Chapter 197: Chapter 193: Unfilial Daughter
In the conference room at Starlight Entertainment, a group of managers were reviewing documents about Lin Xian Village.
Li Baihui was also reviewing them intently. She’d heard that the boss had gotten these investigation files from the shareholders.
They contained some information that was completely unavailable online, much to her surprise.
For example, there was no mention online that the Medicinal Cuisine in Lin Xian Village, when paired with Qi Replenishing Soup, could treat stomach cancer.
Furthermore, some items from Lin Xian Village possessed powerful special effects, and this wasn’t mentioned online either.
Sheng Zhishan knocked on the table, drawing everyone’s attention away from the documents.
"I assume everyone has reviewed the documents. Based on our discussions with the shareholders, the company’s development strategy, and the impact of Yao Enlong’s recent trip to Lin Xian Village...
...the company has decided to strengthen our ties with them. If anyone has any good suggestions, now is the time to voice them."
This situation was highly unusual. The board of directors was strongly in favor of the company partnering with Lin Xian Village.
Some shareholders even proposed that, if necessary, the company could sacrifice some of its own interests to benefit Lin Xian Village.
Sheng Zhishan, of course, understood what was happening. The shareholders also wanted to reap some of Lin Xian Village’s benefits, but given their status, they wouldn’t even be able to meet the man in charge if they went there.
He’d heard that a group of people in Lin Xian Village had formed a protective party of sorts, dedicated to intercepting anyone who might disturb the peace.
The company’s shareholders lacked the influence to get in touch with Lin Feng directly, so they could only resort to a roundabout approach.
Yao Enlong’s collaboration with Lin Xian Village gave them a glimmer of hope. Plus, the village hosted performances.
As an entertainment company, their resources in this area were certainly far greater than Lin Xian Village’s, so they could surely find a way to establish a partnership.
Everyone thought back to the documents. If they could successfully partner with the village, perhaps they too could reap some of the rewards.
Things like Lin Xian Village’s Medicinal Cuisine, its mountain spring water, and its medical treatments.
The head of the music department spoke up. "Boss, the music department could partner with Lin Xian Village. We could send our company’s singers to perform there regularly."
"Yes, that’s a good idea. We can definitely consider that."
The film and television department added, "I saw that Lin Xian Village is full of traditional-style architecture. We could shoot scenes on location there."
"That might not be possible. The situation in Lin Xian Village is very complicated right now; they probably wouldn’t agree to us filming on location there."
"Li Baihui, you took Yao Enlong over and have seen Lin Xian Village firsthand. Do you have any suggestions?"
Li Baihui hadn’t expected the boss to single out someone of her rank, but luckily, she was prepared.
"Yes. My experience in Lin Xian Village was incredible."
"Boss, the first thing I want to mention is that any partnership with Lin Xian Village must be mindful of the requirement to worship the Earth God."
"They don’t enforce it for tourists, but for anyone representing a partner, fulfilling this condition is mandatory."
"Additionally, the clothing from Lin Xian Village is incredibly comfortable, though a bit pricey."
"If the company has a need, we could custom-order some formal wear from Lin Xian."
"And that training camp Yao Enlong is attending—that’s set to become a regular event. The company could consider partnering with Lin Xian Village on that front."
After Li Baihui finished, Sheng Zhishan’s eyes lit up. The matter of the Earth God was indeed something to consider.
Many of the managers in the company might not be suitable candidates to go there if a partnership were to be formed.
If an incident related to worshipping the Earth God created a rift with Lin Xian Village, forging a partnership would become much more difficult.
He looked at Li Baihui. She and Yao Enlong had both worshipped the Earth God, which meant neither of them had any issues.
Even he himself couldn’t guarantee he’d pass the test. Managing a large company inevitably involved some unscrupulous dealings.
"Your suggestions are excellent. Tell me more about this clothing you mentioned. Can you elaborate?"
"I bought some and brought them back with me. Should I go get them for everyone to try on?"
"Yes, go get them."
Li Baihui quickly returned with the clothes, taking out one men’s and one women’s garment.
Everyone took turns trying them on. Sheng Zhishan even kept his on for over a minute.
"This clothing is impressive. It’s incredibly comfortable. You bought all of this in Lin Xian Village?"
"That’s right. These are just the standard models. They also offer custom designs."
Sheng Zhishan thought to himself that as soon as the meeting was over, he would have someone order a few custom pieces for him.
"Alright, you’ll be in charge of this. Since the year is ending soon, let’s order a batch as end-of-year gifts for everyone."
"As for the training camp, I want you to select candidates from the company. The next time they have an intake, we’ll send our people."
"Yes, Boss."
Li Baihui never imagined that a single trip to Lin Xian Village would lead to such a great opportunity landing in her lap. ’It seems the Earth God really is efficacious,’ she thought.
The others could only look on with envy. Many of them wouldn’t dare go to Lin Xian Village themselves.
If they went to Lin Xian Village and something went wrong while worshipping the Earth God, they could very well lose their jobs.
"Alright, let’s wrap up this topic for now. If anyone thinks of a good collaborative project, write up a proposal and submit it."
"Wang Lingling, you won’t have any problem going to Lin Xian Village to worship the Earth God, will you?"
"No problem, Boss."
"Good. Then for the time being, I want you to focus on securing all those major brand endorsements."
The meeting lasted an hour. As they were leaving the office, Wang Lingling pulled Li Baihui aside.
"Girl, you’ve really hit the jackpot this time."
"I didn’t expect it either! To think there’d be perks like this. It seems what they say online is true—worshipping the Earth God of Lin Xian Village really does bring you a stretch of good luck."
"You should go soon, too. Once the artists from other companies catch on, the benefits won’t be this good."
"Okay, I’ll go tomorrow. And I’ll check out those clothes you were talking about while I’m there."
She had tried on the garment earlier, and it really did feel great on.
With the holidays coming up, she had a lot of galas to attend, so she could get a custom gown made.
...
「Lin Xian Village」
Only after the day’s fitness training at the Barracks began did the participants finally understand what the three Martial Arts coaches meant by "strict execution."
"Coach Zhou, can we rest for a bit?"
"No. I warned you all yesterday. If you don’t want to train, you’re free to quit."
After Zhou Xing spoke, the person who had asked for a break fell silent.
There was no way he was going to quit, not with all the benefits Lin Xian Village had to offer.
One of the participants got a coach’s permission and decided to live-stream while they trained.
"I’m telling you all now, if you don’t have any willpower, do not sign up for this."
"When you come here to train, it’s the real deal. The coaches are incredibly strict."
"The only perk, perhaps, is that the coaches don’t put any restrictions on what we eat during training."
The dozen or so viewers who had been drawn into the stream were puzzled when they heard that last part.
"If you don’t control your diet, are you sure the training will be effective?"
"Yeah, if you’re trying to lose weight, won’t you just end up gaining more?"
"You don’t have to worry. Our daily training load is massive and tailored to each of us."
"Just keep watching my stream every day, and you’ll understand why they don’t mind what we eat."
Mornings were for physical conditioning, and afternoons were for learning Martial Arts from the coaches. If you didn’t eat well, you probably wouldn’t be able to last.
Yao Enlong didn’t receive any special treatment. In fact, because he was a celebrity and posted selfies every day, his training was even more rigorous.
He was quite surprised to see Wang Lingling arrive at noon, and he gave her a tour of Lin Xian Village.
Upon arriving in Lin Xian Village, Wang Lingling first went to the Land God Temple to test her luck. Discovering she had no issues, she worshipped, snapped a photo, and posted it on Weibo in one smooth sequence.
After that, she began to explore Lin Xian Village, taking many interesting photos.
She spent three hours inside the Clothing Workshop before finally settling on a custom order for one formal gown and two casual outfits.
It wasn’t cheap, either, costing her over a million in total. Had she chosen special fabrics, the price would have been even higher.
She heard that Lin Xian Village also possessed a special weaving technique called "Four-Threaded Jiaoluo," but unfortunately, the equipment hadn’t been built yet, so she would have to wait.
The lunch she had was particularly unforgettable, especially the Medicinal Cuisine. She felt a bit depressed at the thought of not being able to eat it again in the future.
This trip helped her understand why tourists who had visited Lin Xian Village complained online about the village restricting entry.
If it were possible, she would want to live in Lin Xian Village, too. Life here was just too comfortable.
’I need to figure out a way to come back and live in Lin Xian Village for a while,’ she thought.
She decided that when she got back, she would talk it over with her good friend Li Baihui and see if there was any way for the company’s artists to live in Lin Xian Village long-term.
As for joining the training camp, she decisively abandoned that idea after seeing the state of Yao Enlong’s training.
At the medical Research Institute next to the Medicine House, Lin Feng was watching a commotion unfold. He hadn’t expected that while Ni Zhonghai was undergoing treatment, a family member would show up to cause a scene.
"Dad, you have late-stage stomach cancer! Even the Mayo Clinic couldn’t cure you! They’re just trying to scam you out of your money!"
"You doctors are so heartless! My dad is in this state, and you still want to cheat him out of his money? Have you no conscience?!"
Lin Feng patted Hu Zhiming on the shoulder. "What’s going on?"
"Unofficial word is that his daughter, who studies abroad, contacted the Mayo Clinic. She had Mr. Ni spend a fortune, but his condition deteriorated anyway."
"She has zero faith in domestic medical standards. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened."
"Get out! Doctor, let my men in here and throw her out! I have no such daughter!"
Ni Zhonghai’s face was flushed with anger. If not for his physical condition, he might have become violent.
He had fought so hard for this opportunity in Lin Xian Village. If this fool ruined it for him, he felt like he could kill someone.
"Dad, they’re scammers! Scammers! Listen to me, come abroad with me for treatment. I found another hospital..."
Lin Feng watched the girl being dragged away, a strange feeling welling up inside him.
But then he remembered she was studying abroad, and it suddenly seemed to make more sense. Stereotypes, he mused, don’t just appear out of nowhere.
She didn’t stop to think that if her father, the founder of a massive family enterprise, were so easily duped, his business would never have gotten off the ground.
"My apologies for the scene. Her mind was warped by her time abroad. Unfortunately, by the time I realized it, it was too late."
There were many such cases: sheltered young people sent to study abroad at an early age.
Faced with the dazzling temptations of a foreign country, free from parental supervision, and with a wealthy family to back them, it was all too easy for them to go astray.
Even if they didn’t want to, unless they were the type of person singularly focused on their studies, it was easy to fall into degeneracy in that kind of environment.
The ancient story of Mencius’s mother, who moved three times to find a proper environment for her son’s upbringing, was still told today, yet these modern parents were convinced their children’s wills were as hard as steel.
They couldn’t even manage self-control while at home; one could only imagine what would happen when they were abroad with no one watching over them.
The show was over. Just as Lin Feng was about to head back, Hu Zhiming called out to him.
"Brother Lin, the Woodworking Workshop, Stone Workshop, and Blacksmith’s Shop are almost finished. What are the development plans for these three places?"
"They’re almost done already? That was fast."
The Wharf in the village’s main square was also nearly complete. In fact, it would have been finished long ago if not for the bridge in the middle of the valley.
’Once these four buildings are finished, I think there’s a quest I can complete.’ Lin Feng thought.
Lin Feng checked. The rewards weren’t bad: "A lost woodworking technique, the Stone Dragon Carving Skill, a Special Forging Technique, and a species of mutated fish." He definitely had to put them to good use.
The only reward he hadn’t used yet was the "One-time Land Blessing." Its effect was simply too significant.
"It wasn’t too bad. Of those three buildings, only the Blacksmith’s Shop was a bit complex."
"In that case, have your sister recruit skilled artisans for these areas. It’s best if we can find master craftsmen with unique skills. Artisans with nationally recognized heritage skills would be even better."
"Okay, I’ll let my sister know right away. Tourists should love these three new places."
Hu Zhiming thought that perhaps they could use these three workshops to create some souvenirs unique to Lin Xian Village.
His sister had mentioned it before, but unfortunately, they had never found the right products to make.
Right now, Lin Xian Village’s main specialty was, surprisingly, its mountain spring water. Every tourist made sure to take several bottles with them when they left.