“So that’s how it is…”
Although Xue Wenhui had been mentally prepared, he was still astonished by a cultivation cost so low that it was practically negligible.
After confirming that Jiang Ming had the ability to cultivate genetic organisms, Xue Wenhui had kept his promise and handed all responsibility for this field over to him, without interfering in his work.
As a result, it was only today that Xue Wenhui learned just how inexpensive it was to cultivate Sunkern.
“Then, Xiao Ming, how much do you intend to sell them for?”
After thinking it over carefully, Xue Wenhui tossed the question right back to him.
Jiang Ming was stunned.
“Isn’t that exactly why I came to ask for your advice? I can’t make up my mind!”
Hearing this, Xue Wenhui shook his head.
“If you insist on hearing my opinion, then from a businessman’s perspective, naturally, the more profit we make, the better. Considering Sunkern’s value, even selling one for 200,000 Federation Credits wouldn’t be unreasonable.”
“However, you’re now responsible for everything related to genetic organisms. One of the biggest taboos in business is having people in charge who don’t share the same opinions!”
Xue Wenhui spoke with such seriousness that Jiang Ming felt as though he’d returned to the days when he’d first taken over the company.
“Therefore, you’re the only one who can answer this question.”
“Come on. Try to convince me!”
With that, Xue Wenhui sat upright on the sofa and fixed his gaze on Jiang Ming.
“I understand!”
Jiang Ming took a deep breath.
He’d already prepared a rough plan.
He simply lacked confidence in it, which was why he’d wanted to hear the opinion of someone with professional experience first.
“Uncle Xue, I’m sure you still remember the bold declaration I made before—that I wanted to usher in an era of my own.”
Jiang Ming carefully chose his words.
“So my position remains the same. What we need to do right now isn’t to make money from Pokémon. Instead, we need to spread them far and wide and get the public to recognize and accept the name Pokémon.”
“Originally, I planned to set a relatively low price so we could introduce Sunkern to as many people as possible. But then I suddenly realized something: people tend not to value things they can obtain too easily.”
“After thinking it over again and again, I’ve come up with a new plan: tiered pricing.”
“Tiered pricing?” Xue Wenhui immediately became interested.
“Exactly. Under the banner of benefiting the public and promoting our product, we’ll sell Sunkern in batches at different prices.”
Jiang Ming continued confidently, growing more animated as he spoke.
“First, there’s the initial batch we’ve already rented out. If, after three months, the renters still want to keep their Sunkern, they can purchase them for the lowest price tier—just 10,000 Federation Credits—provided they’ve earned the Pokémon’s approval.” Get faster updates on novelping.com.
“Next comes the second tier. Once I’ve finished cultivating the Sunkern for the Energy Bureau, I’ll set aside a special quota and sell those Sunkern for 20,000 Federation Credits each.”
“After that, I’ll continue releasing them in batches, raising the price by 20,000 Federation Credits with each new batch, until the price reaches a ceiling of 100,000.”
“What do you think?”
After delivering this long explanation in one breath, Jiang Ming hurriedly picked up his tea, which had already cooled somewhat, and gulped down several mouthfuls.
Xue Wenhui listened carefully to the entire plan.
He closed his eyes and took a moment to digest it before speaking.
“In other words, you’ve set the final price of Sunkern at 100,000 Federation Credits?”
“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Ming nodded.
“That price is certainly reasonable enough.”
Xue Wenhui recalled the current market prices for genetic organisms.
At 100,000 Federation Credits, Sunkern would be priced roughly in line with the average plant-type genetic organism.
Considering its actual performance, Sunkern could just as easily be classified as an animal-type genetic organism.
Nevertheless, since Jiang Ming had already made his decision, Xue Wenhui didn’t want to contradict him without good reason.
“However…” Xue Wenhui looked directly into Jiang Ming’s eyes.
“Xiao Ming, have you considered something?”
“What?”
“You told me that you wanted to introduce Pokémon to as many people as possible. But given the current average income in Coastal City, 100,000 Federation Credits is no small sum. By the time we reach that price tier, we might not even be able to sell the entire batch priced at 80,000.”
His concern was entirely reasonable.
Even if Sunkern was exceptionally useful, it wasn’t an essential purchase for most people.
The number of people in Coastal City who could spare more than 100,000 Federation Credits to buy one would be extremely small.
This was also one of the main reasons most companies struggled to make genetic organisms accessible to the general public.
Their cultivation costs simply couldn’t be avoided.
Unlike Jiang Ming, they didn’t have a System to help them eliminate the largest expense: genetic editing.
Jiang Ming smiled confidently and continued explaining.
“As I’ve told you before, Sunkern has the potential to become a mutant beast at the level of a Tier Four Evolver.”
“And the Berries I’ve been cultivating recently are precisely what we need to turn that potential into actual strength.”
“With these Berries, even if we can’t unlock Sunkern’s full potential, helping them reach Tier Two or Tier Three should still be entirely possible.”
“Tell me, would 100,000 Federation Credits really be expensive for a genetic organism like that?”
“If things really work out the way you say, then 100,000 Federation Credits for a mutant beast at the level of an Awakened would be quite a bargain.”
Xue Wenhui instinctively stroked his chin.
But soon, another question occurred to him.
“Then how do you intend to convince people that all this is true?”
“Time!” Jiang Ming replied without the slightest hesitation.
“As long as we have enough Berries, Sunkern will grow stronger very quickly. Once a large number of Sunkern reach the Awakened level, they’ll be the most convincing proof we could possibly offer!”
“I see. So that’s why you told me earlier that you wanted to distribute Oran Berry saplings for free?”
Xue Wenhui finally understood.
Of course, Jiang Ming’s so-called free distribution wasn’t quite as straightforward as it sounded.
As he’d said before, when people could obtain something too easily, they often failed to appreciate its value.
So his actual plan still involved a rental arrangement.
The difference was that only people who had purchased a Sunkern would qualify to rent an Oran Berry sapling, and there would be no rental fee whatsoever.
There was only one condition: once the Berry tree produced fruit, the recipient would have to hand over a certain quantity of Berries to Zhengming Company.
They could keep the rest for themselves.
In a city like Coastal City, where fresh fruit was scarce, that offer alone would be more than attractive enough.
Under this arrangement, anyone who received a sapling and had even a little common sense would take good care of it.
After all, the better the tree grew, the more Berries they could eventually harvest.
Furthermore, to ensure the Berries grew healthily while reducing the amount of work people had to do, Jiang Ming had thoughtfully prepared an excellent gardener.
“This is the gardener you were talking about?”
Inside the laboratory, Xue Wenhui stared blankly at the enormous green caterpillar in the incubation room, which was happily devouring leaves.
With a mouth like that, was sending it to guard the Berry trees really an act of cultivation—or an attempt to wipe them out?
Jiang Ming naturally noticed Xue Wenhui’s confusion and explained, “Uncle Xue, surely you know that caterpillars can turn into butterflies?”