52. Merge, Giant Watermelon!

The next day.

It was already seven o'clock in the evening when he left the building. Looking at the bustling traffic on Zhichun Road, Chen Che felt quite good.

Over the past two days, he had more or less settled matters in Beijing and drawn up a one-week schedule.

For Xinxin Coffee, there were currently three main points:
1. Developing the app, mini-program, and backend system.
2. Designing the brand and researching and developing products.
3. Finding suppliers and securing storefront locations.

Programming and development went without saying; professional tasks should be left to professionals. Chen Che only needed to articulate his requirements.

The brand needed design, the culture needed a philosophy, the products needed taste, and the positioning needed a grand vision.

At present, the most crucial thing for Xinxin was product research and development and the establishment of an R&D system. This was the absolute top priority.

Chen Che knew about coconut lattes and baijiu-flavored lattes, but he still needed sustainable platform support.

The core reason why Luckin and Douyin succeeded was that they put technology in the service of the masses and focused on user experience.

The reason [browsing Douyin becomes addictive] is that the videos it pushes are always the ones you like; it understands you.

If Xinxin Coffee wants to grow big, product quality must always come first. Relying solely on marketing will not get you far.

The reason why vivo and OPPO lost their edge compared to Xiaomi is that people won't pay for marketing indefinitely.

Marketing is merely an auxiliary; the product is king.

Chen Che held many explosive product formulas in his hands. These were his sharp weapons for entering the coffee business, but sharp weapons should not be unsheathed lightly.

Coffee is hard to please everyone, yet the market is massive. Industries related to food, clothing, housing, and transportation can simply never be monopolized by a single enterprise.

It could be foreseen that the war between Xinxin and Luckin would be a protracted battle of capital from both sides.

Unlike the internet sector, what coffee competed for was merely the title of China's top coffee brand; dominating the entire industry was exceptionally difficult.

Even if Chen Che beat Luckin to the ground, old Lu might still create Cudi and use low-priced competition to disgust him.

Based on these factors,

from the very beginning of establishing the company, a sustainable product innovation architecture should have been considered.

There wasn't much to say about Xinxin Coffee for now; it just needed to maintain its own advantages and imitate Luckin first.

Xinxin didn't require too much of Chen Che's worry right now, especially regarding programming, market research, and store location selection.

His actual tasks were establishing internal company performance appraisal systems, building a management framework, shaping corporate culture, and externally seeking funding and suppliers.

Therefore, after spending half a day chatting with the three vice presidents about the overall plan and short-term goals, he rented another 800-square-meter office on the same floor.

With the help of Han Liyu and Qin Yanan, he finalized the team in just one day.

Two vice presidents plus a development team of six people—Jianyou Vertex Technology Co., Ltd. was initially formed!

With the contracts finalized today, Chen Che spent the entire afternoon talking with them about product requirements. Let's get it started!

The development would center around the casual puzzle mini-game titled 《Merge That Watermelon!》.

What Chen Che drew inspiration from was 《Suika Game》, launched by Japan's Aladdin X in 2021, which integrated the gameplay mechanics of 《Tetris》 and 《2048》.

Players only needed to manipulate various fruits to combine and evolve them, ultimately merging them into a watermelon to score points, while utilizing network connectivity to track scores for mini-program socialization.

Once 《Merge That Watermelon!》 succeeded, Chen Che would launch its derivative sequel, 《Merge That Coffee!》.

His intention went without saying.

He wanted to use cute, warm, and sophisticated UI designs, appropriately incorporating some storylines for soft advertising.

Besides that,

Chen Che also held several other games in his hands, preparing to initiate their projects this year, but there was no rush for now. The company was still expanding and recruiting; he would talk about it after returning from Hangzhou.

Standing at the street corner of Zhichun Road, Chen Che looked back at the building that housed his two companies, feeling completely at ease.

With Qin Yanan by his side, his confidence multiplied.

He was heading to Hangzhou tomorrow. Thinking about it, Chen Che felt quite excited; once in Hangzhou, he should go get a proper foot bath.

Mind you, what he was washing wasn't just his feet,

but rather the mud of the mortal world as he walked through it.

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

Just as Chen Che was about to leave Zhichun Road, the phone he had just put into his pocket rang. It was Sister Nan.

He hadn't seen Sister Nan for a whole day and actually missed her quite a bit. Chen Che hurriedly answered, and the cool, composed voice of the mature woman came through.

"Xiao Che, are you heading to Hangzhou tomorrow?"

Qin Yanan had her own company and work. The original plan was for the two companies to achieve some results, or at least produce a comprehensive analysis report, before Sister Nan made her move.

The initial ten million was enough to spend for now.

Besides, Chen Che's bank account currently held thirty million, which was the remaining loan from the previous short-selling operation.

Sister Nan hadn't given him money yet, but her connections and efficiency were top-notch.

Qin Yanan had her own work to attend to, so yesterday she only spent the morning at Xinxin before returning to Chaoyang.

Before parting—and even earlier than that—Chen Che had already mentioned to her that he would be going to Hangzhou for a few days.

"Yeah, taking the high-speed rail tomorrow."

Hangzhou wasn't particularly far from Beijing, but taking a plane was somewhat troublesome, making the high-speed rail much more convenient.

A bit more expensive? So be it, he didn't care.

It was only two thousand and something yuan, after all.

He was a rich second-generation heir, after all.

"Oh."

Qin Yanan uttered an indifferent "oh." After a pause of two or three seconds, she hesitated and feigned calmness as she asked:

"Are you still at the company? At Jianyou? Do you need me to head over? Have you guys eaten yet?"

Sister Nan fired off a string of questions. Holding his phone and watching college students ride their bicycles, Chen Che casually replied:

"I just came out of the company."

"Oh."

Qin Yanan paused, raised her voice slightly, and said:

"Xiao An had Sister Zhang make some snowflake beef. Are you interested in coming over to try some?"

"No thanks, I've already made plans with a friend."

Chen Che answered truthfully. Hearing this, Qin Yanan seemed quite surprised. Falling silent for a few seconds, she asked curiously:

"Did you have a friend come to Beijing?"

"No, it's just a high school classmate who got into a university here in Beijing. We haven't seen each other in ages, so we happened to make plans for dinner today."

While talking, Chen Che didn't stay idle. Holding the phone, he resumed his stride and offered a candid explanation.

"Mhm, well, be careful tonight. If anything comes up, call Xiao An, and don't drink too much alcohol."

"Uh, alright."

Chen Che was left half-laughing and half-crying. He acknowledged it verbally and was about to say more when Qin Yanan calmly spoke again:

"By the way, make sure you focus on your work in Hangzhou and don't stay there too long. There's a cocktail party next Saturday—accompany me there, and I'll introduce some people to you then."

The wealthier one gets, the more socialization one engages in.

Come to think of it, Chen Che's ability to meet Qin Yanan was thanks to so-called social activities.

Qin Yanan had a friend celebrating a birthday—not quite a best friend, but someone she had known since elementary school.

The bar where she and Chen Che met was run by a friend of her friend; anyway, they were all part of the second-generation circle.

It was past 10 PM that night, and she was heading home. After leaving the private room, she was bumped into in the hallway of the lobby by the blockheaded Chen Che.

Perhaps in that fleeting instant,

amidst the dim, colorful, and noisy environment, she fancied she saw the shadow of someone else in Chen Che.

That led to everything that followed.

Sister Nan's social skills were quite decent.

Unlike those high-and-mighty, aloof goddesses who looked down upon all living beings, Qin Yanan always maintained a certain degree of curiosity and tolerance toward the world, remaining quite gentle.

Her social networking skills weren't necessarily aggressive, but she knew a great deal of people, many of whom she was interacting with by condescendingly lowering her threshold.

Sister Nan didn't specify what kind of cocktail party next Saturday would be, but she had mentioned before that looking for investment could also go through private equity funds.

By then, getting to know a bunch of people and recommending projects to one another would probably secure some investments as well.

For instance, golf clubs—weren't those places meant for discussing such matters, finding opportunities and wealth through casual conversation?

Such clubs were difficult for ordinary people to enter, and Sister Nan was the introducer who would bring him into that circle.

Much of the socialization in society is useless, but these clubs and circles exist to shorten the time spent on testing the waters.

Being able to enter means you've passed the first test.

It signifies that conversation is permitted.

Being capable of exchanging benefits is the second test.

It signifies that you can be temporarily trusted.

These two rounds of testing save a lot of time spent on mutual probing and suspicion, allowing for much more efficient socialization.

Today was Friday, leaving only seven days until next Saturday. Seeing this, Chen Che raised an eyebrow and ultimately offered no resistance.

"Alright, I'll come back as early as possible."

Chen Che chatted with Qin Yanan for a couple more minutes. Upon confirming that he wasn't heading to Chaoyang, she directly hung up the phone.

In 2018, the North Gate of Renmin University had not yet been sealed off due to the pandemic. Nearby, many college students were strolling around on Xiaohuangche shared bikes, enjoying the midsummer under the red walls.

Nowadays, those Xiaohuangche bikes were glittering on the outside but rotten on the inside, so Chen Che directly unlocked a Mobike instead.

Riding against the evening glow toward Xueyuan North Road, with a soft screech, he came to a halt beside a certain figure.

"Hey beauty, waiting for someone?"