I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 509 Paying Homage to the City God, Good and Evil Are Rewarded (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

When Li Xunfang saw Jinli trending on social media on New Year's Eve, she had a bad feeling.

Seeing the content on the trending topics made me even angrier.

She called Zhao Rui and asked bluntly, "Can you suppress the trending topic about Jinli?"

Zhao Rui hasn't checked any news in the entertainment industry today; she's at her hometown.

Generally speaking, internet traffic is at its lowest during the Chinese New Year period, as people have many entertainment activities and don't have time to go online.

Even when I'm online, I don't have time to gossip; my mind is completely occupied by various traditional Chinese games.

She first said, "Let me see what the news is."

He hung up the phone.

She couldn't stay on the phone; she was certain Li Xunfang would keep nagging while she was looking at the screen, distracting her and making it impossible for her to organize her thoughts.

After seeing the trending topics, Zhao Rui felt a little gloomy and called Li Xunfang again.

"Lanxi is pushing this trending topic, and they won't let us take it down."

Li Xunfang: "I can spend a lot of money."

She mainly didn't want her fans to see this trending topic, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to them.

The fans being proven wrong is the same as her being proven wrong, even though she knew from the beginning that Jinli had several co-branded endorsements.

But in order to generate buzz, she still steered the conversation towards the idea of ​​staged accidents.

Zhao Rui said helplessly, "Xunfang, it's not about the money. This is a trending topic on a business platform that the brand bought. There's no way we can take it down."

Li Xunfang's face twisted with anger: "Then you can use water army to guide the discussion, right? Don't focus on me, focus on the other members of the pink girl group."

Although Pink Girls is very famous, not all members are A-list celebrities; several of them are still second-tier celebrities.

"Now that Jinli is doing so well, and they're doing so poorly, let's have some paid online commentators create a comparison to attract netizens' attention."

Zhao Rui: "That's a good idea. I'll get it done for you right now, but there's the issue of price."

Li Xunfang: "Money is negotiable."

Zhao Rui hesitated and said, "Besides, since everyone is celebrating the New Year now, very few people will work overtime, so they may not be willing to write."

Li Xunfang: "Money is not a problem!"

Zhao Rui's brows relaxed: "Okay, I'll take care of it for you right away."

After hanging up the phone, she called the media company and placed an order for online trolls.

The media company representative said, "You want to send it out today? Sure, I'll expedite it for you. We have people in the company who can control the account and keep sending messages."

"Huh? You chose the lowest account level? This kind of account isn't worth much, but it's too easy for people to see through. Are you sure you want to choose this one?"

After a few more exchanges, the media company representative said, "Okay, okay, I'll get it done for you right now."

After the media company representative hung up the phone, a relative came over and asked, "Boss, someone placed an order with you on New Year's Eve! Business is booming!"

The man shook his head and said, "Sigh, even with the lowest-level online trolls, we still have to fabricate the news. We only get a small fee for their hard work and a holiday bonus. We don't make much money."

It is common knowledge that those who don't make much money often make a lot of money.

This person complained, "These days, celebrities are getting stingier and stingier. When ordering fake news, they won't use those that look real; they insist on choosing those that look obviously fake."

It just so happens that it's a holiday recently, and the main users of the internet who usually surf the web aren't online these days.

Otherwise, if that bunch of numbers were to be revealed, Li Xunfang wouldn't be able to withstand the netizens' criticism.

Even so, because the package deal was unreliable and the messages were posted from multiple accounts, the comments from the hardworking online trolls were all buried deep down, requiring scrolling through four or five pages to appear.

Only those netizens who are very interested will scroll down four or five pages to see this content.

While netizens might not be fooled, Li Xunfang, who had been keeping a close eye on Jinli, was easily fooled.

[With four collaborative endorsements? If I remember correctly, Jinli already has three luxury brand endorsements: Ru Meng Ling, Fang Fei, and Tian Gong. Now, with so many collaborative products, her career is booming!]

[Among the pink-clad girl group, only Jin Li, the "queen of slacking off," has really taken off. It seems that talent is irrelevant in the entertainment industry; it's all about generating buzz and marketing!]

She's probably the celebrity who knows how to best utilize "lucky charm" – other celebrities should learn from her pink-clad style, maybe even veteran artists can experience a career resurgence!

Only after seeing these comments did Li Xunfang feel at ease enough to put down her phone, silently muttering a few words about Jinli:
"Jinli, your image overlaps with mine, and we're following the same path. My reputation was bad over the past year, and you stole all my resources. Now it's time to give them back, isn't it?"

"I really don't know what kind of luck you have, you always seem to run into helpful people wherever you go. You always market yourself as having poor health, are you doing it on purpose?"

"Tsk, you've gone mad to become famous!"

After muttering a few words, Li Xunfang went out to greet the guests.

She sneezed three times in a row, touched her nose, and felt like she had caught a cold again due to a stuffy nose.

Li Qianfang frowned. How could that hospital be so unreliable? Her fever had just subsided a while ago, how could it have relapsed?

I won't go to that hospital again; I have to go to a better private hospital!

Meanwhile, Jinli, whom Li Xunfang was thinking about, had already arrived at a nearby Taoist temple with Xi Mengze and Qi Guanmingzhu.

The nearby Taoist temple is called Qingyun Temple, which is said to have been founded several hundred years ago by a Taoist priest named "Qingyun".

Not far from the Taoist temple, there is also a City God Temple.

Jinli planned to visit the City God Temple after visiting Qingyun Temple, as it was also a place to pay respects.

The Qingyun Taoist Temple has several halls. The main hall enshrines Wenchang Dijun, whose function is to be in charge of academic success and official rank, and to help students advance in their studies and have a smooth career.

Wenchang Dijun is in charge of the register of officials in Guangxi and judges the academic and career progress of all people. He can bless them with "passing the imperial examination and having a smooth official career".

Merchants may also regard him as the "God of Wealth," because business needs the support of wisdom.

The God of Wealth Hall in Qingyun Temple is composed of five Gods of Wealth, and no single deity is worshipped separately.

The central God of Wealth, Wang Hai, represents wisdom, strategy, and wealth.

Bi Gan, the God of Wealth of the East, represents literary talent, fame, and wealth.

Chai Rong, the God of Wealth of the Southern Road, is the source of wealth for businesses and trade.

Guan Yu, the God of Wealth of the Western Route, represents justice, bravery, and wealth.

Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth of the North Road, is there to ward off evil and bring in wealth.

These are all the Five Gods of Wealth, emphasizing the symbolic significance of historical figures.

There is also a Lesser Five Gods of Wealth, which are worshipped as different deities and focus more on the division of duties among Taoist gods.

Folk traditions often recognize the Five Major Paths, while Taoist temples and monasteries tend to focus on the Five Minor Paths.

Fortunately, it was Lunar New Year's Eve, and the place was remote, just a rural Taoist temple. The village was very busy today, so Jinli and the others did not encounter a single villager when they went up the mountain to worship.

Qi Guanmingzhu glanced around the Taoist temple and said, "This place is spacious and open; you can tell at a glance that no paparazzi are following us."

After paying their respects to the deities enshrined in Qingyun Temple, Jinli and the others went to the City God Temple not far away.

It didn't look far, but it took about twenty minutes to walk, so everyone treated it as a stroll. Most importantly, there was no one around, so they chatted and walked happily.

Jinli was filming in Chitang Village. Acting was very boring, and nothing new happened.

Xi Mengze and Qi Guanmingzhu are different.

They are not exposed to a closed environment, and they often hear interesting things, some of which happen to them.

Xi Mengze said, "I was invited to record many galas this year, but I wasn't interested and turned them all down."

For some events I couldn't cancel, I pre-recorded the footage. After all, the shows being broadcast online aren't live.

Qi Guanmingzhu asked curiously, "How many did you record? After my affairs were transferred to Chenxi, Sister Fang gave me three."

Xi Mengze: "Not many, I only recorded five, but I chose the better TV stations, and I didn't participate in some of the smaller TV stations."

Jinli: "Aren't five enough?"

Xi Mengze shook his head: "Not many. I record with more than a dozen popular singers. They appear frequently on various TV galas every day. I'm very busy and don't want to do so many."

Each TV station is located in a different place, and if you want to finish recording in a short time, you have to cross provinces and cities to record each song.

Recording songs isn't difficult, nor is singing; the hardest part is the journey itself. She can't stand being in the car for too long—it's too boring.

When Qi Guanmingzhu mentioned that she had been transferred to Chenxi Entertainment for less than half a month, she felt that this was the life of a god, and that it was too happy.

"TianDing Entertainment is too demanding. I admire the artists at TianDing Entertainment. They could easily avoid such a tiring schedule, but they still fill their days with announcements."

She paused for a moment, then described it as follows: "Tian Ding Entertainment is not like an entertainment company, but more like a trading company. It has KPI requirements every year, every quarter, every month, and every half month. If you don't meet the targets, you're fired."

"This company is different from when we became famous. After we became famous, we didn't have a choice in many of the announcements. The company forced us to run for them."

But Tianding is different. Many of Tianding's gigs are secured by celebrities themselves. To fill their daily schedules, top-tier artists will accept gigs that aren't very cost-effective.

Qi Guanmingzhu was always puzzled by this.

“Announcements that don’t offer good value for money don’t bring much profit to artists. Wouldn’t it be better to use that time to give themselves plenty of rest? Why are they so eager to work so hard?”

She could understand Jinli's curly hair.

That was a targeted exercise.

They're still getting involved in different areas.

However, the artists at Tianding Entertainment are drawn up without any clear purpose; they know that accepting this job won't boost their careers, but they still do it anyway.

It seems like you have to take on a lot of gigs to prove your worth.

Jinli said thoughtfully, "The internal competition at Tianding is fierce. They are very different from us. The announcements are just there. If you accept them, you can get the job, but if you don't, someone else will take them."

"Some of the artists there were only promoted to the top tier by Tianding Entertainment's influence; they don't have any special characteristics of their own, and they are not irreplaceable."

Once a new person takes over, they are likely to replace you, so you have no choice but to comply.

In a way, this is also a tragedy.

If one's virtue does not match one's position, one will face competition from those who come after.

When success can be replicated, everyone worries that they will be the next one to be dragged down.

Soon, the three arrived at the City God Temple.

The City God Temple can protect the city and its people, eliminate evil, safeguard the country, and govern the souls of the dead.

It has subordinate officials such as "civil and military judges and day and night wandering gods", and its functions are similar to those of the local government in the underworld, punishing evil and promoting good.

The City God Temple is the faith of many people living in cities. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty once required officials to take an oath at the City God Temple when they took office, in order to use divine authority to restrain officialdom.

People go to the City God Temple to pray for blessings, hoping to ward off evil spirits and disasters and ensure peace and tranquility in their homes; students go there to pray for success in the imperial examinations because the City God oversees the register of successful candidates; people pray for prosperous businesses because the City God, as the "lord of the city," can boost their fortunes.

They are all celebrities, and they go to the City God Temple for peace and health, so as not to contract any illnesses due to their overly busy work schedules.

As usual, after Jinli finished worshiping all the gods, she felt a wisp of divine power descend from the sky.

This divine power is similar to that in Qingyun Temple, but also different.

The divine power bestowed by Qingyun Temple could repair her body, but the divine power descended from the City God Temple, though profound, was not for repair.

Jinli was surprised to find that the divine power circulated through her body and then stopped at her spiritual center, without dissipating!
Of course, although a trace of divine power remained, it didn't mean she could use any magic.

Her body was born with a weak foundation; even if she could use magic, it would constantly dissipate during the process, and then she would be unable to use it anymore.

This divine power merely allows her body to sustain itself for longer, so she doesn't need to come to pray so frequently.

Jinli wondered if the gods knew she was going to take the college entrance exam and had sent down their divine power to give her a boost.

Well, she shook her head, feeling an even heavier burden on her shoulders.

Before leaving the City God Temple, Qi Guan Mingzhu recited a sentence that had been carved on the wall by someone:

"Evil will surely perish, for if one's ancestors have accumulated virtue, one will perish when that virtue is exhausted; good will surely prosper, for if one's ancestors have accumulated calamities, one will prosper when those calamities are exhausted."

Xi Mengze thought for a moment: "Isn't this a case of good deeds being rewarded and evil deeds being punished?"

Jinli: "Yes."

After Jinli returned home, she discovered that the collaborative bag launched today was trending on social media.

The exclusive link was opened after Lanxi issued the announcement.

Although it's Chinese New Year, Lanxi uses Dongfeng Express, which operates "non-stop during Chinese New Year," so its transportation capacity is sufficient even during the holiday.

The shopping website happened to be promoting "Open During Chinese New Year", so they chose to feature the Jinli collaboration bag on their homepage and gave it a prominent pop-up recommendation.

This resource wasn't applied for by Lanxi; it was recommended by the shopping website itself, which was a pleasant surprise.

Because it's a mid-range luxury bag, priced at over a thousand yuan, and given the Chinese New Year holiday, even with website pop-up recommendations, the exposure wasn't actually that high.

Jinli had been promoting the news for five hours after learning about it, but she was somewhat surprised when she checked the sales figures on the official website.

"Twenty thousand units have already been sold? My collaboration product costs two thousand six hundred yuan!"

This sales volume shocked Qi Guanmingzhu and Xi Mengze, who later found out.

"That's a pretty high volume. Your fans seem to be quite wealthy and willing to spend money."

Jinli seemed to have thought of something and said helplessly, "I'm afraid they bought it with their own New Year's money, it's an impulsive purchase."

She thought for a moment and said, "I'll do a live stream tonight and talk to my fans."

Jinli didn't have to cook her own New Year's Eve dinner; the production crew specially hired a chef to cook it for her.

Because many actors stayed on set for the Lunar New Year, the production team simply hired someone to cook for them. The village also brought several pots of freshly cooked dishes to add to the crew's meals.

On this day, leftovers are allowed and do not need to be thrown away, because "there will be abundance every year".

But just after Jinli finished her New Year's Eve dinner and started her live stream, she suddenly received a pop-up message from her blog.

"Urgent! Li Xunfang is in the ICU after eating!"

The moment this news broke, online traffic finally surged.