Huang Sibo hurriedly stood up to greet him: “Chen Lei? When did you get back to Jingzhou?”
Chen Lei smiled: “Late last night. It was too late to tell you all, so I came over specially today.”
“I first went to the Slackin’ Internet Café flagship store, but I didn’t meet Mr. Pei or Mr. Zhang, so I came to see you.”
For Chen Lei, the closest people in the entire Tenda Group, apart from Mr. Pei and Zhang Yuan, were the people at Fei Huang Studio.
Because when he left Jingzhou to chase his dreams in Magic City, the Fei Huang Studio team happened to be in Magic City filming a documentary and helped him solve food and accommodation problems there, establishing a very good relationship.
Huang Sibo sighed: “You’re a big star now! You rarely come back to Jingzhou these days, so you don’t even know Tenda’s current situation.”
“Mr. Pei, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Ma are no longer at the Slackin’ Internet Café flagship store!”
“Mr. Ma is now in charge of an investment company. I heard he previously invested in ioi, which has already made Mr. Pei five hundred million.”
“Mr. Zhang manages Slackin’ Internet Café and also created a PC assembly brand. Now, after receiving the Best Employee award and accomplishing his mission, he’s gone off to run an esports club.”
“As for Mr. Pei, he’s getting busier and busier. But he frequently appears at the Slackin’ Internet Café, Handong University branch. If you’re lucky, you might see him there.”
Chen Lei sighed: “The same goes for you all. In the blink of an eye, you’ve won awards at Cannes. I went to see ‘Beautiful Tomorrow,’ it was filmed so well. I tell everyone it was made by my friends.”
“So much has changed in a year, everything’s different.”
Huang Sibo smiled: “Indeed. How are things on your end? I heard your career has been advancing rapidly this year. I heard you’re preparing for a personal concert?”
Chen Lei nodded: “Yes, everything’s going well. But I still miss the feeling of being in Jingzhou the most, especially the days when I sang in the internet café.”
“I plan to do a tour of all the Slackin’ Internet Cafés in Jingzhou during my stay, for old times’ sake, and also to help Mr. Pei sell some drinks. In a way, it’s like reminiscing about the bitter past while appreciating the sweet present.”
Huang Sibo fell into thought: “A tour…”
“How long are you staying this time?”
Chen Lei thought for a moment: “About two weeks. I’ve been running around outside for a year and I’m a bit tired. Last time I came back, I stayed at home for only one day before leaving, and didn’t even have time to see you all. This time I want to stay in Jingzhou for a longer period to recharge.”
Huang Sibo thought for a bit and said, “For that documentary we filmed in Magic City last time, we originally wanted you to sing a theme song, but we ran out of time and couldn’t collaborate.”
“Now we have a new film, it’s Mr. Pei’s project. Would you be willing to record a song for it this time?”
Chen Lei nodded: “Of course! For Mr. Pei’s film, I’d be more than happy to help!”
“What’s it about?”
Huang Sibo played a rough cut of the video: “It’s about a rental housing project, but Mr. Pei has given it some special meaning. Mr. Pei renovated an abandoned old building into its current state, so we titled it ‘New Life’…”
“You’re good at folk songs. You don’t need to stick too closely to this meaning; as long as the style matches, it’s fine. I don’t understand these specifics either, so feel free to express yourself.”
Chen Lei nodded: “Don’t worry, leave it to me!”
…
That evening.
Pei Qian curled up on the sofa, turned on the TV, switched to Jingzhou TV, and watched the evening news.
No matter what, this blow was inevitable.
Rui Yuchen had been extremely eloquent over there, talking up a storm and convincing the reporter. Now Pei Qian felt very uncertain, not knowing what effect this news broadcast would have.
The Tenda Life APP had already been created, and the interview was already completed. Pei Qian was powerless to do anything about it, so he could only hope that this news segment would be short and that few people would see it.
“Recently, Handong Province has comprehensively implemented garbage classification and standardized disposal, with gratifying results.”
“Garbage classification is a social issue concerning people’s livelihood and sustainable development. Improving garbage classification is also an important part of environmental protection. To create a civilized city and further enhance urban living quality, Jingzhou City has actively carried out living garbage classification and disposal work, achieving breakthrough progress.”
“…”
“However, it should be noted that during the implementation of garbage classification, restaurants have the highest incidence of problems. Many restaurants fail to fulfill their obligation to classify living garbage, improperly dispose of kitchen waste, and fail to dispose of garbage waste as required.”
According to incomplete statistics, takeout garbage in Jingzhou currently amounts to 14.2 tons per day. Nearly 2.4 million people order takeout every day. Disposable chopsticks, plastic food containers, plastic bags, and other garbage mixed with food waste create enormous difficulties for garbage classification work.”
“However, there is one takeout catering enterprise in Jingzhou that has actively practiced healthy, environmentally friendly, and refined dining concepts since last year, taking the lead in achieving a ‘zero pollution’ goal. With tableware recycling and food waste turned into treasure, it should become a model for all catering enterprises to learn from!”
The scene changed to footage of the interview at Slackin’ Delivery Store #1.
An enthusiastic customer sat upright facing the camera, stating that he would personally support garbage classification and Slackin’ Delivery.
Slackin’ Delivery director Rui Yuchen spoke confidently to the camera, introducing the past and present of Slackin’ Delivery and Food·Harmony, as well as the journey of perseverance.
Pei Qian even saw himself on screen—a back view flashed by when the camera was taking a panoramic shot.
Afterward, the reporter also filmed the clean and tidy kitchen, as well as the microbial waste processor at work.
The reporter briefly introduced other industries in the Tenda Life APP that shared the same philosophy as Slackin’ Delivery, highlighting the core idea of “Tenda Life.”
Finally, Rui Yuchen presented an exquisite food container. The news highly praised the Food·Harmony brand’s bold innovation in combining traditional culture with modern lifestyle, and also highly commended the efforts Slackin’ Delivery had made in environmental protection so far.
“Slackin’ Delivery manager Rui Yuchen stated that the meaning of ‘Food·Harmony’ is ‘people regard food as their prime want,’ ‘the gentleman harmonizes but does not conform,’ and ‘humans living in harmony with nature.'”
“We hope that all catering and takeout brands can learn from the spirit of Slackin’ Delivery, and also hope that everyone can support Slackin’ Delivery, this local Jingzhou catering brand, to contribute to a beautiful and environmentally friendly Jingzhou!”
The news ended there.
Pei Qian slumped on the sofa, feeling very dejected.
It’s over!
This news segment wasn’t short at all!
He had originally thought that such a small news item would be broadcast for about two minutes at most, but to his surprise, it went on for more than five minutes. Rui Yuchen and that food container were already flaunting their presence, and at the end of the news, they even directly encouraged everyone to support Slackin’ Delivery!
This was terrifying!
Just think about how many elderly people in Jingzhou loved watching the news—perhaps they originally detested takeout food, but if they saw a takeout brand being praised on the news, their impression might change!
Of course, they probably wouldn’t order takeout frequently, but they might tell their children: Takeout is unhealthy; don’t eat it if you can avoid it, but if you must, then eat Slackin’ Delivery!
In addition, the Tenda Life APP and the high-end Food·Harmony brand appearing on the news would trigger widespread dissemination.
And with these industries integrated, customers flowing between different industries would cause very complex chain reactions…
Pei Qian just had to imagine it a little to feel like there might be no solution.
He downloaded the Tenda Life APP on his phone and opened the discussion forum.
This forum originally belonged to Managed Fitness, but had now been transformed into a small forum where people could post and reply, sharing little moments from their lives. The original fitness content had become a small section.
New posts came into view one after another.
“I was stunned by the new version update. So many new things? These are completely different software now!”
“Great! As a loyal Tenda user, I finally don’t have to switch between several APPs anymore. Everything can be done here at once.”
“Slackin’ Delivery was on the news!”
“The segment was quite long. It was specially praised as an excellent enterprise in garbage classification!”
“I didn’t often browse the TPDb website before, and only now realized that Tenda has done so many things? There’s even a gym? Does anyone know how effective it is? I want to try it out someday!”
“Managed Fitness? The effect is immediate, more obvious than any other gym!”
“Tenda even has rental housing? Sloth Apartments? Why isn’t there much introduction to this? Does anyone know what the situation is?”
“And Tenda Mall will be launching soon? Looking forward to it!”
“You can buy anything from Tenda with your eyes closed. You absolutely won’t go wrong!”
Looking at these comments one after another, Pei Qian felt a bit dazed.
Everyone, could you please have more independent thinking?
Don’t just think something is good because others say it’s good. Try it yourself and find its flaws!
But Pei Qian had to admit that these posts represented normal thoughts. After this series of combinations, Pei Qian really couldn’t think of any reason why Slackin’ Delivery would continue to lose money.
“Sloth Apartments has been exposed too… but fortunately, people still don’t know the truth about this project.”
“So, ‘Food·Harmony’ should continue to lose money, right?”
Pei Qian continued scrolling through posts aimlessly when suddenly, his hand stopped because he saw a new post.
“Does anyone know where to buy that food container?”
“It seems you can buy them directly from various stores. There are brand-new food containers in many colors, different from the ones used for takeout delivery. The price is 49 yuan, which is quite cheap.”
“What are you buying this for?”
“To carry lunch! The design is very beautiful, and the internal compartments are scientifically divided for meat dishes, vegetable dishes, soup, etc. The sealing is good, so you don’t have to worry about spills.”
“That makes sense! My mom might need one. I’m going to place an order right now!”
Seeing everyone’s discussion, Pei Qian froze.
Buying food containers to use as lunch boxes?
Thinking they’re beautiful and unique?
A price of 49 yuan is cheap??
Pei Qian was shocked. If the previous comments were within his expectations, this one was completely beyond them!
“Food·Harmony” could make money this way???
Pei Qian felt like he had been thoroughly played…