Chapter 272: Journey to Yangcheng

Tuesday evening.

The moment Xu Chen stepped out of Yangcheng Tianhe Airport, a wave of heat washed over him.

Though it was autumn, Yangcheng felt much hotter than Shanghai, with the air thick and sticky.

He had to admit, at least in terms of climate, Shanghai was more pleasant than Yangcheng.

……

This trip to Yangcheng was all about securing the project proposal for Jiaduobao’s ‘high-end mineral water’.

The budget stood at one and a half million, which was no small sum.

Xu Chen didn’t need the money for his personal life, but launching ‘Ran Bing Sports’ would require some startup funds.

His father’s Chenfeng Technology was still in its debt-heavy startup phase, and Xu Chen didn’t want to add more financial strain with ‘Ran Bing Sports’.

Plus, this project tied into Xie Bingran’s endorsement contract, making it crucial.

On top of that, he hoped to poach Sun Aimi during this visit, so the itinerary was packed.

“Where to, handsome?” the taxi driver asked politely as they queued up.

Xu Chen: “Sports Center, Tianhe Tower.”

He’d booked the same hotel as before, Tianhe Hotel.

Conveniently, Jiaduobao’s office in Yangcheng was just a short distance away in Zhongxin Tower.

In fact, yesterday Xu Chen had called the hotel front desk to reserve the exact same room as last time.

Simply because that room was where he and Xie Bingran had shared a night.

Back then, Fang Jun’s sister was passed out from drinking, so Xie Bingran slipped into Xu Chen’s room in the middle of the night, bold yet secretive.

She just wanted a little more time with Xu Chen before leaving…

……

An hour and a half later, Xu Chen was back in that room at Tianhe Tower.

After more than a month, the hotel room showed no traces of their stay, with new guests coming and going.

Luckily, vivid memories lingered in his mind.

On the first night, Xie Bingran had slept on the inner bed because Xu Chen had used it the night before.

The second night, she insisted on switching to the outer bed, just because he’d slept there first.

Well.

Bing Ge seemed meticulous about these little things.

Xu Chen flopped onto the bed and let out a long sigh.

He longed to hold her, to squeeze her hand.

But she was out of reach.

Frustrating…

……

The next morning, while Xu Chen was having breakfast in the restaurant, he received a text from Sun Aimi.

[Xu Chen, I’m downstairs in the hotel!]

[Hang on, I’ll finish eating and be right out.]

When he met Sun Aimi, the chubby-cheeked girl with round glasses wore a sweet smile.

Xu Chen recalled that in his past life, she’d risen to a management position at Black Duke Marketing, carrying herself with more authority than now.

Back then, as a fresh-faced newbie, he had to address her respectfully as ‘Aimi Jie’ or ‘Aimi Manager’.

He never imagined that now, she’d be calling him ‘Teacher Xu Chen’ with such politeness.

And ‘Teacher Xu Chen’ was already scheming to bring ‘Aimi Jie’ on board as his subordinate.

……

Sun Aimi wore a somewhat formal outfit, her loose T-shirt accented with stylish elements.

Clearly, she’d dressed up for the client meeting.

Xu Chen had to admit, Aimi was one of those women with a stunning figure…

She held two cups of coffee and handed one to Xu Chen:

“I remember you don’t drink coffee, so I got you red tea.”

Xu Chen paused, surprised by her thoughtfulness—she’d actually remembered that detail.

It boosted his opinion of her even more.

Xu Chen smiled as he took the red tea and said, “Let’s head out!”

……

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the base of Zhongxin Tower.

This iconic building on Yangcheng’s central axis soared 391 meters, once the city’s tallest.

Xu Chen contacted Chen Xinyi from Jiaduobao’s Marketing Department and took the elevator straight to the 27th floor.

As soon as they stepped out, Chen Xinyi was waiting to greet them.

The local girl from Guangdong Province welcomed ‘Teacher Xu Chen’ with her thick-accented Mandarin.

Xu Chen gave a brief introduction of Sun Aimi, simply saying she was part of the project team and her English name was Aimi.

After a quick exchange of pleasantries, the three headed to the office.

The entrance featured large red decorations, with stacks of ‘Wang Laoshun’ herbal tea displays.

Chen Xinyi explained, “We’re running a sales promo, so the materials are here at the office.”

The workspace was neat and organized, though not very spacious.

From her introduction, it was clear this was just Jiaduobao’s Yangcheng office.

Their main headquarters remained in Dongguan.

……

Chen Xinyi led them to a large meeting room.

“Please wait a moment, teachers. I’ll fetch Fei Jie and General Manager Chen, and we can start once they’re here.”

Xu Chen nodded. “Alright, I’ll get the files and projector ready.”

……

A few minutes later, the sound of high heels echoed from the hallway.

In walked the sharp and commanding Fei Jie, along with the board director and general manager, Chen Jinru.

Nie Fei greeted Xu Chen warmly and introduced Chen Jinru.

Xu Chen pulled out his business card and handed it over with both hands.

Chen Jinru looked to be in his fifties, with short, graying hair and gold-rimmed glasses.

He smiled broadly and shook Xu Chen’s hand.

“Welcome, President Xu. Nie Fei mentioned you’re young, but seeing you in person is still a surprise!”

Xu Chen: “Hello, General Manager Chen.”

Chen Jinru: “Your ‘prevents overheating’ campaign shot our Wang Laoshun straight to the top.”

I wanted to meet you personally to thank you for that, besides hearing about this high-end mineral water project.”

Xu Chen: “You’re too kind, General Manager Chen. I’m sure our high-end mineral water will create another sales hit.”

Chen Jinru laughed heartily, clearly pleased:

“I’ll take that as a good omen—now I’m even more confident!”

……

Once seated, they dove into the main topic.

Nie Fei gave a quick overview of the ‘high-end mineral water’ project.

They’d discussed some of it during their last meeting in Shanghai.

This time, she updated them on the current market plan’s timeline and details.

She also mentioned the progress on the ‘promotion strategy’.

“We’ve consulted several ad and marketing firms, but none of their proposals clicked.”

Including product names and slogans—nothing felt quite right…”

Based on our collaboration with Wang Laoshun, General Manager Chen insisted we wait for East Morning Star Advertising’s input.”

Chen Jinru nodded:

“This project’s marketing plan faces big challenges.”

“We’re launching a new brand from scratch, so decisions on product names, slogans, and endorsers are all tricky…”

……

Xu Chen nodded and stood up.

He set up the projector and opened the presentation file.

The first slide showed two lines of text:

[New Brand Debut: Who Am I? Where Do I Come From?]

[A Great Name Saves Billions in Ad Costs]

Chen Jinru’s eyes lit up at those words on the screen.

Especially the second line—it hit home…

Starting strong was always key in proposals.

Nie Fei glanced at the text and couldn’t help but smile.

This hit the core issue right away, something missing from the other proposals…

Xu Chen spoke calmly and steadily:

“In the water market, brands like Wahaha, Farmer, and Yibao dominate the mid-to-low end.”

“High-end options like Evian or Perrier are too pricey, limiting their market share.”

“That’s our opportunity…”

“As you said, General Manager Chen, our biggest hurdle is breaking into consumers’ minds from zero.”

“The first launch phase is about introducing ourselves.”

“Telling consumers who we are, where we’re from, and what we offer…”

“The most critical part is the product name.”

“A great name can stand alone without a slogan and cut advertising costs dramatically…”

Xu Chen paused and advanced the slide.

The screen enlarged a line of text:

[I Am… I Come From Kunlun Mountain.]

Xu Chen continued:

“This is a simple introduction, with the ellipsis as our product name.”

“Normally, we’d brainstorm names like XX Ice Spring or XX Holy Water, or even just Jiaduobao High-End Mineral Water…”

“But another approach is to merge these two sentences into one.”

“Turn ‘Who am I? Where do I come from?’ into a single, powerful statement…”

Xu Chen paused again and advanced the slide…

[I Am: Kunlun Mountain Snow Mineral Water.]

……

Xu Chen fell silent, waiting for Chen Jinru and Nie Fei’s reactions.

Nie Fei thought for a moment and said:

“So, you’re suggesting we use that as the product name?”

Chen Jinru frowned: “Just call it Kunlun Mountain?”

He drew in a sharp breath: “We never considered that—mainly because…”

Xu Chen jumped in:

“Yes, use Kunlun Mountain as the product name!”

“Those three words carry immense power.”

“High altitude, snow-capped peaks, purity, minerals…”

“No made-up name can match what ‘Kunlun Mountain’ already conveys.”

“As snow mineral water from Kunlun Mountain, calling it that eliminates the need for extra hype.”

“It instantly evokes high altitude, quality, purity, rarity—everything we want.”

……

After Xu Chen finished, Chen Jinru and Nie Fei pondered, then exchanged knowing smiles.

Nie Fei said:

“We never thought of using Kunlun Mountain directly—the main issue is, it’s probably already trademarked.”

“We’d need extra budget to buy it from the owner, and it won’t be cheap…”

Xu Chen nodded and advanced the slide again, bringing back the earlier line:

[A Great Name Saves Billions in Ad Costs]

He didn’t say more.

Chen Jinru stared at the bold text and burst out laughing, turning to Nie Fei:

“Nie, I think I’ve been convinced.”

Nie Fei smiled at Xu Chen, her expression a mix of admiration, joy, and subtle gratitude…

Chen Jinru lightly tapped the table:

“Don’t wait—get legal to track down the trademark holder and start negotiating the price.”

He added:

“Don’t reveal it’s us at Jiaduobao—they might jack up the price.”

“Use a small company’s name for the inquiry…”

Nie Fei nodded: “Got it.”

……

Chen Jinru looked back at Xu Chen:

“President Xu, our wait was worth it.”

“We’ve reviewed dozens of names, but none hit as hard as ‘Kunlun Mountain’!”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Next up is the slogan.”

Without pausing, he advanced the slide.

The screen now showed:

[Kunlun Mountain Snow Mineral Water]

Chen Jinru tilted his head, a hint of confusion crossing his face.

Nie Fei caught on: “So, Teacher Xu Chen means the product name is ‘Kunlun Mountain’, and the slogan is ‘Snow Mineral Water’…”

Xu Chen nodded: “Our first launch is all about self-introduction.”

“It needs to be short, sharp, and straight to the point, embedding in consumers’ minds.”

“Just like ‘prevents overheating with Wang Laoshun’—the shorter, the better…”

“‘Kunlun Mountain Snow Mineral Water’ fully conveys the benefits and premium image—no extra words needed.”

“Coming from Kunlun’s snow—it’s already elite and evocative.”

Chen Jinru didn’t speak, but he smiled at Nie Fei:

“Nie, I think I’ve been convinced again.”

Nie Fei agreed: “It’s better than those dozen slogans we had—it solves the problem and ties perfectly to the name.”

Chen Jinru turned to Xu Chen:

“President Xu, you’re straightforward and effective. In less than ten minutes, you’ve cracked what we’ve wrestled with for months!”

Sun Aimi sat quietly, her eyes behind the round glasses sparkling with awe.

So, proposals could be this simple…

PPTs with just a few lines…

Presentations wrapped up in minutes…

Advertising done this way…

……

Chen Jinru lit a cigarette and added with a grin:

“What about the endorser? Any thoughts, President Xu?”