The End of the Universe Is Live-Streaming E-commerce – CH41

Chapter 41: The 41st Day of Livestream Selling

Fortunately, the machines ran perfectly normally afterward. At the very least, no other strange lights appeared.

“This step is actually what we commonly call moistening the grain in winemaking. Different aroma types of liquor, such as strong-aroma or sauce-aroma, require different moistening times and different amounts of water. Even the formulas vary by brand. Every family has its own ratio. Our factory makes light-aroma and rice-aroma liquor, partly because the brewing cycle is short and the grain yield is high, and partly because Master Huang apprenticed at Fenjiu Distillery back in the day.”

Each aroma type had its expensive representative liquors. For example, Maotai was sauce-aroma, and there were also very cheap ones, like Erguotou, which was strong-aroma. Kongfang Winery’s marketing strategy was simple: whatever could sell in the surrounding township market, they sold.

“In other words, basically no strategy,” 1114 said, hitting the nail on the head.

Director Kong wiped his sweat again, looking slightly ashamed. “We did hire people in that field to adjust our marketing plan before, but…” The more they changed it, the stranger it got. They had even hired some so-called local internet celebrities. The liquor barely sold, but they wasted a lot of money on marketing.

It was like an honest man deciding to go all in on suggestive marketing. He did work very hard, but the comments section was all: “Hahahahaha, stop it, A-Zu. You’re not suited for this.”

Director Kong coughed lightly and changed the topic. “In the old method, moistening grain meant spreading the crushed grain directly on the ground, adding hot water above ninety degrees Celsius, and having workers constantly turn and stir it. It would take around a dozen to twenty hours to properly moisten. But things are different now. We have this instant high-temperature conditioning machine.”

Director Kong was very proud of the machines the factory had replaced in recent years, and he could recite the entire process from memory, because they had truly been expensive. Back then, he had gritted his teeth again and again before spending a large sum to buy this set of intelligent brewing machines.

Qin Xiaoman followed along and toured the place. He was very good at playing the supporting role at the right time. “Then how long does it take now?”

Director Kong waved his sleeve and casually dropped the answer. “Only about twenty minutes.”

Lin Zhao and Qin Xiaoman: “!!!”

Although Director Kong did not say it aloud, the short old man’s face now carried a rare wrinkled smile. His whole expression said, “Well? Impressive, right?”

It was indeed quite impressive.

Not only did it save an incredible amount of time, it also saved a large amount of manual labor. Director Kong’s original intention in introducing the machines was to lighten the burden on the factory workers who had been doing heavy labor all this time. Even if they did not have to work nonstop for more than a dozen hours, it had still been genuinely exhausting. Yet he had been badly scolded for that decision. If machines replaced all the work, then what were workers needed for?

After the factory’s profits gradually declined, he did indeed have no choice but to lay off some employees, including his younger sister, who had worked as the accountant. But he had not owed anyone a single cent of wages. It was just that the factory itself was struggling to survive. There was no need to drag everyone down together, was there?

The people who remained were all old employees who could skillfully operate the machines. Everyone’s workload had also been greatly reduced.

This was also why the other people who had come to view the factory had ultimately failed to reach a deal. They still felt there were too many employees, and that some people looked too “idle.” Capitalists simply could not tolerate such a thing.

“But labor is also very cheap,” Director Kong said quickly, afraid Lin Zhao would be scared off and leave too.

Lin Zhao, however, had no objection. After 1114’s calculations, the current staff ratio was just right. It satisfied the winery’s special need for three shifts, while also satisfying Lin Zhao’s company culture of each person working no more than eight hours a day, five days a week.

If an employee occasionally asked for leave, the factory would not become stretched thin either.

At least in 1114 the system’s view, this was a very healthy number of employees.

Director Kong led Lin Zhao and Qin Xiaoman to the central control console and asked the master brewer to teach them how to read the panel. Facing the huge curved screen, he introduced the 3D dynamic simulation of the entire production process, energy consumption, material flow, equipment status, quality parameters, and so on. Everything had been turned into visible digital content.

Logically speaking, twenty minutes had almost passed since they had started, but the indicator light showing that grain moistening was complete still had not lit up.

Everyone felt somewhat awkward.

Only Lin Zhao calmly said, “The grain I brought is rather special. Maybe it’s too hard. Let’s wait a little longer.” And with that, they waited for a full hour before the indicator finally turned green. For Director Kong, who occasionally dabbled in stocks, this was the first time he had ever found the color green so pleasing. If it still had not turned green, the handkerchief he was using to wipe sweat would probably have been soaked through.

After moistening came gelatinization and saccharification. This step required workers to help with transport, moving the material from one big machine to several large connected tanks.

Actually, this part could also be fully automated and integrated. There was no need for manual handling; machines could transfer everything automatically. But that kind of system was too expensive. Following the principle of saving wherever possible, Director Kong had bought this relatively cheaper version.

“Gelatinization, to put it plainly, is steaming the grain. In the modern improved process, it becomes boiling the grain. Saccharification means turning the cooked grain into sugar water. At the fastest, it takes two hours; at the slowest, three and a half. One pot can effectively process about twelve hundred jin of grain at a time. Our factory brews by batch, and multiple batches can run day and night without stopping. In other words, the highest daily output can reach…”

“Two to three tons,” 1114 had already given the answer.

Lin Zhao began seriously considering that if this trial proved that spirit wine could be brewed successfully, perhaps Lady Hu should prepare even more spirit plants. After listening to this whole explanation, he felt there simply would not be enough.

Even if there were more, it did not matter. He could add more machines.

The money Lin Zhao used to buy the winery came partly from himself. At first, he had intended to take out a bank loan for the rest, but Lady Hu said, Why give interest to others for nothing? Even one of her hairpins was worth more than that.

The only daughter of an ascended great cultivator was truly rich.

In the end, it became a joint investment to build a factory. The equity contract was written by 1114, ensuring fairness. Of course, the premise was that the two of them first had a factory.

The winery before them, with its reasonable layout and obvious original ambition to become a large factory—only it had failed to grow—was very suitable.

The gelatinization pot and saccharification pot were connected by labyrinth-like pipes. The two formed one unit, so there was no need for secondary transfer. Once the button was pressed, they began operating. The key variable of temperature was monitored in real time by the central control system. A low hum sounded from deep within the tanks, like a swarm of bees from far away.

Looking through the glass viewing window, they could see that the previously viscous milky-red liquid was slowly being steamed and faded in color. After absorbing enough spirit liquid, it gradually changed from red to pink. Later, there would still be filtration and cooling steps.

In short, before Lin Zhao had lunch, the whole process was almost finished.

Lin Zhao and Qin Xiaoman had gotten so bored that they started playing Fight the Landlord with Director Kong.

Because the entire process was truly idle. Aside from waiting, they occasionally went to look at the viewing window and the machine panels, and Master Huang mostly handled that step for them.

Lin Zhao would definitely not be able to return home for lunch today. Fortunately, his aunt would not be able to go home either recently. As long as he rushed back at night, basically no one would discover that he had gone out. As for the two pets at home, the nanny robot could help feed them, so there was no need to worry about them going hungry. Even without the robot, given Third Aunt’s level of intelligence, Qin Xiaoman suspected she could go to the kitchen and stir-fry two dishes for herself. Cough, just kidding.

After they finished eating the factory’s communal lunch, the brewing process was almost at the final and most critical step—fermentation.

The fermentation workshop was next door, in a specially emptied second workshop. In the past, fermentation used ceramic jars, the kind of huge wine jars that could only be seen in old TV dramas from the previous century, each buried deep underground. Nowadays, it was not that complicated. Fermentation tanks had also become above-ground machines, and the workers only needed to transport the raw materials from the workshop next door.

“Seal the tank!” Master Huang directed several dark, thin apprentices as they worked.

The manhole cover was tightened with bolts. The fermentation tank stood in the center of the workshop like a silent squat tower. Fermentation strains would be injected through sterile pipes. In other words, the starter culture. The starter material here was also provided by Lin Zhao’s side, different from what the winery originally used, though the high-temperature fermentation still relied on the winery’s machines.

From temperature and pH value to sugar level and alcohol concentration, everything was collected by sensors and fed into the central control in real time. What the experienced Master Huang needed to do was simply monitor the fermentation tank’s “vital signs” in real time. Any slight deviation would trigger automatic adjustment or an alert.

Qin Xiaoman watched for a long time. In this factory where there was no sound besides the machines, he raised his question: “Then what do we do now?”

“Wait,” Boss Kong said the same thing again.

How long do we wait?”

“Ten to twenty hours or so. At least until tomorrow morning.”

Lin Zhao could not wait that long. After a short discussion with Qin Xiaoman, Qin Xiaoman and 1114 stayed behind, while Lin Zhao drove back to Jiangzuo first. He would return tomorrow to pick them up.

For some reason, on the way home, Lin Zhao’s right eyelid kept twitching.

As everyone knew, a twitching left eye meant fortune, while a twitching right eye… meant muscle spasms. It was caused by stimulation of the facial nerve controlling the orbicularis oculi muscle, leading to brief and irregular contractions.

Salted Fish Lin had an excellent mindset. After returning to his aunt’s home, hiding the car in a temporary parking space in the residential compound, and picking up his packages on the way, he did not forget to use the communicator app on his phone to briefly discuss the robot preorder with Reinhardt. After separate discussions with the dark elf Arland and Lady Hu, they had both coincidentally chosen…

“Why rent? Buy them directly. Buy the best.”

For a moment, Lin Zhao truly wanted to fight these rich people to the death.

But immediately afterward, these rich people added at least twenty percent to Lin Zhao’s quoted price, saying that the robots were needed for their business and would also be used by them in the future, so the cost should naturally be paid by them. Lin Zhao’s commission would be twenty percent of the total price.

For some inexplicable reason, Lin Zhao had once again completed two business deals. The only thought in his mind was: Bosses, happy cooperation. Let’s continue next time!

While carrying a large pile of delivery boxes into the elevator and sending voice messages to Reinhardt, he thought about what to buy with this unexpected fortune. His aunt seemed to have taken a liking to a fairly expensive performance costume lately. Although he could not understand why dancing in the square required a performance costume, it did not matter. He would indulge her. As for Xiangxiang, he could buy a tie clip—low-key but expensive. As for 1114, he would buy an out-of-print signed merchandise item by an author it liked at a high price.

Of course, as the person who introduced the robots, Lin Zhao definitely would not forget Reinhardt.

“Is there anything you want?” Lin Zhao sent another voice message.

Reinhardt unusually did not reply instantly that day, because he was still listening to Lin Zhao’s voice messages over and over again like a pervert, treasuring each one.

Yes, after chatting in text for so many days, they had finally taken the next step as online friends—too lazy to type, so they started sending voice messages.

Of course, the main reason Lin Zhao sent voice messages was that he had to carry packages and truly had no hands free.

Lin Zhao immediately sent another one. “If you can’t think of anything you want either, then I’ll decide myself.”

Deputy Officer Carlos really could not keep watching anymore. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the logistics supervisor and whispered, “It’s not like he hasn’t heard his voice in the livestream before.” Look at this useless behavior. Why don’t you at least say, “Let’s video call?” Do you not know how to video call? It’s not even full holographic!

The logistics supervisor nodded furiously beside him. “His Highness has been doing quite a lot of strange things recently. As you know, His Highness used to think eating wasted too much time, so he generally drank nutritional supplements. Recently, not only has he started requesting natural food, he also keeps changing what he wants. One moment it’s cheesecake, the next it’s sandwiches. Today, he wants chuiyuan. I don’t even know what that is.”

Deputy Officer Carlos did not know either, but he very calmly opened his phone and, as expected, found the source in the first video on Lin Zhao’s account homepage.

“Here.”

1114 did not only post good-looking videos of Lin Zhao. After all, Lin Zhao really rarely went out. Material was far too limited. Even a clever system could not cook without rice, so recently it had simply shifted direction and turned him into a home food blogger. It had plenty of material for that. The latest video it posted was about chuiyuan.

Logistics supervisor: “…” I’ll kill them. One day, I’ll kill all you Asa love-brained people!

When Lin Zhao sent the voice message and opened the door with his fingerprint, he was still smiling. Then…

His smile froze on his face.

Because inside the home that should have been empty, he saw his younger cousin wearing a white laboratory coat, holding Third Aunt in his arms and stroking her until she purred.

“Brother, good afternoon,” Lin Xiang said with a smile.

“Why… why are you back?” Lin Zhao tried hard to act normal. While placing the packages on the entryway cabinet and changing his shoes, he said, “I just went to the pickup station to get packages. I didn’t even see your car.”

As though he really had only gone out to pick up packages.

Lin Xiang did not answer. He simply asked strangely, “Since when do you dress so formally just to go downstairs and pick up packages?” Lin Zhao’s disgusting outfit formula would always only appear on two occasions: going to work, and going downstairs to pick up packages or take out the trash.

Without blushing or his heart skipping a beat, Lin Zhao said, “1114 insisted on filming some outdoor shots. It said it was out of material.”

“Oh.” Lin Xiang did not say whether he believed it or not. He merely asked, out of nowhere, “Then where is 1114?”

Lin Zhao: “…It went to the supermarket to find Manman.”

Water came, earth blocked it; soldiers came, generals met them. Lin Zhao, whose answer was airtight, had never felt his brain working so quickly in his life. But just as he felt he had passed the test and had not yet had time to celebrate surviving the disaster, his younger cousin said mildly, “Is that so? I thought the two of you had used Third Aunt as a substitute and secretly slipped out to play.”

“How… how could that be?”

Lin Xiang smiled at his brother. “Do you know why I came back?”

“Why?” Lin Zhao still clung to his last bit of luck, stubbornly resisting.

Lin Xiang did not answer. He simply let go of the hand that had been stroking the cat.

Then…

Then Qin Xiaoman’s Third Aunt started flying again, ahhhhh.

Author’s Note:

Nonsense Mini Theater — unrelated to the main story:

I came across a video that felt very suitable for Reinhardt—not really. It was the kind where, after angering Lin Zhao, he would drag Carlos along to kneel and beg for forgiveness.

Carlos: “Huh? I have to come too? What if he’s still angry?”

Reinhardt: “Then we transfer all our money to him.”

Carlos: “My pocket money too? What if that still doesn’t work?”

Reinhardt: “Then we die in front of him together!”

Carlos: “…Do we have to die?”

Wyatt walks over: “What are you two doing?”

And then, outside Lin Zhao’s door, it becomes Reinhardt, Carlos, and Wyatt kneeling together.

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