This director is vindictive.

Chapter 313 Pixels Cannot Hinder Family Bonds: AI Military Salute and Rubber Band Reunion
The supplementary rules for the "Cloud Family Photo" event completely eliminated any concerns about its success.

This year's 814 Welfare Festival and Family Portrait Welfare Week event has also become incredibly popular.

Within 72 hours of the campaign's launch, Douyin and Weibo received a total of 2.3 million family photos (including photos, videos, and text), equivalent to 5.3 new submissions per minute. The servers were temporarily overloaded and required emergency expansion.

98% of the submissions carried brand team tags, with #HaierHappinessTeam# topping the team list with 3800 million posts, and its customized home appliances appearing in 62% of the photos; #MengniuReunionTeam# garnered 1.2 million views with its "Milk Toast" short video challenge.

Sales of sponsored products increased by 215%-700% month-on-month. Joyoung blenders became bestsellers due to the "three generations making soy milk together" scenario, with some models selling out immediately. 10 family travel coupons issued by the Harbin Tourism Bureau were snapped up in 30 seconds.

This wave of activities has generated widespread dissemination, reaching the level of a social phenomenon.

According to platform data, during the event, users aged 40 and above spent an average of over 83 minutes per day using the platform (4 times more than usual)!

The tutorial #TeachingParentsToUseBeautyFilters# has garnered over 8 million views, and a video of "Grandpa's First Time Making a V-sign" recorded by a netizen received millions of likes.

The newly added "Cloud Family Photo" feature was used by 4700 million families in different locations, and third-party platforms such as Tencent Meeting and Zoom urgently launched "virtual reunion backgrounds" to support this event.
One of the left-behind children's "family photo with a phone stand" also made the list.

The event's related hashtag #TheStoryBehindTheFamilyPhoto# generated over 120 million long-form articles and images, 31% of which involved "discovering potential health problems in parents through the event"—such as an elderly person's trembling hands prompting a medical visit and a diagnosis of early-stage Parkinson's disease.

Moreover, this event has also given rise to many touching stories that have become widely known!
For example, "Reunion on a Phone Stand":
A 15-second video uploaded to Douyin by Xiaomin, a migrant worker from Guangdong, brought 2000 million netizens to tears.

In the video, she uses a clothes hanger and rubber band to hold her phone in place. In front of the camera is her grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Behind her, on the wall, hang four family photos from different eras—the last one being a photo of the elderly woman holding a frame by herself.

The video caption reads: "Grandma always asks where Dad went, but today she can finally point to the 'cloud family photo' and say: He's working on his phone." The Haier Happiness Team's smart photo frame's automatic slideshow function allows the elderly to "see" their son every day, and this video was ultimately selected as one of the Top 10 "Most Tear-Jerking Family Photos."

"Grandpa Parkinson's Electronic Signature":
When programmer @Akai joined the #LenovoSmartHome# team, he designed a special "family portrait" for his grandfather who had suffered a stroke—using a stylus to record the old man's trembling handwriting that read "Take good care of yourself".

AI technology transformed crooked handwriting into neat calligraphy, and this, along with a video of three generations of a family in a rehabilitation hospital, was printed on a custom-made Joyoung soy milk cup. After the grandfather passed away, this Weibo post became part of the family's digital heritage, with 137 similar comments in the comment section: "Thank you for the event that allowed me to preserve my father's last handwriting."

There's also "A Cloud Reunion Across 86 Years":
While organizing photos of his great-grandfather, a military blogger discovered that his third great-uncle, who was missing from a 1938 black-and-white family photo, was actually still alive in Taiwan.

Through an 8K video call with the #XiaomiFamilyWatch# team, the 104-year-old veteran was able to have a "cloud reunion" with his family. As the old man trembled and saluted the camera, AI generated a "complete family photo" that transcended time and space in real time, with Taipei 101 and the Yellow Crane Tower miraculously appearing together in a digital background.

This content was reposted by many mainstream media outlets, with the title "Family Affection That Pixels Cannot Block".

In a competition video uploaded by an autism rehabilitation center, 10 "children of the stars" used a #Huawei Family Digital Group# tablet computer to draw their ideal family portrait.

AI transformed abstract lines into 3D animations, with the little boy's work, "Flying Mom," touching many netizens. The drawing depicted a mother with wings, hovering above a hospital. It turned out his mother was a nurse sent to assist in the fight against the epidemic and hadn't returned home for two years. This video ultimately facilitated a virtual family reunion for 200 medical families through a "cloud family portrait" feature.

Such works emerged one after another, adding a lot of warmth and care to the event!

The level of participation in this event even surpassed that of commercial festivals such as shopping festivals.

Moreover, because this event was added at the last minute, it was impossible to cater to the entire global audience.

The campaign was only open to netizens in China. Therefore, when the #ABillionPossibilitiesOfFamilyPhotos# campaign was spread overseas through the international version of TikTok, netizens around the world once again collectively turned into "sour grapes"!
Japanese netizens: "Why doesn't Japan have an entrepreneur like Chen Mo? [crying] If we can even count screenshots of LINE family groups, Panasonic's team could definitely be number one!"

The accompanying photo shows three generations of a family making peace signs at a phone camera, with a Japanese rice cooker in the background photoshopped with a sticker labeled #HaierHappinessTeam#.

Although the event was not available to overseas users, its popularity was so high and it was very meaningful that many netizens in Japan spontaneously participated, even though they were envious because they couldn't get the same benefits as netizens in China.

But they still enjoy it immensely.

American netizen David said: "I just taught my mom how to use Zoom, only to find out that the event is only available in China!"

[Angry] I strongly urge Amazon to copy this! I can use my Tesla in my garage as the backdrop for my family photo! #TeslaElectricFamily #WorthHaving

The comment section was instantly flooded with "Musk should learn from him".

Similarly, this event has become one of the hottest topics and activities on American social media platforms.

Although they are different from netizens in China, even if they post and participate, they still cannot win the prize.

How can they not be envious? Poor old Ma, he just became the richest man this year, and now he's constantly being dragged out and criticized.

German netizen Mark: "Rigorous analysis:"
1. The German railway strike has prevented me from returning to Munich.

2. Time difference makes cloud group photos look like early morning horror movies.

3. The most fatal flaw is—we simply don't have a €50 billion welfare pool. [sour]
Attached is a Photoshop creation: a family holding a virtual banner with the hashtag #QingdaoBeerHappyMoment# in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

South Korean broadcaster MBC even produced a special report, with the host holding up a Samsung phone and exclaiming, "China's use of the golden triangle model of kinship + technology + commerce has once again demonstrated the advanced form of cultural export."

The camera panned across the specially set-up #XiaomiSmartHome# experience area in the studio.

The overseas Chinese community was the most vulnerable: @Aunt Wang from Sydney: "My grandson taught me to use a 'face-swapping app' to Photoshop my absent son into a group photo, but the system identified it as cheating [heartbroken]. How can I send Australian health supplements back to China to be considered material for #YunnanBaiyaoHealthTeam#?"

For a time, overseas netizens were extremely excited because they were overjoyed that year, finally able to join the "super welfare live stream" and take advantage of the deals with Chinese netizens.

But then Chen Mo launched another "Family Photo Welfare Week" event, and they were excluded once again.

Many overseas netizens were completely taken aback.

Sometimes, it's not so much the prizes that are attractive, but rather the unequal treatment that makes it hard for them not to be wary!

What's even more interesting is that many overseas netizens who have "relatives" in China have also been included in the rules of the event.

For a time, people began showing off their identities as "Chinese son-in-law," "Chinese daughter-in-law," and "Chinese nephew" online.

As a result, the outpouring of support from overseas netizens was more intense than expected. On the international version of TikTok, the hashtag #WeWantFamilyToo swept across 35 countries within 48 hours, with related videos garnering over 50 billion views.

The most outrageous one was from Indian netizen Amir, who photoshopped himself into a screenshot of Chen Mo's live stream and captioned it: "Now I am a member of the Chinese family!" This video actually received nearly ten million likes.

In fact, seeing the exaggerated enthusiasm of overseas netizens, many domestic brands with overseas businesses are starting to feel uneasy.

It's important to understand that the cost of promoting domestic products overseas is many times higher than in China!

Chen Mo's actions directly triggered an uproar among overseas netizens.

If there were an international version of "Welfare Week," the publicity effect of this campaign would be absolutely top-notch.

As a result, many brands have called to inquire whether an international version can be added.

Chen Mo hung up the phone and scrolled through global public opinion reports, his fingers tapping lightly on his desk. Yang Mi entered with a coffee and saw him smiling.

"What are you looking at so happily?"

Yang Mi put the coffee on the table and glanced at the screen: "Wow, this foreigner's Photoshop skills are pretty good. It looks quite harmonious with your head attached to Santa Claus."

"I'm thinking"

Chen Mo suddenly turned around and grabbed Yang Mi's wrist: "How about we make an overseas special edition?"

Yang Mi shook her head and said, "That's unlikely, isn't it? Logistics costs are the biggest problem, right?" Chen Mo shook his head and said, "I've mentioned this issue before, but several brands have said it's not a problem because they also have inventory overseas! They can directly source goods from overseas!"

"Then the cost will be much higher than in China, right?" Yang Mi asked in surprise.

Chen Mo nodded and said, "If they're capable of doing business to this extent, do you think they'd be so eager to have me develop the overseas version if there were no profit to be made?"

As he spoke, Chen Mo pulled up a set of data and projected it on the screen: "In the past 72 hours, there have been 800 million overseas videos on TikTok that spontaneously used our sponsored brand tags. Take a look at this—"

As he spoke, he clicked on a video of a Tokyo family. In the video, three generations of a family were holding up homemade Japanese signs with the Haier logo printed on them, with the Akihabara electronics district in the background.

"Now you understand why they were so eager for me to create an overseas version, right? These netizens are basically doing free global advertising for them!"

"Moreover, they've already made plans, saying they can customize the prizes for different regions. For example, the prizes for the Japanese region will be Japanese-style rice cookers, and the prizes for the European region will be smart coffee machines, and so on!"

Of course, if a special overseas version is indeed launched, the number of brand sponsors will definitely be much smaller than that in China.

But these are all truly big brands.

These are all brands that have channels, markets, and businesses overseas.

They desperately wanted this wave of traffic, so this time their efficiency was astonishing.

While overseas netizens were constantly expressing their envy, finally, that night, the official website of the 814 Welfare Festival was updated with multilingual versions.

The homepage pop-up features a short video recorded by Chen Mo in ten languages: "Love knows no borders, welfare goes hand in hand."

The most amazing thing is the event rules—overseas users only need to upload a family photo and tag three friends to get a guaranteed chance to win a prize, and the prizes won by netizens can be redeemed through local partner supermarkets using a combination of codes.

This wasn't actually Chen Mo's idea; it was proposed after discussions among several domestic brands that strongly urged Chen Mo to launch overseas activities.

Shipping domestic products overseas would incur logistics costs several times higher than the value of the products themselves, so it's definitely not advisable.

However, they managed to achieve the overseas welfare version through this method.

This "online-offline integration" strategy immediately set off a global retail revolution upon its launch.

Those overseas "supermarket" groups that were once high and mighty suddenly changed their tune overnight and began seeking cooperation.

For example, Walmart is vying for the title of exclusive prize redemption partner in various regions.

This was an outcome that Chen Mo had not expected.

Meanwhile, many overseas brands have also expressed their desire to collaborate, but this time it's definitely not going to happen.

Following Chen Mo's announcement of "Love Knows No Borders, Welfare Goes Hand in Hand," netizens from all over the world expressed their gratitude to Chen Mo.

Japanese netizen Ichiki: "Chen-san Arigatou! [Kneeling] The Mitsubishi rice cooker is ready, and three generations of a family are filming a video in kimonos! PS: Can you Photoshop Osaka Castle into the backdrop of #HaierHappinessTeam#?"

(Photo: Grandpa holding a banner with the calligraphy "China-Japan friendship depends on Chen Mo")

American netizen Kyle: "I just taught my mom how to use TikTok and now the international version is here! [screaming] Musk, you need to learn what true globalization is—I even have a screenshot of my Tesla stock account ready! #LenovoSmartHome# team, please take me in!"

German netizens, however, remained as serious as ever.

Rigorous calculations:
1. Use AI photo editing software to solve time zone issues.
2. Prizes can be redeemed at Aldi supermarkets.
3. Twenty relatives from the Berlin Wall memorial site have been mobilized. Was Chen Mo a math major? This plan is so perfect it makes me question my existence! #QingdaoBeerHappyMoment#

(Attached is a family photo from Berlin: an LED sign with the Chinese word "Thank you" on the backdrop.)

French netizens are also quite amusing. One French netizen said: "Mona Lisa! The Louvre is applying for a competition for the Mona Lisa! [laughing emoji] If they explain that this is a 'family portrait of human civilization,' will they receive a Joyoung soymilk maker? PS: Da Vinci should be considered a great-grandfather, right?" (Spoof image: Mona Lisa holding a #XiaomiFamilyWatch# selfie stick)
In no time, netizens all over the world started playing it.

A Chinese kangaroo keeper in Australia wrote: "I'm so moved! Does a church koala holding up a sign that says 'Thank you Chen Mo' count as a family interaction? [Tears] I suggest adding a 'cross-border adoption group'—my adopted Chinese daughter said this is the best Mid-Autumn Festival gift she's ever received! #FeiheMilkPowderEnjoyFamilyTime#" (In the video, a kangaroo is hopping around with a milk powder can in its mouth.)
Brazilian soccer prodigy @Neymar's alternate account: "God is my witness! I spelled out 'CHENMO' with soccer balls! [Soccer] 30 kids from the favela formed a team to compete; can they exchange their prizes for soccer shoes? #AntaSportsHome# What happened to the promised 'a billion possibilities'?"

(Panoramic view of slum rooftops: Children spell out sponsor logos with T-shirts)

The total value of the prizes offered in this wave of overseas benefits is actually far lower than that in China, but the enthusiasm of overseas netizens is overwhelming.

So the results were better than expected!
Chen Mo's move can be described as a true win-win situation in terms of both fame and fortune!

Even media outlets from various countries are exclaiming in surprise, because Chen Mo's activities are truly outrageous.

BBC headline: "Eastern entrepreneurs use 'digital family photos' to overcome cultural barriers"

TV Tokyo produced an emergency special: "On How Welfare Day Can Promote Measures to Combat the Declining Birthrate."

The Wall Street Journal featured a surreal headline on its front page: "From Wall Street to the Welfare Wall: Chen Mo's Economics Is Reshaping Global Consumption Habits."

Moreover, Time magazine wrote a lengthy commentary on this:

The campaign used "family ties" as a bond, transforming commercial integration into emotional resonance. Chinese brands such as Haier and Joyoung achieved "viral spread" through user-generated content, while overseas spontaneous UGC content proved far more valuable than traditional advertising.

According to Morgan Stanley's assessment, the implicit publicity benefits gained by sponsors are equivalent to more than 20 times the cost of their investment.

Related topics continued to dominate global trending searches. It can be said that Chen Mo used one event to accumulate a week's worth of traffic for Amazon Prime Day.

According to statistics, as of the time of this writing, this event has enabled 4800 million families living apart to reunite virtually, making technology no longer an excuse for alienation, but a bridge across time and space.

Japanese netizens photoshopped images to participate in the competition, Germans meticulously calculated the odds of winning, and the entire internet expressed gratitude to Chen Mo, even learning Chinese for the event. This can be said to have allowed Chinese brands to debut in mainstream overseas social circles for the first time as a "symbol of warmth."

And it was quickly and widely accepted; this form of cultural export is astonishing!
He even used business logic to mend the family rifts in the digital age!

This is more effective at fostering goodwill towards China than tea ceremony classes at Confucius Institutes.

Chen Mo has proven that the most successful business model is one where making money itself becomes a process of mending societal cracks. This may be the new answer that the Chinese internet offers to the world—technology for good, business for warmth.

And Chen Mo, please remember this name. It was he who elevated the free economy; he transformed welfare from a cold discount into a warm social adhesive.

However, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest.

Especially when this event went viral online and achieved phenomenal influence, some people naturally began to question Chen Mo.

They believe that Chen Mo's event was essentially an act of "marketing with family ties" and "putting a price tag on family ties."

However, such attention-seeking remarks were quickly drowned out by netizens.

One netizen countered, "If it weren't for Chen Mo's 'scheming,' I might never have had the chance to hear my dementia-stricken grandfather call my name."

Some netizens also shared a video of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease regaining her smile through the event, with the caption: "If this is a scheme, please give me more."

(End of this chapter)