NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 439: 437: The Enormous Venue
Chapter 439: Chapter 437: The Enormous Venue
“`
In the circular hall, a dozen giant oil paintings framed a screen of the same size in the center.
Yao Jun turned to his assistant behind him and gave a few instructions; the assistant hurried away.
Before long, all the lights in the circular hall suddenly went out, leaving only the spotlights below the oil paintings on, illuminating their content.
At the same moment, the dark screen lit up; a magnificent snow-capped mountain descended from above, with a tiny figure moving slowly and steadily upon it.
It was Bi Fang climbing Mount Everest— the image was incredibly sharp, even with a naked-eye 3D effect!
Just this one screen must have cost a fortune!
After a full ten minutes of display, the lights in the entire venue came on again, Étienne and Bi Fang still somewhat hungry for more.
Climbing oneself didn’t feel like much, but watching it was astonishing, especially the stark contrast between the mountain ranges and the silhouette of the person.
“Brilliant!”
Bi Fang gave two thumbs up to them, as the hands-off boss, he had hardly been involved in the construction of the venue and had never imagined that the club could deliver such a big surprise.
The mere size of those oil paintings was enough to bring him a tremendous sense of impact and pressure, not to mention the tension filled within the paintings.
It had to be said, the artistic conception of ink wash painting is unparalleled, inviting to the spirit, but oil painting’s capacity to convey tension in epic scenes is even more shocking.
One could fully imagine what the visitors’ feelings would be when they arrived here.
Yao Jun explained, “This is just a rehearsal broadcast, in the future the screen will only light up when you’re live-streaming; at other times, it will remain off.”
Noticing Étienne’s presence, Yao Jun made a point of explaining in English.
Étienne’s esteem greatly increased, but he was curious, “Why not broadcast continuously?”
Lin Chang took over, “This is to ensure it draws attention. If it were broadcasting all the time, wouldn’t it just be like a square’s big screen?”
This was originally Lin Chang’s idea; broadcasting non-stop 24/7 seemed to him no different from square broadcasts.
It was too low-brow.
Couldn’t visitors watch Master Fang’s live streams elsewhere?
What the people coming here wanted was exclusivity, that personal experience atmosphere, not just a repeating loop on a plaza screen.
In a club founded by Master Fang, watching a screen that lights up only for him is the real core attraction; scarcity makes it precious. When the screen lights up, the hall will surely be packed with the crowd.
“You must be Étienne?” Yao Jun turned to Étienne at his side.
Étienne nodded vigorously, excited, “I know, you’re Mr. Yao Jun; I’ve seen you in the Mount Everest live stream.”
Yao Jun cocked his head toward the inner part of the venue and called out, “Come on, let me show you the interior architecture!”
“Wu Hu!” Étienne raced to the front excitedly.
Yao Jun, Lin Chang, and Bi Fang followed behind, discussing some more specific matters.
“Do you plan to put something on that fountain outside?” Bi Fang recalled the massive platform on the outside fountain and asked with curiosity.
“Your statue!” Yao Jun was exuberant. “It’s based on the moment you were reaching the summit of Everest, stepping on the peak, holding the red flag. That scene is simply too cool! Unfortunately, it hasn’t been completed yet, but there’s still half a month till opening; that’s enough time.”
It had only been a week since the Mount Everest summit, the oil paintings perhaps could be rushed, but clearly not the statue.
Bi Fang was stunned, somewhat embarrassed, “Let’s change it; preferably not to include me.”
Yao Jun was taken aback, “Why?”
That was the scene he had envisioned, a multi-meter high marble statue, how stunning! How could he just cancel it?
“`
Lin Chang pondered for a moment before speaking, “Is it too personalized?”
Bi Fang nodded, “This is a club, not my personal memorial hall. It’s open to all lovers of nature and wilderness, not just my fans. My fans alone cannot sustain it. The oil paintings just now were already quite exaggerated, but they were inside the venue, which is just right. However, placing a sculpture in the plaza is overdoing it.”
Yao Jun also realized this and nodded. If a stranger interested in nature came here and the first thing they saw was a statue of someone they didn’t recognize or care for, wouldn’t it be off-putting?
This is the Wilderness and Nature Club, not the Bi Fang Fan Club. The former is already a niche; if you add an even smaller circle within that, it’s completely self-limiting and pointless.
The oil paintings and large screen in the first pavilion are enough to excite the fans, especially since there’s a special exhibition hall behind it containing traps and weapons mentioned by Bi Fang. Visitors can even take away a wolf tooth or shark tooth made of jade or glass when they leave.
“What should we erect then? The platform is already built, and the sculpture work has started. Mount Everest’s summit has already been carved halfway. Moreover, if we have to re-carve it, half a month may not be enough time,” Yao Jun did not want his hard work to go to waste and still wanted to fight for it.
In half a month, the business will open, and having an empty platform above the fountain would look out of place no matter how you look at it.
Bi Fang stroked his chin, thinking for a while, “Have them change the plan. Remove me from Mount Everest and carve animals on the mountain instead, in a semi-relief style, bears, wolves, deer, and gharials. If there are better ideas in the future, we can replace them.”
Yao Jun thought for a moment and nodded. This would also allow for secondary use and wouldn’t be too tight on the schedule.
The group followed Étienne, venue by venue, observing. Since Étienne did not understand Chinese, he tried each of them under the guidance of the staff.
Bi Fang and the others watched with interest, as if they were simulating visitors entering the place.
Fighting, archery, swimming, rock climbing…
All these were indoor sports venues, but the major attraction was certainly not there. If it solely relied on these, it would become an alternative niche sports hall, and it would have to close in three days.
As a wilderness club, these sports venues are indispensable, but when it comes to making money, that’s definitely limited. There are not many people who love sports, let alone those who love these niche sports.
To drive consumption, you have to rely on the general public. A single person spending ten million is far less effective than ten thousand people spending a thousand each.
This was something learned in middle school business classes, so solutions had to be found in operation.
“So we also referred to the youth center model and launched summer and winter courses for young people, similar to Ugly Country’s summer camp training. Train here for a month and you can participate in a week-long outdoor camping activity,” Yao Jun explained.
It has to be said that the main spending force is still young people and women…
But relying solely on operations isn’t enough; there must be core competitiveness. Hence, in addition to sports venues, there were also larger Rainforest Museums, Desert Pavilions, and Ocean Pavilions.
“Ocean Pavilion?” Bi Fang stopped in his tracks and looked at Yao Jun and Lin Chang, dumbfounded.
He knew about the first two; after all, Bi Fang was not completely unaware, owning a large share, so he had some knowledge about them.
But what was the deal with the last one?
These pavilions covered a very large area, so immense that even Bi Fang felt astonished when he first saw the design plan. If you ignored the roof, you couldn’t tell it was an indoor environment.
Inside, the terrain was modeled entirely after the rainforest and desert and hid many environmental creatures.
For example, the Rainforest Museum was a complete rainforest. Apart from the plants, there were many special environments simulated with glass tanks containing rainforest creatures, poison dart frogs, snakes, and other animals.
They even released harmless creatures, like lizards, for close contact. Of course, these were all managed by professionals to avoid any animal casualties due to trampling.
But the Ocean Pavilion, that must be expensive, right?
Unlike the rainforest and desert that only needed to be laid out, the construction of the ocean venue was a completely different model.
From the water circulation system to the construction of super-large custom aquariums and the development of the ecological environment.
And this thing requires animals you don’t normally see, such as sharks, sailfish, and dolphins. Otherwise, it’s no better than going to the local fish market.
But these creatures are neither cheap nor easy for ordinary people to acquire, and they are not easy to maintain. They require specialized breeders, very different from the “breeders” who could work with minimal training in the Rainforest Museum.
Yao Jun and Lin Chang exchanged smiles, “It all comes back to policy support. When the proposal was first submitted, the local government was interested in supporting it. Many concessions were made, and even nearby planning was rearranged. For example, the original Ocean Pavilion that was to be relocated is being moved right here to us.”
“Considering the timing, it should be almost complete. Do you want to take a look?”