96: Chapter 96 Team Collaboration Battle

As soon as he returned to the Planning Department and sat down, Li Yong leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Boss, what's going on?"

Qiao Yichen didn't rush to answer. He waved at Meng Zhi and Shen Bowen: "Let's go, small conference room."

The four of them settled down in the small conference room. Qiao Yichen briefly explained about being reassigned, then looked at Li Yong:

"You're the veteran, you'll follow up on the execution of this project. Remember to collect feedback on the new packaging after it hits the shelves."

Li Yong nodded, "Okay, leave it to me. Don't worry."

Qiao Yichen then looked at Meng Zhi and Shen Bowen: "The two of you cooperate with him, and if you have any problems, find me anytime."

The two nodded, not asking further.

At noon, Qiao Yichen went downstairs to the Cantonese restaurant near the company that he often frequented. He settled into a small private room, ordered a few dishes, and just as he finished, the door opened.

Liu Yanran walked in.

Qiao Yichen stood up and pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, her face showing clear signs of fatigue. Qiao Yichen walked around behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and began to gently massage them.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Liu Yanran didn't speak. She closed her eyes and leaned back. After a while, she reached out and took his left hand, pressing her face into his palm, leaning against him quietly.

Qiao Yichen didn't ask again. His other hand continued to gently rub her temples.

The waiter knocked and entered to serve the dishes. Only then did she open her eyes and release his hand.

Qiao Yichen returned to his seat and first served her a bowl of soup, handing it over: "I specially ordered this fish maw and chicken soup for you. Drink it while it's hot."

Liu Yanran took it, took a sip, and her complexion softened a bit.

He sat next to her, occasionally picking up food for her. She ate slowly, then suddenly said, "This char siu is good."

Qiao Yichen smiled: "I knew you liked sweet things. This is perfect with rice." As he spoke, he picked up another piece and put it in her bowl.

Liu Yanran's appetite improved, and the two ate and chatted, enjoying a leisurely meal.

After the meal, they returned to the company together.

...

Before they knew it, it was 1:30 PM.

Qiao Yichen dozed off at his workstation for a while, then got up, stretched, picked up his laptop, and walked to Conference Room A3.

Pushing open the door, he was stunned—so many people had already arrived.

Liu Li occupied the window seat, typing rapidly on her keyboard. Chen Mochi stood in front of the whiteboard, flipping through his notebook, a pen twirling between his fingers. Zhou Yuan was huddled in a chair, scrolling on his phone, two fingers swiping across the bright screen.

General Manager Zhao Qiming from the Strategy Department sat in the middle of the long table, twirling a pen in his hand, staring at the large, dark display on the wall, lost in thought.

Qiao Yichen found a corner to sit down. He turned on his computer, and the screen lit up.

People arrived one after another. About ten people, key members from various departments—strategy, design, user research—usually busy with their own tasks, were all gathered here now.

Liu Yanran was the last to enter.

When the door opened, the conference room fell silent for a moment. She had no expression on her face, holding only a notebook, and walked to the main seat. Her gaze swept around—calm and indifferent, not lingering on anyone. Then she nodded to Chen Mochi.

Chen Mochi stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.

Real Tea · Real Juice · Youthful

"We discussed three directions before the holiday." His pen tapped on the first phrase, "Real tea base, real juice content, youthful visual."

Some people below began typing, others looked down at their phones.

Liu Yanran spoke. Her voice was not loud, but very clear: "Time is tight, so let's get straight to the point. Divide into three groups—Strategy Group, Competitor Analysis Group, and Design Group. Come up with preliminary directions within two hours."

She looked at General Manager Zhao Qiming: "Manager Zhao, you lead the Competitor Analysis Group. 'Yuan Ye,' dissect it thoroughly."

General Manager Zhao Qiming nodded, stood up, and waved over: "Liu Li, Qiao Yichen, come with me."

Qiao Yichen closed his laptop and stood up to walk over.

The three members of the Competitor Analysis Group gathered at the left side of the long table. General Manager Zhao Qiming projected his computer onto the large display. The screen lit up, a blank document waiting to be filled.

"Yuan Ye, the market leader." He pointed at the screen, "Packaging, flavor, pricing, communication strategy, user reviews, channel strategy. The more detailed, the better."

Liu Li had already started typing: "I have the market share data, I'll create a table."

Qiao Yichen opened several web pages: "I'll handle the channel strategy, distribution paths, co-branded products, andSpokesperson iterations. I'll create a timeline."

General Manager Zhao Qiming checked the time: "We'll touch base in two hours. Hurry up."

The sound of keyboards clattering filled the air.

After a while, Qiao Yichen looked up: "Yuan Ye's co-branded product with that trendy brand last year sold like crazy, sold out in three days."

Liu Li didn't even look up: "Which trendy brand?"

"That one, the graffiti one."

"Oh, that one," Liu Li typed a couple of times, "I know. Their spokesperson also wore the same style, and the Weibo reposts were quite intense."

General Manager Zhao Qiming interjected: "Who is the spokesperson now?"

Qiao Yichen scrolled the screen: "They've changed to the fourth one. This current one came from a talent show."

"How's the effect?"

"It's okay, but the comments section is full of arguments, a fan-hater war."

Liu Li chuckled: "A fan-hater war is still popularity."

At three o'clock sharp, General Manager Zhao Qiming clapped his hands.

"Let's go over it first."

Liu Li looked at the screen and read: "Yuan Ye, launched in 2016. Core selling point is tea plus juice, packaging with an illustration style. Four spokespersons have been changed, always following a youthful route. Price range five to eight yuan, full convenience store coverage."

Qiao Yichen continued: "Channels—convenience stores are the main battlefield, Family Mart, Lawson, 7-Eleven all have it. University store coverage is over eighty-five percent. Co-branded products two or three times a year, including anime and trendy brands, showing significant short-term sales boosts, but—" He paused, "—not sustainable in the long term, sales drop back once the collaboration ends."

"What about user reviews?" General Manager Zhao Qiming asked.

"I scrolled through over two hundred Xiaohongshu posts," Qiao Yichen said, "Praises are mainly for good taste and attractive packaging. Complaints focus on weak tea flavor, strong artificial flavor, and being too cloying after drinking too much. And someone said something else..." He thought for a moment, "Oh right, 'it's like drinking juice candy.'"

Liu Li burst out laughing: "Juice candy? How sweet must that be."

General Manager Zhao Qiming typed a few lines in the document, then looked up at Chen Mochi. Chen Mochi was standing by the whiteboard, staring at the three phrases above.

"The opportunity has emerged," General Manager Zhao Qiming said, "weak tea flavor, strong artificial flavor."

Chen Mochi's eyes lit up. He picked up a pen, drew a line under those phrases, and wrote:

Real tea base, real juice, no artificial flavors

Liu Yanran had walked over at some point. She stood by the whiteboard for a while, then reached out, took the pen, and added three more phrases next to it:

Tea Sensation · Fruit Flavor · Authenticity

She put down the pen, glanced at the time: "Before six o'clock, come up with three sentences for each direction. It's three fifteen now."

No one spoke. Each group continued to work diligently.

At six o'clock sharp, messages started popping up in the group chat.

The Strategy Group's three sentences: Freshly brewed real tea, real fruit juice infused in tea, the authenticity you can taste; not relying on artificial flavors, but on tea leaves.

The Design Group's three sets of visual keywords: light hand-drawn, National Trend style, minimalist illustration.

The Competitor Analysis Group's summary table was also sent out. Yuan Ye's negative keywords were highlighted in red: weak tea flavor, strong artificial flavor.

Liu Yanran quickly scanned it, then looked up: "Continue tonight. Goal—define the direction framework."

She put down her phone and added: "Dinner's on me. Raise your hand if you don't eat meat."

Two people raised their hands.

She nodded, then looked down and tapped a few times on her phone.