Chapter 41: Determining the Direction

After chatting with Zhao Yaqian for a while longer, Tang Song's worries finally subsided.

As it stood, there didn't seem to be any issues in his relationship with his beautician friend.

As for why she hadn't replied to his invitation to go shopping, it was perhaps just some little feminine whim.

He had never been good at this; much like when facing his "white moonlight," he could never quite figure out what she was thinking.

Shaking his head, he cast his cluttered thoughts aside.

Tang Song opened the system interface again, his eyes fixed intently on the balance column.

【Balance: 63,000 RMB (Investment Fund: 1 million)】

With no more debt, his net worth stood at 1.063 million. Furthermore, under the influence of the title [The Popular Me], he could generate new income at any moment.

He had, in a true sense, achieved a certain level of financial freedom.

The feeling was truly wonderful.

Money might not be omnipotent, but it could solve 99% of an ordinary person's troubles.

After staring at his asset information for a while, Tang Song suddenly slapped his forehead.

That's right, his parents' phones needed replacing.

They were still using low-end Honor phones from several years ago; the Kirin 710 processor was struggling, and his father frequently complained about running out of memory.

Tang Song immediately opened his computer and spent some time browsing on JD.com.

In the end, he placed an order for two Honor 80 Pros.

They were slim, the system was familiar and easy to use, and the screens were relatively eye-friendly.

He chose black for his father and pink for his mother. Both were the top-spec 12+512G models, costing a total of 7,600 RMB.

After buying the phones, Tang Song checked his balance again, still feeling a bit restless.

The family refrigerator had been in use for over ten years—he had bought it when he was in middle school. Its 185L capacity couldn't satisfy his mother's desire to cook, and it was incredibly noisy.

His parents were used to eating leftovers, so a microwave was also a necessity.

Then there was the family TV; the screen was small and the resolution was low, which wasn't good for his parents' eyes.

...

Right after Tang Song graduated, his family had hit a rough patch, and life had been tight ever since.

After paying off the debts, he had to save up to buy a house and get married.

The household appliances and furniture had always been just "good enough," and they were long overdue for an upgrade.

Now that he was no longer short on money, he naturally wanted to fulfill this wish first.

After finishing his shopping and calculating the total, he had spent nearly 20,000 RMB. Looking at the long list of orders, his heart was filled with a sense of achievement.

Picking up his phone, he sent a WeChat message to his mother: "Mom, I recently took on some freelance work and made a bit of money. I bought some things for the house; they should arrive in the next couple of days. Remember to collect them."

Having finished this, Tang Song stretched, leaned back in his chair, and opened Xiaohongshu.

He planned to collect suggestions from netizens to make a simple plan for his upcoming video production. After all, this was tied to his primary source of income, so it had to be taken seriously.

He opened the note he had posted this morning.

The view count was only around 500, and the likes and comments were both in the single digits.

After carefully reading and replying to the few existing comments, Tang Song's brow furrowed slightly.

It seemed the data had been getting worse over the last two days, and the netizens' enthusiasm for commenting was low.

Tang Song clicked on his most recent notes and analyzed them for a while, gradually realizing where the problem lay.

To attract fans and gain attention, he had mostly been posting daily.

Aside from the occasional styling sessions, meetings with goddesses, or outings, he mostly just recorded his three meals, workouts, and weight.

After the initial novelty wore off, the netizens' curiosity regarding this content had steadily declined.

In the field of "ordinary person transformations," only content that truly had highlights, conflict, and contrast had a market.

Thinking of this, Tang Song's train of thought suddenly clicked into place.

If he wanted to accumulate fans through organic traffic, he had to pursue a high-quality, "boutique" route.

Target a specific flaw, perform a targeted transformation, create content with strong contrast, and intersperse it with shared transformation experiences.

This would both satisfy the netizens' desire for "glow-ups" and provide a certain level of educational value. This was the true long-term strategy for him.

Next, Tang Song began to earnestly sift through the comments on his previous notes.

Some advised him on skincare, some on hair care, some suggested trying makeup, and there were many suggestions regarding outfits.

When he scrolled to one particular post, a long comment caught his eye.

【Little Red Riding Hood: "Blogger, good posture is very important; it can make you look more elegant and upright. Your forward head posture is quite severe. As requested by @YaoyaoLing, I have compiled a correction tutorial. Stand straight, cross your arms behind your back, drop your shoulders..."】

Below that, she had written several hundred words, accompanied by several images; it was very thoughtful.

Checking the date, it was posted a few days ago. At the time, he had been busy buying a car, collecting his house, and going on a road trip, so he hadn't noticed the comment.

Correcting posture was indeed a good direction. In his previous selfies and videos, he was always in his most natural state.

Sloping shoulders, a hunched back, shrugging, and forward head posture—these minor postural flaws were real and were affecting his appearance.

If he could correct them and make a "before and after" comparison video, the effect should be quite good.

Tang Song copied "Little Red Riding Hood's" comment into his memo and left a message: "Received. Thank you for the expert guidance. I'll start practicing today."

After sending the message, Tang Song was surprised to find a familiar ID beneath that long comment.

【YaoyaoLing: "This is an expert I paid a heavy price to get for you! She's been dancing since she was a child; you can't go wrong by listening to her!"】

Now *this* was a high-quality fan!

Not only did she offer ideas herself, but she also mobilized the resources around her.

Tang Song couldn't help but give her a like and replied: "Thank you so much for your continuous support and encouragement, beautiful. If you ever come to Yancheng to visit, contact me—food and lodging are on me!"

...

In the afternoon, Tang Song submitted his leave request for Monday in the OA system.

Then, using the excuse of conducting demand analysis, he had a good chat with several colleagues in the sales department.

He mainly sought to gain a basic understanding of the operating models of online distributors and e-commerce companies. These frontline sales personnel had the most contact with these channel customers and understood them best.

Returning to his workstation, after organizing the information he had gathered over the past two days, Tang Song became increasingly certain of his entrepreneurial direction.

Live-streamed e-commerce for apparel.

This was currently the industry model with the highest survival and success rates.

E-commerce platforms broke geographical limitations, lowered operating costs, reduced intermediate links, and improved operational efficiency.

Through big data analysis, one could more accurately identify potential consumer groups, optimize inventory management, and reduce the risk of inventory backlog.

Given his current situation, if he had an industry insider like Gao Mengting to help him, the feasibility was extremely high.

(End of Chapter)