Chapter 7: Level Up! Developing Tier 2 Land!

Chapter 7: Level Up! Developing Level 2 Land!

How much money Manager Chen made on the side was none of his business; such things were common in society. Given that the man held such a position, he surely had connections within the RT-Mart system; otherwise, he wouldn't dare to solicit bribes or kickbacks in a nationwide chain. Qin Lin’s only goal was to sell his melons, and as long as that was achieved, he was satisfied. Moreover, this arrangement benefited him as well. Such orders were usually settled individually, meaning he would be paid per invoice without having his payments delayed.

"Little Qin, how many melons do you have?" Manager Chen was clearly most concerned with this question.

Qin Lin explained, "Manager Chen, the first batch has 800 melons, each weighing over 10 jin. I will go back and deliver 800 now, and another 400-plus this evening. As for the future, there will be no fewer than 800 per day."

Manager Chen did some mental math and seemed satisfied. He smiled and said, "Alright, bring me the invoice after you finish your deliveries each day, and I’ll have finance settle it for you."

"Sorry to trouble you, Manager Chen." After finalizing the agreement, Qin Lin took his leave.

Manager Chen, in a good mood after the two melons Qin Lin had left behind, had them cut up and shared among the staff outside.

Qin Lin returned to the warehouse and made two trips to transport the remaining 422 melons to RT-Mart to be weighed and signed off. In total, it came to 4,557 jin.

By evening, the melons in the game had ripened again. From this batch of seedless watermelons, 411 were Quality 1, and 3 were Quality 2. Qin Lin planted new seeds, moved all 411 melons from the game to the external warehouse, and delivered them to RT-Mart in two batches. This time, it was 4,471 jin, bringing the total to 9,028 jin when combined with the previous batch.

After finishing the deliveries, Qin Lin took his invoices to Manager Chen to settle the account, and the payment arrived quickly.

"Your account ending in... has received 10,899.60 yuan. Balance: 31,344.60."

In just four days, the melons from the game had replenished his bank account, which had previously been bottoming out, to over 30,000 yuan. Furthermore, he would be earning over 10,000 yuan daily from now on. Once his game character leveled up and he could develop more land, his daily income would be even higher.

Qin Lin was in high spirits and decided to shop inside the RT-Mart before heading home. However, his mood soured when he passed the produce section and saw the melons on sale.

"Special Quality Watermelon, 3 yuan per jin!"

Next to them were ordinary melons for 2 yuan per jin, but he recognized at a glance that these "Special Quality" melons were none other than the ones he had delivered. Manager Chen must have realized that every one of his melons was superior to the ordinary ones, which gave him the confidence to charge that price.

Greedy! Truly greedy!

The profit margin at this price was almost equal to his own cost-free profit. It was truly the era of "channel is king"; those who controlled the distribution channels had the power to set such prices, and he couldn't be jealous. He simply stopped looking at the price and headed to another section.

Back home, his mind received notifications about worms and weeds, so he immediately controlled his game character to weed and clear the pests.

The next day, Qin Lin woke up early. The melons had ripened again. The shop owners had already messaged him early in the morning to wholesale the melons, clearly having grown accustomed to buying from him.

He headed to the warehouse and moved the ripe melons out of the game. This time, there were no Quality 2 melons, just 428 Quality 1 melons in total. After posting a video in the WeChat group, he saw no new orders. He tallied the numbers—these shops were much like the day before—and they wholesaled 408 melons. After delivering and weighing them, it came to 4,732 jin, earning him 7,099 yuan.

By evening, the melons ripened again. He sent them to RT-Mart, totaling 4,970 jin, earning him 5,964 yuan. With today’s total of 13,063 yuan, his balance reached 46,409 yuan.

After finishing the delivery to RT-Mart, Qin Lin made a trip to the Administration for Industry and Commerce. His original shop only had documents for an individual business, and he felt that with his current wholesale operation, he needed a fruit wholesale business license to avoid potential trouble. However, after filling out forms for a long time at the office, he was told that his situation did not require a wholesale license.

It was only then that Qin Lin realized his own ignorance. It turned out that according to the 35th regulation regarding food, if the fruit type is singular and does not reach a certain scale, direct wholesale by the fruit grower does not require a wholesale license.

As soon as Qin Lin left the office and returned home, he received an unexpected notification:

[Character level increased! You can now develop new land! Level 2 land upgrade permission unlocked, 6 plots can be upgraded!]

Qin Lin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately looked at the game screen in his mind. Sure enough, 6 new plots lit up, indicating they were ready for development. Additionally, a flag for "upgradable land count" appeared on the screen, labeled "0/6." This meant he could not only open 6 new plots but also upgrade 6 primary plots to Level 2.

Without hesitation, Qin Lin controlled his character to pick up a sickle, axe, and other tools to clear the weeds, stones, and wood from the 6 plots. He then used a hoe to develop them and immediately planted watermelon seeds. He didn't intend to sell these 6 plots of melons in reality because upgrading to Level 2 land required in-game gold coins. Moreover, once upgraded, he could plant other, more expensive items.

The melons on these 6 plots would ripen twice a day, meaning he could upgrade one plot every two days. In 12 days, he would finish upgrading all 6 plots to Level 2.

Over the next two days, the previous 24 plots earned Qin Lin another 26,123 yuan, bringing his bank balance to 72,532 yuan. Meanwhile, the melons from the 6 newly opened plots were all sold within the game, and one plot was successfully upgraded to Level 2.

After upgrading that first plot, Qin Lin immediately controlled his character to leave the ranch and head to the seed shop in Mineral Town to check the inventory. The seed shop had densely packed categories; seeds that existed in reality and even some that didn't were all there. Each seed was marked with a land level requirement; those that met the requirements were unlocked, while those that didn't remained greyed out.

Qin Lin immediately began searching through the Level 2 seeds, which included vegetables, fruits, and various ornamental seedlings. He went straight to the fruit section. Many fruits were far more expensive than watermelons. However, due to the need for seedling planting or other reasons, he faced significant limitations; if it wasn't discreet enough, he ignored it.

Finally, he found a Level 2 fruit seed perfect for his current situation: red strawberries.

Qin Lin checked online and found that it was currently off-season for red strawberries, meaning they were considered "out-of-season" fruit. On the market, ordinary red strawberries were selling for 15-25 yuan per jin. If they were special varieties like "cream strawberries," they would be at least 50 yuan per jin. However, the Level 2 land didn't offer those special varieties.

Seeing the price of ordinary red strawberries, Qin Lin headed to the designated seed sales point in You City. It was the same lady as before, and she remembered him. "Young man, what seeds do you need this time?"

Qin Lin replied, "Miss, do you have red strawberry seeds?"

The saleswoman immediately introduced them enthusiastically, "Yes, we do! Red strawberry seeds are 45 yuan per tael!"

Qin Lin bought the seeds, paid, and returned home. He immediately entered the game and placed the strawberry seeds into the seed storage box. Returning to reality, he looked at the game screen, and sure enough, the strawberry seeds were there. He immediately planted them on the Level 2 plot.

At night, after watering and clearing weeds and pests, he went to sleep with anticipation.

The next morning, he looked at the game screen. Aside from the sea of green melons, a patch of red and green strawberries stood out. Qin Lin entered the game and went to the strawberry patch. On the external screen, it looked like a small square, but in the game, the lush red and green was refreshing.

When he used to date Zhao Moqing, they often went to strawberry farms to pick them themselves. It wasn't about saving money; couples just loved that kind of atmosphere. Qin Lin picked a few strawberries. They were plump and bright red, looking very appetizing. At the same time, he saw the information:

[Red Strawberry: Quality 1]

[Note: Although not a special variety, this is game-produced, with excellent flavor. It is the best among red strawberries: Deliciousness +1, Sweetness +1, Texture +1.]

Like the melons, these game-produced strawberries had the +1 attributes for deliciousness, sweetness, and texture. Although the note said so, Qin Lin was an experiential person and decided to try one himself. He popped a strawberry into his mouth and bit down. The juice immediately overflowed—tender, juicy, sweet, and fragrant.

In one word: delicious!

In two words: extremely delicious!

If ordinary strawberries sold for 15-25 yuan, these game-produced ones could definitely exceed the 25-yuan tier, perhaps even higher.

Back in reality, Qin Lin controlled the character to harvest, storing all the ripe melons and red strawberries. This time, in addition to the melons, the one plot of red strawberries yielded 50 jin. However, he chose to sell these strawberries directly in the game to prioritize upgrading the remaining 5 Level 2 plots first.

Because he started selling the strawberries in the game, the time to upgrade all 6 plots to Level 2 was significantly reduced, taking only 7 days. During those 7 days, his watermelon wholesale earned him another 94,211 yuan, and his bank balance reached 166,743 yuan.

Earning over 160,000 yuan in 13 days was something he never would have dared to imagine before. Now that all 6 plots of Level 2 land were upgraded, his future income would grow by a significant margin.