["Whatâs this about a free event? If itâs really a fan appreciation giveaway, why not make enough for more people?"]
[How could this dish possibly be worth a million Star Coins? Itâs definitely a publicity stunt.]
These comments were completely unreasonable. Anyone who read them knew they were baseless.
She had so many fans; how could everyone get a portion? Juju would have to cook day and night.
And as for whether the dish was worth a million Star Coins...
The transfer record, chat logs, and the video were all right there. All you had to do was go and look.
Take the background in Million Sisterâs video, her clothes, the tableware she usedâwerenât all of those six or seven-figure items? How could you possibly find someone of that caliber to be part of a fabrication?
You wouldnât be able to.
Eventually, the personâs comments grew increasingly nasty, and everyone couldnât be bothered to engage with her anymore. Terry was summoned and promptly banned the account.
That took care of the eyesore.
With the noisy troll gone, the chat became peaceful again. As the conversation continued, someone brought up the banned user: "That person must have a thing against the rich, going on and on about âa million, a million.â"
Since the disturbance was relatively minor, almost no one realized that a vicious smear campaign against Jiang Qiuqiu had already begun to pick up steam.
Meanwhileâ
ăThe Federal Foodie Circleă
As the largest hub for food lovers in the entire Federation, the Federal Foodie Circle brought together people from every social class across the Federationâs 100 star systems. Its number of followers had surpassed 2.1 billion.
This accounted for almost ten percent of the Federationâs total population.
With so many members, the community was very active. However, the topics of discussion were quite varied, including not only food but also gossip and all sorts of other random things.
This was a common ailment of large online communities. Without targeted moderation, the sheer number of people inevitably led to drama and disputes that had nothing to do with the groupâs stated purpose.
And that afternoon, a post on the forum suddenly blew up.
[A Single Dish Worth a Million Star Coins? Another Astronomically Priced Delicacy AppearsâIs It a Publicity Stunt or Just a Rich Personâs Whim?]
[Iâm getting more and more baffled by the trends in the Federation lately. I know prices are rising, but I never expected some things to skyrocket this fast. Weâre talking about a fish dish... a few slices of fish with some greens that cost 300 Star Coins at most, and someone actually bid one million Star Coins for it.]
[??? Is this a state banquet?]
With such a sensational title, it naturally attracted many people who were bored and browsing online to come and take a look.
The original poster then eagerly recounted what they had seen and heard in the comments belowâ
[It was on Federation Live. I donât have the money to eat at a revolving restaurant, so I figured Iâd eat some virtual data to satisfy my cravings. Thereâs this streamer, right? They made a dish and said they were giving away a free tasting slot.]
[Then someone won it, but not even two minutes later, some rich heiress offered to buy the dish for 1 million. Now that streamerâs fans all claim the dish is worth a million Star Coins. /eyeroll]
[I was just there to watch, but after a while, I got the feeling that all of the streamerâs fans must be students. They talk about a million Star Coins like itâs pocket change. Every other comment is, "Iâd pay a million Star Coins for that dish too..." Have any of them ever worked a day in their lives? Do they have any idea how hard their parents work to earn Star Coins? It gives me a headache just reading it.]
...
!
Most of the people on the Federal Foodie Circle were from an older demographic. They had originally just been enjoying a bit of drama, but after seeing what the original poster wrote, it suddenly resonated with them.
âThatâs right. A million Star Coins at the drop of a hat... Itâs like everyoneâs rich these days, and a million is just a small sum to be thrown around with a wave of the hand.â
[By the way, what was the name of that streamer you just mentioned?]
[I donât really remember. Something like Jiang Jiujiu, I think. Weird name.]
âItâs these streamers and their reckless publicity stunts that are corrupting the values of todayâs youth. They have no concept of money whatsoever.â
Even though she hadnât done anything, this massive, unfair accusation was suddenly pinned on Jiang Qiuqiu.