I Carry a Game World With Me

Chapter 273: Chapter 252: So Ruthless, Aren’t You Afraid of Being Beheaded?

After Baguda and Fire Silica left the banquet hall, they hurried to Wind Manor. Baguda excitedly reported to Lu Feng, "His Excellency the Governor, this Dream-Returning Wine is incredible! You should have seen how those rich people lost their composure. And the bosses from the liquor distribution companies were going crazy. I kept them on the hook as you instructed and came back to report to you."

"Mm, try this wine." Lu Feng was already well aware of how people would react after drinking Dream-Returning Wine; after all, he was the first to know its effects.

Hadona, who was standing nearby, immediately translated Lu Feng’s words for Baguda.

Baguda and Fire Silica immediately looked at the wine in front of Lu Feng.

"Governor, is this also Dream-Returning Wine?"

"Yes," Lu Feng nodded.

It was indeed Dream-Returning Wine.

However, this batch had been diluted from the standard Dream-Returning Wine.

Diluted to turn one bottle into two.

Dream-Returning Wine was a fine wine, but it only had two production tiers. One was a standard version made by steeping ordinary materials, which could be finished in three days. The other was a premium, meticulously brewed version that required a very long time.

This made the product line too simple, which made pricing difficult.

If the price was too high, most people couldn’t afford it or wouldn’t be willing to buy it.

If the price was too low, it would seem cheap before the premium version was even released, damaging its prestige.

So, the price was hard to control.

That’s when he had thought of further diluting the wine. The system note indicated that even after further dilution, it would still have the effect of Dream-Returning Wine, but the special elements would be dispersed and reduced, weakening the effect.

This would allow him to create a low-tier Dream-Returning Wine, which in turn would make the standard version seem high-tier. Later, when the premium version was brewed, it would be the collector’s edition.

Baguda and Fire Silica didn’t ask any more questions. They each picked up one of the two different glasses of Dream-Returning Wine and drank.

A moment later, both of them were lost in the emotional state induced by the Dream-Returning Wine.

When they came to, Baguda said, "His Excellency the Governor, the effect of this wine is much weaker than the one we gave the people at the banquet."

Lu Feng nodded. "This is the diluted version. From now on, we’ll sell this as the standard wine. The normal, undiluted version will be the high-end one, supplied to wealthier people, or to nightclubs and bars."

"As for the premium version, once it’s brewed, it will be the collector’s edition. We’ll have to limit the quantity and sell it only to the super-rich. We need to make them fight like crazy for it."

This strategy was the simplest form of hunger marketing, and also a way to build up its prestige.

Baguda had been a president before, so he naturally understood this principle. He then continued, "His Excellency the Governor, the materials we’ve purchased from various regions are arriving, and employees have been hired. The Xuanfeng Winery can begin production."

"There’s also the matter of the purchase price for the base liquor and the employee wages. This Dream-Returning Wine is so incredible, it’s sure to sell well and should be profitable."

"So, should we raise the price we pay for the base liquor? That way, more people will start brewing, and we’ll be able to acquire more."

"And about the employee wages—if we raise them, they’ll work harder. That would be beneficial for us."

He was clearly trying to secure some benefits for the people. It didn’t matter how much; as long as he could get something for them, it was a win.

Lu Feng naturally understood the principle of ’if you want the horse to run, you have to let it eat.’ So he asked, "What are we currently paying for the base liquor per jin, and what’s the monthly salary for employees?"

Baguda immediately replied, "The base liquor is 100 Xuanfeng Coins per jin, and the monthly salary is 10,000 Xuanfeng Coins."

"That low?" Lu Feng asked, stunned. "Tell me your plan. How much did you plan on increasing the liquor price and the salaries?"

Baguda was, of course, talking about Xuanfeng Coins.

The exchange rate with the Dragon Country was 10 to 1, so 100 Xuanfeng Coins was equal to 10 Dragon Country Yuan, and 10,000 Xuanfeng Coins was 1,000 Dragon Country Yuan.

Back in the Dragon Country, these prices would mean the liquor was cheap, and the labor was even cheaper.

It was important to note that the high-proof liquor used to steep the Dream-Returning Wine was already the best in the Xuanfeng Alliance. Back in the Dragon Country, the cheapest high-proof liquor cost at least 30 Yuan per jin, equivalent to 300 Xuanfeng Coins. A slightly better one would cost 100 Yuan per jin, or 1,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

And the winery salary was only 1,000 Dragon Country Yuan a month.

It was just absurdly low.

’Back in the Dragon Country, not even a dog would take a job for that kind of pay.’ A winery employee would make at least 5,000 Yuan; young people wouldn’t even consider it for less. The work was too hot and grueling.

Better wineries paid even more.

Employees at a company like Maotai earned around 15,000 Yuan, but of course, a company like that was an exception and couldn’t be used as a benchmark.

This was enough to show just how impoverished the people of the Xuanfeng Alliance were.

Baguda quickly said, "His Excellency the Governor, I was planning to increase the purchase price for the liquor by 50 Xuanfeng Coins and raise employee salaries by 5,000 Xuanfeng Coins."

"That little?" Lu Feng was stunned.

’In the Dragon Country, isn’t that like adding just 5 Yuan to the liquor price and 500 Yuan to the salary? A total of 1,500 a month?’

That kind of pay was still insultingly low.

His words, in turn, stunned Baguda. "Is that a small amount?"

He was certain that if the pay increased by that much, the brewers and factory workers would be ecstatic.

Then, Baguda asked, "His Excellency the Governor, how much should we increase it by, then?"

Lu Feng thought for a moment and said, "Let’s raise the price for the base liquor to 500 Xuanfeng Coins per jin! And increase the winery employees’ monthly salary to 50,000 Xuanfeng Coins."

This was equivalent to 50 Yuan per jin for high-proof liquor and a monthly salary of 5,000 Yuan back in the Dragon Country.

In the Dragon Country, this would still only be considered a normal price for liquor and a low-end salary.

But Baguda’s jaw dropped when he heard this. He said in shock, "His Excellency the Governor, that much of an increase? Can the winery afford to pay those salaries? We still need to buy materials; there are costs to consider."

He could hardly believe it.

Fifty thousand Xuanfeng Coins a month was five times the original salary.

If this news got out, the line of people applying for jobs at the winery would stretch all the way outside of Wind Capital.

Lu Feng couldn’t help but tease him. "Baguda, your perspective is still a bit narrow. Are costs really something we should be worried about? In a proper business, you should find every possible way to make someone else bear the costs."

"Right now, we have three tiers of Dream-Returning Wine: diluted, standard, and premium. The diluted version will sell for 5,000 Xuanfeng Coins for a 700ml bottle. The standard version will sell for 30,000 Xuanfeng Coins a bottle, and the premium for 100,000 Xuanfeng Coins. Now, you calculate the profit."

"..." After hearing Lu Feng’s words, Baguda’s mind went blank for a moment.

Qiuzi Grass was 250 Xuanfeng Coins per jin, sweet potatoes were 200 Xuanfeng Coins per jin, Drunken Root Grass was 150 Xuanfeng Coins per jin...

After careful calculation, buying one jin of all the various materials would cost 5,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

But these materials could be used to steep 50 jin of Dream-Returning Wine. Adding the cost of 50 jin of base liquor, the total cost would be 30,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

Fifty jin of Dream-Returning Wine could be diluted to make 100 jin of low-tier Dream-Returning Wine. Adding the cost of another 50 jin of base liquor brought the total cost to 55,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

According to His Excellency the Governor’s pricing, 100 jin of low-tier Dream-Returning Wine could be sold for 500,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

"..." Baguda fell silent as he did the math.

Revenue of 500,000 Xuanfeng Coins, minus costs of 55,000, left a profit of 445,000 Xuanfeng Coins.

The costs were practically negligible. It was almost all profit.

"So making wine is this profitable?" Baguda was completely stunned.

Fire Silica, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed. ’Damn, this is more than just profitable. If I had known, why the hell was I dealing in weapons? I should have gone into the liquor business from the start.’

But then he shook his head. ’It’s not like I could have produced Dream-Returning Wine.’

Lu Feng chuckled and said, "In a Dragon Country bar, a fake bottle of Martell Noblige costs 120 Yuan to buy, but sells for 1,200 Yuan. That’s 12,000 Xuanfeng Coins."

"..." Baguda was speechless.

"..." Fire Silica was also speechless.

The two of them fell even deeper into silence.

’That’s so ruthless, so vicious. Aren’t they afraid of getting their heads chopped off?’

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