pjbooks Chapter 115 [The Nameless Ones]
Chapter 115 [The Nameless Ones]
Chapter 115 [The Nameless Ones]
Chen Min didn't press for more numbers or mention the pressure in the factory. She just stood there quietly, as if processing what she had been told.
The lights in the night market dimmed one by one, and the smell of barbecue in the air was gradually diluted by the coolness of late autumn.
Liu Zhuohao stood opposite her, about two steps away.
He had no idea what she was thinking.
There were no dramatic changes in expression on her lightly made-up face, only her eyelashes occasionally drooping and then lifting, as if she wanted to say something but then swallowed it back, hesitant to speak.
He couldn't tell from her reaction whether Chen Youyin and their Chen family had realized the truth that he had kept to himself and never spoken aloud.
The profit-sharing ratio is problematic.
To be honest, Liu Zhuohao knew very well that he had gotten the better deal in this transaction.
They took advantage of the Chen family.
When Chen Youyin brought up the idea that "Boss Liu will take the lion's share, and he has no objection to getting 40%", Liu Zhuohao immediately realized what that number meant.
When the other person said this, there was no resentment in their tone, or even any consideration of the situation.
He genuinely believed that this deal was made possible entirely by his face, his account, and his 200,000+ followers.
Therefore, Liu Zhuohao did not make a fuss, did not refuse, and did not put on airs.
He simply went with the flow and signed the contract, thus putting that extremely unreasonable profit-sharing ratio for the supplier into writing.
This would have been absolutely impossible 25 years ago.
Where else can you find suppliers with such a low percentage of profits? As the actual producers, they bear the highest risks in this business: raw material procurement, labor costs, equipment depreciation, inventory backlog, and cold chain losses —
From the production line to the consumer's hands, if any link in the chain goes wrong, the factory will always be the first to be held accountable and bear the most direct losses.
Although the production cost losses have been agreed upon in the contract and will be borne jointly by them, they will be deducted from the profit of each batch first.
Ultimately, however, factories are the ones that actually produce goods.
And what about yourself and the platform?
My main contribution was time and content creation. In fact, the actual shooting time was only one day, and even if there were more videos to shoot later, it would only take three or four days.
Therefore, after seeing their actual efforts, the Chen family has been questioning their own abilities and doubting whether the cooperation can be successfully achieved.
As for the platform, Liu Zhuohao was unaware of it.
Compared to the factory's investment of energy, financial resources, and time in maintenance, the risks associated with my efforts are on a completely different level.
Nowadays, the internet, or rather many manufacturers, have absolutely no concept of "live-streaming e-commerce".
Among them, with their own 200,000+ followers and millions of views, they naturally felt that they should take the lion's share.
Since he has already used his own reputation to vouch for the deal, and the buyer is even his fan, he should naturally take the lion's share.
They proactively offered 40% of the profits, voluntarily made concessions in the contract, and proactively positioned themselves as "seeking cooperation."
But in reality, that's not the case.
However, for a large part, the Chen family is currently only acting as a factory and a supplier, rather than as a brand owner.
They are not large enough, so they don't have a very detailed plan for this cooperation model.
Liu Zhuohao did not say these words aloud.
He simply looked at Chen Min, at her eyes that seemed especially soft under the night market lights, and suddenly asked, "Did you drive here?"
Chen Min was taken aback, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, clearly not expecting the topic to suddenly shift to this mundane and unrelated area of business.
"----Um."
She replied, "I parked in the parking lot at the back entrance of the night market, that paid open-air area."
"Then I'll take you to get your car. We've finished filming here, and it's about time we left." Liu Zhuohao's tone was very natural, as if he were saying something perfectly reasonable.
Without waiting for Chen Min's reply, he turned to the side and made a "please" gesture.
Just then—
In the distance, after saying goodbye to the girls who were taking their last group photo, Song Yinxuan was walking towards them.
Her twin ponytails bounced lightly over her shoulders, and the bow tie of her white sailor uniform tilted slightly as she ran.
Her walking posture is very special. It is just a normal walk, but it carries a lightness left by long-term dance training, as if she is stepping on invisible springs.
People who enjoy dancing often have a graceful gait.
Song Yinxuan walked closer and closer, then stopped three steps away from me.
Liu Zhuohao watched as her gaze swept across his face before landing on Chen Min beside him, pausing for about a second, clearly scrutinizing her.
"Who is this?"
She suddenly asked, her voice still sweet and soft, pleasing to the ear, with a slight panting from running.
Although she is actually about the same age as Chen Min, their styles are completely different.
"Hello, I'm Zhuo Hao's friend."
Before Liu Zhuohao could speak, Chen Min spoke up, addressing him not as "Boss Liu" as she had always called him.
"Hello, I am."
Song Yinxuan paused for a moment, then smiled and began to introduce herself.
"I know you're Zhuo Hao's colleague," Chen Min said first, sounding very familiar. "When I picked him up in my car before, he mentioned you, saying he wanted to collaborate on a video."
Upon hearing this, Song Yinxuan froze completely, her gaze shifting back and forth between herself and Chen Min, unsure of what to say.
"Okay, you and Teacher Crow get in the car and wait for me." Liu Zhuohao said calmly, looking at Song Yinxuan. "I'll take her to the back parking lot and be right back."
Song Yinxuan blinked.
Those round, crescent-shaped eyes stared intently at Liu Zhuohao for a second.
She didn't ask any questions.
"OK."
She smiled and said in a light voice, "Then I'll go first."
She waved to Liu Zhuohao, nodded politely to Chen Min, then turned around, her twin ponytails swaying gently behind her, and walked towards the van with its taillights still on at the entrance of the night market.
Chen Min did not speak.
Liu Zhuohao remained silent.
He simply made the "please" gesture again, then strode off toward the back entrance of the night market.
Chen Min followed half a step behind Liu Zhuohao.
This distance is neither too far nor too near.
It's just the right time to speak, and it's also just the right time not to speak.
The wind gently lifted a corner of the cashmere cuff around her wrist, revealing a small section of her slender wrist, which was free of any ornaments.
Liu Zhuohao walked ahead without looking back.
He chose to remain silent.
They had nothing to say until the contract was officially executed and sales began to generate profits.
"What about Boss Chen? —"
It wasn't until they left the night market and entered the parking lot that Liu Zhuohao suddenly said, without turning around, his voice slightly carried away by the night wind, "You can tell him that I will officially launch the sales link before the next video comes out."
Chen Min paused for a moment, then followed.
"----good."
she says.
There is only this one word.
Liu Zhuohao didn't say anything more.
The dim light bulb at the entrance to the parking lot was still on. Chen Min's car was parked in the corner. As they walked over there, she took out her car keys from her bag. A small, fluffy Shiba Inu plush toy was hanging on the keychain.
Yi's style of dress is in stark contrast to hers.
Liu Zhuohao saw it, but didn't say anything. He simply stood still and made room for the car door.
Drive slowly on the road.
He spoke very politely.
Liu Zhuohao watched Chen Min leave without asking how long she had been at the stall or how long she had waited, nor did he offer to invite her for a late-night snack.
Now is not the right time.
Everything depends on the business being completed, everyone making money and profits, then we can sit down and be happy.
Liu Zhuohao walked towards the entrance of the night market. He had come in this van that afternoon, instead of riding his own motorcycle as usual.
If we're leaving now, we can only do so by car.
The seating arrangement was the same as in the afternoon; he sat in the last row with the crow.
The night view outside the car window began to recede slowly. Liu Zhuohao leaned back in his seat, his gaze fixed on the streetlights rushing past the window.
"Was that Mr. Liu's girlfriend just now?"
Song Yinxuan's voice came from the front row, sounding a little cautious.
She turned her head slightly, revealing half of her face through the gap in the seat. A strand of her pigtails hung down, and her smiling eyes, which easily curved into crescent moons when she smiled, stared straight at him.
Chen Min didn't ask Song Yinxuan much about her, but when Liu Zhuohao returned to the van, Song Yinxuan became very curious.
Soy Milk turned its head almost simultaneously.
The speed and the synchronization were clearly something the two girls had already discussed quietly before Liu Zhuohao got on the bus.
Liu Zhuohao looked away.
"no."
He answered casually, his tone flat, "We're friends."
He paused, then added, as if to explain his overly brief answer: "It's Chen Min, the Chen Min from Chen Ji."
"Oh one"
The crow sitting next to her drew out its words, as if suddenly realizing something, "Miss Chen, I thought it was someone else."
He explained with a smile, "Ms. Chen is not only Boss Liu's business partner, but also a partner within our station—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Liu Zhuohao saw the crow's Adam's apple bob, as if it had swallowed back a word that was about to slip out.
He realized it.
The crow also realized that Song Yinxuan was sitting in the car.
Regarding business deals, revenue sharing, and the financial dealings between the platform and bloggers—these matters have always been an unspoken gray area within the platform, and are not easy to discuss.
It's a bit like the unwritten rule in a company that employees shouldn't ask each other about their salaries.
The crow almost stepped on the line just now.
Soy Milk picked up the conversation almost immediately, speaking a beat faster than usual: "Ms. Chen may collaborate with our site in the future, but the specifics are still unclear—yes, still unclear."
Her words sounded somewhat perfunctory, and her tone trailed off.
Clearly, she realized it too.
As an operations editor on the site, just like Crow, she also knew about the commercial orders.
There was a moment of silence inside the car.
"Let's talk about the filming." Crow cleared his throat, as if to cough up the awkwardness from earlier. "The editing team will prioritize processing it in post-production and release it online as soon as possible."
"You are among the few bloggers who can get our platform to help edit videos."
"We might even be able to secure a homepage banner ad. Your cross-regional collaboration is particularly effective, driving traffic to each other and appearing in front of active users in different sections of the site, thus increasing brand awareness."
He spoke more and more fluently, and his speaking speed gradually returned to normal: "Once the platform accumulates to a certain level and the community becomes more active, more and more people will discuss it in real life, and your reputation may spread beyond the platform."
"The site administrator is very satisfied with the direction of this event and hopes that this collaboration will indirectly encourage other bloggers on the site to get involved. It's all good when everyone benefits, a win-win situation!"
He started using the same booming tone he used when reporting on his work.
Liu Zhuohao didn't interrupt him, but just listened quietly.
After Crow finished speaking, he suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, is Teacher Cat interested in our Chaoshan beef balls?"
The carriage fell silent again.
The crow didn't reply.
Soy milk didn't respond.
Their eyes were filled with confusion, as if they didn't understand why they had to bring the topic back when they had clearly changed the subject.
Song Yinxuan blinked.
Her gaze slowly swept across Liu Zhuohao's face, then moved to Crow's face, and then to Bean Milk's face, where confusion was obvious in her round eyes.
"----I."
She hesitated before speaking, her voice soft and hesitant, tinged with the cautiousness of someone speaking in a Sichuan or Chongqing accent, "Should I be interested?"
She understood.
She understood everything from the few hesitant words the crow and the soy milk exchanged, the sentence that was suddenly cut off, and their "pretending nothing happened" expressions.
Song Yinxuan wasn't a newcomer to the industry; she understood these signals.
Something's up here.
It involves Mr. Liu, Ms. Chen from earlier, the platform, and something she shouldn't be involved in.
She was just a guest invited to participate in the collaboration.
Her mission is complete.
What happened next was outside her job scope.
"You might be interested," Liu Zhuohao said softly, looking at the crow. "Actually, I had a private chat with the site administrator, and he had some suggestions for the later promotion details, which is to ask the bloggers on the site to try the beef balls we sell."
He laid the topic out completely among the four of them.
At the same time, he also had the idea of using the crow's beak to talk to the stationmaster again.
Previously, Liu Zhuohao had considered contacting other bloggers privately to help him with product reviews, rather than using different platforms.
He has a large fan base, and his private messages are filled with people asking him for advice on filming and operations.
Examples include the famous butter sauce and lamb dishes that later became known for documenting daily life.
Or there are those like Nyan-san and R-chan who started making videos early on and have persisted, yet remain completely unknown.
These people are already active on Bilibili. Some have tried posting videos but no one watches them, while others haven't even started yet, they just have this idea.