Chapter 1400: The ripping off begins!

Translator: Legge  Editor: Legge

In the blink of an eye, the day of the ticket sales arrived.

The three Japanese and Korean celebrities’ concerts had all adopted online ticket sales and it was the same for Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai’s crosstalk tour as well. The traditional method of selling tickets had long been replaced by this. These days, the success of a concert would usually be measured by four points of information.

1.) The size of the venue

2.) Whether the tickets were sold out

3.) Duration it took for the tickets to sell out

4.) The response and praise after the concert is over

The promotions by the three Japanese and Korean celebrities had already begun long ago and were currently underway in full swing.

On Weibo.

“Have they opened up the ticket sales?”

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve refreshed the ticketing website!”

“It should be starting soon!”

“Their tickets definitely won’t be easy to get. It’s going to be all up to luck!”

“The promotions are so overwhelming.”

“That’s right, the Chinese market is very important to them, so of course they will spare no effort in marketing their events.”

“Heh, why is Zhang Ye the only one who did not promote his tour?”

“I’m also puzzled by that. Isn’t Teacher Zhang trying to make trouble for them? Then why is he keeping so quiet?”

“Pfft, are you guys joking? The reason why those Japanese and Korean celebrities are advertising is that there are many people in the country who still do not know about them, so of course they will have to give it as much publicity as they can. But for Zhang Ye? Tell me who in China doesn’t know of him? He just needs to hang up a sign for his crosstalk tour and that’s good enough.”

“That’s true, but I’m not really optimistic about the crosstalk tour. Having three consecutive performances in three cities over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, he’s really putting his life at risk. It will also be very tiring as well. Besides, such large-scale crosstalks have not taken place for over ten years now. They can’t even sell out tickets that cost ten to twenty yuan for a theater that holds up to 100 audience members, let alone at a venue as big as the Beijing Exhibition Center. The majority of crosstalk comedians have been surviving by making appearances on the Spring Festival Galas to keep up their popularities and no longer do theater shows. No one has ever organized a show at the Beijing Exhibition Center like this. Even though Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai’s crosstalks are very well-spoken of, it’s still very difficult to say if their tour will succeed or not.”

“It’s enough as long as Zhang Ye’s name is there!”

“Right, Zhang Ye and Old Yao’s crosstalk mustn’t be missed!”

“I’m still looking more forward to Park Jaesang’s concert.”

“I’m waiting here to get ahold of Kimura’s tickets!”

“Let’s wait and see whose tickets will sell better.”

…

At Zhang Ye’s Studio.

Everyone was extremely busy.

Wu Yi had already led a team of people to head to the Shanghai venue.

Tong Fu and his team went straight to Shenzhen to liaise with the venue and ticketing office.

Meanwhile, Ha Qiqi took charge of the Beijing Exhibition Center venue and was running back and forth to get everything in order.

…

Back at home.

Zhang Ye was in a very relaxed mood.

His mother asked, “Are you really going to take them on?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Yeah.”

His father asked, “How are you planning to do it?”

Zhang Ye smiled. “Just wait and see. In my territory, I will torment them to death!”

He then called Old Wu’s secretary.

Zhang Ye asked: “Hello, Secretary Bai, have the ticket sales been approved yet?”

Secretary Bai replied: “I guess they’re probably getting to it soon?”

“Help me check with them, could you? Their work efficiency is too poor.”

“Alright, I’ll get back to you immediately.”

Soon after, his cell phone rang.

“Mr. Zhang, it’s done.”

Zhang Ye said: “Alright, thank you.”

The three Japanese and Korean celebrities had begun planning and preparing for their upcoming concert in China since half a year ago. The approval process had also been completed very early on, and the concert was very well-planned as well. Meanwhile, Zhang Ye had spontaneously decided to go ahead with his crosstalk tour, so not many preparations were done yet. But since Zhang Ye had the home field advantage, be it the venue or the approval process, he was basically able to get the green light with just a phone call.

The formalities were complete.

Now it was just a matter of setting the ticket prices.

Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes and began thinking.

How much should he price them?

How many categories should he have for the seating?

…

Kimura Kazuya’s team.

They had already arrived in China to prepare for their concert.

“How much should we price the tickets?”

“How much does it usually cost in China for their concerts?”

“It depends on the popularity of the person. Judging from our reputation, the seat categories at our level should be going for 600 RMB, 1,200 RMB, and 3,000 RMB for the premium VIP seats.”

“Isn’t that too low?”

“Yeah, I think it should be doubled.”

“If it’s too high, I’m afraid it’ll sell very slowly.”

“But we still have to make money. If we set it too low, we won’t be able to make much at all.”

“Right, and if the ticket prices are too low, it would reflect negatively to the quality of the concert.”

…

Park Jaesang’s team.

“No, the ticket prices can’t be so low!”

“I heard that the lowest price for Kimura’s concert tickets is 1,000 RMB!”

“What? It’s that high?”

“Then we must set ours higher than theirs!”

“That’s right, our popularity is higher than his!”

“Yeah, it won’t reflect well if the ticket prices are too low.”

“Let’s raise them then! Bring them up a tier!”

…

Kim Jichan’s team.

“I heard that Kazuya Kimura’s and Park Jaesang’s ticket prices are not cheap.”

“How much is Zhang Ye selling his tickets for?”

“We still don’t know about that.”

“He’s really popular in China, so he’ll definitely sell them at a higher price!”

“That’s right, if we lower our prices, it’ll reflect really badly on us!”

“Raise it!”

“Right, set a higher price!”

…

Park Jaesang’s team.

“What?”

“They raised it again?”

“Let’s raise ours too then! Raise it!”

…

Kazuya Kimura’s team.

“What the hell!”

“Are they competing to see who can go higher?”

“Who’s afraid of who! Raise ours too!”

…

The tickets were almost going on sale!

The three Japanese and Korean celebrity teams almost got into a fight over the pricing!

Some did it for the sake of making money, while others did it for the sake of face. As a result, the ticket prices got pushed higher and higher!

Finally, when the ticket prices for the three concerts were announced, many Chinese citizens were shocked!

Kazuya Kimura’s concert ticket prices:

The lowest tier went for 1,200 RMB.

The middle tier went for 1,800 RMB.

The premium tier went for 3,500 RMB.

And the VIP seats went for 8,888 RMB.

Kim Jichan’s concert ticket prices:

The lowest tier went for 1,200 RMB.

The premium tier went for 3,000 RMB.

And the VIP seats went for 12,888 RMB.

The highest priced tickets were for Park Jaesang’s concert.

Park Jaesang’s VIP seats were priced at a staggering 18,888 RMB!

…

Zhang Ye also received the news.

At this moment, he immediately rushed back to the studio.

Zhang Ye said, “Has it been confirmed?”

Little Wang instantly pointed on her computer screen. “It’s been announced. They’ll be selling the tickets very soon!”

Ha Qiqi said, “Director Zhang, let’s hurry too. Don’t let them get a head start over us. How much should we set our prices at? Should we make them a little higher than theirs? Or the same as them?”

Zhang Zuo added, “Although it’s a bit expensive, this is the first time we’re doing a crosstalk tour, so we’ll definitely need to set it at a higher standard. Furthermore, the cost for the venue, staff, and equipment still have to be paid to the organizers, so that should justify the higher cost of the tickets. This is the market rate these days. Prices have been increasing by the year.”

But Zhang Ye did not say anything.

He suddenly remembered something that happened in his previous world.

It was about how the concert of Heavenly Queen Faye Wong 1 went from being the most anticipated event to devolving into a scolding mess!

Then, Zhang Ye made up his mind.

He was going to start ripping off people!

…

Online.

The netizens were ridiculing.

“So expensive?”

“Oh my God!”

“Even Zhang Yuanqi’s concert last year wasn’t this expensive, was it?”

“Have concert ticket prices risen to such a level these days?”

“*faints* And I thought that I could go to watch it live at the venue. Now it looks like I won’t be able to afford it even if I break the bank!”

“This price seems a bit unreasonable, doesn’t it?”

“I think it’s fine. They’re really famous after all.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit expensive.”

“But it’s still worth it for Oppa!”

“That’s right, that’s right. At most, I won’t go shopping or eat out for the rest of the year!”

“I just received my allowance from my family, but I’ll still buy the tickets! For Park Jaesang-oppa, anything is worth it! I just want to see him in person at the concert!”

“Surely there’s no need for that! Previous few posters, please don’t spend beyond your means.”

“What do you know? They’re all priced like this nowadays.”

“That’s right, he’s one of the big name A-listers in Asia, so how can they price the concert tickets too cheaply?”

“Yeah, Zhang Ye’s tickets will surely be more expensive than that!”

There was a lot of controversy on the Internet, but it didn’t cause too much of an upheaval.

Only when the ticket prices for Zhang Ye’s crosstalk tour were announced did the entire nation blow up!

Beijing Exhibition Center ticket prices:

Lowest tier seating: 288 RMB

Middle tier seating: 388 RMB

Premium tier seating: 588 RMB

VIP seating: 888 RMB

At this moment.

Some people were stunned!

Some people were dumbfounded!

Some people were overjoyed!

Some people turned green!

It was a steal!

It was an absolute bargain!

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