Film and Television World Life Record

In addition to allocating funds to invest in research teams working on various artificially synthesized foods, they also snapped up a large number of commercial buildings, shops, and land at low prices.

Even so, he still had a large sum of money on hand that he didn't know where to spend.

Next, Li Mu plans to continue investing money in research teams working on these artificially synthesized foods. Despite their various drawbacks, artificially synthesized foods at least fill the stomach and prevent starvation! That's their biggest advantage.

On the other hand, cultivating crops that can withstand high temperatures, drought, and floods is extremely difficult and cannot be accomplished in just a few years. Humanity simply doesn't have that much time. With current food reserves and the various fish species in the ocean, under extreme conditions, we can only sustain ourselves for two or three years at most before we can't hold on any longer. That would truly be hell on earth.

In such an emergency, artificially synthesized foods are the most likely area for breakthroughs and could become a lifeline. Once a breakthrough is achieved, given China's industrial capabilities, it can be rapidly replicated, solving the food problem for the entire population in a very short time.

Only when the problem of food is solved can humans have the energy and time to solve other problems, such as cultivating crops that are resistant to high temperatures and floods.

……

Another six months passed quickly, during which time Li Mu invested in more than thirty teams researching and developing artificial foods. Many of the teams he had previously invested in were also making good progress and achieving encouraging results.

For example, Li Mu invested 10 billion yuan in the team researching single-cell protein, also known as artificial meat, which made rapid progress, and Li Mu then invested another 30 billion yuan.

Li Mu generously provided financial support to all the other teams that made progress.

That morning, Li Mu finished exercising at the sports center downstairs and was reading with Jiang Hui when Wang Qian came over to report on her work.

"Boss, the work of unifying the supplies has been completed."

Li Mu asked, "How many are nearing their expiration date?"

Wang Qian said, "It's mainly canned goods. There are a total of 200,000 tons of canned goods, of which 80,000 tons have a relatively long shelf life, and the remaining 120,000 tons are all nearing their expiration date."

"There are also 10,000 tons of milk powder and soy milk that were purchased, but not much of it has been used, and most of it is nearing its expiration date."

"And millions of different beverages, including Sprite, Coke, iced tea, herbal tea, green tea..."

"The most common item is beer. The third time we purchased four million cases of beer, we didn't use much of it, and most of it was nearing its expiration date."

……

After reporting for a while, I finally finished.

Wang Qian asked, "Boss, what should we do with these supplies?"

Li Mu said, "Sell them all, put them online."

Then he looked at Wang Qian and asked, "Are there many transactions of these kinds of supplies online?"

Wang Qian said, "There are quite a few, but there aren't any dedicated stores. After all, it's been more than two years since the high-temperature apocalypse, and any store that had stock would have sold out long ago."

"Now online, canned goods, milk powder, soy products, alcohol... are all traded on second-hand platforms. Although the transaction volume of a single item is not very large, there are many participants. Tens of millions of people trade through second-hand platforms."

Li Mu said, "What do you think? How should these supplies be sold? Through online stores or through second-hand trading platforms?"

Wang Qian thought for a moment and said, "Wouldn't it be too conspicuous to sell them directly through an online store? Also, there's the price; if we sell them based on the prices on secondhand platforms, they can be very high, which carries some risk!"

Li Mu nodded: "You're right. These supplies are different from compressed biscuits. Compressed biscuits are products we produce ourselves, so we can set our own prices. Even if we set the price a bit high, it's fine."

“This batch of supplies was not produced by us, and it’s really eye-catching that it’s being sold at a high price through online stores.”

Then, looking at Wang Qian, he said, "From this perspective, it would be more suitable to put it on a second-hand platform?"

Wang Qian nodded: "Second-hand platforms follow market rules, and various goods have their own price trends, which are generally recognized by everyone. Selling here is more transparent and less conspicuous."

Li Mu made the final decision: "Then put it on a second-hand platform. You can talk to the city government later and see what their opinion is. Also, find some experts to review it and make sure it's compliant and legal."

Wang Qian replied, "Understood, boss!"

……

The preparations were made quickly, and a few days later, a batch of canned goods was put on the second-hand platform, including about thirty cans of meat, fifty tons of canned fruit, and thirty tons of canned vegetables.

With tens of millions of active users, the volume of food transactions on secondhand platforms is considerable, but the individual transaction volume is very small. Everyone knows how important food is, and many people sell food only in emergencies and don't sell much.

These more than 100 tons of canned goods attracted a lot of attention on the second-hand platform as soon as they were put on the shelves. Since the price was based on the average price of the second-hand platform, it was impossible for it to cause a buying frenzy, but they were all sold out in just over a day.

The largest single order involved an account purchasing more than ten tons at once.

Wang Qian came to discuss this matter with Li Mu again.

"Boss, this time an account has purchased more than ten tons at once. The order is too large. Should we learn from the compressed cake business and implement purchase limits?"

Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "No need. Canned food and compressed biscuits are different. First of all, we sell them based on the average price in the second-hand market. If you want to buy them, you can buy them from other people on the second-hand platform without going through us. However, other people have too many small items, which makes buying them too cumbersome, unlike us, where we have more stock and can get everything at once."

"Secondly, canned goods are different from compressed biscuits. Compressed biscuits have a long shelf life and can be stored for a long time; these canned goods are all products nearing their expiration date. We make it clear when we sell them that even if you buy them, you can't store them and need to use them up or sell them as soon as possible. In this case, we don't need to limit the number of purchases either. Moreover, it's more convenient to ship to large customers. Unlike small customers, we don't have to ship small, fragmented orders individually."

Wang Qian said, "I understand. With so many supplies, should we sell them off quickly, or take it slow and steady?"

Li Mu said, "There's no need to rush this. Take it slow. You can increase the shipment volume appropriately based on the expiration date, but don't exceed one thousand tons per day."

"Whether it's meat, fruit, or canned vegetables, they will only become increasingly scarce in the future. If the shipment volume is too large in a short period of time, it may drive down the price."

"Prices will only get higher in the future, so let's sell them slowly. We can sell all 120,000 tons of canned goods within six months."

Wang Qian nodded and said "Mmm".

"Beer, beverages, soy milk, milk powder... are almost ready, and they will be officially on sale in a couple of days."

Li Mu asked, "How much are you preparing?"

Wang Qian said, "We have more than four million cases of beer. Due to the shortage of food, hops are almost extinct. In the past two years, the beer stored in the market has been basically consumed. No factory is producing beer anymore."

"But there are many people who like beer, and although there are quite a few beers for sale on second-hand platforms, the prices are still extremely high. I plan to list 30,000 cases initially, and then adjust the number based on the situation."

"As for beverages, we have over a million cases. This isn't as rare as beer, but because it contains a lot of sugar, many beverage factories have stopped production due to a lack of raw materials. Currently, beverage prices on secondhand platforms aren't too high, and they're quite popular."

"I plan to put 10,000 cases on the shelves in the first batch, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, green tea, Red Bull, Wanglaoji... depending on the situation, I will put one to two thousand cases on each."

"Milk powder and soy milk are even more precious, especially milk powder, which is one of the most sought-after commodities on the market."

"We have a total of more than 10,000 tons of inventory in our warehouse. More than 3,000 tons can be stored for a long time, so we kept them. The remaining 9,000 tons will gradually expire over the next year or so."

"I plan to put 30 tons on the shelves in the first batch, which is 30,000 kilograms, and that's not a small amount. Milk powder will only become more and more precious in the future, so I can sell it slowly."

……

After Wang Qian left, Li Mu idly scrolled through his phone for a while and suddenly came across news that a company that manufactures personal insulation equipment had gone public.

The arrival of the high-temperature apocalypse also had a great impact on the stock market, which was shut down on and off for more than two years. Later, the two stock markets were simply merged and re-established in the west, and the stock market finally stabilized.

Many companies that develop heatstroke prevention and insulation equipment, as well as industrialized synthetic foods, have taken advantage of this trend and gone public.

Thinking of the stock market, Li Mu then thought of the second-hand trading platform he had just visited, which was also said to be a listed company that had been listed for quite some time.

The next moment, an investment idea that seemed like picking up money popped into my head.

Although he's not particularly interested in money anymore, he can't just ignore money that's practically free, right under his nose.

After thinking it over, I made a few phone calls and started planning to acquire shares of this largest second-hand trading platform in China.

As for why he is optimistic about this second-hand trading platform, it's simply because he will be selling a large amount of goods on this platform, and these are all in-demand items.

Most importantly, the quantity is also very large.

Second-hand platforms will not lack users as long as there are a large number of scarce goods, and the transaction volume will naturally increase.

In the future, once people know that secondhand platforms have a large number of in-demand items for sale, they will definitely attract more users, and the platform's performance will naturally improve, and its stock price will rise steadily.

Since this money was practically free, and it was caused by my own actions, I figured I might as well take it.

……

Soon, another month passed. Every day, seven or eight hundred tons of canned goods, tens of thousands of cases of beer, tens of thousands of cases of various beverages, and dozens of tons of milk powder and soy milk... Such a huge batch of scarce goods flooded into the second-hand trading market, and there were new shipments every day. This quickly made the second-hand trading platform popular, attracting many people to become new users, and the platform's transaction volume also increased steadily.

Soon, Li Mu added fuel to the fire.

Wang Qian said, "Boss, I've done the math. We have 5,000 tons of tea bricks, 6 million cases of red wine, and over 3 million cases of baijiu. All of these can be stored for a long time, especially the wine, which has almost no shelf life."

"Should we sell it now?"

Li Mu said, "Let's sell some. Take out one-fifth of it, 1.2 million cases of red wine, 650,000 cases of white wine, and 1,000 tons of tea bricks, and list them on a second-hand platform. We don't need to sell them too quickly; we can sell them off over one or two years."

Wang Qian looked puzzled. These supplies were all extremely precious under the current circumstances. The tea trees were almost all withered from the sun, as were the grapevines. The preciousness of grains goes without saying, and they certainly wouldn't be used for brewing wine. These three supplies were becoming increasingly scarce.

Li Mu said, "These supplies will naturally become more valuable and generate greater returns in the future if we store them up. However, time is running out for humanity. Next, I plan to make a larger-scale investment in artificial food, striving to achieve a breakthrough in artificial food before humanity runs out of food. This requires a huge amount of funds. If humanity really fails in the future and order is lost, what use will keeping so many supplies be? It will only attract the attention of those with ulterior motives."

"On the other hand, it can also alleviate the public's tension and give people more hope. If various supplies on the market become increasingly scarce and in short supply, and some scarce supplies cannot be bought even with money, and they become less and less available on the market, they will be snapped up as soon as they appear. People will only become more and more nervous and anxious."

"If large quantities of supplies are constantly flooding the market, making it prosperous and ensuring a shortage of all kinds of goods, even if many people are reluctant to pay high prices, as long as the online supply is continuous, their anxiety will be greatly alleviated. Knowing that if an emergency occurs, they can purchase supplies from the market represents hope."

After much consideration, Wang Qian was persuaded.

Chapter 483 Hope and Return

Time flies, and several months have passed again.

That day, Li Mu saw a system notification that he had been in this world for three years and had successfully completed the task of surviving in the high-temperature apocalypse for three years.

Li Mu re-examined the world today, and it had changed drastically since he first arrived.

Over the past three years, sea levels have risen by a total of 38 meters, countless coastal cities have been submerged, and countless islands have sunk to the bottom of the sea, leading to a major shift in geopolitical relations.

Yun City was originally an inland city, but with rising sea levels, the straight-line distance to the sea is now only about 200 kilometers. Perhaps one day it will become a coastal city.

Being close to the sea has its advantages. First, there is more rainfall, and the temperature is much lower than in the west. Moreover, in the event of a global continuous rainstorm and a major flood disaster, the proximity to the sea provides a place for the rainwater to drain, making flood discharge easier. Floods rarely rise above the third floor, and the floodwaters are drained within a few days at most after the rain stops.

Compared to before, Yunshi is indeed much more livable. Coupled with its thriving commerce and developed economy, it has already entered the top ten in the evaluation indicators of major cities in China.

The most significant changes have occurred in the western region, where many previously unknown prefecture-level cities or small counties have risen to become key national cities, a dramatic transformation compared to just a few years ago.

Watching the growing crowds on the street, everyone wearing heat-resistant clothing, they had clearly gotten used to this. It has to be said that human endurance and adaptability are truly remarkable; they have gradually adapted to living in temperatures of fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, even though they have to wear thick sun-protective and heat-resistant clothing every time they go out.