Debbie put an incredible amount of effort into this advertisement.

Given her star power, where every appearance commands a sky-high fee, she unexpectedly went all out to shoot a proper video for it.

In the video, she first held up a bag of Mingde products and introduced what they were. Then, she went into the kitchen herself, steaming a bag of frozen green rice dumplings.

The round, adorable dumplings emerged hot and steaming under her care. On camera, she smiled contentedly while eating, even showing the stuffing of a bitten dumpling to the audience on the other side of the screen.

Her team members also appeared in the video, enjoying beef noodles or small wontons, all with happy and harmonious expressions.

“This is amazing,” her new agent exclaimed while marveling at the bowl of beef noodles. “This is the most delicious noodle dish I’ve ever had. I can’t believe it’s a frozen product. You should just become their global ambassador.”

Debbie, meanwhile, ate two dumplings in a row and smiled, saying, “I’d be happy to if I could.”

Her obvious enjoyment of the food delighted her fans.

Over the past year, Debbie had been constantly in the news. Since parting ways with her previous agency, her condition had improved significantly—not just physically healthier and with a more enchanting singing voice, but also with her creativity soaring.

In the past, her compositions, no matter how popular, always carried a melancholy undertone. Now, her new album seemed completely transformed, brimming with vibrant life and offering listeners an inspiring sense of hope.

This new album achieved unprecedented popularity, bringing her more fame and a broader audience than ever before.

In an industry where singers of her caliber were already rare, the meteoric success of her album positioned her as a force surpassing all her contemporaries.

With more supporters came greater care.

To her fans, Debbie’s battle with anorexia was their biggest concern. In the past, she had deliberately hidden it, so the public only thought she was thin. But once the truth emerged, it created a frenzy. Fans seized every opportunity to encourage her to eat more, even bringing banners reading “Debbie, eat more!” to her concerts.

So, when fans saw this recommendation video, they were naturally drawn to the brand she mentioned and felt a surge of goodwill. Their enthusiasm quickly piqued the interest of the broader public.

Of course, non-fans were curious for different reasons.

Debbie’s struggle with anorexia had been a huge news story abroad, sparking countless heated discussions. Her new management team had assured the public that she was undergoing treatment and making progress, but paparazzi continued to scrutinize her eating habits, often catching her eating very little at public events.

People understood that recovering a normal relationship with food after so many years of anorexia wouldn’t be easy.

But now, here she was, eating two large green rice dumplings in a video, showing no signs of forcing herself, and genuinely enjoying them.

Given Debbie’s wealth, it was impossible to think she would eat against her will just for money. Food lovers could easily tell that she was genuinely delighted by the taste.

For her to enjoy the food so much, it must truly be extraordinary.

People unfamiliar with the brand were instantly intrigued. While their focus differed from fans, they too started searching online for the brand Debbie endorsed.

In no time, Mingde’s search engine rankings skyrocketed globally.

However, many were disappointed to discover one thing: this product was only available in China.

For the first time, Debbie’s Chinese fans became the center of envy among her global fan base.

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Little did they know, most of Debbie’s Chinese fans were just as surprised. Their idol had endorsed a domestic brand they had never even tried themselves.

Still, that didn’t stop them from feeling proud.

A brand from their own country, recognized by someone they admired, was a point of pride. Even non-fans shared in the sentiment.

When the Chinese culinary documentary Flavors of China gained international fame, the domestic response from major media outlets was overwhelming.

Chinese brands often struggled to break into global markets, and being endorsed by someone as influential as Debbie was a rare achievement.

At this point, the recommended brand represented more than just itself—it symbolized national pride.

The online buzz was electric. Netizens across the country were curious about this suddenly famous brand.

Upon digging, netizens from Shenzhen and Linjiang burst with pride:

“Ahhh, Mingde! Our Mingde has made it big!”

“Mingde is from Shenzhen! Their restaurants and products are super popular here. They’re an amazing company!”

“Wait, Mingde isn’t from Shenzhen! It’s from Linjiang! The pride of Linjiang! Everyone here is so proud of Mingde!”

“Does it matter? Shenzhen and Linjiang are like family!”

“Mingde has always been amazing but never expanded beyond here. People used to dismiss them as small-time, but now our hidden gem is finally being recognized! If you want to learn more about Mingde, click here—”

Enthusiastic netizens from Linjiang and Shenzhen compiled an introduction to Mingde, which caught the attention of those unfamiliar with the brand.

To their surprise, Mingde wasn’t entirely unknown.

It had previously appeared as a sponsor and focus of Flavors of China. While the documentary was no longer trending, many viewers vaguely remembered the name.

At the time, it was known as a restaurant brand, and its locations seemed far away and inaccessible. People had gradually stopped paying attention to what seemed irrelevant to their lives.

Now, seeing its résumé, they were hit with a wave of nostalgia.

“So it’s that Mingde! When did they start making frozen products? And they’re already internationally famous? Quietly making big moves!”

After a brief silence, an unexpected buzz spread across the nation.

Discussions flooded the internet in cities everywhere, speculating when Mingde’s latest products would arrive in their own locales.

It was as if, overnight, banners promoting Mingde’s new ventures were hung on every municipal office by none other than Jinyao herself.

Old Li, who had been tirelessly traveling out of the province to develop new distributors only to face repeated rejections, decided to halt his efforts and return to Shenzhen to regroup.

Despite the setbacks, he was unwilling to give up on Mingde.

Though met with indifference repeatedly, he was determined to persevere, hoping to regain the trust of the smaller city distributors and retailers he had worked hard to win over.

But before Old Li could even devise a new strategy, his office was inundated with calls inquiring if he still held distribution rights for Mingde’s products.

When he first saw news of an international superstar endorsing Mingde’s offerings, Old Li assumed it was the nearby small-city retailers changing their minds.

But after further inquiry, he was stunned.

The employees who had endured hardships alongside Old Li were summoned for a meeting. When they learned of prospective partners approaching them, they were equally astonished:
“Is it X City or O City loosening up?”

Old Li’s company wasn’t a top-tier player; in fact, it ranked mid-to-low within the distribution industry.

Shenzhen was teeming with top-tier competitors whose influence extended far beyond the local area, impacting nearby major cities.

Hence, Old Li and his team had opted for an alternative strategy—focusing on promoting Mingde’s products in smaller nearby cities as a way to grow step by step.

Although these smaller cities didn’t have markets as lucrative as first- and second-tier ones, the company’s limited reach meant progress had to come incrementally.

So, after being repeatedly turned away, the team’s anxiety matched Old Li’s. They were eager to know whether their company still had the potential to grow beyond Shenzhen.

But when asked, Old Li’s response revealed a trace of bewilderment.

Facing the puzzled gazes of his team, he slowly displayed a list of potential partners:
“It’s not X City or O City… Take a look yourselves. Our immediate priority might be hiring translators for a few niche languages.”

The team: “???”

When they scanned the list, a collective gasp filled the room.

It wasn’t cities—it was several small neighboring countries!

Old Li murmured, “Apparently, because so many international trade agents are contacting Mingde directly, they’re now at the back of the queue. These foreign businesses found out we hold Mingde’s distribution rights and want to partner with us instead. Not just us, either—any distributor with Mingde’s rights is probably receiving similar inquiries.”

Though these were small nations in terms of population, area, and economy, they were still countries!

As a small-scale distributor, even as Mingde’s success brought growth to his business, Old Li’s grandest dream had been to make a name for himself in Shenzhen and its surrounding areas.

Never had he dared to imagine taking his business international.

This was beyond anything he could have hoped for—it was like a pie falling from the sky.

The entire team fell silent, exchanging wide-eyed glances.

Everyone understood one thing: their company was about to soar alongside Mingde.

Oh, and not just theirs.

Meanwhile, outside the province, retailers who had previously turned Old Li away were now bombarded with customer inquiries about Mingde products.

The name sounded oddly familiar. Retrieving the business card of a distributor they’d once rejected, realization struck like lightning: they had made a grave error in judgment.

But when they tried to reconnect with those distributors, the replies were disheartening:

“You’re from X City? Sorry, we’ve just taken on an order from Country T. Our current stock of Mingde products is running low. Another partner from X City contacted us earlier, so you might have to wait until next week for supply.”

The realization that these products—once denied to them—were now being shipped overseas, coupled with being told they were low priority locally, made many retailers uneasy.

Among them, the procurement manager of a major Beijing retail chain felt this unease most keenly.

When his subordinates began logging customer inquiries about Mingde, he sensed something was amiss. Though the inquiries dwindled over time, it wasn’t because customers forgot about Mingde.

Word had gotten out—Mingde’s products were launching in competing Beijing malls!

This wasn’t just a minor concern. Mingde had been making headlines, signing export contracts with numerous countries. Even the company’s senior leadership, typically uninvolved in procurement, had noticed.

The chain’s senior executives, alerted by the media coverage, directly instructed the procurement manager to secure Mingde products for their stores in Beijing as soon as possible.

Panicked, the manager scrambled to reconnect with distributors he had once dismissed, only to be met with polite but firm refusals:

“We’re terribly sorry, but our stock is limited. We can’t meet your request right now.”

Faced with rejection, the manager’s desperation grew.

Even the chain’s high-ranking leadership, known for rarely meddling, couldn’t ignore the news that Mingde’s products would debut at rival chains.

For such a dominant retail player in Beijing, this was unthinkable.

Determined to get to the bottom of it, the leadership quickly pieced together the truth.

Before long, word spread among major distributors that one of Beijing’s most seasoned procurement managers had spectacularly miscalculated—and it was now too late to recover.