Before going to Chongyun Village, You Meng saw Xiang Kun cutting and marinating bamboo rat meat, and he knew that his friend must know how to cook. As for how well he could cook, he would know now.
"The promotion I mentioned before will start with filming cooking videos."
As Xiang Kun spoke, he skillfully began boiling water, then took a knife to chop onions. He twirled the knife in his hand, the handle seemingly glued to his palm, moving with effortless ease, eliciting gasps from You Da's nephew and the waitress.
"Nowadays, cooking videos online only teach people how to cook, which is just the most basic thing. This alone cannot guarantee that they will be favored by netizens."
Xiang Kun continued to remove the stems and seeds from the green peppers, wash them, and then slice them. His hands moved quickly, but his eyes were fixed on You Meng and the others, and his voice remained calm and unhurried, as if he were telling a story:
"Cooking videos are, first and foremost, videos, audiovisual works. So, what users encounter first are the visuals and the sound."
Xiang Kun seemed to know when the water would boil. The instant it boiled, he picked up the lid, put in the chopped onions and green peppers, and scooped them out a moment later. His movements were fluid and precise, without any unnecessary actions. Even the way he took off his glasses to wipe the water vapor off them had a kind of elegant feel to it.
"When viewers open your video, you need to capture their attention with the visuals and sound. Our goal isn't to teach them how to cook, but to get them to watch the whole thing and remember you."
Add the bamboo rat meat to the pot and boil for one minute. Xiang Kun then prepares a wok, heats it, and pours in oil.
"Users may initially watch your videos because they want to see you cook, but what attracts them is much more than just cooking."
From the moment Xiang Kun twirled the knife, You's nephew had already taken out his phone and started filming. You Meng watched with increasing focus. As a chef who had been cooking since graduating from high school, he could naturally see the skill of Xiang Kun's technique. Although the utensils in this kitchen were somewhat different from ordinary household kitchen utensils, he could still use them flexibly.
Xiang Kun scooped out the bamboo rat meat, drained the water, and then poured it into the hot oil in the wok. He started stir-frying it, and his technique was even more dazzling. His movements of stirring the fire and tossing the wok were different from those of a professional chef. He wasn't as skilled, but it was very pleasing to the eye. It was as if the wok was a shield and the ladle was a sword, and they were dancing a great song. Yet, not a single piece of bamboo rat meat fell out.
"The food videos that go viral online are all unique, but they all have one thing in common: they are all between 2 and 5 minutes long."
Xiang Kun scooped out the bamboo rat meat and drained the oil. He then put peppercorns in a wok and fried them until they were fragrant and then removed them. He then added scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili sauce and stir-fried them until fragrant.
"There's a content creator named Wang Gang whose videos are known for being concise, fast, and practical. Many of them are only two to three minutes long. He has made this type of video his specialty, and it's difficult for others to replicate the same effect."
Because of Tang Baona, Xiang Kun often browses Bilibili after watching Sugar Bean Princess's new videos, watching videos from other well-known content creators. As a cooking "enthusiast," he naturally watches a lot of cooking videos as well.
While talking, his hands never stopped. He poured the bamboo rat meat that had just been served back into the pot, added cooking wine, light soy sauce, and white sugar to stir-fry, then added a little water, covered the pot, and simmered. Even the action of covering the pot with the lid was free and easy, as if he were a cultivator covering an alchemy furnace.
"Therefore, our videos, while being short and concise, must have their own unique characteristics, capable of capturing the user's eyes and ears, whether those characteristics are visually appealing, melodious, handsome, cool, funny, or silly."
A moment later, Xiang Kun lifted the lid of the pot, added onions and green peppers, stir-fried them together, and then took the pot out of the pot.
Xiang Kun made this dish of dry-pot bamboo rat meat following the steps for dry-pot rabbit meat. Of course, the flavor was slightly adjusted based on the general taste of the people in Tongshi Town that he remembered from his childhood. Anyway, the focus now is not on the taste of the dish, but mainly on showing You Meng the process of making the dish.
Seeing the finished dry-pot bamboo rat meat, You Meng exclaimed, "Xiang Kun, you're amazing! Cooking like this is like practicing martial arts, so impressive, but it really looks delicious! Have you trained in this?"
Xiang Kun hadn't specifically practiced this technique, but he had already planned it out in his mind beforehand. He had even designed how to make himself appear effortlessly skilled throughout the process, and he had even planned how to wipe his glasses when they fogged up.
He believes that if he were to play instrumental music while cooking, he could even keep up with the rhythm of the movements. However, he worries that once the music starts, he might get carried away and cause some trouble.
"Like this, if we streamline the whole process, research and design each step, and then cut it into a video of about 2 minutes, do you think anyone would watch it?"
"Of course! Xiang Kun, you should be the spokesperson for our 'Youlong Restaurant'! Damn, you have the potential to be an internet celebrity!" You Meng exclaimed.
You's nephew, who had been filming the whole time, nodded repeatedly, and You Meng's wife and the young waitress also expressed their agreement.
"No, I don't know how to film videos, you film them," Xiang Kun said.
"Huh? Me? I can't do it. I can't replicate the effect you just showed," You Meng said, shaking his head.
"You have to come. You're the owner and head chef of this restaurant, and you have a friendly appearance, creating a contrast between your chef-like and scholarly demeanor. Go and have a simple, well-fitting chef's uniform custom-made. Then, renovate the kitchen—not luxurious, just clean and tidy! You don't need to use close-ups; if people are interested in your videos, they'll naturally notice these details and imagine you as someone who's clean and meticulous. People trust what they discover on their own rather than what you deliberately show."
Xiang Kun spoke, he pointed to his nephew Xia's phone. "You can't use a phone to shoot. You need more professional equipment. You need lighting, and then you need to edit it after shooting. The sound also needs to be processed. You must remove the noisy sounds and make it look high-quality."
You Meng was somewhat stunned. "We can't do that."
"We can hire someone to film it; they'll have all the equipment. We'll design the script first, do a rehearsal, and the movements can be complex. If we can't practice in an hour, we'll practice for a day; if we can't practice in a day, we'll practice for ten days! We strive for perfection; we must make sure every second of the first video is perfect."
Xiang Kun spoke, he pushed the plate of dry-pot rabbit meat forward and laughed, "Alright, we'll talk about the rest later. First, come and try my dry-pot bamboo rat meat and see how it tastes!"
"It smells so good, it must taste delicious!" You Meng's wife complimented as she picked up chopsticks and distributed food to the group, even the young waitress who had come to join in the fun got some.
Xiang Kun watched expectantly as she picked up a piece of bamboo rat meat, put it in her mouth, chewed it, chewed it again, then chewed it again, moving it from the left side of her mouth to the right, and continued chewing. Her expression slowly turned awkward.
You Meng chewed for a while, like he was chewing gum, and laughed at Xiang Kun, "I was so busy watching you show off that I forgot to remind you that the skin of this bamboo rat meat is quite tough, so it needs to be stewed for a while longer, hahaha, but it does taste pretty good."
Xiang Kun's cheek twitched slightly, realizing he had mistaken bamboo rat meat for rabbit meat. He'd never done it before; the data types were indeed different, and formulas couldn't be applied haphazardly...
Because of Xiang Kun's wildly imaginative promotional plan, the "Youlong Restaurant" closed early tonight after the guests at the table in the lobby left.
After giving You's nephew and the young waitress a day off, only You Meng and his wife remained in the restaurant. They prepared a few side dishes, stewed the bamboo rat meat until it was tender again, and then sat in the main hall eating and chatting.
To avoid appearing unusual, Xiang Kun had no choice but to swallow the two pebbles and pretend to eat a few bites.
"Renovating the kitchen and getting some clothes custom-made shouldn't be a problem, it won't cost too much. Filming videos should also be fine, we can find a wedding photographer. But Xiang Kun, I really can't learn those moves of yours. Watching you do them makes me think they're pretty classy, but I just tried a few myself, and it was so damn embarrassing..." You Meng said, opening a bottle of beer and drinking it.
Xiang Kun said, "You don't necessarily have to learn my moves. You can use other unique features. For example, you can strive for perfection in every step. Every time you cut vegetables, you cut them neatly, each piece the same length, and the interval between each cut is the same. You keep the rhythm right. You control the weight of the seasonings to whole numbers. You can tell the audience that only with precise values can you guarantee the precision and consistency of the taste, including the time when you put them in the pan, the number of times you stir-fry, the amplitude of the stir-fry, the simmering time, and so on."
"Prepare the scales, weigh all the seasonings, edit the measurements, and round up the numbers!"
"Prepare a digital thermometer with a probe for cooking. Measure the oil temperature and give it to the camera. Make sure the readings are whole numbers, or several values have the same last digit!"
"When speaking, one should not smile, and one should speak slowly and deliberately, with great certainty."
"Believe me, this style will make many people with a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder feel incredibly happy!"
"I've already created a persona for you: a 'culinary fanatic' who specializes in various rabbit meat cooking methods, a handsome, abstinent, and technically skilled older man."
"A culinary fanatic?" You Meng tilted his head awkwardly, while his wife covered her mouth and chuckled beside him.
"If I'm not satisfied with this character design, I have other ideas..." Xiang Kun's mind was working very fast. As soon as an idea popped into his head, a series of ideas and plans would follow. While he was thinking about the previous script and character design, the next one, and even the one after that, was already being conceived and even developed.
After Xiang Kun presented You Meng with four character profiles to choose from, the straightforward man from Tongshi Town couldn't help but mutter, "Isn't this just lying...? I'm not that kind of person."
"It's just publicity. You're just playing the role of the head chef in our video. And the objective facts are all true. For example, it's not wrong to say you come from a family of cooks, your family does own a restaurant! It's also true that you love cooking and are dedicated to culinary skills, so it's not wrong that you didn't go to university. You did learn to cook at your family's restaurant, but you didn't go to university. You didn't even take the college entrance exam, so there's no way to prove you couldn't pass! As for the rest, isn't it all just about your cooking and speaking style? You haven't told anyone what kind of person you are, you're just portraying yourself like that in the video, for the sake of the video's effect!"
You Meng thought about it and nodded; it seemed that was indeed the case.
"What's with this 'expert on rabbit meat' thing? I'm not good at cooking rabbit meat at all..."
"It's alright, I'm very good at it. I'll make a recipe for you, down to every single step, the exact time, the amount, the heat, no problem." Xiang Kun had a decent understanding of the tastes of the people in Tongshi Town, after all, he had lived here with his parents for many years.
"And then? What's next? Will you mention our 'Youlong Restaurant's' name and address at the end of the video we make, and then put it in subtitles?" You Meng asked expectantly.
"No, don't add anything, don't mention anything, not a single word. Just mention your name, or a screen name will do. Then focus on making rabbit meat videos. You don't need to make many, just carefully craft three to five 2-3 minute videos," Xiang Kun said.
You Meng in surprise, "Then how do we get customers to find our store? We're not trying to become internet celebrities; weren't we supposed to be promoting the store?"
Xiang Kun said, "Then we move on to the second step. If our rabbit meat video generates a certain response, we'll ask a popular influencer who's good at travel and food to write an article. There's a 5A-level scenic area not far from us, right? We can have that influencer start from there, using visiting that scenic area as a starting point, and then find an excuse to visit the legendary 'culinary fanatic' who's an expert in rabbit meat. Then they'll come to Tongshi Town, find your shop, and eat the legendary rabbit meat feast. Don't go into too much detail, just touch on it, as if they were really mainly there to see the scenery and ate rabbit meat on the way."
Seeing that Mr. and Mrs. You Meng nodded thoughtfully, Xiang Kun continued, "Every now and then, we can invite these kinds of content creators to come and maintain the buzz. Don't find those who are too popular, and don't spend too much money. It's best to find those who can collaborate for free. Once the online buzz picks up, locals will naturally come to try it. Our rabbit meat is mainly targeted at local tastes. As long as they taste it and think it's delicious, your reputation will quickly grow, and you'll have more and more repeat customers."
"I see, that connects the online videos to our shop." You Meng said, then frowned slightly. "But isn't this a bit too convoluted? If our videos go viral, it will boost the popularity of all rabbit meat shops, and we'll even reveal the recipe..."
Xiang Kun shook his head and said, "It's unrealistic to try to concentrate all the traffic on yourself. Don't be afraid of others hitching a ride. When others hitch a ride with you, they are actually boosting your popularity without you even realizing it. Your store is only so big, and you can't earn all the money in one person. Building your brand is the most important thing."
"So, it's basically a two-step process?"
Xiang Kun said, "No, there's a third step. If the second step works well and you start attracting customers, you can connect with the culture and tourism department of Tongshi Town and ask them to help promote your business. You can also cooperate with the commercial street here; they'll definitely be willing to boost your reputation. Then you can get a more favorable lease, a larger shop, and a better location."
You Meng couldn't help but laugh with his wife, "I'm already imagining the line of people waiting to eat at our restaurant."
You Meng's wife nodded in agreement, saying, "I also think Brother Xiang's idea is brilliant, and it has a high chance of success."
You Meng then said to Xiang Kun, "Whether my little shop can be revived depends on your idea. If it works, I'll give you 30% of the shares. Of course, if it doesn't work, it's fine, since I was planning to close it down anyway."
Indeed, if Xiang Kun's three-step plan helps his "Youlong Restaurant" business recover, then Xiang Kun's contribution will be immense. He orchestrated almost the entire plan, even creating the rabbit meat recipe. Of course, it's still unknown how the rabbit meat will taste or whether customers will accept it. However, Xiang Kun's conversation at Liu Caifu's house in Chongyun Village that afternoon, and his performance in the kitchen that evening, have made You Meng highly regard and trust Xiang Kun's abilities.
Xiang Kun said, "I'll contribute 30% of all the expenses this time. If this business succeeds and the shop becomes popular, I'll invest my own money, based on your initial investment of 30%."
"No need for that trouble..."
"It's settled then," Xiang Kun said. "The most important thing is to make a good video. First, decide which script you want to use, then shoot it yourself to test the effect, and then make careful modifications. Make sure it's perfect. I'm going back to Citong City tomorrow. If anything happens, contact me on WeChat."
"Whether something becomes popular or not sometimes depends a lot on luck. Even if we do our best, it doesn't necessarily mean it will become a hit. We can only do our best."
Xiang Kun was naturally unaware that as he spoke these words, the video of him showing off while cooking bamboo rat meat at the Youlong Restaurant that evening had already been uploaded to Bilibili...
Although Xiang Kun had told his nephew You not to post it online, the young man had recorded a really cool video and was feeling incredibly smug. It was really frustrating!
So he sent the video to a close friend. That doesn't count as posting it online, right?
But he forgot to tell the classmate not to post it online.
So after watching it, that student immediately uploaded a video to Bilibili: <<The bald guy's super cool one-shot bamboo rat meat cooking process!>
Xiang Kun naturally stayed at You Meng's house that night. He sat cross-legged on the bed in the guest room, reflecting on his actions that day.
He must have gotten a little carried away at Liu Caifu's house, so much so that he unknowingly fell into his own emotions again, triggering "Emotional Assimilation," which affected Liu Caifu and You Meng. Fortunately, for the time being, it doesn't seem to have had any adverse effects on him.
He took the initiative to offer suggestions for You Meng's restaurant. On the one hand, he genuinely wanted to help his friend turn the restaurant around, and on the other hand, he wanted to test whether the plans and solutions that kept popping into his head would work, just like he used to test various abilities.
He also considered that doing these things shouldn't bring him any trouble, since it wasn't him appearing on camera anyway.
In fact, he had many more plans that he didn't mention. Some of them might not be very effective, while others were too difficult. For example, he wondered if he could use the ability of "Emotional Assimilation" to influence a large number of diners in public places and make them all think that You Meng's cooking was delicious.
The problem is that his "Emotional Assimilation" is really hard to control. When he wants to get into an emotion, he often can't find the feeling, and when he doesn't want to, he always gets caught up in it without realizing it.
Moreover, having lost his "appetite" for ordinary food, it's difficult for him to create the feeling that those foods are incredibly delicious or amazing.
Thinking of "Emotional Assimilation," Xiang Kun couldn't help but sense the eight-armed, eight-eyed wooden carving again, and this time it actually gave a response!