odessanovel Chapter 179
Chapter 179
Some passersby stopped to watch the commotion, and someone secretly handed a scythe to one of the fighting players, which sparked a brawl. Since they were all unregistered players, they all had to spend three hours in the dungeon and suffer bad luck for a day or two.
Some players, upon seeing this, were enlightened and exclaimed in surprise: "So there's such a way to play!"
What a brilliant plan!
If they kill everyone in their village, only their own family will be left. In three hours, they can wipe out all the good tea trees, easily making at least ten, twenty, or even fifty catties a day.
If Lin Shuying heard him say that, she would definitely laugh at him. Picking tea is not like picking corn, where you can just grab a few big baskets. It requires picking each bud one by one, which will lose water in the process, making it harder to pick. It also involves factors such as hand speed and picking time.
These are all set up in the game, but no players have discovered them yet. They're busy fighting amongst themselves, trying to get everyone in the village thrown in jail.
After turning the village into a ghost town, the winners began raiding the nearby mountains, only to find that they couldn't possibly clear out every family of three to five. Beyond the mountains, they would encounter people from other villages, and the two sides would start fighting again.
Over there, lower-level tea merchants started roaming the mountains. Those willing to invest bought horses with their own money and rode them slowly up the mountain. They weren't quite ready to shout like the people in the cutscenes yet, because shouting here, like in Love Valley, creates an echo; a single shout could be heard for miles around, which was quite embarrassing.
Some of the bolder ones shouted, "Buying tea leaves!"
I didn't mention the price; it's an industry secret. If I happen to encounter someone who won't negotiate, I can make a profit.
Lin Shuying was just reminiscing about the past when she heard this shout, so she went over to ask about the price. The tea merchant smiled and said, "10 coins per catty."
Lin Shuying listened in a daze, glanced at the tea in the basket and said, "Don't lie to me, this is the first picking of tea, 10 coins a pound?"
That's not right. The official buyback price she set for first-flush tea, after processing, was as high as 500 taels of silver. Even with a 1:10 shrinkage rate, high-end tea merchants would still charge 50 taels of silver per pound. They'd take a handling fee and a kickback, mid-level tea merchants would split it in half at 25 taels of silver per pound, and low-level tea merchants would get at least 12 or 13 taels of silver. So, 16 taels per pound would be at least 50 taels of silver.
10 coins per pound?
Then the tea farmers below stopped making money altogether.
The player in front of him was confused. What was this "first-picking tea"?
"This is the price for all teas. If you don't believe me, go ask other tea merchants. I'm already offering a high price. You'll regret it if you don't sell now."
Lin Shuying thought of the unscrupulous tea vendors who tricked children out of their tea when she was a child; she was fooled several times. Tea that clearly cost ten yuan a pound would be sold for five yuan, or even three yuan, with the vendor claiming it was the highest price. Children didn't care; three or five yuan was incredibly appealing back then. They'd buy it without hesitation, only to regret it for days after hearing from adults or friends that some tea was sold for ten yuan a pound.
So she didn't sell, but said leisurely, "The first-picked tea costs at least eight taels of silver, and one pound is 128 taels of silver. You dare to offer ten coins?"
The player paused for a moment and said, "Don't try to fool me. The tea merchant above me only pays five taels of silver per catty. I can only give you one tael of silver per catty at most."
Two taels of silver?
Is this robbery?
At this price, one cannot become rich overnight.
Lin Shuying was stunned to see that the players weren't joking; that was the system's buyback price she had set. She had set this benchmark because she was worried that players would disrupt the dungeon's flow.
It seems this indicator isn't working properly now.
“I’ll go find a middleman to sell to myself; I don’t trust you.”
The player said, "Believe it or not, one or two taels of silver is a very high price."
Lin Shuying went to the mid-level tea merchants in town and asked, "Do you buy tea leaves?"
There are many mid-level tea merchants here, and tea shops are everywhere. She randomly entered one, and a beautiful woman in a silk dress was asleep in a rocking bamboo chair. Startled awake by her voice, she mumbled sleepily, "Buying, buying, how much?"
Lin Shuying handed over about a pound of tea leaves she had picked that morning; she had lost a bit of weight walking along the way.
The player casually flipped through the tea leaves and put them on the scale. "This is too little. I sell it for one tael of silver per jin. If it's more than ten jin of tea, it's two taels of silver per jin. You can buy some next time; the price is higher."
Lin Shuying took her tea basket and said, "It's so cheap, I won't sell it."
"Hey, this is the highest price. If you don't believe me, go ask around. The last shop only offers 20 coins per catty. It's just because of its good location. Many people from the foot of the mountain come up and it's the first shop they encounter. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to buy a single catty."
Lin Shuying wasn't selling her own tea; she was just checking things out. Currently, prices are being driven down ridiculously.
Back in her house, she posted in the chat channel: "Family, someone is buying tea for 10 coins. We can't stay at the bottom. Let's all become high-end tea merchants."
Someone quickly asked, "Why?"
Lin Shuying: "High-level tea merchants sell their tea to the official first-picked tea for 500 taels of silver per pound after drying. One pound of tea leaves, after drying, yields at least three taels, which is 1500 taels of silver. This is equivalent to 150 taels of gold, which is three gold ingots in a player's account. However, low-level tea merchants only receive two taels of silver per pound from mid-level tea merchants, and mid-level tea merchants can probably get twenty taels. High-level tea merchants are making way too much!"
These words were a wake-up call, prompting many players to ask, "Really? I thought high-level tea merchants would have to resell the tea themselves after buying it."
One player replied, "How is that possible? Who would he sell to without an NPC?"
Finally, someone discovered the blind spot: there are absolutely no NPCs in this event, and all the shops and houses in the major cities are empty. There's only one trading post where players can buy houses, shops, and restaurants, and also sell tea. However, there aren't many of these major cities; there's only one in each region, so players will have to search for a long time to find it.
If you unlock the Tea Road leading to the big city, you can teleport there directly. The unlocking method is very simple; just run it once.
Besides major cities, there are also special cities called Outer Realms. Outer Realms include places like the Western Regions, the Southern Kingdom, and the Northern Kingdom. Once you encounter one, you can sell the dried tea you have for an extremely high price.
Of course, you need to have the goods on hand; otherwise, there's no point in discussing it.
Anyone can enter the Outer City and buy many rare items inside.
In addition, there were also caravans from the Hu region, who could also sell tea at high prices.
Because this event was so exploratory, she handed over all the initiative in game management to the players, without setting up a single NPC. Even the Hu merchant caravan was completed by players accepting quests, making it incredibly free.
Therefore, the announcement contained many details, outlining all the development paths she hoped for. Currently, too much freedom has led to players becoming aimless and resorting to price manipulation. The upper echelons are indulging in excessive profits, while those below are left with nothing, creating a severe imbalance.
Before Lin Shuying could answer, a player had already provided an answer: "It can be sold to the official team, or it can be sold to players who run teahouses."
"Huh? You can even run a teahouse?"
"Not only can you run a teahouse, but you can also run a tea restaurant. Go to the main city and find NPCs such as storytellers and girls playing the zither to stay in your shop and boost business."
"My mech marshal, what were the designers thinking? How could they come up with such an overpowered gameplay?"
"It's a bit like a small world, where we create our own independent operating system."
"I feel so accomplished when I hear my family say that."
Who wouldn't want the ability to create the world?
Or perhaps in some other world, one possesses abundant resources bestowed by heaven, making one even luckier than in reality, thriving and becoming a tycoon or a superior person?
There were just too many announcements for this event; many players didn't have the patience to read them all, thinking they'd just enter the dungeon first. Unexpectedly, they missed quite a few things, much to everyone's regret.
"I thought I had taken Qingfengyi's announcement seriously enough, but I was still careless."
"Never mind, I'll just switch to being a major tea merchant and get there in one go."
Those who had carefully studied the announcement were now slowly entering the instance, unsure how to begin. The game offered far too many options: players could become tea farmers or tea merchants of three different levels, or run tea stalls, teahouses, and tea pavilions. Alternatively, they could engage in other businesses, such as working for other players by signing in-game employment contracts—similar to managing a commercial world, except that the tea economy was the most prevalent, as it received official support.
This instance also features a treasure hunt event. Treasure chests will appear from time to time in the tea fields, and each chest contains an introduction to tea culture. By replicating the techniques or businesses based on the tea culture introduction, you can open a unique shop.
The shop you run based on the items you get from the treasure chests will earn you an extra 0.1% of the profits. If you run the shop that's the biggest business in the dungeon, even 0.1% is quite substantial.
Deng Yijun set his sights on the treasure chest. He formed a team with the Grand Marshal and his wife, the Slaughter Ancestor, Xi Meng, the Bird Alliance Leader, and the Little Assistant. The spoils, excluding the rare items, were split equally.
Upon arriving in the instance, everyone joined the same family and initially chose the profession of Advanced Tea Merchant. Therefore, they were born in a large city with a small house, five rooms, and a large courtyard. Behind the courtyard were many shelves, the tea-drying racks mentioned in the announcement.
There were five tea-frying stoves in a row. There were also two rooms used for tea fermentation and air-drying.
The assistant copied down all the technical instructions, and now everyone is wandering around the yard together, recognizing the things.
The leader of the Bird Alliance exclaimed, "Boss, you're so generous! You bought such a big house!"
Players who agree to the purchase terms of a house upon entering the instance will receive different prices depending on the type of house. This is one of the biggest revenue streams of this event, as real estate is indeed very lucrative.
Deng Yijun bought the biggest one directly.
If you don't buy a house, your birthplace will be on the main street. If you live in a city or town, you'll have to find your own way to build a house, or go outside the city to find a remote place. It's better in the countryside or mountains; you can just go out and find materials to build one.
Lin Shuying planned the city in a way that prevented players from building a chaotic and aesthetically unappealing mess. Her design resembled a historic ancient city, with rivers flowing through it, small bridges spanning its streets, stone slabs paving the way, and straight avenues.