Chapter 3493: The True Emotional Home

On White Horse Island, there were roughly forty Chinese tourists in total; if seated according to standard Chinese banquet customs, several families would have had to squeeze together.

However, the restaurant did not follow the traditional Chinese banquet style of eight or ten people per table; instead, the chef designed a set-menu à la carte, modeled after Japanese kaiseki cuisine, with the menu details written on paper, one set per person, all served individually.

This set menu consisted of sixteen dishes in total: four cold appetizers, four stir-fries, four braised dishes, two soups, and two desserts, following Chinese culinary customs.

In addition, multiple varieties of Chinese baijiu were prepared for guests to choose from.

The advantage of this approach is obvious: each person receives only a small portion when dishes are served, eliminating the need to share utensils, avoiding extra waste, and most importantly, allowing any number of people to dine together comfortably.

Under normal circumstances, couples going out would already be unable to finish three or four dishes; serving sixteen dishes would be excessive waste, and forcing shared tables would ruin the experience. This individual serving style is very friendly for small families of two, three, or four people traveling together.

During the meal, Bernard Arnault personally had waiters carry baijiu to toast each table. Aside from his European Caucasian appearance and skin, he now looked virtually indistinguishable from a Chinese person.

At 5:00 p. m. local Maldives time, the Spring Festival Gala live broadcast began punctually.

The status of the Spring Festival Gala in China is akin to the American Super Bowl, and in fact, even more significant; thus, even though it is no longer as entertaining as before, most Chinese people still willingly sit in front of their televisions to casually watch it.

For several consecutive years, the Spring Festival Gala's largest naming rights sponsor has been an internet company, especially Taobao, which has had the highest appearance rate.

But this year, the Spring Festival Gala's biggest naming sponsor finally switched to a physical enterprise: Changying Automobile.

Although Changying Automobile's actual vehicles have not yet been produced or any models released, the various preheating efforts and deep collaboration with Tavana over the past period have already earned this brand substantial attention.

Now, it has become the Spring Festival Gala's biggest naming sponsor, and its popularity will inevitably surge significantly.

After thanking Changying Automobile for its sponsorship and naming rights, the host announced to all viewers that Changying Automobile's first vehicle model will be officially launched on July 1st, the first day of the second half of the year.

This news shocked both the television audience and the automotive industry.

Knowing that Changying Automobile is fast, but not expecting it to be this fast—launching its first model on the first day of the second half of the year, a speed far exceeding that of Remi.

What they do not know is that Changying Automobile's cash reserves exceed those of the entire Remi Group, let alone Remi Automobile alone.

In today's society, money always makes things easier; with ample funding, the speed of every process will increase exponentially.

According to He Yuanjiang's plan, Changying Automobile's first mass-produced vehicle will complete design in the first half of this year, be officially launched in the third quarter of the second half, and begin formal delivery in the fourth quarter.

Although Changying Automobile's first vehicle is still in intense design, its basic positioning is already very clear: a new energy mid-to-large SUV priced between 250,000 and 350,000 yuan.

In the Chinese market, SUVs have consistently high attention; many pro-foreign car critics enjoy pandering to foreigners' preferences, claiming Chinese people don't understand cars, buy cars without looking at anything else, only care about size, unlike foreigners who are knowledgeable about car culture and prefer small cars with strong handling.

In Ye Chen's view, such remarks are pure nonsense.

Why do Chinese people prefer larger vehicles?

Because most Chinese car-owning families own only one vehicle.

A middle-aged worker who saves to buy a car must not only handle commuting for himself and his wife and picking up/dropping off children from school, but also occasionally accommodate three generations on a self-driving trip, so the car must not only carry people but also have sufficient space for luggage.

Those who profit from Chinese consumers, kneel to foreign interests, and slander domestic ones—do they not bother to think? In Europe and America, a family typically has at least two cars, sometimes three, so they can naturally choose models based on their needs and preferences. Moreover, these critics clearly know that one of the best-selling vehicle models in the U. S. market is a large, highly cargo-capable pickup truck—why have we never heard them criticize Americans for not understanding cars?

Under current national conditions, if a family can only afford 50,000 yuan for a car, they naturally buy a compact, inexpensive model; if they can afford 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, a practical SUV is inevitably the first choice. Remi's SUVs sell 200,000 to 300,000 units per day, clearly demonstrating the SUV's pivotal role in China's mid-to-high-end automotive market.

To enable Changying Automobile to reach the world as quickly as possible, Ye Chen has already planned to use the Rejuvenation Pill to open doors after Changying Automobile establishes a foothold in the domestic market, seeking help from the Rothschild family to secure U. S. production and sales qualifications, acquire an American automaker with sufficient production capacity—such as General Motors or Ford—and then have Bernard Arnault step in to resolve the French Peugeot brand, finally integrating them into Changying Automobile's overseas production base.

Although Ye Chen knows nothing about manufacturing or selling cars, he knows that since this brand uses his father's name, he must spare no effort to make it the best automobile brand in the world.

This year's Spring Festival Gala did not feature Changying Automobile's elements as pervasively as previous sponsors did.

They would occasionally insert product placements, then have the host repeatedly slip in verbal mentions, and occasionally create a red packet rain to boost visibility.

Although Changying Automobile spent the same amount of money, it only ran two advertisements: one where the host announced the new vehicle launch time, and otherwise, only a wordless red Ying logo appeared at the end of the program list.

Low-key, restrained—this is the tone of Changying Automobile's sponsorship this time.

The program items followed one after another like an assembly line, steadily and precisely appearing without interruption.

Although the Spring Festival Gala's comedy segments have regressed year after year, because no one has ever tried celebrating New Year's Eve in a restaurant with dozens of compatriots, everyone felt a strong sense of novelty.

Moreover, sometimes people's laughter thresholds decrease as group size increases.

This is why watching a stand-up comedy video on a phone alone feels merely okay, while the live audience laughs uncontrollably—the live atmosphere is simply better.

What Ye Chen did not expect was that the Spring Festival Gala still had a mystery program with no advance announcement of its name.

When the host appeared on screen, he smiled and said: "In previous years, our Spring Festival Gala would release the program list before the show began, but this time, we did not fully disclose the program list, because we have been actively pursuing this program for the two days before the broadcast began. Now I can tell everyone: this program has finally been secured and will appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage to meet you all!"

The host's few words immediately stirred everyone's interest.

Regardless of whether the Spring Festival Gala programs are good or not, its organization has always been extremely rigorous. To ensure the New Year's bell strikes precisely at midnight without interference, preceding programs must be exact to the second; anyone who deliberately extends or shortens their segment will be blacklisted by the directing team and never allowed to perform on this stage again.

Therefore, the Spring Festival Gala's program list and timing are basically finalized at least half a month in advance, followed by repeated rehearsals based on that list.

So what exactly is this mystery program that allowed the Spring Festival Gala directing team to keep pursuing it until two days before the performance?

This undoubtedly involves significant risk, completely opposite to the cautious style of past Spring Festival Galas.

Just as everyone was puzzled, the host continued: "Recently, a song has frequently topped the major websites' hot search lists. This song is 'Assassin,' jointly performed by our country's powerful female singer Gu Qiuyi and international superstar Tavana Svet. Fans of Miss Gu should know that after completing all her farewell concerts this year, she will retire from the entertainment industry. Therefore, our directing team pursued her several times and finally succeeded in inviting Miss Gu to appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage before her retirement."

The audience in the venue erupted in screams and gasps.

Such an enthusiastic reaction has rarely occurred on past Spring Festival Gala stages.

Many viewers in front of their televisions were also overcome with excitement.

Who could have imagined that Gu Qiuyi could appear on the Spring Festival Gala one more time!

At this moment, the host smiled and said: "Please welcome Gu Qiuyi to perform 'Assassin' for us."

The stage switched again to an ancient style; Gu Qiuyi, dressed in an ancient long gown, ascended the stage.

Even in this restaurant on the Maldives island, many viewers continued to clap excitedly.

Xiao Changkun raised both hands and kept clapping, laughing and saying: "Oh, this song was really hot recently! Miss Svet even sang it in a bar yesterday!"

Xiao Churan pressed her lips, her expression complex, silent.

Ye Chen did not have time to notice Xiao Churan's expression changes; he stared at the big screen, curiously observing Gu Qiuyi's red shawl.

Perhaps it cannot be called a shawl, but rather resembles a long red Ying, made of silk-like material passing from her shoulders over both arms, with long red silk streamers fluttering in the wind behind her on both sides.

This is the Ying!

Ye Chen knew that Gu Qiuyi was also expressing her respect to her father in her own way.

This scene might have originally been understood only by Ye Chen, but he did not expect that Xiao Churan beside him also perceived Gu Qiuyi's intention.

Their families are old friends, and they are engaged; Gu Qiuyi has searched for Ye Chen for many years; Xiao Churan feels that, at this moment, the Gu Qiuyi on stage wearing the red Ying is Ye Chen's true emotional home……