Chapter 56

Chapter 56

“My time is running out… I can’t just give up on half a lifetime’s worth of effort.”

Qi Xiu’s low mutterings went unheard by anyone else.

“Old man! Wash your hands and come eat!”

“Hey, I’m coming!”

Flustered, Qi Xiu pressed the report down under a stack of files and turned to walk out of the study.

“Old man, our granddaughter is about to start school soon. What are you busy with now?”

Qi Xiu smiled and sat down at the dining table.

“Good things. Definitely good things!”

“Give it a rest. If you ask me, our Dingyang City just isn’t suited for tourism. You should stop wasting your energy on it.”

“That won’t do. I’ve lived this way for half my life; how can I just give up now?”

“You really are…”

Their daily bickering hid an unspeakable warmth.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the next morning.

Zhang Bei, who was conducting his daily inspection of the Amusement Park, was approached by a young woman.

“Hello, are you the owner here?”

Zhang Bei nodded. “That’s me. What is it?”

A smile played on the young woman’s face. “Let me introduce myself. I am Rong Wan from the Dingyang City Tourism and Culture Department. I’ve come today to discuss promotion issues with you, Boss Zhang.”

Hearing this, Zhang Bei frowned.

It was precisely because he feared a bunch of outsiders meddling in the Amusement Park’s affairs that Zhang Bei had handled the business registration himself.

He hadn’t expected them to come knocking on his door anyway.

“It’s not necessary. The Amusement Park is developing very well right now.”

After adding the new facilities, although the number of tourists hadn’t reached saturation yet, it was enough for the Amusement Park to handle.

Rong Wan hadn’t expected an official recommendation to be rejected.

“Boss Zhang, we are planning a major tourism recommendation for the Amusement Park this time. It will bring in a significant amount of traffic.”

Fearing that Zhang Bei didn’t understand the significance of an official recommendation, Rong Wan made sure to explain in detail.

However, Zhang Bei’s expression remained grim.

“I said, it’s not necessary!”

With the Research Institute backing him, Zhang Bei now had the right to refuse their terms.

Rong Wan’s face darkened, but remembering her mission for the day, she suppressed her irritation.

“Boss Zhang, you could at least listen to our conditions. It would be beneficial for the development of the Amusement Park.”

At this, Zhang Bei stopped in his tracks.

“Next, are you going to say that as long as I cooperate with your publicity, you can bring me a massive influx of tourists?”

Rong Wan raised an eyebrow. “That’s right. It seems you already know, Boss Zhang?”

Zhang Bei let out a cold sneer. “Leave now, before I lose my temper.”

Hearing Zhang Bei’s words, the footsteps following him finally stopped.

With things having reached this point, how could Rong Wan not realize there was some sort of misunderstanding?

She looked at her colleague who was waiting in line nearby and shook her head.

Zhang Bei sat down next to Chef Li and picked up a drink with one hand.

“Boss, who were they?”

“People from the Tourism Bureau. They saw the Amusement Park doing well and wanted to come in for a piece of the pie.”

Chef Li frowned. Having lived for over forty years, he was a fairly good judge of character.

That young woman didn’t look like the kind of person Zhang Bei described at all.

“Have they been here before?”

Zhang Bei was silent for a moment before nodding. “They have. I was in junior high back then.”

Since he had already started, Zhang Bei simply told the whole story.

Back when Zhang Bei was in junior high, the amusement park was going through a difficult period.

Dingyang City’s overall economy was poor, so naturally, the number of visiting tourists had dwindled significantly.

During that time, amusement parks were popping up all over the country…
Each new establishment was better than the last, and Father Zhang’s old amusement park naturally had no way to compete.

It was during that time that two people came knocking on his door, claiming that as long as Father Zhang agreed to cooperate with their promotion, they could bring in a massive amount of traffic.

The Amusement Park closed for three days and spent a small fortune from his savings, yet the number of tourists was even lower than before.

Father Zhang fell seriously ill because of it, and Zhang Bei had witnessed the entire ordeal from start to finish.

Naturally, he had no good feelings toward these kinds of people.

Chef Li listened to the whole story and cross-referenced the timeline.

Back then, Dingyang City’s economy was in a slump; it wasn’t just the entertainment industry-even restaurants were affected.

If it hadn’t been for the later development of the port, Dingyang City probably wouldn’t even rank as a third-tier city today.

“Boss, maybe it was just an accident?”

“It doesn’t matter. The development of this Amusement Park doesn’t need forced traffic; everything depends on word of mouth.”

From the very beginning, Zhang Bei had made his plans.

The amusement park industry as a whole wasn’t doing great, and the best way to grow was through gradual accumulation.

He had grown the park from a few thousand visitors to the current twenty thousand, and Zhang Bei had barely even run any promotional events.

Everything was for the sake of reputation; any facility with even a hint of a safety hazard had remained closed to this day.

Chef Li nodded. They all knew in their hearts how well the Amusement Park was doing now.

In the kitchen alone, the monthly commissions from snacks were no small sum.

Most of the time, the popcorn and sour plum soup were in such high demand that they would sell out.

Even so, Zhang Bei insisted on producing everything in-house; he had never once bought semi-finished products.

Meanwhile, the two investigators were sitting on a bench, their faces pale.

They looked at the Drop Tower not far away and shuddered.

“Holy crap… is that thing really meant for humans?”

“I… I told you… I didn’t want to go.”

The two sat there for a full ten minutes before they regained some of their strength.

When their gaze shifted to the Giant Swing nearby, their scalps went numb.

Usually, these kinds of inspections were like vacations on the company dime-just experiencing the scenery and tasting some good food before calling it a day.

But this time, the vibe had suddenly turned bizarre.

“Brother Li, how about you go alone this time?”

“No way. The rules can’t be changed!”

Looking at his colleague who was determined to drag him down with him, the man’s face twisted in agony.

“Fine! Then let’s hurry up. This amusement park has quite a few attractions!”

The two stood in front of the Giant Swing and began their second round of queuing.

At that moment, Qi Xiu, who was chatting with a few old friends, received the message sent back by Rong Wan.

“Come back for now. We’ll take this one step at a time.”

“Old Qi, did someone already warn him about us?”

In all her years, Rong Wan had never seen a boss like this-someone who didn’t even want a free recommendation delivered to his doorstep.

Qi Xiu narrowed his eyes. “It’s fine. Let me look into his background.”

With that, he hung up the phone and continued chatting with his old friends.

“I’m counting on you guys this time.”

“Don’t speak too soon. If there’s a problem, don’t blame us for being blunt.”

“Yeah, Old Qi, if there really is an issue, there’s no way we can just keep quiet about it.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

The people sitting around him were all editors-specifically, magazine editors.

Without exception, they were all involved in the travel industry. Among them, the one Qi Xiu valued most was the editor from the Huaxia Travel Guide.

It was currently the highest-selling and most authoritative publication in the field.

As long as the Amusement Park could be featured there, it would undoubtedly bring in a massive wave of popularity.