Chapter 190: Blueprints, Enormous Profits

*Rebooting the Farm at the End of the World*

Not to mention lacking grace or composure, anyone who resorts to trading barbed words in public—regardless of whether they win or lose in the end—ends up looking petty.

She thought of how Zhu Yunhua’s business was struggling. Gu Xu never confronted her directly; even when he saw Zhu Yunhua, he would smile and chat as usual. Yet, with just a few subtle moves behind the scenes, he could leave her completely at a loss, worried and anxious.

Now that’s what you call skill. What she did was nothing more than childish posturing, like a shrew with hands on her hips shouting insults. It was embarrassingly weak.

Maybe it was because, back then, Bian Kuang had suddenly favored Bian Wei and the Bian family over her, leaving her utterly disappointed and so furious she lost her head and acted irrationally.

In any case, she couldn’t let herself behave like that again.

Thinking about it, what was so special about Bian Wei anyway? In her previous life, she hadn’t necessarily lost to her. Now, if she exaggerated a bit, she herself had both fame and fortune, a strong background, and was skilled in her own right. Obsessing over Bian Wei was just lowering her own standards.

She suddenly realized this, and then saw that having Bian Wei work at the water plant actually had its advantages. First, someone as proud as Bian Wei would definitely feel humiliated working under her, which was a bit of petty revenge. She admitted it was childish—just like with An Jibo: if he suffered, she felt happy.

Second, keeping Bian Wei under her nose meant she wouldn’t be off seducing this person or that. Wasn’t Bian Kuang always worried about his dear little sister? If Bian Wei wasn’t like those idiots in the Bian family, always fighting to be cannon fodder in the upper echelons or trying to sleep their way up, then Bian Kuang wouldn’t get dragged into trouble, right?

Even now, all she really wanted was for Bian Kuang to stay safe and sound. That way, she could let go of a regret from her past life.

Ideally, she’d find some way to get rid of Bian Wei once and for all!

The candidate who entered was startled by the cold, harsh glint in Bian Changxi’s eyes. She lowered her gaze, then looked up with a smile, “Sit down. You’re an earth-type ability user, right…”

When the morning interviews were over, everyone lingered in the courtyard. Bian Changxi brought out the boxed lunches Aunt Zhao had prepared that morning. There was only enough for her, Shadow, Wu Dalang, and Anan, with a little extra, but with Lin Rongrong, Chen Yisha, Zhang Bubai, and others present, there were over a dozen people.

So Bian Changxi took out a solar-powered induction cooker, rice cooker, pots, and bowls, and cooked a big pot of rice. She chopped up three frozen pork ribs and stewed them with potatoes, stir-fried some freshly picked green beans, made smashed cucumber salad with five cucumbers, adding cilantro and sesame oil for flavor. She also cooked eggplant with minced meat and blanched some baby greens. With the boxed lunches, everyone had plenty to eat—a pretty hearty meal.

Of course, Bian Changxi wasn’t much of a cook. While she could manage these simple dishes, they didn’t taste particularly good, so she discreetly handed the ingredients over to others to cook—there were plenty of willing hands. Everyone was excited to see such fresh produce and eager to help.

Wu Dalang sighed that working with her was a real pleasure.

Bian Changxi smiled. The vegetables she brought out were grown on the farm, but also matched the varieties ripening in the villa’s courtyard. After all, she had her own space and could accelerate the ripening of fruits and vegetables. It was perfectly normal for her to harvest some and store them in her space; no one would suspect a thing.

After eating, they reviewed the results of the morning’s interviews. After careful consideration, they hired thirty first-tier water-type ability users, ten second-tier, and planned to assign five more second-tier and two third-tier users who were loyal and reliable. These would be the backbone of the water plant, including Chen Yisha, a second-tier user.

Bian Changxi did some calculations: a first-tier water-type could produce about 100 liters of water per day. These first-tiers had awakened their powers later, so their potential and attributes were a bit weaker than the early ability users. Those willing to work for a fixed salary generally weren’t the most talented, so 100 liters a day was about right.

Second-tiers could produce about 300 liters per day, third-tiers around 800 liters.

To produce 100 liters of water with a first-tier ability, it would take about two first-tier blue crystals. A skilled second-tier could produce 300 liters with just five first-tier blue crystals, wasting less energy. The same logic applied to third-tiers.

Even if you calculated everything at the first-tier rate, 50 liters of water cost one first-tier blue crystal, which equaled three first-tier white crystals. At the official water plant, one white crystal only bought three liters of water. So with three white crystals, you could earn back over sixteen white crystals. That was an enormous profit.

Of course, you had to deduct rent, wages, food, and other expenses, but the profit was still huge.

In fact, the costs could be reduced even further.

For example, the above calculation assumes all water is produced using crystal cores for energy. If you didn’t use crystal cores and let the ability users recover their energy naturally, you could save on crystals, though you’d need to give workers more rest time, which would increase other costs.

After some discussion, they decided to price their water at 3.5 to 4 liters per first-tier white crystal—cheaper than the official plant, but not too cheap. Using four liters as the standard, a first-tier water-type user’s daily wage would be three first-tier white crystals, which was already a high salary. Most jobs at the base only paid one or two white crystals a day, sometimes just room and board with no pay at all. Producing water was safe and easy work, not physically demanding.

With this setup, each first-tier water-type user could bring in a profit of sixteen first-tier white crystals per day.

Second- and third-tiers would get higher daily wages, but their efficiency and productivity were much greater. For example, even if a second-tier earned ten white crystals a day, they could still generate fifty in profit.

Third-tiers were even more impressive.

But third-tiers were rare, and their wages would have to be extremely high. In fact, it might not even be profitable to hire them, but having third-tiers was necessary—they could produce water quickly and in large quantities, which was crucial if someone urgently needed a lot of water.

Bian Changxi did some rough calculations. Excluding the third-tiers, thirty first-tiers and fifteen second-tiers could produce 7,500 liters of water per day, bringing in about 1,050 first-tier white crystals, or ten third-tier white crystals. After deducting various expenses and non-producer wages, about two-thirds would remain as profit.

“Uh, is that considered a lot?” she circled the number on the paper. She herself had no trouble killing zombies or hunting, so she wasn’t sure if this was a big number for others.

The bespectacled, scholarly-looking Zhou Yiyan adjusted his glasses. “Just looking at the numbers, a shop that makes this much in daily profit is doing very well. But our water plant isn’t an ordinary shop. With over fifty people, the per capita benefit isn’t that high—less than what you’d make doing outside missions, but much better than regular jobs.”

He paused. “Of course, this is just the first batch of staff. If the water plant succeeds, we’ll definitely need more people. The base has six or seven million people—7,000 liters of water a day is nowhere near enough.”

Once the scale increased, the profits would be astonishing.

Zhou Yiyan did a quick mental calculation and secretly gasped. This was practically a gold mine.

“We’ll talk about expansion later. For now, our job is to get this first water plant up and running,” Chen Yisha said, suppressing her excitement. “The water-type users are set, so let’s send out the notifications as soon as possible. What about management and distribution?”

Zhou Yiyan replied, “We’ve already chosen the management team—not many are needed. One person for bookkeeping, one for collecting payments, two to supervise production. I’ll oversee overall management for now. As for major decisions, there’s no need for a formal process yet; if something big comes up, we can discuss it with the two third-tier water-type experts or consult with everyone. For filling water barrels, we’ll start with five strong men—all trustworthy, including one with strength abilities. As for distribution, since we don’t know how things will go after opening, we’ll start with just two people.”

Wu Dalang added, “Anyone filling water needs to have a clean background. If someone tampers with the water, it could be a disaster for us.”

Zhou Yiyan immediately made a note.

Bian Changxi asked, “How many water barrels have we acquired?”

“Since yesterday, we’ve got six hundred. We’ve kept it low-key, only buying within Jiangcheng. Luckily, the supply base has some empty barrels in storage, so we can use those for now.”

“Then let’s use those first. Once we open, we can slowly buy more—no need to rush and attract attention.” Bian Changxi thought for a moment. “We’ll need trucks for delivery, which I have. As for tables, chairs, stationery, computers, and other equipment, Major Gu said he’d take care of it, so we don’t need to worry. Anything else we’re missing?”

Everyone thought for a moment and added a few minor details. They discussed publicity and supply areas, but the rest would have to be worked out in practice. They assigned tasks—some to notify people, others to prepare supplies—and waited for Gu Xu to give the final go-ahead.

Everyone went off to their tasks, while Bian Changxi and her three companions headed back to the villa. On the way, Anan scratched his head. “Starting a company seems pretty easy—we got it done in a day.”

Bian Changxi thought, That’s only because the hardest parts were all taken care of by someone else. Whether they could open smoothly, and whether the business would run well after opening, all depended on Gu Xu’s management.

She glanced at her companions—herself, Wu Dalang, Shadow—they were all still under Gu Xu’s protection. Maybe he just found them so boring that he gave them something to do to keep them occupied?

Thinking this, for some reason, she felt a little soft inside.

On the way, they stopped by Jiangcheng Medical to quickly treat the day’s patients—it took less than half an hour. She even gave An Jibo a few words of encouragement before heading back to the villa. The afternoon was spent cultivating as usual; her control was getting more precise, but her power was still lacking. She figured it was because she didn’t have enough energy yet, making her even more eager for the day she could leave the base.

It was worth mentioning that Chen Yisha also came to the villa to practice her water abilities. She was still at the second tier, and while it was unlikely she’d reach the third tier in just a few days, she couldn’t afford to fall behind. With Zhou Yiyan as general manager and two third-tiers overseeing things, the pressure on Chen Yisha was high. She knew Bian Changxi’s original intention was for the water plant to be her refuge and shield, so her position there couldn’t be low. But she also knew that without ability and virtue, she couldn’t hold a high position—so she could only work harder at her training.