Chapter 619: Chapter 590: A Fateful Encounter

Fu Guomin patted his shoulder, the shop owner was furious, no need to stoop to his level.

As guests kept leaving, more than half of the parking lot was empty, Xiaomeng easily drove the car out. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Fan Lidada went to see the dead fish on site, couldn’t stop smiling, the bad mood just vanished. Although it’s not good to gloat, the shop owner deserved it for being so arrogant.

Xiaomeng said, "What do they say? Those unjust will perish, that shop owner deserved the bad luck, must’ve suffered a big loss today."

Xu Chunliang lamented, "Pity about those fish." This guy looked sympathetic, though he was the culprit.

Fu Guomin said, "Strange, how did the fish die while I was just using the restroom?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Could it have been poisoned by your pee?"

Fu Guomin laughed, "Pfft! Am I that toxic?"

Fan Lidada said, "Xiaomeng, stop in front, that farmhouse cuisine place is not bad either."

After the earlier incident, Fu Guomin was no longer in the mood, waved his hand and said, "Let’s just head straight to the hotel, there’s a unified arrangement for the conference, we can come out for dinner later."

The hotel they checked into was the Pearl of Ming Lake, a five-star place, with excellent facilities in all aspects. They went to the sign-in desk to get their keys. According to the conference regulations, only those at deputy director level and above get a private room; Xu Chunliang, being just a regular staff member, had to share a standard room with Xiaomeng.

But the room conditions were great. Xu Chunliang picked up a schedule, there’s a buffet lunch, and a group dinner in the evening. Essentially, he doesn’t need to spend money himself.

After all the commotion, Fu Guomin was a bit tired, told everyone to eat and rest at their own pace. The afternoon was free for activities, but they must attend the organized dinner in the evening.

Xu Chunliang went to his room to drop off his luggage, then went with Xiaomeng to the restaurant for food.

The buffet had a very rich selection. As Xu Chunliang was picking food with a plate, he sensed someone standing behind him.

Xu Chunliang’s perception was extremely sharp, he smelled a faint, elegant orchid fragrance. This scent was very familiar; he thought of someone, yet found it unlikely. Turning, he saw a beautiful girl smiling at him; it was Su Qing, who had already gone to Nanjiang.

Su Qing said, "Not fun, I was hoping to scare you."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "I’m not easily scared; how about we try again, you can scare me."

Su Qing said, "I’m not that bored."

"What a coincidence, are you here for tourism or a conference?" Xu Chunliang noticed the interview badge hanging on her snow-white neck.

Su Qing said, "For such a big event as the national culture and tourism conference, the provincial TV station naturally has to cover it."

Xu Chunliang said, "Didn’t realize, congratulations are in order. Going to the Provincial Satellite TV and you didn’t even tell me."

Su Qing laughed, "It’s the trial period, I planned to tell you after the trial period ends and I sign a formal contract. If I told you beforehand and got fired, I’d lose face."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re so excellent, if they fire you, it’s their loss of vision."

"Do you really think so?" Su Qing’s clear eyes sparkled with unusual radiance. She assumed that moving to Nanjiang and being away from Xu Chunliang would gradually make her forget about him. However, she quickly discovered that time and space couldn’t stop her thoughts of him. The moment she walked into the restaurant, she spotted him right away among the crowd, recognizing him just from his back. She wondered if she was particularly partial to him, or if he was just too outstanding to go unnoticed anywhere he went; she wasn’t sure.

Su Qing found it hard to believe that Xu Chunliang was here too. Hearing that Xu Chunliang was an invited representative for the newly established Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau, Su Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "Dongzhou’s action is a bit slow; among the Pinghai Thirteen Cities, even Zhongwu City set up a culture and tourism bureau over two years ago."

Su Qing said this because Zhongwu City had the lowest GDP, and Dongzhou ranked sixth, claiming to be the top of Jiangdu. Their moves in tourism were indeed slow. However, this younger sibling Zhongwu City had made rapid progress in the past two years, showing signs of surpassing Hai Zhou this year.

They took their meals and sat down nearby, Su Qing asked Xu Chunliang if he wanted wontons, offering to get them for him. Some things are hard to explain; usually, others clamor for her attention, but seeing Xu Chunliang, she genuinely wanted to take care of him.

As Su Qing walked away, Xiaomeng approached Xu Chunliang with a tray, seeing the plate across from Xu Chunliang, with a mischievous grin said, "Got someone?"

Xu Chunliang disliked his meddling, gestured with his lips for him to sit to the side.

At this moment, Fu Guomin and Fan Lidada also arrived. Xiaomeng sighed, "Choosing love over friends, that’s so you."

Xu Chunliang thought to himself that this person had a bit of a skewed perception. What kind of friends are we? We were merely arranged to stay in the same room.

Su Qing came back with wontons and smiled at Xu Chunliang, saying, "They made it fresh. There were a lot of people in line."

Xu Chunliang handed her a glass of beer.

Su Qing said, "I have another interview this afternoon. I’ll join you for a drink after I finish work. We have time anyway."

Hearing the words "join you," Xu Chunliang felt a bit ticklish inside. He initially thought this three-day conference would be quite dull, but Su Qing’s presence added a lot of fun to the trip.

Xu Chunliang took the beer, drank a few sips.

Su Qing told him that the head of the provincial cultural and tourism department also came this time. Pinghai is a big economic province, and naturally, its cultural and tourism sector is strong as well. Still, like GDP, the top three are Nanjiang, Gusu, and Xinwu. Last year’s tourism revenue for these cities exceeded one hundred billion, while other cities were below that. Dongzhou, in this respect, doesn’t match its GDP, with tourism revenue ranking ninth in the province, just over thirty billion.

This time, not all cities from Pinghai are here to attend the cultural and tourism conference. Only Nanjiang, Gusu, Xinwu, Yancheng, and Jiangdu exceeded or are close to one hundred billion. Unexpectedly, Dongzhou, with only thirty billion, was also specifically invited by the province to participate, representing Jiangbei.

Xu Chunliang thought Dongzhou came just to serve as a negative example.

Su Qing couldn’t help but laugh at his comment, "This is the national cultural and tourism conference, not just Pinghai Province’s cultural and tourism conference. It should be unified externally, not infighting."

Xu Chunliang said, "The Pinghai Thirteen Cities never think highly of each other, and Dongzhou has always been sidelined. Haven’t you heard of the term ’ fragmented Pinghai’?"

Su Qing said, "Are you planning to work at Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau?"

Xu Chunliang didn’t hide anything from her and explained his future career plans. Fu Guomin’s suggestion was quite good. Given his current situation with Changxing, it’s indeed unsuitable for him to stay there. It’s better to make a clean break and shift his relations to the culture and tourism bureau. Now that Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau has just been established, it’s very easy to maneuver.

He didn’t need to do anything himself; Fu Guomin would handle everything. He would be seconded to Hu Shan Town as the deputy mayor under the cultural and tourism bureau’s banner. After the secondment period, he’d return to work at the culture and tourism bureau. By doing so, he could effortlessly secure a position at the departmental level.

Su Qing raised a cup of green tea to congratulate him on his promotion.

Xu Chunliang said, "This isn’t called a promotion; it’s a lateral transfer."

The two chatted warmly, and over there, Fu Guomin and Fan Lidada didn’t come over to interrupt.

Fu Guomin was discussing with Fan Lidada the speech for the conference these few days. There’d be a plenary session in the morning and a group discussion in the afternoon, organized by province. Since Fu Guomin just took over the cultural and tourism work, he had to rely on Fan Lidada for the speech. Fu Guomin was mainly worried about embarrassing himself by speaking out of turn in front of a group of experts.

Fan Lidada heard that the provincial cultural and tourism leader, Xing Wenhua, would also participate in the group discussion and suddenly felt a bit of a headache. This Xing Wenhua is known for being unyielding, and in the past, Dongzhou’s tourism bureau often got criticized in provincial meetings. Fan Lidada experienced it several times and always felt that Xing Wenhua was biased against Dongzhou. Of course, their development level in cultural and tourism affairs was indeed lagging.

Fan Lidada said, "Director Fu, we came with too few people this time."

Fu Guomin agreed, noting that other cities basically had a team of over seven people, complete with image ambassadors and accompanying journalists. They were a bit lax, which related to Fu Guomin’s lack of experience due to just taking over the cultural and tourism work. He thought it was just a meeting and didn’t expect it to be so comprehensive. After all, it’s a cultural and tourism working meeting, not a cultural and tourism expo. But Fan Lidada had been in this field for many years and should know better; he should have reminded him.

Fan Lidada smiled wryly and said, "I don’t know what’s been happening these past two years. The internal competition among local cultural and tourism bureaus has been intense, with many bureau chiefs personally taking the stage, galloping and shooting arrows, diving into the sea to catch fish, performing with clubs and sticks, singing and playing instruments—whatever they can come up with, they’ll pioneer."

Fu Guomin said, "Are you suggesting I make short videos and upload them online?"

Fan Lidada said, "That depends on your intention."

Fu Guomin shook his head and said, "I can’t do it. I can put myself out there, but I’m afraid if I post my image online, those planning to visit Dongzhou might change their minds."

Fan Lidada laughed and said, "Don’t be modest. I think you have quite a bit of charisma." But considering Fu Guomin’s looks, he didn’t dare praise his handsomeness and could only lean towards being easygoing.

Fu Guomin said, "Xu Chunliang looks good. Why not give him a chance to shine?"

Fan Lidada glanced at the two not far away and whispered, "That girl is our Dongzhou TV Station host Su Qing, right?"

Fu Guomin shook his head. When he came to work in Dongzhou, Su Qing had left, and he had hardly watched Dongzhou TV Station’s programs, so he didn’t recognize Su Qing. However, the girl was very pretty, with a composed demeanor. Xu Chunliang was just born to attract women, with many beautiful girls around him.

Fu Guomin took some time to contact Dongzhou TV Station, asked them to help edit a promotional video and send it over as soon as possible, keeping it ready for the conference, calling this an emergency backup plan, making some remedial efforts while there’s still time.

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