novelslam Chapter 13: A Town That Suddenly Became Popular, and a News Report on the Listing of a Listed Compan
Chapter 13: A Town That Suddenly Became Popular, and a News Report on the Listing of a Listed Compan
If the initial success on the first day of opening was due to the rural-style marketing of giving gifts and the unexpected boost from short videos, then in the following two days, things took a bizarre and erratic turn.
The queue didn't get shorter; in fact, it got longer.
Guanzhen doesn't have a real town center. In the past, when people strolled around, they would just go to the market to eat something.
But now, things have changed.
Young people who hadn't gone out to work after the New Year, primary and secondary school students who were leaving school nearby, and even energetic young men from the neighboring town all seemed to have received a call to action.
Every day, hundreds of brightly colored scooters are parked densely along both sides of the national highway.
"Let's go to Tamura Mitsuyuki!"
This has become the most popular greeting in Guanzhen these days.
The store is spacious and bright, with air conditioning, sofas, and WiFi, plus that milk tea that even migrant workers returning from the city rave about...
This place instantly became a pilgrimage site for young people throughout the town.
Gamers are teaming up here for a gaming session, while couples are whispering sweet nothings.
Although the elderly men and women in the village rarely buy drinks, they are used to bringing their grandchildren over in the evenings to enjoy the air conditioning and watch the lively group of young people.
What's even more outrageous is that because the crowds were so huge, all the vendors who used to set up stalls in the market, and even those from the neighboring towns, all came here.
In just a few days, this place was transformed into a rural CBD.
……
2 PM, Guanzhen National Highway.
A car with a provincial capital license plate was crawling along the road.
Two fruit wholesalers were sitting in the car.
It is currently March.
The weather in the south is getting warmer, and it's almost time for the early-ripening lychee variety, March Red, to hit the market.
Their trip to the countryside was to visit various villages and towns to find suitable lychee purchasing points or to lease orchards in advance.
"What's going on up there? How can the countryside be so congested?"
Old Sun frowned, looking at the line of motorcycles ahead, and impatiently honked his horn.
"I don't know, this is near Tamura, right? Why are there so many people?"
Old Zhao peeked out and looked ahead.
The car moved slowly, and finally the source of the traffic jam came into view.
When they saw the scene before them, they were both stunned.
On one side of the national highway, there was a brand-new twelve-story building with a huge red sign with white lettering on the first floor that was extremely eye-catching: Mixue Ice Cream!
The area in front of the building was packed with people.
People lined up in long queues, and the area around the perimeter was packed with various food stalls, making it as lively as a large temple fair.
"Holy crap... what's going on? When was such a tall building built?"
Old Zhao was dumbfounded. He pushed open the car door, got out, and called out to a young man.
"Young man, what's going on here? Why are there so many people?"
The young man said with a proud look on his face.
"Uncle, are you from out of town? This is our newly opened shop! It's incredibly delicious! It's all over the internet now."
Old Sun also came over.
"Old Zhao, this is just for novelty. Rural people's spending power is limited; will this boss even recoup the costs of building such a tall building?"
However, Lao Zhao did not respond.
As a seasoned veteran who has been working in the agricultural product supply chain for over a decade, Lao Zhao's vision goes beyond the surface.
He saw a large 3D map of several towns and villages in the vicinity.
A local CBD center has created a siphon effect.
The price of lychees is unstable and depends on their freshness, with the biggest challenges being procurement and transportation.
What if there was a place where people from all the surrounding towns would bring lychees to trade?
Old Zhao's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Old Sun, you only see the milk tea; don't you see the deeper meaning behind this building?"
"Deeper meaning? What deeper meaning?"
Old Sun was taken aback.
"The middle school! It's located in the geographical center of the surrounding towns..."
Old Zhao pointed intently at the building in front of him.
"This building wasn't built to sell bubble tea at all! The bubble tea shop is just a front to attract customers!"
Old Sun followed his finger and his expression gradually changed.
"You mean...?"
"The season for 'March Red' will be on the market soon, and in the next few months, 'White Sugar Poppy', 'Imperial Concubine Smile', and 'Osmanthus Flavor' will be launched one after another."
"In previous years, when we came to collect the fruit, the growers were scattered in various villages. The biggest headache was the lack of centralized cold storage. Once the fruit was picked, the losses were huge, so we could only lower the price or send it away with ice as soon as possible."
"But what if... there's a place that's recognized as a central hub by all the surrounding towns and villages? Would it be appropriate to build a cold chain storage center there?"
Old Sun gasped.
"By leveraging the opening of the milk tea shop, we can attract the entire town's population and turn it into the town center. With the increased foot traffic, we can improve the surrounding facilities. In about two weeks, when the lychees ripen, fruit farmers from all around will get used to coming here! In that case..."
Old Zhao became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Which major e-commerce company has come to the countryside to launch a devastating attack?! Let's go in quickly, no matter who we're talking to, we have to get a piece of the pie!"
Old Sun immediately dropped his disdain, and the two hurriedly walked towards the building.
……
A few days later, at exactly 7 p.m.
The familiar official news music from the city news station rang out from my uncle's TV.
Lin Jiaqing put her rice bowl on the table and casually turned up the TV volume by two notches.
Lin Yan and Xier were right next to him; he was watching TV with a blank expression.
The host's voice was steady and clear:
"Good evening, viewers. Welcome to today's news."
"Today's program focuses on Tiancun Village in Gao County, where a college graduate who returned to his hometown raised funds to build a twelve-story complex. He introduced leading chain brands, exploring a new path to revitalize the rural consumer market and drive the development of the agricultural product industry chain through commercial means. This topic has garnered widespread attention. Please see the detailed report below."
Screen switch.
The camera starts from the county town and moves forward along a bumpy cement national highway, with rolling hills and sparse farmland on both sides, and occasionally flashes by a cluster of self-built rural houses.
Tiancun Village in Gaoxian County is a typical agricultural village in our city. Its permanent residents are mainly elderly people and children, with a large number of young and middle-aged laborers working outside the village for extended periods. The village lacks stable employment opportunities and commercial facilities, resulting in a significant problem of rural depopulation.
The camera then shifts to reveal a high-rise building that stands out conspicuously among the surrounding low-rise self-built houses, with its red storefront sign standing out prominently in the sunlight.
However, a striking change has recently occurred here.
[A local youth named Lin Yan, after graduating from university, voluntarily gave up job opportunities in the city. He raised funds himself to build a twelve-story mixed-use building next to the national highway opposite Guanzhen Middle School, and introduced a well-known chain beverage brand to set up shop. It officially opened recently.]