Chapter 207: Reaching the 20 Million Subscriber Milestone!

Chapter 207: Reaching the 20 Million Subscriber Milestone!

Only one Liyuan Farm?

Chen Xingke was a bit puzzled. Wasn't Liyuan Farm just one place?

Could there be several Liyuan Farms?

The title did have a clickbait feel to it.

Curious, Chen Xingke clicked into the video. It started with a forward-moving shot, and then a service center appeared.

The person filming said, "Does this service center look familiar to everyone? I bet some of you immediately recognized it as the Liyuan Farm service center. But don't jump to conclusions yet, let's keep watching!"

Chen Xingke was thoroughly confused.

This was the Liyuan Farm service center?

It wasn't that impressive.

Disappointed, he turned to his daughter and said, "Daughter, this is the Liyuan Farm service center you were talking about? It's not as great as you made it out to be. Your eye for design isn't that good, no wonder you can't become a master."

"..." Chen Xiaoruo, visibly annoyed, retorted, "Dad, with your impatient nature, how can you do research? Why don't you finish watching the video first?"

"???" Chen Xingke, still puzzled, continued watching.

The video then showed an office center, a rainbow flower sea, and a camping site.

As more projects appeared, he grew increasingly confused. Was this really Liyuan Farm?

The more he watched, the more he felt it was subpar, and the service center was the best part.

How could this be hyped so much? Had domestic tourists become so tolerant of mediocre attractions?

How could this place be ranked first in the country?

He wasn't the only one. Many people who had visited Liyuan Farm before found the video's opening shots unbelievable.

Chen Shengfei and his wife, Fu Qing, had wanted to see the firefly landscape at Liyuan Farm but couldn't get tickets. They planned to use their connections with Mr. Zhang to visit another time.

But then they saw this news.

"Honey, why does Liyuan Farm look so different now?" Fu Qing asked, puzzled. It was nothing like her previous visit.

Chen Shengfei was equally puzzled, "Something's not right, very not right. Liyuan Farm shouldn't look like this. It looks similar, but it feels off!"

As the news video continued, the camera showed a panoramic view. The moment they saw it, Chen Shengfei and his wife immediately realized this wasn't Liyuan Farm.

While projects could be copied, the overall layout and distribution of the farm couldn't be, due to different terrains.

This wasn't Liyuan Farm but an imitation someone had paid to create.

The news reporter then reappeared, "Everyone should have realized by now that this isn't Liyuan Farm but a counterfeit. The story starts with the firefly landscape at Liyuan Farm."

"When the firefly night view became popular, thieves tried to steal the fireflies but were caught by Liyuan Farm's security."

"After questioning by the police, it was revealed that the thief was sent by the owner of Qifeng Farm. This is how we learned about Qifeng Farm."

"Everyone can see that this farm is a copy of Liyuan Farm. It's a real-life version of the imposter and the genuine article. Liyuan Farm's popularity clearly inspired some unscrupulous ideas."

"However, this imitation Qifeng Farm lacks any of Liyuan Farm's appeal, despite an investment of over 200 million. This shows that Liyuan Farm's success is unique and can't be replicated, even with such a large investment."

"Because they couldn't capture the essence of Liyuan Farm, the owner of Qifeng Farm turned to stealing fireflies, leading to his arrest."

This revelation left everyone, including Chen Shengfei and his wife, stunned.

They knew Liyuan Farm was impressive, but they never imagined another farm would copy it so poorly.

The news didn't end there. The video then showed several other farms, all of which looked somewhat like Liyuan Farm and had similar projects.

Clearly, whenever Liyuan Farm introduced a new project, these farms followed suit.

"Everyone can see these are all counterfeit Liyuan Farms. Many tried to copy Liyuan Farm, but none captured its essence. They all ended up with few visitors and are now facing closure."

"Many farms have shown us through their struggles that Liyuan Farm is irreplicable, further proving the brilliance of its creators. This is why Liyuan Farm is unique and so beloved."

Indeed, people were only now realizing how many 'Liyuan Farms' had popped up across the country.

Given that none of these imitations succeeded, the news was right—Liyuan Farm was truly remarkable.

After finishing the news, Chen Xingke understood what had happened. He couldn't help but comment, "These people are so stupid, especially the owner of Qifeng Farm. Spending 200 million to create something this bad? Even if you can't capture the spirit, you should at least make it look similar."

Chen Xiaoruo, seeing her father about to go on a rant, teased, "Dad, some people finish their master's degrees and quickly develop new firefly species, while others study their whole lives and achieve nothing. Are they stupid?"

Chen Xingke was immediately deflated by his daughter's words.

Why did she have to call him out so directly?

But the news didn't end there. The reporter concluded with, "What disappoints us most isn't the imitation of Linyuan Farm, but the identity of the owner of Qifeng Farm. He is a graduate student from Huana University, one of the best agricultural universities in the country, and has always been a top student with excellent grades."

"Such a person, after graduating from Huana University, should be a leader in the industry. Yet, with 200 million yuan, he chose to imitate Linyuan Farm, and now the outcome is this. It's truly disheartening."

"What the heck? Is this what Huana University's graduate students are like?" Chen Xingke couldn't help but comment. He even pulled out his phone, posted a video, and tagged Huana University.

"Hey, your university's graduates aren't that great."

This was a deliberate jab. A few years back, he had almost secured research funding, but someone from Huana University swooped in and took it away. Now, he was enjoying the irony of the situation.

He wasn't alone. Many people were initially stunned when they heard about Huana University, finding it oddly familiar. Those who followed Linyuan Farm quickly realized this was the same university that had clashed with Linyuan Farm before.

Right, Ma Jun! That incident involved Huana University.

Due to the Ma Jun incident, Huana University's reputation had taken a significant hit, as it had sparked a sense of justice in everyone.

And now, the main culprit in this new scandal was also from Huana University?

Suddenly, the university's reputation plummeted even further. Many people shared the news video and tagged Huana University.

"Man, this university seems to have a lot of issues."

"First the Ma Jun incident, now this student who stole, it feels like the university's reputation doesn't match its name."

"A graduate from Huana University spent 200 million yuan to copy someone else's agricultural landscape and still did a terrible job. What did he learn at Huana University?"

"My son wanted to apply to Huana University, but now if he dares to, I'll break his legs."

With the heat rising, Huana University found itself trending again, much to Jin Zhengkang's dismay. The last time Zheng Boshan criticized Huana University and supported Ma Jun, it had put the university in the spotlight. Jin had to provide various explanations and assurances to higher-ups to get through that.

And now, just when things had settled, this news broke.

Worse still, he checked the background of the culprit, Huang Bin, and found that he had graduated years ago, with no connection to Jin's tenure. He was at a loss for words.

The phone rang urgently, and he answered it. The voice on the other end was a leader, who then proceeded to berate him.

After hanging up, he slumped into his chair, wondering where to turn for solace. As he pondered, another call came in, followed by another round of scolding.

Was there no justice?

Why was everyone targeting him?

At this rate, he might quit on his own.

Damn!

Online, the buzz was intense, and Linyuan Farm couldn't help but notice. Zhang Lin, of course, was aware of it too.

He hadn't expected so many people to imitate Linyuan Farm. Perhaps because they hadn't achieved anything significant, they had quietly appeared and would have quietly disappeared if not for this news.

What he hadn't anticipated was that the owner of Qifeng Farm would drag Huana University into the mess.

This time, he felt the university was being unfairly targeted.

The incident was definitely not related to the university, and what a graduate chose to do after leaving school was beyond the university's control.

But there was nothing he could do. The university had been dragged into the spotlight twice, and its reputation was already tarnished.

Now, people were quick to jump to conclusions, especially when they heard Huang Bin was a Huana University graduate, without considering the full context.

So, from ancient times to the present, reputation has always been crucial. Huana University's reputation had taken a nosedive.

Just a day later, Lin Mengyao brought a man in his fifties to Zhang Lin. It was none other than the agricultural expert, Chen Xingke.

The research assistant had arrived quickly.

"Dr. Chen, this is our boss, Mr. Zhang, of Linyuan Farm," Lin Mengyao explained.

"Mr. Zhang, hello, hello!" Chen Xingke greeted warmly. Since he was at Linyuan Farm, he had thoroughly researched it and was increasingly impressed by its capabilities.

It was definitely more impressive than the farms he had seen online.

Even though the farm's owner was young, Chen Xingke didn't treat him with condescension.

"Dr. Chen, welcome. I hope you enjoy working at the farm," Zhang Lin said politely. After the formalities, he asked Lin Mengyao to take Dr. Chen to Ma Jun's research institute.

Let the researchers chat among themselves; he and Dr. Chen probably wouldn't have much to talk about.

Lin Mengyao, following his instructions, led Chen Xingke away. She had only brought him to meet the boss because he was a doctor, after all.

As they left, Zhang Lin suddenly paused, instinctively looking at the game in his mind.

After all this time, thanks to the firefly night scene, Linyuan Farm's followers had finally reached 20 million, hitting the milestone of 20 million promotional fans.

But the reward was not what he had expected.

It seemed the game system didn't want him to guess correctly and was deliberately unconventional with its rewards.

It gave another reward of the same type.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end