Chapter 418 - 414: Willful

Chapter 418: Chapter 414: Willful

Gu Nuannuan stayed in the Medicine Garden for over ten days. Besides concocting the Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Ointment, she also reset the Array in the Medicine Garden, nearly doubling its area. Then, using a Magic Technique, she dug out an especially large underground treasury. After reinforcing it, she moved most of the gold bricks and Jade from her storage ring inside.

This time, Gu Nuannuan didn’t leave a storage bag for Duoduo. Instead, she left behind several jars and pots whose combined capacity far exceeded that of a storage bag. She also instructed Duoduo that there was no need to make small honeycombs anymore; just having the honey would be enough.

When she returned to the villa in the city, the sheer amount and high quality of the honey and honeycomb Gu Nuannuan brought out astonished the Zhang Family after they tried it. Even though they were accustomed to fine things, they still had high praise for the honey produced by the descendants of the Spirit Bees.

"Sell it? We’re not short on money. This is good stuff. Wouldn’t it be better to keep it for ourselves or give it as gifts?" After hearing Gu Nuannuan say she wanted to sell the honey for money, Zhang Dazhuang smacked his lips and was the first to jump in and disagree.

"Exactly. Nuannuan, I’ve never had honey this delicious before. We’ve had our fair share of wild honey, but this is the first time I’ve ever encountered any of such high quality. Honey doesn’t spoil, so why not keep it for our family to enjoy slowly? Besides, if we gave some of this as annual gifts to our connections in Beijing, it would definitely be a huge hit," Lin Qin chimed in from the side. The thought of selling such a fine product pained her, and she looked regretful. "If we sell something this good, will we ever be able to get more?"

"We will. I actually used Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Ointment to feed a swarm of bees in the Medicine Garden. That swarm refused to leave and has now made the garden its home. They’re multiplying, and they’re very willing to trade honey with me for the ointment. So, we’ll have even more honey of the same, or even better, quality in the future. I only suggested selling it because I can guarantee a long-term, stable supply," Gu Nuannuan explained simply, without revealing that she had taken the Bee King, Duoduo, as a Beast Pet.

"Aren’t you being a little too wasteful? You’re actually trading Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Ointment with bees for honey?" Hearing this, Zhang Minzhen looked at Gu Nuannuan, speechless. She couldn’t help but reach out and feel her forehead. ’It’s normal, she doesn’t have a fever. But how did she suddenly get so confused? Doesn’t my daughter understand something as simple as the difference in value between Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Ointment and some high-quality honey?’

"The Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Ointment isn’t that hard for me to make. Other people might think it’s precious, but to me, isn’t it just made from some herbs that aren’t even particularly expensive? In comparison, honey of this quality is much rarer. No matter how you look at it, this is a profitable deal. Mom, think about it. This honey is one-of-a-kind. Once people try it, I believe there will be more and more wealthy customers who won’t mind the cost. Even if we sold it at an exorbitant price, someone would definitely be willing to buy it," Gu Nuannuan explained to Zhang Minzhen with a smile.

"I actually think Nuannuan has a point," Wen Xiu agreed. Zhang Dazhuang, Zhang Wei Qiang, Lin Qin, and Song Yong all nodded.

Zhang Minzhen thought about it and realized it was true. She nodded as well. "Now that you put it that way, I think it makes a lot of sense too."

"In that case, it’s decided. Nuannuan, we’ll do it the same way as before. We’ll register a separate brand for this honey, under your personal name," Zhang Wei Qiang thought for a moment and added, "However, there’s no need to build a separate factory just for this honey. The current output seems like a lot if we’re keeping it for ourselves, but it’s not nearly enough if we’re actually selling it. We have no choice but to go the high-end route. Heh heh, I reckon even if the production increases in the future, it won’t be by that much, right? So, in my opinion, just adding a separate packaging line at the pharmaceutical factory should be enough."

"Okay, you can decide how to handle it, Uncle. Aside from naming the honey brand ’Duoduo,’ I’ll have to trouble you to worry about the pricing and all the other odds and ends," Gu Nuannuan nodded nonchalantly. ’Anyway, I’m just a hands-off owner. For now, my uncle is handling everything. In the future, I’ll hand it over to Lin Qiao, and she’ll be the one to get busy with it. As for who will take over the businesses under my name after Lin Qiao... I haven’t thought about it yet. Whatever. There’s still plenty of time. Why should I look for trouble now?’

With that thought, Gu Nuannuan felt especially relaxed and cheerful. She said to the others, "Right, even if we’re going to sell this honey, we can’t shortchange ourselves, can we? We’ll only sell the surplus. After all, this is good stuff. It would be a huge loss to trade it all for money. It’s not like we’re really desperate for the cash. So, before we sell any, we’ll definitely set aside enough for our own family to eat and to give as gifts. And when we do sell it, we should also be selective about who buys it. How about we just don’t sell to people we don’t like, people who complain our prices are too high, or people who question the quality of our product? For those people, forget it. We won’t sell to them no matter how high they bid."

"Setting aside enough honey for ourselves and for gifts... we’d do that even if you didn’t say anything. But isn’t it a bit much to be picky about your customers when you’re doing business?" Wen Xiu couldn’t help but find it amusing. "Is there anyone else in the world who does business as willfully as you?"

"Grandma, you don’t get it, do you? There’s a marketing tactic called ’scarcity marketing.’ My method might be even more willful than that, but the more you act this way, the more people will rush to get their hands on it, convinced it must be good." Gu Nuannuan chuckled, then turned her head to Zhang Dazhuang. "Grandpa, once this honey is packaged, the next time you go to Lin Qiao’s house, could you bring two jars for her family to send to her? Otherwise, I’m afraid that when she comes back for vacation and finds out I had something this good and didn’t think of her, she’ll want to bite me."

"Alright, I’ll remember. When the time comes, I won’t even need the Lin Family to forward it. I’ll just go to the post office and mail it to her directly," Zhang Dazhuang agreed with a hearty laugh. He knew that his Nuannuan’s relationship with Lin Qiao was special. Lin Qiao’s "indenture contract" had become a running joke that both families brought up from time to time for a good laugh.

Since she had "sold herself" to Gu Nuannuan, Wen Xiu would joke that Lin Qiao was basically one of the family now.

So, after Lin Qiao went to Beijing for school, Wen Xiu specifically had Zhang Dazhuang ask the Lin Family for the address of Lin Qiao’s school and the place the Lin family in Beijing had bought for her. From time to time, she would send her snacks, practical items, and clothes. Eventually, Lin Qin and Zhang Minzhen also got into the habit. Whenever they saw something nice while out, most of the time, besides getting one for Gu Nuannuan, they would also get an extra one for Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao was a sensible girl herself. She would also send things back to the Zhang family from Beijing from time to time. Though the items weren’t necessarily very valuable, it was the thought that counted. And as soon as vacation started, she would come to visit, even if Gu Nuannuan wasn’t home. Because of this, everyone in the Zhang family, from top to bottom, gradually grew closer to her.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Gu Nuannuan said happily.