field Immortal Tea · National Tea House" and "Yaochi Moon Dance National Style Tavern".

They would use these names for promotion on their social media accounts from now on.

"Green Field Immortal Tea" drew inspiration from the famous children’s novel, The Wizard of Oz. A direct translation of the original title would be something like "The Magician of Oz Country," which sounds terrible. ’You have to hand it to the people of China when it comes to translation.’

"Jade Pool Moon Dance" was a nod to Yao Yao, as her name shared a character with "Yaochi," the Jade Pool. The name conjured the poetic image of the Fairy Chang’e dancing there. Chang’e, who resides in the Moon Palace, is also the Moon God.

Zhao Xueqing actually had an alternative that incorporated her own name: "Qing Tea." But she reconsidered. ’It wouldn’t be right,’ she thought. ’After all, the tea house and the tea business aren’t my properties. If I registered "Qing Tea," it would be overstepping, and I’m afraid Li Xiang wouldn’t be happy.’

Yao Yao didn’t have such qualms. She was the one performing the dances, so what was wrong with having a "Yao" in the name?

Besides, her National Style Tavern sold alcohol, which was different from the tea at the National Tea House. The liquors were all finished products with their own existing packaging and trademarks, many from major brands.

Trying to register a private liquor trademark would be much more difficult than registering one for tea.

For liquor, the more famous the brand, the higher the price. Tea, however, was judged mainly on its variety and origin, so branding wasn’t as critical.

As long as the origin was authentic and the taste was good, the fans would be happy.

Furthermore, transporting alcohol was a hassle, and with the Apocalypse approaching, it wasn’t a business they could run for more than a few years. The profits from tea were staggering, so Li Xiang felt focusing on that alone was sufficient.

Li Xiang instructed them to quickly register the two trademarks, "Green Field Immortal Tea" and "Jade Pool Moon Dance." He told them to get moving on it: if they didn’t know how, they should ask for help, research it online, or consult the relevant government departments. The tea packaging also had to be developed in parallel.

Otherwise, it would look pretty unprofessional if the tea arrived and they didn’t have custom packaging ready.

The previous sales had just been a trial run to test the waters. The results were quite good, and now that the new harvest was coming to market, Li Xiang was preparing to go all in. Naturally, every other aspect of the operation had to be ready.

"Don’t worry, boss. Leave it to me!" Zhao Xueqing declared, patting her chest with confidence, her eyes shining. This was something she had already put a lot of thought into.

She immediately launched into an explanation of her ideas.

Zhao Xueqing pulled out her phone to share a design she had created herself. It was meant to be printed on the packaging and featured the Eternal Night Media logo and name, the product trademark, and the company’s information. The main text would be rendered in shimmering, textured gold foil. The interior of the bag would be lined with aluminum foil, making it waterproof and moisture-proof once sealed.

In addition to the bags, there would be small green tins and large gift boxes, all printed with the same pattern and text.

There was also a specific bag designed for the Daily Drink tea. Customers buying for personal use, not as a gift, could opt for this simple, convenient kraft paper bag with a resealable opening.

Customers could choose the packaging style that best suited their needs, though the price would vary slightly, of course.

Compared to the cost of the tea itself, the packaging was insignificant. Ordered in bulk, it was quite cheap.

Li Xiang gave her a thumbs-up. Zhao Xueqing had anticipated his needs. Any boss would love having a subordinate like that.

She completed tasks on her own initiative before he even had to ask. The moment he brought something up, she already had a solution ready. In the workplace, that was an incredibly competitive trait. You could call it taking initiative.

Yao Yao: "..."

’Damn,’ Yao Yao thought, ’so that’s your game, Zhao Green Tea. Always scheming.’ She had to admit she was falling behind in the work department, but that was because she was pouring all her time into learning to dance. ’Well, my dancing is getting better and better. That counts as improving my core skills, I guess.’

After they finished their barbecue, Li Xiang drove the three young women home one by one.

Their office space was still under construction, so the three of them were still working from home. Li Xiang had given them a lot to do, so they were going to be busy for the next few days.

Yao Yao had suggested they all work out of Li Xiang’s house, since it was so large. She thought the second-floor living room would make a great office. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But Li Xiang shot down the idea. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to use his house as an office, but it was a new building that was still airing out. He’d bought a lot of new furniture, and he was worried the formaldehyde fumes might be bad for their health.

Besides, having three young women in his house every day... the optics of one man with three women wouldn’t be great.

Once the National Style Tavern and National Tea House opened, they could set up a few offices on-site. They would also be hiring more staff—servers, cleaners, security guards, both men and women. With more people around in a proper work environment, there would be no need to worry about appearances.

While the women got busy with the business side of things, Li Xiang was at home farming, practicing his Cultivation, and trying all sorts of new dishes. He had started out as a pastoral life vlogger, after all, and he couldn’t neglect his origins.

So, he would film videos or launch a livestream while he was planting crops, weeding the fields, tasting newly harvested vegetables, or doing some manual crafts.

Besides, his Cultivation was most effective when he was doing farm work anyway.

His grandmother had never had Longjing Shrimp and didn’t know how to make it, so Li Xiang took over as chef. He used the fresh, first-pick tea leaves brought back from the mountain the day before, along with fresh river shrimp he had just bought that morning. After shelling the shrimp, he stir-fried a dish of shrimp with green tea.

Authentic Longjing Shrimp, it was said, is made with fresh, pre-Qingming Longjing leaves, not with steeped, dried tea. Most people just don’t have access to the fresh leaves, so they substitute with regular green tea. After all, processed Longjing Tea is easy to find on the market all year long, but fresh leaves are hard to get and don’t transport or keep well.

"This is really delicious!" his grandmother exclaimed, praising the dish endlessly. In the middle of eating, she added, "It would be perfect with a bit more chili!"