A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

That day, Su Fan was squatting by the reservoir fishing when his phone rang.

It was Lao Song, who was in charge of developing Dianping, calling.

"Mr. Fan, the platform has passed testing and is ready to go live. Come and take a look!"

Su Fan put away his fishing rod and drove to his office in the city.

After months of hard work with his technical team, Lao Song finally had time to showcase their results.

Su Fan opened it and found the interface clean and the functions working perfectly, offering a one-stop shop for ticketing, hotels, cultural and creative products, and route planning.

He nodded, stood up, and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. The bonus is doubled; the finance department will transfer it to your accounts shortly. Get ready to go online!"

Su Fan shared the message with the heads of the cultural and tourism departments of the four provinces.

Qi Tongwei, Wei Zhirang, Zhou Haiyang, and Chen Fushui were also very excited when they heard the news.

They had been waiting for this moment.

The new platform has just been launched and has received almost no attention.

But Su Fan wasn't flustered at all.

On the same day, the official Weibo accounts of the cultural and tourism departments of the four provinces simultaneously posted the same message.

"Four provinces join forces for worry-free travel! Sichuan, Shaanxi, Heilongjiang, and Fujian provinces have jointly launched a cross-provincial tourism package, allowing you to explore all four regions with a single ticket. For details, please follow and download the Dianping APP. The first wave of benefits is now available!"

Su Fan then logged into his Weibo account and posted an update.

"Eat, drink, and have fun—it's all on Dianping! Download now and get a free gift pack with a 100% chance of winning! You can also be among the first to experience a four-province travel package. Click the link below."

Fans have long been used to Su Fan's lack of focus on his main job.

But this news still surprised them for a moment.

The comments section instantly became lively.

"I thought Su Daxian released a new song, but it turns out to be an app? Village Chief, are you trying to become a product manager?"

"Good heavens, Mawei Post Station was just set up, and now they're making an app! Village Chief Su, are you trying to cover everything from food and drinks to entertainment?"

"Since you recommended it, I'll give you face and download it to try it out. If it's not good, I'll come back and complain!"

"Dianping? With that name, does it mean I'll have to ask Village Chief Su what the restaurant's rating is every time I go out to eat?"

……

Shortly after Su Fan posted his Weibo, the official Weibo account of the Chinese Opera Association reposted it.

The post was accompanied by the caption: "Supporting cultural and tourism innovation, everyone can go check it out!"

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yi and a number of other celebrities reposted it.

Then there's the official Weibo account of Huasheng Entertainment.

As an original shareholder of the platform, Huasheng's wording was very high-profile.

"Huashang Entertainment, as a strategic partner of Dianping, congratulates the platform on its official launch and looks forward to injecting new vitality into the cultural tourism industry!"

This wave of reposts propelled Dianping to the top of the trending searches.

Netizens then discovered that behind this new platform stood four provincial cultural tourism agencies, Huasheng Entertainment, and Su Fan.

Driven by curiosity and the lure of perks, download numbers skyrocketed.

Su Fan wasn't playing games; every new user who registered could enter a prize draw.

Red envelopes, scenic spot tickets, hotel experience vouchers, cultural and creative gifts, etc., with a 100% chance of winning.

Su Fan also pulled a sneaky trick: originally, each person could only participate in the lottery once, but if you shared the link with a friend and the friend downloaded the app through your link, you could participate again.

Don't worry, Su Fan didn't pull any tricks like slashing someone.

With the support of official channels, celebrities, and various clever tactics, Dianping's registered users exceeded one million within a few days.

The travel package jointly launched by the four provinces has also achieved astonishing sales.

Qi Tongwei and the others were so excited when they saw this data that they couldn't stop smiling.

They expected it to be effective, but they didn't expect it to be this effective.

Su Fan was quite satisfied with the data in the backend.

Just then, Zhou Haiyang called.

Zhou Haiyang didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "Xiao Fan, it's December now, and the Northeast is the perfect time to see ice sculptures. Come visit us and give us a shout-out. Let me make it clear, you won't be standing here for nothing; there will be a fee."

Su Fan smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing: "Director Zhou, let me think about it first."

If it's an invitation out of courtesy, he really can't refuse.

But since Zhou Haiyang brought up money, it's not a favor, it's a business transaction, and he can refuse.

Besides, with the Chinese New Year just around the corner, Su Fan really didn't want to go out.

I had just hung up the phone when it rang again.

This time it was Qin Shen who called.

As soon as the call connected, Qin Shen said, "Brother Fan, where are you?"

"They're fishing."

"Fishing again? To be honest, that's no fun. Come to Northeast China, it's winter fishing season now. The fish there are huge, ten times bigger than those little fry in your reservoir. Come over here, I'll show you!"

Upon hearing this, Su Fan's eyes lit up. He thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go!"

……

After hanging up with Qin Shen, he called Zhou Haiyang back: "Director Zhou, I'll go to the Northeast. Please arrange whatever you need me to do."

Su Fan booked a flight to Harbin for the next day.

When he arrived at the airport, Qin Shen came to pick him up.

Upon meeting, Qin Shen grinned and said, "Let's go! Straight to the winter fishing site! Today is the day the fish are being caught!"

The car drove for two hours and arrived at a tributary of the Songhua River.

A crowd had already gathered on the ice, and a tractor pulled a winch, slowly dragging a large fishing net out of the ice hole.

Su Fan wrapped his down jacket tighter and followed Qin Shen closer.

The ice layer is more than a meter thick and is crystal clear.

The winch clattered as the fishing net was slowly moved outwards, its contents gleaming silver, teeming with fish.

The old foreman next to him shouted at the top of his lungs, "Raise the net!"

Su Fan took out his phone, snapped a few photos, and posted a Weibo message: "Northeast winter fishing, the catch is simply amazing!"

In the photo, a huge fishing net is being dragged out of an ice cave, with large fish covering the ground, and figures of people can be seen on the distant ice surface, with steam rising from the ice.

The comments section instantly became lively.

"Master Su, weren't you fishing in Shaanxi Province? How did you end up fishing all the way to Northeast China?"

"This is real winter fishing! Compared to this, the little crucian carp in your reservoir are nothing!"

"That big fish must weigh at least twenty pounds! It looks so delicious!"

"I also want to see winter fishing! It's much more interesting than sitting in an air-conditioned room scrolling through my phone."

"Su Fan, you wait here, I'll be in Northeast China tomorrow!"

"Can you recommend a good winter fishing spot? I'd love to experience it too!"

……

The winter fishing event became a hit after Su Fan promoted it.

On short video platforms, the topic of winter fishing in Northeast China has become incredibly popular, with countless people inquiring about the specific locations and times.

Upon seeing this surge in traffic, Zhou Haiyang immediately realized that an opportunity had arrived.

He had the operations team launch an event on Dianping (a Chinese review platform).

"Come to Northeast China and eat authentic Songhua River carp! A whole fish feast is free! Registration is now open, but spots are limited, first come, first served!"

The news caused an uproar in the comments section:

"Free food? Is that for real? Then I won't be polite!"

"I've already booked my tickets, see you in Harbin! If I don't get to eat the whole fish feast, I'll stay in front of the Culture and Tourism Bureau and not leave!"

A Northeasterner asked: "Can locals participate? I also want to eat free fish!"

"I've already registered on Dianping!"

"Looks like this trip to Northeast China was the right one. We got to see ice sculptures and eat fish—it was fantastic!"

……