Chapter 235 - 204: Collect Likes for a 50% Discount on the Fishing Fee

Chapter 235: Chapter 204: Collect Likes for a 50% Discount on the Fishing Fee

"This has to be the absolute best way to enjoy the water in all of Chong City and the provincial capital this summer."

"Just now, the long-awaited Chen Yuan Hot Spring Paradise has finally officially announced its grand opening on August 24th and is now offering all sorts of special pre-sale tickets."

"One ticket gives you unlimited access to all attractions in the Hot Spring Paradise, including the Tsunami Pool, the Super Bowl slide, the Cobra slide, the water obstacle course, and all the other thrilling rides you’d expect. We have it all."

"There are also special combo tickets with other attractions that are an amazing deal. For anyone seeing this, I suggest you stock up now, because the price might not be this low later."

Another influencer used basically the same strategy: first film all the attractions, edit them into a video, then post it with their own commentary.

A link for the special group-buy offer was naturally included.

Qin Fen and Mr. Xie took a different approach. They both started from the fishing pond area and went straight into a live stream. After chatting about fishing for a bit, they panned the camera over to the Chen Yuan Hot Spring Paradise behind them.

The live stream chat instantly blew up.

Damn, if this wasn’t a live stream, people would have thought it was a video transition. One second it’s a fishing ground, the next it’s a hot spring resort?

Aren’t those two completely unrelated industries?

How did they end up together?

"Boss Chen, can I get in the water to shoot some footage?"

The last influencer, a woman, found Chen Yuan. She had clearly come prepared and had already changed into a swimsuit.

It was a black, one-piece, off-the-shoulder swimsuit with a bow at the waist and layers of lace at the hem of its skirt. It not only showcased her scorching hot figure to perfection but also exuded an undeniable, mysterious allure.

"You really know your marketing."

Chen Yuan glanced at her for a couple of seconds and praised her with a smile.

The old saying goes: sun, sand, and bikinis; hot springs and beautiful women.

It’s a fantasy that will always sell.

This influencer in front of him was already gorgeous, with an excellent figure. In a later era, she could probably get tons of viewers just by standing there on a live stream.

Let alone now, in a swimsuit.

’Is it borderline revealing?’

’Definitely not. Compared to those backless swimsuits, this is actually quite conservative. But she has the looks and the body, so whether she’s filming a video or live streaming, she’s guaranteed to attract a big audience.’

"Haha, looks like Boss Chen knows his marketing too. If you hire some beauties to fill the place out, the effect will definitely be even better."

The female influencer knew what Chen Yuan meant and went along with it, laughing.

"That’s not out of the question."

Chen Yuan laughed heartily.

Marketing is all about identifying points of attraction, and good-looking men and women are certainly one of them.

The influencer went off to do her promotion. Chen Yuan had agreed to her request, even turning on the hot springs for her. Using one’s own advantages to promote oneself was perfectly reasonable.

Qin Fen and the other four all got into work mode.

Chen Li also went online on all the major platforms.

Chen Yuan wandered around for a bit, then rode his tricycle back to the small pond. He walked straight into his office, sat down, stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, then took out his phone and opened the fishing ground’s group chat.

First, he spammed a series of pictures, from the guesthouses to the Flower Sea and orchard, plus the various hot spring attractions, the children’s amusement park rides, and the third-floor dining area.

Then, he replaced the group announcement with the pre-edited pricing and special ticket offers.

He then posted it several more times in the group.

It was a classic case of blowing up the chat.

If it had been anyone else, the group members would have definitely cursed them out, but Boss Chen was an exception. Chen Yuan rarely chatted in the group anymore, but whenever he did pop up, it was always with big news.

"After a thousand calls and ten thousand summons, it’s finally here! The hot springs are finally opening!"

"Holy shit, 49 yuan for a full day of fun? That’s a great price."

"That’s the regular price. Don’t forget members get a 20% discount, so it’s even cheaper."

The group went quiet for a moment, then erupted. A single ticket for unlimited access to the hot spring attractions instantly got all the members excited.

The scale of Chen Yuan’s hot springs was nothing to scoff at. The Tsunami Pool and the water park were massive, and there was also hydrotherapy, foot massages, and a steam room inside.

Getting to enjoy so many attractions for the regular price was a great deal, and it was even cheaper for members.

"Don’t panic, everyone! Keep scrolling, there are more discounts."

"Holy shit, only 79 for one adult and one child, and just 99 for two adults and one child."

Looking further down, the more people in the group buy, the cheaper the per-person price. For a family of three, the ticket price was less than the fishing fee. It was an insanely good deal.

On top of that, there were various package deals.

For example, a hot spring plus guesthouse package was only 169 for a two-bedroom unit or 199 for a three-bedroom unit. By comparison, booking a guesthouse alone was priced at 128 for a two-bedroom and 168 for a three-bedroom.

There were also ticket packages that included meals.

And ticket packages for the children’s amusement park.

Visiting just the children’s amusement park had its own separate price.

But no matter the combination, every ticket price lived up to the words "special offer." Even if you enjoyed unlimited access to the hot springs and the children’s park, plus lodging and meals—experiencing everything—the cost per person was just over two hundred yuan.

And for one adult and one child, or a family of three, the per-person price was even lower.

As for perks like free parking and free breakfast, those were also included in all the special ticket types.

And the Flower Sea was, for the time being, free to visit.

"Boss Chen’s grand opening special is seriously generous."

"Say no more. I’m group-buying the all-access pass for two adults and one child right now. I’ll bring my wife and kid tomorrow. They’ve been nagging me about it at home for days."

"An all-access pass? Can you even get through everything? There are a ton of hot spring attractions, over twenty rides at the children’s park, and the Flower Sea... I don’t think you’ll have enough time."

"I’m opting to stay overnight. You can enjoy the Flower Sea at night, right? The sun will have set so it won’t be hot. Admiring flowers at night could even be a little romantic... Holy shit, the guesthouses are gone?"

An angler in the group was in the middle of typing a message when he suddenly burst out with a "holy shit."

"The hell? I went to book as soon as I saw the price, and the guesthouses are already gone! Who was that fast? Three-Second Man, was that you?"

"Holy shit, not only are the guesthouses gone, but someone booked one for three consecutive days."

"Who was it? Show yourself! I promise I won’t beat you up~"

At first, they thought it didn’t matter if the guesthouses were booked, since they would still be there. If tomorrow was full, they could just book the day after. But then it turned out they were booked for several days in a row.

Now they were starting to panic.

"Holy shit, holy shit, the booking speed is insane! All the guesthouses for this month are fully booked."

In just a matter of minutes, all the guesthouses for the month were snatched up.

Chen Yuan felt both happy and helpless when he saw this news.

Right now, there was only one pilot guesthouse. To preserve its unique character, the rooms weren’t rented out individually like in a hotel, so it could accommodate two groups at most.

The demand completely outstripped the supply.

But this was a good thing.

’At least on the guesthouse front, Uncle Bin should give the green light. Even if Uncle Dong isn’t satisfied and I can’t get Yu City Village approved as a pilot tourism resort project, I can just do it myself if worse comes to worst.’

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yuan exited the fishing group chat, opened the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground mini-program, found the guesthouse booking status in the backend, and sent a screenshot to Chen Wenbin.

He didn’t send it to Chen Dong. Although he called both of them "Uncle," his relationship with Uncle Dong wasn’t as close as his relationship with Uncle Bin.

"Got it."

Chen Wenbin’s simple two-word reply was enough to make the corners of Chen Yuan’s mouth lift into a smile.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yuan reopened the fishing group chat and continued typing a message.

"Grand opening special! A little bonus for my fellow anglers: anyone who helps promote the hot spring’s opening on their WeChat Moments and gets over 50 likes can get a 50% discount on one fishing session with a screenshot as proof. Valid for both the small pond and the Old Pond. This offer ends at midnight tonight."

Gathering likes on Moments was a common promotional tactic in a later era, but not many people dared to offer a straight 50% discount on their main service fee.

For the small pond, it was fine; a 50% discount was only fifty yuan.

But the Old Pond was different.

Fifty percent off there was over a hundred yuan, almost as much as the cost for a family of three to visit and stay overnight.

As expected, the fishing group chat erupted again.

"Holy shit, Boss Chen is sacrificing his main business’s profits for his side hustle."

No matter how booming Chen Yuan’s other ventures in the village became, in the eyes of the die-hard anglers, fishing was the main business. Everything else was a side gig.

"I’m afraid Boss Chen is going to lose a ton of money on this one."

"A 50% discount on the fishing fee? Everyone’s definitely going to choose the Old Pond. There are over three thousand people in this group. How many red bills is that he’s giving away?"

"You can’t calculate it like that. There’s no way everyone can get fifty likes."

"Use your brain! Look at the number of members in the group. If you’re really struggling, can’t we just add each other as friends and trade likes? Fifty likes is a piece of cake."

"Holy shit, you’re shameless! Boss Chen is putting his own money on the line to promote the Hot Spring Paradise, and you guys are here cheating the system. You’re going to make him cough up blood from anger."

"He’s a young man, full of vim and vigor. Spitting a little blood is no big deal."

"Boss Chen is young enough. He can afford to cough up a little more blood."

"Enough talk. The standard nine-square photo grid is ready. Posting on both WeChat and QQ. Go, go, go, get those likes~"

The messages in the group scrolled by so fast that you could barely read them if you weren’t paying close attention. Watching them, the smile on Chen Yuan’s face grew even wider.

He knew that a 50% discount on the fishing fee would mean a huge loss, but he ran the promotion anyway.

’Tomorrow’s grand opening is crucial. Uncle Dong is still watching. If I can’t meet his expectations, the level of his future support will definitely be affected.’

’That’s why I have to do everything I can to ensure business is booming.’

’The die-hard anglers in the group are almost all residents of Chong City, and even the few from outside the city don’t live far. They’re the highest-quality potential customers.’

’The value of their social circles is definitely not insignificant.’

’Even if they can’t come for the grand opening, as long as they know about the Chen Yuan Hot Springs and the children’s park, they’ll definitely consider us when they’re looking for something to do.’

"Haha, your humble little brother has managed to collect fifty likes. Half-price fishing fee, here I come."

After exiting the main fishing group, Chen Yuan glanced at the members-only group.

That guy, God of Wealth, had actually already done it and was showing off in the group.

’Whoa, that was incredibly fast.’

Chen Yuan was surprised. It had only been three to five minutes. ’Are all his WeChat friends looking at their Moments at the same time and all liking his post? How many friends does this guy have?’

"God of Wealth definitely used his company. He must have just sent a message telling all his employees to like it. That’s cheating!"

"I report God of Wealth for cheating! His likes are invalid."

Someone in the group @’d Chen Yuan.

Although the members-only group wasn’t as wildly active as the main fishing group, there were still plenty of messages. And from the looks of it, these members chatted very happily, as if they knew each other inside and out.

Chen Yuan didn’t even know that God of Wealth owned his own company.

He only knew the guy was loaded.

’But as long as it’s promotion, it’s a good thing~’