Chapter 91 - 86: Dad’s Brilliant Plan
Ni Bingyan only had six senior apprentice-brothers, so this was an ultra-mini competition with only six contestants.
What used to be a simple affair held in the home kitchen was now moved into the courtyard, with every step of the process made incredibly formal.
Not only had they hired professionals to set up the venue and had custom outfits made, but everyone also had their hair and makeup professionally done, making them all look handsome and beautiful.
When the competition officially began in the afternoon, Ni Bingyan discovered—
"Dad, you even hired hosts? Two of them, a man and a woman?"
Watching the hosts introduce each contestant on stage with their polished, announcer-like voices, a mix of seriousness and humor that sent the livestream chat scrolling like crazy, Ni Bingyan was utterly stunned by her dad’s wild antics!
Including the original owner’s five years, she’d been knocking around the entertainment industry for nearly twenty years, yet her grasp of the viral formula was no match for her father, who’d only been an internet celebrity for three years.
’It just goes to show, aside from specializing in a field, natural aptitude is also crucial. She was born with few talent points in the ’stirring things up’ department, while her dad was most likely a maxed-out player.’
"Look, we’re livestreaming! Of course it needs to be formal to have some prestige!"
Ni Guangli pointed at the equipment in front of the stage, striking a pose as if he were surveying his kingdom.
"These two hosts? Students from Sichuan Music College, hired for three thousand yuan. That doesn’t even cover their travel expenses, just two meals. See how professional they are? How great is the effect?"
Their house was over half an hour’s drive from the city, so compared to the market rate, the price really wasn’t expensive.
’However, given the standard of food at their house, plus the two meals, getting fifteen hundred yuan each for a day of weekend work was an absolutely fantastic gig for a student!’
The hosts were happy and full of energy, which naturally made the show’s quality even better.
’How does her dad’s brain even work?’
And yet, her dad wasn’t satisfied. He started laying out his plan for her:
"This year is just a small trial run. Next year, I’ll find some local comedians to perform and liven things up, then I’ll invite a famous host from Chili Channel to boost its prestige. After that, depending on how it goes, I might put together a whole variety show. I’ve already thought about the contestants—we’ll trot out the apprentices of all your honorary uncles. They can advertise their own restaurants, so I bet everyone will want to join in on the fun. I’ve even thought of a name: *A Taste of Tradition on the Tip of Your Tongue*. We’ll have them make their family’s signature heirloom dishes and really open the audience’s eyes."
Ni Bingyan: ⊙_⊙?
"Like a little knife to the butt—an eye-opener! HAHA! Have you heard that one before?"
Seeing her dad still cracking jokes, Ni Bingyan quickly cut him off:
"Dad, slow down. What other genius ideas do you have? Just lay them all on me at once, why don’t you?"
Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Ni Guangli was quite pleased with himself. "Look, every industry is a cutthroat rat race these days. The restaurant business has to keep up! I call this injecting vitality into the industry!"
’Her dad’s been obsessed with money these past two years. Would he really do something for no benefit?’
Her thoughts were written all over her face. Ni Guangli looked a little embarrassed. "Of course, I also want to make a little money on the side. There’s a ceiling to being an internet celebrity. You have to use your brain and come up with new ideas to make things happen."
Her dad’s idea was brilliant, and Ni Bingyan wanted to help him cover all the bases, so she said:
"Dad, your plan is great, but a variety show isn’t that simple. What about the venue? The broadcast platform? You have to consider all that!"
"I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice! How could I not have thought it through? Isn’t there still that empty plot of land behind our mountain? I’m planning to contact a construction crew in a few days and build a professional venue after the new year. On normal days, we can rent it out for recreational soccer matches or small concerts. When we’re filming the show, we’ll just set up a stage in the middle. Empty seats would look bad, so we can invite the nearby villagers to be the audience. As for the platform, with my current traffic, any platform would welcome me with open arms!"
At this, his face filled with smug pride as he showed off to his daughter. "Don’t just see me as some old piece of jerky. My traffic now is no worse than those young heartthrobs of yours. With all this traffic just sitting here, if I don’t monetize it, I can’t even sleep at night!"
Ni Bingyan was stunned, okay?!
"Don’t look at me like that! I’ve retired once, can’t I retire a second time? This time, I plan to work until I’m eighty before retiring again. And it’s not me nagging you, but I’m in my sixties and I’m still better at stirring things up than you are. Look at your measly ten-million-plus fans, and who knows how many of those are fake followers your company bought for you. I’m starting to look down on you a little."
On stage, the senior apprentice-brothers were fervently shredding potatoes, the sound of their knives going CHOP-CHOP-CHOP without end, while the father and daughter sat in a spot hidden from the cameras, just shooting the breeze.
Hearing such a savage remark, Ni Bingyan glared at her dad, her cheeks puffed out with anger, and decided she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
’No wonder the original owner, someone with such a good temper, ended up having a huge fight with him.’
’His mouth is truly venomous, like a super-powered version of Sister Wei!’
’But he really did have the right to look down on her.’
Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
Her dad used to brag that he was only passionate about his culinary skills and disdained chasing money. Now that he was starting to rake in the cash, his talent for it was truly enviable.
All she could say was that the original owner hadn’t inherited any of it, and she hadn’t felt any chromosomal buffs either.
"Hey now, don’t be like that! I have over a hundred million followers across all platforms now. A lot of you celebrities can’t even compare to me! What did I rely on? My solid cooking skills. That’s why you have to have real talent to make it! Your old man here made his way with real ability to get where I am today, understand? You’re still young, still in the accumulation phase. You can’t rush it. Just work hard and steadily, and things will get better in the future. Whatever you do, don’t take shortcuts, or you’ll come to a bad end. I’m laying it all out for you right here, whether you believe me is up to you!"
’It’s perfectly natural for a father to lecture his daughter, but was it really okay for him to be so smug about it?’
"You shouldn’t have studied cooking back then. You should have gone into the entertainment industry. Maybe I could have gotten a free ride as a second-generation star."
Ni Bingyan was teasing him for being a smooth talker, but he thought his daughter was complimenting his looks.
"I also think I was very handsome when I was young. I definitely could have been an actor."
"No, I’m saying you could have been a crosstalk comedian. That has nothing to do with looks. All you need is that mouth of yours."
"Hey, you’re only talking nonsense because you know I won’t smack you. Later, I’ll find a photo to show you. I was really handsome, I’m not kidding."
Ni Bingyan just hummed noncommittally, "Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Peng Huan, who was listening on the side, was about to die laughing!
’Uncle Ni is such an interesting person!’
’He’s fun to talk to, and he’s got great ideas.’
For example, he had somehow managed to turn a six-person competition into a proper, large-scale event.
The reason it had such an effect was that there were many competition events.
The show’s quality was great, it was just a little hard on the senior apprentice-brothers.
For example, for the first segment, knife skills, Ni Guangli had set up several challenges.
First, shred the most potatoes in the best way within a set time limit for one point. Second, shred a potato on top of a balloon, and if the balloon doesn’t pop after the entire potato is cut, you get one point. Third, completely debone a whole duck, keeping the skeleton intact, and if the duck can be filled with water without leaking a single drop, you get one point. Fourth, slice a rolling celtuce without breaking it, with the thinnest slices earning one point. Fifth, score a squid in a floral pattern, which must be even and unbroken, and blossoms like a flower when blanched, earning one point...
This competition was fundamentally a family event. The senior apprentice-brothers had all brought their families along. While the competition was heating up on stage, the family members in the audience were watching with great excitement.
One would say, "My dad is the best!"
Another would say, "My dad is the greatest!"
Ni Bingyan proudly argued back, "My dad is the greatest!"
Ni Guangli’s face was filled with pride, but inwardly, he was very grateful to that boss with the surname Sang.
Not only had the man placed a huge order with him, but during their conversation, he had also taught him so much about business, leading to a moment of clarity where he instantly came up with several brilliant ideas.