Luofeng was somewhat speechless. Not to mention anything else, just the journey from Bai Family Village to the market. How far was that, huh? If it was about 25 kilograms, walking would consume an entire day. Yet, it could only net a hundred yuan in sales?

He could only think that the prosperous world and this place were simply not the same, right? Luofeng didn’t know how to evaluate this.

"Student Luofeng, if you can solve the transportation issue, then I think we could do five jiao per half-kilogram," Baihua said.

The price of goods in the deep mountains was indeed very cheap. At the Baiyi Light Food bar, a mashed potato dish originally sold for 26 yuan; even discounted, it was still 16 yuan. And what cooking skills did mashed potatoes require? Obviously none. Yet the price at the light-food bar remained so high. Going by the light-food bar’s pricing, a half-kilogram of ordinary potatoes already cost more than 50 yuan.

What if they were Wuyang Potatoes?

Luofeng, as a seasoned marketer, would certainly operate as he did with Anessa: first, shoot a documentary capturing the environment and the difficulty of transportation to establish a concept of rarity. Once such a concept was established, he would then promote a nutritional angle. Anything naturally blackish-purple contains anthocyanins, doesn’t it? And anthocyanins have numerous benefits: anti-aging, antioxidant, anti-radiation, and so on. After this series of operations, Luofeng would dare to sell 200 grams of Wuyang Potatoes for fifty to sixty yuan per serving.

Luofeng made some rough estimates. From Bai Lu’s home to Shu City, the transportation costs, including tolls and fuel, would be about 1,500 yuan. If they switched to freight vehicles, the price would double to 3,000 yuan. But vehicles that could enter Bai Family Village were hard to come by. Luofeng figured that at least a pickup from the Ford Raptor series would be able to make it up smoothly. This cost alone would exceed 500,000 yuan. However, pickups couldn’t enter Shu City’s downtown area, requiring another change in transportation. Luofeng considered that if they transported an average of 500 kilograms of potatoes, the cost per half-kilogram would soar to seven or eight yuan. With such exorbitant costs, naturally, no one would engage in such a loss-making business.

But Luofeng had the Baiyi Light Food bar, a very high-end establishment. What were a few yuan in transportation costs to him? Actually, whether it made money or not wasn’t important to him anymore; the key was simply to help Bai Lu’s hometown.

"Five jiao per half-kilogram?" Luofeng asked, a hint of a sigh in his voice.

Baihua said, "If you find it expensive, we can still discuss it!"

Luofeng quickly replied, "I mean the price is too low! We’ll handle the transportation ourselves and buy them at the market price of 2 yuan per half-kilogram!"

"Ah? Isn’t that too much? We’d be taking too much advantage," Baihua said, quickly waving her hands.

"I have conditions," Luofeng continued. "We’ll sign an agreement with you. You must sell your Wuyang Potatoes to us at the market price. Except for what you keep for yourselves, you are not permitted to sell any to others. Furthermore, if there’s demand, I’ll ask you to expand your growing area to increase the supply!"

Soon, thanks to the favorable conditions and Bai Lu acting as a mediator, Luofeng effortlessly secured the exclusive purchasing rights to Bai Family Village’s Wuyang Potatoes. As for the contract specifics, Luofeng was thinking of handing it over to Gu Yongjie, letting him recruit a qualified, veteran driver to run this particular route.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Bai Lu finally persuaded her mother, and they prepared to leave their hometown together. Because they were leaving, Bai Lu’s family prepared a gift of 50 kilograms of Wuyang Potatoes, all given to Luofeng for initial marketing. In addition, three chickens had also reached the end of their lives. It seemed their trip to Shu City would mark the end of their lives. There were also about five kilograms of cured pork ribs. Everything was packed and placed in the trunk. Around five o’clock, all the items were finally ready. Their house was entrusted to the care of the brave little boy’s family.

At the entrance to the village, Luofeng had already started the car, while Bai Lu and Baihua were saying their goodbyes to the villagers. Once the two of them were seated in the back, the car drove straight out of the Bai Family Village entrance.

Honestly, such mountain roads shouldn’t be driven at night, especially since the farm tracks were difficult to navigate. But the Land Cruiser, having been professionally modified, was equipped with numerous spotlights on its roof that easily dispelled the darkness, even at night.

In roughly three hours, the car finally left the farm tracks behind and reached the township. Then, after close to another hour, they finally arrived in Yang City. This time, Luofeng had been smarter and booked a hotel in advance: a standard room for Bai Lu and Baihua, and a room with a large bed for himself.

「The day of December 28th.」

Luofeng woke up around seven in the morning; Bai Lu and her mother had woken up a bit earlier. After breakfast, the three of them continued their journey. Luofeng planned to return to Shu City by that evening and then arrange for Baihua to go to the hospital. At the latest, Luofeng had to return to Shanghai by the 31st. He and the Little Fairy had already made plans for her to celebrate his birthday on the 31st.

As for the birthday plans? Luofeng had already thought up a lot of outfits. Why? Why did a birthday relate to outfits? Don’t ask. If you did, the answer would involve maids, black silk stockings and high heels, Valentino, and such.

Luofeng’s time management and control were still very much on point. Just as planned, they arrived in Shu City in the evening, and Luofeng settled Bai Yue and her mother into a small one-bedroom apartment on Nanfeng Road. The next day, he took Baihua for a health check-up. The final diagnosis was severe malnutrition and physical exhaustion, from which she could only recover slowly over a considerable amount of time. Considering the circumstances, this was somewhat of a relief.

Of course, Luofeng also air-freighted 25 kilograms of Wuyang Potatoes back to Shanghai, acting as if money were no object. His family naturally wouldn’t be able to eat all of it, but they could give it away as gifts. People of Luo Lin’s status didn’t really care for common gifts like Heavy Nine cigarettes or Maotai Liquor; rare local produce like this would be more appreciated. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

On the afternoon of the 30th, Luofeng returned home smoothly. He had someone carry the 25 kilograms of potatoes upstairs. He also messaged his parents.

"Dad, will you be coming home for dinner tonight?"

After sending that, he also sent a picture showing he was right outside their door.

"Dad, I personally went to Moon Mountain to bring back these Wuyang Potatoes!" Luofeng added.

Luo Lin read the messages and simply replied with ellipses.

Then, Luo Lin sent: "Are you out of your mind?" He even included an emoticon of someone with a brain problem.

"I have a dinner engagement tonight. Ask your mom if she’s coming home for dinner," Luo Lin messaged. "However, the potatoes from the Moon Mountain area are indeed of very high quality. Thank you for the gift, my son. It’ll be perfect for New Year’s Day."

"Dad, isn’t my birthday on New Year’s Day?" Luofeng asked. "How do you plan to celebrate it for me?"