Chapter 389: Turnaround
Faced with such overwhelming public opinion, Su Yunjin did not dare to delay and quickly called Lu Yiming to discuss the matter.
"Xiao Ming, many people outside are scolding us, especially Ji Wenzhe, the president of the Calligraphers and Painters Association. What he said carries a lot of weight. Should we communicate with him?"
Lu Yiming had actually noticed the public opinion outside a long time ago, but he didn't care at all.
Lu Yiming could hear the worry in Su Yunjin's tone, and he consoled her, "It's a good thing to have debates, otherwise where would we get attention? You don't have to care about the barking of people like Ji Wenze. On the contrary, I think the more outrageous he says, the better. What we have to do is to strictly control the quality and make sure our products are 100% qualified in terms of food hygiene."
Lu Yiming, who was used to all kinds of hype in later generations, didn't care about any negative news at all. What he wanted was the popularity of the topic. He wished that the people of the whole country would have nothing to do and discuss this matter.
Seeing Ji Wenzhe come out to help with the promotion even with his own food, Lu Yiming wanted to give him a banner to thank him for his selfless help to Shijinji.
As a food company, Lu Yiming knows that hygiene and safety are the top priorities, and everything else is just a passing cloud. Any hype and abuse actually doesn't matter, as long as the products you make are welcomed by your users.
However, if there is a problem with quality, the first people to abandon you will be your users.
Under the impact of the surging wave of public opinion, Shijinji’s Red Panda Instant Noodles were officially launched into the market.
Early in the morning, the entrance of Baiyun Experimental Primary School was crowded with people.
Not long after New Year’s Day, Duan Letian came to school with his schoolbag on his back, his eyelids drooping, looking listless.
After a while, a pale and tender little fat boy ran up to him and said, "Duan Letian, let's have another duel later. I will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory this time."
Duan Letian looked up and said weakly, "Oh, Wang Chong, it's you."
Wang Chong is a well-known rich second-generation boy in Class 2 (3). His family sells paints and he is said to be very wealthy. He has six Gameboy consoles, each costing RMB 300. He also buys toys by the pound.
Previously, both of them were addicted to the handheld game "Pokemon" series and often had "passionate duels" on the rooftop. Wang Chong lost a few games and was obviously not convinced. Now he has made up his mind to find Duan Letian to avenge his previous humiliation.
In the past, Duan Letian would definitely be full of fighting spirit, and then as usual, the two of them would exchange trash talk and then engage in a passionate fight.
But today, Duan Letian had absolutely no interest in playing games with Wang Chong: "Forget it, it's boring."
Wang Chong was immediately unhappy when he saw Duan Letian refused to play games with him. He shouted, "Duan Letian, are you afraid of losing to me, so you don't dare to play with me? You are so cowardly, are you still a man?"
Duan Letian was speechless.
"Come on, I'm only eight years old, still a child. What's a man? What's more, my handheld game console was confiscated by my mom, so I can't duel with you."
Whenever he thought of this incident, Duan Letian felt heartbroken and felt that he had endured pain that he shouldn't have to endure at his age.
Wang Chong refused to listen to this and immediately took out another handheld game console from his school bag and handed it to Duan Letian: "Here, I'll lend it to you."
Duan Letian still looked listless and rolled his eyes at Wang Chong: "My cassettes have also been confiscated. What's the point of giving me a handheld game console?"
Wang Chong was so angry that he went crazy. In order to get revenge, he even refused to go to the amusement park this weekend and stayed at home for two days to level up!
Two whole days!
Now you tell me your cassette is gone?
Are you kidding me?
Seeing Wang Chong's frustrated look, Duan Letian stepped forward and patted Wang Chong on the shoulder: "Seeing you so disappointed, I suddenly feel less sad."
Wang Chong: “You!”
The two of them walked into the classroom listlessly. Duan Letian's deskmate Yu Yizhou walked in with a large bag of snacks and said boastfully, "Look what I bought?"
“Thump, thump, thump!”
Yu Yizhou took out a beautifully crafted Water Margin hero card from his pocket: "Look, this is a rare card of Ruyunlong Gongsun Sheng. I got it with great difficulty."
The cards were shining, and Gongsun Sheng was wearing a feather robe, standing on the Bagua, holding a three-foot green sword, with a ferocious shadow of a giant dragon behind him. He was none other than Tian Xianxing, Ruyunlong Gongsun Sheng, who was ranked fourth among the 108 heroes of the Water Margin!
What’s even more rare is that the Gongsun Sheng in Yu Yizhou’s hand is not an ordinary card, but a rare card with a drop rate of only 1%.
The Water Margin is extremely popular these days, and even elementary school students can easily name the characters in it. Therefore, as soon as Yu Yizhou took out the cards, it immediately attracted the attention of Duan Letian and Wang Chong.
Wang Chong, in particular, saw the handsome and cool card in front of him, and suddenly he was no longer interested in the Pokémon or anything like that.
"Cool! Where did you buy this? I'll buy a few to play with too."
Yu Yizhou said proudly, "They are available in the canteen. If you buy a pack of Shijinji's Red Panda instant noodles and open it, you will get a random card. There are common cards, rare cards, and golden legendary cards. It's easy to buy cards, but it's not so easy to draw rare cards."
"Can't buy it? Hey, you are underestimating me. Wait until I buy a golden legendary card and let you open your eyes!"
Wang Chong could no longer sit still, so he immediately took a step with his short legs, transformed himself into a nimble fat man and rushed towards the store.
Even Duan Letian couldn't help but be moved and went along.
When Wang Chong came back
If Duan Letian hadn't been quick enough to grab a pack, he might bought up all the remaining Red Panda instant noodles in the school canteen.
After reading it, Yu Yizhou was stunned: "You bought so much, can you finish it?"
Wang Chong scratched his head and said casually, "I can treat others to a meal. I just want to collect cards anyway."
Yu Yizhou: “…”
At a young age, he felt the power of money, and for some reason, he inexplicably felt like crying.
Although all roads lead to Rome, some people are born in Rome, while some people are born to be slaves.
However, before Yu Yizhou could shed tears, he couldn't hold back his laughter.
Because, after Wang Chong opened all fifteen packs of Red Panda instant noodles, there was not a single rare card inside, not even a single common card!
"No!"
After seeing his own battle record, Wang Chong suddenly felt unwell.
"That's not right. Why is this happening? There's not even a regular card?"
Wang Chong turned the opened instant noodles over and over again, and even though his eyes were dazzled, he still couldn't see the shadow of the card.
Duan Letian was originally feeling sad because he only managed to grab a pack of instant noodles, but when he saw that Wang Chong was so unlucky that he couldn't even get a regular card after opening fifteen packs, he immediately laughed out loud.
"Hahaha, you're so unlucky. The boss said that generally you can get a card if you buy seven or eight packs."
Wang Chong turned his head and saw that Duan Letian still had a pack of unopened instant noodles in his hand. He immediately stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me."
Duan Letian hid the instant noodles to the side and said with a pout, "No, I bought this. Maybe it can be a golden legendary card."
Wang Chong snorted and said dissatisfiedly, "You are dreaming. I opened fifteen packs and didn't even get a common card. You still want a golden legendary?"
Duan Letian said with a smile: "Maybe I'm lucky today."
While he was speaking, Duan Letian had already torn open the packaging bag of Panda instant noodles.
A card suddenly fell out of the bag.
Wang Chong was quick to grab the card in his hand. He took a closer look and couldn't help but exclaimed, "It's a rare card!"
Yu Yizhou stretched his neck to take a look over here, and was immediately envious, saying: "Wow, it's the second-ranked Tiangang Star, Jade Unicorn Lu Junyi!"
When Duan Letian saw that his rare card was snatched away by Wang Chong, he quickly snatched it back and held it in his palm like a treasure.
"I opened this, don't try to steal it."
Seeing that everyone had rare cards, Wang Chong was immediately unhappy and said angrily, "Why do you all have rare cards? No, after school, I will go outside the school to buy some. I must open a few rare cards today!"
His chubby little face was full of stubbornness.
Duan Letian ate his instant noodles contentedly, feeling like he had discovered a new world: "This instant noodles is also delicious. There are seasonings in it."
He tore open the small packet of seasoning, poured it into the instant noodles, crushed the noodles, pinched the pocket tightly, and shook it vigorously to get all the noodles coated with the spicy seasoning.
At this time, he raised his head again, and a big mouthful of salty, fragrant and slightly spicy instant noodles went into his mouth. After chewing it carefully, it was so delicious.
He finished a pack of Red Panda instant noodles in just two bites. There were some crumbs with seasoning left, which he couldn't get into his mouth, so he poured it all into his palm and licked it clean with his tongue.
“It’s really delicious.”
Duan Letian looked at the opened Red Panda instant noodles on Wang Chong's table and couldn't help licking his lips. He said to Wang Chong in a flattering tone, "Wang Chong, can you give me a pack of this?"
Wang Chong did not open the card. He was doubting his life. After listening to Duan Letian's words, he waved his hand and said with despair, "Eat, eat, eat whatever you want."
A trend of collecting red panda Water Margin hero cards has quietly emerged.
First it was elementary school, then middle school, and even some high school students were addicted to it. They drew cards like crazy, making the sales of Shijinji instant noodles more and more popular. There were calls everywhere asking for delivery, and the sales department's landline was almost blown up.
Lei Peilin ran to Su Yunjin with excitement and reported the good news, "Boss Su, great news. In five days, we sold out all the 10 million instant noodles we prepared. Moreover, orders came in like snowflakes. Even people from Min Province called to ask for more stock."
Even though a pack of instant noodles only costs one dollar, the cost is still low!
The cost of mass-produced crispy noodle cakes is less than a dime!
On the contrary, the cards are more expensive, costing about 20 cents, because Lu Yiming used higher-quality paper and ink.
After deducting various costs and channel fees, Shijinji can make a net profit of 50 cents for almost every pack of Red Panda instant noodles sold.
Fifty percent net profit!
None of them had ever seen such a profit margin!
Lei Peilin said with admiration: "The card thing is simply Mr. Lu's stroke of genius! Originally, these baked snacks were eaten at most two packs at a time, and I guess those kids wouldn't be interested. But now, they buy several packs of them to collect cards. I heard from a distributor that some rich kids buy a whole box at a time!"
Su Yunjin was overjoyed when she heard the good news and said, "Great! Let the production department run at full capacity, with three shifts and machines running 24 hours a day. Increase all wages by 10% this month, and increase bonuses by 10% this year!"
Lei Peilin was very happy.
This time, Shijinji definitely fought a great comeback and broke out from the siege of Ferrero and Xu Fuji.
Think about how a few months ago, Shijinji almost went bankrupt, and look at it now, the factory is producing 24 hours a day and still can’t keep up with the demand.
This huge contrast made Lei Peilin feel like he was living in a dream.
As more and more people started playing the Red Panda Noodles card collecting game, even students from Baiyun No. 1 Middle School started collecting Water Margin hero cards.
As for boys, there are quite a lot of people who like these things.
Not to mention 17 or 18 years old, even 20 years later, there will be many uncles in their 37s or 38s who like Gundam and mecha models.
On this day, Lu Yiming was doing his homework in the classroom. Li Quanwang approached mysteriously and whispered, "Lu Yiming, look, I drew a golden legendary card! It's the ninth-ranked Tianying Star, Little Li Guang Hua Rong. I opened several boxes of instant noodles to get it. How about it, am I lucky?"
Without even raising his head, Lu Yiming said calmly, "Stop bragging. I think you bought it."
Li Quanwang was shocked: "How did you know?"
"The chance of a golden legend dropping is only one in a thousand. With your luck, you can get one after opening a few boxes? You are kidding me."
"Wait, why do you know so much?"
"I set this explosion rate."
"What, you decided it?"
"Um, didn't I tell you about this?"
"No!"
Li Quanwang was very angry.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I spent two thousand dollars on this card!"
Lu Yiming: “…”
He really wanted to say, give me two thousand yuan and I will ask the factory to produce one directly for you - no, two!
"Keep it. Even though it's useless, it still has collection value. Wangzai, you're already such a grown-up, why do you still like this kind of gadget?"
Li Quanwang felt a little embarrassed by what Lu Yiming said, and thought that Lu Yiming was going to say that he was childish, so he quickly explained, "I don't really like it, I just like it ."
Lu Yiming nodded slightly and said, "I see. I thought you liked it very much. I said if you really liked it, I would give you a set of Golden Legend. Since you don't like it so much, then I won't give it to you."
Li Quanwang immediately hugged Lu Yiming's arm tightly: "Please give me a set of Golden Legend. I am a die-hard fan of "Water Margin"!"
