The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 277 Beginning

Although it was late, Zhao Xiaochui wasn't impatient at all. The presence of a chattering woman bustling about in this simple room actually made him feel quite warm and cozy. The two appointments he'd been up to during the day felt like a dream; they were over and done with, and Zhao Xiaochui didn't dwell on them.

"Slap!" Liu Li clapped her hands, interrupting Zhao Xiaochui's reverie, and said excitedly, "Yes, sunscreen! I bought so much before, La Roche-Posay's Big Brother, and Anessa..."

Liu Li looked at the essential items package that had just been distributed and fell silent, because inside lay the even more expensive La Mer sunscreen.

"Little hammer..."

Liu Li finally stopped what she was doing, bit her sexy lips, and sat down in Zhao Xiaochui's lap.

"You're so kind to all your employees, won't that cause some problems?"

"What kind of problems might arise?" Zhao Xiaochui hugged the naive girl, still taking advantage of her with his hands, and whispered, "I used to envy those big company employees, showing off their luxurious employee cafeterias, free gyms, generous birthday gifts, frequent overseas team building trips, and even the high-end computers and ergonomic chairs on their desks... I used to think, how wonderful it would be if one day I could also work in one of those big companies."

"In the end, I didn't get into a big company, but instead became a boss."

"Then why don't I give my own employees those benefits? Because I once thought that they would feel the same way. You know, putting yourself in their shoes, seeing everyone so happy makes you feel really good."

Hearing this, Liu Li laughed happily: "Me too, me too! The other day when I bought clothes for Aunt Ma Jinfang, I saw how touched she was and didn't know what to do, and I felt so happy, but..."

The simple-minded girl paused for a moment, scratched her head in distress, and couldn't remember those words at all: "It's, it's that farmer and the snake?"

The silly girl's words were completely nonsensical, but Zhao Xiaochui easily understood them: "A sense of entitlement? Supporting laziness? Lowering work enthusiasm?"

Liu Li nodded repeatedly for every word Zhao Xiaochui uttered.

"Don't worry," Zhao Xiaochui patted her upturned head and said patiently, "The customer rating system is designed to prevent these kinds of things. As long as there is any change in the rating, we can immediately trace it and nip the problem in the bud."

While we don't have any advanced management systems, our core philosophy is that technicians serve customers, and everyone else serves the technicians. With such a clear and transparent mechanism, do you think those who cause problems have anywhere to hide?

"Then I'm relieved." Liu Li patted her chest and laughed. "By the way, what did Brother Shen Yan send to the group? After clicking to run it, there was no response at all, not even an icon."

Zhao Xiaochui's smile gradually froze. After a long while, he hugged the naive girl tightly and whispered:

"That's a system filter. When you run it, it automatically blocks or filters posts containing sensitive information such as names and photos when people browse social media, so as not to affect their mood and let them have fun."

Although Liu Li was simple-minded, she wasn't stupid. After hearing Zhao Xiaochui's explanation, she knew that he was in big trouble again, so she didn't press the matter further.

"Little hammer, hold me while I sleep!"

That's all she can do.

…………

Three o'clock in the morning.

At three in the morning, the night was deep, but the tranquility was completely shattered by a sudden announcement.

The "Relaxed and Slow" massage parlor, which frequently trended on social media recently, simultaneously released a brief and surprising announcement of its closure on its membership mini-program and the official WeChat account of the short video platform "Yinfu":
Take it easy and slow: take a break

The shop has been closed since August 27, 2020, and the reopening date is undetermined.

We do not have a prepaid card system.

Thanks for meeting.

These few words, like a depth charge, instantly caused a stir in the short video platform.

Even more shockingly, almost simultaneously with the announcement, all the products in its short video shop were removed from the shelves, and customers who had placed orders but had not yet received their goods were surprised to find that Easy Slow Travel had refunded them twice the price.

In the past, whenever a store closed, even the smallest street-side shop, there would be a lengthy apology letter, reassurance to members, explanations of future plans, and even a helpless statement regarding the unexpected situation. But what about this "Relaxed Stroll"?

There wasn't a single "apology," not even a word of explanation for the rampant negative rumors circulating online, and no response or reassurance to the members.

This "double refund" gesture is less about making amends and more about an extremely arrogant act of "charity"—that's the opinion of the vast majority of onlookers who see themselves as "members."

For them:

'We don't have a prepaid card system' is a departure from their previous understanding;
This is especially true for 'Thank you for the encounter'.

If you say it ran away, it has no money to run away with; if you say it didn't run away, it's 'grateful for the encounter'!
This is a farewell phrase.

In any case, with these three sentences, "Relax and Slow" drew a controversial yet incredibly "Relax and Slow" conclusion for itself and its boss in the early hours of the morning.

A fulfilling day has ended.

And the new day begins with a deluge of trending negative stories on various social media platforms.

As dawn broke, the trending topics on major platforms were dominated by the names "Easy Slow Travel" and "Easy Slow Travel Owner". No longer the "service dispute" or "industry chaos" of the previous day, this time the focus was directly on the owner of the Easy Slow Travel store, with a highly malicious and precise attack.

The hashtag "#Unveiling the Mysterious Background of the Owner of Relaxing and Slow Travel#" topped the list, followed by "#Can a Self-Made Man from the Mountains Really Understand Health Preservation?" and "#Capital Abandonment or Moral Blackmail? The Mystery of Relaxing and Slow Travel's Closure#".

The massive investment caused customers who had previously received services from Zhao Xiaochui to begin to doubt themselves—were all those amazing results just a hoax?

An anonymous source claimed that Zhao Xiaochui's so-called "orphan from the mountains of Southwest China" background was nothing more than a carefully crafted "sob story" designed to gain sympathy and cover up his "unexplained sources of funding."

"How could a child who grew up in the deep mountains and forests and has never received a formal education be able to open such a large store in Beijing? Who would believe there's nothing fishy going on behind the scenes?" Such comments, accompanied by blurry screenshots of "insiders," spread rapidly.

Subsequently, his experience as a "massage professional" was also maliciously misinterpreted.

Some "industry experts" pointed out that Zhao Xiaochui's massage techniques were "crude and lacked scientific basis," nothing more than "quack tricks," and even implied that he "used the guise of traditional techniques to do illicit things."

"There may be some unique techniques," "It is actually a crude technique from a crash course," and "It may even cause potential harm to the body."

The most vicious attacks revolved around the "relax and slow" store closure announcement.

Their mouthpieces portrayed the relaxed and leisurely store closure announcement as "ungrateful" and "arrogant."

The act of closing the store was characterized as "irresponsible running away," and the double refund was interpreted as "hush money to cover up the truth," implying a larger financial chain problem behind it, and even involving conspiracy theories of "illegal fundraising."

"A business operator with no sense of social responsibility shuts down operations without regard for consumer rights!"

"This kind of person has a typical nouveau riche mentality; they want to run away as soon as they make quick money!"

"He's not qualified to talk about being a massage therapist at all; he's just a pawn discarded in the game of capital, yet he dares to dream of escaping unscathed!"

Various self-media accounts, marketing accounts, and even some seemingly professional financial media outlets, all simultaneously and with astonishing tacit agreement, launched a comprehensive attack on Easy Slow Travel.

Sensational headlines, out-of-context remarks, and unfounded speculations have portrayed the owner of Easy Slow Travel as a complex, morally corrupt, and irresponsible "industry cancer."

In the public sphere, the anger of onlookers was amplified infinitely.

A new day has begun in the most brutal way, amidst cyberbullying and the strangulation of capital.

No, a new day should begin when Zhao Xiaochui, dressed in shorts and a vest, leisurely boards a luxurious Airbus A330-200 charter plane at Beijing Capital International Airport.

(End of this chapter)