Ch 75: The World’s Number One Resort

After the grand opening of the Great Tang Resort, Tang Huai and the AI held a large bonfire party. With powerful music pumping, the entire event was filled with energetic singing and dancing, creating a lively atmosphere.

At 5 a.m., Tang Huai returned to the island owner’s courtyard.

Yu You: Good night.

Yu You: Here’s the video of the fireworks from earlier. It’s wonderful. [Video]

Yu You: Sweet dreams.

Tang Huai washed up and checked his phone. Yu You had sent these messages two hours ago, during the peak of the bonfire party. Unable to stay up any longer, Yu You had gone to sleep.

After ending their previous conversation, Tang Huai hadn’t checked his phone again, so he was surprised to see three more messages. He paused for a moment, then began to type a response.

Tang Huai: Thank you. The party just ended. Sweet dreams. [Happy New Year]

After sending his reply, Tang Huai opened Yu You’s video.

The video captured the entire process from the unveiling of the “Great Tang Resort” sign to the fireworks display, lasting three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The video perfectly showcased the entire event. Perhaps because of the shooting angle, the fireworks looked even more magnificent than in person, appearing like vibrant clusters. Tang Huai watched every frame without skipping any, mesmerized by this stunning sky display.

Tang Huai: The editing is amazing! [Impressive]

He couldn’t resist sending another reply. During the live broadcast, Yu You had managed to save and edit the entire video, showing how much effort he had put into it.

Now, it was 5:15 a.m., and Tang Huai wasn’t feeling sleepy yet. He saved the video and began preparing a Douyin post.

Great Tang Resort: Happy New Year! Wishing everyone good fortune and prosperity. [Video]

The video highlighted the most exciting part of the unveiling. The full version was uploaded on Weibo.

After completing everything, it was already 5:30 a.m. Tang Huai turned off the lights and went to sleep.

“Did the Great Tang Resort just post on Douyin? Wow, where did they get that sign? It looks so impressive.”

“Oh my gosh, are those fireworks? They’re even better than the ones in our small city square!”

“The camera angle is so high! That’s Sora Town in the background. Wow, the red lanterns look so beautiful. I want to go there!”

Today was the first day of the new year. While the older family members went out to pay New Year’s visits, the younger ones stayed home with snacks and candies, passing the time while waiting for younger relatives to visit and scrolling through their phones.

Douyin and Weibo were some of the few forms of entertainment.

Since the Thrilling racing and Fruit Kingdom attractions came into view, interest in the Great Tang Resort had surged again. Now, the resort’s Douyin followers had surpassed 30 million, making it a genuine Douyin star.

As those staying up late browsed through Weibo, they naturally came across the Great Tang Resort’s post in their followed accounts.

From the first post featuring Bianjing Ancient City to now, the Great Tang Resort had only published twelve videos. The quantity was not high, but each one had garnered millions of likes.

The caption for [Great Tang New Year] was simple and to the point. The video wasn’t about any specific attraction but just showed lanterns and fireworks.

Yet, in this simplicity, viewers felt a cinematic vibe. The Great Tang Resort’s lanterns were festive, and the fireworks were dazzling. Even the “Great Tang Resort” sign seemed to radiate brilliance.

The AIs appeared cheerful and full of life. Watching the fireworks and the expressions of the AIs, viewers couldn’t help but smile.

Damn! The Thrilling racing and Fruit Kingdom were one thing, but even such an ordinary night scene had a magnetic allure?

The Great Tang Resort is seriously addictive!

While complaining, people couldn’t help but hit the like button. Within two hours of its release, [Great Tang New Year] garnered over 5 million likes, shooting to the top of Douyin’s trending list.

Great Tang Resort had truly become a hot topic on Douyin, drawing in tourists who couldn’t get enough. Other Douyin creators were starting to feel a bit jealous. It was the first day of the new year, and Douyin traffic was booming. Many creators had hoped to take advantage of this time to gain some followers, but they didn’t expect Great Tang Resort to come out of nowhere and steal the spotlight.

This cut into their traffic quite a bit…

Great Tang Resort’s videos focused on the various unique attractions of Sora Island. Even if other creators wanted to copy the content, it was nearly impossible to replicate. Unable to compete for the trending spots directly, many creators, after some consideration, decided to take a different approach: creating duet videos with the “Great Tang New Year” video.

And so, videos of creators standing on New Year’s streets looking to the “left,” while the fireworks of Great Tang Resort blossomed magnificently to the “right,” began to flood the followers’ feed one after another.

Dueting with Great Tang Resort was simple yet beautifully evocative. With popular creators leading the trend, smaller creators and casual users followed suit.

On this special day, the first day of the new year, Douyin was dominated by the “Great Tang New Year” videos. It was truly a festival for Great Tang Resort.

…

“Manager Xu, should I put the KT board here?” Meanwhile, at a Pizza King restaurant in the south district of Dragon Mall in Luo Hai, a man in a red work uniform was setting up a two-meter-high KT board.

The KT boards were made by various advertising companies as per the orders from Pizza King’s headquarters.

“Move it slightly to the left… Okay, that’s perfect right there.” The man spoke as a woman in a black uniform, who looked like the manager, gave precise instructions.

Luo Hai was an international metropolis, with 132 Pizza King locations. This one in Dragon District was branch number 72. Pizza King was a 24-hour fast-food chain, and since it was the Chinese New Year, employees were working in shifts with triple pay.

“Sister Zhao, what’s the point of headquarters pushing this ‘Koi’ campaign? It’s the New Year, everyone’s at home having their big feasts. Who’s gonna come eat fast food now?”

The man grumbled after setting up the KT board. It wasn’t that he wasn’t taking his work seriously; it just felt like the Koi campaign was decided on a whim.

The man was an experienced employee at Pizza King and wasn’t optimistic about this campaign.

“Just do your job. The rest isn’t our concern.” The woman, Zhao Yuexin, frowned at his words.

Zhao Yuexin used to be on the same level as the man, both working as frontline staff. Due to her responsible work attitude, she was promoted to the manager of the Luo Hai Dragon District branch after a thorough evaluation by headquarters. However, despite her new title, the other employees still didn’t take her seriously, leaving her feeling quite pressured.

“Got it, Manager Zhao.” The man pouted. Ignoring him, Zhao Yuexin turned on her tablet to review the activity files sent from headquarters after the KT board was set up.

After much discussion and refinement, it was decided that the Koi campaign would use electronic vouchers.

The process to participate in the Koi campaign was as follows: Customers register as members, make a purchase, earn special Koi points, exchange 50 RMB points for a Koi special code, and the official drawing would take place on the fifteenth day of the new year.

The entire Koi campaign process sounded complex, but in today’s smartphone era, it could all be done in just a minute. In addition to the Koi campaign, customers who spent during the first fifteen days of the new year would receive 5 RMB in cash-back vouchers for every 50 points earned, which would greatly boost customer engagement.

Zhao Yuexin reviewed the Koi campaign process, then turned to the list of prizes.

The grand prize was a “Great Tang Resort Seven Days and Seven Nights Vacation.” This vacation included round-trip airfare, standard meals at the Delicious Restaurant, seven days’ accommodation in Blue Sea Lake, Snow Village, and Bianjing, Blue Sea diving, Swing with the Wind, snowmobile rides, two rounds of thrilling racing, one visit to the Fruit Kingdom…

Zhao Yuexin counted and found that there were more than thirty different activities listed.

She was usually busy with work and didn’t use Douyin or Weibo much, so this was the first time she’d heard of the Great Tang Resort. After seeing the details of the vacation package, she was left somewhat dazed.

After each activity, a price was clearly listed, starting at 30 USD, with many ranging from 100 to 200 USD as if that was just the norm.

“Expensive.” This was Zhao Yuexin’s first reaction after reading through the list.

“Very expensive.” That was her second reaction.

Her assessment of “expensive” was directed squarely at Great Tang Resort.

In today’s world of advanced communication, it wasn’t unusual for the news to expose certain “rip-off” tourist spots. However, even those places didn’t charge prices this outrageously high. And now… Zhao Yuexin rubbed her eyes, realizing that “Fruit Kingdom” was a self-pick fruit project priced at 300 USD per hour.

300 USD… that’s 1,800 RMB!

Zhao Yuexin felt that the pricing at Great Tang Resort was extreme, probably akin to the high price tags seen on clothing in malls. With this thought in mind, she glanced at the KT board by the door.

Recently, she had taken sick leave due to a cold, and the KT board was brought in by the assistant manager. Today was her first day back on the job.

“Pizza King collaborates with Great Tang Resort to create the New Year’s Lucky Koi event!”

“Lucky koi guests will win a free seven-day, seven-night trip to Great Tang Resort, with unlimited access to Blue Sea Lake, Bianjing Ancient City, and Fruit Kingdom!”

“Spend 50 RMB to get a special koi code! The more you buy, the better your chances!”

The KT board was full of flashy advertising slogans. Apart from the slogans, the background featured Pizza King’s signature pizza and a vibrant blue lake. Zhao Yuexin examined it closely and found a line of small text at the bottom. It was a brief introduction to Great Tang Resort, including a list of activity fees.

Great Tang Resort’s prices were set so high that it wouldn’t leave tourists overjoyed; instead, it might make them think Pizza King was trying too hard to impress.

Frowning, Zhao Yuexin thought, “Has headquarters lost their touch?”

“Get things ready, people. We’ll be getting customers soon,” she instructed her staff, closing the campaign file at 6:30 a.m.

It was the first day of the new year, and with people celebrating, there would likely be many visitors to the mall today.

“Manager Zhao, should we still promote the Koi campaign?” After a brief warm-up dance, the staff got back to their tasks. Two female employees approached, looking a bit uncertain.

To boost employee enthusiasm, Pizza King followed a performance evaluation system, with the promotion of the Koi campaign forming a large part of this month’s assessment. Like Zhao Yuexin, the other employees weren’t too confident about the campaign’s prospects.

“Just introduce it briefly. We’ll go over it tonight,” Zhao Yuexin replied after thinking it over. It was an order from headquarters, so as a responsible manager, she wouldn’t ignore it.

After the two employees left, Zhao Yuexin pulled out her phone, planning to ask other store managers about their thoughts.

“Great Tang Koi campaign? Is that the same Great Tang Resort on Douyin?”

Before she could send her message to the manager group chat, a young couple walked in. The girl pointed excitedly at the KT board outside, looking pleasantly surprised.

The couple had just returned from the fireworks square, still full of energy.

“It’s Sora Island…”

“Ah! So it really is! Is Pizza King really giving out three hundred fully free lucky koi prizes?”

“Yes,” Zhao Yuexin replied, sensing the girl’s excitement but still answering earnestly.

“I’ll have a seven-inch pizza, plus fries and a soda…” After Zhao Yuexin confirmed, the girl carefully examined the KT board again, then skillfully registered as a member, placed her order, and spent exactly 52.5…

Her ability to meet the minimum spending requirement was top-notch.

“Hurry up, you get something too.”

“Pizza is too heavy for breakfast…”

“I don’t care! You can eat it for lunch. I also have a five-yuan discount voucher…”

After placing her order, the girl tugged on her boyfriend’s sleeve, playfully pouting. The boy seemed a bit reluctant, but finally gave in to her persuasion and ordered the same meal.

Pizza King’s items rarely go on discount, so the boyfriend considered it as buying a fifty-yuan lottery ticket. This ticket also came with a Pizza King meal of equal value… When you think about it, it seems like a pretty good deal.

After ordering, the two of them sat down in the corner, holding hands and whispering sweetly to each other.

Clearly, they were a couple in the midst of a passionate romance.

“Manager, what’s going on?” the cashier next to her was a bit confused. Pizza King’s average spending per person was usually between thirty and eighty yuan, making it quite affordable. Fifty yuan wasn’t much, but it was obvious that this couple made their purchase because of the Great Tang promotion.

The cashier found the situation a bit odd.

“Just focus on your work,” Zhao Yuexin replied without elaborating, pulling out the phone book with the other store managers’ contact information.

Her curiosity was growing.

…

@PizzaKing: “Happy New Year! Pizza King brings you special New Year benefits! Dear friends, from today onwards, spend fifty yuan or more at Pizza King and get a chance to win a free 7-day trip to Great Tang Resort! [Pizza King + Great Tang Overseas Resort] Photos x9.”

@GreatTangOverseasResort: “Exciting! Great Tang Overseas Resort welcomes the arrival of our lucky koi! [Shared Post][Joy]”

The Lucky Koi event was Pizza King’s first promotional discount campaign for the new year. Besides using physical KT boards and employee promotions, online marketing was also a crucial element. With the “Great Tang New Year” trending on Douyin, Pizza King specifically purchased a trending spot on Weibo.

“Great Tang Koi Pizza” instantly shot to third place on the trending list.

As one of the beneficiaries of the Koi Pizza campaign, Great Tang Resort didn’t hesitate to share the post. With this, “Great Tang New Year” was trending on Douyin while “Great Tang Koi Pizza” became a hot topic on Weibo.

Although Great Tang Resort was located overseas, on the very first day of the Lunar New Year, it managed to ignite China’s two biggest social media platforms.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Sandy: Password locked chapter ahead. Pw is below.

 Password is HOLOLO.