Chapter 311: Zaro + Garlic
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Just when news about Fang Zhao's endorsement of Fiery Bird's Diting Z Series advertisements had started to wane and many operational teams behind famed celebrities were rolling up their sleeves and getting ready to get in on the action, news of Zaro endorsing garlic violently seized the headlines of each and every continent, and the entire world's entertainment circles were caught unprepared.
The combination of Zaro and garlic surprised people. The firepower from this news was so ferocious that it carved a bloody path through the community of celebrities that frequently threw money to purchase popularity,
Zaro, who called himself Leizhou's greatest internet celebrity, was a descendant of a great general, a son of an aristocratic family, and someone who frequently bounced around in the entertainment circles. But no one had really ever seen Zaro endorse a product, at most only shooting commercials for films and drama series that his own company invested in.
But now, such a person had actually gone and endorsed garlic!
What sort of blow had he suffered for him to go and consider endorsing garlic?
This was something that everyone found baffling.
And the garlic that Zaro was endorsing had a price that did not lose out to silverware!
A piece of garlic alone cost a few hundred, and there were still handpicked and preferred-choice grades that were above a thousand dollars! If special varieties came out in the future, would there be a grade that was worth tens of thousands?
Ripping people off!
This wasn't the way to hype. In the past, no internet personality's goods that were being hyped up were this exaggerated!
Many netizens were dumbstruck.
"This... Can garlic also become a luxury good?"
"We were talking about earpieces yesterday. Today, after taking a look at my own wages, I realized I can't even afford garlic!"
"No, no, no, it is only the garlic from whatever farm Zaro endorses. The garlic produced on planet Wai can be considered a luxury, but the garlic from Muzhou is still affordable."
"Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the greatest internet celebrity of Leizhou to actually endorse an item that is so down to earth."
"The brother who posted before, please take a look at its price and feel your own pockets before answering honestly. How can that garlic be considered down to earth!?"
"I just went online and checked. Muzhou garlic prices have swelled! Fraudulent goods!"
"Where is the Bureau for Commodity Prices?"
"Not only garlic, farm produce that have seen their prices falling recently have suddenly bounced back up.
There were many voices of protest online, but for Muzhou farm owners, Zaro was simply good news! Because of Zaro, farm produce that was used in everyday life and was gradually being neglected received attention once more, and the prices rebounded.
Because there was an increasing amount of farm produce from foreign planets in the market, prices kept falling year after year. Muzhou's status as the world's granary was becoming harder to maintain. Although a portion of fresh fruits and vegetables were still very expensive, compared to five or ten years back, they had dropped a lot!
Previously, there had even been people saying that unless it was a newly developed variety—for example, those higher in medicinal value—the value of agricultural produce would continue to fall in the future.
Comparing the level of variety and abundance, Muzhou was unable to compete.
Comparing nostalgia, planet Wai had the "Ark Project" major research base and had already resurrected many varieties from seeds.
For planets with immigration plans, farmlands were progressively being put into use. Even on planet Wai's side, private farms were already starting to be established, and furthermore, it was rumored that the soil quality on planet Wai was much more suitable for cultivating crops.
There were some breeds of agricultural produce that had been resurrected years earlier and were grown in Muzhou. However, these crops saw some changes, and their original tastes had also been altered. The longer it took for cultivation, the greater the changes, and not every variety changed in a way that people liked.
After all, Earth had seen a 100-year period full of fundamental changes, and the Period of Destruction had caused the soil to have changes that could not be restored. Even if it was possible to restore soil to its healthy state from the Old Era, it could take hundreds of years. Even thousands might not be enough. Who could wait so long?
In the past, there had been some products from foreign planet farms that had been transported back, but the quantities had been tiny and limited to special communities. They hadn't been for external distribution.
In general, commonly seen fruits and vegetables, such as onions, ginger, garlic and other such products, did not have much investment value, and the risk was high.
Today, Zaro had directly given these people a resounding slap.
The garlic that Zaro was endorsing was directly sold online.
For an item like garlic, not mentioning its medicinal properties, as a seasoning, it could be used for numerous culinary purposes.
Of course, there were also people that felt that even if garlic was special, having such a high price when it could only be fried once... Wasn't that going overboard?
Many people left messages on Zaro's social platform for this.
"Other than this garlic being grown on planet Wai, what other special characteristics does it have?"
"Even if transportation costs and cultivation expenditure are included, the prices shouldn't be so high."
"I know that garlic can boost one's immune system and kill bacteria and germs, but with such a high price, could it be that it can even exorcise demons?
"What does it have to be sold at such a premium?"
During his internet access time, when Zaro was undergoing an interview by a certain gourmet magazine arranged by his agent, he heard the presenter mention this question, and he replied with a question of his own: "Does this even require a reason?"
Zaro had listened to his agent's advice and so did not reveal the secret of his acting skills to the public. "I say that it is a magical object among garlic, so it is a magical object! It is worth its high value!" Recalling the circumstances when he had been filming, Zaro proudly said, "This garlic encapsulates human sentiment inside of it."
"Don't believe me?"
"If you don't believe me, buy one and eat it and you will understand."
And when some people watched the interview, their views changed and they thought: That's right, with the family background that Zaro has, he has surely tried all sorts of good stuff. If he says it's good, it is definitely extraordinary.
Gluttons that were unable to free themselves from the clutches of culinary delicacies and who had sensitive and fussy tastebuds were just like those music zealots and did not lack money either. These people would head wherever the good stuff was. It was fine if that could not head to planet Wai—there would still be advance sales online. Scramble for them!
Chefs inside some high-end restaurants or hotel chains were already sharpening their knives, ready to do battle.
They just wanted to see what sort of difference this garlic had compared to the ones from Muzhou. Would food prepared with this sort of garlic be even more delicious?
The first batch of five tons of planet Wai garlic would be put on sale at the appointed time, and like before, they were sold out in a flash.
In just the blink of an eye, people discovered there was none left.
People that had managed to purchase this garlic tried it as soon as they received the goods, and they took to the internet to express their own thoughts and views about the garlic and share their own culinary skills with the world through bright photographs of exquisitely displayed delicacies.
"Really, the taste just hits the spot."
"I don't know whether it hits the spot, but the flavor is just right! Stimulating!!"
"This is probably true garlicky flavor."
"The taste is slightly pungent, and if you eat it raw, it is a little spicier than the ones from Muzhou, but I think there isn't that much of a difference."
"How can there be not much difference? Is your tongue so defective that you can't even tell a difference between superior and inferior garlic? You aren't suited to being a chef if you can't taste a real delicacy! Even Zaro is better than you!"
In no time, a new pretentious style appeared.
Garlic used in seasoning?
It had to be garlic flown back from planet Wai. Only then would there be enough flavor!
You can not appreciate this flavor, but you cannot say that it is ordinary. Do you think we are having garlic?
No!
What we are having is an aesthetic taste! A taste of pretentiousness! A taste of being an elite!
How many gourmets gave it acclaim and said it was authentic garlic flavor? If you can't taste the difference, it is definitely your tongue that is defective. You can't even be compared to Zaro.
The gourmet world saw a tide of good evaluations, but the price of this garlic was indeed too high. Thus, many people started thinking of ways to get those over at planet Wai to help buy some on their behalf. Isn't this garlic grown on planet Wai? Purchasing it from planet Wai would surely be cheaper!
Thus, many actors in the Wai film studio complex were bombarded with long distance calls from friends and family.
"Hello, when will your filming over there end? Help me bring back some of the native garlic. Over here, they cost too much! And there are even fakes!"
"What is the price of garlic over at planet Wai? If it is cheaper, help me bring some back. Any amount will do. Over here I can even finish a few hundred kilograms no problem."
Even conscripts serving on Wai base received requests from their relatives to help them purchase garlic. As for those with the right connections, they were contacted to purchase it internally and in bulk. If they could not purchase it immediately, the buyer would make an advance order and gladly pay the deposit first.
When Zaro saw his name appearing on the push notifications of entertainment news headlines across each continent and then saw the money in his account increasing, he forgot the initial unwillingness he'd had when his agent had first asked him to endorse garlic.
"You endorsement is percentage based. Are you satisfied now? I told you before that there was no need to be envious of Fang Zhao. Now the market in which we are operating in is very big." Zaro's agent was encouraging Zaro at the same time he was discussing profit sharing with their collaborative partners. "Now all you have to do is concentrate on doing a good job for the filming that is to come and not bother about other stuff. When the time is ripe, we can generate hype again," Zaro's agent exhorted.
Zaro nodded his head in delight.
What was the big deal about earpieces? Had anyone ever endorsed garlic before?
No one!
A person with his sort of status should be unique and unmatched! He should stand out from the masses!
There were many people who loved music, but what about people who ate lots of good stuff?
Were there any!?
There were many people that bought earpieces, but were there many people that were addicted to gourmet foodstuffs?
Were there!?
The amount was too far apart!!
Zaro excitedly watched his own popularity soar while his agent pondered how to increase Zaro's value even further.
Back when planet Wai had first applied for the major research base, there had been some large Muzhou farm owners that had been eyeing land here. However, back then, the audits for private farmland here had been even more strict than the film studio complex, and it had not been something that Wai base could decide alone.
Now that it was finally open to public purchasing, Zaro's manager had contacted a bunch of farm owners on planet Wai to collaborate and generate a wave of hype for garlic before letting Zaro stand at the front to advertise.
In the past, there had been a limit to garlic on planet Wai. By joining hands, planet Wai's garlic had increased by about 80%. Still, the garlic produced by planet Wai was supplied to the military on Wai base, the "Founding Era" team, and those at the film studio complex. Basically, the supply only covered this bunch.
It was market dominance.
Now even if others wished to purchase the goods, they wouldn't be able to get much. Furthermore, the checks on freight transports from the Wai spaceport were very strict.
Zaro and this bunch might have established market dominance and generated a whole lot of buzz, but they still followed regulations and paid their taxes dutifully. All these taxes would become funds for Wai base, and because of the huge amount of taxes, Wai base would not make things difficult for them and would help out with the transportation of goods.
As of now, the Wai spaceport had increased its manpower, but there were still limitations to bringing goods out of planet Wai. Whether it was garlic or agricultural produce, people were not permitted to bring along too much and weren't allowed to evade the taxes! Experimental breeds still in the trial phrase could not be brought out. If anyone was discovered to be in possession of these, they would be locked up in a small black room on the base, no questions asked.
Now, the Wai spaceport had the doubly guaranteed method of machines and dogs... although there was only one dog that was taking up a post. The other dogs that had arrived on Wai base had not grown up yet.
Celebrities from every continent were gloomy. It was all right if they were unable to compete for headlines with Fang Zhao. After all, besides having the operations teams of Silver Wing behind his back, he still had Fiery Bird's advertising to generate hype.
But now they weren't able to even compete with Zaro!
In the past, Zaro making the headlines had only been limited to having a great influence in Leizhou. On a global context, it had been nothing more than some entertaining news that could be treated as a joking matter. But now, the influence had expanded globally and everyone could not help but feel that all the continents would no longer be peaceful in future.
Over at the cast and crew of "Founding Era," during internet access time, every celebrity took note of the activity on the internet.
During his hard-earned two hours of internet access, Woo Tianhao logged on to his social platform to leave some online presence and saw the news.
"Zaro is a f*cking talent!"
When Zaro had been filming a vampire horror series, the prices of garlic and silverware had been stirred up. Now, the value of garlic had risen even more impressively.
At the same time, Woo Tianhao felt a little sullen. They were both descendants of great generals and they were both around the same age. In the past, he had always felt superior. Even when Zaro's acting ability had suddenly broken out, he still had not treated it as a big deal, but now Zaro had stirred up the price of garlic, and Woo Tianhao was envious of the profits Zaro was reaping.
He had invested in many projects and was always busying himself, yet those could not compare to how much Zaro had earned from generating hype for garlic.
Planet Wai was really a gold mine!
With the topic of Zaro and garlic erupting, Fang Zhao's buzz on the internet slowly declined.
Fiery Bird did not need to bombard the masses with advertisements all the time. Just letting everyone know about this product was enough. When the time for the official sales approached, they would have another round of publicity campaigns, but right now they were fine with leaving the spotlight to others.
Even if this wave of popularity was over, many people would still remember Fang Zhao and the first luxury item he had endorsed.
Before Fang Zhao had endorsed the Z Series, he had actually signed a contract to endorse something even more luxurious—the 10th-generation console. However, back when he had signed that, the contract had been region limited, not global. Furthermore, the 10th-generation console had yet to begin mass production, so any advertisements were still being pushed back. The outside world had no idea about this.
With regard to Fiery Bird seeking Fang Zhao to endorse the Z Series earpieces, besides valuing Fang Zhao's influence and potential, Fiery Bird had also had a mentality of it being a technological challenge.
They had felt that there was no challenge in seeking out other stars. Fiery Bird had never ever worried about sales volume. Seeking out an ambassador was not just for sales—what Fiery Bird wanted the earpieces to challenge was Fang Zhao's ears!
Whenever Fang Zhao endorsed an earpiece model, he shared with Fiery Bird his thoughts as a consumer as well as the pros and cons of the product. Even though the Z Series earpieces had been coined a magical object by the outside world, as before, it did not receive a "perfect" evaluation from Fang Zhao.
Fiery Bird did not think that Fang Zhao was going out of his way to find fault with their product. The frequency range of the Z Series was frightening, and it far exceeded the hearing range of the average person. Generally speaking, if one wanted to hear every single detail, he would need to have the abilities of certain beasts.
Fang Zhao seemed to possess such an ability.
"Divine Ears" and "Diting" were but some of the nicknames netizens had given Fang Zhao. Fiery Bird's technology development department staff also acknowledged this, and when they had time, these staff would communicate with Fang Zhao and inquire with him about his thoughts when testing certain products. This sort of collaboration was something that other celebrities had no way of providing.
At the "Founding Era" cast dormitory building.
Fang Zhao was seated in his own quarters with his earpiece on.
Although he had not given the Z Series earpieces a "perfect" evaluation, he also acknowledged that among all the earpieces he had used up to now, this series provided the best experience.
All the technology squeezed into such a tiny earpiece caused Fang Zhao to lament the marvel of technology. Science and technology had made the experience so different.
Fiery Bird had given the name "Z" to this new series that had a new system. The outside world saw it as representing the "Zhao" in Fang Zhao, but in actual fact, in the Old Era, the letter Z had a significance in cosmology. This represented the self-confidence and ambition of Fiery Bird as an industry leader.
Fang Zhao's fingers slid across the keyboard as musical notes drifted into his ear.
Sentiments carried by the musical notes without any modification passed through the earpiece and were directly transmitted into his ear.
If there were any blemishes, it would surely be the music keyboard being unable to keep up.
Beside the keyboard was a paperback notebook. The page it was turned to was full of undecipherable symbols.
He was composing.
Even if he was filming, Fang Zhao had never set aside composing. But there were too many distractions to do everything well, so during this period, his focus had been on filming.
As of now, season five was being broadcast and filming for season seven was already underway. Fang Zhao's part in the series would end at season nine. Before then, he wanted to complete the piece he was working on right now.
He would not compete with other members of the music team or precursors in the music circles to get his music in the series, but he would fight for one scene in the ninth season.