Chapter 756 - 261 Monthly Summary Report, "Milk Tea Girl" Event Launch_3

Li Yuan said, then self-deprecatingly joked, "Unless I go bankrupt one day and can’t even afford to eat. That’s the only way I’d go back on my word. After all, you can’t really live on air, can you?"

The audience roared with laughter at his self-deprecation.

"Alright, enough about that. Now that we’ve covered the rewards, let’s discuss our plans for the coming month." As Li Yuan’s tone turned serious, the crowd immediately fell silent, all ears for his instructions.

"As you all know, Tea Color Moonlight’s brand identity and slogan is ’Providing the best service to the most beautiful you.’ I hope that in the days ahead, you will all continue to embody the spirit of diligence and perseverance, further elevating our service quality. Please focus on addressing the customer feedback previously mentioned by President Zhong, implementing the necessary optimizations and corrections.

"This applies especially to the thirty newly added stores. Since you have just joined us, you must actively learn and cultivate a mindset of providing top-notch service. We absolutely cannot tarnish the reputation that Tea Color Moonlight has just begun to establish.

"Keep in mind that service quality, environmental cleanliness, and product reputation are the most important things in the catering service industry.

"Lastly, I have another announcement to make. Every month, based on factors like sales revenue, customer feedback, and growth trends, we will identify the ’Milk Tea Vanguard.’ Staff from the top three ranked stores will receive a large cash bonus."

Li Yuan paused, and amid the murmuring from the crowd, he chuckled and said, "Since I mentioned a substantial bonus, you can all use your imagination as to how large that might be.

"That’s all from me. Meeting adjourned!"

...

After the Tea Color Moonlight monthly summary meeting concluded, the grand opening ceremonies for the thirty new stores were held simultaneously at 8:00 a.m. the next day, the day before Christmas in 2008.

On the same day, the nationwide "Milk Tea Girl" selection campaign officially kicked off, with promotional activities launched on the Zhihu website and various other platforms.

Thanks to Li Yuan’s immense influence, a massive number of online shills creating buzz, and most importantly, the allure of the huge cash prizes, the event attracted tremendous interest. The one-million-yuan prize for the first-place winner of the "Milk Tea Girl" contest instantly went viral across the internet.

In no time, news of the contest spread widely across college websites, forums, and Tieba. Confident beauties from every department and campus, the most popular girls from the factories, and even urban white-collar workers, all enticed by the massive cash prize, began posting selfies with their milk tea.

To enter the final voting round, participants had to purchase a Tea Color Moonlight milk tea to receive a unique voting code. This code enabled them to cast their vote in a dedicated section on the Zhihu website.

The entire internet was soon buzzing with discussions about the "Milk Tea Girl" contest. Countless photos of beautiful women holding milk tea cups became a feast for the eyes of netizens across the country.

The natural consequence was an explosive growth in sales for Tea Color Moonlight. Long lines formed in front of every store, including the thirty newly opened locations.

As the wealthiest city in the country, the residents of Modu were not short on cash. For a "light luxury" brand like Tea Color Moonlight, patronizing it had become a fashionable trend.

「Three days later」

Li Yuan, Zhong Tingyue, Bai Weixi, and Su Yunting looked at the sales figures gathered from a total of forty stores, all beaming with joy.

Su Yunting was amazed by Li Yuan’s strategies, regarding him with complete and utter admiration. Looking at Li Yuan with reverence, she said passionately, "Director Li, the ’Milk Tea Girl’ contest you devised has been incredibly effective! All forty of our stores are seeing booming business.

"On December 24th, the total sales of the forty stores reached an astonishing 4,000,000, with an average of 100,000 per store. On Christmas Day, December 25th, sales even hit 5,000,000. And on December 26th, they were 4,500,000."

Listening to Su Yunting’s report, Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction. The results were even more impressive than he had imagined—outstandingly good, in fact.

I had originally thought that opening thirty new stores would lead to a dilution of the customer base, causing a significant drop in single-store sales. I never expected that sales at individual stores would manage to maintain their previous levels. The numbers are simply astonishing.

The "Milk Tea Girls" who dared to post their selfies were generally the belles of their class, department, campus, or even factory. Their admirers, for various reasons, would often splurge generously to boost the rankings of their chosen Goddess.

In later generations, a specific term would exist to describe this type of commercial activity: the "lick-dog economy." Essentially, phenomena like "The First Cup of Milk Tea of Autumn," the "Milk Tea Girl" contest, or even later marketing events like Singles’ Day and 520 Day, are all manifestations of this "lick-dog economy."

The term "lick-dog economy" might sound unpleasant, but it undeniably generates immense commercial profits. In this era, where the "lick-dog economy" was just beginning to emerge, if you didn’t take a piece of the pie, someone else would. Li Yuan had never considered trying to stop this phenomenon on his own. If you can’t beat them, join them.

Li Yuan continued to explain, "This ’Milk Tea Girl’ contest will last for one week. During this time, I will do my best to promote it. However, your services need to keep up.

"Oh, and we must strictly prohibit any kind of favoritism or cheating."

Li Yuan said to Zhong Tingyue, Bai Weixi, and Su Yunting, "President Zhong, Mrs. Bai, President Su, you all need to pay close attention. If you discover any employee engaging in such behavior, report it to me immediately. We must handle it strictly, severely, and swiftly. There will be no leniency."

Zhong Tingyue and Bai Weixi glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.