Chapter 261: Good Mommy Refrigerator?
By the time Mu Jingzhe finally pulled together the team for the undergarments and Mai Miao joined in, Shao Dong had already made great progress.
The funds were in place and the workers were awesome, so they were able to produce refrigerators. Furthermore, the quality was also up to industry standards. They were about to mass-produce and launch them in the market.
They were currently discussing a name that was vibrant, memorable, and wouldn’t be confused with anything else.
Shao Dong asked for everyone’s opinion to see if there were any good suggestions. Xiao Wu was the first to respond. “We’ll call the refrigerator ‘Bingbing[1]’.”
“Bingbing Refrigerator? This refrigerator brand sounds like a person’s name. No.” Shao Dong shook his head.
Many modern brand names flashed across Mu Jingzhe’s mind. Perhaps because she knew too much, she couldn’t think of any names for a while. She was afraid that those brand names would come out of her mouth, so she didn’t say anything.
On the other hand, Shao Xi, Shao Qihai, and Shao Nan helped by giving him ideas. However, their suggestions weren’t very appropriate. Shao Xi’s ideas were too bold and unconstrained, Shao Nan’s ideas were too straightforward, and Shao Qihai’s ideas were not flexible enough.
“Mommy, do you have any suggestions?” Shao Dong could only ask Mu Jingzhe.
“I haven’t thought of any yet.” Mu Jingzhe asked in turn, “What have you thought of?”
“That’s right, Brother. You didn’t even tell us what you thought of.”
Shao Dong pursed his lips as he recalled his list. “Actually, I thought of one. I don’t know if it’s appropriate. It’s… Good Mommy.”
Mu Jingzhe blinked. Good Mommy? Could the refrigerator be called that?
Shao Dong coughed and explained, “Mommy is a warm word. It also means that a refrigerator can keep food fresh. I was thinking of Mommy when I came up with this name.”
Shao Dong emphasized that he had been thinking of Mu Jingzhe. Previously, when Shao Qihai had discussed going to visit Bai Lu on her death anniversary with him, Shao Dong had wanted to go. After all, he had never been there.
Although Mu Jingzhe had said that she didn’t care, he felt that he had let Mu Jingzhe down. Now that he was talking about ‘Mommy’, Shao Dong didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to think that the good mother he was talking about was his biological mother.
He had come up with this brand name mostly because of Mu Jingzhe.
As soon as Shao Dong said that, Shao Xi and the others nodded. “This is just like Mommy. It’s indeed quite good.”
Mu Jingzhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Nobody names a refrigerator brand that way, right? Why don’t you call it ‘Five Siblings’ then?”
“No one names a refrigerator brand ‘Five Siblings’ either, right?” Shao Dong argued. “I like the name ‘Good Mommy’ the most. But if Mommy doesn’t think it’s good, we can also name the brand ‘Jingzhe’.”
“Don’t come up with a brand name that revolves around me. There are very few brands that are named after solar terms[2]. Let’s change it.”
Mu Jingzhe then laughed. “Now that you mentioned this, I was reminded of your uncle. Good Uncle Refrigerator.”
This made everyone laugh. After Xiao Wu finished laughing, he even commented seriously, “But actually, ‘Good Uncle’ is quite good too, just like ‘Good Mommy’.”
“Then the name ‘Good Brother’ isn’t bad either,” Mu Jingzhe said casually. Then, she suddenly paused. “Hmm… ‘Good Brother’ is seriously not bad. Look, I’ve already thought of an advertising slogan for you. Good Brother Refrigerator: Keeps it fresh for you.”
Shao Dong: “…”
“Really. See, ‘Good Mommy Refrigerator’ actually doesn’t sound as catchy as ‘Good Brother Refrigerator’.”
Shao Dong: “I’m afraid that when the time comes, everyone will change the slogan to Good Brother Refrigerator: It gives you nightmares[3]!”
Mu Jingzhe exclaimed, “That’s fine too! If people find it interesting, they’ll remember it. As long as they remember the name, it’s good.”
Mu Jingzhe laughed. “Don’t doubt me. Aren’t you going to make televisions and washing machines in the future? When the time comes, the slogan can be changed to: Good Brother Television: Keeps you entertained. As for the washing machine, it’ll be: Good Brother Washing Machine: Keeps you pretty! How catchy.”
Initially, Mu Jingzhe had only suggested this casually, but the more she spoke, the more she felt that it was really catchy. “I’m such a genius. I’ve even thought of advertising slogans for you. Little Dong, what do you think?”
At first, Shao Dong had really wanted to name it ‘Good Mommy’. However, Mu Jingzhe’s suggestions really sounded rather catchy.
Little Bei and the rest also repeated it a few times. “It does seem to be very catchy.”
“Right?”
Shao Xi actually quite liked the name ‘Good Mommy’ too, so he argued. “But ‘Good Mommy TV’, ‘Good Mommy Washing Machine’, and ‘Good Mommy Refrigerator’ sound catchy too. Good Mommy Refrigerator: Keeps it fresh for you. Good Mommy TV: Keeps you warm. Good Mommy Washing Machine: Keeps the love alive. These advertising slogans also sound very catchy.”
“But this name doesn’t create as deep an impression as ‘Good Brother’ does.” Mu Jingzhe disagreed.
Shao Xi looked at Shao Dong, who laughed. “Indeed.”
After raising their hands to vote, Shao Dong heard Shao Qihai say faintly, “Why didn’t anyone propose ‘Good Daddy’ just now? Didn’t you all say that you love me?”
Mu Jingzhe burst into laughter. She had heard of the brand ‘Good Daddy’.
Shao Dong: “…”
He thought for a moment. “In the future, I’ll use the name ‘Good Daddy’ when I have the chance.”
Shao Qihai didn’t believe a single word. Shao Xi and the others looked at each other and returned to their rooms with smiles on their faces. “I’m going to read my readers’ letters. The publishing house sent a box over.”
The books published by Shao Xi were popular, and he would receive letters from readers from time to time. His address was naturally not publicized. The agreement was that the letters would be sent to the publishing house, and the publishing house would then send them over to Shao Xi.
Little Bei was interested. “Another box came? I’ll come take a look too. I’ll see if there’s any difference between your letters and mine.”
“Probably. My readers are mainly children.” Shao Xi held Little Bei’s hand, and Shao Nan and Xiao Wu followed them.
Sending letters required money to buy stamps. However, other than families that were in a particularly difficult financial situation, many parents who saw that their children liked to write letters would encourage them to do so.
Firstly, it was excellent that Shao Xi had published a book at such a young age, as it made him a role model worth emulating. The parents wouldn’t object to their kids writing to him. Secondly, this could train the children’s ability to express themselves and write, increase their interest, and make them fall in love with essays.
Many parents even asked their kids to write the address on the envelopes themselves and told them how to send the letters. This was also something worth teaching their children.
Hence, Shao Xi received letters from many children and adults alike. Some of them even used pinyin when they didn’t know how to write certain words.
Shao Xi liked to read replies from fans because this was also a form of communication. He could use this chance to understand the thoughts of many children and see some of the outside world through their letters.
As long as a letter was sent to Shao Xi, he would read it seriously. He would feel happy when readers praised him, but when there was criticism, he could also accept it. However, if he encountered someone who had written to scold him, he would retort as he read the letter. He wouldn’t let go of a single word and he’d use words much more ruthlessly than said reader.
Fortunately, he only retorted verbally and didn’t really reply. Otherwise, his sharp words would shut those people up.
Fortunately, there were very few people who wrote to scold him. Otherwise, if he got angry, Shao Xi might really reply in writing.
He rarely replied, but when he had time, he would pick out some letters to reply to.
Shao Xi and Little Bei read the letters for a while. Fortunately, they didn’t see anyone scolding him. He was in a good mood, so he picked out the letters he wanted to reply to and a letter that had already been answered once.
[1] Meaning ice-cold
[2] Jingzhe is the 3rd of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar
[3] Ghosts are sometimes called ‘good brothers’