pjbooks Chapter 66: [Finally—]
Chapter 66: [Finally—]
14 years, not 25 years.
25 years ago, on Bilibili, nine out of ten videos by top bloggers were sponsored.
Will users object? There might be objections, but most people can understand.
Even occasionally, comments like "Let him eat, let him eat" or "The uploader has finally made something of himself and started accepting advertisements" would appear in the bullet comments.
This is quite normal in 25 years.
No one thinks it's wrong for a blogger to post videos that provide emotional value while users find the content uninteresting, since users can skip ahead.
Later on, paid videos were introduced, meaning you had to pay to watch them.
Paying for content will be perfectly normal in the future.
But things were different in 14.
Forget about bloggers making money, even websites can't make money.
Bilibili's joint operation of games like Honkai Impact 3rd and Million Arthur, resulting in numerous "GG" errors on the homepage, immediately draws complaints on forums and under videos, with comments like "Yiguo is changing its flavor," "It's all GG, it's a mess," and "It's no longer a holy land for anime and manga."
It seems that no one has considered that running a website requires financial support.
Furthermore, everyone takes it for granted that many bloggers make videos simply out of interest, and should do it out of love.
If GG is incorporated, and then commercial interests are involved, then it's considered "morally corrupt."
Only bloggers who create content out of love can be considered conscientious.
Therefore, to secure commercial orders in 14, one must not only consider whether or not they can secure them, but also gamble on whether users will accept them.
The former is even simpler than the latter.
Of course, right now—
"Boss, is there still a lucky draw?"
His thoughts about the commercial order were suddenly interrupted. Liu Zhuohao looked up and replied to the bustling crowd in front of him:
"Sorry, no, I finished smoking a long time ago."
"But we still sell steaks, you can give it a try."
As evening approached, he was preparing to set up his stall on the street, and people passing by would occasionally glance in his direction.
There were even people standing in front of the stall.
Someone in the crowd craned their neck and asked, "Who's lucky enough to win the lottery?"
"I can't say their names or anything like that," Liu Zhuohao said, fiddling with the iron plate in his hand. "But they came as a family of three, so that's all I can say."
Other information was naturally recorded during registration, but this should not become gossip among the neighbors.
He glanced at the growing crowd; the "Australian Beef Photography" raffle had been completed before National Day.
However, due to the significant increase in customer traffic at the night market, especially at his own stall, Liu Zhuohao specifically moved the filming time to after the National Day holiday to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
But this lively atmosphere still came from all directions.
"Boss Liu! I've finally met you in person!"
Two young men and women carrying large bags skipped the queue and went directly to the back of the food cart.
Huang Weixiong and Li Zekai, who were setting up the tables and chairs, immediately straightened up and looked over.
"I'm a fan of yours, I'm in the group, my ID is 'What's for dinner tonight'." The man leaned closer, his Mandarin not with the local Chaoshan accent, but with a hint of Cantonese, "I'm a tourist from Chancheng, would it be alright to take a picture with you?"
He waved the camera in his hand.
Liu Zhuohao was busy with his work and replied helplessly:
"Look, I really don't have any hands free."
"But if you want to take a picture, you can take one from the side, although I probably can't do the hand gestures."
He neither completely refused nor agreed.
If someone really stands right next to you, taking a selfie from a distance, or even posing for a photo with you, who can stop them?
Fortunately, the other person was a fan of his and was considerate of him. Seeing that both of his hands were busy and there were other customers waiting nearby, he understood what was going on. He simply picked up his camera and wanted to take a close-up photo with him.
The man held up his phone and brought it closer.
Just before the shutter was pressed, Liu Zhuohao, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his face and grinned at the camera.
That being said, he still tried his best to satisfy the fans who had come from afar.
"Thank you for your support." Liu Zhuohao cupped his hands in greeting again. "There's a kueh teow soup stall at the street corner, and a beef hot pot restaurant around the corner. You can try them if you have time."
"The shop isn't big, but the items are authentic and inexpensive. Just mention my name, and I won't rip you off."
The couple left satisfied; they hadn't originally planned to eat there, they just wanted to see him.
After all, people come here for tourism during the National Day holiday; they can't possibly wait in line for half an hour or an hour.
Since the stall opened, several groups of fans from other places have come one after another.
They had originally planned to travel during the National Day holiday, but because of themselves, they added Chaoshan to their itinerary.
Fortunately, there were only a few scattered ones.
The local diners around watched this scene with curiosity and a hint of confusion in their eyes, seemingly not understanding why they needed to take photos while eating at a roadside stall, since they weren't celebrities.
So for now, no one has followed suit.
Yes, temporarily.
Who knows what will happen in the future.
"Boss, just put the GG badge here."
Huang Weixiong's voice pulled him back to reality. A huge standing display board was erected in a prominent position in front of the stall. It wasn't the promotional sign with traffic lights that he had seen before, but a science poster carefully framed in wood and tempered glass.
— Steak trivia.
"Can."
Liu Zhuohao replied, then added at the end, "Shine the light over there."
"I know."
Huang Weixiong deftly adjusted the angle of the spotlights installed on the edge of the food cart.
A bright beam of light swished onto the glass of the display panel.
In an instant, this quietly standing board became the most eye-catching focal point of the entire night market stall area.
"What is that?"
"Look, it says... the restaurant is launching a new menu item? Original cut steak?"
"There's a science explanation below! It says there are mainly two types of steak, the difference being the 'processing method'... like fresh fruit and canned fruit? There's no absolute good or bad, only different flavors? I always thought there were only Australian beef and Japanese Wagyu beef!"
"According to this logic, all the steaks served in high-end Western restaurants are 'original cut steaks'?"
"But I think I've had this oval-shaped 'seasoned steak' in quite a few affordable Western restaurants before..."
"So, which is better, a whole-cut steak or a seasoned steak, and which is more expensive?"
……
The moment the light focused, Liu Zhuohao's hand, which was wiping the table, paused almost imperceptibly.
According to my current plan...
He remained outwardly calm as he continued tidying up the food cart, but his entire mind seemed to be drawn by that beam of light, tightly focused on the diners who were watching, reading, and discussing the display boards.
In fact, since he came back, he has always had a relatively clear plan for his career path.
From making hand-pulled pancakes and running his own Bilibili account, to street-side steak stalls and producing TV shows, he accumulated funds to prepare for opening a store and building a brand in the future.
He anticipated all of these things, taking them one step at a time, not acting on a whim.
Is there any discrepancy in this?
Of course, progress is deviation.
When he first returned, Liu Zhuohao never imagined that with less than 30,000 followers, he would have the opportunity to meet Bi Shi, the administrator of Bilibili.
With only 30,000 followers, she was considered a high-quality blogger at that time, and even a top influencer in the food channel before it was separated from the entertainment section.
These were things Liu Zhuohao had never expected.
"If this first step of probing is considered 'betrayal'..." Liu Zhuohao's mind quickly flashed through the backup plan, which would be more conservative and take longer.