Chapter 65: The Ruthless Merchant

This big melon also affected Shen Mo.

For a period of time, many people looked at Shen Mo with suspicion and discrimination in their eyes.

Shen Mo just shrugged at this, not caring at all.

I'm just a freeloader, not some lunatic like Chu Tianjiao.

That's right, Shen Mo considered Chu Tianjiao a lunatic.

The reason was simple — you've already succeeded, already achieved class transcendence, so why the hell would you pull a swap-the-cat-for-the-prince stunt?

Fine, you did it, but why turn it into an entire industry chain?

You're dragging in so many wealthy families and rising elites — what for?

Is running training classes really that fun?

Shen Mo figured Chu Tianjiao must be secretly thrilled, secretly controlling everything, toying with a bunch of top-tier big shots in the palm of his hand — privately he must be over the moon.

Just like how humans, once their basic physiological needs are met, pursue spiritual fulfillment.

And Chu Tianjiao's spiritual fulfillment probably came from toying with those powerful and wealthy.

After working this out, Shen Mo became even more convinced Chu Tianjiao was sick in the head.

People should still live a plain, ordinary life.

Half a month after the melon was finished eating, Xiao Zhi and the others returned from the gaming expo.

And brought back a piece of news: a certain Teng was preparing to launch a small-to-mid-tier game platform.

Standalone mini-games, paid model on top — a few bucks buys you a game, play to your heart's content.

The prospects looked very promising.

Shen Mo didn't understand it, so he respected Xiao Zhi's idea.

Before long, that small-to-mid-tier game platform produced a hit.

A certain game studio made a terribly awful, anti-human, brain-dead game called Cat Mario.

Just from the name, it might as well be shouting "I'm a knockoff."

Anti-human to the point that every trap was the exact opposite of those in previous games.

You could say it killed you right when you were feeling most triumphant, and gave you countless extra lives.

This little game, priced at two bucks with production costs no more than thirty thousand, blew up overnight, raking in seven hundred thousand on the market in no time.

Even Shen Mo was green with envy, wanting to get in on it — and he actually asked Xiao Zhi, only to be told: we're not getting in on it, we don't make this kind of game right now.

Xiao Zhi pointed out directly that the ceiling for this kind of game was too low.

Real game-makers still had to make big games.

Once a big game came out, it could really earn money over the long haul.

Xiao Zhi had ambition — he wanted to make a top-tier competitive game, the kind with a world championship league.

Now he wanted to make more, better games, to accumulate funds and manpower for the company, preparing for the future.

Xiao Zhi, brimming with confidence, made Shen Mo click his tongue — so cool, even cooler than his own boss.

Shen Mo was willing to help him realize his dream.

As long as it made money, that was fine.

Xiao Zhi led his people into the production of the new game.

This time Xiao Zhi was making a dress-up cloud-raising game, already involving long-term ongoing operations.

Cloud-raising electronic pets.

Shen Mo had never played it.

While Xiao Zhi and the others were rushing headlong into work, the best Shen Mo could do was remind them: brothers, don't wreck your health — you're my cash cow.

After that, Shen Mo went on a business trip with Liu Yue.

On the plane, Shen Mo looked at Zhao Yanyan, who was on the trip with them, tilted his head, and couldn't figure out why she'd come along.

【Going on a business trip with a bestie tagging along, especially Zhao Yanyan, a woman who very likely likes women — the pressure on me is huge.】

Shen Mo felt sour.

Liu Yue almost couldn't hold back her laughter — this was kind of funny.

Liu Yue explained to Shen Mo the purpose of this business trip.

Two things.

One was to attend the opening ceremony of a branch company.

The other was that the investment company Liu Yue and Zhao Yanyan had set up received an invitation for a financing report, and the two were going to check it out.

Only then did Shen Mo suddenly realize — after all, he'd been notified at the last minute.

Zhao Yanyan looked at Shen Mo with a half-smile: brother, you've got something against me.

As soon as they got off the plane, someone from the branch company came to pick them up.

The branch company set up here in Caiyun City mainly did furniture processing.

Liu Group had a line of high-end solid-wood furniture — either they didn't sell it, or when they did, it was tens of millions to over a hundred million per set; selling three or four sets a month could already produce solid yearly results. Of course, they wouldn't only sell a few dozen sets a year — at minimum, they'd start from a hundred.

After all, the domestic economy was developing better and better, there were more and more rich people, and more and more people were buying solid-wood furniture.

Liu Yue had even personally invested in a plot of land to grow trees for this.

The branch company's leader was a mature older-sister type; Liu Yue called her Yan Jie. She was Wang Ma's eldest daughter, but didn't get along with Wang Ma.

The reason was that Yan Jie thought Wang Ma was too unhinged.

So the way mother and daughter got along had always been: if they could avoid calling each other, they avoided it; if they absolutely had to talk, they'd ask Liu Yue to help.

Yan Jie led Liu Yue and the others on a tour, inspecting the factory's purchasing department, storage department, processing department, design department, and sales department one by one.

Liu Yue greeted the workers at each stop, and gave everyone a red envelope, praising their hard work.

The new branch has just been established, and the boss needs to come in person to rally morale.

After a series of transfers, three days had already passed.

Liu Yue also raised a few issues, namely the problems of leftover scraps and online sales.

Liu Yue hoped the Design Department could put some of the marginal timber to use as well.

Shen Mo found it a little strange when he heard this.

【I keep feeling my wife has a hidden meaning behind her words.】

Yan Jie gave a slight smile and calmly explained to Liu Yue: "The newly opened branch has already prepared a complete surveillance system. We will strictly audit the issue of leftover scraps being taken away."

Shen Mo suddenly realized.

【So that's the real meaning.】

Liu Yue smiled as well. Very good.

"There are too many old-timers at the old factory; it's become a long-standing problem that needs gradual reform."

"So I need the new factory to take the lead in showing what change looks like."

"Yan Jie, I'm counting on you."

Through their conversation, Shen Mo came to understand that many of the lowest-level workers at the Liu Family's old factory had been there since Liu Yue's grandfather's generation.

Those low-level workers had rendered long and meritorious service, and would often do things that skirted the line.

For instance, taking leftover scraps home.

Back at the hotel that evening, Shen Mo raised a question to Liu Yue: does it really matter to fuss over leftover scraps?

Liu Yue sighed and explained:

"Don't underestimate those leftover scraps."

"Take the batch of top-grade sandalwood I got earlier. After crafting an entire set of furniture, the leftover scraps still yielded twenty strings of sandalwood bead bracelets."

"The Liu Group only received ten of those sandalwood bracelets."

"The rest were sold off privately by those workers."

"And their private grumble was: the Liu Group is already making so much money, why can't we earn a little on the side?"

"And that 'little on the side' amounted to one million one hundred thousand."

Shen Mo fell silent.

【That's seriously harsh — enough to send those workers in.】

Liu Yue rubbed her temple and said: "The Liu Group wraps itself in an idolized image both externally and internally, so I can't directly take action against those workers."

"Nor can I let my subordinates mistreat them."

"So the only new reform I can do right now is open the new factory, and through the Design Department and Processing Department, raise the product utilization rate, and then carry out reform across the entire group."

There's no helping it — after all, those old artisans are also the backbone of the Liu Group.

A glint flashed in Shen Mo's eyes, and he posed a question: "But won't the top artisans at the new factory just learn to do the same?"

Liu Yue's lips curved into a smile: "No. They were all personally trained by the Liu Family, and from start to finish the new factory has pushed utilization rates to the highest level."

Shen Mo always felt something was off.

After a while, he finally caught on: "What if — what if they team up with the other old artisans of the Liu Group to resist?"

"For instance, unable to stomach losing the profits from leftover scraps, they suspect the group is targeting them, and then collaborate with other old artisans to strike."

Shen Mo felt this was very possible.

Moreover, the artisans' craft is one of the Liu Group's hallmarks, much like certain high-end luxury ateliers in the West.

Liu Yue smiled and said in a calm voice: "The Liu Group has a dedicated Handicraft Artisan Training Center internally."

"The skills of the very first batch of artisans employed by the Liu Group were long ago learned in full by the people the Liu Family trained themselves."

"But the Liu Family didn't burn the bridge after crossing it. Instead, they kept the descendants of those artisans well-fed and well-treated, letting them all enter the middle class."

"If they insist on being ungrateful and rebel, I don't really have a great solution either. I can only sit down and talk openly — whoever wants to stay can stay, whoever doesn't can leave."

(End of Chapter)