I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 120 [A Chronicle of the Small Canteen]

The following day.

Chen Youyin put down his phone and sighed.

The machines in the factory were still whirring away, and the air was filled with the fresh smell of meat, mixed with the coolness of salt and ice crystals.

He stood at the entrance of the raw material warehouse, clutching an iPhone 4s in his hand, the screen still lit up with the number he had just dialed.

"Not answering again?"

Chen Min peeked over from the side, holding a stack of shipping orders in her hands.

She was wearing blue work clothes, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing a section of her slender white forearm. Her hair was casually tied back with a hair tie, and a few stray strands of hair stuck to her forehead, damp with sweat.

"Uncle, aren't you overthinking this?" She placed the shipping order on the box next to her. "When I spoke with Boss Liu last night, he sounded quite friendly, not like what you're describing."

She recalled, "Around 10 o'clock, I talked to him about quality control, and he just told me to keep a close eye on it," without mentioning anything else.

"Besides, didn't we deliver several pounds of beef and meatballs over last night? His guys all accepted them. If he were really angry, would he have accepted them?"

Chen Youyin shook his head and pressed the redial button again.

The line was still busy.

"It was his buddies who collected it, not him."

"When you met with him to discuss business that time, did he bring his entourage with him?"

Chen Youyin replied, "And didn't you notice during that private video call we had later?"

He took the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen. "That kid's attitude was already off; he was impatient, you know?"

"Later, when we had another video call with that Station Master Xu, that guy basically ignored us."

Chen Min remained silent.

"You can't blame them." Chen Youyin sighed, putting his phone in his pocket. "Back then, we called them every day, asking about the minimum sales target one day, how the video was going the next, and if they were confident the day after. Wouldn't you be annoyed?"

He paused, took a cigarette from his pocket, didn't light it, just twirled it between his fingers. "Besides, I think he misunderstood what he said back then. We don't have the ability to film videos like that. Although it looks simple, we don't understand the intricacies involved."

"Okay, okay, yes, your brother did mention it once, thinking that it was so simple for Boss Liu to film the video in just one day, and that we could film it ourselves, but we didn't really do it, so we let him arrange it."

"The main problem is that he's too young, only eighteen. Young people care about their image, and if we doubt him so much, he'll definitely have some reservations."

.

Chen Youyin put the cigarette back in his pocket, picked up his phone, and continued dialing.

Chen Min opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

After all, she had been the one easing the tension all along.

Chen Youyin pressed her ear against the phone, listening to the repeated busy tone.

"Uncle, are you still on the phone?"

Seeing the two of them standing there for a long time, Chen Jianye couldn't help but walk over. "Didn't Amin already call him last night? Since he said he's fine, then he's fine. Besides, the contract has already been signed, so he—"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Youyin glared at him and said, "This collaboration is settled, but what about after that? You good-for-nothing."

He took the phone away from his ear and turned to look at Chen Jianye.

"Our products aren't limited to beef balls. We also have tendon balls, squid balls, shrimp balls, fish balls—there are so many things from Chaoshan, what can't we sell?"

"Yes, we want to build a brand, so that when people from other places mention Chaoshan beef balls, they will think of Chen Ji."

"But can we only put beef balls on our menu?"

As he spoke, his voice unconsciously rose in volume.

Chen Jianye and Chen Min were both stunned.

"Did you see that number last night?"

Chen Youyin took a step forward. "Over three hundred orders! Over eight hundred kilograms! In less than an hour!"

He gestured with his hand, as if afraid the two wouldn't understand: "Over 800 jin, do you know what that means? In the past, we'd have to supply goods for three or four days to sell that much. Hot pot restaurants, butcher shops, vegetable markets—these people would come to get goods, at wholesale prices, and even buying two or three hundred jin at a time would take three or four days!"

"But last night, for an hour."

He lowered his hand and lowered his voice, but he still couldn't suppress the trembling of excitement.

"The market in this one hour isn't just in our small city, it's across the whole country. Do you know how many orders we've received overnight? Almost a thousand!"

Both of them fell silent.

"Even if you calculate it this way..."

Chen Youyin looked at them and said, "It seems like we don't need to do physical wholesale anymore; we can just focus on online sales."

He paused, then added, "But how would we operate online without Liu Zhuohao?"

He was stunned for a moment when he said that.

Yes, what caused those 300-plus orders and 800-plus kilograms last night? It was because of Liu Zhuohao's video, because of his less than 300,000 followers, and because those people believed him!

This 18-year-old kid, with just one video, sent Wanzi flying all over the country.

"Uncle."

Chen Jianye suddenly spoke up, "Last night, Amin said that Liu Zhuohao told us not to be too optimistic. He said that not all of these orders are genuine customers, and some might want a refund."

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

Chen Youyin glared at him. "What do you mean by refund or return? You're thinking about returns before you've even opened for business! Aren't you unlucky?!"

He waved his hand and then put the phone to his ear.

"Who returns anything these days? Once they receive the goods and start eating them, they won't just stop trying to return them; they'll probably just order several more!"

The call connected as soon as he finished speaking.

Chen Youyin's eyes lit up, and he quickly made a gesture to signal the two to be quiet, then walked into a corner.

At the other end of the factory, workers were pouring meat into the mixer, the rumbling sound drowning out everything else.

"Hey, Boss Liu!"

He practically shouted it out.

"Hey, Mr. Chen, yes, yes, I understand."

At the bank counter, Liu Zhuohao was about to confirm the company account under the arrangement of the agency's representative when he received a call from Chen Youyin.

He held the phone between his shoulder and ear, answering calls and confirming information at the same time.

The main problem is that they've called several times, but apart from Chen Min's call last night, which he answered, he was either sleeping, driving, or talking to the agent from the agency in front of him on business.

After failing to answer the phone repeatedly, Liu Zhuohao was afraid that people would misunderstand and think he was angry because of what had happened before, so he finally answered.

"I'm not angry, definitely not. This is our first time working together. You don't know my abilities, and I don't know how well your factory's rules and regulations are implemented. That's all normal."

"Yes, yes, yes, this is definitely in accordance with regulations on the surface, after all, it's not my first time visiting your factory."

"But this increases production, which inevitably puts pressure on management."

Liu Zhuohao confirmed the public account information, put down his pen, handed the paper contract to the agent next to him for confirmation, picked up his phone and listened with the other ear, "Of course, that makes sense. Anyway, my work is basically done now, so many clients have placed orders. I just glanced at it, and it seems to be—"

"How many was it again? Oh, right, 924 customers placed orders. I didn't check how many people bought how many kilograms, but I glanced at the earlier orders and they all only placed one order."

"The rest is up to you suppliers to step up your game. Sigh, Mr. Chen, you go ahead and do your work. Let's not rush the dinner appointment. Your main priority right now is to keep a close eye on the factory!"

There was a hint of helplessness in his tone.

The other party has come to apologize, saying things like they shouldn't have doubted me before. Now they're inviting me to dinner, most likely wanting to get drunk.

But at such a crucial moment, drinking? Forget about it!

"I've got it, Boss Chen. There's no rush for our dinner and drinks, not at all."

"We should wait until we have the first batch of profits in hand before we hold a celebration banquet. It's not the time to reward those who have contributed yet."

"Get the work done first! My reputation is tied to you guys!"

He's putting pressure on himself, putting immense pressure on himself.

Previously, they put pressure on themselves, constantly talking about minimum sales targets, how confident they were, and whether the videos were filmed too hastily, etc.

Now that my period of stress is over, it's their turn to bear the pressure.

Liu Zhuohao has always been very worried about quality control issues.

"I understand, Boss Liu, definitely."

Chen Youyin's resolute voice came through the phone, "We will definitely let your fans taste the best Chaoshan beef balls."

"The first few dozen orders were shipped out overnight by our logistics company. The goods have already been picked up and may have already left Chaoshan and headed to their destinations."

"We should get the first wave of feedback most likely tomorrow, or at the latest the day after tomorrow."

Liu Zhuohao did not respond.

He stared at the business license application form in front of him and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

The preceding steps—videos, copywriting, pre-launch promotion, and traffic generation—are all within his control.

He knows exactly how many videos to shoot, when to post them, and how to guide the comments.

But how this product is produced and packaged, once it leaves Chaoshan, enters the logistics industry, and is delivered to the customer, is a completely different story.

That's not something he can control.

"—Are your beef balls really okay?"

He heard himself ask the question, and his tone was much more serious than before.

Chen Youyin paused for a moment, then raised his voice a few octaves: "Boss Liu, don't worry! Our Chen's has been in business for so many years, when has anything ever gone wrong?"

"and--

—

There was a hint of pride in his voice, "We even prepared some ingredient packets."

1

"Material package?"

"Right! Doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), satay sauce, sesame paste, seafood sauce, chive blossom sauce, Sichuan peppercorn oil, rattan peppercorn oil, garlic chili sauce—sweet, sour, spicy, sweet and spicy, categorized by region." Chen Youyin seemed to be counting on his fingers, "People in the north love sesame paste, people from Sichuan and Guizhou love spicy, and people in the south like satay and garlic chili sauce—"

"We've prepared everything. Customers can add it in while cooking and adjust it to their own taste; it's sure to be delicious."

As Liu Zhuohao listened, his tense shoulders relaxed.

This shows they put their heart into it.

It wasn't the kind of old-fashioned confidence that comes from "we've been doing this for decades, it's an old craft," but rather a genuine concern about whether people from other places could get used to the food.

This is very important.

Many business people who rely on their decades-old skills have been ruined by their old-fashioned confidence, unable to keep up with the times and unable to adapt.

"OK."

Liu Zhuohao replied, "Then let's wait for the first wave of feedback."

He gave a few more instructions and then hung up the phone.

"Boss Liu is really busy with business."

Beside me, the agent from the agency smiled and handed me a pen, "All the paperwork is complete, you just need to sign it."

Liu Zhuohao took the pen, bowed his head, and signed his name on the last page.

The agent picked up the document, checked it, and then handed it to the bank teller, along with a business card: "If you need any help with setting up accounts or verifying tax categories later, feel free to contact us. There's a discount for the first year. The whole package will cost around seven or eight thousand, but the time and effort saved are definitely worth it."

Liu Zhuohao nodded and put the business card in his pocket: "Don't worry, I'll definitely use you. It's not just for setting up accounts, I'll also need your help with social security agency."

He paused, then added, "I'll have to pay social security for my employees then."

The agent paused for a moment, then gave a thumbs up: "Boss Liu, this is it."

Liu Zhuohao smiled but didn't reply.

Paying social insurance for employees is a legally mandated obligation, but in some smaller cities, it is often overlooked.

Not only do bosses intentionally ignore it, but even some employees would rather not pay.

In small cities, a monthly wage of two to three thousand yuan is very common.

Even 25 years from now, there will still be plenty of jobs that pay two or three thousand yuan a month.

Because prices and housing costs in small cities have remained within a certain range for many years, wages have also not increased.

With this amount of money, if we actually pay social security, the amount we'll receive each month will be even less!

While other small local companies might ignore this, Liu Zhuohao certainly wouldn't.

He needs all the necessary permits and licenses to even set up a stall, so he certainly wouldn't make a mistake on something as basic as social security.

Liu Zhuohao returned home, ignoring the curious people in the living room, went inside, and closed the door.

He carefully took out a series of documents from the file folder: business license, tax registration certificate, company articles of association, and a heavy box of seals: company seal, financial seal, invoice seal, and personal seal, all neatly stacked together.

Company Name: Municipal Small Canteen Catering Management Co., Ltd.

Registered capital: RMB 200,000.

Date of establishment: December 7, 2014.

Registered address: Room 311, 2nd Floor, Building B, Business Center, City Center.

Legal representative: Liu Zhuohao.

Business Scope: Catering services; food sales (including online sales); catering management; brand management; marketing planning; conference and exhibition services; internet information services; wholesale and retail of fresh ingredients and agricultural products —

Unified Social Credit Code —

I have my own company now, once again.

Liu Zhuohao held up the business license, looked at it for a few seconds in the light coming through the window, and couldn't hide his excitement.

Even if you've already experienced it once, once you have your own business, it's hard to hide the psychological impact.

The registered address here is a temporary address provided by the agency for registration. Once you officially sign a contract with the landlord of the store, you will need to change the registered address to the address of your own store.

Maybe this afternoon, or tomorrow, I'll be able to find my company on Baidu and see some basic information on websites like AiQicha.

Liu Zhuohao took a deep breath, calmed himself down, put down the business license, took out his phone, and found a number.

The phone rang twice, and then it was answered.

"Hello, Mr. Xie. Yes, it's me, Liu Zhuohao."

He leaned back in his chair, looking at the gray sky outside the window. "The company registration is complete. When would be a convenient time for us to go over the contract formally? That way, I can contact the construction company to prepare the blueprints."

After a few words were exchanged, he nodded: "The day after tomorrow? Okay, I'll accommodate your schedule."