Chapter 191: Chapter 191 Huo Shiyuan Can’t Save You Chapter 191: Chapter 191 Huo Shiyuan Can’t Save You Nearly a year since the family reunion, Yuan Xi was returning to the Chu Family ho for the first ti.
Following Yang Ying, Yuan Xi arrived at the Chu residence where Chu Qing was watching the local financial news on Jiangcheng’s channel, which was broadcasting the breaking news about the Mi Chen Ga crash.
Photos of Yuan Xi and Gu Hanchen having seafood noodles, which soone had sneakily taken at noon, were also on TV.
The female host narrated, “Even when Mi Chen collapses, people continue to dine on these noodles—located on Bin Hai Road in Jiangcheng, this seafood noodle restaurant is a must-try for anyone visiting the city.”
Yuan Xi, watching the female host, felt speechless about the ntion of the seafood noodles but ca up with a way to counter the public opinion about Mi Chen Ga.
She took out her phone and sent a ssage to Fang Qin.
Seeing Yuan Xi’s return, Chu Qing greeted, “Xinxin!”
Yuan Xi looked up and replied, “Dad.”
As Yuan Xi was typing a ssage, Yang Ying said, “Xinxin has been busy with work today, let her go to her room first.”
Yang Ying took Yuan Xi to a room on the third floor of the villa, and upon opening the door, Yuan Xi saw it was decorated in an overly sweet, princess style. Such a style might be loved by five- or six-year-old girls, but for a twenty-six-year-old like herself, it was far too pink and cutesy.
“Do you not like this style? Yanyan, she…”
Yang Ying apologized, “I’m sorry, Xinxin, we’ve never known what you like; we could only decorate it with what Yanyan liked. Tell what style you prefer, and I’ll have soone change it right away…”
Yuan Xi chuckled lightly, “It’s okay, this bedroom is quite nice. Lele will really like it when she gets a bit older.”
Hearing that Lele would like it, Yang Ying also breathed a sigh of relief.
Once inside the bedroom, Yuan Xi spoke with Fang Qin over the phone, “Yes, just capture the video where the female host introduces the seafood noodle restaurant for the promotion, buy a trending search topic, and have the marketers hype it up as the noodles to eat even if it’s the end of the world.”
On the other end of the line, Fang Qin responded, “Okay, I’ll get right on the promotion.”
The trending search for Mi Chen Ga crashing with the hashtag #MiChenGaCrash quickly got replaced with #NoodlesToEatEvenIfMiChenCollapses.
That noon, many had captured photos of Yuan Xi and Gu Hanchen sitting in a corner of the noodle restaurant. The seafood noodle restaurant Yuan Xi frequented was actually not high-end; it was just cleaner than a grimy eatery, and quite cramped due to its popularity.
The sight of Gu Hanchen, with his net worth in the billions, and Yuan Xi eating noodles in the corner of this humble diner presented quite a contrasting image.
Is Today the Day Mi Chen Folds?: “The noodles you have to eat even if Mi Chen collapses seem a bit ridiculous. Are we sure it’s not because Mi Chen went bankrupt and ran out of money that they’re huddled in a corner eating noodles?”
Comnters below responded, “I saw the nu prices in the photos, two hundred yuan for a bowl of noodles? That’s outrageous. What kind of noodles cost two hundred yuan? Are they laced with gold?”
“Jiangcheng locals testify this noodle spot is definitely delicious; it’s the kind of place you’d want a last taste of even if the world was ending!”
“Workers in Jiangcheng CBD can vouch this noodle restaurant is tasty. You always have to share tables when you go, but now seeing a billionaire sitting in a corner eating there too, haha, I feel vindicated.”
“Through the news video, when the female host saw the sneak photo of Yuan Xi and Gu Hanchen eating seafood noodles, she swallowed hard twice—I can assure you those noodles are absolutely delicious.”
“This host really is a big glutton, hahaha.”
Yuan Xi, observing the public opinion beneath the news of Mi Chen Ga’s collapse, noticed that few ntioned Mi Yi and Destroying Stars anymore; the discussion had shifted to how tasty their seafood noodles must be.
Gu Hanchen then started a giveaway on his Weibo account: “Mi Chen has collapsed due to so special reasons, and I truly apologize to all our players. Now, I’m choosing a hundred lucky players, and I’ll cover the travel costs for you to co to Jiangcheng and enjoy the seafood noodles for free. Just repost and comnt ‘Mi Chen, keep it up’ to enter the draw.”
Once Gu Hanchen posted this, the number of reposts soared.
#JiangchengSeafoodNoodles also trended. Many Jiangcheng food bloggers had previously reviewed this seafood noodle shop, and netizens dug up videos from one or two years ago.
Among them was a blogger who sharply criticized Jiangcheng as a culinary wasteland but couldn’t help but rave about this seafood noodle shop.
This shifted the focus of public interest away from the collapse of Mi Chen Ga to whether the seafood noodle shop was truly that delicious.
“Seeing this late at night makes so hungry, I’m about to buy a flight to Jiangcheng right now.”
“Ladies and gentlen, this noodle shop has always been a hit online. Please co with caution, as waiting in line for an hour at noon is a common occurrence.”
“I refuse to believe that a bowl of noodles can be hyped up this much.”
“A hundred-billionaire chairman, a hundred-billionaire CEO endorsing a noodle shop, isn’t that enough for you to believe?”
Yuan Xi chuckled as he watched the shifts in public opinion, never expecting the regular noodle shop he frequented to instantly turn the tide in public relations.
After the female host finished her live broadcast, she also posted on Weibo, “Don’t call a glutton anymore. The seafood noodles are really delicious. Don’t follow Mr. Gu’s lead and opt for the beef noodles. Seafood noodles all the way!
The regular seafood noodles are priced at 38, 68, and 88 yuan, but Chairman Yuan ordered the ‘Hidden Dragon nu’ noodles, which cost 288 yuan a bowl, but it’s totally worth it! Strongly recomnding the yellow croaker noodles, they’re super, super, super delicious—trust !!! Gout sufferers should proceed with caution.”
Due to this Weibo post by the female host, there was even less discussion about the debacle at Mi Chen and the talk about the seafood noodles reached new heights.
This host, who had incidentally swallowed her saliva on air, resonated with the working youths of today. With the label of ‘glutton’ now attached to her, her fan count rocketed up.
—
In the large flat at the city center of A City.
Mi Yi held a glass of red wine, her brows furrowed as she listened to her secretary report on the reversal of public opinion regarding Mi Chen, “A seafood noodle shop managed to turn things around?”
“Yes, Sister Mi Yi. The seafood noodle shop is modestly decorated, just slightly better than a hole-in-the-wall place, and the seating is quite cramped. The contrast of Gu Hanchen and Yuan Xi, with their hundreds of billions in assets, squeezing in to eat noodles there, plus that female host from Jiang City who took a few sips on air and garnered attention for being a ‘glutton’ who thought about food even while working, has made it a hit…”
“Furthermore, for many, a bowl of noodles costing 288 yuan is a curiosity, but since the seafood noodle shop is known for quality ingredients, people think it’s expensive but worth it. Anyway, the seafood noodles have really caught on.
Also, Jiang City has always been criticized by tourists for its overly sweet cuisine, being considered one of the culinary deserts with little to offer food-wise. Now that finally one place has beco famous, the Jiang City tourism departnt quickly jumped on the bandwagon for promotion. When official accounts like the tourism departnt get involved, the traffic is enormous.
Now, in the PR industry, this is referred to as ‘Seafood Noodle PR.'”
Mi Yi clenched the wine glass, finding the situation ludicrous, “Are netizens so easily swayed? Mi Chen and Yuan Xi are ungrateful, resulting in their programrs leaving them. Mi Chen should have been the laughingstock of the entire net, so how can netizens shift their focus to the seafood noodles over this absurdity?”
Mi Yi was fiercely angry. She had spent over a billion just to deal a fatal blow to Mi Chen.
She wanted to brand Mi Chen with the stain of ingratitude, causing them to no longer be able to attract top programrs. And now was all her planning wasted over a bowl of seafood noodles?
Mi Yi continued tweeting, “@Mi Chen Ga Yuan Xi, it’s precisely because of your ingratitude and mistreatnt of employees that led to the mass resignation of programrs.”
No sooner had Mi Yi tweeted this than replies began coming in.
“Mi Yimi, you’ve been in Jiang City for many years, are those seafood noodles really that good?”
“We only trust you, are the seafood noodles delicious? If you say they are, I’ll co to Jiang City for a visit during Qingming Festival!”
Mi Yi looked at the comnts on her phone, her brow furrowed and her grip on the device tight.
Inside the Pink Princess Room in Jiang City, Yuan Xi laughed at the comnts from followers bought by Fang Qin beneath Mi Yi’s post.
Mi Yi still sought vainly to sway public opinion, unaware that for many netizens, the infighting among Mi Chen’s top ranks was just entertainnt.
And in today’s society where pre-made food and chain restaurants prevail, any local delicacy can potentially beco a sensation, much like certain places’ barbeque and spicy hot pot.
Jiang City, being a place where the taste is mild and even tends toward sweetness, can be challenging for people from other regions to enjoy.
For instance, Ren Tian had lived in Jiang City for six or seven years and still found the local food hard to swallow, thus Jiang City’s reputation as a culinary desert. Now that the seafood noodles had beco a hit, the Jiang City tourism departnt would certainly work overti to capitalize on the trend, especially with Qingming and May Day holidays approaching.
With backing from official traffic, at least for a while, when it ca to the subject of Mi Chen’s collapse, Fang Qin could steer the online army to focus on the seafood noodles.
Just as Yuan Xi was about to rest, he saw a call from Mi Yi.
He answered, “Mi Yi, what does it feel like to flush a billion down the drain?”
Mi Yi was seething with hatred, “Yuan Xi, don’t get too cocky. The ga has only just begun. I built up Mi Chen, and I can also bring it down to ashes in my hands…
When the ti cos, not even Huo Shiyuan will be able to save you. He’ll just watch you squander his hundred-billion investnt!”
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