How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 25 Afternoon Tea

On Sunday, Wang Yao got up early to deal with the online store situation because he had a photoshoot scheduled with Nazha in the afternoon.

The first batch of fans who received their orders have already received their photocards. The wealthy young woman from Danzhou even posted an unboxing video in the group, which sparked a small-scale discussion.

As more and more fans receive their goods, it's estimated that there will be more and more of these shares, which is the natural tail current and can reveal a lot of real data.

Yesterday's sales were slightly lower, only a little over 30,000, but the total for the past three days is already close to 100,000.

Driven by the promise of money, Zhou Cong worked like a man possessed, spending his days packing and designing the next batch of small cards.

Due to budget constraints, the first batch of small cars lacked design flair and were easily copied.

As Xiao Ka's popularity grows within the fan community, others will inevitably set their sights on this business, leading to competition.

Therefore, the second batch needs to be iterated, at least to be more exquisite, and also to add some customized packaging, and to open more stores to distribute the different versions of the card decks, instead of concentrating them in one store.

For fans, Zhou Cong understands better what they want, so when it comes to product issues, Wang Yao only provides direction and doesn't get involved in the details.

After lunch, Ni Ni took Nazha and her daughter to the filming location.

The Peninsula Shanghai is known as the only new building on the Bund in 60 years and is a must-stay hotel for most celebrities and nobles when they come to Shanghai. It is a luxury hotel brand with a century-long history and only ten stores worldwide.

It is also the place that best represents the decadent lifestyle of Shanghai and is one of the must-visit spots for showing off.

Just from the outside, you can clearly feel what it means to be exuding an air of nobility, making ordinary people hesitate to approach. Just one glance and you feel that it has nothing to do with your life.

Using this location as the backdrop for product detail page content can easily appeal to female consumers.

Women are visual creatures; they use sight to make associations and develop abstract thinking. Seeing flowers reminds them of romance, seeing muscles reminds them of security, and seeing beauty and luxury reminds them of vanity.

Then, a large amount of dopamine is released, which governs behavior and leads to impulsive consumption.

Therefore, female consumption accounts for one-third of the global consumer market.

Men, on the other hand, think too concretely, so they don't experience the abnormal dopamine release that stimulates their behavior through association. Therefore, men's spending power is not as high as that of dogs.

Before even arriving at the hotel, Ni Ni and Gulnazar were already captivated by the Peninsula Hotel's luxurious decor, feeling both longing and apprehensive.

They are all children from ordinary families, and when faced with the influence of an environment that is beyond their social class, they will have many emotional associations.

Wang Yao parked his car directly at the entrance, where a doorman in a British uniform opened the door to greet him. The doorman would park the car properly, and when the guest left, they would park it back at the entrance. After all, the luxury goods industry sells service.

Wang Yao led them directly into the hotel. He glanced at the stone lions on both sides of the entrance and, to be honest, the combination of this standard British style with traditional Chinese elements felt somewhat incongruous.

Upon entering the hotel, the first thing that catches the eye is the European-style lobby tea area with its high ceilings.

The joke on Douyin that "those who are not properly dressed will not be entertained, at least they should wear a tie" originated from the Hong Kong branch of this hotel.

Because this hotel's restaurant area was one of the first to require guests to dress in an 'elegant and casual' manner, prohibiting sportswear and slippers.

The afternoon tea culture is very popular in Shanghai. Even before the tea time, many well-dressed business elites and socialites are already enjoying themselves in the tea houses.

In 2010, micro-business owners and socialites had not yet fully extended their reach into such high-end venues, so places of this caliber are still relatively untouched, although some professional scammers do frequent them, but they are few in number.

"Good afternoon, distinguished guests. Are you here for accommodation or afternoon tea?" A female greeter in uniform greeted them with her signature fake smile.

Even though she felt that Wang Yao and the others' attire was unlikely to match the store's price range.

"Afternoon tea, for four people." Wang Yao nodded.

"Okay, please follow me." The female greeter led them to the afternoon dining area.

Wang Yao paid by swiping his card.

Naza glanced at the receipt and gasped.

A four-person afternoon tea set costs 1576 yuan, plus a service fee of over 200 yuan, making the total over 1800 yuan?!
Most people only earn 3000 yuan a month. A single meal—not even a meal, just a cup of tea—is worth half a month's salary for most people.
"So expensive." Ni Ni let out a muffled groan.

It sounded like being punched in the chest.

Naza's mother didn't say anything, but looked at the magnificent hotel lobby with a complicated expression, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

"This hotel is one of the best in the country, so it's naturally not cheap. Almost everything we see is air-freighted from France or England. Except for the land, it's basically all foreign goods." Wang Yao smiled dismissively.

He had visited this hotel a few times in his previous life with several online celebrities and learned a lot about it.

"Look at this wall. It's green from the side, but up close it's engraved in bronze. It perfectly replicates the two-tone nature of bronze. This one wall alone is worth millions. That's the characteristic of top-tier luxury venues," Wang Yao explained.

"The air is filled with the scent of money." Ni Ni took a deep breath and performed an epic lung-burst.

"How much would it cost to stay here for one night?" Naza asked in a low voice.

"More than 3000 cases, I think," Wang Yao recalled.

When I lived here in my previous life, the hotel industry had already declined. Even top-tier luxury art hotels like this were much cheaper, costing around 2500 yuan a night. But in 2010, the prices here would definitely be about 3% higher.

“That’s a month’s salary,” Nazha’s mother said.

“Most people who need to spend money in places like this are not considering the price, but the value,” Wang Yao smiled.

After chatting for a while, the young waiters, who were generally over 180cm tall and dressed in white uniforms, began to serve the food.

An elegant three-tiered dessert tart, with savory items at the bottom, such as smoked salmon sandwiches and ham.

The middle layer consists of scones, served with various creams and jams.

The top layer consists of small pastries such as macarons and chocolates, each a bite-sized treat with an exquisite design.

In Wang Yao's eyes, these three layers represent three kinds of things: salty, greasy, and sweet.

But in Nazha and Ni Ni's eyes, it was the ultimate fulfillment of their princess dreams. Wang Yao felt that pink stars were about to pop out of their eyes, and the saliva they unconsciously swallowed wasn't out of curiosity about whether the food tasted good, but because of the dopamine rush in their brains.

"So cute, so exquisite!" Naza exclaimed.

“One, two, three, four… a total of 42 items. That makes 45 yuan for a single cookie? That’s a week’s worth of my meal card!” Ni Ni counted on her fingers, gritting her teeth.

"Huh? So expensive?!" Naza pulled her out hand back as if she had been electrocuted.

"Try it, and you'll know why it's expensive after you've eaten it." Wang Yao chuckled and handed each of them a pastry.

Naza and Ni Ni held the pastries as if they were treasures, whispering to each other without eating them.

Wang Yao made a slice of ham himself.

Hmm, it's definitely very salty.

"Waiter, could you call your manager? I have something to ask you." Wang Yao called over a waiter.

A moment later, a smart woman in a well-tailored suit approached and said, "Hello sir, how may I help you?"

"Hello, Manager Zhao." Wang Yao glanced at the other person's name tag. Manager Zhao Jiajia. "Are the scones freshly baked?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiajia raised an eyebrow and bowed slightly, saying, "Excuse me, may I try one first?"

After receiving permission, Zhao Jiajia picked up a scone, broke it open, spread jam on it, and put it in her mouth to chew.

Naza and Ni Ni stared at Zhao Jiajia's actions. So that's how you eat a small bread roll?
Elegant, simply elegant.

Suddenly I felt that this one yuan or so was quite a good deal.

"Is it very crumbly and dry? It feels like leftovers from yesterday, microwaved overnight and then served today," Wang Yao said casually.

"Excuse me, esteemed guests, I'll go ask the kitchen. I'll replace this one for you." Zhao Jiajia glanced at Wang Yao with a surprised look, bowed again, and left with the dessert tart.

"Mr. Yao, you know too much! You always know it's not freshly baked? Can you tell by smell?" Ni Ni asked curiously.

It wasn't that he was particularly knowledgeable, but rather that he was well aware that even at the Peninsula, most afternoon tea was not freshly baked; it was mostly pre-made.

"Because scones are a type of dessert that originated from abroad, their texture is somewhere between bread and biscuits, being both soft and dry, which doesn't really suit the taste preferences of people in China."

Therefore, most people can't tell the difference between good and bad when eating this stuff, and when it's spread with sweet and greasy condiments like cream or jam, they can't tell the difference at all.

"So 99% of the scones served at hotel afternoon tea are pre-made, some are even bought from supermarkets, and can't even be considered handmade." Wang Yao smiled.

"What? We spent so much money, and they just tried to fool us with an overnight stay?" Ni Ni was furious upon hearing this.

"It's not that they're just fooling us, because they don't actually have a price tag that says it's freshly baked. It's just that these kinds of high-end places sell their reputation and service, so when faced with a customer like me who's a bit picky, they usually choose to appease them and let it go."

Wang Yao smiled slightly.

"You can't get anything good to eat here; you're there for the ambiance and the service."

"How can you say that such an expensive afternoon tea is no different from eating Oreos and bread rolls?" Naza smacked her lips.

"What's the difference? It's all flour and jam." Wang Yao smiled. "Besides, we're not here to eat today."

A short while later, Zhao Jiajia returned with two waiters, carrying two more dessert tarts.

"I apologize, distinguished guests. I have confirmed with the head chef that today's scones were indeed freshly baked, but it might be due to the rain yesterday..."
"The ingredients had become a bit damp, which affected the taste and caused some discomfort. To express our apologies, we are offering a complimentary dessert as compensation. We hope you enjoyed your meal," Zhao Jiajia explained sincerely.

"It's nothing, I was just casually raising some objections. Your store's attitude was good." Wang Yao nodded.

"What is your surname, sir? Have you ever shopped at one of our other branches before?" Zhao Jiajia asked with a smile.

"My surname is Wang. Can I take photos at your store?" Wang Yao asked instead of answering directly.

"Taking photos?" Zhao Jiajia raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze falling on the faces of the two pretty young girls, Ni Ni and Gulnazar, before she smiled and nodded.

"Of course, but only if it doesn't affect other guests' dining experience, since the restaurant is a public area."

Wang Yao nodded, nonchalantly saying, "Okay, by the way, I heard your shop has four special rooms. How much is the annual fee?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiajia glanced at Wang Yao in surprise.

The Peninsula Shanghai is a hotel built with great investment by the Kadoorie family, a Jewish family, in order to re-enter Shanghai. In addition to its economic value, it also has other significance.

To commemorate the nearly century-long history of the Kadoorie family operating four hotels in Shanghai, namely, Kalee Hotel, Majestic Hotel, Palace Hotel, and Astor House Hotel.

Therefore, four special executive suites were established using the names of these four hotels.

However, these four suites are generally not open to the public, and only a few long-time Peninsula Hotel guests know of their existence.

Zhao Jiajia was already wary of Wang Yao, who was an overly picky customer, and now her suspicions were confirmed.

She felt that this young man was either sent by one of the branches to cause trouble, or by a competitor.

In short, he is definitely not an ordinary person.

She couldn't be sure of Wang Yao's identity, but she knew that the more uncertain the situation, the more cautious she had to be.

"It seems Mr. Wang is indeed an old acquaintance of our establishment. These four rooms are currently vacant. If you were to book them for a year, the price would be around 400 million. If you are interested, I can show you the rooms," Zhao Jiajia said with a smile.

“It’s not cheap.” Wang Yao tapped the porcelain plate with his fork, making a crisp sound. “I’ll think about it and talk about it later.”

"Alright, then we won't keep you all from having your meal any longer." Zhao Jiajia smiled and nodded, then quietly instructed the head waiter in charge of afternoon tea as she left.
"Keep a close eye on that table of guests, and notify me if anything seems amiss."

　Thank you to Schopenhauer, Shangcheng Guicang, Ye Tianhao, and reader 20250429182523440 for your recommendation tickets and monthly votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)