This director is vindictive.

"By the way, everyone's been talking about the 814 Welfare Festival lately. What are your plans?" Fan Binbin asked curiously.

All the women looked at Chen Mo.

Although Chen Mo has made many innovations over the years, his most influential and popular innovation is probably the 814 Welfare Festival.

After all, this welfare festival was created by Chen Mo himself, benefiting hundreds of millions of people.

The 814 Welfare Festival is definitely the most explosive one—every year on August 14th, people across the country celebrate like it's Chinese New Year, with hundreds of millions of people glued to their phones trying to grab the benefits. From market vendors to office workers, who hasn't taken advantage of this?

Chen Mo is undoubtedly the key figure behind this 814 Welfare Festival.

But now that Chen Mo is about to announce his retirement from the entertainment industry, will the 814 Welfare Festival become a mere formality, just like the Double Eleven and Double Twelve shopping festivals?
This is also the hottest topic that emerged after the "If there were no Chen Mo topic".

After the topic was raised, it sparked heated discussions and debates among countless netizens.

Some people believe that Chen Mo has already developed this model to a very mature level, so it won't be affected even if Chen Mo no longer participates personally.

However, many people believe that if Chen Mo doesn't personally participate in this welfare festival, it will likely gradually lose its unique flavor and eventually disappear.

The sheer scale of sponsorships from numerous businesses for similar promotional events demonstrates that, despite the 814 Welfare Festival's growing popularity and apparent maturity, it is in reality a testament to Chen Mo's influence and credibility.

If Chen Mo loses control, whether the show will maintain its popularity and whether so many businesses will be willing to buy into it becomes a major question.

“I saw in the previous Weibo poll that 78% of people thought the welfare festival was going to fail.” Yang Mi crossed her legs and scrolled through her phone, her rhinestone-encrusted nails tapping the screen loudly. “A home appliance store owner said that last year he had 200,000 air conditioners in stock, and when he heard that you were withdrawing this year, he changed his promotional plan overnight.”

Liu Yifei, with her pregnant belly sticking out, slowly added, "Those e-commerce merchants are even more ruthless. Now they're bolding 'Last Year Chen Mo Special Price' on their product detail pages, like they're selling rare stamps."

Although the 814 Welfare Festival and Welfare Week are traditionally a time for giving away benefits, it has evolved into a shopping extravaganza as well.

Because of the attention and popularity, many merchants have coordinated and tacitly launched major promotions during this period, offering genuine discounts. As a result, the sales volume of many merchants during this festival has already exceeded that of regular shopping festivals.

Chen Mo didn't seem to care, and lazily stretched, saying, "Since we've said we're retiring, we should definitely do it thoroughly. What would it be if we retired but still acted like a laughingstock every day? Wouldn't that really be a fake retirement for marketing purposes? Besides, don't forget our round-the-world travel plan. Once the plan starts, how will I have time to deal with this kind of thing?"

"As for the 814 Welfare Festival, we'll continue if we can, and it's normal if it fizzles out." Chen Mo didn't seem to feel any regret about it.

After all, this thing is actually a burden to him now.

“Of course, one should see things through to the end. As I said before, we will continue to host this event at least this year, which will be the last time,” Chen Mo added.

Chen Mo never expected that the discussion about the 814 Welfare Festival would spread like wildfire.

At first, there were only a few scattered posts discussing "Can 814 still be called 814 without Chen Mo?", but overnight it turned into a hot topic of discussion across the entire internet.

The incident was triggered by netizens discovering that Chen Mo's new film "Domestic Violence" is scheduled for release on July 15th, while according to convention, the "814 Welfare Festival" will start its pre-release promotion at the end of July.

This caused an uproar—"So there's no 814 this year?" "Retiring from the entertainment industry so completely? He doesn't even want his own son anymore?" Related topics immediately dominated the trending searches.

The impact of the 814 Welfare Festival exceeded Chen Mo's expectations.

Of course, it's just that he himself doesn't take it seriously. In reality, the 814 Welfare Festival has long since replaced the shopping festival as a national carnival, and it can be said that it has also affected the interests of various parties and countless businesses.

Soon, the popularity began to soar.

A long analysis article posted by a financial blogger:
Deconstructing the Life and Death of the 814 Welfare Festival from a Business Logic Perspective

On the surface, the 814 Welfare Festival is a shopping carnival that involves the whole nation every year, but in reality, the core value of this event comes entirely from Chen Mo's personal influence.

To put it bluntly, the merchants are willing to offer unprecedented discounts and sponsor exorbitantly priced products as benefits, not because of any holiday or brand, but purely because of Chen Mo's influence.

Just like back then, when Zhou Hongyi and Musk gave away cars, the result was a complete mess.

As it turns out, the economics of free services isn't something everyone can pull off!

The "814 survivors" on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) were even more heartbroken and wailing:

"Sisters, who understands this? The 814 Welfare Festival may seem like a way to get freebies and take advantage of deals, but the real benefit is that during the 814 period, major merchants are offering genuine discounts, unlike shopping festivals which use all sorts of tricks. Last year, I stocked up on SK-II during the Welfare Festival and it's almost empty. Am I supposed to buy it at full price this year?" (Image: Empty bottles arranged in the shape of tombstones)
The top-rated comment below reads: "I suggest renaming it '814 Qingming Festival,' so that people can visit the graves of the deceased on this day every year." (3 candles)

Many people might be wondering, isn't the 814 Welfare Festival just about Chen Mo giving out benefits? How did it get involved in discounts and shopping?

The truth is, businesses have tacitly turned this holiday into a shopping festival.

I don't know when it started, but during the 814 Welfare Week, many merchants tacitly launch the same products with the lowest annual discounts.

Although many of the discounts are limited-time offers, the discounts are genuine.

It's a direct discount based on the original price, without needing coupons or combining items into a single order.

Therefore, the 814 Welfare Festival, ostensibly a time for Chen Mo to give away a lot of benefits and take advantage of deals, actually results in most of the merchants' inventory being cleared out during the festival, compared to the benefits given away.

For the general public, while it's certainly enjoyable to snag some freebies during welfare festivals, there's always a chance of winning.

But the discount is real.

Even major platforms have directly incorporated this festival into their shopping festival culture.

In the #My814BucketList# challenge on Douyin, transformation bloggers are glamorous one second, then switch to their bare faces and cry the next:

"This is our last chance! Please, Mr. Chen, give us that miracle water until we break our bones before you retire!" (Background music: Adapted version of "Unforgettable Tonight")

Even the straight men on Hupu (a popular Chinese sports forum) couldn't sit still, with the hot posts getting increasingly provocative in their titles:

Rational Discussion: Without the "814 Welfare Festival," how can I persuade my girlfriend to buy less on Singles' Day?

Brothers, let's go all in on the A-shares with the money we've saved; consider it a red envelope from Chen Mo.

Not only are netizens "outraged," but businesses from all walks of life are also getting anxious.

After all, they knew all too well the difference between having Chen Mo and not having Chen Mo.

The platform talks about billions in subsidies, but they can't figure out how many tricks are involved. However, if Chen Mo talks about billions in benefits, then those benefits are genuinely and realistically worth billions.

It's not that businesses are unwilling to spend money; the key is that the money needs to be spent effectively!
Why did the Double Eleven and Double Twelve sales, the mid-year sales events, flop?
To put it bluntly, in the beginning, whether or not you saved money during Singles' Day and Double Twelve was something everyone could see for themselves.

Because it was in the initial stage at the beginning, the discounts offered by merchants were genuine, and the coupons given by the platform were real discounts.

There is no situation where this cannot be used or that threshold has not been met.

But what about now? Although some merchants are indeed offering discounts, the coupons and similar items come in all sorts of strange and varied forms.

Even after successfully snaging a discounted flash sale item, the merchant may ask the customer to return it.

Many merchants have started to become cunning, engaging in underhanded practices. They make a lot of noise and shout slogans, but in reality, after buying, you find that you not only don't save money, but you actually spend more money.

So much so that what used to be known as "Shopping Festival" has now become the real "Shopping Festival".

In the past, people were afraid that they wouldn't be able to control themselves and would buy too much during Singles' Day.

But more often than not, it's "really delicious"!
But now? Anyone who buys it is a fool, because not only is the price not much cheaper, but the delivery will take forever.

This is actually a change in the prevailing atmosphere, and the current 814 Welfare Festival is equivalent to returning to the original state.

There are fewer tricks and more real benefits, which is something everyone can see.

Merchants are actually happy to do this because the shipment volume is real!

After all, advertising costs are still costs!
Therefore, the team in charge of the 814 Welfare Festival has been receiving a barrage of phone calls.

They were all asking whether Chen Mo would be absent from this year's 814 Welfare Festival, as this was related to the level of their sponsorship and their promotional plans during the festival.

Just as the entire internet was hotly debating the future of the 814 Welfare Festival, a popular post suddenly appeared on a well-known forum: "Since you're afraid Chen Mo will run away, why not hold the 814 Welfare Festival before he retires from the entertainment industry?"

The post was quickly reposted on Weibo, accompanied by a screenshot from a montage of Chen Mo's movies, with the caption "You can leave the entertainment industry, but finish this year's welfare festival before you die!" A large number of netizens quickly gathered below.

"That's right, @ChenMo, one should finish what one starts!"

"Never forget your original intention, and you will achieve your goal. It's okay to hold the celebration in advance. After all, I can hold my birthday celebration in advance every year, so it's fine to bring next year's celebration to this year!"

"Since you're going to quit, why not hold a farewell edition for the welfare festival?"

Soon, even more comments with bizarre thought processes appeared.

"Sisters, listen to me! Change 814 to 618 right now! Once this scumbag's retirement announcement takes effect, we won't even have anywhere to burn paper money for him! Before he dies (retires), let's hurry up and hold the welfare festival!"

Although the suggestion was bizarre, it quickly garnered countless likes from netizens.

"Agreed, doing it ahead of time is perfectly fine!"

“We don’t object to you retiring from the scene. After all, we’re not Zuo Lengchan. But before you retire, you should at least be a member of the martial arts world! Martial arts people should uphold the code of honor!”

A poll was started asking "Should we support holding the Welfare Festival earlier?", with options including:

Support! I'll make sure Chen Mo finishes his last event, even if it kills me! (candle)

I disagree! It would be more meaningful to keep it for the anniversary of the death (doge emoji).
I suggest we have a welfare day on the 14th of every month; it'll exhaust this playboy (crying).

The hashtag #814WelfareFestivalAheadOfTheYear# quickly rose to the top of the trending topics list.

It was forwarded over ten million times in less than 24 hours, and the number of comments was even more outrageous.

Since Chen Mo hasn't made any move yet, netizens have shifted their focus to the Weibo accounts of Chen Mo's seven "widows".

Yang Mi's Weibo account, which had been silent for a long time, received countless comments on her last post:

"Consort Honey! Quickly whisper sweet nothings in His Majesty's ear, and ask him to favor us one last time before he dies!" (Attached: Photographed image: Chen Mo in dragon robes giving red envelopes to netizens dressed as beggars)
The comments under Liu Yifei's farewell Weibo post:
"Fairy Sister, please have mercy! Let the child's father keep the 'Welfare Festival' as his posthumous child!" (Image: Stroller labeled "814 Welfare Festival 2.0")
The Weibo posts of the other female celebrities also became lively.

In short, netizens all have one thing to say: hurry up and make that bastard Chen Mo agree!

Even the official Weibo account of Shengshi Group was flooded with comments, with netizens spamming the comments section of the listing announcement:

"Whether the stock price falls or not doesn't matter, let's just give back the welfare festival first!"

As netizens' calls for action grew louder, businesses also began to feel the pressure. After all, the 814 Welfare Festival has long been one of the most important sales events of the year, and if it were canceled or scaled back this year, it would undoubtedly be a huge loss for many companies.

Soon, an unprecedented collaboration among merchants began.

JD.com, SMG, and Pinduoduo, three major e-commerce platforms, issued a rare simultaneous statement: "We fully understand and support the demands of our users. The platforms are willing to fully cooperate to bring forward the 814 Welfare Festival to July 15th and promise to maintain the discounts offered in previous years."

Following this, more than 500 well-known brands launched the hashtag #PetitionToAugust814# on Weibo.

This includes the official Weibo account of the national liquor company: "President Chen, if you hold the event ahead of schedule, we will add 10000 bottles of Feitian liquor at 1499 yuan each!"

Apple: "All iPhone models will be reduced by 1000 RMB, only on the day of the promotion!"

Dami Technology: "100 million units are in stock and ready to be sold anytime!"

Six Squirrels: "We're changing our packaging overnight, offering more perks, and the price remains the same!"

A cosmetics company: "Inventory preparations are complete! We await Mr. Chen's orders at any time!"

Offline supermarkets have also joined the fray, with chain stores changing their promotional posters overnight.

A netizen photographed the exterior wall of a shopping mall, where the original "618 Grand" sign had been temporarily covered with "814 Welfare Festival Early Carnival," and staff were still working overtime to set it up.

Even airlines are coming up with new ideas, launching "welfare festival special flights" and claiming that if the event is brought forward, they will offer 10000 special-priced tickets at 9 yuan each.

What's most surprising is that even the two major oil companies have joined forces.

They've actually joined forces to announce: "During the welfare festival, gas stations nationwide will offer a uniform price reduction of 1 yuan per liter!"

Suddenly, the entire internet was calling for the 814 Welfare Festival to be held earlier.

It's fair to say that even Chen Mo himself never expected this wave of popularity to be this exaggerated.

At the same time, Chen Mo naturally couldn't remain unmoved.

He hadn't actually planned not to participate in this year's welfare festival, but now everyone is skeptical and afraid he'll run away.

"So, Uncle Chen, what are you thinking now?" Yang Mi asked gleefully as she leaned closer.

"What can I think? Just do it, and it's rare for everyone to be so united in their feelings," Chen Mo said helplessly.

"What's the theme? What's the theme for this year's Welfare Festival?" Liu Yifei asked curiously.

"What else could it be? Since it's happening early, and it's graduation season, and also our farewell to the industry, let's go with a farewell theme!" Chen Mo said.

"A farewell theme? That's really fitting!" The women were all taken aback for a moment, then exclaimed in unison.

is not that right?

Multiple buffs were stacked on top of each other: first, there was the grand retirement ceremony of the Seven Fairies, then Chen Mo's farewell moment, and this period also happened to be the graduation season for students.

Everyone felt that this would be the last hurrah of the 814 Welfare Festival, so the farewell theme was a natural progression.

At the same time, Chen Mo can officially declare that this year's 814 Welfare Festival will be its swan song.

As for whether it will continue in the future, we'll see then.

He also posted a long and meaningful Weibo post about it.

Five years ago today, the 814 Welfare Festival was born unexpectedly. Along the way, it has gone through a series of developments: from the unintentional "first cry" to the emotional resonance of "family portrait", to the social goodwill of "light of the ordinary", to the retro sentiment of "paper is short but feelings are long", and finally to the cultural confidence of "a thousand years of Chinese clothing". In five years, the 814 Welfare Festival has been upgraded from welfare distribution to a global cultural phenomenon.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and it's time to say goodbye.

Of course, the 814 Welfare Festival may continue next year, but I really need to formally say goodbye to everyone.

This year's 814 Welfare Festival is being held on July 7th! Let's call it "Farewell"—it's my farewell to the industry, my students' graduation farewell, and a collective farewell to all of us for the wonderful times we've shared.

See you on July 7th!

As soon as Chen Mo's announcement was released, the entire internet was instantly swept up in an unprecedented wave of nostalgia.

The trending topics are all related to this.

#814 Welfarewell Theme# Explosive

#ChenMo's Five-Year Welfare Festival Mashup# Explosive

#MyMemoriesOfWelfareFestival# Explosive

On Douyin (TikTok), a video editing blogger's "Chronicle of 814," produced overnight, garnered over 100 million views in three hours. The video uses the melody of "Unforgettable Tonight" to montage classic scenes from various years.

Chen Mo hosted his first super-generous live stream, giving away prizes worth over 10 billion yuan. The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded 100 million, setting a new record for internet live streaming.

Some netizens have spontaneously designated August 14th as "Welfare Day," and merchants and platforms have followed suit and acknowledged this holiday.

In a special feature on family portraits, there was a heartbreaking moment when a migrant worker father and son "wore" suits for a photo together using AR technology.
Some exhibitions are themed "Do a good deed every day," showcasing the good deeds of ordinary people, such as sanitation worker Sister Li's "Lost and Found LED Screen" and the story of Zhang Mei, a teacher in a mountainous area, delivering meals.

There were stacks and piles of love letters, each one short but full of affection.
Furthermore, a grand fashion show showcasing the beauty of Chinese traditional clothing and attire will further enhance the experience.
The barrage of comments was so thick it obscured the screen: "This isn't a welfare festival, it's a national emotional storage device!"

"Now I understand what he meant by 'making business more humane.'" (End of Chapter)