Chapter 33: The Darling Wife of Capital

Cheng Daqi was eating his meal attentively.

On Red Street, one could get free food, but the taste of those items wasn't great. In fact, a large portion of it was close to expiring. After all, the purpose of distributing food was to prevent the homeless from starving. On the other hand, if the quality of free food was too high, many not-so-poor people would rush to grab it, leaving fewer opportunities for the homeless to eat.

Tom's burgers didn't exactly surprise Cheng Daqi, but they still tasted great. The pineapple pie and apple pie desserts were also delicious. Setting aside his apple pie, Cheng Daqi set his sights on the drinks provided by Tom's food truck. Why not make a few bucks without spending any?

"Tom, excuse me if this sounds presumptuous, but would you like to hear my advice?" Cheng Daqi decided to offer Tom some genuine advice.

Awakening from his thoughts about the future, Tom smiled and replied, "Of course, you're my first customer. Even if you didn't ask, I would still want to hear your thoughts."

Tom, born into wealth, wouldn't have gotten so chubby if he didn't enjoy good food. And if he didn't genuinely want more people to appreciate the food he made, he wouldn't have worked so hard to run a food truck. Tom was happy when someone was willing to give feedback. He didn't think Cheng Daqi was being presumptuous; in fact, he was quite pleased.

From the way Cheng Daqi had just evaluated his burgers, it was clear that this Asian guy had some insight. Tom's guess was actually correct. In his previous life, Cheng Daqi had founded a chain of fitness brands. The core selling point wasn't fitness but rather traditional Chinese medicinal fitness meals. By using fitness as an entry point, Cheng Daqi attracted a large number of people interested in health and fitness with relatively low membership fees. The core profit point was providing different traditional Chinese medicinal fitness meals to these members, tailored to various needs such as weight loss, body conditioning, and anti-aging. Cheng Daqi had indeed researched the food and beverage industry in his previous life; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to integrate medicinal cuisine with fitness.

"The taste of your food is excellent, much better than the quality of cheap fast food," Cheng Daqi praised, intending to offer Tom some guidance. After all, he had no plans to work in the food industry again.

"But before I give my advice, I need to ask you a question," Cheng Daqi said, catching Tom off guard.

"What question?" Tom asked, puzzled, as he adjusted his chef's apron.

"Do you want to run a great food truck and be a successful regular boss, or do you want to make your BBB burger shine and make a name for yourself in the American food industry?" Cheng Daqi didn't care about Tom's answer; he just wanted a couple of free drinks.

Asking questions was just a common tactic, a casual move. But his words hit Tom's heart like a heavy hammer.

This West Coast rich kid, who had left home to start his own business, had never thought about this question. He just wanted more people to appreciate his food, appreciate his cooking skills. That's all.

Tom was caught off guard by Cheng Daqi's question, or rather, he had never thought about what he wanted to achieve.

"I think... I just want more people to appreciate me, to let my father know that being a chef isn't a bad thing, that there's no distinction in professions."

This big guy, weighing over two hundred pounds, quietly voiced his answer.

Wanting his father's approval?

Cheng Daqi hadn't realized he had encountered a rich kid. He was just sighing at the common dream shared by countless boys. After all, a boy's first idol is often his father.

"I understand your thoughts. Bring me two drinks, and let's chat slowly."

In America, if you want something, just say it directly; there's no need to beat around the bush. Many ordinary Americans have lost their ability to think independently under decades of milk-fed propaganda. If you're too subtle, they might not understand.

"Alright, you guys can have whatever you want," Tom said generously, pushing the drinks over.

"I didn't open this shop to make money; I just want more friends to appreciate my dishes, my cooking skills."

In San Francisco, under Sandy's incredulous gaze, Cheng Daqi calmly opened a bottle of beer for her and then opened one for himself.

Seriously? Are you serious?

You brought me here to eat, and you've turned the restaurant into a charity kitchen. A fifty-cent hamburger is one thing, but you're also getting free drinks?

You can get everything for free just by opening your mouth without lifting a finger?

"No, Tom, your idea is extremely foolish!" Cheng Daqi had no intention of tricking the fat chef. He simply said what he thought. The more effective way to say something was to just say it.

"This shop won't earn a dime until you make it. Even if your burgers become popular, they won't convince your father. If you want your father's approval, your customers need to approve of you first. Do you understand what customer approval means?"

Cheng Daqi's smooth words led Tom into his rhythm. After thinking for a moment, the fat chef tentatively replied.

"Do they like my food?"

"No!"

"Do they give my shop good reviews?"

Seeing that Tom didn't quite understand, Cheng Daqi gave up on leading him and prepared to explain directly.

"No! There's only one way for customers to approve of you, and that's by being willing to pay for your product. How do you attract paying customers? For a newcomer like you in the American fast food industry, there's only one viable strategy—differentiated competition."

(To avoid any misunderstandings, I should clarify that this strategy was discussed with a friend of mine who has extensive experience in marketing for food and beverage brands across multiple major cities. Additionally, there are four modifiers in this sentence: American, fast food industry, newcomer, and viable for him. If anyone wants to argue, please understand these modifiers first before doing so, as each one was carefully considered.)

Differentiated competition, Cheng Daqi's strategy for breaking through in his past entrepreneurial endeavors.

Competing with other businesses, enrolling beautiful coaches, and participating in fitness industry competitions.

He directly engaged a team of experts from local universities for joint research and development, using herbal cuisine to combine traditional Chinese medicine with fitness to fight back.

Through local industry-specific short video matrices and other methods, he expanded from one shop to eight within a year without taking any financing. Consequently, he secured an attractive valuation in the Series A round of financing.

Cheng Daqi's confident and professional manner gave Tom the impression that he was watching his own father addressing employees at a meeting—firm in tone, precise in wording, and proficient in language.

"Differentiated competition? Can you explain it in detail?"

Without much thought, Tom hurriedly asked Cheng Daqi for more details.

"In America, it's not too difficult to enter the fast-food industry because the market demand is here.

Americans are accustomed to going to fast-food restaurants to fill their stomachs when they're hungry.

This is thanks to the long-term cultivation and development of the market by those large chain fast-food companies.

But the specific situation has two sides: while the big companies cultivate the market, they also naturally block the space for other small fast-food companies to grow.

In recent years, have the new fast-food enterprises all had backgrounds in traditional giant companies?"

Cheng Daqi didn't know for sure, but he had seen similar trends in various industries.

Industry giants will spontaneously expand after the market becomes saturated, creating new sub-brands and subsidiaries to occupy the niche positions in the industry. This is determined by the nature of capital monopoly.

This development model has cross-industry applicability.

For example, the Alibaba ecosystem started from e-commerce and gradually expanded to cover every link in various industries.

From enterprise-level cloud computing to last-mile delivery, and even acquiring food delivery services.

Tom carefully pondered the industry situation described by Cheng Daqi.

He was surprised to find that every sentence Cheng Daqi said matched perfectly with the details he had observed.

Small fast-food companies are being acquired before they have a chance to grow, and emerging brands that are doing well are often the pet projects of big capital.

It all adds up!