My Cousin Stole My Grocery Store… He Didn’t Know I Had An AI Warehouse

[00:00:00]I rented a run-down spot in the old Southside for produce wholesale.

[00:00:04]For 3 whole years, monthly revenue went from 30 grand to 3 million.

[00:00:10]That made Kyle and Chloe jealous. The day they kicked me out, 5:00 a.m., I was unloading goods. My cousin Kyle kicked over a box of tomatoes I just got.

[00:00:18]>> Ethan, this store is mine. I'm taking it back now. Get the hell OUT IN 1 HOUR.

[00:00:24]>> [music] >> I didn't say a word, just packed my stuff and left. Before I walked out, I sent a mass text to all the vegetable farmers. The next day, he hung up his shiny new sign and swapped in a rigged scale. But on opening day, an old-timer walked in and went off. This scale is short by 40 lb.

[00:00:44]By the end of the day, dozens of farmers walked straight out. Then that evening, he called me fuming.

[00:00:49]>> Ethan, where the hell did you send all those farmers?

[00:00:53]>> Easy, cuz. I left you every single box in that store. Just hope you can handle it when the buyer shows up in 3 days.

[00:01:01]3 days ago.

[00:01:04]>> [music] >> Well, well, Kyle, Chloe, what brings you to my little dump before sunrise?

[00:01:11]>> Cut the crap. Ethan, THIS STORE IS MINE.

[00:01:13]IT'S SAT empty for months, and I let you use IT OUT OF PITY. YOU MADE YOUR BANK.

[00:01:17]NOW I'M TAKING IT BACK TO RUN IT MYSELF.

[00:01:20]YOU'VE GOT 1 HOUR TO DRAG your rotten veggies out of here.

[00:01:23]>> Kyle, I invested over 2 million into the climate-controlled cold storage and the whole cold chain system. Rent went up every single year. Last month, I just sent you 6 months rent. I still have the receipt. And now you're kicking me out just like that? What about everything I invested?

[00:01:38]>> Investment? You're going to rip that cold room out of the walls? This store is mine. Store stays. Your 150K worth of inventory stays. You built that cold room without permission. That's wear and tear on my property. And if you keep running your mouth, you won't see a dime of that rent back.

[00:01:56]>> All right, cuz. Let's call a spade a spade.

[00:01:59]You two are in such a rush to get rid of me. You can't even wait one more day.

[00:02:03]What's the real reason?

[00:02:05]You both know exactly why.

[00:02:06]>> Oh, please, Ethan. Don't think I don't know. I walked past yesterday and happened to see you get a wire transfer.

[00:02:13]A seven-figure balance. You sit in this rundown shack selling veggies and you're pulling in millions a month. It's time to share the gold mine.

[00:02:22]>> The fresh produce business, outsiders think it's easy. Just buy low, sell high, right? But the waters run deep.

[00:02:27]Kyle's never worked a day in his life.

[00:02:29]He thinks a store and a truck is all it takes to flip produce. What a joke.

[00:02:33]Chloe, [music] these waters are deeper than you think. If you only see the surface money, you'll drown sooner or later.

[00:02:39]>> Don't try to scare me. Buy low, sell high. Even a kid can figure that out.

[00:02:43]Who do you think you're fooling?

[00:02:45]You're out today.

[00:02:47]Or I'll find someone to drag you out.

[00:02:49]>> You two even have a conscience? Ethan has worked here for 3 years. Never shorted ANYONE A SINGLE CENT OR A SINGLE OUNCE ON THE SCALE. You're pushing him off a cliff.

[00:02:59]>> Old geezer, go cool off somewhere else.

[00:03:02]SAY ONE MORE WORD AND TOMORROW YOUR CROPS can rot in the field cuz they're not coming through my door.

[00:03:08]>> I didn't argue, didn't beg either.

[00:03:10]When dealing with greedy idiots like that, the best move is to play along and let them dig their own grave.

[00:03:23]Fine, I'll sign.

[00:03:27]>> Smart move, Ethan. Since you signed the papers, this store is officially mine.

[00:03:32]These supplies are your compensation for damaging my property.

[00:03:36]You're not taking a single thing.

[00:03:38]>> I turned and walked into that shabby office. Came out with only three things.

[00:03:41]An old ledger, all the farmer networks I'd built over 3 years, and buyer contacts. Another old ledger, 3 years of data on scientific storage conditions for produce, and a high-precision digital scale I calibrated it single day. Fine.

[00:03:53]All the goods are yours.

[00:03:55]>> Taking those three pieces of junk, that crappy scale, like it's a treasure. Now, get lost.

[00:04:00]>> Kyle, remember what you said today.

[00:04:02]The store is yours.

[00:04:04]That 150k in produce is yours, too.

[00:04:06]Hope you can handle it.

[00:04:10]Leo, I need that abandoned suburban warehouse. Sign the contract now. I'll wire the money directly. Also, get me three construction crews. I want them here before midnight. Kyle thought grabbing a dump of the store was a win, but he has no idea produce wholesale was never about location. It's quality control, reputation, and source. Without my grading standards, without my cold chain management, that 150k worth of produce he just stole will become his ticket to hell.

[00:04:46]10:00 p.m. [music] I was sitting in the abandoned warehouse on the ground going over the blueprints. My phone rang. It was my old helper from the store, Sam calling.

[00:04:54]>> Ethan, after you left, the store has gone nuts.

[00:04:58]>> Easy, Sam. What did Kyle do?

[00:05:00]>> The moment you left, that idiot Kyle and Chloe hung up a new sign right away.

[00:05:04]That's bad enough, but he swapped the scale for a rigged one. Put 100 lb on, it only reads 80. And he sprayed preservatives on all the greens. He stuffed rotten tomatoes under the good ones. We can't use industrial wax, it's poisonous. I told him to knock it off, and he slapped me right across the face.

[00:05:22]>> Besides that, what else did he do?

[00:05:24]>> He's insane. To boost profits, he's giving our long-time regulars good stuff on top, but underneath rotten fruit, mud, and chemical-soaked garbage. Ethan, that chemical-soaked fruit, people could get sick eating that. That's illegal.

[00:05:37]He's going to jail.

[00:05:42]>> Sam, don't [music] start a fight with him.

[00:05:44]Just quietly write down everything he does.

[00:05:47]Make sure to protect yourself.

[00:05:49]>> But Ethan, that reputation you worked so hard to build >> and he's just trashing it. That's not my store anymore. It's his death warrant.

[00:05:56]Sam, tomorrow if anyone gets scammed by them, just pass the word secretly at that abandoned suburban warehouse. I, Ethan, will be there waiting.

[00:06:11]>> Ethan, you asked to convert it into an AI smart city warehouse in 2 days. A fully enclosed dust-free sorting area, spectral inspection channel, automated weighing and packaging line, error margin under 5 g. The scope of this equipment deposit alone is 8 million.

[00:06:28]>> Give me your account.

[00:06:35]>> Who is this guy? 8 million. Just wired it like pocket change.

[00:06:40]>> Ethan, within 2 days, I guarantee the sorting line will be up. All AI inspection equipment will be calibrated to the highest standards.

[00:06:47]>> What I want is not just speed, but standards. Spectrometers for Brix levels, error under 0.5, ultrasound for internal rot. Not a single rotten fruit can slip through. All data is blockchain traceable.

[00:06:57]>> Ethan, are you selling produce or building a spaceship?

[00:07:00]>> What I'm building is the top-tier AI produce city hub. AI-driven operations, spectral grading, data-priced inventory.

[00:07:07]That fool Kyle thinks he can get rich with rigged scales, spraying greens, and hiding rot. He has no idea the rules of this game have changed long ago. Now, large supermarket chains demand premium quality for fresh produce. In their eyes, anything soaked in chemicals or coated in industrial wax are not food at all, but poison that can kill.

[00:07:26]After they kicked me out the next day, Kyle and Chloe put up a new sign on the shop. They thought a new sign would fix business, but business it's never about how new the sign is, but about how honest you are. Before dawn, 5:00 a.m.

[00:07:36]was when the farmers roll in with their produce. The first to arrive was Arthur, who pleaded for me yesterday. Arthur is 52, a farmer for half his life. He peddled a worn-out tricycle with effort with several crates of tomatoes in the back. Each one bright red, picked one by one since 3:00 a.m. He rode into the yard, wiped his sweat, and headed straight to the weighing station.

[00:07:54]>> [music] >> Hey old man, you here to sell? Get on the scale.

[00:08:04]>> 160 lb of tomatoes, 80 cents a pound. Go collect your money.

[00:08:11]>> Well, wait a minute, missy. Well, that number is way off. I weighed it on the village scale before. The tomatoes alone were over 200 lb. How did you only get 160 lb? That's 40 lb short.

[00:08:23]>> [music] >> Old man, you say my scale is off? This is a brand new high-tech digital scale.

[00:08:28]You selling or not? If not, get lost.

[00:08:32]>> Just this one crate of tomatoes weighs 30 lb on my hand scale. I've got seven crates tied on my cart. How the hell is your scale measuring?

[00:08:45]>> Are you asking for trouble? You old geezer causing trouble on my turf?

[00:08:49]>> You You You're so crooked. I'm going to find Ethan.

[00:08:53]>> ETHAN? HA HA HA. That idiot has been kicked out by us. Old man, I'll tell you this. Within 10 miles, I'm the only buyer around. If you want to turn your produce into cash, you play by my rules.

[00:09:05]If not, then go WATCH THOSE TOMATOES ROT.

[00:09:14]>> Arthur didn't cry, and he didn't argue another word.

[00:09:17]He crouched down, loaded the tomatoes back onto his tricycle basket by basket.

[00:09:21]>> Arthur, let us help you.

[00:09:23]>> Several people helped pack the tomatoes.

[00:09:25]Arthur got on his tricycle. Without a word, he turned it around and pedaled away from Kyle's store. That slap wasn't on his face. It was on every farmer's heart. Then a shocking scene unfolded.

[00:09:35]The dozen or so farmers waiting outside to sell, without a single word, they turned their carts around and one by one followed right behind Arthur.

[00:09:44]>> A bunch of dirt farmers giving me attitude? Fine. Don't ever come back.

[00:09:49]Tomorrow you'll cry back begging me.

[00:09:51]>> In less than 2 hours, the news about Kyle's wife hitting someone and using a rigged scale to scam money had spread through three nearby villages. The slap on Arthur did not drive away just one vegetable farmer, but a reputation >> That would take 10 years to rebuild.

[00:10:03]Have you heard?

[00:10:05]Arthur was beaten by Kyle's wife.

[00:10:07]Really? That's so cruel. I'd rather let my veggies rot than sell to him.

[00:10:11]Yeah, I wouldn't even give him a single leaf.

[00:10:14]>> 10:00 a.m. The sun was blazing.

[00:10:19]My wife is at home waiting.

[00:10:21]If I can't sell these vegetables today, they'll all rot in this heat.

[00:10:27]Hello?

[00:10:28]>> Arthur, it's me, Ethan.

[00:10:30]>> Ethan? What's the matter?

[00:10:32]>> Arthur, I already know. Where are you now?

[00:10:36]>> I'm by the old oak tree. I don't know where to go.

[00:10:39]>> Just wait there. In 20 minutes, I'll send someone to pick you up.

[00:10:44]>> Ethan, you don't even have a place to stay.

[00:10:48]Where will you store the produce? You can't just leave it on the street.

[00:10:52]>> Who says I don't have a place? I bought that suburban warehouse. Arthur, help me spread the word to the folks. My new warehouse opens today. Same old rules, accurate weight, high price, daily cash settlement. Also, for those who come today, gets an extra $20 for gas each.

[00:11:06]>> Okay, Ethan. I'll tell EVERYONE RIGHT AWAY. NOBODY WANTS TO DEAL WITH THOSE TWO ANYWAY.

[00:11:12]FOLKS, Ethan has opened a new warehouse at the abandoned suburban warehouse.

[00:11:16]Accurate weight, high price, daily cash settlement. Anyone who goes today gets AN EXTRA $20 FOR GAS.

[00:11:23]>> KYLE thought that by kicking me out, he could just sit back and make money. But he forgot one thing. The farmers never trusted that store fund. They trusted me. He thought that those old farmers would throw a fit, go hungry for a couple of days, and then just to survive, they'd drag their carts right back to him. But he was completely wrong. For 3 whole days, the doors of Kyle and Chloe's wholesale produce stayed open, but not even a single farmer with a cart stepped 1 in through his door. In the empty store, he was all alone. The greens he'd had his workers spray with water to keep them looking fresh. In the over 90° heat, those watered greens looked fresh on the surface, but inside they were already rotting, giving off a sour stench and attracting clouds of flies.

[00:11:58]>> Honey, what are we going to do?

[00:12:00]Where the hell did those old folks go?

[00:12:03]>> I just sent someone around the villages.

[00:12:05]Didn't even see a shadow of a farmer selling produce.

[00:12:09]>> GO FIND OUT NOW.

[00:12:10]WHERE ARE THOSE LOSERS SELLING THEIR PRODUCE?

[00:12:13]Don't come back without an answer.

[00:12:17]>> Over at the huge warehouse, a long line had already snaked out. Tricycles, farm trucks, and small vans were lined up one after another, snaking for hundreds of yards. All the veg farmers from the suburbs and surrounding villages, as if on cue, had all converged here.

[00:12:32]>> Arthur.

[00:12:33]Tomatoes, 210 lb. Grade A produce, $1.50 a lb. Head over to finance to get paid.

[00:12:38]It's hot, grab some iced tea in the tent first.

[00:12:41]Mrs. Miller, leafy greens, 150 lb. Cash today, plus an extra 20 bucks. Don't forget to pick it up.

[00:12:53]>> Ethan, you're a lifesaver. If it weren't for you, we old folks would have been ripped off by that couple.

[00:13:00]>> Arthur, we all earn a living by working hard. No one's better than anyone else.

[00:13:04]As long as I've got food on the table, I won't let the folks get shortchanged. At my warehouse, there's only one rule. I won't shortchange anyone a single cent, and you give me your best produce.

[00:13:21]Folks, since everyone's here today, let me show you how to make more money.

[00:13:32]>> This is a spectral sugar tester. Whether a tomato is sweet or not, I don't rely on my eyes. I let [music] the data speak.

[00:13:41]Sugar below eight goes to juice pulp, 80 cents a pound. 8 10, regular supermarkets 120.

[00:13:48]Those above 10 go to premium boxes, 150, 30% above market price.

[00:13:53]>> [music] >> Just by grading, you get 30% more.

[00:13:55]>> Ethan, are you serious?

[00:13:57]>> I, Ethan, never go back on my word.

[00:13:59]Don't believe me? Look. It's up on the LED board in black and white.

[00:14:04]I won't short anyone a single cent.

[00:14:07]This is my trump card against Kyle, a total game changer. My buying price is higher, but after AI grading, premium produce goes straight to high-end supermarkets with a higher premium.

[00:14:16]Kyle's still playing the oldest game, squeezing prices down. I'm already building a brand and standardizing the whole operation. Folks, farm with more care, no chemical ripening. This is premium price.

[00:14:27]>> Sure, sure.

[00:14:28]>> The farmers' motivation went through the roof. With their experienced hands, the quality gets better every day. Within 2 days, my warehouse had two mountains of produce. [music] One, tomatoes meeting sugar standards, uniform in size, grade A. The other, greens that passed spectral testing with no pesticide residue.

[00:14:50]>> How could this happen? The delivery deadline for Freshmart Group is only 24 hours away. If we don't deliver, Freshmart will be in big trouble.

[00:15:00]>> Even though I'm not at the old market, the worker Sam who stayed behind kept me updated on every move Kyle made in real time. The taste of that breach of contract penalty, Kyle? Hope you like it.

[00:15:15]Kyle, no one's coming. All the veg farmers from the suburbs are at Ethan's new warehouse now. I found a few farmers I used to know. I begged them, offered more money, but they wouldn't even look at me. They said our STORE IS A SCAM SHOP. Ethan again? Is he crazy? BUYING AT HIGH PRICES? HOW DOES he make money?

[00:15:32]>> In Kyle's head, business is simple. Buy for $2, sell for $3. Margin is everything. He'll never understand my tiered pricing premium business model, but the real problem isn't he's cursing me. It's the supply contract he signed with Fresh Mart Group. Fresh Mart Group is the largest supermarket chain in the province. They have both online and offline channels. They're the biggest buyer around here. The day Kyle took over the store, to impress his father-in-law, he went to Fresh Mart Group and through gifts and boasting, signed a supply contract for 200 tons.

[00:15:59]>> Honey, the contract says we have to deliver 200 tons of produce by 9:00 a.m.

[00:16:03]tomorrow. If we can't deliver or fail quality standards, we'll not only lose the full performance bond of $500,000, but also face a massive breach fee.

[00:16:16]>> Honey, [music] how much stock do we have now?

[00:16:18]>> All the stock we have in the store right now is just the over 10 tons Ethan left behind, plus what we've scraped together these past few days. So, at most we're under 20 tons. We're still short 180 tons.

[00:16:32]>> [music] >> There's always a way.

[00:16:39]That shady dealer Trevor from the diner?

[00:16:42]He's definitely got the goods.

[00:16:44]Let's go see him.

[00:16:54]>> Woah, Kyle, I heard you're desperate to restock.

[00:16:57]You've come to the right guy.

[00:16:59]These 10 trucks are all top-notch produce. A full 200 tons. Just enough to cover your shortfall. So, >> [music] >> What's your price for this lot?

[00:17:12]>> Out of respect for you, Kyle, and to make a friend, I'll give it to you at 70% of the market price, but this shipment's in high demand, so no credit.

[00:17:20]Cash on delivery. Unload right away.

[00:17:22]>> 30% [music] off. Kyle's eyes lit up, but he didn't know that in the fresh produce business, what falls from the sky is never a free lunch, but an anvil. Goods from a shady dealer sold below market price are definitely heavily adulterated junk.

[00:17:37]This batch only has a thin layer of good produce on top. Inside, it's all rotten fruit, frostbitten greens, and sprouted potatoes. To add dead weight, Trevor stuffed mud and moldy cardboard into the bottom of every crate. Any experienced wholesale dealer would open one crate, take one look, and reject it right then and there, but Kyle is a complete amateur. All he cares about is making up the tonnage and buying low, selling high.

[00:17:58]>> [music] >> All right, unload. Honey, get the money.

[00:18:04]>> Honey, what do we do if we don't have enough to pay in full?

[00:18:08]>> Trevor, this shipment is way too big.

[00:18:10]I've put my entire fortune into this.

[00:18:13]I'll pay you 70% now, and the remaining 30% I'll give it right after I deliver tomorrow.

[00:18:18]>> 70%? I can take 70% and still make a killing on this deal. Fine, I'll trust you this once.

[00:18:25]I'll come get the final payment tomorrow.

[00:18:33]200 tons, finally freaking done. Ethan wants to see me fail? In your dreams.

[00:18:38]When I deliver to Fresh Mart Group and collect millions of dollars in final payment, the first thing I'm going to do is hire some guys to trash Ethan's dump of a warehouse.

[00:18:52]>> [music] >> Sam, it's showtime. He'll do something even crazier tonight. Stay safe.

[00:19:01]>> [music] >> No one sleeps tonight. Spray all the leafy greens with preservative spray.

[00:19:11]Every crate, AT LEAST A POUND of it.

[00:19:18]Also, wax all these oranges and apples.

[00:19:22]Use this.

[00:19:25]>> Kyle, this industrial wax has lead and mercury. It's toxic. People will get sick if they eat this. We can't use it.

[00:19:33]>> Old man, one more word and I'll smack you.

[00:19:37]Bright outside, dark inside. How can the quality inspector see anything? Now wax them.

[00:19:43]Also, these strawberries and blueberries, soak them all in chemicals.

[00:19:47]Man, the shelf life extends by 3 days.

[00:19:53]>> Kyle's store had turned into a full-blown fraud factory. Water pipes are gushing. Dozens of crates of leafy greens are drenched. Waxing machines roar. Baskets of fruit are coated with wax. Strawberries and blueberries are bloated. In the air, a pungent mix of chemicals and rot swirls. Disgusting.

[00:20:12]Early the next morning, just at dawn, 10 heavy-duty trucks rumble to a stop outside Kyle's store, lined up in a long row.

[00:20:19]The roar of engines made the ground tremble.

[00:20:22]>> Load up. Make it snappy.

[00:20:24]Let's roll.

[00:20:30]>> At the same time, at my suburban cold chain warehouse, everything was proceeding smoothly with no noise, no mud, and certainly no wax or chemicals.

[00:20:37]While inside a new white cold chain truck were boxes of produce that had passed AI spectral inspection and were graded as premium produce. Each box has a traceability QR code marking the origin, sugar, and harvest time.

[00:20:49]>> All loaded up, Ethan. Ready to roll anytime.

[00:20:53]>> Good. Stick to the planned route.

[00:20:54]Remember, when you get to Fresh Mart Plaza, don't cut in line. Park right next to Kyle's fleet. At exactly 8:00 in the morning before Fresh Mart Group's final delivery deadline, there was still an hour to go. Hey, Mr. Davis. This is Ethan. Yes, I mentioned to you before, the AI graded fresh produce project.

[00:21:09]I've got three truckloads of premium goods today, all passed spectral inspection, meeting sugar standards.

[00:21:16]They are pesticide-free and traceable.

[00:21:18]No secondary sorting needed, they're ready to be shelved.

[00:21:24]>> Ethan, are you serious?

[00:21:26]Produce with such consistent quality is really hard to come by.

[00:21:30]>> If this batch of goods is really as you say, our group is willing to buy at a premium and sign a long-term contract.

[00:21:35]So, good or not, you'll see for yourself when you come down. In half an hour, see you at the inspection plaza.

[00:21:43]That fool Kyle, he thinks he can fool everyone by spraying, waxing, and soaking produce in chemicals and raking huge profits. He has no clue that modern large supermarket chains have strict quality control standards. Once his 200 tons of toxic produce is exposed, he'll face the supermarket's full fury and get blacklisted from the whole industry.

[00:22:00]Let's move out.

[00:22:17]>> Well, well, if it isn't Ethan. Hey everyone, look who's here. Isn't that Ethan, the one I kicked out? YOU DARE COME TO FRESHMART WITH THIS? HOW PATHETIC.

[00:22:25]>> HONEY, look at his truck. I bet it's full of rotten leaves picked up from market.

[00:22:32]>> Ethan, you have the nerve to show up here? Do you know what place this is?

[00:22:37]This is the province's largest fresh produce supermarket distribution center, not your junk dump for rotten leaves.

[00:22:44]>> See that? 10 heavy-duty trucks fully loaded, 200 tons. I've brought 200 tons of grade A produce to deliver on the contract. Once this shipment settles, the profit alone will be enough for you, Ethan, to sell veggies on the outskirts for 10 years.

[00:22:59]Just wait and see.

[00:23:06]>> Let me tell you something, Kyle.

[00:23:08]In business, mouths don't make money.

[00:23:10]Brains do. Is that 200 tons in your hands? A goldmine or a volcano? We'll find out soon.

[00:23:18]>> You're just being stubborn.

[00:23:20]Today, I'll show you with your own eyes how I walk away with a check for millions and CRUSH YOU UNDER MY HEEL FOREVER.

[00:23:29]>> 8:40 a.m. in front of the FreshMart headquarters, the building's glass door swings open. Paul Davis, the purchasing director, walks down with his quality inspection team. Paul Davis is in his early 40s, wearing dark blue work clothes with steady steps. He scans the square. Behind him, a dozen inspectors in white carrying various instruments.

[00:23:47]>> Inspection begins. All vehicles line up in the inspection lane.

[00:23:55]>> Move it. Move it. Let Mr. Davis see my A-grade stock.

[00:23:58]>> The lead truck rumbles onto the platform. The wheels roll over the metal weigh bridge with a dull thud. Red warning lights flash on both sides.

[00:24:04]Three detectors start at once. First, spectral scan. A silver probe lowers into the truck, scanning back and forth.

[00:24:10]Blue light sweeps across every fruit box. Data flickers on the screen.

[00:24:14]Second, ultrasonic scan. Another set of probes attaches to the truck side wall, emitting sound waves humans can't hear.

[00:24:19]The screen shows layer-by-layer cross-sections of the pulp. Third, pesticide residue test. An inspector puts on gloves, takes a random box of strawberries, picks one with tweezers, places it in a test tube, adds reagent, shakes it well, and inserts it into the detector.

[00:24:33]>> First truck under inspection.

[00:24:35]>> Mr. Davis, don't worry. This batch comes from the best growing areas. Every single one is grade A. No problem at all.

[00:24:43]>> [music] >> First truck flagged abnormal.

[00:24:48]>> Red text flashes on screen. Every word stings like a knife. Surface detects industrial wax, contains lead and mercury, unfit for consumption.

[00:24:58]>> For what? Industrial wax? Impossible. My goods have NEVER BEEN WAXED.

[00:25:05]>> ULTRASOUND SHOWS 35% internal rot.

[00:25:09]>> Tomato and banana cross-sections pop up on screen, are marked in glaring red.

[00:25:14]Rotten areas spreading like cancer cells inside each fruit. Black patches are highlighted.

[00:25:19]>> Pesticide residue is eight times over the limit. Toxic weed component detected.

[00:25:26]>> Ethan, your goods have industrial wax.

[00:25:29]Large areas of internal rot. Pesticide residue eight times over the limit. This isn't fresh produce. This is poison.

[00:25:36]>> No way. Is your MACHINE BROKEN? MY MY GOODS ARE ALL FINE, I SWEAR.

[00:25:42]>> ALL VEHICLES STOP.

[00:25:44]Inspection teams two and three, get online.

[00:25:47]Full inspection on Kyle's 10 trucks.

[00:25:50]All forklifts in, random unboxing.

[00:25:55]>> The roar of over a dozen forklifts echoed from the other end of the plaza.

[00:25:58]A giant robotic arm reached toward Kyle's second truck, grabbed a box labeled premium tomatoes, lifted it high overhead, and slammed it onto the concrete floor. The box burst open, the top layer of bright red tomatoes tumbling everywhere. The quality inspector crouched down, pushed aside the top layer, and found the tomatoes underneath were all soft and black. Some had already oozed a foul liquid. Digging deeper, there was moldy cardboard and mud.

[00:26:19]>> But my batch here is >> The forklifts didn't stop. The mechanical arm moved onto the third, the fourth, the fifth Each one showed the same picture. A top layer of good fruit, rotten fruit in the middle, mud and cardboard at the bottom. The oranges and apples coated with wax in the sunlight shone with an unnatural gloss, shiny like plastic. An inspector touched them, and his fingers came away with a slippery layer of wax. The strawberries soaked in chemicals had an unnaturally bright color, but when you sniffed them, the pungent smell of disinfectant >> Hit you right in the face. Kyle, this is the top quality you promised me?

[00:26:50]You call this food for people?

[00:26:52]Industrial wax with lead and mercury can damage the nervous system. Toxic wheat is a restricted pesticide. Overdose means poisoning. You're poisoning people.

[00:27:07]Mr. Davis, please just hear me out. The goods were sold to me by Trevor. I didn't know he mixed something in. I'm a victim here, too. You didn't know? You signed the contract. You delivered the goods. You didn't know? Fine. Go tell it to the cops.

[00:27:23]>> [music] >> Hello, Economic Crime Unit? FreshMart Quality Inspection Plaza. Someone is committing commercial fraud with toxic food. The value exceeds $2 million.

[00:27:34]Send officers now. Honey, something's wrong. FreshMart's calling the cops.

[00:27:39]Quick, think of something.

[00:27:41]>> [music] >> Mr. Davis, my husband signed the contract and he bought the goods, too.

[00:27:46]He's also the legal rep. It's got nothing to do with me.

[00:27:50]You You made ME TAKE THE FALL FOR THIS. If you hadn't forced Ethan out, would I have had to use fake goods?

[00:27:59]KYLE, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? ALL OUR trucks got seized. Kyle, the drivers are raising hell. They're demanding we pay the freight. Your $500,000 performance bond is being withheld. Plus, you got to pay the breach fee. Our legal team will contact you.

[00:28:16]No, it's over.

[00:28:18]Now it's all over.

[00:28:20]>> Kyle looking at the rotten stinking produce all over the ground, he completely broke down. He acted like a madman, chasing after Chloe to hit her.

[00:28:26]They cursed and blamed each other. Then a group of menacing truck drivers surrounded them, demanding payment. I stood not far away, watching coldly without any sympathy. He bled the old veg farmers dry with a rigged scale, passing off inferior goods as quality ones and even crossing the food safety red line. He should have known that he'd end up in a fate worse than death. Kyle and Chloe were dragged by the drivers to be forced to pay off their debts, but the crisis at Freshmart Group had not been resolved. Paul Davis stood amid the mess, looking pale, sweating in panic.

[00:28:54]>> Ethan, we've run out of stock today.

[00:28:56]Freshmart Group has 30 supermarkets.

[00:28:58]We're short at least 200 tons of produce.

[00:29:01]If you >> Mr. Davis, my produce warehouse has 200 tons of premium goods, all sorted by AI, all traceable. We can do quality inspection right now.

[00:29:11]>> For real?

[00:29:12]>> Real. I brought three trucks. 60 tons each has a traceability QR code marked with origin, harvest time, sugar, and pesticide residue test results. You can spot check any. If one crate fails, I'll cover all losses.

[00:29:27]>> Got it. Open up all inspection lanes now. Check Ethan's shipment.

[00:29:34]>> The first truck comes to a stop. The cargo door opens. White mist billows out like clouds. The air is filled with a fresh grassy fragrance. Paul Davis walks to the truck. He randomly picks out a box of tomatoes. A traceability QR code is on the box. He scans it with his phone. Lines of information appear on the screen. Origin, Southside Green Village. Harvest time, 3 hours ago.

[00:29:54]Brix, 11.2. No pesticide residue detected. He opens the box. The uniformly sized tomatoes are bright red, but not glaring. They emit a natural fresh fragrance like they were just picked. The second truck, strawberries.

[00:30:06]The code shows origin, Northside Oak Village. Preservation method, pure physical cold chain. No chemical additives whatsoever. He opens the box.

[00:30:13]The strawberries are not large, natural color. It's that pinkish red, not the pale red of chemical soaking. Lean in for a sniff. Just the sweet scent of strawberries. The third truck, leafy greens. Each bunch is tied with eco-friendly bands. The roots still have moist soil. Natural dewdrops hang on the leaves. No water has been sprayed on them.

[00:30:31]>> Full inspection.

[00:30:45]>> The first truckload all passed. Average sugar content 11.5, premium grade.

[00:30:50]Second truckload all passed, no pesticide residue detected, no internal damage, premium grade. Third truckload all passed, freshness 99.7%, premium grade.

[00:31:01]>> Ethan, all your goods passed. I've been in purchasing for 20 years, never seen produce with such consistency. I'll take all 60 tons and I'll buy it at a 20% premium over the highest market price.

[00:31:12]>> The suppliers nearby stared, eyes nearly popping out. 25% above the highest price. This profits faster than a printing press.

[00:31:18]But I didn't show any excitement.

[00:31:19]Instead, I calmly pulled a business plan from my bag and handed it over.

[00:31:26]Mr. Davis, I don't want a one-time deal.

[00:31:28]My AI city warehouse supplies 200 tons of premium fresh produce each day, all traceable, all inspection-free. Only one condition, I am your exclusive supplier, an advance of $8 million, and expand the hub across the province.

[00:31:43]>> 200 tons a day, steady supply, and it's all top-quality fresh. How can that be?

[00:31:47]Take a look at this first.

[00:31:54]>> I don't own huge farms, but I've got this city's most reliable produce network. Thousands of farmers from nearby villages on my most efficient sorting line. This is just the beginning. Once we sign the deal, we'll supply way more. A few suppliers from Glades City each other. One starts to speak, then stops.

[00:32:09]An older supplier steals a glance at Paul's face. A young guy kicked out of a run-down factory dares to negotiate with the biggest supermarket chain for an exclusive direct supply deal.

[00:32:20]>> That's not my call.

[00:32:25]>> Our chairman will talk to you personally. 10 minutes later, I'm in the chairman's office meeting Chairman Sterling, Richard Sterling. His office is huge, but not fancy. A massive rosewood desk, a scroll on the wall says integrity first.

[00:32:39]Richard Sterling sits behind the desk, 62, graying hair, but his back is ramrod straight. He wears a dark gray jacket.

[00:32:46]He doesn't look like the chairman, more like an old farmer just back from the fields. He holds my proposal in his hand. He's flipped through it three times. The first time quickly, the second time slower, the third time he pauses at certain paragraphs. He runs his finger along the lines, then he looks up, his gaze firm on me.

[00:33:02]Ethan, $8 million. Five years exclusive, no inspection, just one question. How can you guarantee that for the next five years your quality won't drop? Chairman, three years ago, when I first started in wholesale produce, I had only one scale, a run-down store, and a used truck. That year, I lost over $10,000, but I never owed a farmer any payment, and I never sent a single customer a rotten fruit.

[00:33:26]Three years later, Kyle kicked me out.

[00:33:28]What I took with me was only an old scale and two old ledgers.

[00:33:31]>> [music] >> But the next day, over 100 veg farmers came to me saying they were willing to supply me. Because they trust you. Yes, chairman. My city warehouse can be replicated. Sorting lines can be bought, but [music] trust, nobody can take that away.

[00:33:48]You are quite something.

[00:33:49]>> [music] >> $800 will be in your account in three days.

[00:33:55]Five years exclusive, no inspection.

[00:33:57]Ethan, don't let me down.

[00:34:02]I won't.

[00:34:06]>> [music] >> Go ahead, do your job.

[00:34:12]>> [music] >> Ethan, sweet justice, come take a look.

[00:34:16]That bastard Kyle is back. His 200 tons of tainted goods, all returned by Fresh Mart Group. 10 heavy-duty trucks full of those sprayed rotten veggies and fruits coated with industrial wax, all hauled back to South Side Old Market. Mhm. He still has money to pay for freight? He can't even pay the gym shipping. He's flat [music] broke now. Those drivers are freaking out. They just dumped the trailers and dumped all 200 tons of that crop right in front of the store. The whole street is blocked by veggies. The smell can make you gag from half a block away.

[00:34:47]>> Sam, watch out. Don't hurt yourself.

[00:34:49]I'll head over and check it out.

[00:34:52]Mr. Davis, excuse me. The car is parked at the old market. The road ahead is blocked by piles of rotten tomatoes, stinky greens, and strawberries soaked in chemicals. The air is thick with the sour stench of rot mixed with the pungent smell of chemicals. Passersby hold their noses and hurry past. Some stop to take photos. [music] Some spit on the ground.

[00:35:09]Kyle is surrounded by a group of debt collectors in the middle of the yard.

[00:35:12]>> [music] >> Don't play the victim with me, Kyle.

[00:35:18]We made a deal yesterday.

[00:35:20]You said you'd pay the balance today.

[00:35:22]And now you're telling me you're broke?

[00:35:24]Listen up.

[00:35:25]If you can't come up with the 300,000 today, I'm not letting this go.

[00:35:29]>> Trevor, I'm dead broke, honestly. Fresh Mart Group took my 500,000 deposit, and they're making me pay a penalty fee.

[00:35:36]There's not a dime left in my account.

[00:35:38]Can't you cut me some slack? Just a few days?

[00:35:41]>> If I cut you slack, who cuts me slack?

[00:35:43]No money? Then hand over the store.

[00:35:45]>> Chloe is in the crowd, too. She's wearing an off-white trench coat. Her hair is neatly tied up. She's carrying a large suitcase in her hand. Two designer bags are slung over her shoulder. She stands three steps away. She glares at Kyle coldly. Her face is a blank, like he's a total stranger.

[00:36:01]>> Stop!

[00:36:02]He still owes us our wages. KYLE, YOU'VE BEEN MESSING UP FOR 2 WEEKS STRAIGHT.

[00:36:07]NOW THE STORE SHUT DOWN. PAY US OUR WAGES NOW, or we go to the labor bureau and report you.

[00:36:12]>> Yeah, turn him in.

[00:36:17]>> This shady dealer, he deserves this. He cheated us farmers with a rigged scale.

[00:36:22]Even heaven can't stand it. Right, make him pay.

[00:36:24]>> TAKE ALL THIS ROTTEN PRODUCE AWAY.

[00:36:26]>> I HAVE NO MONEY. Kill me if you want.

[00:36:30]THIS STORE IS MY DAD'S, SO GO ASK HIM.

[00:36:33]HONEY, SAY SOMETHING.

[00:36:37]>> I've signed the divorce papers. You deal with this yourself.

[00:37:00]>> Are you Kyle? We're from the economic crime team. FreshMark Group's legal department filed a report charging you with selling toxic food and contract fraud. Also, the Commerce Bureau got many complaints that you used a rigged scale to cheat farmers. Come with us.

[00:37:14]>> I didn't mean to.

[00:37:17]I just wanted to make a bigger profit.

[00:37:28]>> Trevor was about to slip away in the chaos, just as he was about to climb into his dusty truck cab. Trevor, don't rush off.

[00:37:35]>> Sir, I'm just a delivery guy. It's none of my business.

[00:37:38]>> None of your business?

[00:37:39]Where did this batch of goods come from?

[00:37:42]And what you mixed in, you know it yourself. Take him away.

[00:37:49]>> Serves him right. That shitty DEALER SHOULD BE LOCKED UP.

[00:37:52]>> LOSS. From the moment Kyle greedily kicked me out to his complete brokenness and sentence, it took less than a week.

[00:37:57]I watched him get into the police car, watched the inspectors seal the place, and the debt collectors curse and scatter. That dump of a shop, which I built from a pile of bricks into a business with 3 3 million dollars, was now just a pile of rubble again. 6 months later, the court verdict came down. Kyle was convicted of processing toxic food. He got 8 months in prison and a million dollar fine. All his assets got seized to pay off his debts.

[00:38:18]Chloe divorced him and vanished with everything she could grab. Kyle, who once ruled the Southside Old Market, became a joke overnight.

[00:38:27]>> Word is Kyle's making license plates inside.

[00:38:30]>> Serves him right. Cheated people. He deserves to be in jail.

[00:38:33]>> His wife skipped out long ago. She took the cash and ran off with some guy. And me, in these 6 months, I haven't taken a single day off. That abandoned warehouse has been expanded into the Ethan AI fresh produce industrial park covering 10 acres. Six fully automated sorting lines run 24/7. Over 200 tons of fresh produce daily. Spectrometers, ultrasonic probes, automated weighing and packaging lines, all coordinated by an AI system.

[00:38:56]While Kyle counts cracks in prison, I'm giving the fresh produce supply chain a complete reshuffle.

[00:39:11]Arthur, are you tired?

[00:39:13]>> Tired? No. Before growing veggies my whole life, good and bad all sold at the same price. I barely made any money every year. Now it's better. The tomatoes have a sugar content above 10.

[00:39:24]They sell for $3 more per kilogram. Last year my income tripled.

[00:39:28]>> Not just Arthur, but thousands of vegetable farmers from dozens of surrounding villages all became contracted farmers of mine. I provide seedlings and technical guidance, guaranteed purchase at a base price.

[00:39:37]They just focus on growing. The rest, grading, packing, sales, all handled by my AI smart city warehouse. Before, they lived by the weather and had to suck up to others. Now, they let the data speak.

[00:39:53]>> Selling veggies meant smoothing buyers.

[00:39:55]Now it's good. The machine decides, fair and square.

[00:40:02]>> Ethan, online orders went through the roof again yesterday. We sold 2,000 orders of strawberries alone.

[00:40:09]>> Keep quality rock solid. No rush.

[00:40:11]Reputation matters more than speed.

[00:40:16]Days went by like that. The industrial kept growing. More and more farmers joined. Order volume doubled every month, but I always stayed on edge. In the fresh produce business, speed isn't skill. Stability is key. Slip on quality once, all previous efforts go down the drain.

[00:40:32]Folks, today [music] we're going to talk about how to use the AI system to check the sugar content curve.

[00:40:38]>> [music] >> All right, everyone look at this red line. This shows the sugar content change pattern of tomatoes during ripening.

[00:40:52]>> [music] >> Eight months.

[00:40:55]It's not that long, but not that short either. For me, it passed in a blink, but for Kyle, it felt like a lifetime.

[00:41:01]When I saw him again, I barely recognized him. The man who used to drive 10 big [music] trucks standing on the inspection platform with a cigarette in his mouth bowing to crush me for life was now crouching by the roadside selling a few wilted greens.

[00:41:15]>> These greens are wilted. Still charging $3 per pound?

[00:41:25]>> [music] >> Kyle looked up sharply. His eyes followed that car. Then he saw the black Rolls-Royce. The rear window was half down. He saw me sitting in the back seat. He froze instantly. Those cloudy eyes in 1 second went from shock to regret. Ethan, it's [music] green.

[00:41:43]Let's go. I pressed the button. The window rose silently. The dark glass was like a door shutting out all the people and things from the past. Another spring breeze blows. My Ethan AI fresh produce industrial park has expanded from 60 acres to 120 acres. 12 AI sorting lines are running simultaneously processing over 500 tons of fresh produce daily.

[00:42:01]Fully enclosed climate-controlled storage, a new energy cold chain logistics fleet, a blockchain traceability system. This industrial park has become the benchmark for the province's fresh produce.

[00:42:12]>> [music] >> Every morning, hundreds of white trucks leave the park delivering the freshest produce to supermarket shelves across the province. On the side of each truck, a line of large text is printed. From farm to fork with just one Ethan in between. One morning at the entrance of the industrial park, two mini buses pull up. The doors open and it's the provincial inspection team. Leading them is a deputy director from the agriculture department in his 50s.

[00:42:34]Wearing glasses, he holds documents of the industrial park.

[00:42:39]Welcome director.

[00:42:40]>> Ethan, I've heard great things about your place.

[00:42:43]I came specifically to see it today.

[00:42:45]>> They wanted to see my tech assistant model. I walked them through the sorting workshop, testing center, cold chain warehouse, and finally the farmer training center. Folks, look at this.

[00:42:54]This tomato has a sugar content of 10.5, smooth skin, no cracks. This is grade A produce. Grade A produce costs 0.5 more than grade B. Don't underestimate that 50 cents. Per acre, that's an extra two or three thousand dollars.

[00:43:12]The veggies farmers listen intently.

[00:43:14]Some are taking notes with little notebooks. Some are craning their necks to see the tomato. And some raise their hands to ask questions.

[00:43:24]This sir here is our specially hired agricultural expert Mr. Arthur. He's a veteran farmer for 40 years. Now he is my quality control supervisor. He is also a part-time lecturer.

[00:43:34]This training is great. It's down-to-earth and effective. Arthur knows the soil and the crops, and he's always up for new tech. He explains the AI grading standards in plain language, clearer than us young folks.

[00:43:49]Ethan, three years [music] ago, you were just a small trader, right? Yeah, three years ago, I could barely pay my rent.

[00:43:57]So how did you get to where you are now?

[00:43:59]Chairman [music] Sterling, I can't put it into words. I guess I just don't want to let down the people who believe in me.

[00:44:12]Just saw off the inspection team.

[00:44:14]In the afternoon, I heard from the state television network that they want to interview me.

[00:44:18]>> Ethan, tonight the state television network is coming to shoot our documentary. Get ready. They're going to interview you.

[00:44:25]>> Interview me about what?

[00:44:26]>> Why you started the city warehouse.

[00:44:31]Just tell them to sell quality food at fair prices.

[00:44:34]>> You do the talking. I'm no good with words.

[00:44:40]>> Night falls. The lights of the industrial park come on. The machines on the sorting line are running. The cold chain fleet is ready to roll. The reporter from the state television network holds up a microphone and asks me one last question.

[00:44:51]>> Ethan, if you could sum up your experiences these years in one sentence, what would you say?

[00:44:57]>> Three years ago, when I was kicked out of the old market, the only things I took were an old scale and two old ledgers.

[00:45:03]Someone asked me, "What's the use of that junk you took?" I said, "It's not junk. It's the most precious thing in this industry, integrity. And my AI fresh produce city warehouse is built on that integrity to protect the food safety red line people care about most, and peace of mind at the table."