Ch 60: The World’s Number One Resort

“Finished already?” Half a minute later, Li Yuan looked at the empty plate before him, feeling a bit unsatisfied. A plate of tomato scrambled eggs and a bowl of rice — he devoured it all in just half a minute.

As a trending star, the company strictly controlled his physique. Not to mention high-oil, high-sugar foods; even a piece of broccoli had to be weighed. Li Yuan usually didn’t care much about food, believing he wasn’t a glutton. But after tasting this dish, he suddenly realized that there was so much more to life.

What kind of life had he been living for the past five years?

“How was it?” Li Yuan, lost in his thoughts, heard the cook approach him, looking a bit expectant.

He knew from her livestream that she was called Aunt Miley.

“It was very good; the eggs were tender…” After a moment of thought, Li Yuan steadied himself. On screen, he acted goofy, but in reality, he was more reserved and introverted. He rarely complimented others, but the dish Aunt Miley cooked was simply delicious.

Deciding to be sincere, he gave a straightforward review.

“This was a delightful day.” Though his words of praise were simple, his tone was genuine. Aunt Miley beamed with joy.

“Wait a moment.” Aunt Miley smiled so brightly that she practically radiated. Then, she walked back into the kitchen.

Li Yuan was baffled. Half a minute later, Aunt Miley returned with a transparent food container in hand.

“These are banana fritters I made,” Aunt Miley said with a hopeful look, extending the container toward Li Yuan.

“Manager Tang?” Li Yuan glanced at Tang Huai. Was this how compliments worked — with free gifts?

“Just accept it as a thank you for your kind words,” Tang Huai replied, gesturing for Li Yuan to take it. When Gao Yun had visited, she had received a fruit platter. This time, it was banana fritters. Tang Huai now understood Aunt Miley’s nature. She enjoyed compliments, but not without reciprocating. Simply put, praise comes with a gift!

Li Yuan looked at the banana fritters, feeling hesitant.

Banana fritters… high oil and high calories.

After some inner conflict, he decisively took the container. His entertainment career might be coming to an end anyway; why worry about maintaining his figure?

He wanted to eat, to indulge, to sing atop the snowy mountain.

In that brief moment, everything became clear to him.

“Thank you,” Li Yuan said sincerely to Aunt Miley as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Now, it was Aunt Miley’s turn to be confused. Why was this young man thanking her? Shouldn’t she be the one expressing gratitude?

Li Yuan smiled at her, unbothered by her puzzlement. If his mood had been cloudy when he arrived, now it was all clear skies.

He eagerly anticipated the next part of his journey.

“Goodbye.” As he reached the doorway, he waved to the others. His next stop was the Ice Castle.

Watching Li Yuan’s retreating figure, Tang Huai felt that both his posture and jawline looked strikingly familiar. Yet, he just couldn’t place it…

“You did great today.” Tang Huai refocused and praised Aunt Miley. Although it was her first livestream, her cooking skills and on-camera charisma were both outstanding.

“Thank you, Manager.” Aunt Miley’s eyes crinkled with joy. When the stream ended, her lone viewer had grown to three. As she had said earlier, it had indeed been a delightful day.

“We could open a specialty store selling Sora Island products…” Five minutes later, while Aunt Miley was exploring her streaming app, Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu discussed the island’s development plan.

With the island gradually attracting more visitors, setting up some self-operated shops could be put on the agenda.

The two talked until six in the evening. After dinner, Xie Yunshu went off to inspect the scenic areas. Tang Huai strolled around Sora Town before heading back to his courtyard.

The courtyard was similar in layout to a villa. Outside was a small garden, and inside, there were two floors: a living room and kitchen on the first floor, a study, and a master bedroom on the second. Despite its modest size, it had everything he needed, making it quite a comfortable residence.

After watching some TV, Tang Huai pondered for a moment and then opened the task interface.

Name: Tang Huai

Task Requirements: Collaborate with five A-list brands, 18/90 days.

Task Rewards: [Thrilling Racing] Scenic Card, [Sora Airport] Building Card, Two Lucky Spins.

Reputation Points: 250,000

After all the expenses during this period, the reputation points of Great Tang Resort had dwindled to just 250,000, reaching a bottleneck.

“Beep, beep—” While Tang Huai was lost in thought, a notification from the Weibo private message interface sounded. Ever since @GreatTangResort’s popularity on Douyin, its Weibo account had also gained a modest following.

Tang Huai occasionally updated it with scenic photos of Sora Island. After a little over a month of operation, the account now had 5 million followers. He had set messages from ‘following’ accounts to be pinned at the top. This message was evidently from one of those accounts.

He hesitated for a moment, then unlocked his phone, swiped to the Weibo icon, and clicked to open it—

@PizzaKing: “Hello, Mr. Tang. Our headquarters is very interested in collaborating with your resort. Please add WeChat HBDWlxxx for a detailed discussion, or call 152xxxxx.”

The message was sent by the official account of @PizzaKing.

‘Pizza King’ is a multinational American chain brand, alongside ‘Big Burger’ and ‘I Love Cheese,’ making up the three most famous fast food industries globally. These three are also the most common Western-style burger brands in China.

Three days ago, after categorizing all the A-list brands, Tang Huai began contacting them one by one through private messages.

He didn’t just send out messages randomly; he carefully selected whom to contact. Sora Town aimed to present itself as an international town, and having only a single restaurant, Delicious Restaurant, seemed a bit lacking.

Partnering with a fast-food brand was relatively straightforward, so after some consideration, Tang Huai sent private messages to @PizzaKing, @BigBurger, and @ILoveCheese.

@PizzaKing was the first to reply.

Tang Huai glanced at the time; it was ten o’clock at night. Sora Island was twelve hours behind China, so it was currently business hours there.

He switched to his work WeChat account and added the contact as indicated in the private message.

Great Tang Resort: Hello, this is Great Tang Resort.

Request approved.

Pizza King Assistant Han: Out at the moment, will contact you in half an hour.

The contact person for Pizza King was an assistant with the surname Han. Tang Huai noted the time and replied with an “OK” emoji.

Partnering with a fast-food brand falls under collaborating with an A-list brand, and the usual franchise fee is around 2 million yuan. Tang Huai wasn’t short on funds, and Pizza King’s response gave him an idea. He wondered what the franchise conditions for other A-list brands might be…

Tang Huai turned up his phone’s volume, went to freshen up, and when everything was done, it was already eleven o’clock.

He checked his phone, but there was still no reply from Assistant Han at Pizza King.

It had already exceeded the half-hour the assistant had mentioned.

Tang Huai clicked on Assistant Han’s profile for more details.

Status message: For work-related inquiries, call Assistant Han at 152XXXXXX.

There was a phone number in the status message.

Tang Huai waited another half an hour, which took them to dinnertime in China. After some thought, he directly called the work number.

“Ring, ring… Hello, this is Han Tao from Pizza King. Who is this?” A pleasant ringtone played, and thirty seconds later, a man’s voice, sounding around thirty years old, came through.

“Hello, this is Tang from Great Tang Resor—”

“Didn’t I say I’m out? I’ll call you later. Bye.”

Before Tang Huai could finish his introduction, the previously pleasant voice turned impatient. Before he could react, the call was abruptly disconnected.

Tang Huai frowned. If he wasn’t mistaken, there were sounds of waves in the background, along with the laughter of men and women, indicating the other party was in a relaxed environment. It wasn’t impossible to take a minute to explain.

The other party was already an hour and a half late. Within that time, they could have at least sent a message.

Tang Huai felt a surge of irritation. He was generally good-natured, but that didn’t mean he would take unwarranted disrespect.

Staring at ‘Assistant Han’s’ profile picture, Tang Huai clicked on the information and deleted the contact.

…

“Brother Han, who was that on the phone?” At the same time Tang Huai was getting ready for bed, a lanky man in his thirties was lounging under the sun at a beach resort in Sanur, Indonesia. A younger man nearby, who seemed like an assistant, asked curiously.

The man was Han Tao, a North American returnee who became Pizza King’s market assistant thanks to his uncle’s connections. His uncle happened to be the head of Pizza King’s China division.

“Just some small-time franchisee. What’s wrong with my subordinates? Why would they give out my WeChat? Annoying.” Han Tao complained.

Although Han Tao was just an assistant, his role was largely ornamental. His uncle, the head of Pizza King’s China division, had promised him that as long as he didn’t make any major mistakes at work, he would be promoted to deputy director in half a year, with future promotions to follow.

From Han Tao’s perspective, he was essentially the second-in-command of the marketing department. Having him follow up on a minor franchisee? What a joke.

His team had already sent over the franchisee’s information, but Han Tao was on vacation and didn’t want to deal with work. After all, everyone in the marketing department knew his position was mostly symbolic. A small franchisee of a few hundred square meters wasn’t something that should even reach his level. It was like having a top-ranking official settle a dispute over a stolen cow—completely beneath him!

“Forget it, give me the phone.” Han Tao grew increasingly irritated, but recalling his uncle’s promise, he decided to endure it.

He found @GreatTangResort’s WeChat and began typing a message.

Pizza King Assistant Han: Done with my stuff. Is your information prepared? Send it to my email.

[Friend verification needed; you are not…]

Before he could finish sending, a big exclamation mark popped up.

Han Tao: What the heck? Deleted?

Pizza King Assistant Han: Did you delete the wrong contact?

Five minutes passed with no response.

Han Tao sent three friend requests in a row, but when he received no reply, he confirmed that the other party had indeed deleted him.

Pizza King Assistant Han: *x3.

Han Tao, feeling furious, fired off three angry messages.

“Brother Han, is this really a good idea?” the young man beside him asked, exasperated by Han Tao’s actions. Han Tao’s work account had the ‘Pizza King’ prefix; he represented the brand’s image. Using an official account to send trash talk? A bit unprofessional.

“It’s fine. If anything, I’ll just get a few buddies to sign up as franchises to boost the numbers,” Han Tao replied, trying to maintain composure despite his impulsive behavior.

He had left the franchisee hanging for over an hour, and now they had the audacity to delete him? If they couldn’t handle a little inconvenience, how could they run a business?

After some self-reflection, Han Tao calmed down.

“Maybe you should call back and explain?” the young man suggested. Han Tao had graduated from a barely credible university—famous only in name. For the past few years, he had been wasting time abroad and had only returned to China last month to take up the position at Pizza King.

Strictly speaking, Han Tao was almost thirty and had never worked a proper job before. Perhaps because he had been spoiled all his life and had his uncle as the head of Pizza King’s China division, Han Tao genuinely thought he owned the place…

The young man, who had been in the workforce for a few years, found Han Tao’s mindset and approach to handling matters somewhat laughable.

Maybe he just started at too high a level.

“Call back? Yeah, right.” Han Tao glared at the young man. It would be insane to apologize right after sending trash talk…

The young man took a sip of coconut water. Fine, let him do what he wants.

It was just a minor incident. Soon, a curvy woman walked past them, and the two quickly shifted their focus to chatting her up.

…

“Is this really Pizza King?” The next morning, Tang Huai looked at Han Tao’s friend request with a sense of disbelief. His impression of Pizza King had taken a nosedive.

Tang Huai checked Han Tao’s profile and promptly blocked him.

Peace at last.

Tang Huai washed up and headed out. The AI workers on Sora Island had already started their day’s work.

After having breakfast at the Delicious Restaurant, Tang Huai opened the island’s map. Ten small green dots were scattered across the three scenic areas.

Each scenic area was equipped with professional patrol guards, cleaners, and service personnel. The AI workers ensured the basic operations of each region.

After observing for a while and confirming that both the tourists and AI were in good condition, Tang Huai didn’t pay them much more attention.

“Awooo—”

Just as Tang Huai was about to ride a balance bike to check on the Sora farmland, Da Huang came sprinting like a whirlwind. It was still a hundred pounds and hadn’t slimmed down. After confirming that Da Huang was healthy, Tang Huai decided not to push it further.

In fact, Da Huang was quite cuddly with its chubby physique, making it very pleasant to pet.

“Want to go to the farmland with me?” Tang Huai got off the bike and petted it a couple of times, suggesting the idea. Ever since Bianjing Ancient City opened up, Da Huang had been spending its days sliding down the ramps there, refusing to come back, and even riding the Route 10 bus daily to get there directly.

“Awooo.” This time, as Tang Huai finished speaking, Da Huang wagged its tail enthusiastically. It had played enough recently and was ready to take a break today before continuing its fun tomorrow.

Tang Huai gave it a couple more pats and then got back on the bike.

“Ring, ring—” Just as Tang Huai was about to leave, his phone in his pocket rang.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar Chinese number. Tang Huai thought for a moment before answering.

“Hello, is this Mr. Tang from Great Tang Resort?” A pleasant female voice came from the other end.

“And you are?” Tang Huai asked, puzzled.

“Hello, Mr. Tang. I’m Xu Li, a market specialist from Big Burger. We would like to discuss a potential collaboration with your resort. Besides our usual partnership plans, we have specially prepared a VIP plan tailored for your resort.” After confirming Tang Huai’s identity, Xu Li’s voice became even more cordial.

The call ended, and a PPT file containing more than thirty slides was sent to Tang Huai’s email.

Tang Huai found a nearby bench and sat down to review the document carefully.

Half an hour later, Tang Huai had a clear understanding of Big Burger’s proposal.

Big Burger would charge a symbolic franchise fee of just 10,000 USD. It would also send designers from its Los Angeles headquarters to manage staff training and interior decoration. Furthermore, Big Burger would offer the largest possible discount on ingredients. The terms seemed generous, but they came with two conditions.

First, Big Burger would hold exclusive branding rights on Sora Island. If they entered into a partnership, Sora Island would not be allowed to collaborate with competing brands such as Pizza King or I Love Cheese.

Second, Big Burger would have the priority for advertising in Sora Island’s scenic spots. For example, in future promotional videos, Tang Huai could subtly include Big Burger’s presence, with close-ups being ideal. Big Burger would compensate based on the video’s viewership.

“Mr. Tang, Big Burger is truly keen on collaborating with your resort.” An hour later, Xu Li called back, speaking with evident sincerity.

“Big Burger is a well-known brand that holds the memories of a generation. Sora Island is very interested in collaborating with Big Burger, but some terms will need to be adjusted…” Tang Huai began by praising the brand before shifting the conversation.

He could hear the sincerity in Xu Li’s voice, but the resort needed to maintain absolute control over Sora Town. Granting exclusive brand rights to Big Burger had a monopolistic undertone.

The longest duration Tang Huai was willing to accept was a year.

“I will report this to our headquarters,” Xu Li said after a deep breath. The main objective for Big Burger was the advertising priority. Since there was no major conflict, the collaboration was negotiable.

And so, over the next two days, a tug-of-war negotiation began between the two parties. This was a major collaboration that couldn’t be settled over just a phone call.

Big Burger would send a representative to visit soon. For now, they were in a honeymoon phase.

…

While things were progressing smoothly between Sora Island and Big Burger, Han Tao was wrapping up his trip to Indonesia.

“You and I, one heart, I give you a…” In the airport lounge, Han Tao was scrolling through Douyin on his phone. He would be returning to China the next day.

“You scumbag, you scumbag, you’re such a scumbag…”

“Ding ding, ding—”

Han Tao was in the middle of browsing when his phone rang. He frowned, ready to ignore it, but when he saw the caller, he immediately straightened up.

It was Han Shuguo, his uncle.

“Uncle Han…” Han Tao adjusted his tone, greeting warmly. His manner was polite and serious, making him seem like a well-mannered, cultured young man from a prestigious family.

“Yes, how’s the follow-up with Great Tang Resort going? Their franchise space isn’t large, but they have a high online presence; this is a big deal…” After a bit of small talk, Han Shuguo got straight to the point.

“What Great Tang Resort?” Han Tao froze, confused. What was he talking about?

“Didn’t the operations team send you the details? You haven’t contacted them? Han Tao, even though you’re my nephew, you can’t be incompetent. People have already started gossiping about you. This deal with Great Tang is an easy score… How are things going with your work in Shenzhen?” Han Shuguo frowned, his tone turning stern.

“I was just joking. I’ve been following up with Great Tang, and the work in Shenzhen is going smoothly…” Han Tao quickly composed himself, reflexively trying to reassure his uncle.

“Work hard.” Han Shuguo concluded, offering a short but pointed encouragement.

“Great Tang, Great Tang…” Han Tao mumbled to himself after hanging up, still feeling disoriented. The name Great Tang seemed familiar somehow.

“Is it that Great Tang from WeChat?” Thirty seconds later, it hit him.

Han Tao scrolled through his chat history and realized that the WeChat contact from a few days ago was indeed “Great Tang Resort.”

His face turned slightly pale. He took a deep breath and decided to try sending a message—

Pizza King Assistant Han: Are you there?

[Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.]

Han Tao: …

Staring at the rejection notification, Han Tao felt like crying.

He had been blocked.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️