I Can Stock Up in the Game

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Smear Li Yuan Farm

”Why Did Li Yuan Farm’s Flower Sea Stop Selling Tickets Online? The Shocking Reason Revealed!”

Zhang Lin frowned as he watched the video.

The reason was simple: the video wasn’t a genuine exposé about Li Yuan Farm halting online ticket sales, but rather a smear piece.

”As you all know, Li Yuan Farm’s Flower Sea has blown up over the past two days. They posted two videos and already have over 200,000 followers. Their first video is even about to hit one million likes!”

”To put it simply, it has the potential to go viral. At this rate, breaking a million followers—or even more—would be a piece of cake! So why would they suddenly stop online ticket sales?”

”The reason is simple: their promotional videos are just too heavily filtered. Most of you can probably tell. The cinematography and artistic flair in their videos aren’t something your average person can just pull off.”

”If Li Yuan Farm had hired a master photographer, that would be one thing. But why do videos shot by regular tourists have the same effect? Tourists don’t have the skills of a master photographer, do they? There’s only one explanation: it’s all staged. Those so-called ’tourist’ videos are just burner accounts run by Li Yuan Farm!”

”It’s all to generate hype and drive up traffic. And clearly, Li Yuan Farm succeeded. They got over 200,000 followers in just two days.”

”As for why they stopped selling tickets online, the reason is simple: if too many people show up in person, the lie will be exposed. Plus, if they sell too many tickets, the amount of money involved would be huge, and Li Yuan Farm could get into trouble.”

”So, it’s better for them to just not sell tickets and focus on growing their follower count. Once you have enough followers, are you really worried about not being able to make money?”

To say the least, this so-called exposé completely missed the mark. In fact, it had absolutely no connection to reality.

It was a pure smear video. The entire piece pushed a single narrative: Li Yuan Farm was faking everything. Their Flower Sea wasn’t actually that beautiful, the tourist videos with that amazing quality were fake, and it was all just Li Yuan Farm’s own burner accounts.

Even though it was just a smear campaign, it was presented so convincingly that many people fell for it. You could see from the comment section that more and more people were being swayed.

”I had my doubts about Li Yuan Farm from the start!”

”I’ve seen plenty of flower seas, so I knew Li Yuan Farm’s couldn’t be real.”

”Finally, someone said it! This must be the truth!”

”...”

Zhang Lin shook his head as he read the comments. ’This is the internet for you.’ It seemed many netizens acted like world-changing critics online, but in reality, they were just low-level workers who needed to find a sense of validation on the web.

It was the classic case of being a mouse in real life but a lion behind a keyboard.

These were also the people most easily swayed, because they lacked real discernment. They didn’t even understand the simple wisdom of waiting for the dust to settle before forming an opinion.

Zhang Lin did a quick search online and found it wasn’t just one smear video, but several. They were all posted by accounts with a decent but not huge number of followers.

The fact that all these accounts were of the same type was a red flag. They were probably bought accounts.

’In other words, someone is targeting Li Yuan Farm,’ he thought.

’When you get targeted online, there are usually two main reasons. First, you pissed someone off, and they want to cause trouble for you. Second, you’re getting in someone’s way.’

’The first one is unlikely. I’m cooped up on the farm all day; I don’t have time to offend anyone.’

’Besides, among my Friends Circle, other than close friends and family, nobody knew about my connection to Li Yuan Farm, let alone had a reason to target it.’

’Then it must be the second reason. I’m in someone’s way.’

After looking into the situation online, he already had two suspects in mind.

The first was the Blue Sky Flower Sea, the largest in Min Province. As it was a similar attraction located nearby, the viral success of Li Yuan Farm’s Flower Sea would have a huge impact on them.

He had even seen some hostile comments about Li Yuan Farm pop up under the Blue Sky Flower Sea’s official account.

The second suspect was the Meizhou Flower Sea, which was currently the most popular one online.

The first video he uploaded of his Flower Sea had its reach suppressed. This was because Meizhou Flower Sea was running a major promotion at the time. Due to platform protections for competing advertisers, their content was prioritized. They were willing to spend big on Tiao Yin for advertising, which gave them a huge amount of online hype, making them the most popular flower sea on the web.

Naturally, this also gave them a substantial follower count.

This was all part of their business interests, a machine that made them a lot of money.

So now that Li Yuan Farm’s Flower Sea had gone viral, Meizhou Flower Sea was feeling the most direct impact. People were even posting videos and photos of Li Yuan Farm’s sea of flowers in their comment sections, saying it was inferior to Li Yuan’s.

It was a direct conflict of interest.

Li Yuan Farm was treading on their turf.

Zhang Lin wasn’t surprised, regardless of which of the two it was. After all, when business interests are at stake, getting targeted is just part of the game.

And a smear campaign like this was the quickest way to make the public feel disgusted with, despise, and even boycott Li Yuan Farm.

This was why people said you needed a solid foundation of your own.

If your product is solid, no amount of slander can tear it down when the facts speak for themselves. In fact, when the truth eventually comes out, the slandered party often ends up soaring to new heights.

Of course, if your foundation is weak, being exposed to the spotlight will only magnify your flaws, and then you’re truly finished. Many internet celebrities get canceled right after they go viral for this very reason.

Zhang Lin knew just how solid his Flower Sea was. With its ’+1 Attractiveness’ and ’+1 Photogenic’ attributes, it wasn’t something that could be brought down by mere slander.

Once the tourists started flocking in, the truth would quickly come to light.

And yet, as he watched the smear videos, the faintest hint of a smile played on his lips.

He’d been trying to figure out how to make Li Yuan Farm’s popularity grow even faster, hoping to completely blow up the traffic pool.

The Flower Sea had gained some traction, but it was still a long way from blowing up the traffic pool. That was why the Honeysuckle Tea was the next hook he planned to use to attract more attention.

But to boost hype, hooks were only one part of the equation. Sometimes, conflict, controversy, and even targeted attacks were all effective ways to generate buzz.

You often see it online: two influencers get into a huge, public fight. Everyone tunes in, they start debating who’s right and who’s wrong, and people take sides and start arguing with each other.

It’s often just a publicity stunt. The two of them have no real beef; it’s all just for the sake of generating buzz.

Take the recent viral phenomenon of the ”Dragon King and Queen” for example. Think of how much buzz that brought both of them.

’Now, someone was targeting Li Yuan Farm. The conflict was right there, wasn’t it? This was another way to generate buzz.’

’The other party must not have actually scouted out Li Yuan Farm’s Flower Sea in person, otherwise they wouldn’t have acted so rashly. I wonder how much they spent to buy all this traffic. In the end, it’ll all just be a gift to me.’

To show his appreciation for these ”good Samaritans” who were spending money to boost his popularity, Zhang Lin logged into a burner account and immediately promoted their videos with 100,000 yuan worth of DOU+.

Time to add some fuel to the fire!

Soon after, he got another call from Lin Mengxi. The moment he picked up, he heard her anxious voice. ”Boss Zhang, you’ve seen what’s happening, right? What do we do? I just noticed the likes and comments on those videos are picking up speed.”

”Miss Lin, don’t worry. It’s fine!” Zhang Lin answered with a laugh. ’Of course the likes and comments are increasing faster,’ he thought. ’I’m the one who paid for their DOU+ promotion.’

’This girl seems to be keeping a close eye on the situation. She’s really invested,’ he mused.

On the other end of the line, Lin Mengxi was speechless for a moment. How could he not be worried about this?

However, she could also hear the confidence in Boss Zhang’s voice. He didn’t seem worried in the slightest.

She wasn’t a fool. Her anxiety had clouded her judgment. Now that she thought about it, she realized no smear campaign could tarnish a place as genuinely beautiful as the Flower Sea. Once more tourists arrived, the truth would come out on its own.

After Zhang Lin pumped more money into promoting the smear videos with DOU+, their popularity did indeed soar. They reached a wider audience, and even people who hadn’t been following the story were drawn into the discussion.

A lot of people online don’t care about beautiful scenery or pretty girls, but they love watching drama unfold. The moment they see a conflict, they’re hooked.

Riding on the coattails of Li Yuan Farm’s own popularity, the smear videos themselves began to go viral.

「Meizhou. Meizhou Flower Sea Headquarters.」

A young man, his face flushed with excitement, reported to the middle-aged man before him, ”President Wang, our videos are already blowing up, ahead of schedule! Public opinion is turning sharply against Li Yuan Farm.”

He hadn’t yet realized that someone else was helping them with DOU+ promotions, but that didn’t stop him from taking the credit.

Clearly, Zhang Lin had guessed right about who was pulling the strings.

”Chen He, you’ve done well,” Wang Yang said, very pleased with the report. ”Just make sure it can’t be traced back to us.”

Their own Flower Sea’s promotion had been going great. They had the most hype, had attracted a huge amount of attention, and were even being called the number one flower sea on the internet.

That kind of buzz would allow them to do a lot and reap significant profits.

Who would have thought Li Yuan Farm would pop up out of nowhere and steal their thunder, messing up all their plans.

Rapeseed only bloomed for a limited time each year. The window of opportunity was short, so naturally, they had to take Li Yuan Farm down.

When interests are at stake, it’s a zero-sum game!

Chen He immediately promised, ”President Wang, rest assured. The accounts we used have absolutely no connection to us. Besides, things online are always murky. It won’t come back to you.”

Wang Yang was even more satisfied with this answer. He glanced at the rising hype on his phone and smiled again. ”This isn’t enough. I want you to head to You City overnight. Go to Li Yuan Farm tomorrow, see if you can dig up some dirt. Then, strike while the iron is hot and drop another news story to completely ruin their reputation online.”

...