November 29th, Tuesday, noon.
Capital city, the first Cold Noodle Girl store.
Li Shi and Xue Zhebin had already seen the long queue in front of the Cold Noodle Girl store from far away.
Xue Zhebin was somewhat surprised: “So many people queuing? Just for grilled cold noodles? And today is only Tuesday.”
Li Shi remained noncommittal: “Perhaps it’s because it’s almost lunchtime, or maybe the marketing has been very successful and nearby people are trying it out of curiosity. Come on, let’s go over.”
Xue Zhebin said, “Why don’t we just call Meng Chang directly?”
Li Shi shook his head: “No need. Secret observation is how you discover details, and details determine success or failure.”
Xue Zhebin nodded and followed Li Shi to the end of the line, just like two ordinary passersby.
Li Shi and Xue Zhebin had only recently finished handling GOG club matters before hurrying to the capital to check out Cold Noodle Girl’s situation.
Although many of Meng Chang’s characteristics made him seem like a scammer, as Li Shi said, sometimes the difference between a genius project and a scam project was just a matter of perspective. Besides, even scam projects weren’t uninvestable.
In any case, given the current momentum, Cold Noodle Girl was a project very much worth investing in and deserved further in-depth investigation.
The queue was quite long, but probably because Cold Noodle Girl primarily served fast food and grilled cold noodles could be produced quickly, and most customers came specifically for the grilled cold noodles, the line moved rapidly.
Xue Zhebin noticed that some customers chose takeout, some opted for dine-in, and several delivery drivers were waiting to pick up orders.
All of this was no different from those popular fast-food restaurants, confirming that Cold Noodle Girl was indeed as popular as claimed online.
After queuing for about ten minutes, the two finally placed their orders and found seats in the store.
Neither had eaten lunch yet, and both were a bit hungry, so they ordered some signature recommended dishes: Gold Medal Grilled Cold Noodles, Fancy Stir-fried Cold Noodles, Side Dishes, Traditional Cold Noodles, and Healthy Porridge.
Fancy Stir-fried Cold Noodles and Traditional Cold Noodles were the main dishes.
Fancy Stir-fried Cold Noodles seemed to be a special preparation of stir-fried noodles. The ingredients included eggs, tomatoes, ham, cucumber, green onion, etc., all diced small, then about six slices of cold noodles cut into wide strips like broad noodles and stir-fried together.
This stir-fried noodle dish felt a bit like ordinary stir-fried noodles, but the difference was that stir-fried cold noodles were very chewy, with a much better texture than ordinary stir-fried noodles.
The yellow ham and eggs, red tomatoes, and green cucumber mixed, served on a dark blue porcelain plate, gave people a very appealing impression, quite appetizing.
There wasn’t much to say about the Traditional Cold Noodles – just noodles rinsed in cold water, topped with ham, shredded cucumber, shredded radish, shredded lettuce, and other garnishes, then drizzled with a special cold noodle sauce.
The traditional cold noodles here weren’t much different from those in traditional Chinese noodle restaurants, with the same portion size, except that the toppings were more generous.
As for the Gold Medal Grilled Cold Noodles, they were the most standard grilled cold noodle style – cold noodle wraps fried with eggs, then filled with onions, cilantro, grilled sausage, and other toppings, drizzled with various sauces and cut into small pieces.
Unlike roadside stalls where they’re simply served in paper cups, the grilled cold noodles here were neatly arranged on a long porcelain plate like sushi, looking much more appealing.
The side dishes were an assortment of common small dishes, and the healthy porridge wasn’t much different from porridge found in common bun shops, divided into two small bowls.
Overall, the portions were substantial, ingredients were conscientious, and most importantly, after some presentation work, the visual appeal had indeed improved greatly.
As for the price, it wasn’t particularly expensive. All of this together was enough for two people to eat their fill, totaling 65 yuan.
Compared to generally affordable bun shops, it was slightly expensive, but considering this was in the bustling district of the capital, and Cold Noodle Girl was an internet sensation, this price was far from unacceptable.
As for the overall store environment and service staff attitude, they matched those of chain fast-food stores, and the service staff were quite pleasant to look at.
Li Shi and Xue Zhebin began to taste the food.
“Mr. Li, what do you think?” Xue Zhebin asked after trying a couple of bites.
Li Shi carefully chewed the grilled cold noodles, not immediately sure how to respond.
Both men were regular customers at No-Name Restaurant and had eaten plenty of good food while traveling around the country. So when it came to taste, although they couldn’t compare to professional food critics, they could certainly distinguish between good and bad.
But the reason both were conflicted now was because the current situation somewhat touched upon their knowledge blind spot.
Were grilled cold noodles good or not? How to judge?
Compared to those grilled cold noodles on the street, these were better tasting, given the obvious improvements in both ingredients and the chef’s cooking techniques.
But the problem was, this “better tasting” – exactly how much better was it?
Would customers be willing to pay a premium, and would they quickly get tired of it?
These were questions no one could answer clearly.
Li Shi tasted all the dishes and said, “Actually… It’s a bit better than I imagined. Among internet-famous brands, it’s relatively tasty.”
“But then again, grilled cold noodles themselves can’t taste that bad. And because you subconsciously compare them to roadside stall grilled cold noodles, it lowers your taste expectations, so you tend to think they’re not bad…”
“As for the cold noodles and porridge, they’re standard fare.”
Xue Zhebin asked, “So… can we invest in this project? Currently, it seems there aren’t any major issues.”
Li Shi shook his head, “Still can’t determine.”
“What we’re doing now, strictly speaking, is defusing mines. We need to look for defects and problems in the details that might lead to project failure. If we find them, we definitely can’t invest, but not finding them doesn’t mean the project doesn’t have other issues.”
“From the current situation, although Cold Noodle Girl is burning money frantically, its product strength is passable–not outstanding, but not so bad as to lose significant points for taste.”
“To achieve this level means that Meng Chang’s funds, apart from marketing, have been spent effectively, without making any outrageous moves.”
“The marketing is indeed successful; at least, many people now know the Cold Noodle Girl brand. Whether these people can accept the brand and become loyal customers… is hard to say.”
Xue Zhebin scratched his head, somewhat speechless: “So complicated!”
“We’ve been watching this project for so long, yet we still can’t determine if we should invest.”
Li Shi smiled slightly: “Young people are easily impatient. Investment requires patience.”
“Truly experienced investors know that you should never fear complications when investing, otherwise, you’re disrespecting your own money.”
“Many investors, despite being meticulous and vigilant about various details, still end up with failed projects and total losses.”
“As for those careless investors lacking patience, who only want to invest money for quick returns, they all lose their entire investment.”
Li Shi paused, then continued, “Why do you think I particularly like to follow Mr. Pei’s investments?”
“Because following Mr. Pei’s investments, you can make money regardless of the project. It’s just a matter of making more or less, sooner or later. Compared to meticulously screening these investment projects with exhaustive effort, isn’t it more convenient to copy the standard answer directly?”
Xue Zhebin looked at him with admiration: “Mr. Pei, as an investment genius, truly deserves his reputation.”
“Hey, Mr. Li, do you think when Mr. Pei invests in these projects, does he also conduct on-site inspections and repeatedly confirm like we do? He has so many industries, where does he find the time?”
Li Shi shook his head: “I don’t know about that. Mr. Pei moves in mysterious ways; who knows what he’s busy with normally.”
“Regarding investments, I think Mr. Pei has more advanced, time-saving methods, but ordinary people definitely can’t learn them.”
“Take the previous incident for example…”
“Haven’t you noticed that Meng Chang has almost stopped riding on Tenda’s popularity recently? Since that press conference, he’s been much more restrained.”
Xue Zhebin recalled carefully: “It does seem so. Recently, Meng Chang has organized many marketing activities, like delivering grilled cold noodles in sports cars and such, but hasn’t mentioned Tenda’s investment again.”
“Could it be that at the last press conference, Mr. Pei’s warning through Mr. Ma had an effect?”
Li Shi nodded: “Yes. This shows that even without being present in person, Mr. Pei can deduce the truth behind it through some subtle clues; no detail escapes his eyes.”
“And Mr. Pei can use these details to see the big picture, controlling and predicting the direction of the entire project from a macro perspective. I think this must be his unique investment philosophy.”
“Unfortunately, this level of investment has something mysteriously profound about it; ordinary people absolutely cannot learn it.”
After mentally picturing this, Xue Zhebin sighed: “Ah, investing is too difficult. Indeed, following Mr. Pei and directly copying the correct answers is more convenient.”
Li Shi smiled: “It doesn’t matter. As long as we slowly investigate and learn from the projects Mr. Pei invests in, we’ll gradually improve.”
“Investment geniuses like Mr. Pei, who can make flawless strategies at such a young age, are one in ten thousand, extremely rare. You’re still young; you can learn these things slowly. Don’t try to become an expert overnight.”
Li Shi stood up: “Let’s go. GPL is about to start. Let’s go back and arrange for the newly poached players. GOG competitions have a much higher status in Mr. Pei’s heart than this project.”
“We’ve understood this project fairly well. After observing a bit longer and considering Mr. Pei’s attitude… the final answer should be revealed soon.”