Chapter 343: The First Step to Success

A wave of shock surged in his heart; Zheng Xing opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to bow and say something.

"Booo~" (Your fresh Tapu Tapu Moumou milk~)

But at that moment, the Dragonite extended the black basket it was carrying toward Zheng Xing, gesturing with both action and sound that he could take the two bottles of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk inside.

Zheng Xing froze for a moment, then fumbled to pull out the 1150 League Coins in change he had prepared long ago, placed them into the basket, and only then took the two bottles of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk from it.

Even through the glass bottle, the Tapu Tapu Moumou milk in his hand seemed to retain a trace of warmth, suggesting they had likely just left Da Nai Guan's body not long ago.

The glass bottle was wrapped in a high-quality label, clearly printed with the production date, precise down to the second.

The label seemed to feature a Lie Yin of a certain hand-drawn illustration; the colors were neither unpleasant to the eye nor failed to catch attention, brimming with style.

The five chibi-style Da Nai Guan, along with the headshot of a Luxray looking exceptionally heroic beside the name "Luo Mu Farm," made Zheng Xing have a sudden flash of insight, his memories fully returning.

He had been wondering why that young man looked so familiar; it turned out he was the new Champion-rank Trainer of the Paldea Pokémon League!

The other party was undoubtedly the form he admired most; now that he actually had the chance to buy Tapu Tapu Moumou milk from him, almost instantly, Zheng Xing ceased to doubt whether the Tapu Tapu Moumou milk was genuine.

Not to mention the "luxury" of having Pokémon like Dragonite and Corviknight handle the delivery; just the appeal of a Champion-rank Trainer alone was enough to make him believe!

Immediately after, Zheng Xing made a new discovery: the artist's name signed at the edge of the label was actually Hassel of the Paldea Elite Four and the super-famous artist Koya!

So many great masters gathering together... was it merely to sell this kind of small-batch ordered Tapu Tapu Moumou milk?

In the end, why would a Champion-rank Trainer be handing out flyers on street corners...

Although they had accepted the money, neither the Dragonite nor the Corviknight showed any intention of leaving; noticing Zheng Xing holding the two bottles of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and staring blankly, the Dragonite waved its plump claw in front of him, finally snapping Zheng Xing's attention back.

"Booo booo~"

"Gaha~!"

Pointing at the banknote in its hand, the Dragonite displayed an expression of difficulty and request.

"Huh?"

Zheng Xing froze, completely unable to understand what the Dragonite was trying to convey; since he was already inept at guessing his superiors' intentions while at work, he remained merely a team leader even now.

As for the possibility of having given too little money, Zheng Xing hadn't even considered it.

He had prepared the corresponding amount of money well in advance and counted it several times, after all.

Fortunately, the Dragonite possessed some acting talent; after about a minute, Zheng Xing finally understood what it needed.

The Dragonite wanted whole bills, not loose change.

Still baffled, Zheng Xing good-naturedly handed the Dragonite a 2000 League Coin whole bill, intending to see what the Dragonite planned to do.

Who would have expected the Dragonite to pull a stack of loose change from a small pouch tied to the Corviknight's leg and immediately begin teaching the Corviknight how to make change right in front of Zheng Xing.

Watching this left Zheng Xing completely dumbfounded, thinking he must be dreaming.

In this day and age... could Pokémon even make change, and furthermore, teach other Pokémon how to make change?

Zheng Xing blankly accepted the loose change that the Corviknight, under the Dragonite's strict instruction, had struggled to produce; he stared blankly as they flew away, standing at the doorway for quite a while before slowly coming to his senses, then looking at the two bottles of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk in his hand, his face breaking into a joyful expression.

Regardless, starting today he would have fresh Tapu Tapu Moumou milk, which would surely help his Sunflora develop, growing tall and beautiful quickly!

After supervising Corviknight Skarmory Sanmao successfully making change, the Dragonite sent it back to the farm for breakfast, then hurried off to the locations of the other Corviknight.

Every Corviknight had certain shortcomings to varying degrees; just like Corviknight Skarmory Sanmao, whose sense of direction and wits were first-rate, only this matter of making change was something it couldn't quite grasp, so the Dragonite was reinforcing its memory.

The other Corviknight didn't have flaws as severe as Skarmory Sanmao's, but it still needed to follow up and check on them.

Fortunately, no problems arose afterward; witnessing the last Corviknight fly toward the farm, the Dragonite wiped sweat that didn't exist from its forehead and let out a long sigh.

"Booo~"

Life is hard, the Dragonite sighed.

Today's work had landed smoothly; now it should hurry back to the farm, hug Luo Mu to replenish Trainer energy, and then hug the other Pokémon to replenish Partner energy!

The Dragonite ascended to high altitude, thinking that at this height it shouldn't affect those below anymore.

The flowing winds surrounding it, guarding the Dragonite as if serving a monarch, emitted a shrill howling sound like ten thousand troops charging.

The next instant.

With a loud explosion over Pingdie Town, the Dragonite's figure vanished from the sky, leaving only those awakened by the noise looking utterly bewildered.

The Dragonite had ultimately underestimated the impact it could now cause.

By the time the Dragonite returned to the farm, Luo Mu and the Corviknight had already been waiting for quite some time.

Facing Luo Mu's inquiry of "Where did you go? Why are you back so late?", the Dragonite scratched its head with its claw, displaying an awkward yet honest smile, attempting to muddle through with cuteness.

"Booo~" (Accidentally flew a bit too far~)

Today's milk subscription business was a complete success; the total delivery fee of 450 League Coins for the nine runs was basically profitless for Luo Mu, as the appetites of just the nine Corviknight exceeded that amount.

However, since what they ate were all products from the farm, it basically amounted to zero expenditure.

Twenty-seven bottles of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and five bottles of goat milk earned a total of 17,100 League Coins; this aspect was almost pure profit, and if development continued smoothly, in a period of time even the expenses Luo Mu incurred for purchasing milking machines, glass bottles, etc., would be fully covered, after which it would be all pure profit.

Judging from the fact that the milk subscription business, with almost no promotion and only nine subscribers, so easily earned nearly 20,000 League Coins in a single day, it was no wonder Trainers in this world ran side businesses so successfully.

Just like the water performances by the Cerulean Sisters of the Cerulean Gym in Cerulean City, Kanto Region; it was said that the huge performance hall was packed to capacity for every show.

Even if the ticket price was set quite low, performing just once a day would earn a fortune, not to mention that tickets for their water ballet performances were extremely hard to come by.

It was likely precisely due to the sisters' efforts that the reconstructed Cerulean Gym in Pokémon Sun and Moon was built so grandly, though it was pitiable for the new Trainers of the Kanto Region, who not long after setting out had to face ambushes from Mega Steelix and Mega Gyarados.

After instructing Oranguru to pay attention to incoming calls, Luo Mu mounted Mudsdale and continued honing their mutual coordination on the land riddled with potholes.

Although it was a Pokémon Marathon Rally, the event clearly did not allow only Pokémon to compete; Trainers naturally also had to ride on the backs of their Pokémon, breaking through the full 500-kilometer marathon endurance trial together with their Pokémon.

For the domesticated and ranch-raised Pokémon in Pingdie Town, running such a long distance in one go was by no means a simple matter.

Not to mention having to carry a person on their backs.

It was said that the top-tier Feng Su Gou could run 10,000 kilometers in a day and night, which equates to over 400 kilometers per hour.

However, in ordinary tournaments held in small towns like Pingdie Town, it was very difficult to see any trace of Feng Su Gou; Pokémon of this species more often appeared in everyone's vision as partners to Miss Miss Junsha.

Coincidentally, Luo Mu remembered that Miss Miss Junsha's partner in Pingdie Town had previously been in the form of a Growlithe, likely not yet evolved into a Feng Su Gou, let alone whether Miss Miss Junsha herself would participate.

Although Mudsdale's movement speed and burst speed were far inferior to other riding Pokémon, what Luo Mu valued was its durability and stamina.

After all, winning the Pokémon Marathon isn't just about charging forward with your head down.

Only those who maintain their momentum and remain until the very end will be the true victors.

Time flowed by amidst Luo Mu and Mudsdale's training; by dusk, feeling as though the tendons and bones in his body were about to shake apart, Luo Mu returned home and received good news from Oranguru.

"Young Master, all nine customers who ordered milk today called; they intend to order for tomorrow as well, and one customer named Masayuki said his wife told him to subscribe for a full month directly."

"I took the liberty of waiving the delivery fee for them; do you think that is acceptable?"

Oranguru's telepathy rang out in Luo Mu's mind.

At this moment, Luo Mu had just stepped out of the bathroom; draped in loose loungewear with a Mao Jin towel over his shoulders, strands of his hair still retaining a hint of moisture, he planned to find a Dragonite-brand hot hairdryer to dry his hair.

Hearing this, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth lifted into a smile: "Of course it's fine; giving some benefits to the first customer to subscribe for a full month is only right."

Oranguru added: "Several customers who ordered milk today also referred a few new clients; tomorrow, we'll likely need the Corviknights to start adapting to delivering to multiple households in a single trip."

"No problem; the relevant training has already been conducted." Luo Mu nodded slightly, clearly reassured by having Dragonite overseeing matters, then he asked curiously: "By the way, how did you communicate with them? Telepathy shouldn't work over long distances, right?"

"Young Master, simply using text-to-speech software will suffice."

Oranguru smiled faintly, fanned his hand, summoned his tablet, opened an application, typed in a few passages, and played them directly before Luo Mu.

Listening to the utterly emotionless mechanical voice beside his ear, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth twitched.

Good heavens, Oranguru truly embodied the notion that technology changes life.

The next day, the fully staffed Corviknight delivery team ascended into the sky in neat formation once again, filling Luo Mu, who watched their retreating figures, with joy.

It seemed this was the first step toward success.

With the milk delivery business proceeding smoothly, all that remained was to complete training with Mudsdale; after securing the best promotional opportunity by winning the Pokémon Marathon, he could focus entirely on developing dairy products.

Products like ice cream, butter, cheese, and so on should all be well-received; precisely while Tapu Tapu Moumou's fresh cow milk and goat milk expanded the market, he could perfect the formulas and processes, then leverage the accumulated popularity to begin sales.

(End of Chapter)