Time passes slowly, and half a year has passed. Over the past six months, high temperatures and floods have persisted, and the food crisis has become more and more prominent. Fortunately, the ocean is a huge treasure house that continuously provides food for mankind, even though much of it has died and rotted.
Today, only one-fourth of the food on the human table is real food, one-fourth is industrial synthetics, and half belongs to various creatures in the sea.
Although organisms and fish in the shallow ocean are almost extinct, high temperatures have little impact on the deep sea. Various aquatic organisms here still flourish and can provide a continuous supply of food for humans.
On this day, in the Yun City Conference Hall, under the attention of everyone, Li Mu officially signed a contract with a large scientific research team to invest 10 billion to support their research and development work.
This large scientific research team is mainly engaged in the development of artificially synthesized foods based on protein using non-agricultural methods.
For example, single-cell protein, also commonly known as "artificial meat", is a kind of microbial food.
Most microorganisms are single cells, which are entities of nucleic acids and proteins. By producing such single-cell microorganisms through fermentation, extremely abundant single-cell proteins can be obtained.
Moreover, the reproduction rate of microorganisms is astonishing. Under suitable conditions, 500 kilograms of living bacteria can produce 1,250 kilograms of single-cell protein in a day and night; while a cow weighing 500 kilograms can only synthesize 5 kilograms of protein per day.
The main ingredients of this "artificial meat" are protein, fat, sugar, vitamins and minerals, and its nutritional value is comparable to that of milk and eggs. The nutritional value of 1 ton of microbial protein is equivalent to 1 ton of lean meat or 3 tons of eggs or
12 tons of milk.
It can be used as both food and feed.
Before the high-temperature apocalypse, this technology actually existed in the world, but it was unable to be mass-produced due to cost issues.
After the call of the high-temperature apocalypse, many scientific research teams invested in this area with official support. The large-scale scientific research team invested by Li Mu is one of them. However, there is still no major technological breakthrough in this area.
In the past six months, Li Mu has invested more than 20, billions, billions, or tens of billions in companies related to artificially synthesized foods.
There was no way around it. He had too much spare money. Even though Li Mu had made preparations, the speed at which he was making money from compressed biscuits still frightened him.
If nothing else, Yun City's tax revenue growth rate this year is unparalleled in the country. More than half of the city's tax revenue is contributed by Li Mu's food factory.
In fact, with the current shortage of food, the price of compressed biscuits can still be higher, even if it is doubled, people will still grab it. The main reason is that they are afraid of checking the water meter and being called a profiteer.
Even so, the funds in hand are still too much to be used up.
In addition to spending a sum of money to invest in scientific research teams for various synthetic foods, they also bought a large number of commercial buildings, shops and land at low prices.
That's it, I still have a large amount of money in my hand with nowhere to spend it.
Next, Li Mu plans to continue spending money on the scientific research team of this type of artificially synthesized food. Although artificially synthesized food has various shortcomings, after all, it can fill the stomach and prevent people from starving to death! This is the biggest advantage.
On the other hand, it is really difficult to cultivate crops that can withstand high temperatures, droughts and floods. It cannot be done in just a few years. But humans really don’t have that much time. With the current food reserves, plus
All kinds of fish in the sea in Shanghai, in their extreme state, can survive for at most two or three years before they can no longer hold back, and then it will be a real hell on earth.
In such an emergency, synthetic food is the most likely to make a breakthrough and become a life-saving straw. Once a breakthrough is made, with domestic industrial strength, it can be quickly copied and solve the feeding problem of the entire population in a very short period of time.
.
As long as the food problem is solved, humans will have the energy and time to solve other problems, such as cultivating crops that can withstand high temperatures and floods.
…
Soon another half year passed. During this period, Li Mu invested in more than 30 teams that develop artificially synthesized foods. Many of the teams he invested in before were also progressing smoothly and produced gratifying results.
For example, Li Mu invested 10 billion. The team researching single-cell proteins, also commonly known as artificial meat, made rapid progress. Li Mu invested another 30 billion.
For other teams that have made progress, Li Mu is not stingy and spends all his money to support them.
This morning, Li Mu finished exercising in the sports center downstairs and was reading a book with Jiang Hui. Wang Qian came over to report on work.
"Boss, the material unification work has been completed."
Li Mu said: "How many are about to expire?"
Wang Qian said: "It's mainly canned goods. There are a total of 200,000 tons of canned goods. 80,000 tons of them have a relatively long shelf life. The remaining almost 120,000 tons are all on the verge of expiration."
"There are also 10,000 tons of milk powder and soy milk purchased, but not much has been used. Most of them are on the verge of expiration."
"There are also millions of items of various drinks, including Sprite, Coke, iced black tea, herbal tea, green tea..."
"The biggest item is beer. For the third time, we purchased 4 million pieces of beer, but we didn't use much of it, and most of it was on the verge of expiration."
…
After reporting for a while, I finally finished.
Wang Qian said: "Boss, what should I do with these supplies?"
Li Mu said: "Sell them all and sell them online."
Then he looked at Wang Qi: "Are there many transactions of this kind of materials online?"
Wang Qian said: "There are quite a few, but there are no specialized stores. After all, it has been more than two years since the high temperature apocalypse. Anyone who has stock has sold out long ago."
"Nowadays, canned goods, milk powder, soy products, alcohol... are all traded on second-hand platforms online. Although the individual transaction volume is not too large, there are many people participating. Tens of millions of people will trade through second-hand platforms."
Li Mu said: "What do you think? How should these materials be sold? Through an online store or a second-hand trading platform."
Wang Qi thought for a while and said: "Would it be too eye-catching if I sell it directly through an online store? In addition, there is also the price. If it is based on the price on the second-hand platform, it is very high. There is also a certain risk in this aspect!"
Li Mu nodded: "What you said makes sense. These materials are different from compressed biscuits. Compressed biscuits are our own products and we can set the price ourselves. Even if the price is higher, it doesn't matter."
"This batch of materials is not produced by us, but is sold directly through online stores at high prices, which is really eye-catching."
Then he looked at Wang Qi: "Looking at it this way, is it more appropriate to put it on a second-hand platform?"
Wang Qi nodded: "Second-hand platforms follow market rules, and various materials have their own price trends, which everyone agrees with. Selling here is more transparent and less eye-catching."
Li Mu made the final decision: "Then put it on the second-hand platform. You can communicate with the city later and see the official opinions. Then find some experts to prove it and make sure it is compliant and legal."
Wang Qian said: "I know, boss!"
…
This matter was prepared very quickly. A few days later, a batch of canned goods was put on the second-hand platform, including about 30 canned meats, 50 tons of canned fruits, and 30 tons of canned vegetables.
After all, there are tens of millions of active users, and the food transaction volume on the second-hand platform is not small, but the individual transaction volume is very small. Everyone knows how important food is, and many people only sell food for emergencies and will not sell much.
These more than 100 tons of cans attracted a lot of attention on the second-hand platform as soon as they were put on the shelves. Since the price was based on the average price on the second-hand platform, it was naturally impossible to trigger panic buying, but they were all sold in more than a day.
Among them, the largest order was a one-time purchase of more than ten tons from one account.
Wang Qian came to discuss this matter with Li Mu again.
"Boss, there is an account that purchased more than ten tons at a time this time. The order quantity is too large. Do we need to follow the example of compressed cakes and implement purchase restrictions?"
Li Mu thought for a while and said: "No need, canned biscuits are different from compressed biscuits. First of all, we sell them based on the average price of the second-hand market. If you want to buy it, you can buy it from other people on the second-hand platform without going through us.
.But what other people have is too piecemeal and buying is too cumbersome, unlike us who have a lot of goods and can get them all at once."
"Secondly, canned biscuits are different from compressed biscuits. Compressed biscuits have a long shelf life and can be stocked for a long time. These cans are all products that are about to expire. We also make it clear when selling them. Even if they are bought back,
It cannot be hoarded, it needs to be used or sold as soon as possible. In this case, we also do not need to limit purchases. Moreover, it is also convenient for large customers to deliver goods, and there is no need to separate bits and pieces like small customers.
Ship."
Wang Qian said: "I understand. There are so many supplies, should we get rid of them quickly? Or should we take it slowly?"
Li Muchao: "There is no need to rush in this regard. Take your time. You can increase the shipment volume appropriately according to the expiration time of the shelf life, but it should not exceed one thousand tons per day."
"Whether it is meat, fruits or canned vegetables, they will only become more and more scarce in the future. If the volume of shipments is too large in a short period of time, the price may be driven down."
"The price will only get more expensive in the future, so take your time and sell all 120,000 tons of cans within half a year."
Wang Qian nodded and said "Yeah".
"Beer, drinks, soy milk, milk powder... are almost ready and will be officially launched for sale in two days."
Li Mu said: "How much quantity should I prepare?"
Wang Qian said: "We have more than four million pieces of beer. Due to food shortages, hops are almost out of production. In the past two years, the beer stored on the market has been basically consumed, and there are no factories to produce beer anymore."
"But there are many people who like beer. Although there are a lot of beers for sale on second-hand platforms, the prices are still very high. I plan to put 30,000 pieces on the shelves in the first batch, and I will increase or decrease them according to the situation in the future."
"In terms of beverages, we have more than one million boxes. This is not as rare as beer, but because it contains a lot of sugar, a large number of beverage factories have stopped production without raw materials. The current price of beverages on second-hand platforms is not too high.
Gao, it’s quite popular.”
"I plan to put on the shelves 10,000 boxes in the first batch, including Coke, Sprite, Green Tea, Red Bull, Wong Lo Kat... Depending on the situation, one to two thousand boxes of each will be put on the shelves."
"Milk powder and soy milk are even more precious, especially milk powder, which is one of the most in-demand supplies on the market."
"We have a total inventory of more than 10,000 tons in the warehouse, and more than 3,000 tons can be stored for a long time, so we have kept them. The remaining about 9,000 tons will gradually expire in the next year or so.
"
"I plan to put on the shelves the first batch of 30 tons, which is 30,000 kilograms, which is not a small amount. Milk powder will only become more and more precious in the future, and it can be sold slowly."
…
After Wang Qi left, Li Mu scrolled through his phone in boredom for a while, and suddenly saw news about the listing of a company that manufactures personal insulation equipment.
The arrival of the high temperature apocalypse also had a great impact on the stock market. It has been in and out for more than two years. Later, the two major stock markets merged and were re-established in the west, and the stock market stabilized.
Many companies that develop heat insulation equipment and industrialized synthetic foods have taken advantage of this general trend and gone public.
Thinking of the stock market, Li Mu also thought of the second-hand trading platform just now. It is said that it is also a listed company and has been listed for a long time.
The next moment, an investment came to mind that was almost like picking up money.
Although he is not very interested in money now, he can't ignore the money he picked up for almost nothing right under his nose.
After thinking about it, I made a few phone calls and made arrangements to attract stocks from this largest second-hand trading platform in China.
As for why he is optimistic about this second-hand trading platform, there is no other reason. Next, he will sell a large amount of materials on this second-hand trading platform, and they will all be in short supply.
Most importantly, the quantity is huge.
As long as there are a large number of in-demand materials on the second-hand platform, there will be no shortage of users, and the transaction volume will naturally increase.
In the future, knowing that there are a large number of in-demand materials for sale on the second-hand platform will definitely attract more users, the performance of the platform will naturally increase, and the stock price will continue to rise.
For this kind of money that is almost free, it is still due to one's own reasons. If you don't pick it up, you won't get it.
…
Soon, another month passed. Every day, seven to eight hundred tons of cans, tens of thousands of pieces of beer, tens of thousands of boxes of various beverages, dozens of tons of milk powder and soy milk... Such a huge batch of scarce materials poured into the second-hand trading market, and
It happens every day, and it quickly became popular on this second-hand trading platform. Many people were attracted to it and became new users, and the transaction volume of the platform also increased steadily.
Soon, Li Mu added another fire.
Wang Qian said: "Boss, I did some statistics. We have 5,000 tons of tea bricks, 6 million boxes of red wine, and more than 3 million boxes of white wine. These can be stored for a long time, especially wine, which has almost no shelf life limit."
"Are you going to sell it now?"
Li Muchao said: "Let's sell it. Take out one-fifth of 1.2 million boxes of red wine, 650,000 boxes of white wine, and 1,000 tons of tea bricks, and hang them on the second-hand platform. Don't sell them too fast, divide them into one or two years."
Sold out.”
Wang Qian's eyes were a little puzzled. These materials, under the current circumstances, are all extremely precious materials. The tea trees have almost died in the sun, and the same is true for the grape trees. Needless to say, the preciousness of food is not worth mentioning.
Brewing, these three supplies really use less.
Li Muchao: "If these materials are saved, they will naturally be more valuable and profitable in the future. However, time is running out for human beings. Next, I plan to make larger investments in artificially synthesized foods and strive to gain a greater share of human resources."
Making breakthroughs in artificially synthesized food before the food is exhausted will require huge funds. If humanity is really going to die in the future and order is lost, what is the use of leaving so many supplies? It will only arouse the prying eyes of interested people."
"On the other hand, it can also be regarded as easing the public's nervousness and giving people more hope. If various materials on the market become more and more scarce and expensive, and some scarce materials cannot be bought with money, the market will become more and more
If there are too few, everyone will rush to grab them as soon as they appear. Everyone will only become more and more nervous and anxious."
"If a large amount of supplies flood into the market from time to time, the market becomes prosperous and there is no shortage of various supplies. Although many people are reluctant to buy at high prices, as long as there is an endless supply of goods online, their inner anxiety will be relieved a lot. Knowing that if you encounter
In an emergency, being able to purchase supplies from the market represents hope."
Wang Qian thought about it for a long time and was convinced.