pjbooks Chapter 101 [Those who can't lead a team can only do the bare minimum]
Chapter 101 [Those who can't lead a team can only do the bare minimum]
Chapter 101 [Those who can't lead a team can only do the bare minimum]
Watching from the side, Chef Chen couldn't help but chuckle and chimed in politely, "Yes, Boss Liu is right. When it comes to food, personal taste is the most important thing. Some customers just prefer a crisper texture."
"Right! I told you so!" Liu Zhuohao's voice rose a little, but his hands didn't stop. He used a slotted spoon to scoop up a few more meatballs from the pot and distributed them to everyone, while he continued to enjoy them himself.
But every time he picked up a meatball, he would habitually break it open to take a look first.
If it's the kind with distinct layers, he immediately beams, quickly stuffs it into his mouth, savors it carefully, and then comments with feigned seriousness: "Hmm, Master Chen, your meatballs—the flavor is authentic, but I think the elasticity could be improved. Compared to mine, they're a bit lacking."
Once he breaks it open and discovers he made it himself, the disappointment on his face vanishes in an instant. Then he quickly looks around and precisely feeds it: "Kai, come on, try my fledgling version. You've been working hard helping contact the renovation team lately!"
"Cheng Bing, don't just watch, try my cooking!"
"Yang Boran, you should have one too. Make sure your evaluation is objective!"
Aside from Huang Weixiong, who controls the handheld console, almost everyone else was fed by him.
Li Zekai wasn't picky. He took the meatball Liu Zhuohao handed him, broke it open with his bare hands, and threw it directly into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he said honestly, "Boss, this is quite chewy, and the meat flavor is strong."
"Master Chen, is this the kind that sells for 70 or 80 yuan per kilogram in the market?"
"I feel like using a machine to do it might be more efficient, right?"
Master Chen smiled and nodded: "Yes, these pure meatballs are commonly found in the market."
"Good machines produce high-efficiency products with consistent quality and good taste. Many shops use them."
"Even though Mr. Liu has tried his best, there will still be air holes in the ones he makes. But if they are made by machine, there will be virtually no air holes, and the quality of each one will be almost the same."
As Liu Zhuohao listened, he finally managed to snatch another piece of beef prepared by Chef Chen. After chewing it a few times and swallowing it, he smacked his lips, looked at the camera, and finally dropped his stubbornness, revealing a helpless expression: "Okay, I admit it."
"Master Chen, experience is the best teacher."
"It's expensive, but there's a reason for it."
He did his best to pique the audience's interest and curiosity about beef balls.
Which tastes better, a beef ball with a flat cut or a beef ball with distinct layers?
The camera pans across the scene of everyone enjoying a hot pot meal, with steam rising and laughter filling the air.
Master Chen wore a satisfied smile, Huang Weixiong and the others buried themselves in their food, while Liu Zhuohao, while eating, continued to ramble on to the camera, summarizing his experiences and offering advice on how to avoid making these handmade beef balls.
This long filming project has come to an end.
"After the final cut is complete, I'll send a copy to Boss Chen for confirmation," Liu Zhuohao said to Master Chen downstairs. "Thank you for your hard work this morning, coming so early and giving me so much guidance."
Huang Weixiong and a few others helped move things.
"You're welcome." Mr. Chen waved his hand. "My van is parked in front. The trunk isn't locked, so you can just put it in."
After he finished speaking, he didn't move, but just looked at the group of young people.
Huang Weixiong and his group were a little confused, standing there holding their things.
"Why aren't you sending it over yet?" Liu Zhuohao reminded him.
The group then realized what was happening and hurriedly walked towards the car.
After they had walked a little further away, Master Chen took half a step forward and asked in a low voice, "Boss Liu, is our filming method today really that good? I've seen other filmmakers do several takes for a single shot, selecting the most refined one, but here—we got them all in one take?"
The twilight fell on his face, clearly illuminating the fine lines at the corners of his eyes and his slightly graying temples, and his tone revealed an unconcealable worry.
Today's shoot went so smoothly, completely unlike what he had anticipated—a situation requiring repeated retakes and adjustments.
Boss Liu didn't ask to do it again, didn't say that his lines weren't good, and didn't even ask to make the meatballs again.
This is quite different from the standard he had in mind for serious filming.
Does this seem a bit far-fetched?
"Master Chen, what we do is not the same as making movies." Liu Zhuohao patiently explained, "What I do is called life documentation. The main point is authenticity. What we want is an atmosphere that is both restrained and casual on set."
"If we have to reshoot again and again, it's like we've already done it once, but because we didn't say the lines well or were too nervous, we have to do it all over again, doing what we've already done."
"Yes, after filming a few more times, you'll definitely get used to the process, but the feel of it will completely change, and the audience will be able to tell at a glance that it's acting."
Seeing that Master Chen seemed to be deep in thought, he continued, "Even if you really want to film us being serious, you have to film the whole process of failure, doing it again and again, that's what makes it real."
"But that would take a long time, maybe a week."
"We can't afford to waste time, energy, or money right now."
It is enough.
Liu Zhuohao knew that what he was currently filming was not only novel in the current online environment, but was even subtly at the forefront of the times.
The kind of filming method he described, which involves "repeated failures and repeated attempts," is something that bloggers in the self-media industry will have to achieve when they reach the extreme of "involution."
At that time, some people were even willing to start by growing wheat in order to make a bowl of noodles.
To film a fried chicken leg, they dared to start from hatching eggs.
Even if it's not about filming food, but about filming infrastructure or house renovations, it's about actually going from a bare, dilapidated house to gradually plastering cement onto the walls.
In an era where everyone wants to make a living from the internet, it's not uncommon for people to spend a year or two preparing for a single video.
But that's not now.
Master Chen listened and simply nodded: "In short, I'm not afraid of trouble. If Boss Liu needs anything, just call me anytime, and I'll be there immediately."
"I'll be there no matter how many takes we have to do."
Clearly, he did not understand what he was saying.
But it's understandable, since Master Chen is not young after all. If I hadn't been there to guide him from time to time, the atmosphere during the video shoot would have been quite reserved.
"Boss, you seem to be having a lot of free time, eating barbecue here?"
As dusk settled over the bustling street, the people in line shouted at Liu Zhuohao, "We're still in line, and you've already started eating!"
The barbecue stall was filled with smoke, and the steak stall next door was sizzling on its griddle. But Liu Zhuohao, the owner, had slipped away and was sitting on a small stool with two veterans who had just returned from leave, eating skewers and drinking beer.
Zhuang Zicong and Liu Honghao.
"Come on, come on, take some, take some."
Liu Zhuohao glanced helplessly at the two people in front of him, stood up, picked up the iron plate that the barbecue stall owner had just brought over, and walked over. "The two guys who helped edit the videos came over today, so I definitely have to treat them to a meal."
"I've been busy lately, so I can only treat people to street food at this stall."
He offered a brief explanation, thus deflecting the issue.
His customers were queuing up here, while he, the boss, was eating barbecue at the stall next door. That was definitely not a very ethical thing to do.
But there's no way around it, I'm just too busy.
"Boss, did you win the prize draw?"
Then someone asked and took a sausage from the iron plate that had been taken over.
Liu Zhuohao replied, "No, it's been almost a week, why hasn't anyone drawn it yet?"
"My guest is almost here, but the lucky customer hasn't been chosen yet."
Another person picked up a scallion and tofu sandwich and asked, "Boss Liu, who are the guests filming with us? Can you give us a hint? Are they male or female? Are they celebrities?"
"How could I possibly invite a celebrity?" Liu Zhuohao said helplessly. "She's just a small blogger like me, just trying to make a living. We collaborate a bit. Male or female? Well, let me give you a hint, she's female."
"Wow, isn't it beautiful?"
Upon hearing that it was a girl, someone immediately laughed, "Boss Liu, could she be your lover?"
"Don't talk nonsense, we're just work colleagues."
Liu Zhuohao quickly stopped this trend, saying, "It will definitely look good. I'm quite well-known on our website, so if we're collaborating with someone, the image will definitely be good."
"Not the kind that's very thin and looks aloof."
"Yeah, cute, right? The sweet type."
He didn't resist answering the question, both as a warm-up for the video and as a promotion for the official filming that would take place some time later.
Liu Zhuohao was somewhat worried about how many people would gather in the night market during the offline filming, as too many people could easily lead to accidents.
At the same time, he also hoped for more help and had even submitted an application to the community service center, hoping that more people could help maintain order at the scene.
After Liu Zhuohao finished serving all the barbecue on the iron plate, he sat back down and had a chance to catch his breath. He hurriedly raised his glass and clinked it with the two of them, saying, "This glass is on me. It's a shame you two couldn't come back for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays."
Because they had to juggle their own video creation, account management, and studies, both of them were quite busy at school, even choosing to stay on campus during holidays.
The cool beer went down in one gulp, finally moistening my parched throat.
"Hey, it's okay, it's fine being out here."
Zhuang Zicong took a swig of beer, his tone somewhat nonchalant, "If I go home, my mom will definitely nag me, 'Oh, all you do is stare at the computer all day, you don't even study properly,' and stuff like that. She has no idea I'm making money off this stuff now."
He chuckled. "When she came back yesterday, she said, 'You've really made something of yourself now. I should learn more from you.'"
"Isn't it funny? Just a few months ago, when you said you weren't going to school and were going to set up a stall, she kept telling me behind my back not to follow your example. But now that you're doing well and have become famous around here, she immediately changed her mind."
"If I had really listened to her back then, I would have done it long ago—"
They're childhood friends after all, so they don't hold back when they start complaining.
However, as he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, as if he had remembered something, and then he fell silent and did not continue.
Liu Honghao listened from the side, just smiled shyly, and didn't dare to respond to such remarks.
"They're pretty much the same." Liu Zhuohao refilled his glass, his tone flat. "Before you've made something of yourself, who has any faith in you?"
"My parents were the same. They were against it all along, but they couldn't control me, so they just kept refusing to talk to me. It was quite oppressive at home."
"Once I achieve something and prove myself, those things will naturally disappear. On the contrary, they will encourage and support me. We have to choose our own path and walk it ourselves."
Zhuang Zicong chuckled and glanced at the brightly lit steak stall in the distance.
Huang Weixiong, Cheng Bing, and the others were working hard, and the queue in front of their stall was very long.
"That's great, having so many people working with you."
He sighed.
Liu Zhuohao keenly caught the subtle envy in his words: "What's wrong? Don't you get along well with your roommates at school?"
'
"That's how it is," Zhuang Zicong shrugged. "It's a college, eight people a room, how can everyone get along?"
"Sometimes I have to edit videos in the middle of the night, and they complain about the noise."
"Of course, it's also annoying when they're playing games all night and yelling. Anyway, not many of them are studying seriously, so the environment is just like that."
He turned to look at Liu Honghao, who was silently eating his food, and asked, "Honghao, your second-tier universities should be better, right?"
Liu Honghao was called out and panicked a little. His chopsticks, which were holding a grilled eggplant, paused for a moment: "It's...it's alright—a four-person dormitory."
"However, I work quite late at night, and they occasionally say a few words, but it's okay."
His words were vague, and it was clear that things weren't "just okay."
Hearing their words, Liu Zhuohao seemed to understand something, and his smile was somewhat subtle: "If you think the dormitory is inconvenient, then move out. I'll reimburse your rent."
Zhuang Zicong's eyes lit up: "Boss, is there really such a perk?"
Liu Honghao instinctively wanted to refuse, and he was about to say something like "No need, no need," which he only said when receiving red envelopes during the New Year. But he was stopped by Liu Zhuohao's next sentence.
"As for employee benefits, you guys joined my team at the same time as Awei and Akai, so you're considered veterans."
.
Liu Zhuohao picked up two new cans of beer and handed them to the two men. "I didn't think this through before. Here's what I'll do: not only will I rent you a place, but I'll also provide you with new computers."
"At that time, each person will be provided with a desktop computer. At the same price point, the desktop computer will have much better configuration than the laptop."
"With a desktop computer, you'll find it easier to work."
Seeing the instant brightening in their eyes, he changed the subject: "However, now that the house is rented and the computers are set up, there's something that's been dragging on for a long time that you need to put on the agenda immediately: hiring people."
"Our online operations are currently being carried by just the two of you. You also have to attend classes and recently you've been learning photography and lighting techniques—you're simply too busy to keep up. I told you before to keep an eye out for people at school, but so far, I haven't seen a single one."
He gestured with his chin towards the steak stand: "Look at Wei and his team, how quickly they've moved to recruit people for their new shop."
"We haven't found a suitable experienced chef yet, but we've already contacted most of the staff, including waiters, cashiers, dishwashers, and general helpers. We've created a group chat, and there are over thirty people waiting for the store to open, sign contracts, and start working immediately."
"We've also made progress on finding a storefront, a location, and a renovation company. Things are moving forward."
"But what about our online team?"
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