Inside Xihong Zoo, watching the brilliant fireworks continuously explode in the sky, many tourists' eyes were already filled with tears of excitement.
This was especially true for residents who had always lived in the city.
Since the ban on fireworks was gradually implemented across various regions, how many years had it been since they last saw fireworks, and how many years had it been since they last smelled the sulfur scent that belonged to the New Year festival?
In the past, setting off firecrackers during the New Year was a celebration of ushering out the old and welcoming the new. Now, it had become illegal and criminal.
"At this moment, all I want to say is, fireworks are truly spectacular."
"I am very satisfied with Director Yang's little gift."
"Director Yang is so thoughtful."
"Director Yang must have put in a lot of effort to obtain the permit for setting off fireworks."
"But have you seen who Director Yang is? He's the man who single-handedly boosted the entire tourism industry of Guixi."
"I never expected to watch the New Year's Eve party and enjoy fireworks with the one I love this year. The 298 yuan spent was truly worth it."
"I hope Xihong Zoo will host a New Year's Eve party again next year."
"How about hosting the Spring Festival Gala?"
"Yes, yes, let's crowdfund Director Yang to host the Spring Festival Gala."
...
As the colorful and dazzling fireworks continued to explode in the sky, the snow machines that had stopped earlier also began to operate.
Instantly, snowflakes began to drift within the park.
When the fireworks, snow, and the park's splendid lights combined, Xihong Zoo became a breathtaking sight.
And at this very moment, the giant drone formation in the sky also began to change.
The drone formation, which had originally displayed Yang Lin's head, immediately transformed into a majestic tiger after a series of changes.
Seeing this tiger, the audience immediately thought of Hua Dajie.
But before everyone could confirm, the tiger turned into a lion, followed by a black bear, and then a leopard.
In just a few minutes, the images of all the animals in Xihong Zoo had been displayed in the sky in rotation.
After the image of the last animal appeared, a string of numbers followed.
Looking at this string of numbers, all the audience immediately realized something and promptly took out their phones to check the time.
December 31, 2022, 23:59
From this moment, the New Year's countdown officially began.
As the countdown in the sky slowly diminished, Yang Lin's voice once again echoed.
"The new year is about to arrive. Please count down with me."
"10, 9, 8..."
In an instant, all the audience and staff in the venue shouted loudly, and even the viewers in the live stream became extremely excited.
Until the countdown in the sky officially reached zero, bursts of excited cheers instantly drowned out all other sounds in the world.
Just as all the audience was enthusiastically celebrating the arrival of the new year, the drone formation in the sky finally displayed its last shape.
A lifelike, large rabbit with two long ears standing upright.
Although theoretically the real Year of the Rabbit had not yet arrived, everyone knew that from this moment on, the New Year in Longguo had officially entered its countdown.
Beneath the dazzling fireworks filling the sky, the scene once again erupted in a carnival.
Only the animals within the park watched the jumping bipeds with confused expressions.
However, at this moment, the zookeepers of Xihong Zoo also punctually served the animals their first New Year's feast.
It took more than ten minutes for the audience to finally calm down.
And during these ten minutes, the audience once again experienced the feeling of celebrating the New Year as they used to.
"Dear audience, Xihong Zoo's 2023 New Year's Eve Party officially concludes here."
"Thank you for your presence, and thank you to the animals who brought us wonderful performances. Finally, thank you to Director Yang for his heartwarming gift."
"If we have the chance, we will meet again next year."
Listening to the host's voice from the sky, everyone felt a sense of loss.
It seemed they were not ready to accept that this unprecedented New Year's Eve party had ended so quickly.
Just then, Yang Lin's voice rang out.
"Don't worry, as long as Xihong Zoo doesn't go bankrupt next year, we'll continue to host the New Year's Eve party."
"Also, Xihong Zoo will be open as usual tomorrow. If you have time, come and visit. There will be a big red envelope on the first day of the new year."
As soon as Yang Lin said this, the audience burst into laughter.
"I knew Director Yang doted on his fans."
"It's a joke, how could Xihong Zoo go bankrupt?"
"How about this, we allow Director Yang to increase prices next year. If a ticket used to be 50 yuan, it will be 50.1 yuan after the New Year."
"Hahaha, I haven't even used my coupon for 49.9 to offset 50 yet. Can it be upgraded to 49.9 to offset 50.1 after the New Year?"
"Then Director Yang would go bankrupt."
"You're even more of a capitalist than a capitalist, not even giving employees New Year's Day off."
"What do you know? They give 24 months' salary at the end of the year, and 5 times the overtime pay for holidays. My cousin's girlfriend works there."
"Okay, so I'm the real clown. I have the day off tomorrow. Should I dress up as an animal for a day?"
...
Amidst the laughter and joy, the tourists gradually began to leave Xihong Zoo.
After all the tourists had left, Xihong Zoo quickly became quiet.
Thus, the most special New Year's Eve party in history truly came to an end.
However, it was clear that only the party had ended, while the impact it had caused was just beginning.
Thanks to the New Year's Eve, the internet was still buzzing with excitement at this time.
People who usually didn't stay up late would do so a bit on this day.
Everyone had their own unique way of celebrating the New Year.
And at this moment, the hottest topic among the late-night crowd was Xihong Zoo's New Year's Eve party.
It was no exaggeration to say that this party had almost monopolized the entire New Year's Eve discussion topics.
This was especially true for those who experienced it firsthand and those who watched the live stream.
You could find these people in almost every video related to Xihong Zoo's New Year's Eve party.
Some were discussing the animal performances, while others were discussing the fireworks display.
And with the dedicated promotion of these people, a series of videos from Xihong Zoo quickly climbed to the trending list.
A large number of netizens who had not watched this special New Year's Eve live broadcast inadvertently watched the entire party by browsing short videos.
It was precisely because of this that the influence of Xihong Zoo's New Year's Eve party grew like a snowball.
When the time reached 3 AM, Xihong Zoo's New Year's Eve party directly topped the overall hot search list at number one.
While securing the first hot search of the New Year, it also became the first major online event of 2023.
As for the New Year's Eve parties hosted by various satellite TV stations at the same time, they were now as cold as can be.
ps: I originally intended to schedule this part about the New Year's Eve celebration for tomorrow, but it didn't work out as planned. Let's celebrate early.
Happy New Year will have to wait until tomorrow.