Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 312 - 311: Am I not here to spend money? How did I end up making so much?

Chapter 312: Chapter 311: Am I not here to spend money? How did I end up making so much?

Xu Yang had cut some agarwood from the log.

This delicate work required a specialist wood processing shop, as doing it back at the farm couldn’t achieve such precision.

It was this consideration that led Xu Yang directly to the wood shop.

However, surrounded by curious onlookers, Xu Yang thought to himself:

"I miscalculated. I should have done this secretly. Now, the wood I buy later might cost more."

"But dealing with a big shop shouldn’t pose any problem."

"Large shops always have clear pricing and are less chaotic."

Xu Yang packed up the wooden box, which was filled with tightly pressed agarwood powder and two pieces of agarwood lumps.

The crowd could only tell it was agarwood, but couldn’t discern the quality of the agarwood.

The shop owner knew a little, but not much.

Agarwood also comes in different grades; top-grade agarwood is extremely precious, while ordinary agarwood is quite cheap.

Similar to ginseng in that regard.

Thus, no one was too surprised, thinking Xu Yang had made an extra twenty to thirty thousand yuan.

But Xu Yang felt that this was absolutely top-grade agarwood.

He knew a bit about it, understanding that top-grade agarwood is darker in color, thicker in fragrance, and denser.

When burned, it lasts a long time.

Fragrance materials are traditional luxury goods, but few people engage in this business, and the circles are rather small.

Though the circle is small, there are many big players and many who would pay a high price for fragrances.

Xu Yang considered selling some of the agarwood.

He didn’t need these items, so it might be better to convert them into cash.

After placing the wooden box properly, Xu Yang paid the shop owner for the processing and the cost of the wooden box.

The crowd immediately gathered around, saying:

"Mr. Xu, what good judgment! How could you tell there was agarwood?"

"Can we see the agarwood? We seldom encounter it; what does it smell like?"

"Are you selling this agarwood? You bought the wood for ten thousand yuan, I’ll buy it for fifteen thousand, earning a quick five thousand, what do you say?"

These were all merchants, and merchants are driven by profit, so often their offers were somewhat outrageous.

Xu Yang was aware of this and simply replied:

"I just tried it out, not expecting to find anything. This is all ordinary agarwood, not easy to sell."

He waved his hand, climbed into his car, and drove away from the area.

The dock was vast.

There were many wood shops around.

Where there were independent shops, there were also formal ones.

Like taxi drivers at a high-speed railway station, there were unlicensed drivers who often overcharged, and there were officially operating taxis on the meter, very by-the-book.

Xu Yang looked for a regular store with professional salespeople, where pricing wouldn’t fluctuate too much.

There were several of such shops, and many square-shaped pieces of wood were stacked together in bundles.

Xu Yang entered one of the stores and was immediately approached by a saleswoman with a welcoming smile, who asked:

"Do you have any specific needs regarding wood? What do you want to use the wood for?"

Xu Yang looked around and said, "I want to make a set of furniture."

"Mainly a wardrobe, a set of tables and chairs, a tea table, and a lounge chair."

"I want to see if there’s suitable wood for that."

The saleswoman eagerly responded with a smile:

"Yes, we have all that here."

"If you want a Japanese style, choose white oak. If you’re looking for something grand and simple, choose ash wood."

"If you want a high-quality feel, for light colors choose Burma Teak, for dark colors choose North American Black Walnut."

"We have samples of all these, you can choose by looking at them."

The saleswoman, showing her professionalism, led Xu Yang to a display area.

All kinds of wood were available here.

At the same time, a few people followed Xu Yang, taking photos with their phones.

Another female sales associate recognized Xu Yang and hurriedly used WeChat to notify the boss.

Saleswoman: "Boss, a big client is here!"

Curious, the boss asked, "How big of a client? How many people?"

Saleswoman: "Just one person, but he’s a celebrity."

The boss snorted dismissively, "How much can one person buy? What about being a celebrity? Who is it?"

Saleswoman: "Xu Yang, the one who raises tigers and leopards in the forest."

The boss was shocked and immediately sat up, then hurriedly sent a voice message: "Xu Yang? Wait for me, I’m coming right away, don’t let him leave!"

This wood shop owner loved watching Xu Yang’s live streams.

It was quite normal since Xu Yang often ranked first in local popularity during his live streams, and many locals loved watching him.

More authentic, without pretense.

And he didn’t try to play into stereotypical regional characters; he appeared more like a real "ordinary person."

Once the owner heard Xu Yang was in his shop, he made it a point to come and see for himself.

The owner, named Yang Si, had a crew cut, was slightly overweight, and dressed in a flashy sweater, wearing a big gold chain and carrying a small bag.

The epitome of a typical wealthy local businessman.

As soon as he heard Xu Yang was in the store, he rushed over by car, and upon entering the shop, he indeed saw that Xu Yang was examining furniture.

Yang Si’s face lit up, and he hurried over, extending both hands to shake Xu Yang’s, saying:

"Xu Yang! Hello, hello, I’m a fan of yours, I really love watching your live streams."

"I own this store. Whatever you like, just tell me. I’ll give you a 30% discount, and everything is high-quality goods."

Xu Yang, seeing his enthusiasm, shook hands with him and said,

"Hello, I’m just browsing, looking to see some wood, thinking of making a set of furniture."

"It should be stable but not too dark. Burma Teak is a bit light, and North American Black Walnut is a bit too dark."

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, Yang Si immediately smiled and said,

"Then it has to be Chinese standard rosewood."

"It seems you know your stuff. In the wood materials ranking, the first tier includes Chinese standard rosewood, Burma Teak, and North American Black Walnut."

"Then come the white oak, Golden Ebony, and Black Rosewood."

"I’ll show you the Chinese standard rosewood; it’s all genuine, some even brought from overseas; absolutely no problems."

Xu Yang listened to him, nodded, and followed Yang Si to look at the wood.

I have to say, after gaining some fame, doing things really is different.

It’s actually not because of the fame, but because people like Xu Yang.

Yang Si, because he watched Xu Yang’s live streams, liked him especially and would recommend good products to him and give him discounts.

If it were some other unrelatable big star, they would have to pay the full price and maybe even be charged extra because the star is presumed wealthy.

Xu Yang felt that Yang Si was sincerely giving him a discount; he had a good eye for people, so he let Yang Si make recommendations comfortably.

This made the furniture buying process much easier.

He picked the wood himself and then made a set.

Besides an esports room, Xu Yang also wanted to build a study.

Inside would be a solid wood bookshelf and display cabinet, a heavy table, two wooden chairs, and two small wooden tables to place vases on.

And he planned to add a tea table on top of that.

He also needed to make a sofa for the living room and a wardrobe for the bedroom.

The whole set would be consistent, all made of rosewood.

After all, his two-story house was newly built, especially beautiful, and well-constructed.

Pairing it with good furniture, it would last at least thirty years without needing a change.

The following tasks went smoothly.

The interior and exterior cost around one million eighty or ninety thousand, all solid wood rosewood furniture.

Although the price sounds expensive, compared to what’s directly sold online, it was much cheaper.

This is definitely a luxurious standard.

Xu Yang was now making a significant amount of money; the change over just over a year was massive.

The internet really was hugely profitable.

Actually, his earnings were still quite modest compared to those influencers who, after becoming viral sensations, made billions and started building skyscrapers.

Xu Yang’s few million was rather modest, but it allowed him to live comfortably and buy whatever he wanted.

Xu Yang felt this was quite good, for starting a company and employing tens of thousands of employees meant many things would be out of his control.

With the furniture settled, Xu Yang and the boss posed together for a photo.

Yang Si asked if he could hang the photo on the wall, not for online promotion but as part of a wall of celebrities.

Xu Yang agreed.

That was normal.

After discussing the general plan, someone would come to Xu Yang’s home to measure the dimensions, then make a design, generate a 3D model for Xu Yang to review, before starting production.

The service was very thorough.

This is how it feels to have money.

Xu Yang chatted leisurely with Yang Si for a while, then left the dock.

The wood market was quite interesting.

It was bustling.

On the way back, Xu Yang went to a local store that bought traditional Chinese medicine.

Before, Xu Yang had sold his old ginseng to them.

He took out some agarwood and asked the old Chinese doctor how much it could sell for.

The old Chinese doctor carefully assessed it for a long time; then, looking up at Xu Yang, asked cautiously,

"These two pieces of agarwood, for this amount."

The old Chinese doctor made a "handgun" gesture, indicating eight.

"How much?"

Xu Yang wasn’t clear about the quantity range, so he asked again.

"Eight hundred thousand, do you think that’s appropriate? This agarwood is really top-grade Insect Buried Incense; we would need to ask our company’s fragrance expert to confirm."

The old Chinese doctor added.

Xu Yang kept his composure, though inside, he was already agitated.

"Eight hundred... thousand?"

"No way, is this thing really that valuable?!"

Before this, Xu Yang thought it would be good if it could sell for thirty to fifty thousand.

Who would have thought the fragrance industry was also a traditional luxury goods industry?

Some say, why doesn’t our country have luxury brands like watches and bags?

Foreign luxury brands sell their watches and bags for hundreds of thousands each.

In fact, our country’s luxury goods are out of reach for ordinary people and can’t be mass-produced.

They were already monopolized by the wealthy and didn’t flow into the market.

Top-grade agarwood is rarely seen in the market and is genuinely worth the price.

"No way, wasn’t I supposed to be spending money here?"

"How come after ordering a set of furniture, I’ve made tens of thousands?"

"This..."

Xu Yang took a sip of tea.

He felt secretly thrilled for a moment.