Surge of wholesalers in Xinfeng

"Old Liu, are they harvesting navel oranges in Xinfeng? Should we go there to buy some?"

"Buy more? We bought some last year and didn't make much profit."

"Let's just get a few thousand catties. The taste of Xinfeng navel oranges is better than those from other places. Besides, there are people in Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang who like them."

"Alright, we can buy about ten thousand catties."

Fruit wholesale merchant Old Liu and a few of his colleagues were preparing to get into a car. At that moment, several other fruit merchants hurried over.

"Old Liu, Old Liu, are you going to Xinfeng?"

"Yes."

"To buy navel oranges?"

"You guys are going too?"

"Yes, together, together. Hurry up; we might miss out if we're late."

"Oh my, do you guys think Xinfeng navel oranges are treasures? It's just a niche fruit, and it doesn't sell that much in a year. How many do you want? I'll buy them all for you later."

"Didn't you guys read the news today?"

"What news?"

"Xinfeng navel oranges are trending."

"What?!"

Old Liu was a bit surprised. "How did Xinfeng navel oranges become a trend?"

"I don't know the specifics, but overnight, Xinfeng navel oranges became a sensation nationwide. Let me tell you, at least a hundred fruit wholesalers are heading to Xinfeng right now. Especially the wholesalers from Guangdong. We better hurry; if we wait for them, we won't be able to buy even half a navel orange."

As the group chatted about Xinfeng navel oranges, they continued their journey by car.

It took quite some time for everyone to understand. It turned out that someone had posted an article about Xinfeng navel oranges online, and all major domestic websites had reprinted it. In no time, Xinfeng navel oranges became incredibly popular, and many fruit wholesalers saw a business opportunity, rushing to Xinfeng.

Meanwhile, in the Xinfeng Industrial Park's navel orange warehouse, Shi Lanfang was facing a dilemma. It wasn't because the procurement had gone wrong or there were financial issues. The problem was that she hadn't sold a single navel orange up to this point.

Of course, selling navel oranges wasn't Shi Lanfang's responsibility; she mainly dealt with procurement. Chen Yu was in charge of the sales channels. However, they had already procured 3,000 tons of navel oranges, and there were no leads on the sales channels.

If they continued to acquire more, the current stockpile of thousands of tons of navel oranges would likely go to waste.

"Um, Director Shi, are we still accepting navel oranges?"

"Let's stop for now."

"Well, I think it's a good idea to pause. We have so many navel oranges sitting in the warehouse, and not a single wholesaler has shown up. That guy, Chen Yu, seems really unreliable. Is he just wasting money like this?"

Several agricultural bureau officials whispered to each other.

"I heard that guy is a second-generation wealthy."

"Oh, that makes sense. I was wondering why he doesn't seem to have any business experience."

"Well, he did buy 20 million catties of navel oranges, which did solve some of the farmers' sales problems."

"In that case, he's done a good deed."

"Yeah, that's right."

While they chatted, Shi Lanfang furrowed her brow. "Don't spread rumors. Mr. Chen is not a second-generation wealthy. He earned his money himself."

"He earned it himself? How is that possible?"

"Well, you probably know his father opened a Snail Beauty."

"I know Snail Beauty, it's quite famous. However, Snail Beauty was just opened a few months ago, so even if it's making money, it probably hasn't made that much."

"So, Director Shi, how did Chen Yu make his money? Even if you consider the purchase price for these navel oranges, that would be millions. Millions! You can't even steal that much from a bank."

"I don't know how he made his money, but Director Qiu from the tax bureau says it's absolutely legal income."

"Legal income, that's strange..."

Many people's minds were racing, but they couldn't figure out how someone could legally earn millions.

"Alright, let's not talk about this. I'll give Mr. Chen a call."

Even though Shi Lanfang didn't say much, she was also in the dark.

With thousands of tons of navel oranges sitting in the warehouse and no wholesalers showing up, anyone would be anxious.

"Mr. Chen, it's me, Shi Lanfang."

"Oh, Director Shi, what's up?"

"Well, we've already purchased 3,000 tons of navel oranges, and I wanted to ask if we should continue buying. Our suggestion is to take a break for now and purchase the rest in a few days. After all, the oranges won't go bad if they're left on the trees. But once they're picked and stored for a long time, they'll be difficult to sell."

"No problem, continue. Let's buy all 10,000 tons of navel oranges at once to avoid trouble later."

"Ah..."

Shi Lanfang was taken aback.

What was this guy doing?

Buying all 10,000 tons at once.

Even if the warehouse could accommodate them, how were they going to sell them?

Was he planning to load them into trucks and sell them in other provinces?

Even if they did that, they still needed sales channels. Without sales channels, the oranges would rot even if they were transported to another province.

In the past, some fruit farmers had done just that. Seeing that their oranges couldn't be sold, and with no fruit wholesalers in sight, these farmers took it upon themselves to transport their produce to other provinces. However, the reality of selling in other provinces was a bitter and tearful experience. Without established channels, these farmers had to resort to roadside vending, making it seem like begging. From November until well into the Lunar New Year, they still hadn't sold their entire truckload of navel oranges. Upon calculating their expenses, they realized that selling the oranges was a bigger loss than letting them rot in their hands.

"Uh, Mr. Chen, what I mean is, have we been in contact with fruit wholesalers?"

In this world, having a product doesn't guarantee it can be sold. Market economics have their own rules. To sell navel oranges, one must have fruit wholesalers because they possess their own sales channels. These so-called sales channels include fruit wholesale markets, supermarkets, fruit chain stores, and more. Of course, you can seek out your own channels, but most fruit farmers don't have that capability.

By buying so many navel oranges himself, Chen Yu had essentially become a fruit wholesaler. However, the problem was that he hadn't established sales channels for these oranges. Would they be sold in Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, or transported to the northern regions? It was all in the dark, and they didn't know anything yet.

"Director Shi, we are fruit wholesalers."

"Well, what I meant was, Mr. Chen, where are we going to sell these navel oranges?"

"All over the country."

"All over the country?"

Shi Lanfang was close to tears as she asked, "Uh, are there buyers?"

"Yes."

"Where... where are they?"

"They're on their way here."

"On their way here?"

This completely befuddled Shi Lanfang. She had initially wanted to do something good for the farmers in Xinfeng, and she also hoped to help Chen Yu make some profit. Even if there were no profits, she wanted to avoid losses. But now, looking at it, she realized that while she had done a good deed for Xinfeng farmers, Chen Yu's business venture had resulted in significant losses.