Ch 79: The World’s Number One Resort

“Is the Great Tang Resort now selling fruits?” Sun Mengmeng, a tutor at Little Angel Education, had a busy work schedule and only had these two hours at noon to take a break. It was 12 o’clock, and after lunch, she started browsing Douyin as usual.

Sun Mengmeng was a seasoned lurker on Douyin, with 3,012 likes and just 2 posts.

Opening Douyin’s homepage was her daily moment of relaxation.

“A man must cherish the girl who stays with him during his startup phase…”

“Bought an apartment with a down payment of 30,000. Do you think it was worth it…”

“Ten pieces of advice for women in a relationship…”

…

Sun Mengmeng scrolled through Douyin for a while, but it quickly felt boring. Douyin had become too formulaic; she could pretty much guess the ending after watching the first few seconds.

“February 8th at 8 p.m., Sora’s Fruit Kingdom…” She continued scrolling for a bit longer, just about to take a nap. Her right hand was hovering over the exit button when a freshly updated post caught her eye.

The poster was @Great Tang Overseas Resort.

Sun Mengmeng’s interest was piqued. The Great Tang Resort had been a hot topic a few months ago, so she had followed it on a whim.

The videos from the Great Tang Resort were beautiful, but like most viewers, Sun Mengmeng felt the resort’s environment was a bit exaggerated. How could there be such magical scenery in the world? Even if it did exist, it would be like the difference between the packaging on instant noodles and the real thing—just like the locations of those so-called influencer photo spots on Douyin…

With a mindset of just casually checking it out, Sun Mengmeng clicked on the resort’s video.

“Your serene profile is like the gentle rain in March…” A light, fresh background melody played. The song used for the Great Tang Resort’s video was an old one, Qing Yu (“Gentle Rain”). Its breezy style matched perfectly with the video’s atmosphere.

Kumquats, loquats, pomegranates, passion fruits… As the melodious song played, the Fruit Kingdom unfolded like a delicate painting.

The Great Tang Resort had previously released videos featuring the Fruit Kingdom, but this time, the video was more refined and detailed. The last video had highlighted the full view of the Fruit Kingdom, whereas this one focused on the close-up details of the fruits.

Each fruit from Sora looked plump, glossy, and juicy. Watching the video on her phone, Sun Mengmeng’s stomach gave a slight rumble… The video from the Great Tang Resort was even more enticing than those in commercial ads!

Sun Mengmeng was completely absorbed.

In this light and pleasant atmosphere, the 15-second video passed by in a flash. The ending was a close-up of a Sora orange, which was bright orange with a thick and smooth peel. Even through the skin, Sun Mengmeng could almost imagine the juicy, tender flesh inside.

Based on this Douyin video alone, the Great Tang fruits seemed promising.

She clicked on the website link attached to the Douyin post. It redirected her to a Chinese Taobao store called @Great Tang Fruit Shop. The store’s theme was a rural fruit orchard, with a fresh and minimalist design.

The shop offered twelve different kinds of fruits, including bananas, pineapples, and kumquats. Each fruit came with a unique island-certified anti-counterfeit label, looking quite high-end and official.

The price section, however, displayed only “???” symbols, indicating that the prices hadn’t been revealed yet.

Sun Mengmeng navigated back to the shop’s homepage, where a promotional banner read: “February 8th, 8 p.m., Sora Fruits make their grand debut!”

The tagline was bold and striking, giving off an aura of elegance and mystery.

“They’re really making a big mystery out of this,” Sun Mengmeng muttered as she closed the link. It was the first time she had seen someone make fruit sales look this high-end and mysterious…

Glancing at the time, she saw it was now 12:30 p.m., with more than seven hours left until 8 p.m. Sun Mengmeng felt a growing urge to buy some. After all… the pictures of the fruits from Great Tang looked so appetizing and exquisite!

Even if she didn’t eat them, having them on the table would be a delight to look at!

With this thought swirling in her mind, Sun Mengmeng worked even more energetically that afternoon.

……

“The Great Tang Resort is selling fruits in China? Haha, looking forward to it.”

“Count me in. I can’t afford a plane ticket, but buying some Sora fruits to try seems good enough.”

“They’re making this so mysterious. If I hadn’t been browsing Douyin today, I wouldn’t have known about Sora Island’s fruits.”

“Are these really the fruits from the Great Tang Resort? Or are they locally produced and processed?”

“Sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory, but it’s definitely possible.”

…

There wasn’t much hot news in China at the moment. Aside from Pizza King’s ‘Lucky Koi’ campaign, the rest were celebrity divorce scandals and Li Yuan’s messy dispute with his management company.

Li Yuan, an old celebrity heartthrob, was signed with Red Fruit Media. The two had been embroiled in a messy conflict for over half a month, mainly revolving around contract disputes, leaving everyone fed up with the drama.

Another recurring headline involved a couple’s three-year-long divorce saga. With interest waning, people found themselves looking for new topics to pass the time. Unexpectedly, the Great Tang Resort updated its Douyin feed again.

Unlike the usual divorce dramas and public disputes, the Great Tang Resort presented a breath of fresh air. People expected to see a new scenic update, but instead, they got news about the launch of Great Tang fruits.

Great Tang fruits… If they were truly imported from the resort, they would definitely be worth the wait!

Amid the buzz of excitement, the hours crept from five o’clock to seven o’clock.

At 8 p.m. sharp on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Sora fruits officially went on sale.

…

“98 yuan for 500g… Wait, did I mistake 500g for 5000g?”

“Sora grapes? More like golden grapes. 688 yuan per pound is insane!”

“I’m speechless. I was planning to buy three pounds of bananas… but I can’t afford it.”

At 8 p.m. sharp, eager customers refreshed the Great Tang Taobao store page.

The store had listed twelve types of fruits, each with a separate purchase link detailing the fruit’s specifications. The ‘???’ placeholders for prices had now been replaced with actual figures.

Fans of the resort’s scenery had intended to buy a pound or two of fruit to show support. However, after seeing the listed prices, they felt conflicted.

The lowest-priced fruit was 98 yuan per pound, while the Sora grapes were priced at 688 yuan per pound—almost equivalent to a third of their monthly salary.

Was this fruit made of gold?

Customers were feeling unsettled, suspecting that there might have been a pricing error, like accidentally typing 98 yuan instead of 9.8 yuan…

They reached out to the online customer service.

“These are the actual prices of Great Tang fruits. No errors, it really is 98 yuan per pound.”

“Sora bananas are known to aid digestion and detoxification. Their nutritional value far surpasses that of ordinary fruits…”

“Sorry, but there are no discount promotions at the moment.”

…

By 8:15 p.m., the office of the Great Tang Taobao shop was buzzing with the sound of ‘ding ding’ notifications. The five customer service representatives were swamped. They worked in shifts, but today, with the fruits going live for the first time, all the staff were present.

Despite the high volume of inquiries, most questions revolved around price, origin, and nutritional value. After some initial chaos, the team gradually adapted to handle the influx.

Tang Huai sat at his desk, monitoring the store’s backend transactions.

“Manager Tang, the sales data for the first hour is out. We received a total of 107 orders, with sales amounting to 20,370 yuan…” An hour later, Zhang Hua printed out the sales report.

Most of the 107 orders consisted of the relatively lower-priced Sora bananas and pineapples. A turnover of 20,000 yuan in just one hour was quite surprising.

Zhang Hua was somewhat in a daze; he didn’t expect that so many people in China would willingly spend so much…

This is the power of a trendy store.

“Manager Tang, should we include some small gifts with the fruit deliveries?” Zhang Hua hesitated as he made the suggestion. The fruit was sold, but since the customers were paying such a high price, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were being taken advantage of. It made him a bit uneasy.

“No need. Just make sure the packaging is clean and thorough,” Tang Huai replied, feeling a bit helpless. It seemed that not only the customers but even his own employees didn’t believe in the quality of their fruit…

The price of Great Tang fruits was high, but Tang Huai had complete confidence in their taste and quality.

Great Tang fruits were definitely worth the price.

“Understood, Manager,” Zhang Hua replied, noting Tang Huai’s firm stance and deciding not to say more. After receiving further instructions, he returned to his desk to continue working.

After Zhang Hua left, Tang Huai stared at the sales data report in front of him, deep in thought.

An hour with 107 orders sounded decent, but this was mostly thanks to loyal fans showing support. Tang Huai estimated that the peak for Great Tang’s Taobao sales would be within the first six hours, mainly from those who were the most curious. After tomorrow, Great Tang fruits would likely hit a slump. Whether it could bounce back would depend on the reputation of the fruits moving forward.

Selling Sora bananas at 98 yuan per pound meant that they had to prove their worth at that price, beyond just carrying the name “Great Tang Resort.”

Lost in these thoughts, time quickly passed to ten o’clock. The staff clocked out, leaving only Tang Huai and Zhang Hua in the office.

“Manager Tang, the four-hour sales for Great Tang Fruits are 512 orders, totaling 123,000 yuan in revenue,” Zhang Hua reported, printing out the latest sales summary.

Although Zhang Hua was a recent graduate of Beijing University of Economics, he had only half a year of work experience. Seeing the total revenue of over 120,000 yuan, he couldn’t hide his excitement. With the high pricing of Great Tang fruits, he initially expected sales to reach 30,000 yuan in four hours, so this result exceeded his expectations.

Putting aside his earlier concerns about “scamming” customers, Zhang Hua now had high hopes for Great Tang Fruits. Of course, if the prices were lower, those hopes would be even greater…

“Good work. You can head home now,” Tang Huai said after glancing over the second sales report. He had already arranged accommodation for the three of them in Yuhai Garden, about a five-minute walk from the office.

“Manager Tang, I’m fine to stay,” Zhang Hua hesitated. He was feeling a bit sleepy, but with his boss still working at the office, he felt awkward leaving to go rest.

“It’s okay. I can handle things alone now,” Tang Huai reassured him. The Taobao shop was set to auto-reply at the moment, so there wasn’t much he needed to do.

After some further hesitation, Zhang Hua finally left with his bag. Five minutes later, Tang Huai was alone in the Great Tang Taobao office.

Tang Huai poured himself a glass of water and checked the store’s live backend data. As he had anticipated, the store’s hourly page views were holding steady between 20,000 and 50,000, but the conversion rate was low—only about thirty orders per hour. Most visitors were just there to take a look.

After monitoring for a while, Tang Huai lay down on the sofa to take a short rest. What he didn’t expect was to fall into a deep sleep almost instantly.

…

“Bananas for 98 yuan per pound… Haha, what a money grab! Great Tang is getting a bit too greedy.”

“Agreed, Great Tang Resort became popular, and now they’re getting arrogant.”

“Current total sales on Great Tang’s Taobao shop: 786 orders. For fruit this expensive, they still have that many brainless fans buying.”

“Great Tang was just good at marketing before. But this is a one-time deal; they won’t last a week.”

“Prices are clearly listed. If you can’t afford it, stop whining.”

While Tang Huai slept peacefully, Great Tang Resort once again climbed the trending list. However, unlike the scenic videos that previously attracted attention, this time the trending topic was “Great Tang’s Sky-High Fruit Prices.”

Currently, apples and bananas are priced at around 3 to 5 yuan, making Great Tang Resort’s fruit prices appear exorbitant.

Opinions on Great Tang’s fruit pricing were mixed among visitors. Some respected the resort’s pricing strategy, but more criticized it as excessive.

In an instant, Great Tang Resort found itself at the center of a public debate.

First, there was the “Great Tang New Year” and “Great Tang Lucky Koi Pizza,” and now “Sky-High Fruit Prices” was the third time Great Tang had hit the trending list in just ten days.

Small-time celebrities and online influencers couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. Although the trending topic on Great Tang’s expensive fruit was negative, the resort still garnered a lot of attention. Even if they wanted to be in the spotlight for something negative, they just couldn’t seem to get there.

“I came across this while filming. Wow, Great Tang’s fruits are so expensive!”

“A bit of a luxury, can’t afford it. Haha, just looking is enough!”

After some contemplation, the small-time celebrities and influencers decided to take a subtle approach to gain some exposure by riding the wave of the “Great Tang New Year” trend. To their surprise, this tactic actually increased the traffic to their homepages.

Everyone was quite pleased with the results.

…

The next day, at 9 a.m., the staff at the Great Tang office started their workday. Today, Taobao’s inquiry volume had doubled compared to the previous day, but there were very few transactions. Most visitors had been redirected from social media like Douyin and Weibo just to take a look.

They weren’t foolish. With such expensive fruit, just looking was enough; buying was out of the question.

“Hmph, buying is impossible, not in this lifetime,” they thought. Their greater interest was in teasing the customer service reps.

Though the workload for customer service increased, after adjusting the automated reply keywords, they managed to handle the inquiries without too much chaos.

It was the second day of operation for Great Tang’s Taobao store. Despite their doubts about the pricing, the employees worked diligently.

Satisfied with the team’s attitude, Tang Huai held a short meeting at noon and announced that the first week would include double pay for everyone.

The employees cheered and worked even harder.

On the second day, Great Tang Resort’s transaction volume was 219 orders, totaling 32,000 yuan.

The sales pace of Great Tang’s Taobao store had noticeably slowed down.

Tang Huai was aware of the buzz on Weibo. These negative reactions were within his expectations.

All Great Tang needed to do now was wait for feedback from the first batch of customers.

In the following two days, the heated discussion around Great Tang’s fruit prices didn’t die down. Many marketing companies lamented, suggesting that with Great Tang Resort’s popularity, if the fruit prices were set below 50 yuan, the revenue could easily multiply twentyfold!

Alas, doing business shouldn’t be too greedy, they argued. In just two days, Great Tang Resort had become a cautionary tale among various online influencers and merchants. A very sobering lesson indeed!

Amidst this lively commotion, the first batch of Great Tang orders finally arrived.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️