Chapter 115: Mountain Goods Enter the City! Lu Qingshan Goes It Alone to the Port!

Registering the factory is like giving these three hungry "children" a household registration, granting them a legitimate status.

Next is how to raise them so they can earn their own living.

Lu Qingshan knows well that no matter how good the product is, without a market it's useless.

He handed the overall planning of the factory's construction to the experienced Zhao Yongnian and Zhao Dazhi, while the concrete construction details were overseen by Zhao Fei, Zhao Qiang, and Zhao Lei. Liu Fugui, Zhao Tiezhu, Zhao Er Zhuang, and Zhao Laonian took charge of the village's daily farming and breeding tasks. With the division of labor clear, he himself began racing nonstop toward Baishan City.

Lu Qingshan slung a heavy canvas sack on his back, filled with carefully prepared, sun‑dried medicinal herb samples, and also a few pieces of attractively colored, uniquely fragrant Dried Meat and Sausage that he had crafted in his own little kitchen, using the insight of Mountain Wild Heart into the true flavor of the ingredients and Yue E's skill.

These items are regularly purchased by the county's state‑run hotel, and this time they will become his Door‑knocking Brick to break into Baishan City Market.

Baishan City, after all, houses the regional administration, so the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, the department store, and the food company are the strongholds he plans to capture.

However, reality quickly gave him a cold splash.

He first went to the procurement division of the city department store, where the Section Chief was a middle‑aged man with a beer belly and slicked‑back hair, surnamed Wang.

When Lu Qingshan explained his purpose, saying he was from Shanwan Village, Jiangyuan County, and wanted to market their village's mountain goods and meat products, Section Chief Wang didn't even lift an eyelid, pinched an enamel jar, blew the tea‑leaf residue on it, and waved his hand impatiently.

"Things that come out of a mountain ditch can't be any good. What we sell here are products from reputable large factories, with guaranteed quality and complete paperwork. Comrade, you'd better go back."

Lu Qingshan suppressed the anger in his heart and forced a smile onto his face.

"Section Chief Wang, please try our meat first; I guarantee it's different from the mass‑produced stuff out there. It's made with mountain spring water and pure natural spices and herbs harvested from Guandong Mountain—absolutely authentic!"

As he said so, he reached to open the wax‑paper parcel.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop!"

Section Chief Wang leaned back, his brows furrowed enough to crush flies, "What a mess. We have regulations here—items from small workshops without inspection reports and health permits are not allowed in! Your meat is dark‑looking, unappetizing, and if anyone gets sick, who will be responsible?"

Lu Qingshan argued logically, "We are processing the paperwork; the product quality is absolutely top‑notch…"

"Alright, alright," Section Chief Wang interrupted impatiently, "If you don't have the paperwork, don't waste our time. Next!"

Stung by rejection, Lu Qingshan was not discouraged; he simply kept Section Chief Wang's sour face in his mind.

In his previous life he sold services; what cold stare hadn't he seen?

Such a setback meant nothing.

At the city Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he received the same cold shoulder.

When they heard it was a village‑run small factory, they didn't even bother to look at the samples.

"Comrade, it's not that we don't support rural enterprises; it's simply that your products lack reputation and reliable quality, making it hard for us to stock. If they don't sell and we're stuck with them, who bears the loss?"

A deputy director who seemed reasonably friendly sighed, his words full of evasion.

For several days Lu Qingshan ran around a few major city agencies, and the results were all much the same.

He realized that soaring straight into these big channels was not realistic at present.

At night, Lu Qingshan lay on the cheap hostel bed, staring at the ceiling, silently activating Mountain Wild Heart.

He recalled the people he'd met during the day, their subtle facial shifts and the perfunctory or genuine concerns in their tones, all vividly resurfacing in his mind.

Mountain Wild Heart, though it can't sell his goods directly, sharpens his perception of the subtle nuances of human hearts.

He adjusted his strategy, no longer insisting solely on how great his products were, but shifting his focus to the smaller side‑food shops and individual stalls around the market.

These places have lower entry barriers, and the owners are more pragmatic.

In a street‑front side‑food shop, the owner was a man in his forties, holding a cigarette holder between his teeth.

Lu Qingshan walked in and said earnestly, "Owner, I'm from Shanwan Village. Our village just set up a factory and makes Dried Meat and Sausage; the flavor is truly authentic—please have a taste?"

The owner gave him a sideways glance, took the small piece of Dried Meat Lu Qingshan handed over, tossed it into his mouth and chewed casually, his eyes suddenly brightening.

"Hey, this taste… not bad at all! It's chewy, and the more you chew the more fragrant! It even has more character than the provincial food‑factory products I stock!"

Lu Qingshan felt a surge of joy and, seizing the moment, said, "Owner, you're a discerning customer! To be frank, Shanwan Village is poor; the whole village looks to this factory for a turnaround. This meat is made with the cleanest mountain spring water, smoked with wild Sichuan pepper and star anise harvested from the forest—real ingredients, no filler. Look, this is the hope of our village children, yearning for a full bowl of rice…"

His voice softened, a little hoarse, as he narrated the plight of Shanwan Village and the villagers' expectations, his gaze sincere.

The owner, a practical man, was moved by the story, smacking his lips at the meat aroma, and said, "Brother, your meat is indeed good, but you have no reputation and you're a small factory… How about this: I'll start with ten jin of Dried Meat and five jin of Sausage as a trial. If they sell well, I'll order more from you!"

"Alright! Thank you, boss!"

Lu Qingshan was overjoyed and hurriedly expressed his thanks.

Relying on his tenacity, the product's unique flavor, and the sincerity and keen insight derived from Mountain Wild Heart, he succeeded in moving a few small owners and sealing several modest deals.

Although the volume was small, it finally opened a niche and gave him hope.

However, the good times did not last long.

Just as his medicinal wine and herbal oral‑liquid samples passed the county health bureau's preliminary test and were ready for small‑batch trial production to supply the familiar shops, trouble arrived.

That day, after he had delivered goods to a side‑food shop that agreed to consignment his Dried Meat, the owner, Owner Wang, pulled him aside, his expression tense as he lowered his voice, "Brother Lu, your… we can't take that stock for now! Take it back quickly!"

Lu Qingshan felt a sudden thud in his chest, a foreboding rising, and asked, "Owner Wang, what happened? Is there something wrong with my meat? Just tell me, we'll fix it!"

Owner Wang sighed, glanced left and right, then leaned close to Lu Qingshan's ear, his voice even lower.

"It's not your goods that are faulty; it's… rumors spread from outside! They claim Shanwan Village's products have illegitimate origins, using crooked ingredients—rotten leaves, dead animal meat—so consuming them could be lethal! They even say… they say you, Lu Qingshan, were a troublemaker 'Lu Lazi' in the village, and this factory is just a front to swindle state funds…"

A bone‑deep chill surged from Lu Qingshan's core, instantly spreading to his limbs and bones!

Following it came a raging fury!

These vicious rumors were clearly aimed at him and the whole Shanwan Village!

They intend to cut off their livelihood and ruin their reputation!

Who? Exactly who is behind this ruthless act?

Is it the neighboring villages that lost the spotlight to Shanwan Village?

Or perhaps… some people who are envious of him obtaining the pilot project?

Lu Qingshan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, his gaze sharp as a blade.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his fury, and said to Owner Wang, "Brother Wang, thank you for telling me this. I, Lu Qingshan, have taken note of it! My goods aren't clean, you and I both know that, and the villagers of Shanwan Village know it too! I will definitely root out this black hand!"

Owner Wang saw the chilling glare in Lu Qingshan's eyes, shivered, and waved his hands repeatedly, "Brother Lu, you… don't act impulsively! I'm also at a loss…"

Lu Qingshan nodded, said no more, shouldered the goods he had intended to leave behind, and turned to stride away.

Sunlight shines on him, yet it cannot disperse the gloom in his heart.

Just when he had glimpsed a sliver of dawn on the sales road, it was instantly shrouded by a thick shadow.

The road ahead is more rugged than he imagined.

But Lu Qingshan knows he cannot retreat, and will never retreat!

He must sell Shanwan Village's products honorably, and also make those petty scoundrels who hide in the dark and set traps pay the price!