The few days before the New Year were a rare good time for Chen Pingjiang.
He didn't need to prepare New Year's goods, nor did he have any other matters to attend to.
His days were simply eating, sleeping, and eating again.
After only a few days, Xu Taihou already found Chen Pingjiang more bothersome than a dog, finding him displeasing no matter how she looked at him.
"Don't you know how to tidy up that pigsty of yours?"
"Don't you know how to open the window? It stinks."
"Did your hand break or something? Don't you know how to serve your own food?"
Compared to Xu Taihou's harshness, his father Chen Guangming showed great interest in his son's Audi A6, constantly touching it and taking a short drive under Chen Pingjiang's guidance.
Chen Pingjiang felt that his father treated the car better than he treated himself, always bringing a rag to wash the car whether there was a need or not.
On the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve, Chen Pingjiang was still sound asleep when he suddenly felt a chill as cold air rushed over him.
He opened his eyes to find that his mother had pulled off his blanket at some point.
Chen Pingjiang, whose eyelids were fighting to stay open, grumbled,
"What is it, Mom?"
"Get up quickly and go burn paper for your grandfather."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang not move for a while, Xu Fangjuan slapped him on the backside.
Only then did Chen Pingjiang reluctantly get up and get busy.
The New Year's Eve dinner began at 4 PM.
The beef hotpot was steaming, and all sorts of delicious dishes were laid out, making Chen Pingjiang's mouth water.
"Son, come, Mom will toast you. Bring me back a daughter-in-law next year."
Chen Pingjiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry; this was the only flaw his mother had.
In his previous life, she had also taken him back to the village for blind dates before he even graduated from university.
From the afternoon onwards, Chen Pingjiang's phone practically never stopped, constantly buzzing with a barrage of text messages.
Chen Pingjiang took the opportunity to call He Zhiyu, Kuang Minghong, Ning Yongde, and others to wish them a Happy New Year.
The festive atmosphere of the New Year was still very strong in 2006.
At midnight, firecrackers and fireworks echoed everywhere, creating a cacophony of sound.
The Old Chen family always had the tradition of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, also known as "aonian" in the North.
That night, the lights were bright, and the whole family just stared at each other, refusing to sleep.
It wasn't until 6 AM that Chen Pingjiang could no longer resist and fell into a groggy sleep.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, early in the morning, Chen Pingjiang drove his parents back to their hometown.
As soon as they reached the village entrance, a group of people on the roadside looked and whispered about whose car it was.
Seeing Xu Fangjuan get out of the car, villagers immediately came over, smiling and chatting,
"Fangjuan, going back to your parents' home?"
"Your family's car is impressive, must have cost a lot, right?"
Xu Fangjuan smiled, with irrepressible pride in her eyes:
"Chen Pingjiang bought it, I don't know how much it cost."
The villagers were greatly surprised and startled.
"Chen Pingjiang is so young, and he's already making so much money?"
Xu Fangjuan had an older brother, a younger brother, plus a bunch of older and younger sisters.
The appearance of Chen Pingjiang's family undoubtedly became the center of attention.
"He's a university student after all, truly different."
"I always thought Chen Pingjiang was very smart, even as a child."
"..."
Chen Pingjiang laughed and joked, sharing cigarettes and bragging with the elders, making the whole big family burst into laughter.
Chen Pingjiang's envious maternal aunt looked at him, so young yet already having earned a car, chatting and laughing freely with the elders.
Then she looked at her own foolish child, who only knew to keep his hands in his sleeves and giggle along, making her furious.
According to the Old Chen family's custom, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, they would go to Xu Fangjuan's parents' home, and on the fourth day, they would go to Chen Guangming's hometown.
On the way back from his father's hometown, Chen Pingjiang asked his parents,
"I'm returning to school tomorrow."
Xu Fangjuan was startled,
"Going back on only the sixth day of the New Year?"
Chen Pingjiang nodded and shrugged his shoulders helplessly,
"Your son is busy now, aren't there many leaders and partners to visit for New Year greetings? Visiting on the sixth day is already a bit late."
Chen Guangming said understandingly,
"It's customary to visit during the New Year. I've prepared some local specialties for you to take when you make your New Year visits."
Seeing that her husband had spoken, Xu Fangjuan couldn't say much more, only cautioned,
"Be low-key when you're out, and don't spend money recklessly even if you earn it."
If Chen Pingjiang were just a student, quietly studying, Xu Fangjuan wouldn't have so many worries.
It was precisely because Chen Pingjiang was starting a business now that Xu Fangjuan was most concerned.
Chen Guangming comforted her,
"Chen Pingjiang is an adult now, he knows how to handle things."
Early on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Guanghan also arrived at the Chen family's home, and the two of them went to Dongjiang together.
"Finally back to school, it was too boring staying at home,"
Said Zhou Guanghan.
After returning to Dongjiang, Chen Pingjiang finally became completely busy.
After tirelessly paying New Year visits to a group of school leaders, he then went to He Zhiyu's house.
He Zhiyu smiled, seeing Chen Pingjiang carrying a large pile of things,
"Just your presence is enough, why bring so many things?"
Qin Han also chided,
"Chen Pingjiang, why are you so polite?"
He Rui's gaze swept behind Chen Pingjiang, looking around, and after a long while, she said disappointedly,
"Why didn't Sister Yanyan come?"
Entering the He family's door and walking into the living room, sounds of conversation could be heard from inside.
He Zhiyu explained,
"A supplier, bringing his son to pay New Year's greetings."
Chen Pingjiang nodded, then casually plopped down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, acting as if it were his own home.
He Zhiyu smiled broadly at the sight, and even Qin Han, who was usually haughty, wasn't displeased in the slightest, smiling as she handed an ashtray to Chen Pingjiang.
In their eyes, this showed that Chen Pingjiang considered them family and was not being a stranger.
The supplier sitting nearby smiled and asked,
"President He, is this your relative?"
He Zhiyu shook his head and said,
"He's a business friend of mine."
The supplier understood immediately, equating Chen Pingjiang with a rich second-generation.
Chen Pingjiang was so young; he didn't believe his career was good enough to be on equal footing with He Zhiyu.
Being so casual and comfortable in their home, the only explanation could be that he was a rich second-generation from some prominent family.
Didn't he notice how Qin Han treated him several notches less politely than she treated this young man?
"President He, I heard that Yuanfang Supermarket is going to cancel slotting fees after the New Year?"
"Yes, it's being reformed into a self-procurement model, contacting several partners to purchase together."
The supplier thumped his chest,
"We can offer the lowest price. President He, canceling slotting fees also lightens the burden on our company, so I must support it."
He Zhiyu chuckled,
"Thank you, thank you. Our purchasing department will compare prices when the time comes."
Seeing that He Zhiyu wouldn't budge, the supplier added,
"We should have a good few drinks at lunch later; it's been a long time since we last met."
He Zhiyu opened his mouth, and just as he was about to speak, Qin Han interjected,
"Old Li, another day perhaps. We have guests at home today, we'll catch up later."
"Uh."
The supplier was stunned, then nodded with a smile.
The guest naturally referred to Chen Pingjiang.
It seemed that someone else's importance was much higher than his own.
As they left and got into the car, the supplier's son looked at the Audi A6 parked in the yard and grumbled,
"Just someone driving a beat-up A6, what's he showing off for?"
"You're still green. You should learn from him. Although I don't know who that young man is, he is calm and capable in his demeanor and actions, clearly not an ordinary person."
After the Lantern Festival, the start of the new semester was imminent, and everyone from dormitory 603 and Renren.com employees gradually returned.
Chen Pingjiang prepared a batch of "opening door" red packets, distributing all of them on the first day of work.
Right after the New Year, not many people were in the mood to work.
Post-holiday syndrome needed a few days to slowly recover from.
But Chen Pingjiang immediately called a meeting.
"The New Year is over. All departments must quickly enter work mode. Our tasks this year are quite challenging."
"The ground promotion team needs to complete promotions at several universities in the urban area. There's no need to go as far as Jiangning University Town; instead, start canvassing office buildings."
"The sales team will continue to implement advertising and investment attraction tasks."
"The campus station manager program needs to be continuously promoted, aiming to complete the selection by the end of February. At that time, we will organize a campus image ambassador program for all universities in Dongjiang."
"Renren Waimai needs to continuously expand new university businesses, ultimately covering all universities in Dongjiang."
Under Chen Pingjiang's urging, the entire Renren.com team quickly mobilized.
Chen Pingjiang had long said that 2006 was about building the foundation, and 2007 was about taking off.
This year, Renren.com's mission was to go national, and this goal was not just talk.
In 2007, they would inevitably have to fight against Xiaonei.com and other SNS social networking sites.
Only by surviving could they vie for the ultimate kingship.
Chen Pingjiang found Miao Bingwei and asked directly,
"How is the development of Parking Lot Scramble coming along?"
Miao Bingwei said,
"It's estimated to be completed by early March, and testing for this kind of web game is quick. At first, I didn't quite understand why you wanted to make this social game, but now I'm increasingly realizing how wise this step is. As long as the game is successful, Renren.com's registered users will undoubtedly experience explosive growth."
"What others don't have, we do. This is our greatest advantage. Even if Xiaonei.com wants to copy us, their production cycle is half a year. By the time they launch, the yellow daylilies would have cooled."
Miao Bingwei nodded, then asked,
"Once the game is launched, our current number of servers definitely won't be able to handle it. You'll need to prepare more servers."
Chen Pingjiang had long realized this problem:
"I will figure out the money situation. Once the game launches and becomes a big hit, we will initiate our first round of financing."
From the game's launch until the first round of financing is finalized, it would take at least 1-2 months.
Chen Pingjiang had to prepare enough funds to rent servers and maintain the normal operation of Renren.com.
Only with stable operations would they have the confidence and leverage to negotiate with capital institutions.
It was precisely because he didn't want to dilute too much equity in the early stages of his startup that Chen Pingjiang insisted on operating the barbecue restaurant, providing a continuous cash flow to the Renren.com project.
He would never allow them to stumble when they were on the verge of success.
The meeting for the catering side was much simpler.
Besides the three managers of Little Chen Barbecue, Wan Yuqian and Shu Mang were also present.
"The first item on the agenda: Zhu Yuanlan is appointed as the General Manager of the Little Chen Barbecue brand."
Chen Pingjiang quietly dropped a bombshell.
Zhu Yuanlan was dazed by the surprise, not expecting such good news right at the beginning of the year.
Seeing her colleagues warmly applaud, she said somewhat shyly and nervously,
"Boss, can I do it?"
"Be more confident, you can definitely do it."
Chen Pingjiang had also given careful consideration to promoting Zhu Yuanlan to this position.
The catering company had never had a nominal person in charge; Chen Pingjiang had been managing it with a flat organizational structure.
However, as he became increasingly busy, it was difficult for him to attend to all the branches.
As more and more branches opened, Chen Pingjiang would find himself increasingly overwhelmed, making it necessary to hire a person in charge.
Undoubtedly, Zhu Yuanlan was the most suitable among everyone, being the most senior, experienced, and a good person.
Chen Pingjiang decided on the candidate with hardly any further consideration.
"In 2007, Little Chen Barbecue aims to increase its store count to fifteen, covering most universities in two university towns."
"We also need to actively explore and develop new catering brands, such as bubble tea and hotpot restaurants."
Wan Yuqian asked curiously,
"Bubble tea is very popular in every university now. We're entering the market quite late; I'm afraid we won't have an advantage, will we?"
Chen Pingjiang smiled and said,
"How could we not have an advantage? Don't forget, we have Renren.com and Renren Waimai in our hands. Our resources are far superior to other bubble tea shops.
For example, in Renren Waimai's bubble tea brand rankings, our bubble tea will always be in first place, both in terms of number of purchases and likes. This will create a 'dimensional reduction attack' on other bubble tea brands.
Furthermore, Renren.com will always reserve an advertising spot for our bubble tea brand, enabling integrated online and offline marketing."
Wan Yuqian was stunned.
If the scenario Chen Pingjiang described were to become a reality, there would indeed be no formidable opponent.
There would be no need to compare taste or price with other bubble tea brands.
By leveraging public opinion and promotional channels, they could firmly suppress other brands.
"Did you already calculate this step? According to this logic, in the university business district, there's almost no brand we can't make successful."
Bubble tea shops empowered by Renren.com and Renren Waimai would naturally receive resource favoritism from "friendly businesses" in terms of promotion and delivery.
How could others compete?
This is like in later generations, how powerful would it be if Meituan, Weibo, and Douyin jointly promoted a bubble tea brand?
That vision was too beautiful, Chen Pingjiang dared not even imagine it.
By then, people would probably have a greater understanding of Renren.com and Renren Waimai.
Zhu Yuanlan nodded in deep agreement:
"After Renren Waimai launched last year, our barbecue restaurant, thanks to the resource favoritism from Renren Waimai, saw its sales increase rather than decrease in December, a significant 20-point increase compared to November's sales. Boss, this move is truly brilliant."
Strictly speaking, Chen Pingjiang had already built an ecological closed loop in Dongjiang University Town.
Online promotion for his offline brands, and the money earned by offline brands in turn subsidized Renren.com.
"So when do you plan to launch? What's the budget?"
Shu Mang, who worked in finance, was always sensitive to money matters.
Chen Pingjiang thought for a moment and asked,
"How much money is in the accounts of both companies?"
"Around half a million combined."
"Then we'll open five in the first batch, and start working on it soon."
"Then I need to transfer this money to the catering company's account under the name of repayment," said Shu Mang.
Previously, the catering company's profits were not withdrawn, as that would incur significant corporate income tax.
Instead, they were directly transferred to Renren.com's account as loans.
Now, Renren.com transferring it back as repayment was just right.
(End of chapter)
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