Ch 59: The World’s Number One Resort

After swiping their cards, the group walked further into the town. Sora Town had a greenery coverage rate of over 60%. The moment they entered, they felt like they had stepped into a naturally lush town. The environment was clean and tidy, and every building was uniquely charming. Perhaps because it was newly constructed, all the basic facilities appeared pristine.

“Sora Street No. 1?” a German tourist noticed a street sign at the entrance and remarked curiously. In front of them was a wide asphalt road lined with tall, straight sycamore trees on both sides. When the wind blew, the leaves rustled pleasantly.

The German tourist took out his camera and snapped a few photos. As an amateur photographer who had collaborated with several travel magazines in his home country, he was on this trip to find inspiration.

The whole town exuded a serene calmness. The German tourist eagerly took numerous shots, capturing the peacefulness.

“Welcome to Great Tang Resort.”

“Great Tang Resort welcomes you.”

“There is a map of the town here…” The group continued down Sora Street No. 1. Along the way, the street cleaners noticed them, paused their work, and greeted them warmly.

Since there weren’t many tourists, the island adopted a policy of smiles and proactive greetings.

“Hello,” the tourists responded with a wave. They couldn’t help but notice that the cleaners didn’t seem fatigued or impatient; instead, they exhibited a sense of inner contentment.

It seemed that, for them, every profession had its dignity, and cleaning made them happy.

The group moved forward for about twenty meters before stopping. In front of them was a crossroads, next to which stood a five-meter-wide town map. The material of this map was similar to the announcement board at the entrance. Once they crossed this junction, they would officially be inside the town.

“This map seems a bit off…” Chen Liang commented curiously after examining it for a while. The buildings on the map were marked in pink, while the roads were in blue. However, only the blue markings were normal in color; most of the pink markings, except for ‘Office Building,’ ‘Delicious Restaurant,’ and ‘Sora Cinema,’ were a nearly transparent light pink.

The map was hard to decipher.

“These indicate ‘not in operation,'” Song Taiji explained seriously, pointing to the legend at the bottom. It had detailed explanations of the colors.

The group read through the labels: …

According to the legend, the normal pink indicated “in operation.” Sora Town had been fully constructed, but since Great Tang Resort was newly established, no businesses had moved in yet. It was, for the most part, an empty town.

“Well, let’s just enjoy the scenery,” Song Taiji remarked, snapping a few close-up shots of the town. Their main goal was sightseeing. It didn’t matter if there weren’t any commercial areas, as long as there was a restaurant and a hotel.

After crossing the junction, the group split into five smaller groups. When they bought their tickets, they learned that the accommodations on Sora Island currently included ‘Blue Sea Forest,’ ‘Ice Castle,’ ‘Snow Village Snow House,’ and ‘Bianjing Inn.’ The hotels in Sora Town were still under construction and not yet open to guests.

Each of these accommodations had its own unique charm, and the tourists were eager to experience them. Some couldn’t wait and immediately hopped on the buses heading to the scenic spots. Compared to the town, they were more excited to see the giant statues and the Swing with the wind.

Every tourist was searching for their own fun.

“This place could be the set for an urban romance drama…”

Half an hour later, Li Yuan was strolling around Sora Street No. 1, dragging his suitcase behind him.

Sora Town’s cozy and neat environment made it an ideal location for filming a Korean romance drama. However, at the thought of an idol drama, Li Yuan paused in his steps, the suitcase momentarily still.

He started taking on roles when he was a sophomore in college and has been in the industry for five years, starring in numerous idol dramas. However, those dramas were simply money-making ventures. Li Yuan believed he had some acting skills, but in the lazy and disorganized environment of the production teams, no amount of effort seemed to matter.

Li Yuan felt a bit self-mocking; after returning to his country this time, he probably wouldn’t even be able to land a role in idol dramas.

“Don’t be nervous; just act as you usually do…” While Li Yuan was lost in various thoughts, a distinctly Chinese voice came from nearby.

Sora Island was located in the eastern Pacific, where most people were fair-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Aside from the bald uncle he saw earlier, Li Yuan hadn’t encountered any other Chinese people. After some consideration, he followed the direction of the sound.

It was a quaint Chinese-style restaurant, with two large red lanterns hanging outside and five steps leading up to it. The building exuded a grand ethnic style. When he saw the sign “Delicious Restaurant,” a sense of familiarity washed over him. This was the taste of home.

The voice had come from inside, and without hesitation, Li Yuan stepped in.

“Relax, treat the first time as practice…” Inside the restaurant, Tang Huai was holding a selfie stick with his back to the door, patiently instructing Aunt Miley.

Aunt Miley was wearing a white chef’s uniform. In front of her was a chopping board with a knife, eggs, and seasonings. She looked both eager and nervous, with several AI assistants behind her, ready to help.

In the past few days, while Tang Huai was looking for ways to complete his tasks, he had also discussed the development plan for Sora Island with Xie Yunshu. With the global network in mind, Tang Huai decided to promote Great Tang Resort through online live streaming. As they were discussing this at Delicious Restaurant, Aunt Miley had listened with great interest.

After learning about the benefits of live streaming, Aunt Miley was itching to try it herself. She loved cooking and showing off her culinary masterpieces to guests.

Her expression practically screamed, “I can do it.” Tang Huai found it amusing. As people’s living standards improved, food-related live streams had become increasingly popular. With few tourists on Sora Island, Tang Huai fully supported Aunt Miley’s desire to give it a try.

Tang Huai had ordered a batch of smartphones earlier and gave one to Aunt Miley. After explaining the key points of live streaming, they arrived at this moment.

Tang Huai registered her on the platform “Xianyu Live,” under the username @SoraAuntMiley.

Currently, apps like Douyin and Black Bear dominated the short video market. As a former leader in live streaming, “Xianyu Live” had been on the decline over the past two years. However, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and Xianyu Live still held some status in the world of live streaming.

Initially, Tang Huai wanted to register on Douyin, but since Douyin mainly featured 15-second short videos, Aunt Miley’s cooking typically took half an hour to an hour. Compressing the videos would affect their overall quality, and Aunt Miley wasn’t keen on that idea either. Weighing both options, Tang Huai chose Xianyu Live.

At that moment, the @SoraAuntMiley live stream had been running for five minutes, with a fan count of 0 and 1 viewer.

Tang Huai was very curious about how that “1” viewer had found their way there.

“Ready?” Tang Huai adjusted the phone stand and asked Aunt Miley again. She was about to make stir-fried tomatoes and eggs. The ingredients—tomatoes, eggs, scallions, and soy sauce—were already prepared. All she needed to do was follow her usual steps.

“Ready.” Aunt Miley found the camera lens and nervously replied.

Tang Huai gave her an “OK” gesture, signaling her to relax.

“Hello, everyone. I am Aunt Miley from Great Tang Resort. I’m glad you’ve come to my live stream…” Aunt Miley took a deep breath and greeted the camera.

She treated her first live stream as practice.

For that “1” viewer… she would give it her all.

Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu stepped aside to watch attentively. @GreatTangResort had countless followers on both Douyin and Weibo. Tang Huai could have helped promote Aunt Miley’s stream online, but as soon as he suggested it, Aunt Miley flatly refused.

Aunt Miley’s personality was soft and gentle, but she wanted to earn recognition through her own efforts.

Tang Huai made no objections; with so few visitors on Sora Island, it was good for Aunt Miley to have a hobby.

After overcoming her initial nervousness, Aunt Miley focused on cooking seriously.

Tomato scrambled eggs is a simple homemade dish, but making a basic dish extraordinary is a skill in itself.

Beating the eggs, stir-frying the tomatoes… Aunt Miley’s movements became increasingly practiced and smooth.

The aroma of the eggs wafted from the plate.

“Tap, tap, tap—” Just as Tang Huai was engrossed in watching, the sound of footsteps came from nearby. Tang Huai turned around to see a person in a light-colored jacket, wearing large glasses and a mask, with a travel bag on his back. Tang Huai glanced outside; there was a small rolling suitcase at the door.

“Welcome,” Tang Huai greeted the man in a low voice. He had spoken to Alang on the phone two days ago and knew a group of tourists would be arriving today. However, since Great Tang Resort was now fully operational, the island could run on its own without him needing to personally greet each visitor.

“Hello.” Li Yuan nodded, placing his backpack on a wooden chair beside him. The entire restaurant had eight-immortal tables and pear-wood chairs, all designed in a grand and traditional Chinese style.

Li Yuan took in the surroundings. The restaurant, from its furnishings to the finer details, was aesthetically pleasing, indicating that the owner must have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese culture.

At the center of the hall, Aunt Miley was still earnestly engaged in her live stream. Li Yuan had no particular interest in cooking. Although Aunt Miley was focused, it was just a plate of tomato scrambled eggs—how could it turn into something extraordinary?

After watching for a bit, Li Yuan slung his backpack over his shoulder. It was 1 p.m., and he planned to head to Snow Village’s Ice Castle for the night.

He was about to leave but paused mid-turn.

Standing next to the young man was a ‘woman’ with long hair reaching her waist, dressed in casual clothing. Li Yuan had noticed this person when he first entered. However, since Xie Yunshu and Tang Huai were quietly conversing, he assumed they were a couple and, out of politeness, didn’t stare.

Now, as he turned around, he realized this was not a ‘woman’ at all, but a man—a strikingly handsome, long-haired man.

Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, Li Yuan had seen his fair share of attractive people. Tang Huai’s appearance had already surprised him, but he hadn’t expected someone equally remarkable to be standing right there.

The Great Tang Resort’s looks were no less than those of any entertainment company.

“Thank you all for watching. See you at the same time tomorrow,” Aunt Miley said, finishing up her live stream just as Li Yuan stood there, stunned.

“Grumble, grumble—”

After that brief interruption, Li Yuan no longer felt like leaving. His stomach let out a loud grumble.

He hadn’t noticed before, but now that he caught a whiff of it… the aroma of the tomato scrambled eggs was quite enticing.

“Manager Tang, what should we do with this plate of tomato scrambled eggs?” Aunt Miley asked hesitantly, pointing to the dish on the table as her live stream ended.

It was already past one o’clock, and they had finished lunch before eleven, so they weren’t hungry for the time being.

Tang Huai walked over to the table. The scrambled eggs were golden and crispy, looking more appealing than usual. Although Tang Huai wasn’t a food connoisseur, he had been eating Aunt Miley’s tomato scrambled eggs for some time now and could tell from experience how well this dish had turned out.

He glanced at the plate of eggs and then turned to Li Yuan, revealing a smile with eight white teeth, “Half price, interested?”

Two minutes later, Li Yuan was sitting on a pear-wood chair in the Delicious Restaurant, staring at the plate of golden-red tomato scrambled eggs in front of him, feeling a bit dazed.

Half price, fifty dollars, and just like that, it was gone in a moment of weakness.

Li Yuan wasn’t short on money, but spending fifty dollars on a plate of tomato scrambled eggs was not something he had planned. Being wealthy and being a fool were two different things.

He felt like he had fallen into a beauty trap. It wasn’t that he had any thoughts about Tang Huai or Xie Yunshu’s looks, but it was rare to encounter such outstanding appearances among ordinary people. Everyone appreciates beauty… In short, he had been swayed by handsome faces.

Since he had asked about the price before purchasing, and it was his own choice, Li Yuan decided not to dwell on it.

He could just consider it a luxury of traveling to a distant place.

“Should I be grateful that the rice is free…” he muttered quietly, picking up the bowl of rice on the table. The rice was sourced from Mexico, and since Li Yuan was the first customer in a while, Tang Huai had thrown in the rice for free.

Li Yuan was ready to eat, but the mask on his face was in the way.

After some thought, he glanced around at the others before finally removing the mask, leaving only his sunglasses.

He had sneaked out and didn’t want to be recognized by any fellow Chinese.

Xie Yunshu and Aunt Miley didn’t recognize Li Yuan. Tang Huai only found Li Yuan’s jawline somewhat familiar but didn’t think much of it.

Seeing that no one had any particular reaction to his appearance, Li Yuan exhaled a sigh of relief before turning his attention to the expensive tomato dish before him.

He picked up a piece of tomato. The skin was still attached to the flesh, making it look quite appealing.

“Is this really a tomato?”

Li Yuan took a bite, his expression suddenly freezing. A tomato? It’s just another name for an everyday household vegetable. He had eaten countless tomatoes growing up, but none had ever left such an impression.

The tomato was slightly sour, slightly sweet, and had a hint of fermentation that made his taste buds tingle with delight.

Next, he reached for the scrambled eggs.

The eggs were fresh and tender, tasting just like regular eggs but with an added layer of savory richness.

Li Yuan suddenly remembered an old animated show called Cooking Master Boy, where food was shown with exaggerated special effects. He had always thought those effects were just over-the-top. But now, he could fully relate to those exaggerated portrayals.

After a couple of bites, Li Yuan grabbed a few mouthfuls of rice and then continued devouring the dish non-stop.

As he finished the plate of tomato scrambled eggs, Li Yuan felt like he had just experienced a Michelin-star meal.

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