pjbooks Chapter 104 [Questioning]
Chapter 104 [Questioning]
Chapter 104 [Questioning]
The lack of common topics is the beginning of parting.
At first, it will be very painful, and you will try to salvage the situation, but after experiencing it many times, it will gradually become a matter of course.
Whether they are friends or lovers, if they cannot become family, they will eventually part ways.
Even family members will easily separate in the future.
Liu Zhuohao sighed inwardly, then changed his approach: "Right now—what games are popular? Do people still play League of Legends? What champion do they mainly play?"
Cai Jiahao was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I haven't played games much lately."
He paused, then lowered his voice, "You two are both busy, it's no fun for me to play alone, and I have random teammates—"
This is outrageous!
Liu Zhuohao nodded, unsure of what to say next.
After that, the two fell into a brief silence.
He racked his brains, but couldn't think of any more topics that could be naturally started.
Those days in school, when we talked about everything, seem to be separated by an invisible membrane—visible, yet difficult to penetrate for a while.
Fortunately, Zhuang Zicong didn't go long and soon returned with two plates piled high with four-point gold, steaming hot, breaking the delicate atmosphere.
"How did it go with the agency this morning?" Zhuang Zicong sat down, eagerly trying the new pork knuckle, and naturally started the conversation, "How long will it take?"
"It went quite smoothly. It's reassuring to leave professional matters to professionals." When talking about business, Liu Zhuohao spoke a little faster. "The process will take about two weeks."
"But by the time you get your licenses, you'll probably all be heading back to school."
Remembering something, he added, "Oh right, I just took a quick look at the group chat I'm in."
"The filming team arranged by the platform should arrive around Friday."
"You've come all this way, so take this opportunity to see more and learn more."
He looked at Zhuang Zicong, his tone carrying a hint of instruction: "If there are any exceptionally skilled individuals among them..."
They're quick-witted too; keep an eye on them privately and let me know.
"When our business expands a bit more in the future, maybe we can think about whether we can make a breakthrough."
Zhuang Zicong's eyes lit up. He swallowed the tender tendon and chuckled, drawing out his words, "I know, boss!"
In private, he addresses the boss differently than he does in front of others, with a slightly teasing tone.
Then he added, "Perfect, let's learn from them and see how the regular army operates."
This was precisely the main reason why he and Liu Honghao had specifically asked the school for leave to come here.
Although their previous work focused more on post-production editing, when it comes to making video content a career, shooting and editing are simply inseparable.
The quality and approach captured by the front-end camera directly determine the scope for post-production work.
They need a more systematic understanding of the operational chain of a complete content team.
If we can actually build a filming team in the future, they might be part of the team during the initial stages, responsible for both post-production editing and coordinating the initial filming.
"On another note—"
Zhuang Zicong picked up another piece of pork knuckle, mimicking his own actions by sucking off the soft, mushy skin. He sighed contentedly, "Shouldn't we upgrade our filming equipment? Using an entry-level action camera all the time feels—a bit inadequate."
"No one in the comments section has mentioned the image quality issue yet," Liu Zhuohao said carefully. "We're not going to change the equipment yet, but things have to be done one step at a time. You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time."
Zhuang Zicong chuckled and shook his head: "Being on TV really changes things; you start talking like a leader, just like my required course teacher."
The two chatted back and forth, discussing work plans and trivial matters in a natural and smooth atmosphere.
On the other side of the table, Cai Jiahao ate his meal in silence, but his movements became slower and slower, making him appear somewhat restrained and out of place.
"Um—" he suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, "How much is this one?"
Cai Jiahao was also trying to find topics to talk about and join in.
As soon as he said that, Liu Zhuohao and Zhuang Zicong's conversation came to an abrupt end.
"A serving will cost around twenty yuan." Liu Zhuohao hesitated for a moment. "Ordering this 'Four Points of Gold' dish will definitely be more expensive than pork trotter rice, and since I have a lot of meat in mine, it will be around fifty yuan."
The mountain of meat on his plate was indeed astonishing in size.
"Fifty? Fifty?" Cai Jiahao stopped chewing completely, his eyes widening slightly. "So expensive?"
"It's alright?" Zhuang Zicong replied casually. "About the price of a KFC meal? Eating fried chicken all the time gets boring, it's good to change things up."
"—You eat KFC often?" Cai Jiahao turned to look at him, his eyes filled with a complex mix of doubt. "So—you're rich?"
"Rich?" Zhuang Zicong was taken aback by the question, and was a little dumbfounded. "One KFC meal—that's considered rich? Surely not. I can afford to eat it occasionally."
When the topic turned to prices, Cai Jiahao seemed to have found a foothold and was finally able to join the conversation.
Liu Zhuohao listened quietly from the side, and he could probably understand.
After all, one of them is still in school and has no income on weekdays, so they are living off their savings.
If I run out of money, besides working part-time during winter and summer vacations, I can only ask my family for money.
Cai Jiahao is currently repeating his senior year of high school and has almost no time to work part-time, so he can only ask his family for money.
The other student, although also in school, not only receives living expenses from her family, but also works part-time, earning a basic salary plus bonuses of four to five thousand yuan per month.
When people have extra money, their consumption habits change.
While they were discussing, Liu Zhuohao got up and paid the bill.
When he returned, Cai Jiahao had already pulled out crumpled banknotes.
"No need, this meal is on me." Liu Zhuohao waved his hand, picked up the car keys on the table, "I have an appointment this afternoon, I have to go first."
"Exactly, he's the boss now. I work for him, so it's only right that he treats me." Zhuang Zicong laughed and stopped Cai Jiahao from taking out his money, then turned to Liu Zhuohao, "Are you really leaving like this? It's not easy to get together like this, why don't you go to your usual spot—for a bit?"
He gestured with his chin toward the sign of an internet cafe not far away.
"No, thank you." Liu Zhuohao shook his head. "The order for the beef balls is ready. I need to take it to Boss Chen for his review. I don't trust sending the documents over. It's safer to let them see the finished product in person."
After all, it was a commercial project, and Bilibili's fans are quite unique.
They are very opposed to business matters.
In this situation, Liu Zhuohao would likely save the video to his phone and show it to them directly, rather than sending it over the internet.
After a long separation, Liu Zhuohao and Cai Jiahao barely talked about each other's situations, and in fact, they barely exchanged a few words.
The two of them spent most of their time talking to Zhuang Zicong.
Liu Zhuohao talked to him about work, while Cai Jiahao talked to him about prices, about school, and about—
However, there was no conversation between the two of them.
Even though Liu Zhuohao brought up a topic, asking about studies and games, they still couldn't chat as enthusiastically as before, with the conversation seemingly never ending.
What if even this last remaining connection disappears in the future?
-
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Liu Zhuohao shook his head, temporarily putting the thought aside.
The motorcycle pierced through the slightly glaring afternoon sunlight and stopped at the entrance of Chen Youyin's factory.
At the agreed time, someone was already waiting at the door.
He went straight to the small conference room where the contract was signed last time.
Pushing open the door, Chen Youyin, Chen Min, and Master Chen were already inside.
Sitting next to him was a strange man, about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a square face, cold and hard eyes, and no expression. He just scrutinized Liu Zhuohao as he entered.
"Boss Liu is here." Chen Min stood up first and explained, "This is my brother, Chen Jianye."
Liu Zhuohao's gaze swept quickly over Chen Min; this was their third meeting.
When we first met, she was wearing a skirt suit and carrying a folder; she looked very capable.
On their second private outing, she changed into a light apricot-colored long dress and a beige cardigan, appearing much more gentle and graceful.
Today, she looks different. She's wearing a navy blue modified cheongsam with a crisp fabric that makes her skin appear even whiter.
Her long hair was still tied up and secured with an elegant jade hairpin, with a few loose strands falling softly beside her ears.
Furthermore, Chen Min's makeup was even more exquisite than the previous two times, with a warm, dusty rose lip color and two small pearl earrings shimmering on her earlobes.
She stood there, graceful and captivating.
Liu Zhuohao's gaze didn't linger long, mainly focusing on Chen Youyin. "Boss Chen, is everyone here today?"
He greeted us with a smile, his tone as usual.
"In the end, the family business should be led by the younger generation." Chen Youyin walked over with a cheerful smile, patted his nephew on the shoulder, and wore his usual kind smile that seemed to be the same for everyone on his face. "This is my eldest brother's eldest son, Jianye."
"My older brother is getting old and is resting in a sanatorium. Jianye is basically handling everything inside and outside the factory now."
"From now on, you'll need to communicate more with him and Xiaomin about many things."
Liu Zhuohao extended his palm, "Brother Jianye."
No matter how steady he is in his dealings with others, or what his current social status is, he is still, in appearance, just an eighteen-year-old boy.
"Hello." Chen Jianye reached out and shook hands, his grip neither too strong nor too weak. The coldness on his face seemed to soften slightly, perhaps just because of his appearance.
"Have a seat." He gestured to a chair, his tone direct. "Let's watch the video first. We don't have much time for trial marketing, so let's hurry."
He was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, the age when he was pragmatic and focused on results, and clearly did not intend to waste time on small talk.
"Oh dear, Jianye, you're too impatient." Chen Youyin smiled and tried to smooth things over, more like trying to soften his nephew's bluntness. He turned to Chen Min, his tone becoming more gentle, "Min, go and bring over the tea. Let's chat while we drink. Boss Liu isn't an outsider."
Chen Min responded and turned around deftly to prepare, the hem of her cheongsam swaying slightly with her movements.
Chen Jianye waited until Chen Min left before continuing the conversation, his gaze falling on the phone Liu Zhuohao had brought: "The trial sales contract is for six months. The sooner the video is finalized, the better we can arrange the production line and warehousing. Every day of delay is a cost."
These two, uncle and nephew, were singing in unison.
Liu Zhuohao understood, said no more, and took his seat.
He took out his phone, opened the final video that he had saved locally, steadily turned the screen towards the three people opposite him, and pressed the play button with his thumb.
"Hello everyone, I'm Liu Zhuohao."
At the beginning of the video, he is still sitting in front of the computer in that familiar rented room.
"After the last video—no, the one before that—where we randomly selected lucky customers, many viewers asked me through comments, bullet screens, and private messages where the beef balls in the video came from. So in this video—" he suddenly raised his hand, his voice rising, "we're going to challenge ourselves to make handmade Chaoshan beef balls!"
The scene shifts, and a cell phone screen appears on the screen, completely blocking the entire view.
"It's a little past five in the morning now —"
The phone was taken away, and the background was no longer the rented room, but a dimly lit street.
His own figure reappeared in the frame, accompanied by Huang Weixiong and others, as well as Master Chen.
Liu Zhuohao held his phone, waiting for them to finish watching the video.
Although the entire filming process took almost nine hours, the actual edited footage was only about ten minutes long.
Chen Jianye was the first to speak. He leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowed, and his finger tapped unconsciously on the table: "Boss Liu, I've watched this video."
He paused, then said, "What I mean is, is there any part of this that directly promotes our 'Chen Ji' products?"
"I don't think I saw any trademarks, packaging, factory lenses, or even the brand name."
"I didn't even hear a single word of encouragement from the customers to buy anything."
He was skeptical.
Chen Min served the brewed Kung Fu tea to each person at the right time; the tea in the small teacups was clear.
She interjected softly, trying to ease the tension: "Come on, have some tea first."
"I also bought some chicken cutlets and chicken nuggets—"
She stood up, stuck the bamboo skewers into the small boxes, and pushed them next to the group.
"I've already explained this to Boss Chen."
Liu Zhuohao nodded to her, but didn't touch his teacup. His gaze met Chen Jianye's, and also swept over the silent people beside him.
But Chen Youyin is clearly also waiting for an explanation.
"Boss Chen, Brother Jianye," he called out to the two men first, his tone calm. "Regarding the presentation of the video, I remember explaining it in detail to Boss Chen when we signed the contract. We can't do hard-sell advertising directly; that would be very ineffective and might even alienate viewers."
Chen Youyin touched the teacup and nodded: "Yes, you mentioned that you wanted to lay the groundwork, so you asked Master Chen to film this—the production process."
He paused, then added, "But is this video the same thing as the marketing campaign we're going to do later?"
"That's one thing," Liu Zhuohao replied, speaking slowly but clearly. "The purpose of this video isn't to directly sell, but to build trust and stimulate demand."
"I showed how the most traditional and authentic beef balls are made, what kind of meat to choose, how to beat them, and why they are chewy. The process of making food is the best video material."
"Furthermore, in the video, I also explained that some products on the market contain other cheap ingredients. If viewers are moved after watching and want to eat authentic beef balls made with real ingredients, they will naturally think of this video and ask me about it."
He emphasized slightly, "When they come to ask, I'll recommend Chen's," and that would be perfectly logical.
"This is the effective way to sell online, called content seeding, not hard selling."
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