Chapter 59: This Speed is Unbelievable

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: This Speed is Unbelievable

Since the Tourism Bureau was providing the funds, he might as well take them all at once.

As for whether the Bamboo Maze truly needed 10 million, or if anyone would question it, they would all be silenced once the maze was complete. Besides, even if someone else was given 10 million, they wouldn’t be able to create a Bamboo Maze like this.

The results would speak for themselves.

After finishing the proposal, Zhang Lin took out his phone and directly called Zhao Han, planning to schedule a meeting to discuss the matter.

The call connected, and Zhao Han’s voice came through first. "Boss Zhang, the Tourism Bureau just finished its morning meeting about your Li Yuan Farm. We were just about to ask when you plan to start the new project. We’re really hoping you can lift the ticket booking restrictions for visitors soon."

For the past two days, everyone at the Tourism Bureau had been monitoring the online hype surrounding Li Yuan Farm. After yesterday’s events, its popularity had soared even higher. The farm’s follower count alone had grown rapidly, reaching over 700,000 by this morning.

Even his cousin, Chen Shengfei, who had been mistaken for a shill, had ridden the wave of popularity. He now had 200,000 followers, and the number was still climbing.

If Li Yuan Farm lifted its booking restrictions, the number of visitors it could accommodate each day would definitely exceed 5,000.

Therefore, they were even more anxious about Li Yuan Farm’s new project than Zhang Lin himself.

Last year, You City had an average of 20,000 daily visitors. Thanks to Li Yuan Farm, that number had now risen to 25,000. Naturally, they hoped the daily average could hit 30,000.

All of this was a credit to the Tourism Bureau.

Zhang Lin laughed when he heard this. "Director Zhao, what a coincidence. I just finished a project proposal myself. It’s for a Bamboo Maze. The project is a bit expensive, requiring 10 million, but once it’s built, it will definitely be better than the rapeseed Flower Sea!"

"Boss Zhang, I’ll head over to the farm to chat in a bit!" Hearing that Zhang Lin really had a plan, Zhao Han hastily hung up and left his office.

Listening to the dial tone, Zhang Lin thought, ’This Director Zhao seems even more anxious than I am.’

Next, he called Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan’s laugh came through almost immediately. "Boss Zhang, I was just about to call you. The Agriculture Bureau held a morning meeting about your Li Yuan Farm. We plan to present you with a plaque for being an ’Advanced Experimental Farm Unit’."

Zhang Lin was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the Agriculture Bureau to hold a meeting about him, let alone award him a plaque for being an ’Advanced Experimental Unit’.

Hearing this news, he immediately said, "Thank you so much for the honor!"

"You must have called for a reason, Boss Zhang, right?" Wei Yuan asked.

Zhang Lin explained, "Our farm has a new project, and we need to lease the adjacent 1,000-acre bamboo forest."

"A new project is great news, Boss Zhang. Didn’t we promise to support your farm with favorable policies? This bamboo forest lease can be included in that support package. I’ll come to the farm to discuss it in a bit," Wei Yuan said immediately, clearly also in a hurry.

He also wanted Li Yuan Farm to do well, to grow and prosper.

It wasn’t just about their current collaboration to promote new fruit varieties. After all, Li Yuan Farm was officially registered under the Agriculture Bureau. If it prospered and became famous, that would be a political achievement for them—a point of pride they could boast about.

For example, at county meetings or meetings at the municipal head office, he could easily say: "Under the guidance and assistance of the You City Agriculture Bureau, You City’s agricultural sector has created the renowned brand that is Li Yuan Farm."

There was also the anticipation for Li Yuan Farm’s fruits.

He now knew that Li Yuan Farm had two other fruits, honey peaches and Sunshine Rose grapes, both of which were test products from a laboratory collaborating with the farm. Their taste far surpassed that of ordinary fruits.

However, due to confidentiality, they couldn’t investigate further. They could only hope that when the lab began its trial promotions, You City would benefit. If local farmers could grow these fruits, it would be a huge boon for them and for You City’s agriculture as a whole.

Although he didn’t know the nature of the partnership between Li Yuan Farm and the lab behind it, he was sure that the farm’s success would be beneficial to their collaboration.

Therefore, it was only natural for the Agriculture Bureau to provide policy support.

After hanging up, he immediately summoned a department head from the Agriculture Bureau, instructing him to find and send over a map of the bamboo forests surrounding Li Yuan Farm. Then, he hurried off to the farm himself.

After arranging to meet the two directors, Zhang Lin rode his scooter to the service center. Just as he walked in, he saw a girl holding a cup of Honeysuckle Tea and speaking to her phone. "Hey, babies! I’m here at Li Yuan Farm. First off, their service center is really well-built. And guess what? I’ve already bought their Honeysuckle Tea."

"As you all know, I have serious constipation, so I’m counting on this today. I’ll give you all feedback on how well it works. Love you all, mwah!"

A few other tourists around her were also filming the girl.

Zhang Lin found the girl vaguely familiar. She was probably some influencer he’d scrolled past at some point, but she hadn’t left much of an impression.

He wasn’t surprised to see an influencer at the farm, though. In this age of internet traffic, many influencers simply flocked to wherever the hype was.

Zhang Lin didn’t pay her much mind and entered the lounge. Before long, Zhao Han and Wei Yuan arrived at the same time.

"Directors, you’re here!" Zhang Lin immediately went to greet them.

Zhao Han and Wei Yuan both smiled and spoke:

"How could I not come when Boss Zhang has a new project?"

"That’s right. I also want to hear about the status of Boss Zhang’s new project."

Zhang Lin handed over the simple proposal he had written for the Bamboo Maze.

Zhao Han took the proposal and began to read it, with Wei Yuan leaning in to look as well.

To be honest, both of them thought the proposal Boss Zhang had written was terrible. Even the formatting was wrong.

But that wasn’t important. What mattered was the plan. A Bamboo Maze was indeed a popular project in agricultural tourism, and it would showcase the unique advantages of You City’s Mao Bamboo.

Zhao Han asked curiously, "President Zhang, can this project really be better than the rapeseed Flower Sea?"

"Absolutely!" Zhang Lin said with certainty. "After all, Li Yuan Farm has worked hard to gain its current popularity. I wouldn’t joke around with the farm’s future."

Zhao Han believed Zhang Lin. After all, the man had already built the uniquely styled service center and the stunningly beautiful rapeseed Flower Sea.

At the very least, his abilities in this area were far superior to theirs.

"Can it compare to the one from the Miao Clan?" Zhao Han asked with a hint of anticipation.

"That shouldn’t be a problem," Zhang Lin nodded, thinking about the Bamboo Maze’s attributes.

Upon receiving this answer, Zhao Han took a document from the morning meeting and a card out of his briefcase and handed them to Zhang Lin. "Boss Zhang, the Tourism Bureau has no other requests. Just get the Bamboo Maze ready as soon as possible to accommodate more tourists. We do have one condition, however: when the project begins, our bureau will send people to film some of the construction scenes. We need to report back to our superiors."

They didn’t ask how the Bamboo Maze would be built. The entire point was to capitalize on Li Yuan Farm’s popularity and increase its visitor capacity.

Zhang Lin hadn’t expected the Tourism Bureau to move so quickly.

It was clear they were indeed more anxious than he was.

This was a good thing, though. At least it showed the status his farm had achieved.

At this point, Wei Yuan also took out a document. "Boss Zhang, this is the lease contract for the bamboo forest adjacent to Li Yuan Farm. It’s for a total of 1,500 acres. As part of our support policy, we will waive Li Yuan Farm’s rent for the first year. However, we hope you can set up some stalls outside the Bamboo Maze to promote some of You City’s agricultural products."

Zhang Lin was surprised that the Agriculture Bureau had also acted so fast. They were so considerate they had even prepared the contract, and crucially, they had added an extra 500 acres and waived the first year’s rent.

Although the rent for bamboo forests in You City wasn’t expensive, it was still a considerable sum of money.

And all he had to do in return was provide some space for stalls.

"We’ll do as Director Wei says." Zhang Lin didn’t refuse. This kind of arrangement was mutually beneficial.

After that, the three of them discussed the finer details, and Zhang Lin signed the documents from the Tourism Bureau and the Agriculture Bureau.

"Boss Zhang, I’ll head back now. I’ll arrange for someone to contact you about the Bamboo Maze project," Zhao Han said before leaving.

Wei Yuan also smiled and said, "Boss Zhang, I’ll have Mengxi be your point of contact from my side. I’ll have her take full responsibility for the design and construction of the stall area."

Zhang Lin smiled and saw the two directors out of the service center, then looked at the card Zhao Han had given him.

’It has 10 million in it. If I transfer this to my own card, can I trigger the profit milestones?’

’One for 1 million, one for 5 million, and one for 10 million.’

’That would be three milestone rewards.’

’After all, this support funding doesn’t need to be paid back. Doesn’t that count as profit?’

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the game system’s voice:

[An official tourism project support fund card has been detected, containing 10 million in support funds. It can be linked to a bank card for farm construction expenses. Funds cannot be transferred to the linked bank card and will not be counted as profit. Do you wish to link it?]

"..." Zhang Lin’s mouth fell open. He had just wanted to exploit a bug, but the system didn’t even give him a chance.

He directly chose to link it. Afterward, he indeed saw a "Support Funds: 10,000,000" entry appear in the game in his mind.

Without hesitation, he chose to spend 5 million to build the Dumbing Down Bamboo Maze.

Just like before, a holographic image of the Bamboo Maze appeared. As he moved the hologram over the 1,500-acre bamboo forest he had just leased, the ground beneath it turned green, indicating that construction was possible there.

He confirmed the placement, and the hologram settled onto the ground. In that instant, in the game in his mind, the area was fenced off and an "Under Construction" icon appeared.

[Congratulations! You have spent 5 million to build the Dumbing Down Bamboo Maze. The construction team has entered the site and is now at work...]

On the game screen, a fleet of construction vehicles could be seen appearing and driving in through the farm entrance.

At almost the same moment, in the real Li Yuan Farm, Zhao Han and Wei Yuan had reached the parking lot. Before they could get in their cars, they saw a lead construction vehicle hurry over and place a "Temporarily Closed" barricade at the parking lot entrance.

Before they could react, a convoy of construction vehicles drove in from outside, heading deeper into the farm.

"Where did all these construction vehicles come from? Are they for Li Yuan Farm?" Zhao Han said in surprise.

Wei Yuan stared in the direction the vehicles were heading and said, his mouth agape, "That seems to be the location of the bamboo forest we just leased to Boss Zhang."

"Huh???" Zhao Han was stunned for a moment.

’Are these for building the Bamboo Maze?’

’But isn’t this way too fast? We just finished talking with Boss Zhang. We haven’t even left the farm, and his construction vehicles are already here!’

Just then, Zhao Han received a notification. He opened it and saw it was a text message from his bank: 5 million had just been transferred out of the 10 million support fund.

"Boss Zhang must have had everything ready and was just waiting for the funding," Zhao Han said, his face a mask of astonishment at the speed. This level of efficiency was simply incredible.

He knew this construction team must have been contacted by Boss Zhang long ago. The crucial part was that they clearly trusted Boss Zhang immensely, having already set out in advance. Otherwise, there was no way they could have arrived the instant the money was transferred.

However, this also proved that Boss Zhang was indeed a man who could get things done.

...