pjbooks Chapter 80 [National Reputation Ranking Opens]
Chapter 80 [National Reputation Ranking Opens]
Chapter 80 [National Reputation Ranking Opens]
Although some people on the other side may be extremely busy because of the "rights protection" video, Liu Zhuohao's life continues as usual.
Liu Zhuohao gradually handed over the trivial but important matters at the stall to Huang Weixiong and Li Zekai to manage, such as the rules and regulations for hygiene inspections, the regular maintenance of the food cart equipment, and the verification of the supply channels and accounts.
One of them was steady enough, and the other learned very well. When they worked together, they gradually developed a method.
Especially Li Zekai, although he is not a professional chef, he can quickly figure out what others are doing and do things in a similar way to others.
This trait makes one well-suited for the service industry.
Thanks to these two capable assistants, Liu Zhuohao had some rare free time during the day, except for his regular nightly stall.
"The seafood in this congee shop is all sourced from the seafood stall at the Nanmen Wholesale Market."
Liu Zhuohao and his cousin sat down at a time-honored congee shop. Familiar with the place, they ordered two bowls of piping hot congee, along with several dishes of raw marinated mantis shrimp, thin-shelled rice, and braised goose intestines. "I got my Boston lobster through her channels too. The food is fresh, and the prices are reasonable."
"However, the biggest fear in the catering business is relying on a single channel. We need to find a few more and try them out."
"I'm truly impressed by you." His cousin, Liu Zhuoyue, sitting across from him, couldn't help but shake his head. "With so many things hanging in the balance lately, you still have the leisure to come out and investigate the market and sample delicious food?"
He took a thick manila file folder from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Liu Zhuohao: "I have reviewed all the materials you asked for. The originals have been scanned and archived, and the copies have been arranged in order. They are all here."
"Based on the feedback from all parties and the evidence we can find, the network of connections of that group on the other side is indeed limited."
"They may have some local connections, but they are far from having connections everywhere. Therefore, the previous concern that we would need to bring in a top lawyer from the north to back us up is unlikely to happen."
He paused, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then shifted to a more pragmatic analysis: "The best strategy at present is to pursue two parallel approaches."
"The first line of defense is to rely on the regulatory authorities. They are under a lot of pressure right now. With solid evidence and the news making the local headlines, pushing them to impose administrative penalties on the whistleblower is the most efficient and cost-effective way."
"On our own side, we are simultaneously preparing a civil lawsuit. The lawsuit can explicitly demand that the other party immediately cease their defamatory actions, issue a public apology in an influential local media outlet, and also—compensate for economic losses!"
When it came to compensation, my cousin's tone became more serious: "The key part is the economic loss."
"If we can provide clear and convincing revenue comparison data, such as the average daily revenue in the month before the report and the average daily revenue during the period of sharp drop in customer traffic after the report, and create an intuitive chart, then the amount of compensation claimed will be more based on evidence."
"But if the data is insufficient, the amount of compensation awarded by the court will generally not be too high, and its symbolic significance is greater than the actual compensation."
Liu Zhuohao nodded; compensation was not an important matter in his plans.
The good news is that my cousin's biggest fears—such as a fire in the backyard, a switcheroo of test results, or a complicated local social network—did not happen.
Once the media machine is set in motion, the feedback is immediate.
The stalls were noticeably busier last night.
Although many of them were just out for a walk after dinner and happened to come and see what was going on.
However, the negative impact of being "reported" is indeed visibly fading.
The situation is improving.
"Hey, young man—"
The proprietress of the congee shop, a woman in her forties wearing a checkered apron, carried over a steaming bowl of congee. As she put it down, her gaze lingered on her own face for a few seconds, a hint of uncertain inquiry in her eyes. "Why do you look so familiar?"
She didn't leave immediately, but moved closer to examine his profile closely.
"...It feels like I've seen this somewhere before—"
Liu Zhuohao felt helpless, but he maintained a smile on his face, letting the other party look him over.
"Oh! Minsheng!" The proprietress slapped her thigh suddenly, remembering him, her voice rising several octaves, "Aren't you that steak vendor from last night's Minsheng news—the one who got reported?!"
She immediately turned and shouted towards the kitchen, "Hey, come out and see! Isn't that the young man on TV last night? You were watching and cursing those who reported him for being heartless!"
A stocky middle-aged man wearing a white apron came out wiping his hands upon hearing the noise. His gaze fell on Liu Zhuohao, and he paused for a moment before breaking into a warm yet indignant smile: "Oh! It really is Boss Liu! A pleasure to meet you!"
The warmth in his tone suggested he had met an old friend, perhaps someone who had shared a similar experience and could empathize with him.
"You're too kind, boss." Liu Zhuohao stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to the other party.
At these shouts, the other diners at the porridge shop, who were slurping their congee with braised pork, shrimp, clams, and other side dishes, all looked up and cast curious glances their way.
"I thought he looked familiar, and sure enough, he's that guy from TV!"
"Boss Liu, is your steak really only fifty-eight yuan a serving? The marbling on the meat looked so good on TV, like snowflakes!"
"Boss, which website did you post that clarification video on? Youku or Weibo?"
A buzz of discussion arose, and questions followed one after another.
Liu Zhuohao maintained a perfectly measured smile, responding briefly to each question with a humble attitude, but a sense of helplessness was subtly creeping into his heart.
Is this what it means to be famous?
Being recognized, discussed, and surrounded by curious gazes, Liu Zhuohao gave a few perfunctory replies and, after sitting down, dared not elaborate further to his cousin across from him.
After all, there are so many eyes watching and so many ears listening.
The two ate breakfast quietly, and after the owner politely waved his hand saying "No need, no need," they forced the money into his hand to pay the bill and left in a hurry.
"Our Liu family has really made something of itself!"
As soon as I stepped outside, my cousin started teasing me.
"You'll be even more successful in the future!"
Liu Zhuohao wasn't afraid of that at all; in business, you can't afford to be swayed by appearances.
After walking a few more steps, his cousin's tone suddenly turned serious: "But now that you're famous, everyone's watching your every word and action. Every action you take, every word you say, can be maliciously interpreted and amplified, so—"
He paused for a moment, then said, "Be careful with your words and actions; speak as little as possible and do more."
Liu Zhuohao replied, "I know."
He had never had such an experience in his previous life, and he really didn't know that appearing on the local news would make him so famous.
Maybe I can even rival those TV stars in this area.
No, my level of fame should be compared to local celebrities, like Shuiji Xiong and Xia Yulai, who often perform in local plays and sketches.
It's only famous locally, but few people outside the area know about it.
perhaps.
"Boss! Boss!"
Having just dropped his cousin off at the hotel, Liu Zhuohao dragged his slightly tired body back to his rented room. Before he could even take off his shoes, he was intercepted by Huang Weixiong, who rushed out of the living room.
Besides Li Zekai, who was out on business, Cheng Bing and Yang Boran were also there.
They followed behind, all three of them with flushed faces and gleaming eyes, as if they had discovered some incredible treasure.
"You're trending!" Huang Weixiong practically shouted, his voice filled with unbelievable excitement.
Liu Zhuohao:
'
He didn't reply immediately, his face expressionless. He simply took out his phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and skillfully tapped the orange-iconed app.
The trending topics page refreshed. Looking down, sure enough, at number 43, I saw that hashtag:
#Food blogger on Bilibili encounters malicious reporting#
It wasn't very popular, but it was actually labeled as "boiling".
Liu Zhuohao clicked on it.
On the topic square, there are very few real-time discussions, a few scattered Weibo posts, and the number of comments and reposts is also sparse.
Several blog posts, clearly written in the style of marketing accounts, used formatted exclamation marks such as "Who is this? So despicable!" and "Support the blogger in protecting their rights!" The few scattered replies below were just "?" and "Just passing by".
I bought it.
His first reaction was to buy trending topics.
Who bought it?
no doubt.
He switched back to QQ and, sure enough, saw the red number "1" lit up next to the profile picture that had been dormant for a long time.
Click to open.
The message from the site administrator, "Bi Shi," was sent half an hour ago.
The message consisted of only one sentence, even the punctuation was brief: "Congratulations, you're trending."
There was no prior cause, no explanation, no follow-up arrangements; it was simply a notification of a given fact.
But those seven words were enough. "Boss! Did you see that? It's trending!" Huang Weixiong was still excitedly shouting, while Cheng Bing and Yang Boran also gathered around, excitedly discussing things like, "Are we going to be famous now?" and "Should I get a trendy hairstyle?"
Liu Zhuohao did not join their celebration.
He simply walked past the three chattering figures and headed straight for his room.
As he walked, he quickly edited two messages and sent them to his cousin and the female reporter.
My cousin replied almost instantly, sending a lone question mark.
Another message sent to a female reporter on the People's Livelihood Channel has not yet received a reply.
Back in my room, I closed the door, shutting out the noise from the living room.
Liu Zhuohao sat down in front of the computer and opened the Weibo trending topics page again, staring at the 43rd ranked item.
What's the reason?
After a brief moment of thought, he came to a conclusion.
One is to attract traffic.
Currently, most of the content on Bilibili does not actually suit the tastes of the general public.
Popular memes on the site, such as philosophy, stench, Kim Jong-un, and Jin Ke La, are completely incomprehensible to outsiders who are not familiar with this circle.
You could even say it's bizarre.
Few people would be interested in seeing a muscular man shirtless, wearing a Batman mask, and wielding a whip.
It's good enough that they don't go far away!
This content is not suitable for breaking out of its niche.
In the next 16, 17, and 18 years, Bilibili will gradually shift its resources and traffic focus from the currently popular parody videos, games, and animations to more universally applicable content such as lifestyle and beauty, as its commercial transformation deepens.
The content is divided into sections such as music and dance.
My "rights protection" video this time is precisely a perfect "mass-oriented" entry point.
He had already reached a conclusion in his mind, combining some of the information from the future timeline.
So actually, the lifestyle section didn't start to gradually rise to the top of Bilibili from the year after next. Rather, Bilibili's management already had this concept during this period, but they just didn't have a suitable opportunity to promote it.
Once it came into existence, it found its direction.
However, the premise is—
"It's still on that test report."
Liu Zhuohao seemed to understand why the station chief had remained silent before receiving the report, and why he had acted so quickly and directly after receiving it.
This is an officially endorsed certificate of innocence.
With this proof, they can confidently push this event to the top of Weibo's trending topics without worrying about a reversal and being proven wrong.
Or rather, even if things turn out differently and they're proven wrong, it's not a slap in the face to them.
They need to use their own videos and trending news to break out of their niche and promote Bilibili through Weibo.
Who stands out more: the muscular man in the bat-head mask or the high-quality creator who dares to expose injustice?
no doubt.
The follow-up to the "self-defense video" was used to attract more people to register on Bilibili and become users.
And in this way—
If appearing on local TV is like gaining +1 to your local reputation, then now it's like unlocking the national reputation rankings!
'
—Buzz!
The phone vibrated, and Liu Zhuohao picked it up. After seeing the caller ID, a smile appeared on his lips.
"Hey, Mr. Chen."
He had barely finished his greeting when Chen Youyin's enthusiastic, even overly anxious, voice came through the phone: "Oh my! My dear Boss Liu! Such a big thing happened, why didn't you tell me?"
Chen Youyin's tone was high and clear, conveying familiarity and a warm, "I called you last night, but I couldn't get through. I was so worried!"
Liu Zhuohao did see several missed calls from Chen Youyin after closing up shop last night.
I was planning to go back during the day, but I got busy and went out to eat with my cousin, so I forgot about it.
However, he did not show any remorse for "forgetting to return the call." Instead, his tone carried a just-right sense of helplessness and exhaustion: "I was a bit busy last night and couldn't get away. As for why I was busy—you know why, Boss Chen."
"Yes, yes, of course I know!" Chen Youyin immediately chimed in, his voice full of laughter. "You're on Minsheng TV now! When it aired on TV last night, your stall must have been packed! You must have been working yourself to the bone!"
"It's alright—" Liu Zhuohao said in a flat tone, not accepting the high praise, "Compared to before, it's still far from good."
"Tsk, Boss Liu, you're totally famous now!" Chen Youyin's tone was tinged with envy, but also with a hint of self-satisfaction. "You really ran into a bunch of clueless idiots! Isn't this just handing you free publicity and attention?"
"Once this storm passes and things are completely settled, your stall's revenue will skyrocket!"
He abruptly changed the subject, getting to the point: "So, about that shop we talked about before, you've been thinking about it for so long, you're not—still not ready yet, are you?"
Liu Zhuohao didn't directly answer the question about the progress, only vaguely saying, "Good things come to those who wait."
"Yes, yes, yes, good things come to those who wait!" Chen Youyin immediately echoed, then lowered his voice, urging her, "By the way, that business proposal you mentioned last time, we've finished it—"
'