As night fell, Lin Ji’s Food welcomed its evening rush.
Perhaps because the news of the upcoming renovation had spread, there were more customers today than usual, making it more crowded. Even regulars like Yue Liyue and Professor Xu chose to get takeout instead.
Well, the closure is imminent. Better save the seats for those who came from afar. After all, it’s not easy for them to make the trip.
"Boss Lin, how long will the renovation take?"
"Will there be a price increase in the new store?"
"Will it still be this crowded after reopening?"
"Will you be opening any branches later on?"
The customers were full of curiosity about the new store. They looked forward to a time when they wouldn’t have to wait in line for a seat but also worried about possible price hikes and a decline in food quality after the reopening.
Regarding Lin Ji’s Food, the customers’ attitude was similar to that of fans of certain indie singers. It was a contradictory mindset, fearing their ’Bro’ would suffer hardship, yet also worrying if ’Bro’ started driving a luxury car. They were afraid that if the business expanded and flourished, it would become distant from its customers. Even worse, under the sway of capital, it might open numerous branches, ultimately resulting in a messy failure.
Lin Xu patiently said to them, "The renovation might take about a month, depending on the progress. Food prices might be slightly adjusted, but not by much. As for branches, there are no current plans, so everyone can rest assured."
While the customers in the store excitedly discussed its future, Lin Xu’s recently uploaded video on how to make White Jade Lotus Root Strips was gaining exceptional popularity on the short video platform. Countless viewers flocked to it, eager to learn the recipe for this award-winning dish.
"Damn! Those knife skills are enough to scare anyone off."
"Calling for Mom won’t solve this one; these knife skills are beyond my mom’s capabilities."
"I was thinking of making this for my family this weekend, but given the knife skills required, it feels more likely my family would send me to the hospital." The source of thɪs content is noᴠelfire.net
"Just by looking at this presentation, I know it’s something I can’t afford."
"Looking forward to Dundun’s tasting segment..."
"Don’t get your hopes up. I just came back from Sister Xin’s live broadcast, and Dundun didn’t appear this time."
"Why isn’t he on camera? Doesn’t my Dundun deserve to eat a dish meant for honored guests?"
"Here’s an interesting fact: Cats are carnivores; they don’t eat vegetables."
The video had a high view count, and its popularity was still on the rise. In just a few hours, it climbed into the top ten of the food section’s leaderboard.
Fans of other food content creators began tagging the creators they followed:
"Look at the great content I found for you!"
"How about making this in your next video? Other food creators can do it. I won’t allow the one I follow not to know how!"
"This White Jade Lotus Root Strips dish is trending. Do you want to be one of this year’s top hundred creators? If so, get moving and make a version next time that will blow them away!"
"Let the competition heat up!"
Suddenly, nearly every food content creator in the section was tagged, making them take notice of the White Jade Lotus Root Strips. When they first saw the dish’s name, they thought they could attempt it to satisfy their fans and ride the wave of popularity. But after watching the method, many of them quickly abandoned the idea.
Can’t do it, just can’t. I make videos to earn a modest income to support my family, not to injure myself. It’s simply not worth risking my hands for a few more views.
However, they were also curious about this new star in the food section who was capable of making such a labor-intensive dish. So, they started browsing Lin Xu’s previous videos. They saw the dishes he had made before, met Dundun, and were introduced to a series of details about Lin Xu. This information included him having a rich and beautiful girlfriend, being an apprentice to a State Banquet master, and his small restaurant in Beijing always having a queue.
"Wow, what a great restaurant! I should go film a review there sometime."
However, after learning about Lin Ji’s Food’s history, they discovered that this restaurant, open for less than a month, was already closing for renovation.
"Other restaurants struggle to get on track in their first month. This guy’s place, though, is doing so well after less than a month that they already have to expand!"
Discussions of all kinds were endless, and the video’s popularity and view count continued to soar.
By the time Lin Xu finished work for the night, the video’s view count had surpassed 500,000 and was marching towards 1,000,000. His account’s follower count had also officially broken the 200,000 mark.
In just a few hours, his follower count had jumped by seventy to eighty thousand, which pleasantly surprised Lin Xu. The more followers he had, the easier it became to keep the topic of Lin Ji’s Food trending. He was also getting closer to completing the main task, "Rise to Fame," with about ten days left before the deadline.
The topic of Lin Ji’s Food officially reached second place in popularity tonight. Although there was still a significant gap behind Yanjing Food Sharing in first place, it wasn’t insurmountable. Given the current momentum, the gap in popularity between the two topics could likely be closed in about a week.
However, making it into the top ten of the overall Yanjing Region rankings was a much bigger challenge. Lin Ji’s Food had just broken into the top twenty, currently at eighteenth overall. It was still over a million points in popularity behind the tenth-place topic, #Chaoyang Residents Did It Again#.
Lin Xu sighed. It’s a long road ahead!
He watched a video from his classmate Shen, showing his father-in-law flailing about on a dance machine for a while. Then, he bid good night to Little Yueyue, who was teetering on the edge of a scolding, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.