Chapter 56: Is There Another Restroom

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Is There Another Restroom

At Li Yuan Farm, Zhang Lin told Fu Yao about filming a commercial for the Agricultural Bureau at the farm around noon, and arranged to pick her up from First High after school.

He had just hung up when he heard a commotion break out in the lounge.

"Holy shit!" a tourist exclaimed before rushing toward the restroom.

Following that tourist, several others could be seen hurrying toward the restrooms as well.

When Zhang Lin saw this, he knew. The tourists who drank the Honeysuckle Tea were starting to feel the effects.

The show was starting.

Zhao Lin, who had been instructed beforehand, already had her phone out and was recording.

The other tourists saw this and clearly understood what was happening, exchanging bewildered glances.

Huang Xin and his three friends were among them.

The four bachelors had come to the Flower Sea together on what was purely a guys’ trip.

They had originally just wanted to get out for a walk and see if they could meet some pretty girls in the Flower Sea for a beautiful, chance encounter.

But the chance encounter with a beauty never happened. Instead, they got to watch some drama and, on a whim, each spent 200 yuan on a cup of Honeysuckle Tea.

Now, seeing tourist after tourist run for the restrooms, their faces were filled with astonishment. In just a short time, a line had actually formed.

He said in disbelief, "No way. Is this stuff for real?"

His three friends also chimed in, astonished:

"Is Li Yuan Farm’s Honeysuckle Tea really that potent?"

"Looks that way!"

"Don’t worry. We’re not constipated, so we won’t be the ones lining up."

The words had barely left his mouth when Huang Xin’s expression soured. He shot up from his seat and sprinted for the restroom.

His speed left his three friends dumbfounded.

When Huang Xin reached the restroom, his expression turned utterly grim. In that short span of time, a dozen or so people had already lined up ahead of him.

But he could feel the pressure building, an unstoppable force lingering at the exit, ready to burst forth at any moment.

He frantically clenched his thighs together and squeezed his glutes.

’Hold on!’

’I have to hold on, or this is going to be so embarrassing.’

It wasn’t just him. The other constipated tourists who had drunk the Honeysuckle Tea were in the same boat, contorting themselves into all sorts of strange poses to hold on.

Their current discomfort was directly proportional to how defiant they had been just moments ago.

The other tourists couldn’t help themselves; one after another, they pulled out their phones and started recording.

It was a rare and spectacular sight.

At the same time, they all learned something: Li Yuan Farm’s Honeysuckle Tea was shockingly effective at treating constipation.

A young woman’s tearful voice rang out, "Can you guys hurry up?! Are there any other restrooms?!"

She was clutching her rear, on the verge of tears.

Zhang Lin felt a wave of relief. ’Good thing I had Liu De dig those pits in the wasteland earlier. Otherwise, this would’ve been a truly spectacular disaster.’

"Everyone, don’t panic! Follow me, there’s a place to go!" Zhao Lin shouted, rushing forward.

To the tourists in line, she was like a savior.

Huang Xin was one of them. He rushed to follow Zhao Lin, his face pale from holding it in. All he wanted was to find sweet, sweet relief.

But when he got there, he was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t a restroom at all. It was just a patch of wasteland cordoned off with waterproof tarps.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Huang Xin muttered, his face a mask of misery. But seeing others already dashing in, he didn’t dare hesitate and bolted in after them.

Inside, Huang Xin stared at the earthen pits, clearly dug in a hurry with a hoe, and his cheek began to twitch.

’But what choice did I have?’

He quickly unbuckled his pants and squatted.

For a moment, a chorus of incredibly relieved grunts and sighs echoed from the wasteland.

The scene was, for a time, quite a spectacle.

Zhao Lin recorded the whole scene and sent it to Zhang Lin.

Zhang Lin had filmed some footage himself as well. After receiving Zhao Lin’s video, he immediately began editing everything together on his phone.

As he was editing, the online news about Li Yuan Farm’s exorbitantly priced Honeysuckle Tea and their supposed hiring of shills to mock tourists was blowing up, gaining more and more traction.

The video even prompted the Bureau of Commodity Prices to hold an emergency meeting.

After the meeting, Lin Da staggered out in a daze.

He’d mocked other public officials who’d been dragged down by their families before, but he never imagined it would one day be his turn.

Halfway through the meeting, they’d even gotten a call from the Agricultural Bureau demanding an explanation.

As a result, he was being transferred to a do-nothing post on the margins. It was no different from being put out to pasture.

He was still reeling from the whole affair. On top of that, he had to carry out his superiors’ orders immediately. He rushed home to delete the video his mother had posted. If he couldn’t contain the fallout, he might be forced into early retirement.

Liu Xiumei was still admiring her handiwork, gloating over her video’s performance. The more hate Li Yuan Farm received, the happier she became.

When she saw her son come home, she immediately asked, "Son, what’s the status of the Li Yuan Farm investigation? Did you fine them? Let me know once you do, and I’ll post the news online so everyone can see what happens to them."

Hearing this, Lin Da felt like crying. "Mom, delete that video right now! Will you only be happy when I lose my job because of you?"

Liu Xiumei was stunned. "Son, what are you talking about?"

A wave of indignation washed over Lin Da, and it all came pouring out. "Mom, do you have any idea that your public tantrum at Li Yuan Farm just cost me my job? Do you know how hard someone like me, from a rural village, has to work to get to where I am? And now, thanks to you, it’s all for nothing!"

"What?!" Liu Xiumei was utterly stupefied.

Her son’s position had always been her greatest source of pride, the ultimate bragging right among her friends and relatives.

’How could I be the one to make him lose his job? The issue was clearly them selling that outrageously expensive Honeysuckle Tea. How did this get twisted into me causing a scene for no reason?’

With this thought, Liu Xiumei’s expression hardened. "This won’t do. Son, let’s go talk to your superior and set things straight."

"Mom, are you really not going to be happy until you’ve completely ruined me?!" Lin Da finally snapped, roaring at her. Before she could react, he snatched her phone, found the video, and deleted it.

But a moment later, he felt like crying all over again.

The video had already been reposted by countless people, and it had gone viral. Deleting his mother’s original post was utterly useless.

Because of his mother’s video, the entire internet was now railing against Li Yuan Farm.

「Ming City.」

After helping his cousin, Zhao Han, make some connections, Chen Shengfei had returned to Ming City immediately. He’d received some major news—an opportunity that could take his company to the next level.

His company’s business interests spanned food processing, cooking oil production, warehousing and logistics, domestic and international trade, and more.

However, in this sector, state-owned enterprises dominated the domestic market. After all, the public was far more likely to trust them than a private company.

Consequently, the growth of private enterprises like his had always been suppressed.

But now, a major scandal had erupted among them and was all over the news.

After an undercover reporter’s exposé, the entire internet was in an uproar, with everyone calling for accountability. A public welfare story like this gained traction even faster than the Li Yuan Farm drama.

And this was the perfect time for private companies like his to seize market share.

The only problem was how to increase his company’s visibility. That was the key to maximizing his gains in the ensuing scramble for market share.

Just then, his secretary rushed in. "Boss, this is bad! Someone’s slandering you online, saying you’re a shill!"

"???" Chen Shengfei was baffled for a second. He took the phone his secretary handed him, watched the video, and immediately understood. It was the incident at Li Yuan Farm. When that old woman had accused him of being a shill, she had shoved the camera in his face, getting a clear close-up.

People were even taking screenshots of his face in the comments and hurling insults:

"Look at this guy, acting so smug about being a shill."

"A damn shill mocking others for not appreciating a ’good thing’? Who hasn’t had honeysuckle tea before?"

"All you damn shills can go to hell."

And the post was incredibly popular; it was definitely trending.

The secretary immediately said, "Boss, we can’t just let them slander you like this. Should I have our legal department send a cease and desist letter to Tiao Yin? Or should we just call the police?"

Chen Shengfei quickly replied, "What cease and desist? What police? This is a golden opportunity knocking at our door!"

"???" The secretary was stunned. Her boss looked positively delighted to be slandered and cursed out.

But Chen Shengfei immediately gave an order: "Haven’t we always wanted to get into new media? What are you waiting for? Get a camera and start filming me."

’This is the age of internet traffic. Plenty of big-name entrepreneurs are jumping into the fray themselves, you know?’

’Hiring influencers or celebrities is risky—they’re always one scandal away from blowing up in your face. It’s better to do it yourself. Take Lei Xiaomi, for example. Who on the internet doesn’t know his famous catchphrase: "Are you OK?"’

’Of course, not just anyone can pull it off. You need a massive amount of traffic to begin with.’

’And isn’t this traffic being served up on a silver platter?’

’This is a god-sent opportunity!’

The secretary wasn’t a fool. She immediately understood and got to work making arrangements.

A short while later, Chen Shengfei was seated at his desk, dressed in an expensive, custom-tailored suit. In front of him were several phones, all pointed at him to record.

He deliberately showed off the multi-million-yuan watch on his wrist. With a watch like that, did he really need to be a shill for anyone?

"Boss, we’re ready to start," the secretary reported once everything was set up.

Chen Shengfei cleared his throat. He purposefully used the hand wearing the multi-million-yuan watch to lift a glass of water and take a sip before speaking. "So, I suddenly discovered I’m trending online. Apparently, I’ve inexplicably become a ’shill.’ Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chen Shengfei, the owner of Feisheng Group. Our primary businesses include cooking oil production... And by the way, the Honeysuckle Tea from Li Yuan Mountain Villa is the real deal. It’s a godsend for anyone with constipation..."

The video was quickly recorded and uploaded. Chen Shengfei then called in his finance director. "Take two million yuan," he ordered, "and pump it all into promoting this video!"

...

Li Yuan Farm.

As time went on, the spectacular scene finally returned to normal. The constipated tourists who had gone into the "restrooms" came out one by one, looking absolutely radiant.

For those with severe constipation, who hadn’t had a bowel movement in days, the feeling of complete and utter relief made the 200 yuan feel well worth it.

Many tourists couldn’t help but sing its praises.

"Seriously, I’ve never seen anything work this well for constipation!"

"Yeah, not only am I constipated, but my hemorrhoids flared up yesterday. I felt like I was dying. But that... that was pure bliss!"

"This exclusive formula is no joke. It’s a godsend for chronic sufferers like me."

"..."

Hearing these praises, a smile touched the corners of Zhang Lin’s lips.

’The items produced by the game system are no joke.’

He had finished editing his video. All he had to do was wait for the right moment to post the clip of the "out-of-control" scene to the farm’s account.

Just as he was thinking this, he glanced at his phone in surprise. Tiao Yin notifications were suddenly flooding his screen, popping up one after another at an unnaturally rapid pace.

In the blink of an eye: 15,937 new followers!

Another blink: 3,088 new comments!

Zhang Lin hurriedly opened Tiao Yin. In just a short time, he had gained 100,000 new fans, pushing his total follower count past 300,000.

He quickly scrolled to the comments:

"Looks like I misunderstood your farm. Giving you a follow!"

"I was talking trash earlier. I’m here to follow you now!"

"..."

"???" Zhang Lin’s jaw dropped.

’Has the tide turned?’

’But what happened? I haven’t even made my move yet.’

...