Online popularity is like a summer thunderstorm.
It arrives quickly and fades just as fast.
Lu You understood this principle well.
He was acutely aware that his video's viral success involved a great deal of luck.
To transform this fleeting attention into lasting interest, he had to strike while the iron was hot and keep producing content!
Thus, over the next few days, the account "Boss Lu of the Hardware Store" flooded the short-video platform with fresh content at a daily pace.
The video style remained consistent: it was still that unassuming Hardware Store, still that addictive DJ anthem.
And still that unflappable boss who responded to any request with just one word: "Have."
But the content was quietly undergoing a change.
Thanks to the fame brought by the videos, business in the store had improved by more than just a little.
Customer requests also began to diversify wildly, no longer limited to screws, nails, and faucets.
"Boss, the cord on my induction cooker is broken. Can you fix it for me?" a middle-aged woman asked, holding up an induction cooker with a worried expression.
"Have!" Lu You's answer wasn't "can," but "have."
In his view, service was also a product.
On camera, he took out his toolbox and skillfully stripped the wires, twisted them together, and wrapped them with electrical tape.
The entire process was smooth and fluid, as fast as a magic trick.
"10 yuan."
This was all thanks to the small skill [Perfect Wiring] he had exchanged for with a few dozen business points.
[Ding! Completed "Circuit Repair" service. Gained 10 yuan in Dragon country currency, 30 business points.]
The comment section instantly erupted:
[Holy crap! The boss not only sells stuff but can also fix things?]
[With that skill, you'd need at least twenty years of experience as an electrician!]
[An all-rounder boss! I'm a fan!]
Another day, a young man walked in holding a phone mount: "Boss, can this thing be attached to a motorcycle's rearview mirror? I've tried several kinds, and none work."
"Have! Modification kit." Lu You retrieved a strangely shaped adapter from the back room.
In no time at all, he had it installed for him, fitting perfectly and rock-solid.
[Ding! Sold "Special Modification Kit." Gained 50 yuan in Dragon country currency, 80 business points.]
The comment section exploded again:
[That works? Is the boss a fusion of Doraemon and Handy Geng?]
[Following! Following! From now on, if I have any household troubles, I won't call the property management; I'll just watch the boss's videos for inspiration!]
As video after video was posted, Lu You's follower count grew like a snowball, quickly surpassing the fifty-thousand mark.
He had clearly become a rising star in the lifestyle section.
Seeing his small shop thriving more and more, Lu You was even more motivated.
This not only earned him business points but also actual money!
Although his current daily revenue only fluctuated between one hundred and three hundred yuan.
For someone who couldn't make a single sale for a whole month before, this was already a world of difference.
No job, no stable income.
Earning more money to solve his survival problem was his most urgent need at this stage.
However, new troubles soon followed.
He found that as business became more routine, most of his customers were buying conventional items.
Although business points were steadily increasing, those high-value customers who could reward thousands of points at once never appeared again.
"No good, this is too slow." Lu You felt a bit anxious as he looked at the huge gap still left before reaching the 100,000-point experience bar for Level 2.
Waiting idly for opportunities wasn't the solution; he had to take the initiative and create demand!
A bold idea gradually took shape in his mind.
That evening, he posted a preview video with a style completely different from before.
In the video, contrary to his usual style, he didn't use that catchy BGM.
Instead, he stood seriously behind the counter and spoke to the camera, word by word:
"Thank you for the support from all my fans. To give back to everyone and to prove the capability of 'Old Lu Hardware Store,' I, Boss Lu of the Hardware Store, hereby make a pledge!"
He paused, his eyes sparkling with confidence.
"Starting tomorrow, this store will begin a week-long continuous livestream."
"During the livestream, for any product that actually exists in the real world and has a market value below 1000 yuan in Dragon country currency—note, *any* product, no restrictions on type—if my 'Old Lu Hardware Store' cannot produce it, I will compensate ten times the price on the spot!"
At the end of the video, a line of bold, black text appeared on the screen:
[Tomorrow at 9 AM, in the livestream, waiting for your challenge!]
This video was like a depth charge, instantly exploding across the internet.
[Holy crap! The boss is playing this big?]
[Any product under 1000 yuan? He's crazy! That's blowing the biggest boast ever!]
[A Hardware Store boss selling lipstick? Selling milk tea?]
[Waiting to debunk him! I've already thought of a hundred things to make him pay!]
[Tenfold compensation? Brothers, here's our chance to get rich!]
[Brothers in City, where are you? Let's go to the scene tomorrow as a group and make him go bankrupt!]
Doubt, mockery, anticipation... all sorts of voices clamored loudly.
Countless netizens, eager to watch the drama unfold, scheduled the livestream, ready to witness this "century gamble" firsthand.
And this was precisely the effect Lu You wanted.
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lu You was awakened by a commotion outside his store.
To save money and for the convenience of watching the shop, he had simply set up a camp bed in the small storage room behind the Hardware Store. Living there alone, he found it quite comfortable.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning, he walked to the store entrance.
Peering through the glass door, he was instantly wide awake.
"Holy shit! So many people!"
His usually deserted storefront now had a long line snaking out from it!
The queue stretched from his door all the way to the street corner, a dense mass of at least forty or fifty people.
They were all whispering to each other, faces filled with excitement and the look of spectators at a show.
Many were holding phones, seemingly exchanging "debunking strategies" with each other.
Lu You's heart pounded "thump-thump," but what surged up wasn't nervousness, but an irrepressible excitement.
"Then today... isn't it time to make a fortune?!"
He took a deep breath and straightened his clothes.
Then, with a "clatter," he rolled up the shutter door.
"The boss is here!" someone in the crowd shouted, and instantly all eyes focused on Lu You.
A young man with a buzz cut, who looked quite shrewd, was at the front of the line.
He sized up Lu You and asked, "Boss, what you said in the video—any item under 1000 yuan, you'll give tenfold compensation if you don't have it—does that count?"
"Of course it counts." Lu You nodded.
Facing dozens of eyes and countless phone cameras about to be aimed at him, he cleared his throat and stated the rules more clearly.
"Everyone, the rules are simple. First, the product must actually exist in the real world. You can't expect me to produce an 'Infinity Gauntlet' for you."
"Second, its fair market value must be below 1000 yuan."
"Third, if I can't produce it, I will compensate ten times the market price of that item in cash."
He paused, a sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Of course, let's get the unpleasantness out of the way first. If I *do* produce it, you must purchase it at the market price."
"Just looking without buying, affecting my business—that won't do."
As soon as Lu You finished speaking, a wave of relaxed laughter erupted from the crowd.
"No problem!"
"Don't worry, boss. If you have it, we'll definitely buy it!"
"Exactly! We're just curious about how capable you really are!"
They were all rubbing their hands together, full of confidence.
Before coming, they had brainstormed hundreds, even thousands, of bizarre and unusual items in their group chats—things a normal Hardware Store would absolutely never have.
They refused to believe this young boss really had *everything*!
Lu You said no more.
He returned behind the counter, set up his phone, took a deep breath, and clicked the "Start Livestream" button.
The number of online viewers in the livestream room started from zero and skyrocketed at a terrifying speed.
One thousand... five thousand... eight thousand... ten thousand!
Dense bullet comments flooded in like a tide, instantly filling the entire screen.
[I'm here! Selling melon seeds, peanuts, and bottled water at the front!]
[First-hand debunking scene, brothers! The moment to witness a miracle has arrived!]
[How much money did the boss prepare today? I feel like 100,000 yuan won't be enough to cover the compensation!]
[Hurry, hurry! Who's going first? Give him something tough!]
In front of the livestream camera, Lu You looked at the eager crowd outside.
Then he glanced at the rapidly scrolling bullet comments on his phone and smiled calmly at the camera.
"Alright, everyone, the 'Old Lu Hardware Store' challenge begins now. First challenger, please state your request."