I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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115 – Boom
115.
The Assand Factory in the Philippines.
Today was unlike any other day—the factory bustled with unusual activity.
Heavy machinery rumbled in and out, extracting the equipment from within.
The candy-making machines were being dismantled and hauled outside.
We would no longer manufacture candy.
We would produce only the raw concentrate that goes into Assand.
Raw material production equipment would soon occupy the space left behind.
That was the agreement I’d reached with Li Guoqing.
China would handle the candy; we would produce only the concentrate.
In exchange, we’d have exclusive supply rights to China.
It was a contract with considerable advantages for us.
Edward watched the machinery being hauled away, grumbling beside me.
“How long has this factory even been operational? And we’re already overhauling it. Those machines barely got any use—what a waste.”
“We’re not throwing them away. I’m sending them to the fruit candy factory in Unity Town.”
Edward looked at me with surprise in his eyes.
“That’s surprisingly thrifty of you. The way you’ve been spending money hand over fist, I figured you didn’t care about things like this.”
“Hm. When have I ever spent money recklessly? I only spend where it’s necessary. There were simply many places that needed it.”
“True enough—you did spend where needed. Though you’ve had to tear things apart or fix them just as quickly.”
Edward spoke while watching the machinery being loaded onto trucks.
“The situation keeps changing. How does nothing ever go according to plan? I assess the current state, make predictions, prepare—and then everything shifts again. And again. My head’s spinning. Try to understand.”
“So from now on, I just need to produce the Assand concentrate, right?”
Edward was grumbling, but inwardly, he was relieved.
In truth, Edward was the final authority of this factory, wielding absolute power.
Because it was Edward who had to produce Assand.
No one in this factory could defy his word.
His responsibility weighed heavily because of that.
He wanted to produce Assand without any problems.
He wanted to live up to my expectations.
But throughout the production process, troubles both large and small arose constantly.
Most of those issues stemmed not from drug manufacturing, but from candy production.
The drug was already made and blended into the raw materials; the troubles emerged when pressing the candy.
Edward was a drug manufacturer, not a candy maker.
Handling troubles arising from candy production—not drug production—was difficult for him.
Of course, there were supervisors on the candy side, but Edward felt all responsibility fell on his shoulders.
The stress was considerable, so hearing that we’d stop making candy significantly reduced his burden.
Now he could focus on what he did best.
“Right. Just make that.”
“From now on, we’ll be producing enormous quantities, so don’t even mention volume concerns again.”
“Please, I’m begging you.”
The desperation was genuine.
Zhou Chiming kept calling at all hours, asking when the shipment would arrive.
Li Guoqing was calling too.
I was now on speaking terms with Li Guoqing.
I was sick of answering the phone.
All I had to do was remove that candy machine and start manufacturing the drug there, then ship it to China.
Combined with China’s massive production capacity, the output would be staggering.
I couldn’t wait for that day to arrive.
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.
.
Zhou Chiming was personally inspecting and selecting candy factories in China where Assand would be produced.
Every Ministry of State Security staff member had compiled a comprehensive list.
Foreign companies were excluded entirely due to concerns about leaks.
Only factories with daily production capacities exceeding hundreds of millions were included on the list.
The current Assand Philippines Factory produced roughly ten million units per day.
That was far too little.
It was nowhere near enough to awaken the people of the People’s Republic of China.
So he was examining only factories capable of producing hundreds of millions daily.
But surprisingly, the factories were already operating at full capacity.
“Is it always this busy?”
“It wasn’t usually this hectic, but demand has surged dramatically over the past few months.”
“Is that so?”
Now that he thought about it, Zhou Chiming had indeed been eating jellies and chocolates frequently lately.
Things he’d never touched before.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Zhou Chiming broached the main subject.
“Do you know about Assand?”
“Assand? Of course I do. I eat it myself.”
The factory director pulled out a piece of Assand from his pocket and showed it.
“You’re doing excellent work. But here’s the thing—we’re running short on Assand supply, so I’m looking for additional factories to produce it.”
The factory director’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
“Are you saying you want our factory to produce Assand?”
“Is that a problem?”
“A problem? Of course not. It would be an honor for our factory.”
“I’ll be bringing the concentrate. We’ll need to make Assand from it. Can you handle that?”
“I’d need to discuss the specifics with your team, but it should be entirely feasible. I’ll have molds manufactured immediately to produce candies identical to Assand.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. You can just add the raw material to your existing candies.”
“So you’re saying we just add the Assand concentrate to our candies? Does that mean our product becomes Assand?”
“Exactly.”
“Then we can begin production immediately.”
“Haha. Excellent. In return, I’ll designate this facility as a state-level key enterprise.”
“Is… is that truly possible?”
It was an utterly unbelievable benefit.
Becoming a state-level key enterprise meant not only tax exemptions but also access to ultra-low-interest loans.
Administratively, one could receive tremendous privileges in licensing and customs clearance.
Particularly, local governments, tax authorities, and the Public Security Bureau would find it difficult to interfere or meddle.
But the greatest benefit of all was the title itself: state-level key enterprise.
It meant the company was strategically managed by the nation.
With that title, no one could easily touch you.
All those listed benefits beforehand were nothing in comparison.
It was truly an extraordinary privilege.
“I will dedicate myself to your service.”
The factory director’s loyal oath followed.
Yet Zhou Chiming’s gaze upon the factory director was filled with naked ambition.
******
China was experiencing the greatest prosperity in its history.
Never before had such days come to China.
Stock prices continued their meteoric rise,
and export volumes reached record-breaking heights.
Happiness radiated from every face.
Hearing rumors of Assand, foreigners were flocking to China.
With Assand’s export banned, those curious about it came flooding into China.
Artists, entrepreneurs, and scholars rushed in, competing to reach China.
They wanted to understand the reason behind China’s extraordinary achievements.
They yearned to experience this legendary Assand for themselves.
So many people were arriving that hotels ran out of rooms.
Not only hotels but private residences were booked the moment they were offered for rent.
Planes and ferries arriving in China were packed with people.
It was the moment China approached becoming the world’s greatest nation.
.
.
.
Yet not everyone was happy.
Where there is light, there must be shadow.
China’s sports world was experiencing its darkest hour.
Wu Delin, China’s national representative in the 100-meter sprint.
He had won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the recent World Championships.
With an extraordinary time of 9.77 seconds.
He had simultaneously set new Asian and Chinese records.
Wu Delin could still vividly see that scene whenever he closed his eyes.
With a record like that, the Olympics and Asian Games were well within reach.
Wu Delin continued training in preparation for the Olympics.
Confidence surged through him.
He planned to continue participating in international competitions to assess his condition and improve his performance.
But unfortunately, the next competition never took place.
“The United States boycotted the games, so the competition was cancelled.”
“This competition was also cancelled due to lack of participating nations. What a shame.”
“Multiple countries have stated they won’t participate unless China addresses its doping issues, and that’s exactly what happened.”
“This competition only had China, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Myanmar participating.”
Other nations, having caught on to China’s doping practices, sent strongly worded letters stating they would not participate if China did. Yet China insisted on competing anyway.
As a result, other countries refused to participate, and the competition was ultimately cancelled.
China had no choice but to organize its own competition and invite other nations, but the response was cold.
Only a handful of Asian countries, bound by China’s influence, reluctantly participated.
The athletes were the ones who suffered the most in this situation.
They needed to compete regularly to assess their performance, but that became impossible.
After winning the World Championships, Wu Delin couldn’t participate in any other competitions.
Maintaining peak condition became extremely difficult.
He had no choice but to participate in domestic competitions.
【Despite being a domestic competition, the records are incredible. This is practically Olympic medal territory.】
【A world record is being set here. A world record in the men’s 10,000 meters.】
【A world record in the women’s triple jump as well. This is the seventh world record at this competition alone.】
Wu Delin, who had won the World Championships, was eliminated in the preliminaries of a Chinese domestic competition.
Though Wu Delin’s condition wasn’t ideal from not competing in international games, the other athletes’ performances were far superior.
The winning record in the men’s 100-meter final of the Chinese domestic athletics competition was 9.70 seconds.
Through this competition, suspicion about Chinese athletes’ records being due to doping became certainty.
World records poured in.
World records are difficult to break even once a year, yet seven world records were set at this single competition.
And at a domestic Chinese competition, no less.
The timekeepers, competition organizers, and coaches all knew this wasn’t normal.
But rather than reflect, they were too busy savoring the joy of setting world records.
Of course, since it wasn’t sanctioned by the World Athletics Federation, the records couldn’t be officially recognized, but that hardly mattered.
What mattered was that records had been set.
Meanwhile, countries other than China established a separate federation.
They created a competition excluding China where athletes could compete against each other.
China protested strongly, but was dismissed with a single statement: China wasn’t a member, so it had no right to protest.
China said it would join the federation, but received only the response that it would be difficult unless they brought solutions to the doping issue.
China was furious.
Assand had done nothing wrong.
They believed others were envious and jealous because China’s performance was so strong.
I thought it was jealousy from nations unwilling to relinquish their top positions.
That’s why China decided to stop participating altogether.
Domestic competitions alone were sufficient to prove that Chinese athletes were among the world’s elite.
However, Wu Delin, who had been eliminated in the preliminaries, was contemplating retirement.
After participating in domestic competitions, I could sense it.
My limit had arrived.
When I participated in international competitions, I could easily win because only I consumed Assand, but in domestic competitions where everyone consumed Assand, I lacked competitiveness.
And my body had changed drastically.
Every time I consumed Assand, the hunger that followed caused the food I ate to accumulate in my body.
I had gained weight.
My body had become too heavy to run 100 meters.
It was only 2 to 3 kilograms, but for a sprinter, it was fatal.
I could stop taking Assand, but without it, my times dropped to the 11-second range instead of the 9-second range.
I couldn’t even match the reserve squad’s records.
I needed Assand.
But taking Assand made me ravenously hungry.
So I had to eat something, anything.
In the end, Wu Delin made no decision at all—he simply placed another Assand tablet in his mouth.
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.
.
It wasn’t just Wu Delin.
Countless athletes were contemplating retirement due to Assand’s aftereffects.
The problem was the food consumed to overcome the hunger.
No matter how much restraint and care one exercised, the accumulation couldn’t be prevented.
Yet they couldn’t stop taking Assand either.
Without it, their records would plummet immediately.
They were trapped between a rock and a hard place.
******
Tang Xiaowei worked at a hotel.
He carried luggage for guests checking in and handled room assignments.
It was the job commonly known as a bellhop.
The hotel where Tang Xiaowei worked wasn’t particularly upscale.
Yet it was completely full.
There used to be plenty of vacant rooms, but now there were none.
Every room was packed with foreign guests.
As a result, Tang Xiaowei was incredibly busy.
With more guests at the hotel, there were more calls for service and more work to do.
Proportionally, the tips I received increased as well.
This life wasn’t bad at all.
It was enjoyable.
Though busy, it was infinitely better to be swamped with work and earn generous tips than to anxiously watch the clock during slow business hours.
“Then have a good evening.”
After carrying the late-arriving guest’s luggage to their room and exchanging pleasantries, I made my way out.
I gratefully accepted the two-dollar tip the guest had offered and clocked out.
On the way home from work.
My phone rang.
“Huh? Grab drinks? No, I’m just heading home.”
“There’s a pretty woman there too? That’s okay. I’m exhausted today—I just want to go home.”
“Yeah, let’s catch up next time.”
Tang Xiaowei declined his friend’s invitation.
There was only one reason for the refusal.
It was Assand.
He was saving money to purchase Assand.
Rather than meeting friends,
rather than seeing women,
consuming Assand brought him far greater happiness and joy than going out to have fun.
He cut back on eating and spending.
Such things were unnecessary.
Assand alone was enough.
Most of the money Tang Xiaowei earned was spent purchasing Assand.
Tang Xiaowei was not alone in this.
Many people had no choice but to expend vast sums acquiring Assand.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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