Chapter 59

A sudden flash of insight lit up Chu Ning’s mind, bringing her instant clarity.

As expected, Xia Ye was the smartest among her three beast husbands.

“Then go ahead and do it.”

“But there’s no need to rush things with the alchemists. Take your time.”

“Don’t worry, my wife. I know what I’m doing.”

For the next two days, Li Huan continued her livestreams, demonstrating the use of Pills while planning and advising on their medicinal applications.

Since she had started selling a small number of Pills through her stream, traffic to her livestream remained consistently high.

Anyone entering the stream could see the advertisement for the Bingzong Official Flagship Store displayed on the screen.

With the ongoing media buzz, the store’s follower count kept rising.

To prevent Pills from selling out too quickly, Xia Ye implemented a scheduled restocking system.

Every hour, the system would automatically release 2,000 pills for sale.

Additionally, Xia Ye introduced a bundled purchase requirement—customers had to buy a selection of other medicinal products along with Pills to place an order.

This strategy led to a frenzy among customers, with many setting alarms to grab the pills as soon as they were restocked, keeping the store’s popularity at an all-time high.

Because of the bundled sales, overall store revenue skyrocketed, breaking new records.

In just three days, the Bingzong Official Flagship Store saw a surge in reviews, its credibility ranking climbing rapidly, nearly rivaling long-established brands.

Even after Li Huan’s promotional campaign ended, the demand for Pills remained strong, and sales at the Bingzong Store were barely affected.

Military Procurement and Business Aspirations

Zheng Yuan watched enviously as order after order from Bingzong poured in.

Their military supplies division also dealt in medicinal herbs and occasionally worked with alchemical firms to refine and resell potions to pharmacies.

However, opening their own pharmaceutical store required significant capital and faced intense competition—something the financially strained military had decided against.

Yet now, seeing the explosive success of Bingzong’s online store, he couldn’t help but feel tempted.

“Physical stores are expensive, but an online shop might be worth trying…”

After some hesitation, Zheng Yuan decided to video-call Xia Ye.

Recently, he’d learned that the Fifth Prince wasn’t just a military strategist—he was also a brilliant businessman.

Bingzong’s rapid expansion? It was all thanks to Xia Ye’s handiwork.

A Business Discussion

Inside the Marshal’s Mansion, Xia Ye had just finished arranging work when Zheng Yuan’s call came through.

He picked up.

On the holo-screen, Zheng Yuan appeared with a fawning smile.

“Director Zheng, what’s the matter?” Xia Ye’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Hehe, Your Highness, I’ve already arranged for the medicinal herbs and alchemical supplies you requested. They should be arriving at Bingzong soon.”

“Mm.” Xia Ye nodded, offering no further response.

“Ahem… About that, Your Highness, what do you think about the military opening an online store on StarNet?”

“If we followed your model—using Pills to draw in customers—do you think our store could go viral? Of course, we’re not asking for billions in sales like you, but even a couple hundred million a day wouldn’t be bad!”

Xia Ye’s smile deepened.

“There’s still a golden window for this market. Opening a store now would indeed be profitable.”

“But the sustainability of this boom? Not so certain.”

In a few days, the Gu Family and the Alchemist Association would receive first-tier authorization to sell Pills.

These two powerhouses couldn’t be underestimated. Supply would soon increase significantly.

And in half a month, as licensing expanded, market saturation would begin.

“When supply grows, the price of medicinal products will drop, and scarcity-driven demand will disappear. Customer loyalty will inevitably decline.”

“An online-only store is hard-pressed to compete with a hybrid of physical and online storefronts. No matter how efficient StarNet’s logistics are, shipping across planets takes much longer than local deliveries. When price differences aren’t significant, delivery speed becomes the deciding factor.“

“So if you really want to open an online store, do it as soon as possible—you might still cash in on this wave.”

“But keep in mind: The military lacks high-level alchemists, and the more your store sells, the higher the deposit fees you’ll have to pay.”

“Plus, compared to wholesaling to resellers, online stores have longer payment cycles and higher operating costs.”

Zheng Yuan frowned, clearly conflicted.

“How much did you invest in your store?” he asked after a pause.

“I haven’t calculated precisely, but roughly over 10 billion. Most of it went into security deposits and inventory costs.”

While Bingzong produced some of its own products, Pills and many other medicinal items were sourced from the military and the Gu Family.

Given their massive sales, their procurement costs were no small expense.

“10 billion?!” Zheng Yuan nearly choked.

He had just started making money from Pills, and his accounts still looked pitiful due to constant medicine purchases.

Seeing his reaction, Xia Ye smirked.

“The military has no experience running stores. Even if you make quick profits, is it worth the effort?”

“Instead of this, wouldn’t it be more practical to focus on increasing Pills production and stockpiling medicinal herbs?”

“You do know that the price of Five Elements Grass, a key ingredient in Pills, has already surged, right?”

There were always keen players in the market.

Although Li Huan hadn’t disclosed the Pills formula during her livestream, she had demonstrated the key ingredients.

Immediately, the Gu Family and the Alchemist Association had started stockpiling.

Other factions, unsure if they’d obtain the formula’s patent rights, had still begun hoarding herbs after noticing these major players taking action.

As a result, medicinal herb prices had already started fluctuating.

“Yeah… I see now,” Zheng Yuan murmured, realization dawning.

The Fifth Prince truly deserved his reputation—his foresight was astonishing.

“If that’s the case… should I stock up on more Five Elements Grass?”

The military was still profiting from Pills, so he could reinvest earnings into herbs.

But the cost had already risen by 20%—buying now wasn’t as cost-effective as before.

“Of course.” Xia Ye’s answer was firm.

“Alright! I’ll place an order immediately!” Zheng Yuan said excitedly, feeling like he had found his direction.

“Wait—” Xia Ye stopped him.

Zheng Yuan looked at him, puzzled.

“Since you’re here, let’s talk about a business collaboration.”

“A collaboration?” Caution flashed in Zheng Yuan’s eyes.

Xia Ye sighed inwardly.

Really? I used to be part of the military, and Qin Zheng is basically your own family. Would I scam you?

“First—the military will allocate a portion of its Pills production to us.“

Zheng Yuan froze.

“We’ll match the pricing offered to your wholesale buyers, and we’ll only take one-fourth to one-third of your production.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep this deal confidential so you won’t offend your other business partners.”

Zheng Yuan remained silent.

Seeing this, Xia Ye continued, “Let me tell you something else…”