Chapter 216 - 188: Building Momentum

Chapter 216: Chapter 188: Building Momentum

’...Food made from the country’s spiciest chili peppers is a huge gimmick... The first prize is ten thousand yuan, equivalent to an average office worker’s three-month salary... Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was previously featured in a documentary co-produced by the Hai City local station and the food inspection department, so it has some name recognition...’

After filling in every blank on the form, she double-checked it for errors. Then, she opened her email, attached the application, and clicked "Send." A gray circle on the screen gradually filled with green before two words appeared: Sent Successfully.

Tang Wen was Xie Yuting’s senior, but the two only met after they started their careers. At that time, Tang Wen was still working for Qiansheng Group, and many of its events required inviting the Hai City local station to film promotional material. As the rookie at the local station, Xie Yuting was sent out on assignment most often. Before long, the two grew familiar and struck up a friendship.

The one thing she never expected was that her senior, Tang Wen, would actually quit her job with its limitless prospects at Qiansheng Group to go work at a tiny fast food restaurant. Although the restaurant was doing well, it couldn’t hold a candle to Qiansheng Group.

Although she didn’t understand, Xie Yuting respected Tang Wen’s choice and didn’t offer any personal opinions on it. However, the thought that they would no longer have opportunities to interact at work made Xie Yuting a little sad. After all, coordinating with Tang Wen was always straightforward. Her instructions were clear, her requirements were specific, and there was none of the usual dithering.

Unexpectedly, her feelings of regret didn’t last long. Her senior, Tang Wen, soon sent over a new request: an application for news coverage of the grand opening of Xu’s Braised Shop. To her surprise, the application perfectly met all the criteria for a lifestyle news segment on the Hai City local station.

In other words, she and her senior, Tang Wen, would be collaborating on work once again!

「Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant No. 2, Second-Floor Office.」

Today was the day the commercial for Xu’s Braised Shop was scheduled to air. It was also the first major project Tang Wen had spearheaded since joining Xu’s Fast Food, so she was paying extra close attention. She was so invested that she didn’t leave after her shift, instead staying in her office, ready to launch the next round of promotions as soon as the commercial finished airing.

At 8:02 PM, the third broadcast of the Xu’s Braised Shop commercial ended. Tang Wen immediately opened her social media account, posting the ad video and a tweet about the grand opening event that she had already prepared. She then shared these two posts to her QQ Qzone and to the group chat called ’Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’.

’TA-DA! The Xu’s Braised Shop grand opening event is here! (throws confetti) We’ve got braised food made from the nation’s spiciest chili peppers! We’ve got huge cash prizes and gifts! We even have a live prize drawing!’

’And let me tell you all a little secret: the first prize for the grand opening is 10,000 yuan in cash. That’s real, cold, hard cash—not some coupons or store credit, but a genuine stack of hundred-yuan bills!’

’[Photo]’

The photo showed a pair of slender hands making a "V" sign in front of a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills. The fingers were long, fair, and quite beautiful. On any other day, plenty of people might have made a few playful remarks about those hands. But today, at this moment, everyone’s attention was glued to the stack of bills.

’Who cares how nice the hands are? Is anything sweeter than the smell of money? Ten thousand yuan—that’s two or three months’ salary! It’s basically free money!’

After watching the commercial and reading Tang Wen’s post, the group chat erupted. Everyone started @ing Tang Wen, asking if the announcement was real. Lin Mengjuan, the only lucky one in the group who had actually tasted the Hellish Braised Flavor, was also being bombarded with @s.

’@Mengmeng, is the Hellish Braised Flavor spicy? How spicy is it?!’

’@Mengmeng, quick, give us your review! We need to know what we’re in for.’

’@Mengmeng...’

Reading the questions from the other group members, Lin Mengjuan broke into a wicked smile, as if enveloped in a demonic aura.

’Not spicy at all! Don’t let the name scare you. It’s just a little bit hotter than a Thai chili, that’s all.’

’My review? Oh, the flavor is incredibly complex. One bite, and you’ll be savoring it for a lifetime!’

’...’

Thanks to Lin Mengjuan’s load of nonsense, even group members who hadn’t been interested before were now curious enough to go check it out. Some chili lovers decided they had to try this "incredibly complex" Hellish Braised Flavor for themselves. Meanwhile, the true spice fiends were brimming with confidence, rubbing their hands together in anticipation. They were determined to claim that ten-thousand-yuan cash prize.

Seeing so many people taking an interest, Lin Mengjuan channeled all the literary skill she possessed and wrote a surprisingly detailed review of the Hellish Braised Flavor. She paired it with the picture-perfect photos she had taken the day before, crafting an incredibly eye-catching post. She published it on her social media, her QQ Qzone, and in the group chat, making sure to @ the official Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant account in each one.

Lured in by the advertisement or the cash prize, more and more unsuspecting people saw Lin Mengjuan’s post and began to entertain some very foolish ideas...