Desperate PR

At 2 a. m., the lights were still on in the public relations department on the 17th floor of Dongbei's headquarters.

Zhao Bin stared at the computer screen, his eyes sore and swollen. The screen displayed four windows: Weibo's trending topics, Douyin's trending topics, Zhihu's trending topics, and Bilibili's trending topics. Of the top five on each of the four lists, at least three contained the name "Dongbei."

Dongbei Meme Contest # 420 million views

One-year-old eats two-year-old broccoli # 380 million views

Suggesting Dongbei be renamed Dongjian # 290 million reads

The comment section refreshes with hundreds of messages every minute; it's impossible to keep up. The online marketing company sent a message: "President Zhao, we really can't keep up. The netizens' enthusiasm for spontaneously creating memes is too high. When we post ten positive comments, they are instantly flooded with hundreds of memes. Moreover... many netizens have started to impersonate online trolls, posting those '50 cents a comment, delete in parentheses' kind of comments, which has even misled the real online trolls."

Zhao Bin rubbed his temples and sent a voice message to the head of the online marketing company. "Add more money. Triple the amount. I want at least one positive topic in the top three trending topics by 8 AM tomorrow."

The other party quickly replied, "President Zhao, it's not about the money. In this situation, even if you offered ten times the amount, it wouldn't make a difference. Netizens are having a blast; the more you delete posts and try to control the comments, the more excited they become. Take my advice, let it cool down and wait for this wave of attention to pass..."

Zhao Bin closed the chat window before the conversation was over.

Will Dongbei wait until the hype dies down? Can they afford to wait that long?

The finance department sent data this afternoon showing that daily sales across all stores nationwide had fallen by 72% year-on-year. Seven stores in major shopping districts had daily sales of less than 3,000 yuan, unable to even pay their utility bills. One store manager secretly messaged, "President Zhao, will next month's salaries... still be paid?"

Zhao Bin dared not think about it.

He opened a document titled "Dongbei's Positive Image Reshaping Plan (Emergency Revised Version)". This was the third version of the plan, which the public relations department had rushed out overnight; the first two versions had been rejected by Zheng Dong.

The first draft of the proposal, "sincerely apologize, admit that some dishes used pre-prepared ingredients, but promise to improve," was torn up on the spot by Zheng Dong: "Apologizing is admitting defeat! We did nothing wrong!"

The second suggestion was to "temporarily close the store for rectification and reopen after the storm has passed." Zheng Dong slammed his fist on the table. "Close the store? Close all two hundred-plus stores nationwide? Do you know how much we'll lose every day? Will the shareholders agree to this?"

The third version... even Zhao Bin himself thought it was absurd.

The core idea of the plan is: since "telling the facts" is useless and "playing the victim" is useless, then "use magic to defeat magic" -- create a series of "deeply moving" true stories, use emotions to dilute rationality, and use tears to drown out ridicule.

He dialed several key members of the team. "Wake up, everyone, come to the meeting room. The new plan, execute it immediately."

At three in the morning, the small conference room was filled with smoke.

Five people sat around, all looking haggard. Zhao Bin sent the proposal to the group chat. "Read it. I need to see the first batch of video ideas in half an hour."

Everyone looked down at their phones. The more they looked, the stranger their expressions became.

"President Zhao," Xiao Wang, who is in charge of new media, spoke first, "This... 'seven-year-old boy cries because he can't get Dongbei '? Isn't that a bit... too fake?"

"Fake it or not." Zhao Bin flicked his cigarette ash. "Does anyone actually believe that now? What we need isn't 'truth,' it's 'viral.' It needs to trend on social media, spark discussion, and divert attention from those who are just making memes."

"But..."

"No buts," Zhao Bin interrupted him. "Chairman Zheng's exact words: 'Regardless of cost, at any cost. We must reverse public opinion within 24 hours.'"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Divide the work." Zhao Bin tapped the table. "Xiao Wang, you're in charge of finding actors, locations, and filming. Be quick, I need the finished product by noon tomorrow at the latest. Little Li, contact the MCN agency you're working with and get all their parenting bloggers, relationship bloggers, and local lifestyle bloggers to repost it. Budget... no upper limit."

"Where's the copywriting?" Little Li asked.

"I'll write the copy myself." Zhao Bin took a deep drag on his cigarette. "It needs to be emotional, it needs to be tear-jerking, it needs to make people feel, ' Dongbei has it tough too.' Those people who are just making jokes are going too far. Understand?"

No one explained clearly, but they all nodded.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the first batch of "touching story" videos began to be released.

The first one to be posted was by a parenting blogger with the ID "Doudou's Mom". The video title was. "Seven-year-old Maomao cries because he can't eat Dongbei".

In the video, a seven- or eight-year-old boy sits at a table with a bowl of instant noodles in front of him, wiping away tears. His mother's gentle voice is heard in the background. "Maomao, what's wrong? Don't you want to eat instant noodles?"

The little boy sobbed, "I want to eat Dongbei's braised fish... Waaah... Dongbei's fish is the best..."

"But recently Dongbei..." the mother began, then trailed off.

"I don't care!" the little boy suddenly burst into tears, "I want to eat Dongbei! I won't eat anything without Dongbei! Waaah--"

The cries were deafening.

The mother sighed, and the camera zoomed in on the little boy's tear-streaked face. "Okay, okay, Mom will take you, I'll take you."

The video ends, and the subtitles appear. "Children's hearts are the purest. They don't understand pre-made meals or marketing; they only know that Dongbei's taste is their mother's taste."

The video was posted at 8:03 AM. By 8:30 AM, it had over 500,000 views.

The top row of comments is uniformly arranged:

"I cried. Children are so innocent."

"Those who use these memes, don't you have any conscience?"

"Dongbei has accompanied so many children through their growth; don't negate its entirety because of a few flaws."

But as you scroll down, the style gradually changes:

"His acting... even my three-year-old nephew cries more realistically than him."

["The instant noodles in the background are Master Kong braised beef noodles, so Dongbei = Master Kong?"]

"The child kept glancing at the camera while crying; it's an occupational hazard."

["50 cents a piece, delete the part in parentheses--wait, this time it's really crying, worth a dollar!"]

At nine o'clock, the second video was uploaded.

The poster is a local lifestyle blogger, and the title is. "Beijing grandpa wants a house as a gift after drinking Dongbei soup".

In the video, an elderly man with gray hair sits in the Dongbei restaurant, holding a bowl of soup, tears streaming down his face. The blogger narrates, "This gentleman is eighty years old. His wife passed away early, and his children are all abroad. He said that drinking this soup reminded him of the taste of his mother's cooking when he was a child..."

The old man wiped away his tears, looked at the camera, and said in a thick Northeastern accent, "This soup... this soup tastes just like my mom's! I... I have an apartment nearby, it's just sitting empty anyway, I want to give it to Dongbei! To thank them for letting me taste my mom's cooking!"

The blogger quickly stopped him. "Sir, you can't do that..."

"Yes, it is!" the old man exclaimed excitedly, slamming his hand on the table. "I said it's okay, so it's okay!"

The video ends with the caption. "True human kindness, a taste of home. Dongbei, more than just a meal."

The comments section of this video is even more interesting:

"This old man's accent... is he from Chaoyang District, Beijing?"

"My maternal grandmother is from Shenyang, that's why she speaks with this accent."

"I suggest the old man go to Deyun Society for further training; his delivery of lines needs improvement."

"A house? Dongbei is making a killing this time."

["Located in Beijing, looking for a Dongbei that offers soup delivery to apartments? Waiting online, urgent."]

The third video was released at 10:00 AM, from a blogger who is involved in both pet care and parenting.

The title is. "Baby under 1 year old insists on eating Dongbei).

In the picture, a baby who looks less than a year old is sitting in a stroller with Dongbei children's meal in front of him—a bowl of steamed egg and a few pieces of chopped fruit. The baby reaches out to grab it, but can't, and cries out in frustration.

Blogger's voiceover. "My baby has been having a poor appetite lately and refuses to eat anything. Today we passed by Dongbei, and he insisted on going in. I ordered him a children's meal, and he ate it with gusto! It seems even Xiaobao like Dongbei's food!"

The camera zooms in on the baby's chubby, adorable face. The baby grabs a piece of Apple and puts it in his mouth, but sharp-eyed viewers notice—it's not Apple, it's a teething toy, with half of its packaging showing off outside the frame.

The barrage of comments exploded instantly:

[Teething stick: I never thought I'd be a spokesperson for Dongbei.]

[Baby: Mom, could you put a little more effort into the Photoshop next time?]

"These days, even one-year-old babies are going out to work."

"I suggest Dongbei release a teething biscuit collaboration product called ' Dongbei's Hard Dishes.'"

The three videos all went viral on Douyin at 11 a. m.

But completely different from the "heartwarming" sentiment the public relations department had envisioned, the comments section became a scene of mockery and ridicule.

Some netizens edited the three videos together and added the captions, "Dongbei's Large-Scale Magical Realism Theater - Act One: ' Maomao Fakes Crying'; Act Two: 'The Northeast Grandpa Delivering a House'; Act Three: 'The Baby Eating a Teething Toy'."

It has received over a million likes.

Even more sarcastic netizens started imitating the sentence construction:

"My dog watched Dongbei's live stream and now insists on eating dog food mixed with scissors."

"My grandfather is ninety years old. After drinking Dongbei's soup, he immediately said he wanted to give them the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang."

"My baby in my belly is saying through the ultrasound: Mom, I want to eat Dongbei)."

On Weibo, a marketing account summarized. "Dongbei's public relations strategy this time reminds me of the classic Yilin style—fabricating some beautiful stories that don't even exist, trying to move others, but only moving themselves in the end."

The top-rated comment reads, "Maybe the owner of Dongbei thinks netizens are the kind who would drool over a cure."

Second: "I suggest Dongbei change its public relations team. Send the current team to a place where they should be, such as a school for the mentally challenged for further training."

Third: "Zheng Dong: We want to move customers with sincerity! Netizens: Oh, so you're using fake sincerity?"

Noon, Dongbei headquarters monitoring center.

Zheng Dong stared at the public opinion data on the large screen, his face turning from ashen to deathly pale.

Positive voice volume percentage: 0.7%.

Negative sentiment accounted for 99.3%.

Seven out of the top ten trending Dongbei were mocking Dongbei. New trending terms also emerged: # Dongbei #, # Yilin #, and #Suggest Zheng Dong Change Team#.

Zhao Bin stood behind him, his shirt back soaked with cold sweat.

"Chairman Zheng," he began with difficulty, "We... we may have misjudged the situation. Netizens simply don't accept this..."

"Shut up," Zheng Dong said hoarsely.

He stared at the glaring comments on the screen, each word feeling like a needle piercing his eyes.

"The old man from Northeast China who delivered the house," "Mao Mao faking his Maomao," "The baby eating a teething toy"...

And that line, "I suggest you change your PR team."

Zheng Dong suddenly smiled.

The laughter was low and dry, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.

Zhao Bin felt a chill run down his spine. "Chairman Zheng..."

"You're right." Zheng Dong turned around and looked at him. "It's time for us to change teams."

Zhao Bin's face turned pale.

"But it's not about changing the PR team," Zheng Dong said, emphasizing each word. "It's about changing the strategy."

He walked to the control panel, picked up the intercom, and said, "Have Wang Qian from the Legal Department and Old Chen from the Operations Department come to my office immediately."

He put down the phone and took one last look at the large screen.

On the screen, real-time comments are still flying around:

"Dongbei's actions are a prime example of suicidal public relations failure this year."

"Has Zheng Dong been cursed? One wrong step leads to another."

"Waiting for Dongbei to go bankrupt, I'll go pick up the scraps."

Zheng Dong removed the large screen.

The screen went dark, revealing his own distorted reflection.

2 PM, Lin Feng Apartment.

Lü Yi was laughing so hard she was pounding the table, "Boss! Look at this! A netizen wrote a limerick for Dongbei's PR team!"

He read aloud, "Dongbei PR is truly amazing, they can conjure up touching stories effortlessly. A seven-year-old boy faked crying, and an old man from Northeast China wanted to give him a house. A one-year-old baby chewed on his teeth, and he was so moved by his own actions that he laughed heartily. I suggest they all go for further training; the school for the mentally challenged is waiting for you!"

After he finished reading, another burst of wild laughter erupted.

Lin Feng sat on the sofa, holding a book but not reading it. He was listening to K's encrypted report: Dongbei had begun contacting MCN agencies on a large scale to delete posts, with prices rising to 100,000 yuan per post. However, many agencies were taking the opportunity to raise prices, or continuing to release mocking videos while collecting money—profiting from both ends.

"Boss, do you think Zheng Dong is furious right now?" Lü Yi asked.

"Probably," Lin Feng said.

What other foolish moves will he make?

Lin Feng closed the book and looked out the window.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly on the lawn downstairs, where several elderly people were walking their dogs, and children were chasing after them.

A peaceful scene.

"We've exhausted all the bad moves," he said slowly, "It's time to unleash the real killer moves."

Lü Yi blinked. "What ruthless move?"

Lin Feng did not answer.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Zhou Wenyuan: "Dongbei's legal department just withdrew its 'settlement' proposal. At the same time, we noticed that Zheng Dong urgently met with several people from N Province; their identities appear to be within the judicial system. Be careful."

Lin Feng read the message and then deleted it.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Downstairs, an old man walked slowly with his dog on a leash. The dog stopped and sniffed at the trees by the roadside, and the old man waited patiently.

The sunlight cast long shadows on them.

"Lü Yi," Lin Feng suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"You'll be staying with me these next few days."

Lü Yi for a moment, then grinned. "Alright! Are we going to fight?"

"Not necessarily," Lin Feng said, "But it's better to be prepared."

He turned and walked back to the living room, picking up the book.

The book was turned to Article 243 of the Criminal Law: the crime of false accusation and framing.

He stared at the line of text for a few seconds, then closed the book.

Outside the window, the sun was still shining brightly.

But some things have already begun to stir in the shadows.