The heat surrounding Zhang's Crawfish had reached a new peak after being featured in the China People's Daily.
Sales soared, and Zhang Tianxing no longer felt the joy of making money.
He felt like a money-making machine, confined to a routine of three places: the crawfish and barbecue shop, the crawfish specialty store, and home.
He resumed his three-point route, with his sleep time drastically reduced. He slept at three in the morning and woke up at eight, only getting five hours of sleep. His days were packed with work: buying meat, delivering goods, marinating meat, cleaning crawfish, and more.
Zhang Tianxing's wealth grew at a visible rate. The petty thugs didn't dare to cause trouble, thoroughly intimidated by Zhang Tianxing's skill with the cleaver, which had shaved their heads.
Previously submitted articles by Zhang Tianxing began to appear in various magazines.
"On Ways to Eat Crawfish," "Beauty or Health: Crawfish Tells You You Can Have Both," "Breaking the Cycle in Poor Rural Areas—A Humble Opinion on Developing Crawfish."
Several articles were reported in different magazines, leading to a trend in Yangcheng where eating crawfish became a point of pride.
Yangcheng's reputation had been firmly established. Concurrently, a "Qi Wei Crawfish" chain store emerged in Zhonghai City, receiving an unprecedented response.
Although Zhang Tianxing was a newcomer in Yangcheng's culinary scene, he was considered a pioneer in the crawfish industry.
Crawfish had achieved immense success in Yangcheng. Zhang Tianxing, seizing the momentum, successfully registered trademarks for his Thirteen-Spice Crawfish and Spicy Crawfish.
Everything was in place, awaiting the opportune moment.
Zhang Tianxing's book, "A Comprehensive Guide to Crawfish Preparation," was freshly published, its pages still carrying the faint scent of ink.
Wen Qing held the book, flipping through its pages. "This book is well-made. How much did you invest in it?"
Zhang Tianxing chuckled, "I found Gao Tianming's uncle, who happens to be a mid-level manager at Zhonghai Publishing House. We insisted on the best printing quality."
A smile played on Wen Qing's lips, her dimples appearing. "How much did you lose on this?"
Zhang Tianxing gave a thumbs-up. "You know your stuff. I lost about five thousand yuan, and only printed two thousand copies."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped and covered their mouths.
"You're making money, but you can't do it like this. A slightly lower quality wouldn't matter. Why did you lose so much?" Li Fang asked, perplexed.
"Because most of the books are here with us. Only a small portion went to the market, and their sales were very poor, practically ignored," Zhang Tianxing replied with a wry smile.
Wen Qing shook her head. "I don't think so. Since the China People's Daily mentioned crawfish, your book is bound to be a hit, maybe not right now."
Liang Cheng, who had come to the county town to deliver crawfish, stopped by the shop and saw "A Comprehensive Guide to Crawfish Preparation." He picked it up and began to read.
His brows furrowed at times, then relaxed. Finally, he clapped his hands. "This book is great. It's written so well. We can expand the scale of our crawfish business."
Everyone turned their gaze to Zhang Tianxing. Zhu Dayong exclaimed, "Second Uncle, this book was written by your precious nephew. You didn't even know!"
Liang Cheng was stunned by the news. He had never imagined that Zhang Tianxing had such hidden talents.
"Then Tianxing, could we start an alliance and a chain of stores specifically selling spicy crawfish? What do you think of this idea?" Liang Cheng suddenly thought of overseas chain stores.
"That's a possibility. I'll have to think about it."
This model should be viable in China as well. One must broaden their horizons.
By charging franchise fees and providing recipes and ingredients, he could essentially make money while doing nothing. This model was excellent.
However, relying solely on crawfish as a dish might be too limited. Other dishes would be needed to complement it, such as beer, the perfect companion to crawfish.
Business is about execution; if it doesn't work, it's all for naught.
In the current world, results are what matter. No one cares about the process, except yourself.
Sometimes, your own efforts only impress yourself because you've chosen the wrong direction.
Seeing this book, Liang Cheng felt as if a gold brick was beckoning him. "These are all secret techniques. How could you possibly let them spread?"
Zhang Tianxing smiled and pulled a book from under the table. Liang Cheng took it and saw "108 Ways to Prepare Crawfish."
Everyone was astonished. This book appeared to be of the same high quality, just thicker, with more crawfish recipes.
"What's going on? Why are there two different books?" Wen Qing asked.
Zhang Tianxing looked at everyone and explained, "This is like a simplified version and a complete detailed version. One has many dishes, the other has just a few. The other difference is that the thin book is available in bookstores nationwide, while this complete version is only available here and not in external bookstores."
Zhang Tianxing's explanation completely confused everyone.
"What are you doing this for? When you said you lost money earlier, was it because of this book added in?"
"Correct, but no reward," Zhang Tianxing said, snapping his fingers. "This complete version is prepared for members of the Crawfish Association. After all, joining the association requires paying a membership fee; we're not a charity organization."
"If you charge money, will anyone still join the association?"
"This is what I need to solve. By joining the association, members receive internal books. This one is an example, and more books related to crawfish will be published in the future."
"Wait a minute, let me process this. My head is spinning. You wrote books not to sell them, but to trick people into joining the Crawfish Association? You plan to increase income by collecting membership fees?"
Zhang Tianxing couldn't help but smile wryly. What were they thinking? Associations have their own bylaws, and regulations for managing finances and assets.
Moreover, if an association, as a non-profit entity, were found to be arbitrarily charging fees in private, it would likely be investigated and shut down.
"Then who do you intend to recruit for the association, and how much do you plan to charge as a membership fee per year?"
"Anyone related to the crawfish industry can apply to join. I'm tentatively setting the annual membership fee at 2000 yuan," Zhang Tianxing stated calmly.
"You must be crazy for money! Who would pay 2000 yuan? It's not easy to earn money these days," Liang Cheng shook his head.
Zhang Tianxing said gravely, "We are here to do business with crawfish, not charity. The Crawfish Association will adhere to the principle of seeking quality over quantity."
"The specific regulations for payments will be determined separately, and an annual financial report will be submitted."
Liang Cheng finally said, "What you're saying is too complicated. Whatever you do, I'll support you. I'm your uncle, and I will definitely support your work."
There was actually a reason Zhang Tianxing hadn't mentioned. This entry fee was necessary; it was about seeking quality over quantity, ensuring sincerity. It was a way to gauge if people were genuinely committed to the crawfish business.
Everyone is navigating in the dark, and no one knows what will happen. All one can do is make their best effort and leave the rest to fate.