Film and Television World Life Record

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These can all be used as raw materials for making compressed biscuits.

For example, making sesame-flavored compressed biscuits, jujube-flavored biscuits, chestnut-flavored biscuits, lotus seed-flavored biscuits, smoked meat-flavored biscuits, cured meat-flavored biscuits...

Compressed biscuits in various flavors and made from a variety of ingredients, including sweet and savory varieties.

……

After the first batch of compressed biscuits left the factory, there was no need for any advertising. Li Mu simply set up an official website and an official flagship store on the largest shopping platform, and customers flocked in.

There's no way around it; food is extremely precious everywhere these days, barely enough to make ends meet. Who would be willing to sell such precious food?

Online stores mostly sell electronics, clothes, handicrafts, and various heat protection and cooling equipment. As for food, aside from industrially synthesized foods with strange tastes that shouldn't be eaten in large quantities, there's very little other food available, and the prices are all quite high.

Every day, countless people search for food online, but even at high prices, few are willing to sell.

As soon as Li Mu opened his online store, which sold high-calorie, long-lasting foods like compressed biscuits, it was immediately snapped up.

Despite the high prices—and the fear of being investigated for any further increases—it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm. The first batch of over 800 tons of various flavored compressed biscuits sold out in just eight hours.

Countless people who received the news too late lamented their loss and left frantic messages in the shop, asking when the next sale would be.

For a small shop with no advertising, selling over 800 tons of compressed biscuits, equivalent to over 800,000 kilograms, so quickly surprised Li Mu. At this rate, even 8,000 tons wouldn't be enough to sell in a single day, let alone 800 tons.

Several leading domestic express delivery companies had just resumed their express delivery services in Yunshi and were worried about the low volume of business, but unexpectedly a large number of orders came in.

Li Mu admired these courier companies and their deliverymen, just like the workers who rested during the day and worked at night. Because it was too hot to deliver during the day, the deliverymen worked at night, driving specially modified delivery vehicles that could withstand high temperatures.

It is said that many large vehicles in China are now undergoing high-temperature resistance modifications.

After all, as the world's largest industrial nation, most of its industrial capacity used to serve foreign countries and be used for foreign trade. Now that foreign trade is gone, even if only a fraction of the capacity of these industrial facilities is utilized, the effect will be extremely devastating.

Such powerful industrial capacity can produce earth-shattering effects when applied to any field.

Various high-temperature resistant vehicles, clothing, and equipment... once developed and technologically matured, with strong industrial capabilities, these items can be instantly made available to the general public.

For example, in Yunshi, the modified buses have been put into service. Because it's too hot during the day and no residents travel, they only operate at night, and they are said to be very popular. Many shopping malls are also closed during the day and open at night.

Furthermore, with the recovery of industrial production capacity and strong government support, the photovoltaic solar energy industry has seen explosive growth. Today, most residential buildings have installed dedicated solar panels and energy storage equipment on their rooftops, ensuring electricity supply even during power outages.

Most mobile phone towers have also been converted to solar power, and the recent two rounds of heavy rain and floods have no impact on residents' normal phone calls and internet access.

……

While arranging for workers to coordinate with courier companies for shipments, Li Mu discussed upcoming sales with Wang Qian. People from the city had just arrived, saying they'd received a message from higher up: food could be sold, alleviating people's anxiety and providing some immediate relief.

However, certain restrictions must be placed to prevent a small number of people from purchasing in large quantities and hoarding, which would increase public anxiety.

Li Mu and Wang Qian discussed it for a while, and they realized that this was indeed a problem. Just now, more than 800 tons of those goods were put on the shelves, and someone was buying them directly by the ton.

Fortunately, upon hearing the news, Li Mu immediately limited the purchase amount of a single account to 100 kilograms, which stopped the situation from being swept away by a few people.

However, now it seems that 100 kilograms is still a bit too much.

Wang Qian asked, "Boss, what do you think is a suitable limit?"

Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "How about ten kilograms? Each account can only order a maximum of ten kilograms at a time."

Wang Qian said, "Ten kilograms at a time, isn't that a bit too much?"

Li Mu said, "That's quite a lot! But the express delivery fee is not cheap now, it's seven or eight times that of before. We don't offer free shipping anymore, and buying too little at once would be a bit wasteful."

"Ten kilograms of compressed biscuits make just one big bag, saving everyone the trouble of paying for express delivery."

Wang Qian said, "This still can't prevent people from hoarding. If someone places an order every day, ten kilograms a day, that's three hundred kilograms a month, which is quite a lot!"

Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let's go all out. Each account can only place one order per month."

Wang Qian said, "What if we register multiple aliases or borrow accounts from others?"

Li Mu frowned: "Registering an alternate account isn't a big problem. Now everyone's using real names, and you can just limit the purchases by different accounts belonging to the same person. But borrowing an account from someone else is something we can't do."

"However, our original intention is still to sell compressed biscuits. If someone goes to such great lengths, even borrowing an account, to buy them, then let's sell them!"

Wang Qian nodded: "Okay, I understand."

At this point in the conversation, a manager suddenly ran over with a list and said, "Mr. Li, should we ship the goods to these people?"

Li Mu glanced at the order list. It was from those people who placed orders in tons. He had to admit they were really ruthless; there were four orders in total, buying more than twenty tons.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Just ship it as usual! These were all orders placed before the purchase restrictions were implemented, so they are considered normal purchases."

……

Once the matter was settled, and some technical upgrades were made to the backend, three days later, Li Mu uploaded three thousand tons of compressed biscuits, equivalent to three million kilograms, all at once.

This time, the product was launched quietly without any promotion. However, it was still noticed by many people who keep an eye on online stores, and customers flocked to it.

The 10-kilogram limit, while displeasing to many, also enabled more people to purchase it. Within six hours, 300,000 people scattered across the country had bought three million kilograms of compressed biscuits.

This time, the commotion was even greater. Many people who had just heard the news went to the store, only to find it sold out. They could only sigh long and look pale as they realized they were too late.

To find out how many people knew about the shop, three days later, looking at the finished products produced in the warehouse, the total amount was more than 10,000 tons.

Li Mu hesitated for a moment, then immediately put 10,000 tons of the product on the market. Many people were paying attention to the store, and when they saw the product was available, they immediately started snapping it up.

Many first-time visitors to the store, upon seeing ten million kilograms of compressed biscuits on the shelves, initially intended to go all out and empty their bank accounts to buy them.

Unfortunately, I only found out after placing the order that the maximum purchase was ten kilograms. Frustrated, I had to place another order. Ten kilograms of compressed biscuits are a precious resource these days.

Others had already placed orders a few days ago, and seeing the compressed biscuits were available again, they tried to order more. Then they discovered they couldn't buy them. Not only could they only buy a maximum of ten kilograms at a time, but they could also only buy them once a month.

They could only watch others place orders with a frustrated expression, cursing and grumbling.

This time, the time was even shorter; in just three hours, ten million kilograms of compressed biscuits were snapped up by one million buyers.

The incident quickly became a trending news story, and many people were surprised to learn that compressed biscuits were being sold online. Although not cheap, these days, food is the most precious resource, unlike industrial or electronic products, which can be produced in large quantities once factories open. Before new technologies emerged, food was limited; every bit used diminished it, making it a commodity with a high price but no market.

Countless visitors flocked to Li Mu's self-built official website and official flagship store on the shopping platform. The traffic was so immense that the website crashed within minutes. Fortunately, the shopping platform had enough servers, so the flagship store on it was unaffected.

Countless people saw the sold-out notice and sighed with regret, realizing they had found out too late and arrived too late.

Upon seeing the headline news online, Li Mu realized that he should stop trying to detect passenger flow in the future. Even if it were 100,000 tons, it would be sold out in no time.

Previously, as a newly launched small shop, not many people knew about it, and the news only spread slowly within a small circle. But this news went viral immediately. The number of potential customers increased by countless, and every item listed sold out instantly.

Li Mu had to make a long-term plan.

With the factory's current output, it can produce 1,500 tons per day. In the future, once the workers are familiar with the process, the production capacity can be expanded to more than 2,000 tons per day.

Li Mu calculated the existing grain, various ingredients, and supplies. Except for the grain and supplies stored in the Muwu Building that could be preserved for a long time, he decided not to touch them, in order to plan for the future.

The rest, including grains and various miscellaneous ingredients, totals 950,000 tons. At a production rate of over 2,000 tons per day, it can only produce for a little over 400 days. Excluding the time spent on production due to heavy rains and floods, this amount of grain can be used up in a year and a half.

This was in line with Li Mu's expectations. Not to mention that he had already spent three years in this world by then, which meant he had completed his mission and could return at any time. Much of the food he had stockpiled was not stored well and might spoil if stored for too long. Processing it into compressed biscuits would allow it to be stored for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, considering the future situation, if the world still hasn't escaped the disaster and found a way to survive after three years, he can't just leave like that. Anyway, the mission is complete, there's no pressure, so he might stay for two more years to try and find a new path.

Therefore, not all of the compressed biscuits produced can be sold; a steady, long-term approach is the best strategy.

For example, 800 tons of compressed biscuits are put on the shelves every day. There are more than 300 days a year when they can be sold normally, except for the time when they cannot be sold due to heavy rain and flood discharge. More than 200,000 tons can be shipped out in a year.

The total is 950,000 tons, which should last for about four years. Of course, future adjustments will be made based on the specific circumstances.

If, in the next few years, there are no technological breakthroughs—for example, in developing crops that can withstand drought, high temperatures, and floods; or in developing artificially synthesized foods that can be mass-produced using industrial methods…

Humanity's biggest weakness right now is food acquisition. If this problem is solved, even if the high temperatures continue, given humanity's industrial strength and the speed of technological development, combating and protecting against high temperatures will not be a problem.

The key is to make new breakthroughs in human food.

Chapter 482 Artificial Foods

Time slowly passed, and half a year went by. In the past six months, the high temperature and flood disasters continued, and the food crisis became more and more prominent. Fortunately, there is the ocean, a great treasure trove, which continuously provides food for mankind, even though much of it has died and rotted.

Today, only a quarter of the food on human tables is actual staple food, a quarter is industrial synthetics, and half is various marine organisms.

Although shallow marine life and fish are almost extinct, the high temperatures have little impact on the deep sea, where various aquatic organisms still thrive, providing a continuous food source for humans.

On this day, in the conference hall of Yun City, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Mu officially signed a contract with a large scientific research team, investing 10 billion yuan to support their research and development work.

This large research team primarily focuses on developing protein-based synthetic foods using non-agricultural methods.

For example, single-cell protein, also known as "artificial meat," is a type of microbial food.

Most microorganisms are single-celled organisms, consisting of nucleic acids and proteins. Producing these single-celled microorganisms using fermentation methods can yield extremely rich amounts of single-cell proteins.

Furthermore, the reproduction rate of microorganisms is astonishing. Under suitable conditions, 500 kilograms of live bacteria can produce 1250 kilograms of single-cell protein in a day and night; while a cow weighing 500 kilograms can only synthesize 0.5 kilograms of protein per day.

The main components of this "artificial meat" are protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, and its nutritional value is comparable to that of milk and eggs. The nutritional value of 1 ton of microbial protein is equivalent to 2.1 tons of lean meat, 3 tons of eggs, or 12 tons of milk.

It can be used as both food and animal feed.

Before the high-temperature apocalypse, this technology actually existed in the world, but it could not be mass-produced due to cost issues.

After the high-temperature apocalypse, with the support of the government, many research teams have devoted themselves to this field. The large research team invested in by Li Mu is one of them. However, there has been no major technological breakthrough in this area so far.

In the past six months, Li Mu has invested in more than 20 companies like this that deal with artificially synthesized foods, with investments ranging from billions to tens of billions of yuan.

There was no way around it; he had too much spare cash. Even though Li Mu had made preparations, the speed at which he could make money from compressed biscuits still made him nervous.

Putting aside everything else, just look at the fact that Yun City's tax revenue growth rate this year is far ahead of the rest of the country. More than half of the city's tax revenue comes from Li Mu's food factory.

Actually, given the current food shortage, compressed biscuits could sell for even more, double the price and people would still be scrambling to buy them. The main concern is being investigated and labeled a profiteer.

Even so, they still have more money than they can spend.