Ch 66: The World’s Number One Resort

Fifteen minutes later, everyone boarded a blue-gray sightseeing bus, which didn’t have a designated route, as it was the office shuttle bus for Sora’s administrative building.

“Sora Town’s hotel is still under construction, so you’ll all be staying at the Blue Ocean Treehouse for the next few days. Up ahead is the Sora Office Building; once we turn this corner, we’ll be there…”

“Was the town built recently? The environment is well-designed, and the planner did a great job.”

“FillTech Company… I think I’ve seen that name in financial reports.”

“It feels a bit quiet; it would be better if the town were a bit livelier.”

At the front of the bus, Xie Yunshu patiently explained things to the group. They listened while curiously observing the scenery outside the windows.

They were all top-level representatives from China, totaling forty-seven people, including Han Tao. The bus was divided into two, with Han Tao sitting on the second bus.

On the second bus, Han Tao turned his temporary Sora pass in his hand, looking a bit uneasy. This was the temporary pass for Sora Island, which he had exchanged using his Pizza King work ID.

However, since Xie Yunshu was the one handling the reception, he wasn’t sure if Tang Huai remembered him.

Hopefully, he doesn’t…

Han Tao hoped to blend in unnoticed.

“Are you the representative from Pizza King?” As Han Tao mulled things over, the middle-aged man in front of him turned around. The man, named Lu Zhen, was the representative from PEA.

“Yes,” Han Tao replied, composing himself.

“Your fruit pizza’s salad dressing is too sweet; you might want to adjust the flavor. The fries are good, though…” Lu Zhen, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was clearly quite chatty.

Han Tao awkwardly stayed silent; he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“You came here alone?” After talking for a while, Lu Zhen finally noticed the situation. PEA had come with five representatives, with Lu Zhen leading and the other four as assistants. Brands like Hemis and Big Burger had similar arrangements. In comparison, Pizza King seemed rather solitary.

“I… can handle it alone,” Han Tao forced a smile.

“In that ca—”

“We’ve arrived at the Sora Building.”

Before Lu Zhen could say more, the sightseeing bus stopped. They had arrived at a silver-white building. The building was five stories tall, quite grand, and resembled a rural government office in China. The group followed Xie Yunshu inside.

They headed to the meeting room on the second floor, where three staff members were setting up.

“These are specialties of Sora Island; please feel free to enjoy them,” Xie Yunshu invited, pointing to the various fruit trays on the oval conference table.

Red chrysanthemum fruit, mulberries, starfruit, and green plums… The fruit trays looked exquisite and appealing. As hosts, Tang Huai naturally wanted to offer some hospitality since they were discussing potential partnerships with top-tier brands.

“In that case, we won’t be polite,” one of them replied. The fruits were vibrant and fragrant, attracting their attention immediately. With Xie Yunshu’s invitation, they didn’t hold back.

They started cautiously taking small bites at first, but soon, they devoured the fruits in no time.

The fruits were incredibly, unbelievably delicious!

…

“I’ve gained three pounds…” Meanwhile, at Sora Island’s Fruit Kingdom, Tang Huai looked at Da Huang, who was in the mulberry field, feeling rather helpless. He wasn’t ignoring the brand representatives; he was truly in the Fruit Kingdom.

Tang Huai hadn’t seen Da Huang for three days, so he decided to come early in the morning to find him. After searching through over ten different fruit zones, he finally found Da Huang in the mulberry field.

But…

At this moment, Da Huang looked drowsy, covered in Fruit Kingdom’s leaves, with bits of foliage stuck to his mouth. He had visibly put on some weight compared to five days ago, now appearing rounder.

“Woof woof—” Upon seeing Tang Huai, Da Huang let out a bark. These past few days had been truly blissful for him.

Tang Huai picked up Da Huang and took him to a nearby stream to clean him up before checking the time on his phone.

It was now eleven in the morning.

The group was initially scheduled to arrive at one in the afternoon, but due to the calm weather in recent days, the Great Tang No.1 had arrived two hours early.

Now that Da Huang had been found, Tang Huai instructed him not to overindulge and rode his balance bike toward Sora Town.

For some reason, despite Da Huang gaining three pounds, his fur seemed shinier, and he appeared more agile than before.

The feeling Da Huang gave off… was somewhat reminiscent of an evolving AI?

While Tang Huai pondered this mix of thoughts, twenty minutes later, he arrived at the Sora Building.

“Is there really a fruit orchard on Sora Island? Is it grown in a greenhouse?”

“Technology truly changes lives; I’m getting more impressed with FillTech.”

“Hey, where did the orange I left go?”

…

Tang Huai reached the second-floor meeting room and opened the door. Inside, everyone was leaning back in their chairs, patting their stomachs and chatting contentedly. On the dark conference table were empty plates and fruit remnants.

“Manager Tang.” Noticing Tang Huai’s arrival, Xie Yunshu discreetly made way for him at the head of the table.

“Manager Tang? So young!”

“Haha, I heard that Great Tang Resort has investments from Chinese entrepreneurs?”

The representatives were initially taken aback by Tang Huai’s appearance, then greeted him warmly. They had only communicated over the phone before and hadn’t expected him to be this young and handsome.

“Hello, everyone. Here is the proposed cooperation agreement from Great Tang…” Tang Huai greeted them with a smile. He casually picked up a stack of documents from the conference table, which he had prepared in advance.

The specifics of the partnership would still require detailed contracts.

Tang Huai’s proposal was straightforward and divided into three main points. First, Great Tang would act as the franchisee, providing facilities, staff, and other basic infrastructure while procuring goods through legitimate channels, handling profits and losses independently. Second, Great Tang would adopt the suggested retail prices from each brand and avoid any actions that might damage the brand’s image. Third, Great Tang would provide tourism promotion for the brands.

Given the many secrets of Sora Island, these three points were carefully crafted by Tang Huai.

“Franchise cooperation?” The representatives listened to Tang Huai’s suggestion, frowning slightly. Brands like PEA and Hemis were managed and staffed directly by their headquarters and had never taken on franchise agents…

“Sora Island is located overseas. If your company were to manage it directly, issues such as recruitment, accommodation, and procurement would pose significant challenges,” Tang Huai calmly analyzed the pros and cons.

“What exactly does the tourism promotion include?” After Tang Huai finished, Xu Li, the representative from Big Burger, asked. While PEA and Hemis were considering this internally, brands like Big Burger and UU Clothing didn’t have these concerns. They operated through franchises.

Xu Li, twenty-eight years old, matched the friendly demeanor she had shown in previous phone conversations.

“There are various forms of tourism promotion. For example, Great Tang will feature advertisements on Douyin videos and along the main streets of Sora Town. For the first three years of our partnership, Great Tang will waive all advertising fees, but this offer is limited to the first batch of well-known partners.” Tang Huai directly presented a significant incentive.

Great Tang Resort currently had a substantial following on Douyin and Weibo, though not irreplaceable. What really caught their attention was the opportunity for advertisements in Sora Town itself. During their journey, they had seen Sora Town’s scale with their own eyes. The environment on Sora Island was stunning, and they had a hunch that Great Tang Resort would eventually become an international tourist destination.

Having their brand’s advertisements in Sora Town would be a massive endorsement of their brand’s global reach.

Moreover, as Tang Huai mentioned, if they were to manage the logistics, transportation, labor, and accommodation, these would all involve considerable costs.

“Manager Tang, may we take two days to discuss this?” The representatives exchanged whispers among themselves. Although there were eight brands present, aside from Big Burger and Pizza King, there wasn’t direct competition between them.

The atmosphere among the group was relatively harmonious. They were merely negotiation representatives, and the specific terms of the deal would require approval from their headquarters.

“Of course,” Tang Huai replied with a smile. The conversation then shifted from business negotiations to casual chit-chat. Having enjoyed Tang Huai’s hospitality, their initial positive impression of Sora Island had now reached its peak, especially after tasting the fruits provided by Great Tang.

At the end of the day, these representatives weren’t the company owners; they were just employees. Tang Huai’s proposal was reasonable, and though they didn’t show it outwardly, they had already accepted his terms internally. As for whether the cooperation would happen… they planned to advocate for it earnestly with their headquarters.

After some casual conversation, Tang Huai led the group to the Delicious Restaurant, where Aunt Miley had already prepared nearly fifty dishes for them.

As the representatives savored the food, they felt their sense of happiness reach its peak.

Having worked in their respective fields for so many years, they had been hosted by many business partners. However, never before had a hospitality experience felt so refreshingly pleasant.

First, Sora Island delighted their eyes; then, it pleased their palates. The whole experience was simply fantastic!

After several rounds of drinks, the group boarded the No. 6 sightseeing bus to Blue Sea Lake. Tang Huai had already arranged their accommodation.

Upon reaching Blue Sea Lake, they followed the markings on their Sora access cards to the Blue Sea Treehouses. The treehouses, surrounded by a refreshing natural environment, were a sight to behold.

The Sora access card was a new type of electronic card that displayed glowing values. As the group headed to their respective rooms, near Blue Sea Lake, Han Tao shook his card vigorously.

His access card appeared brand new and undamaged. However… why wasn’t the screen lighting up?

“Mr. Xie, where is my room? Is this card broken?” Xie Yunshu happened to be passing by, and Han Tao quickly inquired respectfully.

Xie Yunshu’s demeanor was impeccable, and speaking with him made Han Tao instinctively adopt a more formal manner.

“This is an empty card. It needs to be recharged,” Xie Yunshu explained with a smile after inspecting the card.

“What about theirs?” Han Tao pointed to the others, looking somewhat displeased. Why was he the only one with an empty card?

“Pizza King is not on the list of invited guests for Sora Island. While today’s meal is complimentary, all future expenses will need to be paid for,” Xie Yunshu replied calmly.

Earlier, everyone had submitted their company’s letter of intent. Han Tao had also tried to blend in by submitting his.

Tang Huai wasn’t one to forget easily. When he saw the keywords “Pizza King” and “Han Tao,” he immediately recognized who Han Tao was. Although Han Tao hadn’t said much, his voice was rather distinctive…

Hmph, Tang Huai could hold a grudge.

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