Making Money Just By Breathing (Patreon)

Chapter 5: The Beginning of the Road to Riches

Wang Yan's mood was ecstatic and excited, trembling with excitement all over.

As a high school graduate, everything outside of the thing that he had studied was still a mystery to him.

Society, society, always on everyone's lips, but which high school student really knows which way the door to society opens?

Yesterday, he was carefree playing games, and today he's about to burst out of the ivory tower to do big business. How could he not be excited!

The only downside is that it's too much trouble, and one person might not be able to handle it all.

Immediately, Wang Yan thought of finding someone to help.

But then he thought again: No way! Who would join me in this madness?

Wang Yonglei, Zhang Yin, and those guys, even if they came, wouldn't add much chaos.

Brother Xizi is reliable, but he has a job.

As for his parents... forget it, rather than sharing his hardship, it would be better for him to just share his joy with them instead.

In the end, he can only do it by himself.

Wang Yan is fearless as a new calf, realizing he can only rely on himself. He immediately restrains his thoughts and starts making plans.

As his thoughts gradually become clearer, Wang Yan's attitude becomes more and more determined.

It must be done!

There are three reasons for this.

Firstly, the Habit Cultivation Device must be obtained.

Although Wang Yan is completely ignorant and only half-understands the power of habits, there is an urgent sense in his heart: Don't miss out!

The mystery and power of the system make Wang Yan firmly believe that habit cultivation is definitely not as simple as washing hands before meals.

If he can get it, three good habits will undoubtedly greatly benefit his future life.

Secondly, it allows for an early upgrade of the system.

Every extra 2,800 yuan earned allows the system to be upgraded one day earlier.

Saving one day means an additional 2,800 yuan in breathing wages, equivalent to additional earnings.

The money is not much, but in games, there's a term called "snowballing."

It means: establish a slight advantage early on, stay ahead all the way, and continuously expand the results, accumulating them gradually to form a crushing situation.

The same applies to upgrading the system.

Upgrading two days early at level 2, maybe five days early at level 3, and fifteen days early at level 4...

The early stages are so important.

Furthermore, Wang Yan has considered the selling prices of items in the mall.

In the future, there won't be any discounts for newcomers, and the prices could easily reach 300,000, or even 500,000 or 1 million.

Without additional income, relying solely on breathing wages to save up, it's likely he won't even know if he can accumulate enough by the time school starts.

How many good things will he miss out on in the meantime?!

Wang Yan is quite greedy and wants everything.

Since there's an opportunity, he'll work hard to give it his all, exert more subjective initiative, and maybe there will be many surprises.

Thirdly, it's a form of self-discipline.

Getting the Rich Man System doesn't automatically turn him into a rich man.

As a high school senior who grew up in an urban village, with a strong air of poverty, if not now, then when should he toughen up?

Enduring hardships and suffering, there's nothing to fear!

Success has benefits, failure has no consequences, it's challenging yet completely safe...

Isn't it interesting?

With such compelling reasons, let's go!

...

So, first, he needs to perfect all the details.

The first step is to calculate the available funds.

Just over 2,000, pitifully low.

Even if he disregards everything else and only uses it to buy goods, he'll only get a little over 2,000 kilograms of watermelon at most.

With such a small amount of startup capital, it's really tough!

But it's okay, Wang Yan has a solution.

The second step is to confirm the source of goods.

There's no need to think about it; the watermelons definitely come from Wang's family field.

Not only is his hometown especially suitable for growing melons, but the melon farmers are all distant relatives, so Wang Yan can pick whatever he wants.

To fully utilize the effect of the "Gourmet Intuition," he must personally pick the melons in the field; he can't rely on others.

Furthermore, the most important thing about picking melons in his hometown is that he can... buy on credit!

Wang Yan's uncle and grandmother still haven't moved out of Wang's family field. With about thirty households in total, the elderly lady holds significant status and is well-connected.

Taking a cart of watermelons to sell and settling the bill afterwards is no big deal; anyone would give him face.

The third step is to arrange transportation.

Wang Yan just got his driver's license, so driving isn't an issue. But where to get the car from requires careful consideration.

Renting a car?

No, it's too expensive and would greatly increase costs. Plus, Wang Yan's cash is quite tight; he can't afford the rental and fuel costs.

It would be best to borrow a car from someone...

Drawing a circle on paper, marking key points, Wang Yan starts contemplating the next step.

The fourth step is to hype up the sales.

He needs to plan the whole sales pitch thoroughly and make the setting believable.

Selling at two yuan per kilogram wouldn't be worth the effort.

Selling at three yuan per kilogram might yield some profit; about one yuan fifty cents per kilogram.

He would need to sell at least 800 kilograms a day to meet his financial needs.

That's far-fetched.

Retail sales would be challenging to reach that volume.

So, at the current rate, he would need to sell at over five yuan per kilogram to have enough profit margin.

While watermelons are readily available everywhere, others sell them for one yuan fifty cents or one yuan eighty cents per kilogram. Wang Yan wants to sell them for five yuan; it's impossible without some hype.

The people are wise and understand this well.

"Sell the Royal Nectar Wine, one hundred and eighty yuan per glass. Let me tell you about this wine—"

What Wang Yan aims to do is similar.

The fifth step is to identify the right targets for persuasion.

No, no, no!

That's identifying high-end customers and precisely focusing!

He opens Baidu Maps directly to search for upscale hotels.

Midway through, Wang Yan suddenly realizes something isn't right.

To sell watermelons at a high price, he should only retail them, right?

Selling them for over five yuan per kilogram and delivering them to hotels or upscale fruit shops would likely get him kicked out.

The strategy of small profits but quick turnover also doesn't suit him; the "Gourmet Intuition" is only a picking skill and can't transform the melons into top-quality ones.

There are only a few watermelon kings, so he must ensure individual profits; otherwise, it's meaningless...

So, the target should be villa areas?

After much thought and consideration, Wang Yan believes his judgment is correct and immediately changes his approach.

In the end, Wang Yan chose four villa areas.

The sixth step is to improvise on the spot.

Wang Yan is at a loss for how to sell things.

When chatting with classmates, he can talk non-stop nonsense, but when it comes to giving a speech, he immediately stumbles over his words.

Most ordinary high school boys are at this level during high school, and Wang Yan is no exception.

Now, facing the situation of setting up a stall, it's much harder than giving a speech, after all, he's taking money from people.

It's tough!

Before getting the system, even if Wang Yan had a sudden idea to do something, he would have given up at most at this step.

Fear of difficulties is common.

Once the initial enthusiasm fades, people tend to do whatever is easy.

Is the game not fun or is the teacher not attractive?

What's the point of bothering?!

What if I lose money?!

What if my classmates see me and I lose face?!

The sun is so scorching...

There are so many reasons, big and small, that can discourage enthusiasm.

But now, Wang Yan's enthusiasm is still high, and his determination is explosive.

With the system coming, a huge pie has fallen on his head, and nothing is scary anymore.

So what if I fail?!

So what if people look down on me?!

The worst-case scenario is becoming a richman that nobody know!

It’s a Win-Win either way!

As long as it serves as an exercise, Wang Yan can afford to lose money and time.

Just do it!

While researching and making changes on paper, two hours later, a roughly complete plan is finally taking shape.

Wang Yan puts down his pen and celebrates with a fist pump.

Done!

The crude "planning document," referencing many practical marketing cases and stories, certainly still has many loopholes, but it's the best Wang Yan can do.

Next, it's just about adapting on the fly and continuously learning from failure or success.

Whether he succeeds or fails, the gains will not be few.

The road to becoming a tycoon starts with setting up a stall!