Chapter 1157 - Scrambling for Heaven Dew!
The box office of the movie earned 4.5 billion dollars!
Fang Qiu was really taken aback when he saw the figures.
After all, when the movie was first released, his daring prediction of the box office takings was merely 2 billion dollars. However, now the box office takings for the movie were more than twice what he had expected, an additional 500 million.
Notably, due to the great response to the movie, the production company had already applied to continue showing the movie. Therefore, cinemas were going to show it for a longer period of time.
This way, the overall box office could continue to soar to a record-breaking profit breakthrough!
Fang Qiu felt significantly relieved by the promising situation.
The movie was a box-office smash hit, which won the audience’s favor. Through it, people had some insight into Yang Yizhi’s character and so on. All of this would be a spiritual comfort to senior Yang Yizhi.
Thinking of the movie, Fang Qiu thought of those friends who filmed the movie together with him.
Without hesitation, he sent a jar to Director Chen Xiaogang and Director Li Huawen by express delivery. Then, for Song Yaqi, Liu Qingshi, and some others, each of them would get one jar. In addition to his friends in the entertainment circle, Fang Qiu also sent one jar to each of those highly-skilled Chinese Medicine doctors whom he was familiar with.
In each of the packages, he added a PS saying that they could drink one tael every day at most and shouldn’t drink too much. Besides, he told his friends in the entertainment circle that the liquor was homemade, and they mustn’t advertise it because the liquor was not for sale!
Within one day, all the packages had been received.
Upon receiving the gift, his friends sent a message to Fang Qiu to thank him for his concern.
Thereafter, Fang Qiu strolled around the cultivation base, thinking about how to plan and design its layout. After all, the land was four times larger. It was time to come up with a good plan.
……
However, just as Fang Qiu was looking around and thinking of the design, the phone in his trouser pocket suddenly rang again.
He took out his phone and found that it was He Gaoming.
He was looking for John Doe.
“Hello?”
Fang Qiu answered the call in John Doe’s voice.
“Master, where are you?”
“The desert.”
Fang Qiu replied without any hesitation.
He happened to be at the back of the cultivation base. Although the soil here hadn’t turned into sand, it could be considered as a desert. In addition, the wind was whistling around, which proved he was telling the truth.
“Oh,” He Gaoming replied casually.
He didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, he said, “The wine factory is ready, and we have begun making the medical liquor now.”
“If you don’t have enough helpers, recruit some as soon as possible.”
Fang Qiu gave his suggestions. “Don’t carry out any of the physical labor. Your task is to supervise the liquor-making process. Moreover, since the wine factory has been set up, you can recruit people to brew the wine. Remember to invite the best wine-making master to produce the best pure grain spirit. Never waste any of our medicinal herbs on inferior base spirits!”
“Don’t worry, Master.”
He Gaoming reassured him, saying “I’ve arranged everything. Everything we use is of top-notch quality. The reputation of Heaven Dew is the crucial foundation for our business success. I will never ruin its brand image.”
“Okay.”
Fang Qiu nodded with satisfaction.
“By the way,” He Gaoming chuckled and asked, “Master, when can we recruit followers?”
Having so much money in his pockets, He Gaoming could hardly sit still and itched to do something.
“Take it slow. Don’t worry.”
Fang Qiu said, “No matter what, the character is of utmost importance. We can’t accept anyone with a bad character.”
“I understand.”
He Gaoming nodded and said, “Then I’d better take it slowly and wait until we come across suitable people. Let’s not recruit openly.”
“Okay.”
Fang Qiu nodded in agreement.
“Master, that’s it. I’m going to supervise the wine-making process.”
After saying that, He Gaoming hung up the phone and went to make his rounds of the factory.
In three days, they successfully made the first batch of medicated wine.
Then, He Gaoming and the other brothers supervised the workers as they filled the jars with the liquor, thereafter sending them all over the country according to the proportion of each order.
Two days later, all the Wulin forces received their first batch of goods.
Those who had attended the wine tasting couldn’t wait to drink Heaven Dew. Therefore, as soon as the first batch of wine arrived, senior figures of the major forces immediately ran to each force’s hall, waiting to enjoy the wine.
Except for the four clans, the eight factions and sixteen sects adopted part of the ancient force structure. Thus, other than the leader and deputy leader, there were also elders.
After the wine tasting event, representatives from various sects went back to their respective clans. They had spent too much to order Heaven Dew and the elders criticized them for being such lavish spenders. There were murmurs of discontent.
After all, the quality of the force’s economy was directly related to the interests of everyone.
Besides the elders, the disciples in the force were also distressed by the large amount they had spent, but they didn’t dare to express their dissatisfaction.
In this situation, when the first batch arrived, the senior leaders of many forces were eager to taste Heaven Dew to see if it was right to buy so much liquor.
After the first sip, all the high-level officials of various forces were amazed by Heaven Dew!
They had never drunk such delicious liquor that carried such a kick with highly effective components of herbs. Better still, the liquor contained the Qi of Heaven and Earth. While digesting the liquor, people could feel the internal Qi growing inside their bodies, which was rare.
They gulped down a cup of Heaven Dew.
When the first cup of Heaven Dew reached their stomachs, everyone understood why their leader was willing to spend so much money to buy it.
It was not that Heaven Dew was not good enough for the sum of money but that the money was not worthy of the liquor.
Senior figures from all forces were pleasantly taken by surprise and gave a thumbs-up sign. They had been full of complaints initially, but now, they were rendered speechless. When they looked at the first batch of liquor again, their eyes even turned a little greedy.
After all, there were only a limited number of jars in the first batch.
As soon as these senior executives tasted the flavor and learned of the benefits, they acted fast to get more for themselves.
In the end, those unscrupulous high-level officials snatched up the first batch of Heaven Dew as they divided it among themselves. Their disciples didn’t even see the liquor, let alone get to taste it.
…
“Patriarch, the liquor is here.”
A servant of the Diwu Great Family in Nanjiang came to report.
“Great.”
Diwu Mingchuan laughed heartily and said, “You know there is a newly built cellar. Hurry up and get them to store the wine there. Qian is not at home recently, and I happen to be alone. So, I’m going to have a hearty drink.”
He rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the kitchen as he spoke.
While the servants were moving the jars into the cellar, Diwu Mingchuan, the patriarch of the Diwu Great Family, one of the four great clans in Wulin, was cooking his favorite dishes in the kitchen with evident enjoyment. He didn’t think it was troublesome at all.
Afterward, he moved to the picturesque courtyard and sat cross-legged on the neat lawn. The dishes he had prepared earlier were all laid out on a low square table before him and there was a jar of Heaven Dew. While eating heartily, he would take a sip from his winecup from time to time.
He was going to indulge himself with a long feast!
“Tut-tut-tut…”
After drinking a cup, Diwu Mingchuan smacked his lips and exclaimed, “Nice! Top-class wine indeed. The first batch is far from enough. If we distribute the liquor, even 100,000 jars won’t last long. It seems that we have to order another batch.”
…
The courtyard of Pear Garden bloomed with snow-white pear blossoms.
The pear flowers covered the whole square-built courtyard in a blanket of white petals, which made people in it feel as if they were in a fairyland.
“Is this the Heaven Dew that you and your uncle ordered?”
Sitting at a wooden table under the flowering pear tree, Yun Yangzi and an old man with a great mane of white hair and long white eyebrows sat facing each other. The elder smiled at Yun Yangzi, pointed at the fragrant wine in the cup on the table, and asked.
“Yes,” Yun Yangzi nodded and said, “Master, have a taste first, and you’ll know the wonders of Heaven Dew.”
“Good.”
The long-browed elder laughed and picked up his wine cup. Instead of downing it hastily, he slowly moved it under his nose to catch its aroma. Then he opened his mouth and emptied the cup in one gulp.
The wine flowed into his belly.
The long-browed elder was initially expressionless.
After a while, his face became a little flushed.
“Ha-ha, not bad.”
The elder laughed and put down his cup as he nodded with satisfaction. “Delicious nectar. To be able to brew such great wine, John Doe must be an outstanding person.”
Yun Yangzi refilled the elder’s cup with a smile.
“Nice liquor. Although it’s not that potent, it can produce internal Qi inside one’s system, which will be helpful for cultivation.”
The elder raised the cup and drank another mouthful. Then he added, “When you are in seclusion, bring some Heaven Dew with you. Drink some of it and let the rest evaporate. The Qi of Heaven and Earth in this wine is special. If you can absorb it completely, it may give a boost to your breakthrough.”
“I see.”
Yun Yangzi nodded.
Yun Yangzi accompanied his master to drink a few cups of wine, but the latter soon drove him away.
Holding a jar of wine, he walked into the wooden house to start his meditation retreat, ready to break through and achieve the Half-step Guru Realm.
“John Doe, ah, John Doe…”
Looking at Yun Yangzi undergoing his closed-door training, the white-browed old man whispered to himself. His gaze swept across the expanse of snowy pear blossoms in the garden and he sighed softly, “I didn’t expect the catfish effect to affect Wulin nowadays: Fang Qiu is the catfish that brings about strong competition, which motivates weaker Wulin members, a great many small fish, to fight. The youth of today are indeed much better than me and my peers when we were young. Such a competitive environment will tap their potential to the fullest during the best part of their lives.”
The distribution of the first batches of wine was complete.
It was inevitable that some jars would be smuggled out of those forces.
There was no doubt that they would end up in the hands of some Wulin people.
They gulped down the liquor.
Those Wulin people who got the wine was ecstatic and proclaimed the liquor to be as great as a celestial brew!
“The liquor should only be possessed by the Celestials, but jars of nectar fall into my hands in this mortal world; Heaven Dew from John Doe’s magic hands, down into my belly to drown sorrows!”
A post suddenly appeared on Wulin online forum, which attracted everyone’s attention.
In the post, a Wulin practitioner uploaded a photo of him holding a jar of Heaven Dew in an attempt to show off, on the forum.
There were no other words, except for the title of a four-line poem. But it was enough to light up people’s imagination.
Lots of netizens spotted this ostentatious display…
The appearance of Heaven Dew caused a sensation throughout the forum.
“Is this the precious liquor Heaven Dew?”
“What does it taste like?”
“Where can I buy it?”
“Post starter, please give us an address. I’m willing to take one sip with the money for one jar.”
“Great Master John Doe, why don’t you make many more? A large number of people crave it. Don’t you want to earn our money?”
The Wulin people on the forum coveted the liquor, but they didn’t know where they could get one sip.
He Gaoming, who had been paying attention to the news on the Wulin online forum like them, smiled bitterly after he witnessed this situation.
Heaven Dew had no lack of potential customers, but they didn’t have so much wine!