The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 446 The Value of Members

With increasing investment in the upgrading of the leisurely and slow-paced travel industry, as well as Zhao Xiaochui's various investments, more and more ordinary people are truly benefiting.

Even though there will always be waves of mindless trolls who echo the sentiments of "idiots," the voices that stand up to speak out for the relaxed and slow-paced lifestyle and offer rational explanations are becoming more and more numerous and louder.

After all, China has a large population base. While there are many people who blindly follow the crowd, there are also many discerning people who have a sense of right and wrong and can see the facts clearly!
Of course, with more insightful people, all sorts of profound questions will inevitably arise.

What intrigues everyone most is how the "Relaxed and Slow Travel" membership is determined. When will ordinary people actually be able to experience that legendary service?

In the short ten minutes that the previously exposed membership invitation QR code was valid, many savvy people were frantically trying to register it.

But the results were baffling: some people with average qualifications easily registered, while others, whose social status, economic strength, and physical symptoms clearly met the requirements, were ruthlessly rejected by the system.

Immediately, various speculations arose:
"Does membership not consider money?"

Is there some hidden points system?

"Or is it that... the 'Easy and Slow' membership selection process uses a completely different set of standards?"

The mysterious membership screening mechanism of Easy Slow Travel has become the most curious topic of conversation among countless savvy people.

At that moment, in a café in Piazza della Signoria, Lü Cheng was one of these curious onlookers.

……

With New Year's Day approaching, the cafes in Piazza della Signoria are filled with a festive commercial atmosphere. Snowflake patterns are sprayed on the shop windows, and the air is filled with the aroma of coffee and cheerful music.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Lü Cheng sat alone in a corner booth, completely out of place with the festive atmosphere.

He scrolled through various speculations about the Relaxing Slow Travel membership system on his phone, his brow furrowed.

Three months ago, this man in his thirties was the deputy director of the algorithm business unit of the billion-dollar lifestyle service platform, Ugly Donkey.

He once controlled the dispatch system that provided livelihoods for millions of delivery riders.

His algorithms are renowned for their extreme efficiency. As for the controversy surrounding pushing human resources to their limits, to paraphrase his often-quoted statement:
"The data is undisputed; there are only optimal solutions."

Three months ago, he lost his body's optimal state.

After working continuously for 36 hours, Lü Cheng suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation, his vision went black, and he almost fainted in front of his computer.

He leaned on the table, panting heavily, his shirt instantly soaked with cold sweat.

As he stared at the still-cold, fluctuating data stream on the screen, a thought suddenly struck him: "Is all the money I've earned really enough to buy my life?"

Out of fear for his life, he suddenly thought of the massage parlor that dared to stand up to his company and the entire industry.

With a try-it-out mentality, he asked his supervisor for the invitation QR code sent by the undercover customer of the Easy Slow Travel program.

Once the mini-program loaded, the page was simple. Following the prompts, he first uploaded a photo of his ID card.

The very next second after he clicked the upload button, without even the legendary qualification review and health questionnaire, the screen was instantly covered by a blood-red X mark.

"We're sorry, your application did not pass our initial review."

They couldn't even be bothered to give a decent reason for refusing!

Lu Cheng, holding his phone, was completely stunned.

He's a top-tier executive at the "Ugly Donkey" (a company name), a Level 10 executive with a budget exceeding 100 billion RMB, the head of the key algorithm team, an elite with an annual salary package exceeding 6 million RMB, and a member of the top middle class...

Now, a massage parlor treated me like a garbage dump, kicking me out without even letting me in the door!
A sense of absurdity and humiliation welled up inside him. But what sent chills down his spine even further was that he himself was a top algorithm expert, and he knew all too well what this meant:

Rejected instantly after only entering an ID number?
This isn't a loan application, so what kind of data screening capabilities are needed?
This is absolutely not the kind of authority a business should have! Let alone a massage parlor, even the billion-dollar Ugly Donkey Company he works for would never do this!
unless……

The system, which operates at a relaxed pace, can directly connect to a top-level information database and has a pre-set, extremely rigorous ethical algorithm model.

At the time, as far as Lü Cheng knew, apart from the low-level riders and the undercover customers that Ugly Donkey had recruited from outside, not a single middle or senior manager in the entire "Quick Donkey" group, which had a market value of hundreds of billions, had successfully registered as a member of Easy and Slow Travel!
Are they short of money? Or are they all exceptionally healthy?

Apparently neither.

So there's only one truth: they're taking it easy and don't want to earn this "dirty" money in their eyes at all!
This realization, coupled with his concerns about his health, ultimately led Lü Cheng to make up his mind.

After signing a stringent non-compete agreement, he left UglyDonkey. He is prohibited from working for any similar lifestyle service platform for the next five years.

However, with Lu Cheng's savings, as long as his demands are not too high, it's enough for him to live comfortably for quite some time.

After leaving his job, he embarked on a "long journey" to explore how to become a member of the Relaxing Slow Travel program.

Lü Cheng pulled himself out of his reverie and took a sip of his now slightly cold coffee. Looking out the window at the festive atmosphere of the approaching New Year, his eyes suddenly lit up—his senior classmate had arrived.

He quickly waved to the waiter and ordered a hand-drip Mandheling coffee according to his senior's preference. Just as his senior entered, the hot coffee was served.

The two sat down facing each other in the booth, skipping the small talk and getting straight to the point.

This senior colleague was a mid-level executive at Qiandu Group and was well-informed. "Don't bother thinking about it," the senior colleague said, taking a sip of coffee and immediately extinguishing Lu Cheng's hopes. "Not a single person in Qiandu Group's management, from top to bottom, has successfully registered for Easy Travel as a member. Including the boss and his wife, they've all failed."

Lu Cheng's pupils contracted, and he asked incredulously:
"Even using the international booking channel isn't possible?"

Upon hearing this, the senior student smiled sarcastically: "Do you know how much the bidding has gone for international channels?"

"..." Lu Cheng nodded slightly, "I saw it before the official announcement yesterday, before it suppressed the trending topics."

The senior pointed south and said, "Do you think those two are so stingy that they'd be willing to spend that much money? $150 million, and that's just for the admission tickets. They don't have any major problems, so why would they be ripped off?"

Lu Cheng shook his head in disapproval: "Senior brother, look at Foster now, is he a sucker?"

The senior student thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, lowering his voice:

"By the way, do you know 'Bai Ling Therapy Club'? It's the top-tier spa in Beijing under the Jiang Group, a hangout for celebrities and big shots. Our boss lady from Qian Du is also a regular there."

At this point, the senior brother leaned forward:
"Bai Ling Medical Resort releases one free, no-appointment privilege for a relaxing visit every day, and everyone's scrambling to get it! Unfortunately, even our boss's wife isn't eligible. I personally saw Jiang Ying, the CEO of Jiang's Group, apologize to the boss's wife, saying that she really couldn't make that decision."

Lu Cheng's hand holding the cup tightened slightly.

His senior looked at him and asked with concern, "What are your plans during your time away from the company? How about I refer you? I've already asked the vice president, and Baidu is definitely open to someone as talented as you."

Lu Cheng shook his head without hesitation: "No need, senior brother, I've already submitted my resume to 'Deep Exploration'."

The senior student was taken aback: "That AI unicorn? Why?"

"For their legendary internal benefits," Lü Cheng said with a determined look, "Easy Slow Travel employees have one no-appointment privilege per year."

His senior brother looked at him thoughtfully: "Your body..."

Lü Cheng smiled wryly: "Mid-stage myalgia encephalomyelitis, mild depression."

Senior: "What's that thing up ahead?"

Lü Cheng: "It's the official medical name for chronic fatigue syndrome, which we discussed some time ago."

He paused for a moment, then began to share the results of his investigation: "I contacted my high school classmates' group and found that those who obtained their ID cards abroad, like me, were immediately rejected after submitting their identity information, with a red cross."

"Those in the financial sector and a few who have obtained Hong Kong residency can only use the international appointment channel, but they simply can't compete with those top billionaires; they can't even get a taste of the soup."

The senior student pressed further, "What about those students who have permanent positions?"

Lu Cheng gave a wry smile: "They're fine, the massage parlor treats everyone the same. But at most they get to the health questionnaire stage, because their medical conditions aren't serious, so none of them pass the review."

The senior apprentice looked puzzled: "A small massage parlor, why not make money properly and instead require you to meet certain identity requirements? What's the point?"

"Senior brother," Lü Cheng suddenly asked, "do you know what the monthly sales volume of the BMW 5 Series is now?"

The senior student was taken aback: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"The BMW 5 Series sells 18,000 units a month, not even counting Mercedes-Benz and Audi in the same class. Senior brother, China has no shortage of rich people, but there are only a handful of top-level technicians who can drive with ease and leisure. They don't lack customers at all; customers are competing with them. Of course, they have the right to be picky."

The senior brother opened his mouth, but remained silent for a moment.

Lu Cheng took out his phone and opened a group chat: "I was lucky enough to get into a resource group. You see, in the group, a member of Easy Slow Travel only needs to show the process sheet personally handled by the store manager. If they need to connect with any resources, even scarce materials or permits, after agreeing on the price, the other party will even ship the goods directly without taking a deposit."

The senior student stared blankly at the bustling resource exchange group and asked blankly, "Is it possible to have an international membership?"

"No, that's only for members in China. The massage parlors strictly limited the bidding time and increments during the bidding process, so in the end they set a price of 12 RMB and stopped the bidding. Later, I asked many members in the group who successfully booked, and I have a vague idea..."

Lu Cheng said slowly:
"To successfully make an appointment, in addition to your medical records meeting the requirements, we also need to see what you have done."

My former profession might be judged by it as…

Lu Cheng put his phone away and sighed softly.
"Algorithm executioner."

"A high-paid idiot living in a vacuum!"

……

Brother Hammer is a tough guy who doesn't talk much.

He may not have said anything or done anything in a specific way.

But when the name "Easy Slow Travel" resounded throughout the streets and alleys, and when Easy Slow Travel membership became a kind of credit certificate recognized by many people...

Lu Cheng's former profession will gradually be influenced by "Thor" and the people he has influenced.
It was determined to be...

It exists without any positive social value.

(End of this chapter)