Web promotion

"Chen Yu, Director Qiu already told me about your remarkable achievements."

"Where did you hear that? There's nothing remarkable about me; I'm just messing around."

"How can you say you're just messing around? You started Universal Technology, and now you're looking to purchase 20 million catties of navel oranges. If that's messing around, then by purchasing these 20 million catties, you're doing something real for our Xinfeng residents."

"County Chief Lan, you... I don't have the capability to purchase another 20 million catties. If I did, my little company would go bankrupt."

The Commerce Bureau's waiting area wasn't an appropriate place for this conversation, so Qiu Guoqing invited Chen Yu into his office.

Seeing Chen Yu and Chen Simian follow County Chief Lan into the office, the staff member from the public waiting area who had been trembling a bit earlier breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, that young man had a good attitude and didn't make an issue out of the previous matter. If he had, the staff member might have been in big trouble. It was a good thing he had a discerning eye; if he hadn't, he would have been in trouble.

"Ah, Xiaoyu, you're still planning to buy 20 million catties of navel oranges?"

Chen Simian, who was sitting nearby, asked. It was the first time he had heard about Chen Yu's involvement with navel oranges.

"Oh, even your father doesn't know?"

County Chief Lan was also surprised.

"Alas, County Chief Lan, I'll be honest with you. This kid thinks he's a big shot and doesn't tell me about many things. I only know that he's set up a workshop over at Chenyi Square, and nothing else."

"A workshop? It's not just a workshop. Your son's Universal Technology is a high-tech company in our county."

"A high-tech company?"

Chen Simian was quite confused. To him, it was just a workshop.

He had visited it before and didn't see anything particularly special. They had about a dozen computers; how could such a small workshop become a high-tech company for the county?

"Hehe, it seems that Chen Yu has kept quite a few things from you, his own father."

County Chief Lan chuckled and didn't dwell on that question. Instead, he continued with the topic of the navel oranges they were discussing earlier. "Chen Yu, I heard from Director Qiu that you have a visionary perspective when it comes to our Xinfeng navel oranges."

"Where did you hear that? I was just casually talking."

"Here we go again. A few days ago, you were talking big in front of Director Qiu, and now you're staying quiet. Is it because you're afraid to speak in front of me, the county chief? Don't worry, I'm not a tiger that will eat you."

County Chief Lan was in his fifties, and it was said that he used to be a Chinese language teacher in his younger days. Even after becoming a county chief, he didn't put on airs; he still exuded the demeanor of an educator.

"Well, I don't even know where to start."

"That's alright. Let's begin with our Xinfeng Specialty Promotion. What do you think about it?"

"About that..."

Chen Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Of course, this promotion event is a good idea. If we can promote our Xinfeng specialties, it will be immensely beneficial to Xinfeng as a whole, especially for the local residents. Our navel oranges, in particular, have the potential to create a sustainable industry. If we can introduce Xinfeng navel oranges during this promotion event, it could pave the way for a sustainable navel orange industry here."

"Sustainable development, that's a good way to put it. Xinfeng navel oranges are a local specialty and offer a path for sustainable development. Unfortunately, not many people outside Xinfeng are familiar with them, which has led to our navel oranges not fetching good prices. Sometimes, many farmers' oranges end up rotting at home, which is truly heartbreaking."

County Chief Lan, coming from a farming background, understood the plight of the farmers well.

His words weighed heavily on everyone's minds at that moment.

While Xinfeng wasn't a poverty-stricken county, it also wasn't a prosperous one, and the lives of the farmers were far from affluent. This was why County Chief Lan had the idea of the Xinfeng Specialty Promotion event, aiming to take Xinfeng's products, especially navel oranges, to the surrounding provinces.

However, even though Chen Yu found the idea reasonable, he didn't think the promotion event would be particularly effective for navel oranges, or at least not as effective as for certain snacks like Xinfeng's dried radishes, red melon seeds, or radish dumplings.

With this in mind, Chen Yu suggested, "County Chief Lan, have you considered using online methods for promotion?"

"Online methods?"

"Yes, through the internet, we can promote Xinfeng's specialties, including our navel oranges."

"I'm not very familiar with the internet. Many people say it's a virtual world. Can online promotion be effective?"

"I think it's worth a try."

However, County Chief Lan didn't consider online promotion a viable option. This was quite understandable. In 2001, let alone online promotion, many people were still trying to grasp the concept of the internet itself.

With a tinge of regret, Chen Yu and Chen Simian left the County Commerce Office.

"Quite the young scoundrel, you've kept a lot from your old man," Chen Simian remarked.

"Who's keeping secrets?" Chen Yu replied.

"Still denying it? So, what's the deal with the high-tech company?"

"The county thought that my little workshop looked very high-tech, so they labeled us as a high-tech enterprise."

"That simple?"

"Just that simple."

"Then what about buying 20 million catties of navel oranges?"

"I figured, navel oranges are so cheap now, I might as well wholesale some to do business."

"20 million catties?"

"Well, what else? Should I only wholesale 2,000 catties? So few, even you, Dad, wouldn't bother."

"What a mess! 20 million catties requires an investment of millions. Where did you get the money? Don't tell me you made millions recently."

"Dad, do you believe me if I say I really made millions?"

Chen Yu said, looking genuinely serious.

...

On November 15th, it was the designated day for the unified harvest of navel oranges in the county. The reason for setting this date was to prevent some farmers from harvesting too early, which would affect the quality of the navel oranges.

With Shi Lanfang's assistance, on the morning of November 15th, when the day was still dim, she led a team of several hundred pickers to various farms to harvest navel oranges.

Chen Yu didn't go because he had classes. Nonetheless, even without Chen Yu, Shi Lanfang managed everything efficiently and systematically.

In addition, while the navel oranges were being harvested, County Chief Lan led a delegation to Guangdong Province to hold a Xinfeng specialty promotion event. To expand the impact of this event, he invited many media outlets and businesses from Guangdong Province.

However, despite the participation of numerous media outlets and businesses, the entire promotional event was not particularly successful. People didn't show much interest in Xinfeng navel oranges. Some businesspeople even asked how to eat these navel oranges, leaving County Chief Lan and his team sighing.