Chapter 67: Fertilizer Deals and Late-Night Schemes

Guo Liang assumed Xu Chen planned to resell the fertilizer. Xu Chen didn’t bother explaining and replied:

“Don’t worry, General Manager Guo. If I agreed to take this batch, I’ve got a way to handle it.”

“Ha! Perfect. I’ll talk to them right away.”

Xu Chen closed the chat window and went online to study college entrance essays.

He also revisited the geometry problem he’d stumbled over in yesterday’s math test.

But this era lacked the wealth of Gaokao practice questions available in the future.

Luckily, he could still find full-score essays from recent years and plenty of essay frameworks and strategies.

After a while, “NetAffairsLikeSmoke” sent him a message.

“Teacher Xu, they’ve agreed. No problem supplying fertilizer worth 120,000 yuan.

But they mentioned different fertilizers vary in price, and a 120,000-yuan shipment could be dozens of tons…”

Xu Chen frowned.

Honestly, he had no clear idea how much fertilizer 120,000 yuan would buy.

Still, with six plots already covered at home—and more to be sown—he figured he could use it all.

If he couldn’t move it at once, he’d ask if they could split the delivery into batches.

Clearing out enough fertilizer to cover his family’s needs for a while would be great.

He typed back in the chat:

“No problem. I’ll sort that out myself.”

“I’ll pass your QQ to them, then.”

“Thanks a lot, General Manager Guo!”

…

A moment later, Xu Chen received a friend request.

“GoldenWheatEarFertilizer–ZhaoFengshou.”

The newcomer greeted him and sent over a business card.

“Hello, President Zhao. Could you send me more detailed product specs?”

“Sure, Teacher Xu. Please wait—I’ll forward them to your email.”

Several product documents landed in Xu Chen’s inbox.

He didn’t really need to study them—he had the “Jin Kela” ads memorized.

He only requested the files to show earnestness.

“Received. I’ll review and draft an ad proposal.

Maybe tonight, at the latest by tomorrow, you’ll have it in your inbox.”

“Thank you so much, Teacher Xu!”

“President Zhao, any special requests or expectations for the ad?”

After thinking a moment, Zhao Fengshou replied:

“I used to work with Guo Liang. I saw your ad for Shenbao and found it clever and shareable.

We’re just a small fertilizer factory with a limited promo budget. We want humor and viral potential.

Also, we sell mainly to farmers with limited education. They need to understand it and like it.”

“To be honest, we even approached two ad agencies in the Provincial Capital, but their pitches sounded too flowery.

Good, but we worried farmers wouldn’t get it.

Overall, we want something simple and fun!

Simple enough for farmers to understand.

Funny enough to stick in their minds!”

Xu Chen studied the request in the chat and gained confidence.

Zhao Fengshou’s needs perfectly matched the “Jin Kela” ad in his head.

“Understood, President Zhao. I’ll get to work. Expect my proposal via email.”

“Great, thanks, Teacher Xu!”

After closing the chat, Xu Chen opened a document and typed out the “Jin Kela” ad word for word from his past life memories.

【Jin Kela Ad: Foreigners Fighting, 1:30】

【“Jin Kela! Jin Kela! Ours! Ours!…”】

【“I want Jin Kela! Africa’s farming lags behind. We must have Jin Kela!”】…

【“I want Jin Kela! Food’s scarce. We must have Jin Kela!…”】

【“Stop fighting! What benefits does Jin Kela bring? Whoever answers right gets it.”】

【“Fertilizer with Jin Kela won’t wash away or evaporate. Zero waste!”】

…

【“With Jin Kela, wheat yields hit 1,800 kg per mu. No more importing from Big Pretty! Ha ha ha!”】

【“Those devils aren’t stupid. If we give Jin Kela to Big Pretty, it’ll harm our agriculture. We can’t let that happen!”】

…

…

Blushing, Xu Chen finished the “Jin Kela” ad script.

Besides the copy, he included storyboards and creative explanations.

He saved the document and let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

In his last life, he vowed to craft tasteful ads full of emotion.

Now he’d created two catchy, lowbrow campaigns.

His ad career had taken an unexpected turn.

But hey, making money isn’t shameful!

It’s business after all.

Besides, these lowbrow ads delivered incredible reach and later earned infamy in the next life.

A decade later, he’d be the man behind the viral videos on Bilibili’s meme channel…

Instead of sending immediately, Xu Chen set a scheduled email to go out to Zhao Fengshou first thing tomorrow.

A quick turnaround might seem slapdash and get ignored.

A proposal he’d been refining overnight would look more thoughtful.

That was a tip he’d picked up in his previous life.

At 9:30 p.m., Xu Chen and Chen Dahai left the Internet café.

They grabbed a roadside snack before heading back toward school.

Eighteen- or nineteen-year-olds really do have metabolism on their side—eat all you want, never gain weight.

…

…

Early the next morning, Chen Dahai collected his dirty laundry and went home.

Xu Chen walked downstairs with him and bought two packs of cigarettes for Teacher Chen Ming at their request.

A small apology for Xie Bingran injuring his arm…

Xu Chen strolled out of the school in a daze.

He had another task that morning: buy some business and management books for his father, Xu Zhiquan.

So he headed toward the New Summer Bookstore.

By 2006, Amazon and Dangdang’s book services had matured. Buying books online was easy.

But online payments weren’t yet seamless. You had to activate online banking at a branch.

Xu Chen decided to stop by the bank on the way.

Might as well set up online banking now so future online purchases would be smoother.

He found a branch, presented his ID, signed stacks of forms, and got a USB security key to activate his account.

What a hassle.

Checking the time, he realized he needed to hurry if he wanted to return to town before noon.

He tucked his ID and bank card into his pocket and made his way to the bookstore.

…