Chapter 423: Chapter 343 Counselor’s Birthday

In the night, Cheng Zhu watched as Lin Lu enthusiastically greeted him, and a smile crept onto his face.

Just like always, Lin Lu could subconsciously lift his mood.

He walked over, took her gloved hand, and they got into the car together.

As soon as she sat down, she started chattering away.

“Cheng Zhu, I saw Youu Tea trending on Weibo! It’s ranked really high!” she exclaimed.

“It’s not bad, just a mere thirteenth place,” he boasted arrogantly.

“That’s already amazing. I saw that what’s-his-name, that celebrity, his trending topic is ranked below Youu Tea,” Lin Lu excitedly said.

She looked towards Cheng Zhu, who appeared calm, and curiously asked, “Are you genuinely calm or just pretending to be?”

“It’s not about being calm or not; I’m genuinely not surprised,” he said.

He had been planning this for a while, aiming for this moment of exposure.

It was almost 2015, and this served as a little groundwork.

In his plan, 2015 was going to be the year Youu Tea expanded aggressively.

This was just the beginning.

A humble thirteenth place on the Weibo trending list was merely a signal, like a modest firework before getting down to serious business.

“Tch! You’re showing off again!” Lin Lu said, though, in her heart, she was definitely happy for Cheng Zhu.

She immediately added, excitedly, “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and the day after is New Year’s Day. Youu Tea is going to be incredibly busy again!”

“Not just that. Since we’ve hit the trending list, for the next few days, Hang City’s online celebrities are going to come out in force, and not just the local ones from Hang City,” Cheng Zhu said with a smile. “Even those from Shanghai might rush over.”

Hang City was already a tourism hotspot, and during the holidays, people from neighboring areas would specifically travel there.

Youu Tea could only produce a limited amount of milk tea each day. Not everyone who wanted it could have it, but a massive crowd would definitely witness the popularity of this tea shop!

In fact, this was a sort of hunger marketing tactic.

But then again, the production process for a premium online-famous milk tea is inherently more complex. That couldn’t be helped.

For people living in cities around Hang City, drinking a cup of the highly popular Youu Tea that they couldn’t get locally and then posting it on their social media circle might seem like a very trendy thing to do.

Eventually, Cheng Zhu and Lin Lu ended up grabbing some late-night snacks near the Xinhang Apartment.

The girl was sticking to her word; she said she wouldn’t eat late-night snacks, and she didn’t.

Now that she was in a relationship, she paid even more attention to managing her figure.

After returning to Xinhang Apartment, right before she got out of the car, Cheng Zhu pointed to Building A and asked, “Aren’t you going to invite me up?”

“No way, no way, you’re not safe,” Lin Lu said, her face bearing a smile.

“Rubbish, I’m a gentleman!” Cheng Zhu shamelessly replied.

What bad intentions could I possibly have?

Just watching you two girls sharing a flat, it’s too unsafe.

And renting a three-bedroom apartment, what a waste…

I should move in!

“No way. This is where Ningning and I share a place. Even though she’s not here, it wouldn’t be right to bring a man upstairs. She would definitely mind,” Lin Lu said.

Cheng Zhu: “???”

“Well then, you should rest early,” Cheng Zhu said with a smile, not really having an appropriate response to that.

“Mhm,” Lin Lu nodded, but she didn’t exit the car.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you getting out?” Cheng Zhu asked with a smile all over his face, clearly asking despite knowing the answer.

Lin Lu just thought he was such a tease.

But with a cunning twist, the spirited girl instantly began to mimic what Cheng Zhu had done the last time.

She lifted her finger and lightly pointed at her own lips.

“Copying me, huh?” said Cheng Zhu.

Then, he leaned in for a kiss.

Today, with Cheng Youu, the little third wheel, not around, they could kiss for longer, and a bit more… deeply.

…

…

The night passed, and it was the last day of 2014.

The new year was coming, and for Cheng Zhu, “new year, new atmosphere” was genuinely applicable in every aspect, especially his career.

Youu Tea was about to launch its new “Meaty Grape” flavor, which had already been promoted and preheated these past few days.

The tea shop had been making a splash on the whole network these days, so naturally, the new product launch was highly anticipated.

Meanwhile, Shen Minglang had been visiting Star City every day.

Seeing the long line outside the shop, he felt extremely pleased.

Young Master Shen didn’t care about how much money the single store made.

What he cared about was the popularity and the presence!

“Awesome! I’ve never enjoyed running a shop this much!”

Previously, whenever he opened a store, it involved racking his brains for promotions, and the business was still dreadful.

But look at it now!

This flourishing period was just as he wished!

As for the new product launch, he felt a bit nervous.

At present, all three of Youu Tea’s signature products were selling very well.

If “Meaty Grape” also exploded in sales, then they would have four hit innovative products.

It would be like evolving from “The Three Mystics” to “The Four Heavenly Kings”!

But that very afternoon, he unexpectedly learned some news and quickly called Cheng Zhu.

“Cousin, there’s been a big issue!” Shen Minglang was frantic.

“Let me guess,” Cheng Zhu’s voice emanated a supreme calmness. Then after a few seconds, he said, “Is it that another milk tea shop is starting to copy us?”

“Exactly! Mo Tea is also introducing a new item; they’re copying our–” Shen Minglang began, but Cheng Zhu interrupted him again.

“Wait, let me guess again.” Cheng Zhu pondered for a moment and spoke indifferently, “They’re copying our roasted Black Sugar Bubble Milk Tea, right?”

“Holy shit! Did you also see their promotion?” Shen Minglang was shocked.

“No, it was just a guess, or rather, I just wanted to tell you, I’d anticipated this,” Cheng Zhu said.

He added, “Cousin, rest assured, it’s not just Mo Tea that will copy us, but all the other messy XX Teas will copy us in the future too.”

“No way! How can you start such a conversation with ‘rest assured’?” Young Master Shen was immensely astonished.

“This proves that we are always ahead of the others,” Cheng Zhu said.

Damn it, how can you make everything sound so cool?

Cheng Zhu paused before continuing, “Also, have you thought about why Mo Tea is copying only our roasted Black Sugar Bubble Milk Tea?”

“Because it’s a hot drink? It’s winter now?” Shen Minglang racked his brains.

“That’s only part of the reason. The main point is that this tea is something they can replicate.”

“Fundamentally, roasted Black Sugar Bubble Milk Tea isn’t that different from the traditional teas–it’s just that we use better raw materials.”

“To use Mo Tea as an example, they have over a hundred stores nationwide. How can they quickly copy Cheese Mixed Berries? Would they need to develop their own fresh fruit supply chain? To do that on a national scale would be way too expensive.”

“It’s not worth it for them to invest so heavily just for one new product.”

“But if they don’t deal with their supply chain, they can’t ensure the quality control across the hundred-plus stores.”

“Such a large investment might even be one of the largest investments since the brand’s inception, something they wouldn’t decide on a whim.”

“But copying roasted Black Sugar is just too easy–the main ingredients are basically just those three common ones. They just need to cook the tapioca pearls in black sugar.”

“So this is probably something they’ve been planning for a while,” Cheng Zhu said.

How did Deer Horn Alley, which became popular with this product, collapse back then?

It was because their hit product was too simple. Their store expansion couldn’t keep up with the speed of knock-off stores, nor their rate of copying.

And in the future, the copycatting between tea shops is inevitable.

In Cheng Zhu’s past life, the female owner of Nai Xue’s Tea angrily denounced Hey Tea for copying Nai Xue.

And then, the owner of Hey Tea… responded in the comments of her social media post!

It was quite an interesting incident.

“So, after all this, cousin, do you understand what I am saying?” Cheng Zhu asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It means that the work you’re going to be responsible for is very important!” Cheng Zhu started to prop him up.

Don’t run; stand still and let me properly PUA you.

He talked non-stop for five minutes, leaving Shen Minglang dizzy.

While his head buzzed, a wave of endless emotions arose within him.

“This important task, cousin, I suggest you find some old hands, like those good at negotiation, and with sufficient legal knowledge…” Cheng Zhu began hinting for him to poach people from the Shen family.

“Understood, I already have some candidates in mind,” Shen Minglang replied solemnly.

“That’s good. Oh, by the way, after Mo Tea copied us, what did they name it?” Cheng Zhu was a bit curious.

“They called it Black Sugar Pearl Hit Milk,” Shen Minglang replied.

In the face of interests, it’s all about survival.

Cheng Zhu was clear; in 2015, the clash with the traditional tea industry would only get more intense!

…

…

Technology University, staff residence.

The mature woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses sat on the sofa and received a New Year’s Eve invitation from her good friend Zhao Xiaoqian.

“Mr. Chen, do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve tonight?” Zhao Xiaoqian sent a message on WeChat: “If not, let’s go out for dinner and a movie!”

“No plans,” Chen Jieyu replied.

She hadn’t received any invitation from Cheng Zhu to spend New Year’s Eve together.

Regarding this, she didn’t think too much about it.

After all, their current relationship was quite taboo. On New Year’s Eve, when it was bustling with people everywhere, going out for a date would be far too risky.

Plus, she knew Cheng Zhu had been quite busy lately. The busier the holiday season, the busier the tea shop.

“Aiyo, you’re just too serious. If I had your looks, I’d have people inviting me for New Year’s from the dorm all the way to the dining hall!” Zhao Xiaoqian joked.

“How about we go wild until midnight today? I see a lot of malls will have countdown events too.”

After tonight, it would be January 1st, 2015.

And the day after New Year’s, January 2nd, would be counselor Chen Jieyu’s birthday.

She typed and replied, “Let’s not stay out until after midnight, I’ve never celebrated New Year’s Eve.”

Of course, she had barely celebrated her birthday from childhood to adulthood.

(ps: First update, seeking double monthly tickets to stabilize first place on the monthly ticket board!)