Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1478: Spread rumors with just one mouth, but you will lose your legs if you refute the rumor

Repulse Bay, Hong Kong.

A white villa in European style sits on the hillside, overlooking the azure bay.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, a black Mercedes-Benz drove into the villa and stopped in front of the main building along the winding driveway. Qin Hao and Zhao Yajing got out of the car.

The maid came forward and bowed slightly: "Mr. Qin, Miss Zhao, Mr. Shi is already waiting in the study. Please follow me."

The two followed the butler into the villa.

The study was on the third floor. The butler knocked on the door, and Shi Fangren's steady voice came from inside: "Please come in."

The door opened. The study was large, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on two walls, filled with Chinese and foreign books. By the window was a huge mahogany desk, behind which Shi Fangren sat with a serious expression. His son, Shi Xiaojun, stood beside him.

Shi Xiaona sat across from him at the desk. Today, she wore a light blue dress, her long hair flowing over her shoulders, and she had a quiet and gentle demeanor. Her eyes lit up when she saw Qin Hao, but upon seeing Zhao Yajing behind him, she could only forcefully suppress the flutter in her heart.

"Uncle Shi," Qin Hao and Zhao Yajing greeted at the same time.

"Xiao Qin, Ya Jing, you're here." Shi Fangren stood up, walked around the desk, and gestured for them to sit on the sofa. "Sit down. What would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?"

"Tea is fine," Qin Hao said.

After the maid served the tea and left, Shi Fangren returned to his desk, picked up a newspaper, and solemnly handed it to the two of them.

"You guys take a look at this first."

Qin Hao took the newspaper. It was the *Oriental Daily News*, one of Hong Kong's largest-circulation newspapers. The front page headline, in bold boldface, read: "Hygiene Concerns at Western Fast Food Restaurants! Burger King Exposed for Using Substandard and Expired Ingredients; Customers Receive Diarrhea and Hospitalizations After Consuming!"

The subtitle below reads: "Exclusive Investigation: The Dark Side of a Well-Known Fast Food Brand's Kitchen Exposed, Food Safety in Doubt."

The report took up most of the page, accompanied by blurry photos—it appeared to be the kitchen environment, with stains on the floor and boxes with illegible labels piled in the corner. The article was highly inflammatory, listing several whistleblower allegations from "anonymous employees" claiming that Burger King used expired chicken, moldy flour, and even recycled leftover food from customers to reprocess and resell in order to reduce costs.

Zhao Yajing leaned closer to take a look, her expression immediately changed, and she stood up abruptly: "This is a lie! A blatant lie! We have never used inferior ingredients! All Burger King's ingredients undergo strict inspection, and the central kitchen is inspected three times a day! This photo... this photo is not from our kitchen at all!"

Qin Hao patted Zhao Yajing's hand, signaling her to calm down. He picked up the newspaper, read it carefully again, then looked up at Shi Fangren and asked calmly, "Uncle Shi, could you tell me the origin of this newspaper?"

A newspaper with a huge circulation like Oriental Daily News will inevitably cause a huge reaction once its report is published. If the senior executives of Burger King in Hong Kong don't call him, then these senior executives can all resign.

Upon hearing this, Shi Fangren glanced at his son, Shi Xiaojun, and said, "See? This is the demeanor a qualified manager should have. Don't panic when things happen; first, clarify the situation and find the key to the problem."

Shi Fangren then continued, "The reason this report was stopped was because of my old connections at the newspaper. If they hadn't informed me in advance because of our long-standing friendship, the consequences would have been unimaginable by the time the newspaper was published."

"I can't guarantee that the people behind this have other tricks up their sleeves. If they can bribe a reporter from Oriental Daily to write this report, they can bribe reporters from other newspapers. If they stop one today, they might stop ten tomorrow."

Zhao Yajing said anxiously, "Then what do we do? Burger King is going public next month. If we let reports like this get into the market..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood the consequences. Burger King planned to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June, which was Qin Hao and the Shi family's most important business plan this year. If a food safety scandal broke out at this critical juncture, it would inevitably trigger investor panic. Even if the listing couldn't be stopped, it would severely depress the issue price, leading to a significant reduction in the amount of funds raised.

"Uncle Shi, what do you think?" Qin Hao put down his newspaper and asked seriously, "Is this matter aimed at you or at us?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Shi Fangren's eyes, quickly followed by deeper appreciation. That was a very pertinent question.

Before Shi Fangren could speak, Shi Xiaojun couldn't help but interject, "Is that even a question? I think it was probably Uncle and his group who did it..."

Shi Fangren shook his head inwardly. His second son was too impulsive, only seeing the surface of things. In contrast, Qin Hao, though younger, was much more composed and could see through appearances to the essence of things. Thinking of this, Shi Fangren subconsciously looked at his daughter, Shi Xiaona.

"if……"

Qin Hao's voice pulled Shi Fangren back to reality.

"Actually," Qin Hao said slowly, "who did this and who they were after isn't that unimportant. The key is how we deal with it."

Shi Fangren nodded approvingly: "Xiao Qin is right. The reason I invited you here today is to discuss countermeasures. Xiao Qin, please feel free to share your thoughts, and I will do my best to cooperate."

Zhao Yajing has a rather impatient temper: "Just tell me what you think is best, I'm getting anxious!"

Qin Hao said calmly, "What is the lifeblood of the catering industry? — Food safety."

He picked up the sample newspaper and pointed to the headline: "The people behind this have found our weakness. It's easy to spread rumors, but it's incredibly difficult to refute them. Once this report gets going, even if we have a thousand mouths, we won't be able to clear our names. The public will be suspicious, investors will panic, and competitors will take advantage of our misfortune."

Shi Xiaojun curled his lip: "I thought you had some brilliant ideas. In the end, it's still about using the Shi family's connections and spending money to bribe the media to suppress the reports."

His tone was disdainful, as if he had expected Qin Hao to say that.

Shi Xiaona glanced at her second brother with dissatisfaction: "Second brother, we are partners, and now is the time to weather the storm together. Why are we distinguishing between you and me? Besides, Qin Hao hasn't finished speaking yet."

Shi Fangren glared at his second son, and was about to smooth things over when Qin Hao continued:

“It is indeed necessary to use the historian’s connections to contact the media, but—” He paused, looking around at everyone, “it’s not about intercepting this report, but about reporting on something else.”

Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Qin Hao.

Shi Fangren leaned forward slightly: "Reporting on another matter? What do you mean?"

"It's better to guide than to block," Qin Hao said. "There are so many newspapers in Hong Kong. It would take too much effort to intercept this report. Besides, you can only catch thieves for a thousand days, not prevent them for a thousand days. Even if we stop them this time, they will find other ways next time. There will always be times when even the best plans fail."

He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the azure sea outside, and said in a clear and firm voice: "Instead of living in constant fear, guarding against arrows from who-knows-where, let's seize this opportunity to turn the tide and transform crisis into opportunity."

Shi Xiaojun was getting impatient: "Then tell me, how do you turn the tables and take the initiative?"

Shi Xiaona and Zhao Yajing were also full of curiosity.

Qin Hao turned around and glanced at the crowd: "When people eat out, they are most worried about two things: whether the restaurant's ingredients are safe and whether the hygiene standards are met. What if we open the kitchen to the public for supervision? Seeing is believing. I believe they will not disbelieve what they see with their own eyes and instead believe those malicious reports."

"Open kitchen?" Shi Xiaojun scoffed. "Are you kidding me? What restaurant lets customers just peek into their kitchen? That's a major taboo in the industry!"

Shi Fangren seemed lost in thought. Having run a restaurant in Beijing in his early years, he knew the unwritten rules of the catering industry well—the kitchen was never open to customers. On one hand, some closely guarded techniques might be stolen; on the other hand, some less-than-ideal practices were inevitable in the kitchen, such as chefs using the same spoon to taste food, ingredients being temporarily placed on the floor, or dishwashers slacking off. If customers saw these things, they might not be able to eat there.

"Xiao Qin," Shi Fangren said cautiously, "your idea is indeed very bold, but I'm afraid it's not very realistic. Restaurant kitchens have their own unique characteristics..."

Qin Hao smiled calmly and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

“I understand Uncle Shi’s concerns. Traditional cooking methods, such as stir-frying, stewing, and steaming, involve complex processes and do indeed have the problems you mentioned. But—”

He then changed the subject: "Don't forget, Burger King is a Western fast food chain. Our products are very simple: fried chicken, hamburgers, fries, and cola. All operations are standardized and regulated. How long to marinate, what temperature to use in the oil, how many minutes to fry, what sauce to use, how many lettuce leaves to add... all of these have strict regulations."

Zhao Yajing then remembered. When Burger King was expanding in Guangzhou, Qin Hao insisted on establishing an independent inspection department. This department only had a few people, and their daily work was to randomly visit various stores undercover—pretending to be ordinary customers to order food and observe whether the staff's operations were standardized; or to suddenly inspect the kitchen to see if the hygiene met the standards.

Once a problem is discovered, such as an employee not wearing gloves when handling food, insufficient frying time, or inadequate cleaning, the inspector will record it. After verification, the relevant employee and store manager will be fined, while the inspector will receive an additional bonus.

Initially, the inspectors' monthly bonuses were higher than their salaries because there were so many problems at the stores. But gradually, the bonuses decreased, and employees and store managers, in order to avoid having their hard-earned wages penalized, had no choice but to strictly follow the operating procedures. Over time, the standardization became a habit.

At the time, Zhao Yajing felt that this was too harsh on the employees. Some employees who had been painstakingly trained resigned because they couldn't stand the frequent fines, and she even argued with Qin Hao about it. Now she understands that Qin Hao was taking precautions.

Qin Hao continued, "Moreover, we can take advantage of this point to promote the movie 'Chicken and Duck Talk'."

Zhao Yajing's eyes lit up even more. She had read the script for "Chicken and Duck Talk." It was about a traditional tea restaurant that was nearly driven to bankruptcy by a newly opened fried chicken shop across the street due to its poor hygiene and terrible service. There was a scene in the movie where the tea restaurant's kitchen was filthy and rats were running around, and the waiters were resentful because the boss had docked their wages, so they were indifferent to customers.

The newly opened fried chicken shop is clean and tidy, with standardized service and booming business, but it lacks a human touch, which leads to a series of funny situations.

"Old Qin," Zhao Yajing said excitedly, "Did you plan this all along? Did you foresee this when you were writing that script?"

Qin Hao smiled and nodded: "I guess so. Even without this report, I planned to make a splash before the IPO to promote the movie. That way, we can push Burger King's brand awareness to new heights and drive up the stock price."

The Hong Kong stock market in 1984 was not doing well. The Hang Seng Index had fallen from 1200 points at the beginning of the year to just over 800 points, and investor confidence was low. To raise enough funds through an IPO, Burger King needed to become a household name and convince investors that it was a promising, responsible, and transparent company.

Shi Xiaona's eyes lit up: "Chicken and Duck Talk? Is that the movie that's all the rage right now? The one starring the Hui Brothers?"

She turned to her father and explained, “Dad, ‘Chicken and Duck Talk’ is a movie that was just released before the New Year. It has already grossed more than 2300 million yuan in just half a month. I read in the newspaper that the movie’s final box office is very likely to exceed 3200 million yuan, and it might even be the box office champion this year.”

Shi Fangren was utterly astonished. He had long known Qin Hao had a business acumen, but he hadn't expected him to possess such talent. To write a movie script, and even one that became a box office champion? This young man had brought him far too many surprises.

"I see..." Shi Fangren pondered for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table: "Good! Now that you have a complete plan, Qin, go ahead and do it! Just tell me what the Shi family needs you to do, and I will fully support you!"

"Then thank you very much, Uncle Shi," Qin Hao said sincerely.

"Hey, don't be so polite with me." Shi Fangren waved his hand and laughed, "We're partners, so naturally we should stick together. I'll leave this matter entirely to you. Xiao Jun—"

He looked at his son, his tone stern: "During this period, you will follow Qin's arrangements in everything. Do whatever he tells you to do, without the slightest objection. Do you understand?"

Shi Xiaojun nodded reluctantly: "I heard you."

Shi Fangren then looked at his daughter: "Xiaona, you should learn from her. See how Xiao Qin handles crises; it will help you in the future."

"Okay, Dad," Shi Xiaona replied obediently, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards Qin Hao.

……

For the next three days, Burger King's Hong Kong branch entered a state of emergency.

First, all 18 Burger King stores in Hong Kong underwent renovations simultaneously. Each store's dining area was equipped with a color television, not for showing programs, but connected to a closed-circuit monitoring system in the kitchen and central kitchen.

Surveillance cameras cover all key areas: the food receiving area, cold storage, marinating workshop, frying production line, packaging area, and delivery area. Customers can see in real time how their food is prepared while they dine.

At the same time, Qin Hao personally wrote a press release titled: "Burger King takes the lead in implementing 'transparent kitchens' to make food safety visible."

The press release details Burger King's food safety management system: from stringent standards for ingredient sourcing to standardized production in its central kitchen; from standardized operational procedures at its stores to the oversight mechanism of its independent auditing department. The article emphasizes that Burger King's willingness to showcase its kitchen to the public stems from its absolute confidence in its hygiene and management.

This press release was sent to major newspapers throughout Hong Kong.

Two days later, the Oriental Daily News published a front-page report with the headline: "Visible safety and hygiene, who else but Burger King can match us!"

The report was accompanied by a photo—in a Burger King restaurant, customers eat fried chicken while looking up at a security camera on the wall. In the video, workers in the central kitchen, wearing white uniforms, masks, and gloves, are busy on a clean and bright production line.

The Sing Tao Daily's headline was even more ingenious: "A real-life 'talking past each other,' a debate on whether traditional restaurants or Western fast food are superior."

The article compares Burger King's transparent kitchen with the messy kitchen of the tea restaurant in the movie "Chicken and Duck Talk".

The reporter also interviewed several customers. One middle-aged woman said, "I used to think that Western fast food was unhealthy, but now that I see how clean they are, I feel more at ease than many tea restaurants."

Other tabloids also followed up with reports. Some historians paid for it, while others were simply trying to capitalize on the buzz. Suddenly, a wave of discussion about "restaurant transparency" swept through Hong Kong media.

Of course, some newspapers took a different approach. Instead of reporting directly on Burger King, they sent reporters to conduct undercover investigations in the kitchens of other restaurants.

The results were shocking.

A reporter from Sing Pao Daily News disguised himself as a cleaner and sneaked into the kitchens of three well-known tea restaurants, taking shocking photos: sewage flowing on the floor, moldy corners, cockroaches crawling around, and food piled up next to the toilet... The report caused an uproar throughout Hong Kong.

The public was outraged.

"No wonder I get diarrhea every time I eat out! Turns out these guys don't care about our lives at all!"

"That was disgusting! I'll never eat out again!"

"Only Burger King dares to show us their kitchen. Would other restaurants dare? If they don't, they must have something to hide!"

The Hong Kong Department of Health could no longer remain silent. Under public pressure, they announced a surprise inspection of the catering industry throughout Hong Kong.

The inspection results were even more worrying: 80% of the restaurant kitchens had potential food hygiene problems, with 30% of them having extremely poor hygiene conditions, and the remaining 20% ​​also had issues such as adulterated or stale ingredients. Less than 5% of the restaurants met the Department of Health's standards—and all Burger King locations fell into that 5%.

The Department of Health held a press conference to announce the inspection results and specifically praised Burger King: "Burger King's transparent kitchen initiative has set a new benchmark for the catering industry. We hope that more restaurants will learn from them and prioritize food safety."

Now, Burger King has become a huge hit.

Customers who initially had reservations about Burger King due to media reports have now become its most loyal supporters. This is because they have witnessed firsthand how clean Burger King's kitchens are, and how filthy the kitchens of other restaurants are.

"Although I don't really like hamburgers, it seems like there's no other option right now."

"At least Burger King lets us see what's going on, so we can eat with peace of mind. Other restaurants? Who knows what they're up to in the kitchen!"

Suddenly, the once-thriving tea restaurants and hotels became deserted. Some restaurant owners were so angry that they lashed out at Burger King at a catering association meeting, accusing it of "breaking the rules" and "damaging the industry ecosystem."

But despite their complaints, they also realized that times have changed. Customers are no longer satisfied with "out of sight, out of mind"; they demand the right to know and transparency.

Thus began a citywide overhaul of the catering industry in Hong Kong. Numerous restaurants closed—either due to substandard hygiene and subsequent closures, or due to loss of customers. The remaining restaurants began renovating their kitchens and strengthening hygiene management, but very few dared to install surveillance cameras to show their kitchens to customers.

The restaurant association convened a meeting of all its members to establish new industry hygiene standards. The president said helplessly at the meeting, "Burger King's move has cornered us. If we don't change, we're doomed."

……

On February 25, "Chicken and Duck Talk" officially ended its run.

The final box office figure was HK$3358 million.

This not only broke Michael Hui's personal box office record but also became the box office champion of the 1984 Lunar New Year season, ranking among the top in Hong Kong's annual box office charts. The film's success and Burger King's "Transparent Kitchen" initiative created a perfect synergy—viewers saw the dirty and chaotic traditional restaurants in the film, while in reality they saw the clean and tidy Burger King; the service attitude issues satirized in the film were contrasted with Burger King's standardized service in reality.

Michael Hui called Qin Hao specifically: "Mr. Qin, thank you so much this time. The script is excellent, and the timing of the promotion is even better. Right now, the whole of Hong Kong is discussing food hygiene, and our movie has become a social hot topic. It's hard to imagine the box office not being high!"

Qin Hao laughed and said, "It's because Mr. Xu acted so well. The success of the movie is mainly due to your and the Xu brothers' appeal."

"Haha, Mr. Qin is too modest," said Michael Hui. "By the way, I heard Burger King is going public next month? I'll definitely be there to support them and buy your stock!"

"Haha, let's get rich together!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Hao looked at a report on his desk and smiled with satisfaction.

The report shows that since the "Transparent Kitchen" initiative began, Burger King's Hong Kong stores have seen a 40% increase in revenue and a 60% increase in customer traffic compared to the previous period. Many customers who didn't used to eat fast food have now become regulars—not because they love burgers, but because they want peace of mind.

More importantly, the brand image has been greatly enhanced. If you conduct a random survey on the streets of Hong Kong now and ask "Which restaurant is the cleanest?", eight out of ten people will answer "Burger King".

This kind of word-of-mouth effect cannot be bought with any amount of advertising money.

Meanwhile, news that Burger King was about to go public spread like wildfire in the investment community. Burger King, which was originally an unknown "little transparent", has now become a hot "potential stock".

With this achievement, Shi Fangren, who was in charge of distribution, successfully wrested control of the Shi Group from the eldest son's branch of the family. Shi Fangren became chairman, and Shi Xiaojun became vice general manager. (End of this chapter)