pjbooks Chapter 77 [Adorable Face]
Chapter 77 [Adorable Face]
Chapter 77 [Adorable Face]
The sky was still bright, and the crowd at the entrance of the night market was sparse. The once bustling sounds seemed to have been cut off by an invisible hand.
Why is it so quiet today?
"Keep your voice down—" The person next to him gestured with his chin and lowered his voice, "Haven't you heard? That steak stand at the street corner got raided by the higher-ups yesterday. The meat didn't look clean."
"They've been investigated? Which one?!"
The person asking the question was taken aback, and their gaze subconsciously swept across the street.
Sure enough, several stalls were empty, with only a few customers.
A mother was forcefully pulling her crying child away: "Little brother, let's go home to eat?"
The child tried to hold on, but was still dragged away. "No! I've waited so long—"
Liu Zhuohao's food cart was still in the same old spot.
Apart from Huang Weixiong, who would supervise the testing whenever he had free time, everyone else was there, including his cousin.
The fire was lit, the iron plate was preheated, and the sizzling sound of oil was particularly clear in the otherwise quiet air.
It must be set up.
Since he wasn't ordered to close down, he has to continue appearing here as usual.
If I don't come today, wouldn't that be playing right into the hands of those who spread rumors, making me admit that something's wrong?
However, compared to the usual bustling scene where the stalls were packed with people even during the preparation stage, today's stalls could truly be described as "quiet".
No, it wasn't just his stall; the entire night market street seemed to have lost most of its vitality. The once bustling scene was gone, leaving only a few scattered figures and mostly empty seats.
The video has been uploaded.
However, most of his customers are not actually users of Bilibili.
At least, not yet.
Liu Zhuohao spent nearly two months building up his popularity through events and visual feasts, but it deflated visibly in just one night, one day, and almost one afternoon.
That's how it is in small cities; rumors spread twice as fast as official announcements.
Various rumors circulated among vendors at the market, in colleagues' break rooms, and on neighbors' afternoons in wicker chairs, embellished and exaggerated.
It's like someone just said, "Someone fell into West Lake last night," and then it spreads out and immediately becomes, "Someone died in West Lake last night," and then, "A couple committed suicide in West Lake"—
As the rumors spread, no one dared to go to West Lake for several days.
Or perhaps the property management of Country Garden stopped residents with motorcycles from entering, saying that parking was not allowed downstairs and that residents had to buy a parking space to enter. The news spread like wildfire the next day.
In 14, the number of shopping malls, cinemas, and restaurants in this small city could be counted on one hand.
Any disturbance at any tourist attraction signifies a mass relocation of local residents that evening.
Why are there so few people today?
"It's that steak stand over there. They were raided yesterday afternoon. I heard there was something wrong with the meat."
"Huh? Doesn't Boss Liu always say his things are clean?"
"What's the use of being clean? If someone reports you and investigates, even if nothing's wrong, the story will still be distorted. Who would dare come here now?"
"Who reported this? That's despicable!"
The stall owners nearby gathered in twos and threes, discussing the matter with worried expressions.
Just a month ago, the number of customers on this street was about the same, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality!
Having tasted the sweetness of being carried away by the surging crowds, returning to this lukewarm normalcy felt like a piece of their hearts had been ripped out. The sense of loss and hidden resentment were clearly written on the faces of every stall owner.
"Boss."
Li Zekai approached mysteriously, relaying the grumbling of the stall owners with a hint of excitement, "I just went to check out the other stalls, and wow, everyone had such long faces."
"Now you know who's really in charge of this street, right?"
"When someone catches a cold here, the whole street starts sneezing!"
They're so excited, talking as if it's something good.
Liu Zhuohao ignored him and, taking advantage of the fact that no guests had arrived yet, fiddled with his phone, looking at the video data.
"Only M3+? The boss is a bit stingy. I see food bloggers abroad are starting with A5 Wagyu!"
"Entry-level short ribs? I get it, I'm not good enough for that."
"Why did you push this to me in the middle of the night again?! My instant noodles suddenly don't taste good anymore!! (Angrily slams bowl)"
"Chew, chew, chew!"
"What's the next dish? Blind guess: crab! King crab! Let's get this done!"
"Boss, would you consider roasting a whole lamb?"
This is the video comment section for the second limited-time event. Some people are offering serious suggestions, some are simply enjoying the visual feast, and others are making all sorts of meaningless but joyful shouts.
Compared to those food videos that readily use top-quality foreign ingredients and flaunt wealth, Liu Zhuohao's choice of the M3+ Australian beef in this episode can indeed only be considered an "entry-level" option.
But this was actually a little trick he used intentionally.
If you start with a bombshell, like pulling out A5 Wagyu or M9+ grade beef, how are you going to film the subsequent steak series?
The ingredients can only be downgraded, or the more niche and costly aging process can be adopted.
The filming cost would then be in the four figures or even higher.
The competition in this ranking is fierce; this video is only ranked forty-first.
Liu Zhuohao looked at his position on the leaderboard. "Oh, many bloggers who participated in offline events hosted by Bilibili have updated their videos of the events."
Videos like these can capitalize on the residual popularity of the event, and Bilibili itself will also promote them.
Therefore, the competition in the rankings has been quite fierce in recent periods.
Like last time, my video's data would have placed me in at least the top 30.
"—Boss."
Li Zekai's voice rang out again, drawing Cheng Bing and Yang Boran closer. His tone was uneasy, his earlier excitement gone. "We're not going to—have we just have to stand here all night, are we?"
Liu Zhuohao looked up and saw that not only the three of them, but also his cousin who was not far away, were looking at him with worry in their eyes.
"What's the rush?"
He didn't put his phone away, and said calmly, "It's not completely dark yet. The customer traffic is definitely not as high as before, but there will always be people."
He lowered his head again, swiped his finger lightly across the screen, and switched to another video's data page.
Liu Zhuohao's expression remained calm, but ripples were spreading in his heart.
On Bilibili's overall rankings, his "limited-time event" video is ranked forty-first.
And right below it, the forty-second place—
It was that "rights protection" video that was uploaded that afternoon, titled "About My Business Being Too Good, So I Was Reported by a Competitor (Suspected)".
Within two hours of uploading, it surged to 42nd place on the overall ranking.
It's just one spot away from a meticulously produced event video that already has pre-release buzz.
"This traffic redirection effect—" Liu Zhuohao silently weighed the options in his mind. Should he tell the site administrator that it was a sensitive issue and shouldn't be pushed, but secretly should he still give it to them?
His fingertip tapped the comment section of the rights protection video, and a flood of new voices poured in, a stark contrast to the relaxed tone of the food video: "I'm furious just looking at the screen!!! Don't these people have any conscience at all, spending money to do such a despicable thing?!"
"I cried while watching this video. My mom used to run a breakfast stall all by herself. I'm from a single-parent family. Just because her business was a little better, the people at the stall next door would pick on her every day and tell customers that the oil she used wasn't clean. It's absolutely disgusting! Seeing this video of the boss is like seeing the grievances my mom suffered back then."
"This episode was so heavy, it made my chest feel tight, but I couldn't help but watch it all in one go—reality is much crueler than TV dramas."
"Hang in there, OP! My dad is a practicing lawyer. If you need specific legal assistance, I can help connect you with someone!"
"I suggest contacting the local TV station's community affairs program directly! This kind of organized, well-documented malicious competition is their favorite fodder for media coverage! Public exposure can sometimes be faster than legal proceedings!"
"Why—why is it so hard to do business properly? Can't we compete based on taste and conscience? Why do we have to push people to the brink?"
In less than two hours, this video achieved significantly more views on certain metrics than all the food videos I'd uploaded throughout the day!
Number of comments: 191181.
Number of bullet comments: 311001.
Most of the people inside, of course, support him, and many others empathize with him.
Of course, there were also other voices mixed in.
"Let's wait for the results," "How clean can a roadside stall be?" "The video will definitely only be edited to benefit them" — but these scattered dissenting voices were quickly drowned out and buried by the overwhelming support and empathy.
The level of engagement with this video is beyond imagination.
The number of comments and bullet comments don't have much weight in the overall ranking data, but they are the hardest to obtain.
Because most users don't comment on videos.
It's better now, but as time goes on, people's desire to comment will decrease, and they may even delete their previous posts as they get older.
I don't want to argue with others.
But Liu Zhuohao's current video is comparable to Chinese people arguing with Runren on foreign websites, with the number of posts reaching 9999+.
But there is also a strong sense of disconnect.
Looking at the indignant viewers in the comments section, and then at the fact that in less than two hours, the number of fans waiting for the next video had already increased by more than 30,000, directly breaking through the shackles of 100,000 fans!
She's already a blogger with 100,000 followers!
"If it were 25 years, I should have received my first 100,000 followers medal by now."
Unfortunately, this event is not currently available.
Why is there such a strong sense of disconnect?
The online buzz has absolutely nothing to do with reality!
Liu Zhuohao looked at the stall. Although there were occasional passersby, they only looked at it from a distance and did not come over.
They probably don't know what happened. The stall, which used to have people lining up before it even opened, now has no customers at all, even though the stove is already warm.
Something must have gone wrong.
So they just watched and didn't dare to come over.
However, Liu Zhuohao remained steadfast.
He was certain that there would be guests tonight.
As the sky darkened inch by inch during this silent wait, the sky gradually darkened.
Around six o'clock, after nearly half an hour of opening the stall, when the heat from the teppanyaki grill seemed to have died down, the first customers arrived.
A group of students rode mountain bikes, sweeping across the street like a gust of wind.
They clearly noticed the deserted area in front of the stall, paused for a moment, then stopped abruptly on the sidewalk, locked their bikes, and practically ran over.
"Senior! I just saw your video on Bilibili! Keep it up! We're rooting for you!"
"Boss, one black pepper one, please! I trust you!"
"Those people are despicable; they actually made malicious reports!"
The uplifting voice, filled with undisguised indignation and support, cleaved through the oppressive evening air.
Liu Zhuohao stared at them blankly, even though he had already expected it.
They saw the video, they'll definitely come.
Most of my customers don't follow my account.
They are not their fans, but their current customers, purely customers.
But these fans will definitely come.
Liu Zhuohao was very confident.
But when he actually saw this group of figures in blue and white school uniforms, their faces still bearing the innocence of youth, rushing towards him with a sense of loyalty, something hard still gently bumped into his heart.
Not only him, but also Li Zekai, Cheng Bing, Yang Boran, and even his cousin who was visiting the stall for the first time were stunned.
It's hard to say what that emotion was; perhaps it was being trusted or loved?
"————Okay." Liu Zhuohao's Adam's apple bobbed before he managed to squeeze out a sound, "Thank you everyone."
He paused, then his voice regained its composure: "Let's check the doneness. I'd suggest 70%."
The students looked at each other, hesitantly: "But we ordered—"
They pointed to the price of the pan-seared steak on the menu, which was the price of the prepared steak.
"No special treatments today, just the original cut." Liu Zhuohao smiled and interrupted them, "Let's call it 20 yuan, today—it's on me, thank you for coming."
"Boss!" Li Zekai, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
At this price, we can't even cover the cost.
Liu Zhuohao glanced at him, and that look made Li Zekai swallow back what he was about to say.
"Only today."
He turned to the students, as if announcing to all potential guests, "All steaks are 20 yuan each. We're not making a profit; it's a benefit for them."
Are we losing money? Definitely.
But the focus these days isn't on offline sales anyway, so why not give out some perks and give back to those who are still willing to support us?
"Medium-rare! I want it medium-rare!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Give me one too!"
The students' cheers rang out in the empty streets. Unlike the usual noisy atmosphere that was drowned out by the clamor of voices, they sounded particularly crisp and even—a little cute.
The sound was like a pebble dropped into still water.
The few diners who were originally wandering around and observing stopped in their tracks, their eyes drawn to the food.
They might not understand what had happened, but the lively gathering of students and the authentic aroma of food that had returned to the air drew their attention.
Gradually, a small queue re-formed in front of Liu Zhuohao's stall.
Almost everyone in line was a familiar face.
Liu Zhuohao can identify many of these people from his Bilibili fan list.
"What are you talking about?" A young woman who looked like an office worker leaned over curiously in the line. "What malicious report? Video?"
"Wrong? You guys don't know?" A high school student in a school uniform looked surprised. "It's the video the boss posted on Bilibili, it explains everything!"
"Oh, that website—I haven't used it much." The woman shook her head. "What's wrong with it?"
"This is it. I just saw it and downloaded it because I was afraid the platform would take it down." The high school student took out his phone, and the students in line behind him crowded around to watch the video on the phone.
A group of people surrounded the video, but they didn't even buy anything; they just stood there blocking the way.
People behind, out of curiosity, crept forward, instinctively getting closer and standing on tiptoe, and were then drawn to the video.
And so, surprisingly no one complained about the queue being stalled; everyone was just watching the spectacle.
Liu Zhuohao looked at them helplessly, but did not say anything to disturb them.
Anyway, there are only these people in front of the stall right now, about ten or so.
Judging from this, we'll probably only be able to sell thirty or forty servings tonight at most.
However, his focus is no longer on selling steaks, and sales volume is not important for the time being.
"Holy crap, these people are disgusting!"
"I was there that day! I was wondering why some people had been queuing for over half an hour, and when it was their turn, they didn't buy anything and were even swearing!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! That line about not being able to afford a Western restaurant and having to eat at a street stall is infuriating! What's wrong with street stalls? There's no service charge, and I think Boss Liu's steak is even better value than what you get at a Western restaurant!"
"So that's how it is—then who exactly reported it?"
"Could it be from the side—"
A dozen or so people were crowding around a mobile phone in front of the stall, the light from the screen illuminating their faces, some frowning and some looking bewildered.
The murmurs grew louder, tinged with anger at being fooled.
"Kid, send me the video link." The young woman took out her phone. "I'll add you on WeChat and share it on my Moments."
The high school student who was asked the question scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed: "I—I don't have WeChat. WeChat is for older people. We young people all use QQ."
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The office worker was taken aback, then glared at him, amused and annoyed, "You kid—"
"Oh! The boss posted on Weibo too!" Another student quickly tried to smooth things over, "You guys might not know Bilibili, but you must know Weibo, right?"
"Of course I know about Weibo," the office worker said irritably. "When did my boss start using Weibo? How come I—"
Before he could finish speaking, the student had already silently raised his hand, his fingertips pointing precisely at the eye-catching white characters on the food truck sign—"Liu Zhuohao".
Three words: simple and direct.
The office worker's words were stuck in his throat.
She coughed lightly to cover up her slight embarrassment, and her fingers were already swiping rapidly across the screen.
"————Okay, I'll search for it myself."
"I'll look for it too."
"What is Weibo? How do I search for it?" A middle-aged man who looked to be about forty years old and was standing a little further away also came over.
These days, WeChat is not yet fully widespread.
At least not in this small city.
Even now, Liu Zhuohao still has to pay in cash when he gets into trouble.
Although the "shake" function has been introduced, some older people still haven't downloaded it.
They still communicate with their friends by phone.
Even in the current public discourse, QQ is still used by young people, while WeChat is what working adults use. It's not like the next generation is going to use QQ; the situation is reversed.
Customers who had ordered steak sat at a makeshift folding table, and the conversation naturally revolved around the video.
Some older local diners, following the casual conversation at the stalls, started to chatter: "Well, that's how it is here. You can make money, but you can't make a lot of money."
"Uncle, what do you mean?"
"It means everyone should be about the same level. You can't stand out too much, because if you do, you're more likely to cause trouble."
"What happened?"
"Why go solo? Who here wants to work for someone else forever? After learning your skills, they'll definitely want to be their own boss. Not only themselves, but also their relatives will want to kick you while you're down so they can feel at ease."
After finishing his dozen or so orders, there was hardly anyone left at Liu Zhuohao's stall. He walked over, pulled down his mask, and lit a cigarette.
When he heard these words, he could even feel several eyes watching him.
He didn't pay attention.
My cousin came over, squatted down as well, and without smoking, asked in a low voice, "Are you scared?"
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