Shen Qiming gave an approving hum.

Seeing how slowly his assistant moved, he felt the man was hopelessly inept and prompted, “Say something nice and apologize.”

The assistant, stunned, stammered, “Uh? O-okay.”

Was this really his boss speaking to him right now?

Doesn’t even know how to say something nice?

Shen Qiming shook his head internally as he watched his assistant stare blankly at his phone for ages. The man was worse than himself!

At least now, Shen thought, he understood the importance of making his feelings clear to Yaotiao. The words he had spoken earlier, though difficult to say at first, hadn’t been as hard as he had imagined once they were out.

He felt as though he had started to grasp the basics.

But then he heard his hapless assistant make the call, retreat to a corner, and adopt a tone so saccharine it sent shivers down his spine:

“Baby, I’m sorry! I was at work, and the boss was right here, so I didn’t mean to hang up on you.”

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault, boohoohoohoo! Baby, I was wrong! I’ve been so busy these days I haven’t even had time to check my phone. When I finally saw your messages, I was too scared to reply. I just wanted to go home, kneel on a washboard, and apologize to you in person!”

“How could you think that, baby? You’re the one I love most! I’ve missed you so much these past few days I can’t even sleep at night!”

Shen Qiming: “…”

Turns out I’m still way behind…

The assistant managed to calm his girlfriend down and ended the call, visibly relieved. He was about to thank his boss when he noticed Shen Qiming staring at him intently, his expression serious.

“Mr. Shen? Is something wrong?”

Shen Qiming was silent for a moment. He wanted to ask which set of questions the assistant had been practicing—it seemed much more advanced than his own.

After a pause, he said solemnly, “You and your girlfriend… have a good relationship.”

The assistant scratched his head, embarrassed. “It’s okay, I’m just a rookie.”

Shen Qiming: “…”

“Oh, right, Mr. Shen,” the assistant continued. “What do you need a Weibo account for? Should I have someone send over the credentials?”

Ten minutes later.

Listening to Shen Qiming’s instructions, the assistant broke out in a cold sweat. “Mr. Shen, I… I think maybe I should just register a new account for you instead.”

—

One hour later, in the Jingmao Assistants’ Office, everyone stared silently at the newly created Weibo account.

Boldly named Shen Qiming and marked with Jingmao’s logo, it bore all the hallmarks of their boss’s no-nonsense style—no pseudonyms, no subtlety.

The account was utterly barren, with zero followers. The only account it followed was—Mingde Culinary Co., Ltd. Vice Chairwoman Jin Yaotiao Fan Club.

Its timeline was filled with an array of liked posts, all featuring photos of Jin Yaotiao taken by fans at the Mingde branch opening earlier that day.

Assistants: “…Should we follow it too?”

—

Over at the Jin Yaotiao Fan Club’s homepage, the atmosphere was electric.

Fans who had attended the event posted photos of Jin Yaotiao, and a flood of admiring comments filled the screen:

“OMG OMG OMG! Chairman Jin!!! Chairman Jin’s stunning visuals are here!!!”

“I’m crying! It’s my first time seeing Chairman Jin in high-definition—she’s a hundred times more beautiful than in documentaries!”

“Did you see Mingde’s new branch trending today? Oh my gosh, the dishes in the trending photos look so incredible. I heard all of Mingde’s chefs were trained by Chairman Jin herself. Imagine how amazing her cooking must be! I’m declaring it now: I’m marrying Chairman Jin so she can cook for me every day! I love you, Chairman Jin!!!!”

This comment sparked a wave of indignation among other fans:

“Are you kidding me? Our Chairman Jin is rich, gorgeous, and incredibly talented. Why should she cook for you every day? Is that how you show love?”

“Exactly! She’s already so busy. Why don’t you think about cooking for her? If you love someone, shouldn’t your first thought be to take care of them?”

—

An hour later.

At the nearest supermarket to Jingmao’s office complex, Shen Qiming, dressed in a sharp suit, stood in front of the refrigerated section. His piercing gaze was fixed on fresh black-boned chickens and old hens.

Mingde, the production line for the new product was finally confirmed, and a brand-new department was established within the company. Led by Jiang Bai, this department would be professionally responsible for the company’s new business.

Jin Yaotiao was so busy that she had no time to think about anything else.

After reviewing the operation of each new store, she immediately threw herself into the affairs of the new department.

The performance of the new stores was very promising. In fact, even Jin Yaotiao had underestimated the deep market customers’ enthusiasm for their restaurant.

If she were a content business owner, the popularity of Mingde restaurant would already be enough for her to rest easy in the deep market.

After all, as long as they maintained their current customer flow, the restaurant would never have to worry about income.

But unfortunately, she wasn’t that kind of person.

Expanding and exploring new territories could be addictive, and what she wanted was a broader horizon.

Plans for branches and stores in other cities were already underway.

In the meeting room, Jin Yaotiao, with a group of subordinates, studied the frozen bags on the conference table.

These were the same ones sent to the guests after the opening banquet.

The design of the frozen bags had gone through many revisions, and the final result was quite satisfying. The exterior featured an elegant wooden pattern, with the bold characters “Mingde” printed on them. Different product categories were distinguished by different wood grain patterns, but the “Mingde” logo remained unchanged.

The flavor was indicated in different colored fonts on the side.

With such distinctive products carrying the brand’s identity, Jin Yaotiao could already imagine that, even for consumers far from Mingde restaurants, these products would help them remember Mingde as the future company.

“The 200 sample sets have all been sent out,” Jin Yaotiao said, pointing to one of the frozen bags and asking Jiang Bai, “When do you expect the first batch of finished products to be ready?”

Jiang Bai first gave her a precautionary reminder: “The speed of product release won’t be too late, but you need to prepare for the fact that the promotion won’t happen overnight.”

He took out a document he had prepared, frowning as he reported to Jin Yaotiao, “We’ve already contacted all the distributors in the local industry here in Deep City. However, due to our higher pricing, many distributors are hesitant. So far, only two are willing to cooperate. It will definitely take some time for the market to accept a newly launched product. Our company, Mingde, has always operated physical restaurants, and it’s hard for the restaurant’s reputation to be immediately recognized as an advantage by the distributors. Please don’t rush, Mrs. Jin.”

Jin Yaotiao understood this well, nodded, and then said to him, “Thank you, you must have faced a lot of difficulties.”

Although Jiang Bai didn’t go into detail, Jin Yaotiao knew that their team had visited numerous distributors in Deep City, and only managed to sign two.

The hardships behind this effort were certainly not something a few words could describe.

It was likely that they had suffered quite a bit.

Jiang Bai smiled lightly. “It’s okay, just some short-sighted ones.”

---

Next door, two distributors who had just signed the distribution contract with Mingde were waiting to meet with Jin Yaotiao, the company’s leader.

One of them received a phone call, and after answering, it turned out to be a colleague in the same industry.

Upon hearing that he had signed the contract, the colleague immediately expressed concern, unsure whether it was genuine worry or just pretense. “Lao Li, you should think it through. This is a tough nut to crack. Mingde’s products haven’t even been launched yet, and they have no brand recognition outside.”

The distributor, Mr. Li, smiled and replied, “It’s normal for a product not to have any recognition before it’s launched. Someone has to be the first to try.”

The colleague chuckled, “When they contacted me, I took one look at the price and told them to throw the brochure in the trash. There’s no point in discussing it. With that kind of pricing, how could it possibly sell? I think they’ve gotten carried away by their restaurant’s current popularity and believe that just because the restaurant is doing well, everyone will buy into it. Consumers won’t be that easy to fool. At those prices, are they selling delicacies? Lao Li, I think it’s going to be difficult. You might even end up losing money yourself.”

Mr. Li, the distributor, just smiled, “No risk, no opportunity.”

The colleague realized he couldn’t hit his pain point and could only hang up the phone in frustration.

Later, Jin Yaotiao met the two distributors who had chosen to trust Mingde’s new products from the beginning.

After shaking hands, Jin Yaotiao promised, “Thank you both for joining us. Mingde will do everything it can to promote these new products and ensure that your investments yield results.”

The meeting was pleasant, and the sincerity shown by Jin Yaotiao made the two distributors feel at ease. But as the first to take a risk, they carried a huge burden. If the product didn’t do well in the market, they could face heavy losses. Despite believing in the product, they still harbored concerns in their hearts.

As they left the Mingde branch, they exchanged a glance, filled with both ambition and hesitation.

The doubts from their peers, the voices of skepticism within the company, and the money and resources they were about to invest—all of it made even those who had signed the contract feel anxious.

They hoped that Mingde and its products would prove their gamble worthwhile.

---

It was already late at night in Deep City. A young girl, holding a Mingde-branded ice bag, quietly returned home.

She had a large camera bag on her back. After closing the door, she looked at the ice bag in her hand and couldn’t help but smile.

When the staff at Mingde restaurant handed out these ice bags to everyone, their first reaction was disbelief, followed by suspicion that the staff might have mistaken them for media members.

Only after confirming several times did they dare to believe that the gifts had been personally arranged by Mrs. Jin.

At that moment, everyone present was so moved that they couldn’t speak.

The girl stared at the bag, feeling a soft, bittersweet sensation in her chest.

How gentle Mrs. Jin was! She wasn’t a celebrity relying on fans for support, and yet, they had received such thoughtful care from her despite being of no use to Mingde.

Her family must be asleep, the girl thought. She had originally planned to rest in her room, but after coming home late, she hadn’t eaten much while busy taking photos in the afternoon. The warmth of home made her stomach growl.

She looked at the thermal bag in her hand.

After receiving the gift, everyone had opened their bags and seen that the staff had introduced them as Mingde’s unreleased frozen foods.

Most of the fans following Jin Yaotiao’s schedule were from the “Huaxia Zhenxiu” community, who loved food and had picky tastes. For example, the girl herself rarely ate frozen food unless necessary. She would rather order fresh takeout or go out to eat.

But this was a gift from Mrs. Jin!

With this thought, the girl became delighted again. She tiptoed into the kitchen, clutching the ice bag.

She picked one of the frozen beef noodles from inside.

The packaging was much more elegant and high-end compared to other frozen food brands. However, as it was frozen noodles, the girl didn’t have high expectations. She just decided that whenever she had free time, she would visit a Mingde restaurant to try their highly praised flavors.

Inside the bag were three items: a soup packet, beef packet, and noodles. When she opened the beef packet, she was momentarily stunned.

It smelled so good.

The noodles inside the package were completely different from the noodles she was familiar with in other frozen convenience foods.

The cooking steps on the back of the beef noodle packaging were very simple. Boil water, then cook the noodles for five minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the frozen soup and beef in another pot. When the noodles were done, immerse them in the hot soup, and it was ready.

As she sniffed the fragrant beef packet, her mind was already foggy. She followed the instructions mindlessly.

When the water boiled, she realized something was wrong too late. The rich aroma of the beef broth escaped through the kitchen door, filling the entire house.

Five minutes later…

The smell woke up the entire family.

The family stood outside the kitchen, while the girl stood inside, staring at them in silence.

Her parents, in their pajamas, had woken up mid-sleep, their hair messy, clearly confused. “Why did you come back so late?”

The girl froze, fearing that she would be scolded again for following her fandom. But her parents sniffed the air, “Forget about that for now. What are you making? We’re starving. Give me some!”