"Hello?"
"May I ask if this is Mr. Lin?"
The voice on the other end of the line was very polite.
"We’re calling from the Cyan Mountain Town Tourism Office. There’s something we’d like to discuss with you, Mr. Lin."
"I was wondering if you have some time now, Mr. Lin? We could talk about the details."
Lin Feng knew as soon as he heard this that the "east wind" he was waiting for had finally arrived.
So, after a moment’s thought, Lin Feng didn’t refuse their invitation to talk.
Everything was going according to Lin Feng’s plan.
"I’m free after 4 PM this afternoon. Does that work for you?"
Lin Feng had no intention of diving into the details with the people from Cyan Mountain Town right away.
Besides, Lin Feng had just pulled an all-nighter working on his proposal.
He’d much rather use the time to get some rest.
The staff member from the Cyan Mountain Town Tourism Office was exceedingly polite.
After confirming the time with Lin Feng, they courteously hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, at nine o’clock that same morning, Liu Bowen arrived punctually at the lobby of the Tourism Office, just as scheduled.
Since the Tourism Office was a newly established department in Cyan Mountain Town, it was still located within the main government building.
The moment Liu Bowen walked in, he saw Wang Hong—the man who had personally gone to Hu Dawei’s home to invite him—standing right in the middle of the lobby.
Wang Hong was there specifically to greet Liu Bowen.
So, when he saw Liu Bowen, his eyes lit up and he walked over with a broad smile.
"Mr. Liu, please follow me!"
Liu Bowen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Hong.
If he had been left to wander around the building by himself, Liu Bowen was genuinely worried he would get lost and be late.
Although Liu Bowen was already a moderately well-known photography blogger, this was still his first time dealing with government officials.
Even though he knew the main purpose was to discuss a collaboration, Liu Bowen couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
As Wang Hong led Liu Bowen toward the conference room, he gave him a brief rundown on the way:
"It’s alright, Mr. Liu, no need to be nervous. We’re mainly just going to talk about a potential collaboration today."
"The person in charge of this meeting is Zheng Yan, the current leader of Cyan Mountain Town—the top man!"
At this, Wang Hong saw Liu Bowen freeze on the spot.
Liu Bowen truly hadn’t expected that a humble photography blogger like himself would warrant the personal attention of Cyan Mountain Town’s top leader.
And that he would be here to personally discuss a collaboration with him.
How could Liu Bowen not be nervous?
Wang Hong noticed Liu Bowen’s tension and, after a moment’s thought, tried to reassure him, "Actually, Mr. Zheng has always been pretty easy to talk to. You don’t have to worry so much!"
Although Liu Bowen nodded, he seemed even more stiff and wooden than before.
As they walked, Wang Hong noticed Liu Bowen’s movements had become so stiff that his arms and legs on the same side were moving in unison.
Wang Hong hadn’t expected Liu Bowen to be this nervous.
’Looks like this content creator isn’t very good at socializing,’ he thought.
Wang Hong thought for a moment, then led Liu Bowen to the break room on that floor and whispered a word of advice:
"To be blunt, our Mr. Zheng was transferred here from another post. Your matter is directly tied to his future promotions."
"So he’s definitely going to be on his best behavior with you. Take a moment here to compose yourself. I’ll take you over once you’re ready!"
Liu Bowen didn’t want to go in just yet, either. His heart was pounding, and he was still a nervous wreck.
It would be terrible if he ruined the atmosphere for the meeting.
After downing a cup of tea, Liu Bowen’s nerves gradually settled.
’So what if I’m meeting the top leader?’
’It’s no big deal!’
’I’ll just go for it!’
Seeing that Liu Bowen had pulled himself together, Wang Hong quickly led him to the conference room.
Normally, according to the rules, Zheng Yan only needed to be at work by 8:30 AM.
But these were special times, and today in particular, Zheng Yan had arrived shortly after seven.
He was there to prepare for matters related to tourism.
Before Liu Bowen arrived, Zheng Yan had already discussed the matter with the other members of his leadership team.
In fact, when Liu Bowen first walked into the lobby, Zheng Yan’s meeting hadn’t even ended yet. ree
After all, this was something they were taking very seriously.
That was why Wang Hong had time to let Liu Bowen compose himself.
Just as Liu Bowen was coming out of the break room, Zheng Yan’s discussion was wrapping up.
"Right now, the two most critical drivers for our entire tourism plan are the plot of land in Lin Feng’s hands and Liu Bowen, who we’re about to meet."
"According to our plan, it’s best we split up."
"Shaojie, you’ll go and discuss the land situation with Lin Feng."
Zheng Yan said to Wei Shaojie, closing his notebook.
"As for Liu Bowen, I’ll handle him. At the same time, we need to announce our tourism development plans to Cyan Mountain Town."
"We’ll need to crowdsource ideas. Also, the relevant departments must loosen some of the restrictions on guesthouses."
"Until the commercial district on Lin Feng’s plot of land is built, our accommodation industry will have to rely on residents’ guesthouses to hold it up."
"Every task is now urgent. Everyone, I want you to try and get everything sorted out in the next two days!"
Zheng Yan swept his serious gaze across the faces of the others.
The others all nodded, their faces filled with determination.
If they really managed to pull this off...
...it wasn’t just that Zheng Yan’s path to future promotions would be much smoother.
Everyone present would also be able to bask in the reflected glory!
After everyone else had left, Zheng Yan and his assistant sat in the conference room, quietly waiting for Liu Bowen to arrive.
When Liu Bowen pushed the door open and entered, he expected to see a room full of people.
Instead, he only saw a mild-mannered, middle-aged man sitting at the head of the conference table.
Beside him, a younger man held a notebook, seemingly taking notes.
Wang Hong led him in with a smile. "This is Liu Bowen, Mr. Liu."
Zheng Yan smiled and nodded at Wang Hong.
Wang Hong then turned and left.
Liu Bowen had already given himself a sufficient pep talk on the way there.
Now, seeing Zheng Yan, he wasn’t as nervous as he had imagined he would be.
"Hello, Mr. Zheng!"
Liu Bowen stepped forward and shook Zheng Yan’s hand.
After they were all seated, Zheng Yan got straight to the point:
"Mr. Liu, I wonder if you know why I’ve invited you here to talk today?"
Liu Bowen nodded with a smile. "I assume it’s because of the photos I took of Cyan Mountain Town!"
Zheng Yan nodded lightly. "That’s right. I sought you out because your photos have brought a huge amount of attention to Cyan Mountain Town!"
At this, Zheng Yan looked at Liu Bowen intently. "Mr. Liu, we want to work with you!"
Liu Bowen blinked, nodded, and agreed without hesitation. "I agree to that!"
Liu Bowen’s quick agreement actually left Zheng Yan a bit stunned.
"You’ll agree just like that, without asking for any details?"
A smile appeared on Liu Bowen’s face. "To be honest, this is my first time collaborating with the government. I trust that the government wouldn’t try to cheat me!"
"So, I’d like to hear your terms."
Zheng Yan smiled and said, "Here’s the deal. We’d like to hire you as the official professional photographer for the Cyan Mountain Town Tourism Office."
"We’ll sign a formal contract. The salary we’re offering might not be that high, but you will get to keep all the revenue generated from the photos you take."
Liu Bowen’s eyes lit up when he heard these terms.
It was basically like having an iron rice bowl.
And this iron rice bowl wouldn’t restrict his freedom or interfere with his creative process.
In Liu Bowen’s eyes, it was a win-win situation.
So, Liu Bowen didn’t have to think for long before nodding. "I think the terms you’re offering are very suitable."
Zheng Yan and his team had been sincere in wanting to negotiate a collaboration with Liu Bowen.
So the terms they offered were actually quite fair; some conditions were even considered from Liu Bowen’s perspective.
He could sense their sincerity.
For Zheng Yan and his team, collaborating with Liu Bowen was really about leveraging his existing fanbase and the traffic his recent photos had generated.
What Cyan Mountain Town lacked right now was precisely this kind of opportunity.
With Liu Bowen’s personal traffic, they could make even more people aware of Cyan Mountain Town.

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