Testing the Waters

Wang Yan was in high spirits, extremely excited. One could say he was literally shaking in anticipation.

Here he was, a high school graduate who had just set down his books, and who, at that moment, barely knew anything apart from studying.

People always talked about society, but what high schooler really understood how society operated?

The day before, he was still immersed in playing games. That day, he was about to step out of his ivory tower to launch his own business. How could he not be excited?!

The only worry he had was that he might not be able to handle it on his own.

At first, Wang Yan had wanted to find someone to help him out.

But then, on second thought, who would be willing to mess around with him like this?

Wang Yonglei and Zhang Yin weren't going to be of much use.

Brother Xizi was reliable, but he already had a job.

As for his parents, he planned to share his joy with them only after he had succeeded.

Alright, then. He was going to have to depend on himself.

Wang Yan was young and fearless; he had already recognized the fact that he would have to rely on himself, so he set aside his thoughts and emotions and started making a plan.

As his ideas firmed up, so did his resolve.

He had to do it!

There were three main reasons.

First, he needed to get his hands on the Habit Incubator.

Although he wasn't quite sure what exactly it would do for him, he felt strangely compelled to possess it. Something inside him was telling him not to let it pass him by!

The system was mysteriously powerful, so Wang Yan was certain that the Habit Incubator wasn't just about remembering to wash up before a meal.

If he managed to get ahold of it, the good habits he picked up would definitely come in handy.

Secondly, he would be able to upgrade the system in advance.

Earning more than 2,800 a day would allow him to upgrade the system a day early.

For each day he saved, his wages for breathing would increase by another 2,800, which all equated to extra income.

It might not have sounded like much, but there was something commonly referred to as "snowballing" in games.

As the name implied, a snowball picked up more snow and momentum as it rolled. In this case, "snowballing" referred to an individual or team taking advantage of a certain factor to widen the gap between them and their opponents. By gaining an advantage early in the game, the player would be able to stay in the lead and continue to gain more victories, which eventually culminated in the crushing defeat of their opponent.

The same logic could be applied to the system upgrade.

He could upgrade two days in advance for Level 2, five days in advance for Level 3, then fifteen days in advance for Level 4…

It was therefore important for him to do well from the start.

Furthermore, Wang Yan had also taken the pricing of The Mall's items into account.

Going forward, there wouldn't be any more discounts for newbies, so the items could very well cost three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, or even a million yuan.

If he didn't supplement his income with other earnings, he would have to rely solely on his breathing wages. He probably still wouldn't have enough money by the time classes started.

Imagine what he'd be missing out on in between!

And since Wang Yan was pretty greedy, he wanted everything.

Because an opportunity had presented itself, he had to give it his best shot. Who knew what amazing surprises he'd receive in exchange for taking initiative?

Third, it would be good practice.

One didn't automatically become a baller after acquiring the Shenhao System.

As a high schooler who grew up in an urban village, a loser who was perpetually broke, what time was better than now to start training?

A little hardship was not going to deter him.

He had nothing to lose and everything to gain if he did succeed. There might be challenges, but he wouldn't have to take any real risks.

How cool was that?

All three reasons were valid, so he was going to do it!

…

Well, he had to iron out the details first.

The first step was to calculate how much money he could set aside as capital.

He had a little over a measly 2,000.

Disregarding everything else and solely focusing on acquiring stock, he would only be able to stock up around 2,000 boxes of watermelon.

That was too pitiful a sum to use as start-up capital, but it was alright, because Wang Yan had a plan.

The second step was to confirm his supply source.

It went without saying that the watermelons would be coming from Wangjiao.

His hometown was especially suited for growing watermelons. Besides, most of the melon farmers were his relatives, so they'd let Wang Yan choose freely from their produce.

In order to maximize the Glutton skill, he would have to pick the watermelons himself and not rely on other people.

More importantly, procuring the watermelons from his hometown meant he would be able to buy them on credit!

Wang Yan's uncle and grandma still lived in Wangjiao. There were about twenty to thirty families who specialized in farming, and his grandma was one of the more senior members of the community. She had a good rapport with everyone and was well-respected.

Therefore, he could pay them after the watermelons were sold. It wouldn't be a problem; he was certain they'd give him a chance.

And the third step was to settle the means of transportation.

Wang Yan had just obtained his driving license, so driving wouldn't be an issue, but he'd have to figure out how to get his hands on a vehicle.

Perhaps he could rent one?

Nah, that was too expensive and would increase overhead costs.

Besides, Wang Yan's cash flow was tight, so he might not be able to afford both a rental truck and gas.

It would be best if he could borrow one…

Wang Yan circled these key points, then moved on to the next step.

The fourth step was the ability to bullsh*t.

He'd need to practice the whole speech in order to sound convincing.

One box for two dollars would be a waste of time.

One box for three dollars meant a profit of 1.50.

He would have to sell at least 800 crates a day in order to satisfy his needs.

That would be ridiculous.

Only in wholesale would one be able to sell this much.

Based on his calculations, a box would have to be sold for at least five yuan in order to maximize his profits.

The streets were filled with people selling watermelons. Most vendors sold them for 1.50 or 1.80. How could Wang Yan sell his at five yuan if he didn't have the ability to bullsh*t?

He was well aware that people weren't stupid.

"Gongting Yuye Wine, 180 a glass! Let me tell you how amazing this wine is…"

That kind of smooth-talking was exactly what Wang Yan had to replicate.

As for the fifth step, he would have to find prospective victims to hoodwink.

Ugh.

What he meant was that he was going to find people with high-end tastes, then target them specifically!

He immediately opened the Baidu Maps app and searched for high-end hotels.

Halfway through, Wang Yan realized another problem.

He couldn't do wholesale if he was planning to sell the watermelons above market price.

He would probably be thrown out of hotels and premium fruit stores if he tried to sell the watermelons at the price he had in mind.

Besides, making small profits through rapid turnover wasn't really his style, and the Glutton skill merely aided in picking out the good stuff. It wasn't as if the skill made him capable of conjuring premium watermelons.

There were only so many premium watermelons to begin with. There was no point in doing this if he couldn't ensure that the business would be lucrative.

Maybe he should have been looking at the villa districts instead?

After thinking about it thoroughly, Wang Yan decided that his judgement was correct and proceeded to change locations on the map app.

He finally settled on four villa districts.

The sixth step would be the ability to wing it, to improvise on the spot.

Wang Yan still wasn't sure how he was going to go about selling his goods.

He talked a lot of crap with his friends but stuttered the moment he had to make a speech onstage.

Most teenage males were like that in high school, and Wang Yan was, of course, no exception.

What he was about to do—setting up a store—was even more challenging than speaking on stage. After all, he would be asking people to part with their money.

That was difficult!

Had it been the past, Wang Yan would have already given up, even if he'd had the impulse to try something new.

After all, most people had an innate aversion to obstacles.

When the initial enthusiasm wore off, people went back to doing what they had been doing before.

The game wasn't fun, or the teacher wasn't attractive? Then why put himself through the torture?

What if he ended up losing money?

Wouldn't it be embarrassing being seen by his classmates?

The sun's rays were harmful…

Anyway, he had a million excuses, all of which were capable of destroying his motivation.

But Wang Yan was now feeling passionate about his new endeavor, so his determination was practically off the charts.

The system had descended upon him and practically fallen into his lap. Nothing seemed scary anymore.

So what if he failed?

So what if people looked down on him?

What could be worse than being a good-for-nothing nobody?

As long as it served as good training and was beneficial for him in the long run, he was more than willing to put in the time and money.

He was going to do it!

He made corrections to his notes as he continued with his research. Two hours later, he finally came up with a proposal draft.

Wang Yan tossed his pen aside and punched the air in celebration.

He was done!

His rough proposal was an amalgamation of various marketing case studies and tactics. It was far from perfect, but Wang Yan had tried his best.

What he had to do next was learn how to think on his feet, as well as learn from his experiences going forward, whether they were successes or failures.

No matter how it turned out, the experience would be good for him.

The journey to becoming a baller would begin with setting up a stall!