Chapter 55
Chapter 55
With every sip, a wave of coolness washed over her, and her slightly trembling legs gradually regained their strength.
Qingqing’s eyes lit up. She quickly paid for another cup and brought it to Yao Dong, who was still slumped on a bench.
“Drink this!”
Yao Dong’s movements were stiff as he took the cup. It took him several tries before he finally managed to jam the straw in.
As the first mouthful went down, his entire body began to relax.
After draining more than half the cup, Yao Dong finally spoke.
“This stuff is good!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Li Yang, who was standing nearby, gaped in shock. He extended a trembling finger toward the man.
“You… you… you!”
A smile played on Yao Dong’s face. “Thanks. You really didn’t have to look after me so much.”
Qingqing stood to the side, maintaining her “watching a drama” expression.
Li Yang’s face suddenly fell into a mask of dejection. He turned and walked back toward his post with an air of profound sadness.
“It’s only right. After all… you’re a tourist!”
Zhang Bei finished his rounds and returned to the Drop Tower. Seeing Li Yang’s poor complexion, he frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
Li Yang’s gaze turned deep and philosophical. “Contemplating the meaning of life.”
Zhang Bei raised an eyebrow. Was he having another one of his intermittent episodes?
Having finished half his drink, Yao Dong stood up and rubbed his legs as their strength returned.
“Boss, who designed these attractions?”
“I did.”
Yao Dong’s gaze shifted instantly. Zhang Bei sensed a flicker of danger in the air.
“I have things to do. I’ll be going now!”
Yao Dong curled his lip as he watched Zhang Bei beat a hasty retreat.
His eyes turned toward another path. “Didn’t they say there’s a Ski Resort and an Underground Maze?”
Qingqing made a bitter face. “You haven’t had enough yet?”
Yao Dong raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. Let’s go!”
The two of them set off once more on their journey of mutual torment.
Meanwhile, on one of the Amusement Park’s benches, an elderly man in a tracksuit sat with eyes gleaming as he stared at the park’s main entrance.
The small notebook in his hand was filled with dense rows of data.
This unusual behavior soon caught the attention of Li Lei, who was nearby.
“Hello, sir. Is there anything you need?”
The old man shook his head. “Go on about your business. Don’t mind me.”
Li Lei glanced down at the old man’s notebook before turning back to her post.
The amusement park saw plenty of strange people; this old man was just one of many.
The day’s business soon came to an end. The old man followed the last batch of tourists out of the Amusement Park gates.
However, the moment he stepped outside, his expression turned solemn.
He dialed a number with one hand. “Hello. Send out a notice. Online meeting in thirty minutes.”
“Yes, Director!”
From this brief exchange, it was clear that the old man was no ordinary senior citizen.
His name was Qi Xiu, and he was the Director of the Dingyang City Tourism Bureau.
Logically speaking, in an industrial city like this, his position was almost redundant. However, though he was old in years, his spirit remained young. During his ten years in office, he had managed to develop over thirty tourist attractions in Dingyang City.
Among these were thirteen nature reserves and two coastal beaches.
The recent sudden surge of out-of-town tourists in Dingyang City had naturally caught his attention.
After investigating various leads, all signs pointed toward this amusement park.
As a dedicated public servant, he had naturally focused his sights here.
After several days of investigation, Qi Xiu had finally obtained the data he wanted.
Out-of-town tourists accounted for forty-one percent of the park’s visitors, while local tourists made up a full fifty-nine percent.
The repeat customer rate stood at eighty-three percent.
To an outsider, this data might seem unremarkable. But to Qi Xiu, it was a literal gold mine!
An eighty-three percent return rate was the Michelin Three Stars of the culinary world, the Lamborghini of the automotive world, and the Dragon-Slaying Treasure Blade of the wuxia world.
As soon as Qi Xiu arrived home, he couldn’t wait to pick up his phone and start a video conference.
Soon, face after face appeared on the screen.
“I’m sorry for calling a meeting so late, but this is urgent. Please bear with me.”
As his voice fell, the slightly noisy chatter died down.
Qi Xiu took out the notebook where he had recorded the data and spoke slowly.
“The suburban amusement park has now reached a daily visitor count of twenty thousand.”
At those words, the eyes of everyone present widened in shock.
One had to understand that after years of hard work, the total number of out-of-town tourists in Dingyang City was only around one hundred thousand.
“Director, I recall that this Amusement Park isn’t registered with us, right?”
There were usually two ways to register an amusement park. The first was to register as a small or micro-enterprise through the Industry and Commerce Bureau.
The second was to register with the Tourism Bureau. Registering here would grant access to tax incentives and official traffic redirection. Naturally, it also required cooperating with the authorities on promotional efforts.
Qi Xiu was well aware of this and nodded with a solemn expression.
“I will handle that issue later. The important thing now is: should we provide official traffic redirection for this amusement park?”
This question plunged everyone into silence.
Official redirection could bring a scenic spot on the verge of collapse back to life. However, if a reputation issue arose, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to the government’s credibility. Furthermore, they didn’t have direct management authority over this amusement park yet.
The air remained silent for a full five minutes before Qi Xiu sighed.
“Tell me what you think. We’ve worked together for so many years; don’t think I don’t know what’s on your minds!”
“Old Qi, if something goes wrong, our reputation will be completely ruined!”
“Yeah, Old Qi. If it doesn’t work out, just let it develop on its own. It’s been doing fine these past few months anyway.”
As his ears filled with voices of persuasion, Qi Xiu gave a bitter smile.
“How could I not know that? But have you considered how many more years it will take to develop the tourism industry if we stick to our current strategy?”
Hearing this, everyone’s faces filled with distress.
How many years?
Everyone present had worked with Old Qi for at least seven years!
Old Qi had been in office for fifteen years. For the first eight years, he managed the waterways and planned the nature reserves. For the last seven years, everyone had worked together from scratch to finally reach one hundred thousand tourists.
How much longer would it take for Dingyang City’s tourism industry to truly flourish?
Ten years? Twenty years?
That was certainly a distant, unreachable number.
Qi Xiu’s gaze turned resolute.
“This is an opportunity-an opportunity that has dropped right into our laps!”
Hearing the strength in his voice, the others knew that Qi Xiu had made his decision.
“I’ll be responsible for the field inspection.”
“I’ll go coordinate with the amusement park tomorrow and produce the videos.”
“The usual rules: I’ll contact the media.”
A smile finally touched Qi Xiu’s face. “Good. Then I’ll be responsible for contacting some old friends!”
The video conference, which lasted an hour, came to an end. Qi Xiu hung up and let out a long sigh.
He reached out and pulled a report that had been tucked under the desk.
The hospital diagnosis on it was clearly visible.