Chapter 3: That's 10,000 Already!

Chapter 3: That’s 10,000 Already!

After the five women left with their peaches, the crowd quickly gathered again. A burly auntie immediately stepped forward and asked, "Boss, can I have a taste?"

"Of course, everyone can try!" Zhang Lin didn't hesitate and quickly handed out the sliced peaches to the auntie and the surrounding people.

Just like the five women, he wanted people to taste the peaches first to show how delicious they were, which would encourage them to buy.

The auntie tasted the peach and was equally amazed. "I’ve never had such delicious peaches before. Boss, give me 30 pounds. I want to buy some for my two sons."

"Sure thing!" Liu De quickly responded, grabbed a plastic bag, and started filling it. The auntie then left, carrying the peaches.

Impressive!

"I want a bag too, I’ll buy some!" another person chimed in.

Others who had tasted the peaches also started speaking up.

"Living up to its reputation as a new variety, it’s really delicious. I’ll buy some too."

"Give me a bag as well!"

"..."

"Everyone, take your own bags and pick what you want, then I’ll weigh them for you!" Liu De shouted while helping the auntie with her peaches.

The auntie took 30 pounds of peaches and paid 900 yuan via QR code.

Suddenly, Zhang Lin’s stall became bustling with activity.

As the announcements from the loudspeaker continued, more people were drawn over.

After tasting the peaches, everyone was won over and started picking out their choices.

These peaches were truly delicious and unlike anything they had tasted before. Everyone who saw them wanted to buy some.

With the customers paying via QR code, Zhang Lin’s WeChat notifications kept ringing:

"WeChat received 153 yuan!"

"WeChat received 127 yuan!"

"..."

"WeChat received 176 yuan!"

As more customers came and went, over 100 pounds of peaches were sold, and the stall had earned more than 3,000 yuan.

The booming business left the owner of the neighboring peach stall stunned.

Is this even possible?

"I’ve learned something!" the owner muttered, got into his car, and decided to try the same method in a different location. He didn’t believe in the "new variety" claim, thinking it was just a gimmick.

After helping for a while, Zhang Lin saw that Liu De could handle things on his own and returned to the driver’s seat to study the game in his mind.

As the WeChat payments came in, he could see the balance in the top-left corner of the game interface increasing rapidly, clearly linked to his real-world balance.

Agricultural Mega Player was a casual game focused on agriculture. While it had a high degree of openness, it also followed the typical leveling-up mechanics of games.

Leveling up would increase the quantity of products that could be wholesaled and the variety of products available.

Given the current profit from wholesaling peaches, leveling up would mean more money.

Additionally, leveling up would unlock new features.

However, there were conditions for leveling up. For example, at Level 1, there were three conditions:

1. Hire 3 workers (1/3)!

2. Earn 100,000 yuan in profit (5,310/100,000)!

3. Develop 50 acres of agricultural land (5/50)!

Of these conditions, earning 100,000 yuan in profit seemed the easiest. He just needed to keep wholesaling and selling peaches. Hiring three workers would also be simple as long as he had enough money to hire two more in the game. Developing 50 acres of land would require the most effort.

However, the effort required could be solved by hiring more workers to do the job.

Therefore, the priority was to complete the condition of earning 100,000 yuan in profit. Once the money was earned, hiring workers and developing the land would be easier.

In addition to the leveling-up mechanics, Agricultural Mega Player also had milestone features. Completing milestones would earn rewards.

The current milestone progress was 0%, but he saw that there were many milestones to complete.

From small milestones like earning 10,000 yuan in profit, developing 10 acres of land, and hiring 10 workers, to larger milestones like building a laboratory to research agricultural product formulas, there were many options with different rewards.

At the moment, earning 10,000 yuan in profit seemed the easiest milestone to complete.

The peach sales remained strong, and the gimmick he used was clearly effective. The peaches from the game were genuinely delicious, which helped him gain a foothold in the market.

By noon, most people had returned home for lunch, and the number of customers gradually decreased. However, nearly 300 pounds of the 500 pounds of peaches in the car had already been sold, showing how popular they were.

Excluding the peaches given out for tasting, his balance had reached 8,130 yuan!

His phone rang, and he saw it was his mother calling. He answered immediately.

"Xiao Lin, lunch is almost ready!"

"Got it, Mom!" Zhang Lin replied, then selected some peaches to bring home for his mother to try.

After packing the peaches, he told Liu De, "I’m going home. You stay and watch the stall. I’ll order you some food from the nearby shop."

"Boss, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the stall!" Liu De assured him.

Zhang Lin then went to a nearby snack shop to order food for Liu De before taking a taxi home.

He lived in the Huayuan residential area, one of the better neighborhoods in Youcheng.

Entering his building and climbing to the 6th floor, he walked into the living room and saw his mother, Lin Yan, preparing lunch.

The house was a standard three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. Buying this house was one of his father’s proudest achievements. Born in the countryside and from a family of three generations of peasants, his father had finally provided a home for his family in the county town.

However, his father had taken out a loan of over 500,000 yuan using the house as collateral. If they couldn’t pay it back, the house would go to the bank.

If this had been before, he and his mother would have already discussed selling the house to pay off the bank and then renting a small apartment to reduce the pressure of repaying the remaining debt to relatives and friends.

But now, with the high profits from the game, his plans had to change.

When Lin Yan saw Zhang Lin return, she asked, "Xiao Lin, how are those plots of land coming along?"

"Mom, leave it to me. I promise I’ll handle it well," Zhang Lin replied with an unusual confidence, his mind filled with thoughts of Agricultural Mega Player.

Lin Yan sighed at her son’s usual response. "Xiao Lin, your father and I have failed you. At your age, how many of your peers don’t have their parents’ support? Not only did we fail to secure the dowry for you, but we’ve also left you with over a million in debt."

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly.

"Mom, why do you say that? You and Dad gave me life, raised me, and provided for my education. You’ve taken care of me from head to toe, and that’s the greatest gift I could ask for," Zhang Lin quickly reassured her.

He had never blamed his parents for their current situation. After all, he was physically healthy and well-educated, which was more than many people could say. Many were born with disabilities or faced far worse circumstances. Given the current state of things, dwelling on it would only drain his energy and spirit.

Hearing her son’s words, Lin Yan felt even more guilty and sighed again.

Seeing this, Zhang Lin quickly changed the subject. "Mom, I’ve been talking to a businessman about starting a wholesale agricultural business. These peaches are our first product. Can you try one and give me your feedback?"

With that, he washed a peach and handed it to his mother.

Lin Yan, eager to support her son’s new venture, took a bite. The rich, sweet flavor immediately filled her mouth, and she could feel a unique sweetness that was hard to describe.

"Xiao Lin, how can these peaches be so delicious?" Lin Yan was genuinely surprised. She had eaten many peaches in her life, but none had been this good.

She was confident that her son wouldn’t have any trouble selling these peaches wholesale. This thought lifted her spirits, and she quickly called Zhang Lin to eat, serving him a bowl of rice.

Zhang Lin smiled and started eating. His mother’s cooking was always excellent.

Suddenly, Lin Yan remembered something. "By the way, Xiao Lin, why don’t you have dinner with Yingzi from Uncle Dong’s family? She has a very good impression of you."

"Choke!" Zhang Lin nearly spat out his food. His mother was setting him up for a blind date. But Yingzi, Uncle Dong’s daughter, was older, more masculine, and had a more mature figure than him.

Even if he couldn’t find the pure, high school romance he once had, he wanted someone who was slim, beautiful, and younger than him.

Lin Yan knew what her son was thinking and sighed again. "Xiao Lin, don’t be picky about Yingzi. She doesn’t mind our family’s debt, and her family is well-off and can help you. Although she’s three years older, they say a woman three years older brings a golden brick!"

Zhang Lin could only think that it wasn’t a golden brick; it was a steel bar. He preferred to wait for the right person rather than settle for someone just because they were wealthy.

He quickly lied, "Mom, I have a girlfriend. She doesn’t mind our family’s debt and doesn’t want a dowry!"

"Really?" Lin Yan’s eyes lit up with hope and expectation.

"Yes, definitely!" Zhang Lin nodded, hoping this lie would make his mother happy and stop her from setting him up with Yingzi.

"Bring her home to meet me soon!"

"Ah… She’s very busy right now. I’ll bring her when she’s free…"

Zhang Lin was afraid his mother would keep pushing, so he quickly finished his meal and left, heading back to his stall. He was troubled by the thought of where he could find a girlfriend to bring home. If he couldn’t bring one soon, his mother would likely set him up with Yingzi again.

If all else failed, he could always rent one to show his mother.

There were always ways to solve problems.

As he was thinking, a clear and pleasant voice broke through his thoughts. "Are these peaches really that good?"

It was a high school girl, dressed in a school uniform, looking pure and beautiful.

Zhang Lin was taken aback for a moment. The girl reminded him of his first love, especially in her school uniform, which stirred a deep, nostalgic feeling within him, bringing back memories of his high school days.

"Try one!" Zhang Lin washed a peach and handed it to her.

"Is that okay? I only want to buy two to take to school," the girl said, a bit shy.

Zhang Lin smiled. "If you like them, please recommend them to your classmates. These are a new variety from Linyuan Farm."

"Alright!" The girl took the peach and took a bite, her eyes widening in surprise just like everyone else’s. "Boss, these peaches are really delicious. The imported peaches my sister bought for me weren’t this good. Boss, will you be here tomorrow? I’ll recommend them to my classmates."

"Sure, I’ll be here!" Zhang Lin watched the girl savor the peach, feeling a pure, nostalgic thrill. He remembered how his first love used to love peaches.

She really reminded him of her!

When the girl left with two peaches, he sighed.

The past can’t be relived.

After all, he couldn’t chase after a young girl just because she reminded him of his first love. She looked to be under 16, and that would make him a creep.

In the afternoon, more people visited the market, and Liu De became busy again.

As the WeChat payment notifications kept coming in, he soon received a game notification:

Congratulations, you’ve achieved the milestone of earning 10,000 in profit. You’ve received a milestone reward: a random increase in the daily wholesale quantity of one product by 500 pounds. The product is water peaches (refreshes the next day)!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end