I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 62: [Preparation for the Second Limited-Time Event]

"This is... a biting cat?!"

Having just finished closing up shop, Liu Zhuohao was slumped on a bench waiting for Huang Weixiong and the others to finish showering.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked up and saw Huang Weixiong, who had just finished showering, squatting shirtless behind him, staring intently at his phone screen.

"……Um."

Liu Zhuohao replied casually, stood up, and said, "I'll go after you're done washing up. Get some rest."

He put away his phone and prepared to go back to his room to get a change of clothes.

"No, boss, you really added her on QQ?" Huang Weixiong followed behind, his tone urgent and enthusiastic. "She's a big blogger!"

"How did you add her? How long have you been together? Did she add you, or did you add her?"

"I just glanced at it, it looked like a selfie?"

A barrage of questions came crashing down on me.

Liu Zhuohao took the clothes, and seeing that he was still blocking the doorway, he said helplessly:

"It's been going on for a few days now."

"Our last video went viral, and people thought we were a legitimate blogger now, so they added us."

"Besides, we're not bad off now. If food can be separated from entertainment, I'd be considered top-tier. It's normal for top food vendors to have some connections with top dance vendors."

He waved his hand, signaling for people to move aside.

"Photos, I mean photos, it looks like a selfie? You two..."

Huang Weixiong's face turned slightly red before he finished speaking. He wanted to ask but didn't dare to ask too clearly.

Liu Zhuohao intended to walk around it, but he paused as he approached, his gaze falling on the boy's face.

Those eyes shone with a light, full of eagerness and anticipation.

The boy's imagination was ignited the moment he saw that photograph.

Huang Weixiong's voice tightened: "You guys...are you that familiar already?"

It seemed that something untouchable had been stirred when he discovered that he had made contact with the biting cat, a figure he could only admire from afar on the website.

The biting cat wasn't actually that famous during this period.

But for an ordinary young man from a small city, she was still a beautiful and dazzling figure on the website.

Celebrities? They're too far out of reach; I wouldn't even dare to dream about them.

But a well-known blogger on a familiar website doesn't seem so far away.

after all……

She was indeed right in front of me.

"Not familiar with them."

Liu Zhuohao interrupted his rambling thoughts, "The photos are of her makeup and styling for a Bilibili offline event. I asked her about the BML event before, and she probably thought I was interested, so she took some photos to show me, as well as the backstage rehearsal."

He looked at the young face in front of him and his tone became serious: "Wei, I have to tell you something in advance. Just like you and Li Zekai, you are colleagues offline."

"Online, bloggers are also colleagues."

"Don't judge people based on biases, I mean... never mind."

He swallowed the words back down his throat.

Huang Weixiong looked bewildered: "What do you mean, 'let it go'?"

"...It's nothing, get some rest." Liu Zhuohao waved his hand, as if he were a Korean League of Legends player saying this while munching on a dark chocolate popsicle.

In fact, one doesn't really need other people's advice in life.

Some things you won't understand just by hearing about them; you have to experience them yourself to know.

I am reborn.

But the people around me are not.

He cannot force future experiences and knowledge into the mind of a young person who is still growing up.

……

……

"Old Zhao, we're such good friends, don't try to trick me."

Taking advantage of the daytime opportunity to leave the breakfast stall to Huang Weixiong and his partner, Liu Zhuohao slipped away to the wholesale market, sat down at the meat stall, lit a cigarette, and asked while looking at his phone, "Will the goods arrive on time? Is the quality consistent?"

"Don't worry, it'll definitely be the kind of beautifully marbled steak you're looking for." Old Zhao chuckled and sat down. "What's it called again... oh, M3+ grade, no problem."

"Is it short ribs?" Liu Zhuohao confirmed again. "I want the boneless part, it has more marbling, and it looks better in photos."

"Don't worry, I've relayed every word you told me." Old Zhao patted his chest. "I told them that we might be cooperating long-term in the future. You're the big boss, they won't ruin their reputation over this one deal."

He glanced at Liu Zhuohao's hand: "You changed your phone?"

"...Hmm." Liu Zhuohao replied casually, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"That's more like a young person," Old Zhao said, exhaling a puff of smoke. "My son is the same way; he saved up to buy a computer as soon as he started working."

Liu Zhuohao did not respond.

On his phone, his conversation with Crow had stopped a few days ago, about the business order, and he hadn't replied.

He typed it in:

"We're getting ready to film the next episode, using Australian beef, and maybe some of our local specialties."

As previously agreed, he reported it to the authorities.

The second phase of the "limited-time event" is almost ready, and the Angus Australian beef that Lao Zhao ordered is already on its way.

We've arrived, and filming will begin soon.

"……what?"

The other end replied instantly, after all, it was during working hours.

"Boss Liu, judging from the data, the reason why the last episode was a hit was mainly due to the surprise effect brought by the seafood."

"Australian beef is good, but its impact might not be as strong as Boston lobster. This series is just starting out, and it's important to maintain momentum in the second installment. Should we switch to a more explosive ingredient?"

"Besides, steak is your offline business, and it has appeared frequently in previous videos, so viewers may find it unoriginal."

Several messages came in, their tone formal, lacking the relaxed feel of the earlier ones with emojis.

The crow seemed to understand what kind of person it was.

Unlike the bloggers he had worked with on Bilibili, the concentration of anime and manga culture wasn't as high.

"I've thought it through," Liu Zhuohao replied. "By choosing this one, I can answer some questions and promote new products at the stall."

What new products are you promoting?

Original cut steak.

When he chose the street-side steak business, he could have foreseen that one day he would have to face this problem: "cheaters" who sell cheap meat at high prices.

Maybe next year, maybe in a few years.

When people's understanding of steak increases and they begin to learn about synthetic and reconstituted meat, they should realize what a highly profitable business they are in.

The insults, such as "So you were using synthetic meat all along," "Is processed steak a scam?" and "How high are your profits?" are already appearing before my eyes.

Even if he produces all the inspection certificates to prove that he used real beef and that the production was compliant with regulations, it will still be a problem.

It's a fact that they sold for so much more than the cost and made a profit.

Therefore, rather than letting customers, competitors, or the media expose this problem in the future and stab ourselves in the back, it's better to open this door ourselves first!

The other end of the chat window fell silent; the crow was probably pondering how to persuade him.

A moment later, a message popped up:

"Boss Liu, it's best to keep online and offline operations separate."

"There's no need to bring business matters into the content."

"This topic is indeed a bit repetitive. I really want to see steak, but you've already done that in your usual work videos. It's really not original."

Liu Zhuohao didn't dwell on the topic selection, but instead typed a question:

"How are your discussions going regarding the commercial orders?"

This question has been posted.

The message box immediately went silent, with no further response.

Helpless, Liu Zhuohao typed again on his phone screen:

"I've already started working on this, and I hope the platform can give me a reply as soon as possible."

He has already started working on this, and if the platform cannot give him a timely response, he will install GG himself.

……

……

In the evening, at a street-side steak stall, a man in his early fifties wearing a short-sleeved shirt stood at the stall, dawdling for five or six minutes.

"Um... I want this... I mean..." He stared at the menu and pictures lit up on the food cart's light box, mumbling to himself.

"Sir, have you ordered yet?"

The people in line behind were already getting impatient, and the queue had been stuck there for a long time without moving.

"Just say something! It's just choosing a sauce, whether to add meat or not, why are you taking so long to think about it?"

"Black pepper sauce is spicy, tomato sauce is sweet, and mushroom sauce tastes similar to shiitake mushrooms... Sir, you've eaten shiitake mushrooms before, haven't you?"

A chorus of complaints arose from the crowd.

"How can you be so rude? What are you yelling about!" The man suddenly turned around and roared, "Don't I need to think things through before I eat my steak?"

This has stirred up a hornet's nest.

"Who are you calling rude?!"

"Is this all you have to burn for an incense stick?"

"You don't look like you have dementia!"

No wonder people are angry.

Even though it was evening in the middle of summer, the people in line had been waiting for at least half an hour, and they were all getting impatient.

Now that something like this is causing so much trouble, who wouldn't be anxious?

"Boss, look at them..." The old man was startled by the shouts from behind, his earlier bravado vanished, and he moved closer to the stall.

Liu Zhuohao sighed.

"uncle……"

He didn't stop shoveling, but raised his voice slightly, "Could you please stand aside for a moment, think it over, and then tell me when you've decided? I'll make it for you right away so as not to delay the next person's order, okay?"

"Whom did I delay?" the old man glared.

"Hurry up!" Before he could finish speaking, the young couple behind him shouted, "Go wait on the side! We're not stopping you from buying!"

As soon as they started talking, the people behind them joined in the shouting.

After the argument, the old man glared at Liu Zhuohao, turned and left, muttering, "I'm not eating anymore! This big restaurant is really bullying its customers!"

"What? You're not eating?"

"Are there really people like this? They dawdle for ages without ordering anything? What are they even doing here?"

"Boss, two black peppers, and a steak in each one."

As soon as the old man left, the people behind him rushed up to order food.

The queue finally started moving again.

At the stall, both Wong Wai-hung and Li Ka-shing turned their gazes toward them without saying a word, but their eyes were filled with doubt.

Liu Zhuohao shook his head, indicating that they should ignore the old man, and then the two of them resumed attending to the guests.

There are quite a few customers like this who chat while queuing and only start deciding what to eat when they get to the stall.

But as others have said, they only had one type of steak on their stall, and it was only when they got right in front of it that they started thinking about it, so they shouldn't have wasted so much time.

Besides, this old man waited in line for so long, but left without ordering anything.

Liu Zhuohao looked up at the old man's departing figure, his hands still moving, the hot oil on the hot plate sizzling.

Never mind, it's probably just a minor incident within the team.

He looked away, keeping the impression in his mind, but didn't think about it any further.

Now, they no longer have to worry about business.

Sometimes the problem is having too many customers, so I'm thinking about hiring another person and modifying the food cart so that one of them can also help with grilling steaks.

"Um... Boss, there's a prize draw, right?"

After the couple finished ordering, they eagerly looked at the raffle box next to them.

Clearly, they weren't primarily there for the steak; they were more interested in the prize draw.

"Yes, if you win the grand prize, you can get the contact information from that guy over there," Liu Zhuohao replied with a smile. "I'll discuss the time with you two later, come over to record a show, and you can have a free meal... Australian beef."

"But there are also first, second and third prizes in the box, which are vouchers worth 100, 50 and 10 yuan respectively. After you win, you should give our clerk your phone number and let him know so that you can use it when you pay the bill later."

He pointed to the activity instructions on the raffle box.

Unfortunately, neither of them drew anything and left disappointed.

Out of the corner of Liu Zhuohao's eye, there was a line that seemed to stretch endlessly.

Despite the booming business, a heavy burden weighed on the surface of the joy.

This massive crowd represents both a lucrative prospect and a potential fire that could easily ignite.

There are an unusually large number of guests today.

Most of them came from the activities.

Liu Zhuohao's previous video was streamed on Bilibili and climbed into the top three on the charts.

Offline, the popularity is just as high.

This process of cooking with high-quality ingredients face-to-face is novel for many people.

In such a small city, most people have never seen such a restaurant, or rather, there simply isn't a restaurant of this standard here.

Only some students were able to learn about restaurants like this through the internet.

The guests and chefs are separated only by a metal plate. The chefs prepare the ingredients and cook them on the spot, and the guests can eat immediately.

At the time of filming, it wasn't just Liu Zhuohao who was filming; many passersby also took out their phones to record it.

These past few days, word has been circulating, and some people have heard about it and come here specifically to eat this steak and participate in the prize draw.

They were busy until past midnight again, and the three of them politely saw off the other customers who hadn't gotten to eat steak or won the prize.

"Boss, with business like this, we're going to launch a new menu soon, will that be...?" Huang Weixiong asked, his tired tone tinged with hesitation.

"I was really afraid something might happen with that line today." Li Zekai, standing next to him, was also still shaken. "I just took a quick look, and the whole line filled the entire street."

"No matter how the other stalls around us try to persuade people, they just want to queue up and buy one from us."

In this night market, everyone knows this street-side steakhouse, and most vendors are happy to lend out their space and seats.

After all, it's a win-win situation.

Liu Zhuohao's stall is just a small one, with a limited number of customers who can sit down. The remaining customer traffic will be diverted to them.

But tonight is different.

The whole street was lined up, but they were the only ones queuing. It wasn't just about having a meal anymore; it was about participating in an event.

"Luckily, the boss had the foresight to arrange other awards." Huang Weixiong looked over with a complicated expression. "Just look at that crowd just now, I roughly counted, there were almost two or three hundred people in line."

"The line stretches from our stall all the way to the end of this sidewalk, and there's still a stretch behind it."

Two or three hundred people are queuing up here, vying for a single reward; you can imagine how slim their chances are.

Fortunately, they had prepared other awards in advance, so people weren't completely disappointed.

"You're right to be afraid of something going wrong."

Liu Zhuohao took over the conversation, his voice calm, "Now our stall is no longer just a business for one person, but a gathering place for hundreds of people."

"If this weren't a business transaction, gathering so many people for no reason would get them all arrested!"

"If something really goes wrong, no one can take the blame. We need to start hiring and modifying cars. Ah Wei, how's your steak-frying skill coming along? It's about time you stepped up. And Ze Kai, you're ready too."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the food cart behind the breakfast stall, which he had initially thought had been "modified" into a much larger size, but now appeared to be too small. "If you guys don't get familiar with it quickly, this booming business will eventually burn us up."

"Of course, the month is almost over, so as previously agreed, I'll give you all your bonuses."

"I can give you a sneak peek at the bonus; it'll be at least a thousand extra."

Upon hearing this, both of them nodded solemnly.

Although they received the bonus, they felt more pressure than joy.

"Oh, right, do you remember that old man who just left?"

As if remembering something, Li Zekai mentioned, "I felt that look in his eyes didn't seem like he was having trouble making a decision, but rather... he was confirming something."