After exchanging pleasantries, Rui Yuchen introduced, “This is Zhang Yahui, the person in charge of the food court. Let him take you around and introduce the food court’s situation.”
He lowered his voice slightly, “Also, he was originally a grilled cold noodle vendor—that’s something you could explore in depth!”
Rui Yuchen clearly didn’t want to steal the spotlight, giving all the face time to Zhang Yahui.
When Zhang Lixian heard Rui Yuchen’s introduction, her eyes noticeably lit up.
Originally a food stall vendor?
There was so much that could be explored behind this!
How did an ordinary food stall vendor become the person in charge of a food court?
Seeing how young Zhang Yahui was, it certainly couldn’t have been through self-advancement alone. Could there be a story about “Mr. Pei’s discerning eye for talent” worth telling?
Just thinking about all the fascinating content she could explore, her journalistic blood began to boil.
“Then let’s get started right away!”
Zhang Yahui hadn’t at all expected reporters from the TV station to come for an interview and wasn’t fully prepared.
But at this critical moment, how could he drop the ball?
After all, he wasn’t representing himself now, but the image of Tenda Group.
If he couldn’t step up at this moment, what right did he have to bear the title of “manager,” and how could he live up to Mr. Pei’s trust in him?
Moreover, he knew the entire food court situation like the back of his hand, and as for his own experiences, he could talk about those without any preparation.
With this in mind, Zhang Yahui nodded, “No problem, let’s walk and talk.”
Zhang Yahui led Zhang Lixian and the cameraman along the optimal route for the tour.
As a professional reporter, although Zhang Lixian had never been to the food court before, she immediately asked several key questions.
Because as soon as she entered, she noticed that this food court was completely different from other food streets!
As a provincial capital, Jingzhou certainly had its own food streets.
But Jingzhou’s food streets weren’t much different from those in other cities, with no obvious advantages.
Zhang Lixian had reported on Jingzhou’s local food streets many times, but always found it troublesome because there wasn’t anything particularly explosive about the content.
But after coming to the food court, she noticed that the decoration style, overall atmosphere, snack pricing, tour route planning, interactive mini-games, and various other aspects were all markedly different from traditional food streets!
So, she used these aspects as entry points, introducing and sampling at the stalls while questioning Zhang Yahui.
Zhang Yahui answered her questions one by one.
“The food court’s decoration style is cyberpunk, which comes directly from a popular movie produced by Fei Huang Studio called ‘Beautiful Tomorrow.'”
“We considered two main points in our design: first, to create synergy with the movie, allowing people to taste delicious food while experiencing an immersive movie scene; second, to differentiate ourselves stylistically. At the same time, the cyberpunk style aligns well with the food court’s spiritual core.”
“Moreover, the design of this food court relies entirely on an enthusiastic friend from Tenda’s gaming department. He used game design concepts to arrange many interactive elements for the food court, including regularly refreshed half-price stalls and stamp collection activities, which greatly enhanced the interactivity of the entire food court.”
“I would like to express my special thanks to him!”
“As for why these snacks are so inexpensive… this was actually specially requested by Mr. Pei. It was only after a large amount of subsidization that we were able to reduce the prices to their current level.”
“Grand opening special prices? No, no, no, these prices will remain the same in the future.”
“Setting prices this way allows everyone to enjoy food without any burden, never missing out on delicious food because it seems expensive. Additionally, profit is not the food court’s primary goal.”
“The food court’s mission is to respond to the call for renovation of the old industrial district and to showcase snack culture from all over the country. It is not purely commercial in nature…”
Zhang Yahui spoke eloquently in front of the camera, answering questions fluently.
Zhang Lixian couldn’t help but nod repeatedly.
Well said!
Clearly, as the person in charge of the food court, Zhang Yahui had a profound understanding and accurate positioning of the food court project, and his explanations were very straightforward and easy to understand.
Now it was time to ask some more critical questions to elevate the theme.
“I heard that you were previously a food stall vendor. How did you become the person in charge of the food court?”
Zhang Yahui sighed somewhat emotionally and shared his experiences.
Due to poor family conditions, he had dropped out after high school to run a stall with his parents.
Fortunately, being quick-witted and enjoying self-study, his grilled cold noodles gained some local fame.
Later, Cold Noodle Girl held a street food competition, and Zhang Yahui’s grilled cold noodles won unanimous praise from the judges, leading to his employment as a food consultant.
Afterward, Mr. Pei had specially promoted him to be the person in charge of the food court, which led to the current situation.
At this point, Zhang Yahui remarked emotionally, “To be honest, I am extremely grateful to Mr. Pei!”
“As an ordinary food stall vendor, being specially promoted to be the person in charge of the food court, responsible for such a large project, I feel extremely honored.”
“But that’s just one aspect.”
“More importantly, the food court has given us vendors a sense of warmth and a special kind of humanistic care!”
“A small street stall is a means of livelihood for vendors, and more broadly, the street stall economy and small shop economy can increase employment opportunities. It’s the flavor of life, the taste of ordinary people’s lives.”
“But honestly, the difficulties facing those who want to set up stalls are too numerous!”
“For vendors, setting up a stall means early mornings and late nights, living from day to day, preparing before dawn and returning only late at night.”
“Many vendors operate illegally on sidewalks, the quality of snacks varies greatly, there are dishonest transactions, littering, and other phenomena that have led to prejudice against food stalls.”
“It’s like that street interview from before: most people support food stalls and night markets, but not if they’re under their own buildings.”
“So, even though my income from vending was decent, I always had a very conflicted mindset, lacking a sense of identification with what I was doing.”
“Is what I’m doing actually meaningful? Can I have aspirations beyond just making money? Will I continue setting up stalls like this for the next ten or twenty years?”
“This often made me feel lost and confused.”
“The food court not only provides all of us vendors with a more secure livelihood but also shows us a more orderly, healthy, and civilized way of vending!”
“Here, we don’t have to worry about the risks of life, don’t have to bother screening raw materials ourselves, and don’t have to worry about being misunderstood. We just need to focus on making good snacks and satisfying customers’ tastes.”
“We can feel respected as we live, feel that the future is optimistic and full of hope, and see that food stalls won’t disappear but will integrate into modern urban life in a more advanced and civilized way, becoming part of the city’s food culture.”
“I think this is the concept that Mr. Pei wants to convey through the food court!”
Since coming to the food court, Zhang Yahui had been pondering the deeper meaning behind Mr. Pei’s actions.
And during the preparation process, through exchanges with other vendors, these thoughts gradually emerged.
Obviously, Mr. Pei didn’t start the food court to make money.
As Rui Yuchen had analyzed, it might be to build a vast restaurant empire, combining the food court, Cold Noodle Girl, and the “Street Stall Life” documentary to create a snack food brand.
But Zhang Yahui firmly believed that beyond the commercial purpose, there must also be a humanistic factor involved.
And this humanistic factor was to preserve and showcase excellent snack culture, to correctly standardize and guide street food stalls, allowing them to survive and thrive, and ultimately integrate into people’s lives, ensuring that this warmth of everyday life could continue to burn in increasingly cold big cities.
Facing the interview, Zhang Yahui spoke from the heart, sharing all the bitterness and reflections from his many years as a vendor.
Zhang Lixian listened with shining eyes.
Look, look! So well said!
It had both very down-to-earth life experiences that could easily resonate with people, as well as elevated, profound economic and humanistic analysis!
One couldn’t help but marvel that from all walks of life, each produces its masters.
An ordinary vendor could speak so well—it was truly remarkable.
Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that after entering the Tenda platform, he had been influenced by his surroundings and his horizons had broadened.
In any case, this interview about the food court was perfect!
First, it captured attention with its unique layout and decorative style, generating high interest; then it introduced tasting affordable delicacies, explaining the food court’s origins and development; finally, it elevated the discussion to broader aspects such as the street stall economy, urban planning, and food culture.
On the way back, passing by a grilled cold noodle stall, Zhang Yahui specifically made a portion himself, earning endless praise from Zhang Lixian.
After taking a full tour, they returned to the entrance.
Zhang Yahui brought a stack of stamp-collection notebooks from the general store and gave them to Zhang Lixian, the photographer, and other TV station colleagues as gifts.
“Thank you so much!”
“Taking things every time we come for an interview makes me feel a bit embarrassed…”
“Anyway, thank you for accepting our interview!”
After confirming with the photographer that all materials had been recorded, Zhang Lixian reluctantly left.
Although there were still many delicious snacks tempting her, those could be eaten on her next visit.
After all, they were all in Jingzhou, and she could come over anytime.
Now she needed to edit this news piece as quickly as possible!
Zhang Lixian had a feeling that this news story would generate enthusiastic responses just like her previous reports on Slackin’ Delivery and her interview with Mr. Li!
After seeing off Zhang Lixian and the cameraman, Zhang Yahui let out a long breath.
“Phew, fortunately I didn’t embarrass Mr. Pei!”