Chapter 50: Internet Celebrities
Morning.
When Xu Jie arrived at the office, he first went to the cafeteria to eat three meat buns and two tea eggs before returning to the program team.
Su Yun’s breakfast is nutritious, but I just can’t get used to it. It’s tasteless and I always feel hungry. For someone like him who has a strong taste for food, such as eating dumplings with vinegar, eating noodles with garlic, and adding more spicy food to his scallion pancakes, it’s a nightmare.
Today’s work plan was relatively simple and it didn’t take long to organize.
Xu Jie closed his notebook and stretched, just in time to see Zhang Mingliang coming, so he picked up his things and walked over.
"Brother Liang, the autograph you asked for."
In addition to the two autographed photos, there is also a book published by Su Yun last year, called "A Flower Made of Rain in the Wind", which also has a signature on the cover.
Zhang Mingliang was very happy when he saw it, and put the book and photos carefully into his bag, fearing that they would be folded.
"Thanks, brother. Lunch is on my table." Zhang Mingliang clasped his fists.
"No need. It's just a piece of cake." Xu Jie waved his hand and went to pour water with the thermos.
When he came back, he saw Zhang Mingliang sitting listlessly at his workstation in a daze. He walked over curiously and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Liang? Is there something wrong?"
"It's okay." Zhang Mingliang forced a smile on his face.
Only then did Xu Jie notice that the other person's eyes were bloodshot and there were blisters on his lips.
How can this be okay?
Xu Jie looked back at the other people in the group. He guessed that Zhang Mingliang was embarrassed to let his colleagues know, so he whispered, "Brother Liang, just tell me what's the matter. Maybe I can help."
Zhang Mingliang hesitated for a moment, then said: "It's nothing, actually. Xiaoli's family runs a restaurant, and business has been bad recently. The family is a little worried, and as her boyfriend, I can't help much, alas!"
Xu Jie knew that Zhang Mingliang’s girlfriend was named He Xiaoli and that she worked in a magazine, but he didn’t know that her family ran a restaurant.
"Isn't this easy to do?" Xu Jie said after hearing this: "Where is the restaurant? What's its name? If we ask our colleagues in the office to patronize it more often, wouldn't business improve?"
Zhang Mingliang sighed and said, "We have a cafeteria in our station, and we can eat anything for free. How can we let everyone go out and spend money? Besides, who can eat out every day?"
Xu Jie nodded, that was right.
At this time, Wang Jingmin walked in from outside. Xu Jie patted Zhang Mingliang on the shoulder and then returned to his workstation.
In the morning, Xu Jie and Zhang Mingliang came to a residential community. The residents here reported that a new tenant on the first floor replaced the windows with doors and used fences to enclose the public green space at the entrance into their own yard. This not only affected the safety of the entire building, but also encroached on public resources. The community property management did not care and could only ask the TV station for help.
In fact, Xu Jie had already come yesterday, but the owner of the first floor closed the door and drew the curtains tightly, so he didn't even talk to him. Later, he went to find the property management company, and their attitude was very clear. They were mainly responsible for the security of the community and the maintenance of facilities, and they couldn't take care of other things, and no one would listen even if they did.
When Xu Jie came to the first floor again today, not only did they not remove the fence, they also put a lock on the fence door. No matter what he said outside, from the Urban Greening Management Regulations to everyone's responsibility to protect the community environment, there was no movement in the house, and as expected, he was turned away again.
At noon, Xu Jie and Zhang Mingliang were preparing to go back to the unit for lunch. As soon as they got in the car, Xu Jie suddenly remembered something.
"Brother Liang, aren't you going to treat me to a meal?"
"Yeah, where are you going?" Zhang Mingliang asked as he turned on the heater. He had been standing outside for the whole morning and was shivering with cold.
"Let's go to your girlfriend's restaurant." Xu Jie said.
Zhang Mingliang was stunned when he heard this, then nodded and drove away immediately.
The car stopped near the East Fifth Ring Road.
Zhang Mingliang pointed outside and said, " It's here."
Xu Jie looked in the direction the other party pointed and saw five words written on a brown wooden sign: Jiade Dumpling Restaurant.
The dumpling restaurant has two floors and looks quite large, but the corresponding rent must be quite high.
Xu Jie followed Zhang Mingliang into the restaurant. The dumpling restaurant was bright and clean. The tables and chairs were all made of wood, which was traditional and simple. There was also a large poster about dumpling culture on the wall, which introduced the past and present of dumplings and classified them into different categories. The kitchen was open to the public, so one could see the chef making dumplings while sitting in the lobby.
It was lunchtime, but there were only three tables occupied among the dozen or so in the lobby. Business did not seem very good.
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, a middle-aged woman who had been sitting there in a daze immediately stood up with a warm smile on her face, "Welcome..."
After seeing that it was Zhang Mingliang, the woman swallowed the word "Lin" from her mouth, but her enthusiasm was still there.
"It's Mingliang, looking for Xiaoli?"
"No, Auntie. My colleague and I were out for an interview and happened to pass by here, so we stopped by for lunch." Zhang Mingliang said with a smile.
"You haven't eaten yet? Take a quick look at what you want to eat and I'll ask the kitchen to make it for you." The middle-aged woman handed over a menu.
"Xu Jie, don't be polite with me, just order whatever you want." Zhang Mingliang pushed the menu in front of Xu Jie.
"Don't worry, I won't be polite." Xu Jie opened the menu. There were not only boiled dumplings, but also steamed dumplings and fried dumplings, with more than ten kinds of fillings. In addition to dumplings, there were also various stir-fried dishes and cold dishes. It was called a dumpling restaurant, and it was no different from a restaurant, except that dumplings were the specialty.
Xu Jie ordered a pork and cabbage dish, a Spanish mackerel dish, a plate of smashed cucumber, and a plate of three-flavor stir-fried dishes. These were enough for one person. In comparison, Zhang Mingliang's meal was simpler, with a plate of steamed dumplings with three fresh fillings and a plate of fried meatballs.
"How many years has this dumpling restaurant been open?" After the aunt left, Xu Jie asked Zhang Mingliang while looking around.
"Seven or eight years." Zhang Mingliang leaned forward and whispered, "Xiaoli's family came from the Northeast. Xiaoli said that when she was admitted to Beijing University, her parents were worried about her, so they moved the whole family to Beijing and opened a dumpling restaurant."
"After so many years of doing business, the business should be getting better and better. Why is it getting worse and worse?" Xu Jie asked puzzled.
People in Beijing are picky eaters. If the food they cook doesn't taste good, the business will have to close down within a year, not to mention seven or eight years, unless they have a lot of money and just want to have fun. Therefore, you can often see some old shops in Beijing, and you can also often see some restaurants that are always being renovated.
"Business was really good in the past few years, but in recent years, there are more and more dumpling chain stores, you can even say that they are everywhere, and the signs are the advertisements. In addition, with the rise of takeout, some dumpling shops use machines to make dumplings, which reduces costs, makes prices cheaper, and is faster. Over time, business like this of traditional handmade dumplings has become increasingly difficult. Now, only during the Chinese New Year and other festivals can there be more people." Zhang Mingliang said with a sigh.
"oh."
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the dumplings and dishes were served.
Xu Jie first picked up a pork and cabbage dumpling. It had the fragrance of pork, the sweetness of cabbage, and was juicy. The taste was quite good. Moreover, each dumpling was plump and could sit up, unlike some chain stores where the dumplings were lying down.
He also tried the cold dishes and stir-fried dishes. The smashed cucumber was sweet and sour and refreshing, the three-in-one stir-fried dishes were salty, sweet, crispy and tender, and the deep-fried meatballs were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The stir-fried dishes in this dumpling restaurant were not inferior to those in restaurants at all.
Before Xu Jie came, he thought it might be a problem with the dumplings and dishes, but now after tasting them, he feels that it has nothing to do with the dumplings and dishes, and it might simply be that the restaurant is not famous, and the nearby residents alone are not enough to support the cost of the entire store.
"Got it!" Xu Jie looked at Zhang Mingliang and said, "How about we shoot dumplings for the winter solstice special? Find three or four dumpling restaurants and include this one. When we shoot, if we accidentally reveal the store name on the plate, the advertising effect should be good. I remember that the winter solstice is Sunday, and the show will be broadcast on Friday night."
Zhang Mingliang was stunned after hearing this. After a while, he stuttered and asked, "Is this okay?"
"Why not? When the show is over on TV, you can bring it here and play it on loop. Business will definitely be good before the New Year." Xu Jie said seriously.
"I mean, does this count as abusing public power for personal gain?" Zhang Mingliang asked after a moment of hesitation.
"This is called keeping the wealth within the family," said Xu Jie.
"Even if it works, it's not a long-term solution. We can't wait until after the Chinese New Year to take pictures of dumplings, right?" Zhang Mingliang asked.
Xu Jie thought for a moment and said, "Internet celebrity stores are popular nowadays. Invite internet celebrities to check in and promote them. Today, I, an internet celebrity with two million fans, will help you promote it for free."
As he said this, he took out his cell phone from his pocket and took a picture of the dumplings on the table.
"What are you going to do? " Zhang Mingliang asked curiously.
"Post on Weibo." Xu Jie said.
"No, no need, really no need, thank you for your kindness, it's too much of a trouble for you, let's eat dumplings!" Zhang Mingliang said quickly, he was so scared that he was incoherent, the other party's promotion for the bar had just passed, he didn't want the dumpling restaurant to follow in the footsteps of the bar.
"Brother Liang, it's too polite to bring trouble to me. We are just friends." Xu Jie said with a smile.
Zhang Mingliang's forehead was covered with sweat.
It's not a matter of being polite or not, the main concern is that the dumpling restaurant will be scolded and closed.
…
