When Liu Chen found out she was trending again, she sat on the sofa, looking at the trending list on Weibo, and fell into deep thought.
“Am I legendary for being a trending topic magnet?”
After saying this, Liu Chen couldn't help but laugh at herself.
However, a trending topic was a free resource, especially one that came to her.
Liu Chen pondered how to maximize the utility of this trending topic. Her Taobao store and Meimeichang already had high exposure. Even with more exposure, there wouldn't be a significant increase in sales.
Most importantly, she only had one production line. Even with excellent sales, she wouldn't be able to produce enough. Slow delivery would then damage her brand.
While Liu Chen was thinking, Lai Jielun was helping Mi Zhuzhu select photos from her camera that hadn't been uploaded to Weibo. Sometimes it was a leaf, sometimes a snowflake. The photos were taken casually but carried Mi Zhuzhu's unique atmosphere.
Ren Mo and Sang Ling sat on the sofa, watching the Korean drama "You're Beautiful." Ren Mo was the primary viewer, while Sang Ling was accompanying her boyfriend.
To avoid disturbing them, Liu Chen got up and went into the bedroom.
She took out her phone and called Grandpa Chen. Liu Chen told him about the day's events and what was happening online.
“Chen Chen, you called Grandpa, you must have something in mind, right?”
“Yes, Grandpa, have you heard of 'persona'?”
“What persona?”
“It’s a setting for a person. You take the most prominent characteristic of a person and amplify it infinitely, and that can be called a persona.”
Grandpa Chen listened, feeling a bit confused. He sighed inwardly, realizing how incomprehensible the things young people did were.
“I understand the general idea. So, how do you need Grandpa to cooperate?”
“Grandpa can register a Weibo account and get it verified as the Chairman of Meili Brand. Then, he can post on Weibo saying that you bought the car for me, showing a doting attitude towards me. After you post, I’ll handle the rest.”
Liu Chen decided to create a simple persona of doting on her juniors for Grandpa, using her trending status to increase Meili Brand's visibility, at least among the younger generation.
Grandpa Chen immediately understood that Liu Chen was using her own way to advertise Meili Brand. He was a little nervous, worried about not doing a good job. After thinking for a moment, he said,
“Okay, I’ll let Chen Long handle this! I’ll call you when it’s done!”
“Okay, goodbye, Grandpa.”
After the call, Liu Chen opened Weibo and saw that her trending ranking had moved up another spot, reaching ninth place.
Her phone rang. It was the food she ordered from Tianwang Tower, which had arrived downstairs, but the security guard wouldn't let them in.
Since she had ordered quite a few dishes, Liu Chen called the other four people to go downstairs to pick up the food. When picking up the food, the delivery person looked familiar; it was Xiao Jiu, the bodyguard who was with Boss Shen last time.
“Hmm? I called, and I thought Tianwang Tower had takeout service?”
Seeing Xiao Jiu, Liu Chen instinctively looked towards the outside of the neighborhood. Sure enough, a black Mercedes was parked quietly on the roadside. Although the windows were not open, Liu Chen could still feel eyes on her from behind the glass.
Xiao Jiu explained, “My boss instructed us to start trying out delivery. Miss Liu, you can order more so we have opportunities to improve.”
Hearing Xiao Jiu’s words, Liu Chen raised her eyebrows and looked Xiao Jiu up and down.
“Since that’s the case, I do have a suggestion for you.”
Xiao Jiu quickly lowered his head to listen.
“When you deliver to other customers, you don’t need to be so formal. A black suit, white gloves, and a wooden box. If someone didn’t know, they might think you were carrying an urn…”
As Liu Chen spoke, Mi Zhuzhu and Ren Mo suddenly understood.
“No wonder, I felt something was a bit strange.”
Carrying the wooden food box towards where the black Mercedes was parked, Liu Chen smiled, mouthed the word "Thank you," and then turned back to go upstairs with her friends.
…
After delivering the food box, Xiao Jiu returned to the black Mercedes and reported Liu Chen’s words to Shen Yi. Shen Yi, with his sharp features, couldn’t help but reveal a helpless smile.
“Miss Liu is subtly advising me. Next time, Miss Liu’s takeout can be treated normally. But judging by Miss Liu’s demeanor, she’s not bothered by the online news. I can tell Grandpa not to worry when I get back.”
…
On Christmas Eve, the five of them ate food from Tianwang Tower and drank warm old duck soup. Snow began to fall outside the window.
Inside, the lights were bright, and laughter filled the living room. After Liu Chen finished her meal, Chen Long sent her the verified Weibo account name via QQ, along with the password.
Liu Chen looked at the name: "Chairman Chen Gao of Meili Group."
Well, such a proper Weibo name, including a title and brand, clearly indicated that Grandpa had guided Chen Long in registering it.
Liu Chen logged into Weibo and saw that Grandpa had posted a message doting on his granddaughter as requested. “The efforts of our older generation are for our children and grandchildren. Even if Liu Chen is willing to spend money, we don’t mind. As long as she’s happy!”
After checking that everything was in order, Liu Chen posted a new Weibo in response:
“Thank you for your support, Grandpa @Chairman Chen Gao of Meili Group. It’s Christmas Eve, and I apologize for occupying everyone’s time due to personal reasons. By the way, open the Meimeipai Taobao store and say the secret code to the customer service:
Merry Christmas
You can get a one-yuan no-threshold coupon as an apology gift.”
With this interaction on Weibo, Liu Chen’s followers, who had been alerted by the mention of Grandpa’s account, followed the link and discovered it was a verified official account.
‘Is this the grandpa from the stepfather’s side?’
‘Holy crap, amazing! He’s so generous to the child brought by his daughter-in-law and born from his ex-husband!’
‘Is this Meili Brand so powerful? Giving the child a gift is over four million yuan?’
Initially, most of the comments were from people who enjoyed the drama. Mi Zhuzhu and Sang Ling almost felt compelled to defend Liu Chen using their own Weibo accounts.
But Liu Chen stopped them, holding their hands and gently shaking her head. She said confidently,
“You are all my friends, and your words have no credibility in my matters. Just wait, it will be peaceful in the comments section within five minutes at most.”
Mi Zhuzhu didn’t understand why, but she always trusted Liu Chen. Since Liu Chen said to wait, she would wait!
Sang Ling, after being stopped, looked thoughtful.
“Is it because of the coupon you mentioned?”
Liu Chen smiled and nodded.
“Although the coupon amount is small, most people are willing to take advantage of something they can get with just a few clicks. This also encourages those who have been hesitant about Meimeichang to take the first step.”
Liu Chen paused, then opened her Taobao app and navigated to the Meimei Food Taobao store.
She then held up her phone to show the product page to the four people gathered around the coffee table.
Mi Zhuzhu tilted her head, looking at the product, and frowned slightly as she read,
“Meimeichang.”
“Meili Chang.”
“Meili Chang! Chen Chen, why do you have Meili Chang in your Taobao store? Isn’t that Uncle Chen’s brand of sausage?”
Mi Zhuzhu was perplexed and also worried. “Did Uncle Chen see that your Meimeichang is selling well and wants to get a piece of the pie? That’s not acceptable. Your investment hasn’t even been recovered yet!”
Hearing Zhuzhu’s words, Liu Chen knew that Zhuzhu, like her, placed her first in her heart.
“No, it was my idea. My Meimeichang’s production is already at full capacity, and I can’t take any more orders. It’s better to take advantage of this buzz to promote the Meili Brand.
Grandpa Chen has always wanted to expand Meili Brand beyond S Province, but he’s been struggling because the channels in other provinces have been controlled by other companies, leaving no room for Meili Brand.
Now, by making an opening online, we can let young Weibo users get to know the brand, try its sausages, and then expand offline. This will solve many problems.
And in this process, my Meimeichang can also be distributed, solving many cost issues.”
After Liu Chen finished speaking, only Lai Jielun and Sang Ling looked thoughtful. In reality, Liu Chen was purely trying not to waste the traffic. As for the actual promotional effect of Meili Brand, it was up to fate.
…
The Weibo was bustling all day, but Hu Xingfa, a middle-aged man, was completely unaware. Most of his clients had been poached. The remaining clients, using the excavator he had just bought with a loan, were fiercely haggling over prices, and the final payments were repeatedly delayed.
Hu Xingfa sat in his office, looking at the paltry sum of over ten thousand yuan in his account. He calculated the money he needed to pay in salaries next month. After paying salaries, his pocket would only have ten thousand yuan left for the entire year!
He had over a million yuan in his account at the end of last year!
As he was worrying about this ten thousand yuan profit, the desk phone suddenly rang.
“Ring, ring! Ring, ring!”
Late at night, Hu Xingfa was startled by the sudden ringing of the landline. Nevertheless, having not made any money, he frowned and pressed the speakerphone button.
“Hello, excavator rental. Do you want to rent an excavator?”
Hu Xingfa asked first. The person on the other end was taken aback, and then a soft female voice came from the landline.
“Hello, yes. I am Mi Li, the host of a TV interview program in this city. We learned that student Liu Chen spent 4.3 million yuan to buy a car today and would like to inquire about…”