"Right, the premiere was at noon today, I was so busy I completely forgot." Xu Yanxia quickly said to Ye Shu on the other end of the line, "Thanks for the reminder, Shushu. I'll take a look right now."
After hanging up, she immediately opened a few apps to check, only to find that Ye Shu was not exaggerating.
Qiwei Video's entire startup screen had been replaced with the promotional banner for the "A City, A Flavor" program. It should be noted that usually, only hit shows received such an honor.
Clicking into the show itself, she saw that although it had only been about six hours since the noon premiere, the first episode had already amassed over eighty thousand comments.
On several other news and social media apps, hashtags related to the show were indeed ranking near the top of the trending lists.
The likes and comments on the various promotional clips that followed were also very high. This was especially true for one clip showing the moment the counter suddenly tilted while she was cutting chrysanthemum tofu. Thanks to the magic of the editors and social media managers, it had been turned into a thrilling teaser for the next episode, sparking the curiosity of many netizens and garnering over ten thousand likes and comments.
Even her own name had made it into the top twenty of the trending list. Not only had the news about her background from a few days ago been dug up again, but enthusiastic netizens had also given her the flattering title of "Straight-A Master Chef."
"..."
Looking at the endless praise from the netizens, Xu Yanxia still found it a bit unbelievable. She marveled to Lu Jingming, "No way, can a food show really be this popular?"
Lu Jingming was much more composed. "After all, those waves of trending topics over the past two days laid a solid foundation. Your image is indeed quite appealing right now."
He then added, "Now is a great time for promotion. You should have the company's PR department catch up quickly."
"You're right!"
Xu Yanxia hurriedly opened the work app on her phone and sent a message to the colleagues in charge of brand promotion.
She then said to Lu Jingming, "I also need to let my brother and Jiushan know. I bet the dishes I made on the show will be very popular over the next couple of days, so I should tell them to stock up on ingredients."
"Good idea."
Lu Jingming watched from the side as she sent out the messages one by one, then asked, "Didn't you say there were brands wanting to collaborate with you? What are your plans for that?"
"I have to first see what they do, and check their reputation and quality before deciding."
Xu Yanxia said, "I participated in this show mainly to promote our own brand. Commercials and such are really optional. After all, advertising comes with risks, and I can't ruin my reputation just for a little money."
"Mm, very good."
Lu Jingming nodded with a smile. "My little silly baby isn't silly at all."
"You're so annoying,"
Xu Yanxia playfully hit him, pretending to be angry, and threatened, "If you call me that again, I'm really going to change your nickname to big fool."
Who knew he would take the opportunity to hold her hand, smiling shamelessly as he said, "I thought you had already changed it."
As they spoke, they had arrived at the private underground parking garage.
Since Xu Yanxia's car was still parked at the Jiushan parking lot from work today, she still needed Lu Jingming to drive her.
Lu Jingming gentlemanly opened the car door for her. Once they were both seated and buckled in, he started the car. As he drove out, he told her, "There will definitely be more people seeking collaborations with you in the future. If you find any of them interesting, it's best not to negotiate yourself. You can tell me; my negotiation skills are pretty decent."
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "You're so busy, you should focus on your big projects first. I'll ask Xixi and have her recommend a professional agent for me."
"That works too."
Lu Jingming nodded. "It's better to leave professional matters to the professionals."
Saying this, he frowned slightly and asked her, "But speaking of which, you're not going to end up like Second Brother, disappearing for days on end, are you?"
"I won't."
Xu Yanxia immediately reassured him. "Just dealing with these few episodes is annoying enough. It's best to stay out of the muddy waters of the entertainment industry if possible."
"However, I do have some new ideas."
"What ideas?"
Lu Jingming immediately asked with curiosity.
Xu Yanxia explained, "By participating in this show, I realized that everyone actually really wants to pursue a healthy lifestyle, but the current market is still a bit chaotic. Once our brand is established and we have a good reputation, we can also create some derivative products under our own brand."
"For example, condiments like sauces and fruit and vegetable powders; processed foods like sausages, mooncakes, and pastries; or we could even collaborate with fresh food brands like Wannong to make some fresh, quick-prep meals."
"Great idea."
Lu Jingming immediately nodded and said, "Looking at that scammer couple from before, it's clear that this market is quite large."
"Exactly,"
Xu Yanxia agreed, nodding. "If Meyer in Germany can go from ingredients to technology, we can go from technology to ingredients! As long as we are professional and rigorous enough, it's entirely possible."
"After all, in the era of a market economy, the consumers are the judges. Who's afraid of whom!"
"Exactly."
Seeing that the car had already left the residential compound and merged onto the wide main road, Lu Jingming freed one hand, smiled as he gently stroked her hand, and said, "With such a professional boss lady, our Lu Corporation will definitely be able to beat them!"
...
The night passed.
On the last Saturday of October, Xu's Teppanyaki welcomed its auspicious grand opening.
Just like when Jiushan officially opened, the company prepared a grand celebration ceremony for them as usual.
Xu Yanxia and her brother specially arranged for their grandparents to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony as guests of honor.
Looking at the modern kitchen in the restaurant, the brand-new and beautiful environment, the entrance filled with flower baskets, and the bustling scene of customers pouring in, the two nearly eighty-year-old elders felt genuinely happy from the bottom of their hearts after experiencing a lifetime of hardships.
Due to the explosive popularity of the show One City, One Flavor, many fans who heard the news specifically came to the scene to support Xu Yanxia. As a result, even before twelve-thirty in the afternoon, there was a waiting list of over fifty tables.
To express her gratitude and apologies, Xu Yanxia personally handed out the restaurant's homemade drinks and snacks to the fans. She also obliged every request to take photos with everyone and specially distributed discount coupons to customers who had waited for more than forty minutes.
Despite this, the staff in both the front and back of the house were kept busy until nearly three o'clock in the afternoon before the lunch rush barely came to an end.
When the busy day passed and night fell, the Platinum VIP private room at Jiushan also welcomed a family dinner.
Today was the day the elders of the Lu and Xu families officially met.
Just as Mrs. Lu had said that day, it was rare for the Xu family's grandparents and aunt to visit Rong City. Today, aside from the married couple playing host, Grandpa Shen, the uncle, and the aunt also came over specifically to keep them company.
At this moment, as soon as the elders of the two families met, there was a warm exchange of handshakes.
Especially Grandpa and Grandma Xu, who had not seen Uncle Shen Huaidong for more than twenty years, were inevitably a little emotional upon reuniting.
"To think that us old folks would live to see Secretary Shen again!"
Grandpa Xu, whose eyes were welling up with tears, kept expressing his gratitude to Uncle Shen. "Back then, you ran around helping our whole family handle all kinds of certificates and procedures. We always wanted to find an opportunity to thank you, but we didn't expect you to be transferred away so suddenly."
"That was all my duty."
Uncle Shen quickly replied, "At the time, I was constantly busy with post-disaster production recovery, and I had intended to go see your family again. But the transfer order came down so urgently that I didn't even have time to say goodbye to you. Later, when I saw little Xia and heard from her that you two elders were in good health, I finally felt at ease."
"Thank you, Secretary Shen, for always keeping us in your thoughts."
Grandma Xu hurriedly brought out two gift bags and said, "Back then, thanks to the subsidies you helped us apply for, we finally managed to raise the two younger ones. These aren't anything expensive, just some homemade sausages and smoked meat. Please take them back and have a taste!"
"Good stuff, this is really good stuff!"
Grandpa Shen laughed from the side, saying, "When Xia came back during the National Day holiday, she brought some for us. Our whole family couldn't get enough of it, and now we have more. This is just wonderful."
"Grandpa, this batch is even more delicious than the last one,"
His grandson, Lu Jingming, who was one of the main characters today, quickly chimed in. "This was made by Grandpa Xu himself. You can't buy this outside."
"Then that's even better!"
"Let's not just stand around talking. Let's all sit down first."
Grandpa Shen smiled and invited everyone to take a seat together.
Following proper etiquette, the three elders took the seats of honor, while the others lined up in order. Lu Jingming sat down right next to Xu Yanxia.
Lu Jingming secretly tugged at the hand of his girlfriend, whom he hadn't seen all day, and whispered to her, "You look really beautiful today."
Whether it was because her makeup was done so well today, or because she was flushed with excitement after a busy day, her face looked incredibly rosy and delicate.
