More than twenty days had passed since the first batch of distributors headed south from Heaven Dou City.
The Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce's phones had followed the trade routes into new shops, and the workshop outside Heaven Dou City, where smoke drifted year-round, had finally gained a new buyer.
Inside the workshop, a tall, broad-handed middle-aged man was holding up the phone he had bought only yesterday, filming himself with the beauty filter on.
The man's name was Han Chi. He was in his forties, his Martial Soul was a pair of fire tongs, and his Soul Power cultivation had reached the four-ring level. Years ago, while working at the forge, he had burned the corner of his brow, leaving a scar that stretched down the side of his face. When he wasn't smiling, even the young errand boys who delivered charcoal didn't dare say much.
With the help of the beauty camera and Douyin's effects, his once rather frightening face had actually become handsome and refined.
At the sight, a smile immediately spread across Han Chi's face. He casually filmed a selfie video over a minute long, promptly posted it, and began to wait patiently.
Another minute passed, and a notification popped up on the messages screen.
"Old Xu of South City liked your post."
The moment Han Chi saw it, his smile grew even wider.
Over the years, he had hardly dealt with outsiders except when he regularly went into the city to buy materials for his smithing. Plenty of customers came to have knives and pots repaired, but whenever he brought out the pieces he was proudest of, they would usually take their repaired belongings and leave before he had even finished introducing them.
But that didn't mean he had no desire to socialize. Quite the opposite: he longed for the approval of others. That was exactly why, once he discovered Douyin, there was no stopping him.
Douyin could not only touch up the flaws in his face, but also bring him praise from people he didn't know. It gave him immense satisfaction.
"One more video. Then I'll start smithing."
Grinning broadly, Han Chi prepared to shoot another short video, but just then, another notification popped up.
He thought someone else had liked his post and hurriedly opened it.
"Peng Jun commented on your video: Who is this guy? Why is it that face again? Who wants to look at this stuff?"
Han Chi had still been grinning at the earlier notification, but when he saw this one, his expression immediately darkened.
"Peng Jun, was it? This old man will remember you!"
No sooner had he finished his threat than a smile appeared on his face again.
In just those few minutes, his latest video had gained several more likes, and his follower count had risen from single digits into double digits.
Peng Jun might not want to watch, but naturally, there were people who did.
Just then, an official direct message appeared on his screen.
"To help users improve their creative skills, Douyin Creator Class opens tonight. Click the link to go to the official livestream and learn video creation skills together, giving your video quality a leap forward."
Creator Class?
Han Chi looked at the video he had just made, then at someone else's woodworking video.
The person hadn't even shown their face, just planed wood with a hand plane, yet so many people had liked it.
This class is worth a look.
That afternoon, Lu Ye returned to the chamber of commerce and first looked through the new users' posts.
Most of the videos were extremely crude. They either filmed their own faces with wild abandon, adding all sorts of goofy effects along the way, or recorded trivial everyday matters, such as cultivating and traveling.
Lu Ye casually opened the profile of a user called Stove Old Han and found that he had already made dozens of videos. In every one, he had turned the beauty filter up to the maximum, added some tacky effects, and filmed his face up close.
"This won't do. We can't let this go on, or this bunch will drag down the overall quality of the videos."
"We need to encourage them to make more high-quality posts."
With that in mind, he went over what he planned to teach that evening once more. When night fell, he propped his phone on the table and started the livestream.
Han Chi had kept it in mind and clicked the link as soon as the time came.
On the screen, a young man sat at a table, saying something to the people on the other side.
Just as Han Chi was wondering what he was doing, the man suddenly spoke.
"Welcome Stove Old Han to my livestream! Everyone, welcome Master Han!"
As soon as he finished, lines of text appeared at the bottom of the screen.
"Welcome, Master Han."
"Master Han has come to learn how to shoot videos too."
Seeing the lines of text welcoming him, Han Chi was taken aback at first, then a smile appeared on his face. Who didn't like being treated like a star?
"Everyone, let's continue with what we were just discussing."
"First, you need to understand what Douyin actually is. At its core, Douyin is a tool for recording and sharing your lives. Here, you can share anything you want with everyone."
"For example, you can share the joy of breaking through to a new realm, the sense of achievement after making something, or the insights you gain while cultivating."
"Besides sharing, this is also an excellent platform for communication. Here, you can talk and exchange ideas with people far away at any time, from anywhere."
When they heard what Lu Ye had to say, it was as if the tangled weeds blocking their minds had suddenly been cleared away.
Some had bought phones to look at pretty girls, while others wanted to see those Titled Douluo. But it seemed there were things in their own lives worth filming too.
As Lu Ye spoke at an unhurried pace, the number of viewers in the livestream continued to climb.
The response is even better than I expected.
Watching the livestream's popularity rise, Lu Ye couldn't help marveling inwardly.
He was holding this livestream partly to boost users' enthusiasm for creating and discover more high-quality video creators, and partly to teach them about making short videos, broaden their understanding, and open their eyes.
But he also knew that talking alone would do no good.
Once he had finished explaining the basic approaches and techniques for creating videos, Lu Ye changed the subject.
"Next, we'll connect with a few people at random. Based on your individual circumstances, I'll tailor a creative direction for each of you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he set up a chat room and began connecting with people at random.
Before long, a user named Tao He the Pharmacy Apprentice appeared in the upper right corner of the screen.
Perhaps because it had happened so suddenly, Tao He was visibly nervous, so Lu Ye chose to speak first.
"Hello, Tao He. Going by your name, you should know how to identify medicinal herbs, right?"
As soon as Lu Ye finished speaking, a very youthful voice sounded in the livestream.
"I don't deserve that. I'm only a little apprentice who joined the pharmacy not long ago. I can recognize some common herbs, but I wouldn't dare say the same for the rarer ones."
"Don't be nervous. Since you can identify herbs, my suggestion is that you focus your future videos on doing just that. You can use short videos to give simple introductions to common medicinal herbs and explain how they differ from things people might mistake them for."
"In the process, you might even meet others in the same trade. You can exchange insights with them and improve together."
"You can also advertise through your videos."
As soon as Lu Ye said this, Tao He asked in confusion, "May I ask what it means to advertise?"
"Advertising means using Douyin to spread the word about the medicinal herbs at your pharmacy, so people who need them can find you and buy herbs from your shop."
When Lu Ye said this, not only did Tao He suddenly understand, but the other users in the livestream also felt as though wisdom had been poured into the crowns of their heads.
"Once you have a large number of followers, you can even accept advertisements. That means you advertise someone else's products, and they pay you a certain amount in return."
"Of course, one thing is very important: your videos must stay focused on one niche. Once you start posting videos about identifying herbs, don't post other kinds of things afterward."
"That's because the algorithm defines your audience based on the content of your videos."
Seeing that Tao He still only half understood, Lu Ye added another sentence.
"To put it simply, people come to learn about herbs, but if you film your own face every day instead, naturally they won't want to watch next time. Do one kind of content well first; that's better than filming everything."
Hearing this, Han Chi, who was sitting by the forge, couldn't help touching his face.
As Lu Ye continued, Tao He and the viewers in the livestream felt they had benefited enormously.
"All right, next!"
After Tao He ended the call, Lu Ye quickly connected with a second viewer.
This second viewer was named Zhao Xingzhou.
"Hello, Zhao Xingzhou. What do you mainly do day to day?" Lu Ye asked, getting straight to the point.
Before long, a somewhat simple and honest-sounding voice came from the livestream.
"I usually guard goods for caravans. I've traveled north and south and been to a few places everywhere. When I have time to spare, what I like most is wandering around."
At those words, Lu Ye's eyes immediately lit up.
"Then I think you'd be suited to being a travel blogger."
"A travel blogger?" Zhao Xingzhou had clearly never heard the term.
"That's right. A travel blogger visits different places and shows scenery others haven't seen in videos, satisfying the curiosity of viewers who don't have time to travel."
"Think about it: taking in all the sights of Douluo Continent without leaving home. What a wonderful thing that would be."
"I see. I understand. I'll go film something right now!"
"Go ahead. Remember to add music to every video, or they'll be too dry."
"All right!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xingzhou disconnected.
After him, several more users connected with Lu Ye one after another.
Like Tao He and Zhao Xingzhou, these people were very interested in making short videos to share their lives.
After learning about their circumstances, Lu Ye suggested a subject for each of them to film.
For those who liked food from different places, he suggested becoming restaurant-review or food bloggers.
For those who liked collecting all sorts of implements and weapons, he suggested becoming collectors' bloggers.
For those who liked to play the teacher, he suggested becoming teaching bloggers.
In short, Lu Ye gave everyone advice suited to them.
Seeing that the livestream had been going for more than two hours, Lu Ye prepared to say goodbye to everyone and end it.
But just then, a little flower suddenly floated across the screen, followed by a notification.
"User Stove Old Han sent the host a flower."
Lu Ye himself was taken aback when he saw it.
Whoa, he figured out how to send gifts on his own? I haven't even mentioned gifting yet.
For now, he had only enabled inexpensive flower gifts and had originally planned to explain them in detail later. He hadn't expected Master Han, who loved selfies most of all, to figure it out first.
Once he recovered, a smile immediately spread across his face.
"Thank you for the flower, Master Han. Is there something you need?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chi's comment appeared in the chat.
"Young Master Lu, please point me in the right direction."
Seeing this, Lu Ye immediately understood what he meant and promptly invited Han Chi to connect.
Soon, Han Chi's voice sounded in the livestream.
"Young Master Lu, what kind of videos do you think I should make?"
Hearing Han Chi's question, Lu Ye thought for a moment, then asked tentatively:
"May I ask what you're skilled at, Master Han?"
"Young Master Lu, I have some experience in the craft of forging implements."
"Making implements? That's great. You can do just like the young fellow who identifies herbs and share your daily work making things. You can also show the finished implements you've made in your videos. Someone might take a liking to them."
"But, Young Master Lu, I don't follow conventions when forging implements. They're rather unusual."
"That's even better. Being just like everything else is a great taboo when making short videos. If you're going to do it, make something distinctive."
"But you don't have to limit yourself to filming in your workshop. Who gets your wares, and how do they use them? Some skills you've grown used to seeing may be things other people have never seen."
"All right, I understand."
"Oh, let me give you one more little tip. Put your implements' selling points at the beginning of your videos, and show the finished products up front. That will give viewers more to look forward to."
"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Lu!"
Before ending the call, Lu Ye demonstrated the trial sales showcase again.
"Once you reach two hundred followers, you can apply to open a product showcase. For now, it only accepts small finished items that can be sent. You must deposit the actual goods first, then show people the samples so they can place orders. You can't list something by casually writing down a name when you don't have it in stock."
As Han Chi listened, he looked toward the wooden shelves packed full against the wall.
He had plenty of stock.
After all these years, someone had finally told him that being different wasn't a bad thing.
After ending the call with Han Chi, Lu Ye brought the little class to a close as well.
No sooner had he ended the livestream than Chen Shun brought good news: the phones that had arrived that day were selling well, and some customers had asked whether there would be another class tomorrow evening.
After reading the message, Lu Ye felt even better.
Now there ought to be a few more decent posts.