Chapter 73: Feedback on product defects came too quickly.
"Do you need me?"
"Yes, Huang Jiayu recently wanted to start her own business and has already set up a production line. She gave me a few samples to try out and provide feedback."
At this point, Liang Huaixu still thought she was talking about serious matters, so he composed himself and asked, "What exactly do you need me to do?"
Zhuang Fuyao clipped her phone behind her ear, flipping through the instruction manual as she spoke, "Go download some software first..."
This is a small remote-controlled toy that requires an app to be downloaded and used in conjunction with it.
After Liang Huaixu finished downloading, he asked, "And then?"
"Did you open it? There should be some information on it..."
After skipping over a bunch of user instructions, he finally saw the software's main page, which, as an adult, was hard not to understand instantly.
Liang Huaixu was the same, only slightly surprised, not expecting this function to exist.
He was still dressed in a suit, striding to sit on the small sofa by the window, looking at the button descriptions above. His trousers created a noticeable curve, and the heat that had just subsided surged back in, even stronger than before. He got up and drew the curtains.
The room was shrouded in a dim, ambiguous light. He entered the room code, pressed the select button, and heard a faint buzzing sound from the other end of the phone.
He casually unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and turned them up a notch.
"Wait, wait a minute..." The last syllable was swallowed by a scream.
This product is so stimulating! After inserting it, in addition to the vibration, it also has a sucking effect. She came instantly on the second setting.
After taking it out, the product, still wet, was left on the bed, vibrating.
Zhuang Fuyao opened her phone's notes app and wrote: [Advantages: An unexpected feature, relatively rare in vibration-enhancing products (at least I haven't used one yet); Disadvantages: Lacks a gradual, progressive pleasure; the intensity changes too quickly.]
She fell silent. Liang Huaixu's voice was hoarse. "What's wrong?"
Zhuang Fuyao looked at the water stains on the bed sheet, feeling slightly annoyed, like she had eaten but not quite enjoyed it.
She didn't know how to describe it, so she hung up the phone, switched to video, and complained slightly, "The product is substandard. It was too fast. It hasn't even been two minutes since then... No, maybe only one minute."
"What should we do then?" He proceeded slowly and deliberately, taking it very, very slowly so that his girlfriend wouldn't notice anything amiss.
"I don't know either." She lay on her side on the bed, her face pressed against the pillow, looking at the handsome face on the screen, and missed him a little. "Why hasn't the technology of sixteen years later developed to the point where we can teleport? I really want to teleport to your side."
He asked knowingly, "Why were you teleported to my side?"
"I miss you, I want to hug you, kiss you, and devour you..."
Listening to his girlfriend's flirtatious words, Liang Huaixu's eyes darkened, and he secretly quickened his pace.
During their video calls, Zhuang Fuyao did most of the talking. He needed to suppress his voice and was afraid of giving himself away, so he spoke very little.
Zhuang Fuyao yawned, propped her phone up on the pillow next to her, and fell asleep after chatting for a few minutes.
If she were a lighter sleeper, she could hear increasingly heavy breathing and a face on the phone that was on the verge of losing control.
The camera shook slightly as I looked at her sleeping face...
Liang Huaixu lowered his eyes and pulled out a tissue from the side to wipe his face.
He didn't expend much energy on his day off, so he didn't need a lunch break. He took a shower and then went downstairs.
Ning Xi looked up and saw that her cousin looked particularly refreshed. She thought it was because of his afternoon nap, but she asked again tentatively, "I really can't go."
She didn't really have any expectations anymore.
To her surprise, this time it actually worked, and her cousin mercifully agreed.
"But there are prerequisites: you need a bodyguard to accompany you, and you can't stay overnight." He warned calmly, "If you lose your bodyguard, you will never be allowed to participate in this type of event again."
"Ahhh, bro, you're so great! I promise to obey orders!"
Now she feels that as long as she can go, no prerequisites matter. Ming Ningxi still cares a lot about her reputation with her cousin.
Like a wild animal in a zoo, it knows the difference between having a full meal and having a full meal every day.
She didn't forget to flatter him again, saying, "You and your sister-in-law will definitely remarry soon."
Upon hearing this, Liang Huaixu raised his lips slightly and handed over a card, saying, "The money inside is enough for your graduation gift, and you can use the rest as you see fit."
"Oh my god! Is this a dream?!" Ning Xi clutched her chest, suppressing her excitement. She felt like she could take a class to learn how to flatter, focusing on how well her cousin and sister-in-law were a perfect match. It was like a windfall!
"Brother, you are an angel! Sister-in-law is an angel too. Angels will always be together."
Liang Huaixu: "..."
-
Asahi Mountain Villa
Zhuang Fuyao slept very comfortably. When she woke up, she wanted to check the time but found that her phone was out of battery.
Oh right, I video chatted with Liang Huaixu last night, and I hadn't put away the little toys on the bed.
After cleaning and disinfecting, she sent her feedback to Huang Jiayu.
Huang Jiayu has been obsessed with starting a business in the sex toy industry lately, and she's been working like a machine. No matter how early or late Zhuang Fuyao messages her, Huang Jiayu is always there.
She replied instantly: "Okay, other testers have also reported this issue. This one needs to be sent back to the factory for further investigation. Also, have you used that lipstick?"
Zhuang Fuyao: [Not yet.]
Huang Jiayu: [This disguise is very effective; you can carry it with you. Who knows, you might even need it for some impromptu play with your boss, Mr. Liang.]
Zhuang Fuyao: [...]
Huang Jiayu sent a smiling emoji, adding, "[Remember to give feedback on your experience!]"
Zhuang Fuyao pretended to be polite: "We're very traditional; we don't do these fancy things."
Huang Jiayu: [Do you think I believe you?]
Zhuang Fuyao replied with an emoji that read: "So what if I'm a girl who doesn't smoke or drink and is a little lewd?"
After joking around with her cousin for a while, Zhuang Fuyao got up, washed up, and ate breakfast.
She's been so busy lately that she hasn't had much time to spend with her parents, so she plans to take Ms. Ji and Mr. Zhuang to the nearby Lakeview Park today.
After strolling around for half an hour, when they were almost at the lake, Ji Lan made an excuse to go around, saying, "How about we go to the food street instead?"
Zhuang Shaoping chimed in, "Or we could take the cable car over there."
Zhuang Fuyao found it strange. Ms. Ji was very particular about her diet and figure, so why did she start liking to eat street food?
And Lao Zhuang, isn't he afraid of heights? Why is he going to ride the cable car?
She has always been very inquisitive and will try to figure out what's going on if she finds something strange.
“Since we’re already here, let’s go for a walk by the lake first. We can go later,” she said deliberately. She took Ms. Ji’s arm in one hand and Mr. Zhuang’s arm in the other and walked towards the lake.
The two walked slowly, as if the lakeside was a taboo place.
"What happened?" Zhuang Fuyao let go of her hand.
Ji Lan and Zhuang Shaoping exchanged a glance and sighed.
The air by the lake is wonderful, and many willows are planted nearby. Even in winter, the willows look beautiful despite their bleak appearance.
When their daughter was pregnant, Ji Lan and her husband often took her for walks in the neighborhood. They even planned to take the baby there after she was born. However, they had too many memories of the past, and they were worried that seeing the same things would trigger painful memories and cause their daughter to have a bad reaction.
What they didn't know was that she didn't have amnesia, but rather she had no memory of this period at all, so she wouldn't feel anything when she saw the scenery.
I thought it was something serious.
After hearing this, Zhuang Fuyao smiled broadly and tried her best to ease the tension between the two elders.
To prove she was alright, she even did a side somersault by the lake, then hopped over with a bright smile and continued to hold the two elders' arms.
Ji Lan and Zhuang Shaoping chuckled.
The two elders relaxed, and she became curious, asking herself what the past sixteen years had been like.
Zhuang Shaoping smiled and said, "You're not much different from before, except you've become a little more composed."
Ji Lan retorted, "Where is the stability? It's still quite erratic. Otherwise, there's no difference."
The only difference was that she wasn't as happy as when she was in school, and there was a hint of melancholy in her. But she didn't tell her daughter this, worried that it would affect her daughter's current state.
Ji Lan straightened her daughter's collar and changed the subject.
After strolling along the lake, there's still plenty of time to kill.
Zhuang Fuyao really wanted to go to that food street to join in the fun.
Hearing her suggestion, Ms. Ji objected, saying, "They're all junk food, nothing good to eat. You should eat less of this kind of oily and spicy food."
"That's not what you just said." Zhuang Fuyao snorted, and just as she was about to "argue her case," her phone rang.
It was Cheng Fan calling, saying that something had happened at Qingfeng Pavilion and he needed her to come over.
After explaining the situation to Ms. Ji and Lao Zhuang, Zhuang Fuyao headed towards Qingfeng Pavilion.
"What's wrong?"
Cheng Fan showed her the tablet. "Two streets away from us, there's a restaurant called Qingyuefang. I saw online that it was very similar to Qingfengguan, so I went there to check it out. Turns out, it's not just similar, it's practically a copy. The business model, the dishes, even the names are similar to ours. The most ridiculous thing is that they're waging a price war, directly driving down our prices to one-third."
Before opening her business, Zhuang Fuyao had already considered the possibility of this being imitated, which is why she paid so much attention to brand image and even filmed that video with Zhao Zilin.
But she wondered, "It's only been about two months since we opened, where did they find the venue?"
“There are a few food streets nearby that are really popular online, but locals hardly ever go there. Now it’s the off-season for tourism, and that owner is quite resourceful. He just rented those streets, made a few minor renovations, and turned them into ‘Qingyuefang.’ Even the name is so similar to ours.” Cheng Fan said indignantly, “No wonder I felt like there were so few customers today.”
“That’s not even the worst part.” Cheng Fan pulled out the other party’s boss’s account. “Sister Fuyao, look, the owner of Qingyuefang even imitated your social media account.”
Thinking that it's the era of self-media, Zhuang Fuyao also followed the trend and filmed many videos, some about her appearance and others about her daily life. One of them, a video of her dancing with a sword in red, received more than 200,000 likes, which brought traffic to the store.
However, no matter what she posted, that account would post something similar every two days.
For example, there was a video of her daily store visits, sped up, with the caption: "Every day feels like playing a traditional Chinese management simulation game."
Two days later, the other party posted the same thing, with the caption: "[A Game of Life: Ancient Style Management]".
Zhuang Fuyao: "..."
Everyone posts videos online, so it's usually hard to tell who's imitating whom, but this is truly outrageous.
It's hard not to think it's imitation.
Zhuang Fuyao stayed at Qingfeng Pavilion until the afternoon and found that fewer and fewer customers were coming. Looking around, all the seats were empty.
Seeing this situation, everyone couldn't help but feel anxious.
Looking back now, it seems that the number of customers at Qingfeng Pavilion started to decrease from the time Qingyuefang opened, but it was never as exaggerated as it is today.
When he couldn't figure it out, Cheng Fan searched for keywords online and slapped his thigh, "No wonder, they set Friday as their event day, offering a 25% discount, and they also hired a lot of online influencers to promote it... Many people online say that their taste is just as good as ours, but the price is much more affordable."
One of the waiters said, "Qingyuefang must have bought a lot of marketing materials. I've been seeing them all the time these past few days. My friend even invited me to eat there a couple of days ago... But I didn't know they were copying us. This tactic is so low. I'm not going to eat there."
"Exactly, this is pure malicious competition!"
Others echoed this sentiment.
Zhuang Fuyao reassured everyone, telling them to go ahead and do what they needed to do, especially in times like these, they should work even harder.
But in reality, she was only outwardly calm. The body was thirty-eight years old, but the soul inside was only twenty-two years old. It was the first time she had encountered such a situation, so she was bound to be a little flustered.
She decided to observe the situation for a week. This week, she stayed in the store from early morning to late at night, and even went "undercover" to experience the service across the street herself. The feeling of déjà vu was really strong.
Although it can't compare to Qingfengguan in terms of details, customers sometimes don't care that much. As long as the experience is similar, many people will choose the cheaper alternative for better value.
This led to another surge in customer traffic a week later, prompting competitors to mock them as "half-dead."
To make matters worse, Zhuang Fuyao received three resignation applications in just one week.
They were all waiters, not very old, but they had been working in society for several years.
One of them is only twenty years old this year. He started working after graduating from junior high school. Over the years, he has worked as a waiter, a dishwasher, and a transport worker. He believes he has a keen eye for talent after doing this kind of work.
Take Mr. Zhuang, for example. He didn't know how he started his business, but judging from his appearance and demeanor, and the fact that he was unmarried, he assumed that Mr. Zhuang was a rich second-generation entrepreneur.
This is the least reliable approach. Although they start off generously and offer high wages, if the business falters, they might quit after losing money and have had their fun, leaving those working for the rich kids unemployed.
The job duties of Qingyuefang and Qingfengguan overlap a lot. They are currently on a roll and are also rivals. With his work experience at Qingfengguan, going to Qingyuefang is a great opportunity for him to achieve a salary jump.
It is said that the owner of Qingyuefang is married and has someone backing him up, which is how he secures a long-term meal ticket.
"Mr. Zhuang, I'm sorry, but I still need to save money to get married in a couple of years. I really don't have the ability to take any risks..."
His apology was sincere. He explained that Boss Zhuang had been very good to them lately, never delaying their wages and frequently giving them bonuses. However, he was someone who had experienced hardship and knew the harsh realities of society; he felt that favors couldn't put food on the table.
She snapped out of her reverie. "Have you made up your mind?"
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