Chapter 635: The Experience Store’s Spring Festival Couplets!
Chen Mo nodded: “That’s right, it’s that cheap! Surprised, aren’t you? It’s just the price of a designer bag, right? But with all heroes and all skins, the flex is a hundred times better than a bag!”
The young man slapped his thigh: “A hundred times? A thousand times more! I never actually calculated how much all heroes and all skins cost. Turns out it’s this cheap! No way, I’m getting a set right now! And I’ll grab a Switch later too—gotta have the full collection.”
Seeing the shuttle bus about to stop, Chen Mo smiled and put away the Switch, hiding his merit and fame.
The young man said goodbye to Chen Mo at the airport, walking off while saying, “Thanks, buddy! I’m buying a full skin set as soon as I get back!”
Chen Mo smiled: “No need to thank me. Just call me Lei Feng!”
...
From the airport, he took a taxi back to the experience store. The traffic was a bit congested along the way.
It was almost New Year’s, and fewer players were coming to the experience store. After the annual meeting, most of the employees had gone home, leaving only a few veterans like Qian Kun to handle arrangements during the Spring Festival.
A few local employees from the capital volunteered to work shifts. Chen Mo thought it over and agreed, giving them extra holiday pay.
The experience store would be closed until the third day of the Lunar New Year, reopening for normal visits on that day. However, the project team’s official work start date was the seventh day.
After all, for many locals in the capital, going out with friends to game together during the New Year was an important pastime.
Qian Kun had already arranged the duty schedule for the Spring Festival period. Everyone was happy to see Chen Mo back.
“Store manager, hurry up, where’s the TGN trophy?”
“Store manager, I watched the awards ceremony—it was awesome! But hey, didn’t TGN keep you for a meal or something?”
Chen Mo chuckled: “What meal? Foreigners don’t do that stuff. The trophy’s in my suitcase. Hang on, let me take it out and put it with the other trophies.”
He pulled out the TGN trophy. Qian Kun and the others took turns holding it and admiring it for a while before placing it in the cabinet alongside the other trophies.
“Oh, right.” Qian Kun suddenly remembered something. “Store manager, a player sent us a pair of Spring Festival couplets.”
Chen Mo was stunned: “Spring Festival couplets? Where? Let me see.”
There really were a lot of enthusiastic players—someone even sent couplets?
Qian Kun took a pair of couplets down from the bookshelf in the experience store, and he and Chen Mo unrolled them in the main hall.
To be honest, the couplets were of good quality, with large characters that looked quite impressive.
But when Chen Mo saw the content of the couplets, he almost burst out laughing.
The first line read: “Rich but not recharging—what value in wealth?”
The second line read: “Poor but spending on in-game purchases—though without fame, your spirit is high.”
The horizontal scroll read: “Grinding and spending is glorious.”
Chen Mo read it again. To be fair, the couplets were neatly matched in structure, and the tonal patterns were quite appropriate...
The most outrageous part was the meaning of the couplets—it was basically a fancy way to encourage spending. Was this really not a plant hired by their own company?
Chen Mo suppressed his laughter: “Which player wrote this? Pretty talented, huh?”
Qian Kun said, “Yeah, it seems like an enthusiastic reader sent it, along with their Thunder Game pass ID.”
Chen Mo said, “Alright, send them a New Year-themed skin super gift pack and express our thanks.”
Qian Kun nodded: “Got it.”
Chen Mo added, “These couplets are great. Let’s just hang them at the entrance of the experience store, right?”
Qian Kun was taken aback: “Huh? Is that appropriate?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Chen Mo said. “Look at these couplets—neatly matched, profound meaning. They’re good couplets! And they really reflect the essence of Thunder Games. Do as I say, put them up!”
“Alright.” Qian Kun nodded and called a few employees over. “You guys, come with me. Let’s go put up the couplets.”
As the Spring Festival approached, the experience store was already decorated with various ornaments, like paper window cuttings and “fortune” characters. A few red lanterns hung at the entrance, giving it a festive feel.
Once the couplets were up, everything was complete.
Chen Mo stood at the entrance and looked it over, very satisfied. The store’s door was quite large, and fortunately, the couplets were big enough—they didn’t look shabby at all, but rather grand.
He pulled out his phone, took a photo of the store’s main entrance, capturing the couplets in the frame.
He casually posted on Weibo: “Thunder Games wishes everyone a happy New Year!”
As soon as the post went up, countless people were scrambling for the first comment.
“Wow, Chen Mo posted on Weibo again!”
“Oh, I thought it was a new game announcement. Boring!”
“Come on, it’s New Year’s—Chen Mo deserves a break too. Is this the experience store? Looks pretty festive!”
“Yeah, those red lanterns are nice. Huh? And couplets?”
“These couplets... Holy crap!”
“Haha, I’m dying of laughter. Is Chen Mo doing this on purpose? These couplets are just begging to be hit!”
“I’m illiterate—can someone explain what these couplets mean?”
“It means, whether you’re poor or rich, as long as you spend money, you’re glorious. If you don’t spend, no amount of wealth makes you noble!”
“What the hell, Chen Mo is provoking us! Beat this bastard!”
“Oh man, the company is forcing people to spend? That’s too much!”
“Hey, the author of the couplets just posted on Weibo, saying they received the New Year-themed skin gift pack from Chen Mo!”
“Damn it! There’s a traitor among us!”
“Who wrote these couplets? I’m going to hunt them down in the game!!”
Weibo was filled with laughter and chatter.
Several employees said their goodbyes to Chen Mo and went home to pack. Most had their tickets for the next few days.
Chen Mo’s ticket was for tomorrow noon, so there was no rush.
In the evening, he had dinner with Li Jingsi, and the two strolled slowly back toward the experience store.
The store was near the Third Ring Road, surrounded by the lights of countless homes. There were no particularly tall skyscrapers nearby, but it was still lively.
Suddenly.
A string of fireworks shot into the sky in the distance, bursting apart instantly, making the already faint stars seem even dimmer.
After a moment, the sound of the fireworks reached them.
Soon after, a few more fireworks bloomed, but they were far away, clearly outside the Fifth Ring Road.
It was already quite rare to see fireworks here.
Chen Mo looked at the distant sky and sighed, “Fireworks, huh. Not bad.”
Li Jingsi also gazed into the distance: “Beautiful.”
Within the Fifth Ring Road of the capital, fireworks and firecrackers were banned, so even as New Year approached, there was almost no sound of firecrackers.
Fortunately, fireworks were allowed outside the Fifth Ring Road. Even if it was just a distant view, it still brought a bit of New Year’s flavor.
The night breeze was a bit chilly, and Li Jingsi’s face was flushed red from the cold, but a smile lingered on her face.
“Happy New Year!” Li Jingsi said with a smile.
Chen Mo smiled too: “Yeah, Happy New Year!”
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