Wednesday morning, June 20th.

After two final days of intense preparation, the food court was finally ready to officially open.

All the vendors were in position, fresh ingredients had been arranged early in the morning, and they were just waiting for the official opening.

Logically speaking, the timing wasn’t particularly perfect.

After all, it was Wednesday morning—arguably the time slot with the lowest foot traffic during the week.

But for the food court, opening a little earlier or later didn’t make much difference. Opening earlier might even allow them to adapt in advance, preventing any problems that might arise if they opened when foot traffic was already high.

Zhang Yahui was extremely nervous.

Although he had arranged every aspect he could think of, this was still a major event, and he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

Rui Yuchen consoled him, “Don’t be nervous, just treat it with a normal mindset.”

He and Qi Yan had arrived in Jingzhou the day before yesterday, but Qi Yan had already returned to Capital City by high-speed rail yesterday.

After seeing the situation at the food court, Qi Yan was clear that the work here was essentially a sure thing, and now it depended on Cold Noodle Girl’s cooperation.

So, Qi Yan immediately rushed back to Capital City without stopping to make arrangements at Cold Noodle Girl, coordinating with the food court here.

As for Rui Yuchen, the Slackin’ Delivery stores in Capital City had already stabilized, so there was no need to rush back. He decided to stay in Jingzhou for a few more days and help keep an eye on the food court.

Zhang Yahui had only been a manager for a short time and lacked experience in many areas. What if some unexpected situation arose?

Having someone on-site to assist would make things easier to handle.

Zhang Yahui was deeply moved.

Since becoming the person in charge of the food court, he had received constant support.

First, Bao Xu and Liang Qianfan had helped design the food court’s operating mechanism and decoration style. Once the renovations were completed and their work was done, Rui Yuchen came to help oversee the food court’s daily operations.

As the manager, Zhang Yahui only needed to handle some routine work and coordinate with the vendors, significantly lightening his burden.

He often marveled at what a remarkable company Tenda Group was!

In other companies, many departments were often in a state of fierce competition, fighting for resources. At most, they might refrain from sabotaging each other and reluctantly cooperate when assigned tasks from above.

But at Tenda, it was completely different. The relationships between departments were so harmonious, with everyone extending a helping hand within their capabilities and working wholeheartedly to ensure perfection in every task.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Tenda was able to repeatedly create business miracles!

Of course, as the saying goes, “Those below follow those above.” The unique harmonious atmosphere at Tenda Group undoubtedly stemmed from Mr. Pei’s wise leadership.

Mr. Pei must strongly encourage and support this kind of cross-departmental assistance and collaboration, which had formed this habit among the managers.

Zhang Yahui silently kept this debt of gratitude in his heart.

He secretly decided that when other department managers needed help in the future, he would also, like Bao Xu, Liang Qianfan, and Rui Yuchen, do his utmost to help!

He must not disappoint Mr. Pei’s expectations!

At 9 AM, the food court officially opened for business.

The moment it opened, customers who had been waiting outside rushed in.

The composition of these customers was quite diverse.

There were elderly men and women who lived nearby and had been following the food court’s construction, often coming by during their daily walks to see how the original farmers’ market was being transformed.

There were also die-hard Tenda fans who had heard through various channels that the food court was being prepared and would gather excellent snacks from all over the country. They came as soon as it opened to experience it firsthand and see if these snacks were really as good as they appeared in the documentary “Street Stall Life.”

Of course, there were also some locals from Jingzhou who happened to be free today and came out of curiosity to see what the fuss was about.

However, since it was a weekday morning, the foot traffic wasn’t particularly heavy.

As soon as customers entered the food court, they were attracted by the unique layout and cyberpunk atmosphere.

Today was a bright sunny day, so from the outside, the cyberpunk decorations weren’t particularly prominent. But inside the food court, it was completely illuminated by special lighting, immediately creating the right atmosphere!

Many tourists stopped to take photos by the high-tech-looking sports car at the entrance. After passing the car and entering the food court, it felt like stepping into another world.

The shops at the entrance sold high-tech replica gun models, prosthetic limb models, and high-tech medicine models, making it completely different from traditional food streets.

Outside the general store selling various trinkets, there was a huge cyberpunk-style display screen showing a poster. It indicated that visitors could purchase commemorative notebooks with maps and concept art illustrations, and they could collect stamps at various food stalls.

Some people went directly to various stalls to try the snacks, while others were attracted by this poster and first bought a notebook to carry with them.

Although it was still street vending, the stalls here were worlds apart from ordinary street vendors.

Street vendors typically had very small carts with various ingredients and condiments messily arranged, with a small banner hung outside for advertising.

Customers had to stand nearby to eat, often littering, creating a poor environment.

But at the food court, each stall had been planned in advance, closer in size to an open-air bubble tea shop.

Each stall occupied slightly less than 20 square meters, with three sides of counters reaching waist height in an airy, open design. The only wall-facing side was where vendors placed raw materials and prepared snacks, while the other three sides were for payment, waiting for food, and a large screen display area.

The display area was mainly used to show current queue numbers and signature dishes.

Depending on the size and tier of the stall, the number of seats arranged around it varied.

Between the seats were dedicated stamp machines, allowing customers to conveniently collect stamps while waiting for their food.

The entire stall was decorated in a cyberpunk style, with specially customized neon sign bearing the name of the food stall above, and many utensils deliberately treated to look worn, fitting well with the overall environment.

Each food stall could accommodate two to three people inside, and whether to find help depended on how busy the stall was and the vendor’s personal preference.

After entering, customers followed different routes.

Some looked at the signs on the stalls and went for whichever snack interested them; some went around collecting stamps with their notebooks; others checked the current promotions on the app, going first to stalls with discounts or free gifts.

Zhang Yahui and Rui Yuchen sat at a food stall near the entrance, disguised as ordinary visitors.

After observing for a while and confirming that everything was proceeding smoothly without any special issues, Zhang Yahui relaxed slightly.

Judging from the customers’ expressions, everyone seemed quite satisfied!

It had to be said that this special style definitely added a lot of appeal.

In fact, there were many famous food streets in cities across the country.

And although the snacks at these food streets were relatively expensive, those that survived the fierce competition generally had excellent taste.

But the biggest problem was that they were quite homogeneous!

Food streets across the country actually gave people the same feeling—all with old-fashioned, traditional-style architecture, as if they were all cast from the same mold.

In this situation, it was actually difficult to have any special memorable points.

But the cyberpunk style of the food court was different. This unique style left a deep impression on everyone who visited, absolutely ensuring it wouldn’t be confused with food streets in other cities.

Rui Yuchen looked at his watch. “About now… they should be arriving, right?”

Zhang Yahui was a bit confused. “Huh? Who should be arriving?”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw two people enter the food court.

One holding a microphone, the other carrying a video camera!

Rui Yuchen explained, “These are reporters from Jingzhou TV’s evening news program. They interviewed Slackin’ Delivery when Jingzhou first started garbage sorting, and I kept their contact information.”

“The day before yesterday, I was thinking that the food court’s opening might interest the TV station.”

“So I asked them about it.”

“Sure enough, they were interested, and we arranged for them to come interview today.”

After saying this, he immediately stood up to greet this long-unseen reporter friend.

“Manager Rui, long time no see.” Zhang Lixian was all smiles.

This reporter was an old friend of Tenda Group.

When she had previously interviewed Slackin’ Delivery, Rui Yuchen had been the one to receive her. After the interview, Rui Yuchen had given her a food container as a small gift.

Although it was just a simple food container, it was both beautiful and practical, embodying the concept of “gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity,” and she really liked it.

Moreover, the video she posted on Weibo titled “One second an ordinary Jingzhou citizen, the next second an outstanding Jingzhou youth” had gone viral, gaining her many followers on Weibo, which was an unexpected bonus.

Later, Zhang Lixian did a special interview with Li Shi called “Li Shi and the Thinker,” where she listened to Li Shi talk about Mr. Pei’s philosophical ideas, investment principles, and the Sloth Apartment project and Horror Lodge’s renovation of the old industrial district, among other topics.

The response was equally enthusiastic!

So, when she heard from Rui Yuchen that Tenda’s food court was about to open, she immediately realized this would be excellent news!

As the saying goes, “Food is the first necessity of the people.”

Clothing, food, housing, transportation, and daily matters could reflect the lifestyle of Jingzhou citizens and were issues that most news viewers cared about.

Moreover, this food court was located near the old industrial district, and like the Horror Lodge, it was an excellent project for renovating the old industrial district, so it certainly deserved a good introduction!

Therefore, after reporting to the TV station leadership, they immediately arranged an interview plan.