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Before the Castle: How Mixue Was Really Built, 1997–2017
FoodBud translated and annotated Zhang Hongfu's first-person memoir in twelve parts, separating the source text from FoodBud analysis, timeline, and notes.
Before the Castle, Part 1 — Origins: Before the First Cone (1931–1996)
Before 60,000 stores and a Hong Kong IPO, Mixue began with rural poverty, a village beating, and a brother's scholarship. FoodBud's translated, annotated edition of co-founder Zhang Hongfu's memoir - Part 1.
Before the Castle, Part 2 — 1997: The Shaved-Ice Winter ("Three Deaths, Three Rebirths")
Mixue's 1997 founding had no investors and no plan - just a self-built ice shaver, a grandmother's 3,000 yuan, and three failed stalls. FoodBud's translated, annotated edition of co-founder Zhang Hongfu's memoir - Part 2.
Before the Castle, Part 3 — 1998–2003: Walls Down, Doors Open
From a failed Hefei candied-hawthorn detour to the first Mixue Bingcheng sign, a student restaurant, SARS, and the abandoned factory that became Mixue's operating base - Part 3 of FoodBud's translated and annotated edition of Zhang Hongfu's memoir.
Before the Castle, Part 4 — 2003–2006: The Compound, the Competitors, and the First Cone
Inside Mixue's home-style restaurant compound, Zhang Hongchao learned high-volume foodservice, defeated discount competitors, and launched the Super Ice Castle cone that led back to ice cream.
Before the Castle, Part 5 — 2007: The First Franchisee, the First Store, and the First Winter
Zhang Hongfu drops out, buys secondhand machines with his wife's savings, opens one of Mixue's first franchise stores, and learns why low-price chains need discipline and winter products.
Before the Castle, Part 6 — 2008–2009: The Olympic Year, Iced Coffee, and the First Company Shape
In 2008, Mixue expanded fast, lost fragile stores, discovered one-yuan iced coffee, and began turning a family workshop into a company with a logo, culture, website, and departments.
Before the Castle, Part 7 — 2009–2011: Store Patrols, Self-Taught Design, and the High-End Fantasy
From store patrols and self-taught design to a failed high-end tea-drink concept, Zhang Hongfu explains how Mixue learned that better product and experience matter more than higher price.
Before the Castle, Part 8 — 2012: Responsibility, the 3000 Plan, and the Birth of Lemonade
Zhang Hongfu takes on heavier responsibility, launches the 3000 Plan, rebuilds Mixue's office culture, and explains how a franchisee conflict led to Mixue's lemonade.
Before the Castle, Part 9 — 2013: Lemonade Upgrades, Supply Shortages, Warmth Plans, and Buddhist Reflection
Mixue upgrades lemonade from three to four yuan, confronts supply shortages during rapid store growth, launches the Warm Heart Plan, and Zhang Hongfu reflects on anxiety through Buddhist philosophy.
Before the Castle, Part 10 — 2014–2015: Big Boasts, a New Headquarters, Matcha, and the National Push
Zhang Hongfu recalls Mixue's 2014-2015 confidence surge: a new headquarters, national free logistics, matcha publicity, 500% growth targets, and rapid expansion beyond Henan.
Before the Castle, Part 11 — 2015: From Overconfidence to the First Great Store Patrol
Zhang Hongfu recalls how Mixue's 2015 overexpansion met 1DianDian, exposed QSC failures, triggered a national store patrol, and led to slowing down and five unifications.
Before the Castle, Part 12 — 2016–2017: Rooting Down, Product Conflict, Chengdu Speed, and the 20th Birthday
Zhang Hongfu closes the Mixue founder memoir with 2016's Pangen correction, product conflicts, Chengdu branch launch, and the 2017 twentieth-anniversary celebration.
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