I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Chapter 129 Don't be obsessed with me, I'm just a legend.

After standing in front of the portrait of Zhang Fei for a while, Shen Kang left to write a job posting for a milk tea shop clerk and posted it on the door of study room 302.

Ouyang Yu's job role is as the technical director for milk tea research and development. However, since he is still a student, he cannot stay in the shop making milk tea all the time, so a milk tea shop employee is still needed.

Although the milk tea has not yet been developed, Shen Kang is determined to open this milk tea shop, so he can start recruiting now.

The job posting for bubble tea shop staff outside study room 302 was not only a way to recruit employees, but also a way to subtly promote the upcoming bubble tea corner in study room 302, letting others know that study room 302 is going to start making bubble tea. So, not expecting to find workers on campus, Shen Kang planned to take some time to look for jobs off-campus.

After finishing these tasks, Shen Kang waited a while longer before Ouyang Yu arrived. The two then resumed their work from the previous day, continuing to develop milk tea.

During that time, some students who came to study room 302 in the morning did see the recruiter and asked Yang Yunhan if their shop was going to make milk tea. Yang Yunhan, as Shen Kang had told her, said yes, and added, "Stay tuned."

Around noon, a girl passed by the door of study room 302 and saw a notice posted on the door recruiting milk tea shop assistants.

The girl's name is Zhang Yunmeng. She is a junior majoring in urban and rural planning. She has a pretty face and, judging from her stylistically done hair and fashionable clothes, she is from a well-off family.

She glanced at the job posting, then continued walking, reaching the Wonka Milk Tea shop at the other end of Xiaodong Street, and went inside.

Bi Xiangyu was in the shop at the moment. When he saw her come in, he smiled and greeted her, "You're here! Another medium kumquat milk tea?"

"Mm." Zhang Yunmeng smiled at him as well.

Without Bi Xiangyu needing to give any further instructions, the staff started making the milk tea.

Zhang Yunmeng is a heavy milk tea lover. Because her family is relatively well-off and can afford her consumption, she often drinks milk tea.

Back when the "Little Pig Milk Tea" shop near Yangko University of Science and Technology was still there, Zhang Yunmeng used to go there and became familiar with the owner and staff. Later, when Wonka came to Yangko, Zhang Yunmeng went there and also became familiar with the manager, Bi Xiangyu, and the staff.

After walking over and paying, Zhang Yunmeng casually told Bi Xiangyu what she had just seen: "Manager Bi, when I passed by the 302 study room just now, I saw a job posting on their door. They're looking to hire a milk tea shop assistant. I guess they're opening a milk tea shop too."

Bi Xiangyu wasn't too surprised to hear the news: after his conversation with Shen Kang broke down that day, he had a premonition that the 302 study room might start making milk tea on its own.

However, he was not afraid.

Wonka Milk Tea has emerged from fierce competition, backed by a powerful corporate supply chain. The bulk purchasing of raw materials allows them to offer prices far lower than small, individual shops like 302 Study Room can match. This allows Wonka Milk Tea to provide more ingredients at the same price, a significant advantage in itself.

Moreover, Wonka Milk Tea is a well-known brand, far superior to the generic milk tea brands made by Studio 302.

From all perspectives, the milk tea made by Studio 302 can never compete with Wonka Milk Tea; at most, it can only be supplied within Studio 302.

"I understand, thank you," Bi Xiangyu said with a smile.

Zhang Yunmeng added, "Won't their milk tea business impact you? After all, they're quite popular among students."

Zhang Yunmeng herself had been to study room 302, so she knew what was going on inside.

Bi Xiangyu was confident. "No problem. Milk tea seems simple, but it's not easy to make it well. At most, they can only sell it to the customers in their own shop."

Seeing Bi Xiangyu's confidence, Zhang Yunmeng stopped discussing the topic and changed the subject: "Manager Bi, are you going back for the National Day holiday?"

"Yes, come back. Since you'll all be gone for the National Day holiday, our shop can also take a break and rest." —

The two chatted casually, like friends, and they really were friends.

Zhang Yunmeng also found it quite amazing: when Wonka Milk Tea first came to Yangko University of Science and Technology, she was a loyal customer of Piggy Milk Tea and had even complained to the Piggy Milk Tea staff about Wonka Milk Tea and their manager, surnamed Bi, saying a lot of bad things about them. As a result, more than a year later, Piggy Milk Tea disappeared, and she became a regular customer of Wonka Milk Tea and even became friends with this manager, Bi.

In study room 302, Shen Kang and Ouyang Yu were developing milk tea. In the afternoon, a man came to their door.

After the man spoke a few words to Yang Yunhan at the front desk, Yang Yunhan shouted towards the milk tea corner, "Boss, someone has come to apply for a job as a milk tea shop employee!"

Shen Kang looked up, temporarily put down his work, walked over, and looked at the man.

The man looked to be in his early twenties, quite young. He was wearing a V-neck short-sleeved shirt, and from the exposed chest area, one could see that it was covered in dragon and phoenix tattoos. On his two exposed forearms, his left forearm was tattooed with "Don't be obsessed with me," and his right forearm was tattooed with "I'm just a legend."

Noticing Shen Kang's gaze, the man smiled sheepishly, "I got this tattoo when I was younger and didn't know any better. But don't worry, boss, I'm past that age now, and I definitely won't cause you any trouble."

Then he introduced himself: "Boss, my name is Zhu Jingdong. I'm currently a stock clerk at that boutique supermarket on this street. I used to work at Little Pig Milk Tea, so I'm pretty good at making milk tea. If you're hiring milk tea shop assistants, you've come to the right place. I'm an expert at making milk tea!"

Shen Kang noticed that he spoke quite logically and didn't seem particularly energetic, so he continued chatting with him: "What kind of shop is Little Pig Milk Tea?"

Zhu Jingdong explained: "It's the milk tea shop that used to be near Yang University of Science and Technology. The owner and his wife are my cousin and his wife."

Then Wonka came, and we went out of business. My cousin and his wife went to work in Handong Province. It was too far, and I didn't want to go, so I stayed here.

As they spoke, Zhu Jingdong also sized up Shen Kang.

He worked at the boutique supermarket on Xiaodong Street, so he naturally knew about Room 302. He didn't expect their boss to be so young; he looked like a college student.

But it doesn't matter. As long as Room 302 wants to make milk tea, he's willing to come and work there.

Shen Kang then asked Zhu Jingdong about some details of the milk tea making process. Zhu Jingdong answered fluently, proving that he was indeed very familiar with traditional milk tea making and was not making things up.

During this exchange, Shen Kang also realized that Zhu Jingdong was indeed much more composed than he appeared.

I guess I was more impulsive when I was younger and got a lot of tattoos, but now, after being educated by society, I've become more composed.

Someone familiar with the milk tea making process is better than an employee who knows nothing. Besides, he originally only wanted to hire a milk tea maker, so Shen Kang decided to hire him and offered a monthly salary of 1800, which Zhu Jingdong agreed to.

Shen Kang asked him how long it would take to arrive, and Zhu Jingdong said he would arrive as soon as possible, saying that according to his estimate, a laborer like him who did not have a formal contract could arrive in two or three days at most.

So Shen Kang decided to take him and told him to come over as soon as possible.

After the interview, Shen Kang continued to work with Ouyang Yu on developing milk tea.

The area around the North Lu University City is located in the far suburbs. It was originally a village, but it gradually developed after being planned as a university city. However, there are still many self-built houses belonging to villagers.

Outside the north gate of Yang-Tsing University, there is a cluster of self-built houses with very cheap rent. Many low-level employees working at Yang-Tsing University rent houses here.

That morning, in one of the self-built houses, Zhu Jingdong got out of bed.

The self-built house he rented wasn't big; it only had one bedroom, one toilet, and one kitchen. There wasn't even a living room. The floor and walls of the room were bare cement with no decoration. There was a small table and a plastic stool next to the bed, and then a wardrobe shelf that he had built himself.

After washing up and quickly eating a simple bowl of plain noodles, Zhu Jingdong went out. He went to Xiaodong Street, but instead of going to the boutique supermarket, he went directly to the 302 study room.

He has successfully resigned from his job at the supermarket and introduced a friend he met while hanging out with someone to work as a stock clerk at the supermarket. The supermarket owner let him go, and today he came to the 302 learning room to report for his new job.

After completing some simple formalities, Zhu Jingdong officially started working today.

To be honest, Zhu Jingdong was a little excited: the reason he quit his job at the supermarket and came to the milk tea shop in Room 302 was...

He works not only for the wages, but also to defeat Wonka and avenge the piglet milk tea!

I made an enemy of Wonka Milk Tea when it outcompeted Piglet Milk Tea, but I never really had a way to deal with it.

But things are different now.

Zhu Jingdong knew that the 302 study room was doing very well every day with a large flow of people. If the 302 study room also started selling milk tea, with this inherent advantage, there was a real chance that it could squeeze out Wonka Milk Tea!

In Zhu Jingdong's mind, the image of Little Ma seemed to appear: "I've waited a year for this opportunity. I want to prove myself, not to show off, but just to tell people that I will get back what I've lost!"

Just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!

But when Zhu Jingdong actually joined the milk tea R&D team, he was dumbfounded.

"No, boss, you actually use real tea leaves and real milk to make milk tea? That would bankrupt you!"

When Zhu Jingdong discovered the milk tea that Shen Kang and Ouyang Yu were developing, he couldn't help but point it out: "Everyone else is using non-dairy creamer, flavorings, and tea powder to make milk tea. It's much cheaper that way, and that's how they make a profit. Nobody uses real tea leaves and real milk; the cost is too high, and they lose money on every cup they sell!"

Then Zhu Jingdong heard the young boss, Shen Kang, utter a string of cryptic words: "High costs? Then we'll just raise the price. Traditional milk tea made with creamer, flavorings, and tea powder is already a red ocean market, a sunset industry. What we need to do is carve out a new blue ocean in this red ocean, plan ahead, and accumulate momentum with a results-oriented approach. Initially, we'll target the mid-to-high-end market and high-net-worth individuals. Later, as the market economy develops, we'll leverage our existing market to achieve user growth, effectively penetrating lower-tier markets and empowering our current customers for the future—"

Zhu Jingdong couldn't understand it at all, but he was impressed and respectful. He thought to himself, "No wonder he's a college student. I can't understand these things, but he seems very impressive."

Not to mention Zhu Jingdong, Ouyang Yu and Yang Yunhan, who were standing next to the milk tea corner, were also completely bewildered and couldn't understand a word.

"What is the boss saying?" Yang Yunhan asked Ouyang Yu in a low voice.

"How would I know?" Ouyang Yu shrugged.

Although he couldn't understand it, Zhu Jingdong realized that what he could think of, the young boss Shen Kang had already thought of as well, and had a complete business philosophy for it.

This put his mind at ease, and he stopped worrying about the ingredients. He then officially began developing this new milk tea, offering some suggestions from the perspective of traditional milk tea making. One of these suggestions was even adopted:

That was when Shen Kang and Ouyang Yu were researching the standardization of tea brewing procedures. Ouyang Yu proposed using ice to quickly cool the tea, blocking the continuous release of tea polyphenols and caffeine from the tea leaves and avoiding bitterness. In this way, the shop assistants would not need to master complicated tea brewing techniques; they would only need to follow the procedures they had established, watch the timer, and add a measured amount of ice when the time was up.

However, in practice, the results were found to be unsatisfactory.

Zhu Jingdong then offered a suggestion: "We're using solid ice blocks now, how about switching to hollow ice blocks?"

He didn't really understand things like temperature and tea polyphenols, nor did he know anything about tea. He simply thought that if one thing didn't work, he could try something else.

Shen Kang actually took his advice and tried it a few times with hollow ice cubes. He found that the effect was indeed better than that of solid ice cubes!

Ouyang Yu later summarized the reason: "Hollow ice blocks have higher heat exchange efficiency and can drag the tea soup away from the release area more quickly, so the effect is better."

In this way, the group continued to develop new milk tea recipes through a process of mutual exploration and refinement between theory and practice. During this time, they also continuously acquired new items and equipment.

It's fortunate that Guo Pinyan's coffee shop opened, and she moved the barista and all the coffee-making equipment into the coffee shop, leaving this coffee corner empty and providing enough space for those things. And this coffee corner has officially become a milk tea corner.

In addition to developing milk tea, Shen Kang also traveled around doing a lot of work, such as designing signs, designing stickers for milk tea cups, and finding manufacturers to customize milk tea cups and packaging bags.

After several days of hard work, they finally made their first milk tea that satisfied everyone.

In the study room 302, which had been transformed into a milk tea corner, Ouyang Yu held a cup of milk tea he had just made himself. After taking a sip and savoring the taste for a while, he said, "The quality control was very successful. I made it several times, and the taste was still perfect."

After saying this, he was filled with emotion.

This was the first time he had ever accomplished something meaningful besides studying, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Shen Kang stood to the side, also holding a cup of milk tea. After taking two sips, he put it down with satisfaction.

It's the same flavor now. The milk tea they made is no longer the technologically advanced taste of creamer, flavoring, and tea powder that's common nowadays, but a new tea drink flavor that he can accept, or you could call it a tea latte flavor.

A latte is coffee and milk, while their milk tea is tea and milk. Furthermore, unlike other milk tea shops that add tapioca pearls and toppings, their milk tea contains no tapioca pearls or toppings.

Yang Yunhan stood outside the counter, enjoying her milk tea.

"How are you feeling?" Shen Kang asked her.

Yang Yunhan frankly said, "It does taste better than Wonka's milk tea, but the cost is also much higher, so the price will definitely have to go up."

She never drank milk tea before, and now she has to work part-time to support herself. Where would she get the money to buy that stuff?

So she didn't know what Wonka milk tea tasted like before.

However, Shen Kang bought a lot of Wonka milk tea these past few days and forced Yang Yunhan to drink quite a bit, so she now knows what several varieties of Wonka milk tea taste like, which is why she can make comparisons.

"As long as it tastes better," Shen Kang said.

Zhu Jingdong stood next to Shen Kang, also silently sipping his milk tea.

He himself is a practitioner in the traditional milk tea industry and is very familiar with the taste of Little Pig Milk Tea and Wonka Milk Tea. In terms of taste, the new milk tea they developed is indeed better than those milk teas.

In fact, during the experimentation process, Zhu Jingdong felt that several of the designs produced were already very good.

Things made with high-quality materials are definitely different.

But Shen Kang was not satisfied and kept conducting new experiments until this one.

Personally, Zhu Jingdong found this one to be truly outstanding; its delicate and mellow taste left a deep impression on him. Even someone like him, who used to drink milk tea to the point of vomiting and felt nauseous at the sight of it, quite enjoyed it.

Previously, he only thought that 302 Study Room had a chance to defeat Wonka Milk Tea because of its popularity, but now, Zhu Jingdong feels that the quality of this new milk tea itself is already enough to defeat Wonka Milk Tea!

The only disadvantage, as Yang Yunhan said, is the price.

However, these past few days, Zhu Jingdong has been brainwashed by Shen Kang every day with terms like "blue ocean," "empowerment," "potential accumulation," and "high-net-worth individuals." Although he still doesn't understand them, he's inexplicably becoming more and more confident.

After finishing her milk tea, Yang Yunhan put it down and said, "Boss, is this the only flavor we're selling? I saw that Wonka and his team made a lot of different flavors. Should we research a few more before we start selling them?"

"If you do it well, one product is enough in the early stages; this is called the 'big single product strategy'."

Shen Kang said, "We can start selling now, consider it a trial operation. We can continue to research new styles while we sell."

Regarding the "big single product strategy," Yang Yunhan felt she had learned a new concept. After making a note of it, she asked, "So, what should we name this milk tea? Should we name it, boss, or should we name it, Manager Ou?"

Hearing the title "Manager Ou," Ouyang Yu felt a surge of pride, thinking he was now a successful career man. He then said, "Let Teacher Shen name it." Ever since Shen Kang taught him how to win Zhenzhen's heart, this senior in college had been calling Shen Kang Teacher Shen.

Shen Kang, equally assertive, declared, "I'll take it."

After pretending to ponder for a while, he immediately made the decision, "Let's call it 'Bo Ya's Broken Strings'!"

I'll just start copying!

Shen Kang thought fiercely, hoping that this famous name in later generations would bring good luck to their milk tea.

In addition to naming the store, Shen Kang also made some changes to the store's layout.

"Xiao Yang, don't leave after you get off work tonight. Have Xu Shiwei stay too. Let's move all the tables in the shop over here and put this milk tea corner at the entrance, right opposite the counter, facing the street."

With everything in place, that evening the cabinets and items for the milk tea corner were moved to the store entrance, creating a street-facing window. The next morning, the milk tea corner in Room 302 officially opened for business.