National Tide 1980.

Tuesday, February 1989, 2, the 21th day of the first lunar month.

The Temple of Heaven is the only district park in the city that can be compared with the world-renowned royal gardens such as the Forbidden City, Beihai Park and the Summer Palace.

Gong Mingcheng came to the Tourism Bureau for a meeting on this day. Naturally, he was a star-like figure who was the center of attention and must have enjoyed special treatment.

Apart from anything else, the location where his car is parked is different from others.

It was because the special car he used for travel was the imported "Toyota Crown" that Ning Weimin had gotten for the old director.

The level of this luxury car is much better than the jeeps and old Shanghai cars used by leaders of other parks, and even the several newly purchased Santanas in the district cannot compare to it.

It can be said that when Gong Mingcheng drove into the Tourism Bureau compound in such a shiny car, he was like a nobleman coming to inspect the territory of the common people.

Just based on this grand style, Gong Mingcheng didn't even need to say anything, the staff in charge of managing the parking lot came forward to help and asked his driver to park the car in the dedicated area marked with white lines in front of the main entrance of the building.

That was originally a special parking space for the district government's vehicles. Outside vehicles were generally not allowed to park there, and usually cars that were not owned by the district government had to be parked in the corners.

But it’s because Gong Mingcheng’s imported car is so good.

The paint is shiny, radiating the light of the new era, stealing all the limelight.

The staff felt from the bottom of their hearts that such a car should be parked in the sun and in a conspicuous location in front of the building.

And I can't help but worry that such a car might be scratched and cause trouble for me.

In this case, extra care is naturally justified.

Needless to say, Gong Mingcheng, who was once a cadre in the Tourism Bureau, naturally felt a sense of clarity and satisfaction.

As he went upstairs, he caught a glimpse of the mediocre vehicles surrounding his car and couldn't help but think that it would be better to put it out there.

With such a lucrative and prestigious job, he wouldn't even change it to a deputy director.

The conference room is on the second floor of the Tourism Bureau's office building.

Gong Mingcheng walked up the stairs with familiarity, turned right, and headed straight for the meeting room. He could hear a lot of noise from afar.

This is not surprising, after all, this day is the first meeting of the Tourism Bureau’s subordinate units after the Spring Festival.

It goes without saying that no matter whether the relationship between the two parties is really good or just a superficial one, everyone has to put in some superficial effort when they meet on that day.

Everyone must say "Happy New Year" and offer each other a cigarette.

Otherwise, how can we show an atmosphere of harmony and unity?

So when he entered the meeting room, Gong Mingcheng first looked for Chen Shuping in Longtan Lake Park with a malicious look.

His concern is fake, but his showing off is real.

Anyway, he went to pay New Year's greetings to the old principal during the Spring Festival as assigned by his father, but he was unexpectedly turned away.

He asked his neighbors and found out that the old man had actually returned to his hometown with his wife before the festival.

In this case, he doesn't need to care about anything. If he can disgust Chen Shuping with his own high spirits, it is also one of the joys in life.

However, he did not expect that when he entered the conference room, he found that although most people had arrived, there was no trace of Chen Shuping among the many people chatting in the smoke-filled conference room.

Normally Chen Shuping liked to arrive early, so Gong Mingcheng was somewhat surprised by this abnormality.

However, Gong Mingcheng did not have time to figure out what was going on with Chen Shuping for the time being, because as soon as he showed up, he immediately became the target of public criticism.

Although the Forbidden City, Beihai, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall are national industry leaders, they are self-righteous and serious.

However, scenic spots such as the Ming Tombs, Fragrant Hill, Botanical Garden, Reclining Buddha Temple, and Tanzhe Temple are far away from each other and do not interact much.

When these people saw him, they just nodded.

But the persons in charge of Zhongshan Park, Xuanwu Art Garden, Dongdan Park, Red Scarf Park, Tuanjiehu Park, Zizhuyuan, Zoo, Qingnian Lake, Yuyuantan, Taoranting, Xiannongtan, Jingshan, Ditan, Ritan, and Nanyuan are familiar to each other.

When you meet him, you naturally have to be polite to each other and exchange some nice words.

Especially the person in charge of Ditan Park, who is a competitor of the Temple of Heaven in the Spring Festival Fair.

This year, Gong Mingcheng won easily relying on his old tricks. When he saw the director of Ditan Park, he was naturally all smiles and greeted him with a condescending attitude of a winner.

And seeing the director of Ditan Park trying to force a smile with a reluctant look on his face, it somewhat made up for his regret of not being able to see Chen Shuping being humiliated.

However, what Gong Mingcheng did not expect was that after he sat down, it was soon his turn to be embarrassed and pretend to be calm.

Not for any other reason, but mainly because there was a stranger next to him.

In this age where seniority is still the most important factor in determining people's positions, seats at tourism bureau meetings are naturally arranged according to importance.

Sitting on Gong Mingcheng's left was the director of Zhongshan Park, and on his right was the secretary of Jingshan Park.

Of course he knew both of them, but the one he didn't know was the man sitting to the right of the secretary of Jingshan Park.

Logically speaking, people who lived near Jingshan Park in the past were either coming to the zoo or to Zizhuyuan.

However, this time, Gong Mingcheng saw a well-mannered, bookish middle-aged man. Even with his many years of experience working in the Tourism Bureau, he did not remember meeting this person before.

He couldn't help but become curious and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. Only then did he realize that this middle-aged man who was attending the meeting for the first time was actually the director of the Grand View Garden.

As we all know, this Grand View Garden is an antique garden built based on the "Grand View Garden" depicted in "Dream of Red Mansions", one of the four great classical literary masterpieces. It is located at No. 12 Nancaiyuan Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing.

It was built in 1984 and was originally built to cooperate with the national television station to shoot the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions". After the TV series was broadcast, it developed into a comprehensive tourist area integrating film and television shooting, sightseeing, cultural entertainment, leisure and vacation.

The second phase of the project was completed in 1986 and the park was officially opened to the public in October of that year.

However, what is not known to everyone is that this park was originally managed by the National Television Drama Production Center after the completion of the third phase of the project last year.

In accordance with the requirements of the municipal government, an administrative mother-in-law was added and it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Tourism Bureau.

In other words, this director surnamed Hong was originally from another system and had just been "repatriated". It was no wonder that they had never met before.

"Nice to meet you. Director Hong, right? I didn't expect you to join our team. That's great. To be honest, I've always wanted to meet you. I like Dream of the Red Chamber very much, and I always think there is room for cooperation in many of our businesses. It's a pity that we are not in the same system. Now it's great, we will be considered a family in the future. It will be much more convenient for us to communicate about some things."

After learning about the background of Director Hong, Gong Mingcheng took the opportunity to establish a relationship with him.

He has never been interested in polite communication, but he is not a complete fool. Since the opening of the Grand View Garden, it has been crowded every day. The TV series has also led to a wave of research on "Redology" in society, making "Redologists" jump up and down in various media. This can more or less feel the commercial potential of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions".

So he simply changed seats with the secretary of Jingshan Park, sat down, and acted as if he wanted to have a deep conversation with Director Hong.

The other party did not refuse and responded very politely.

"Ah, Director Gong, you are too polite. Your Temple of Heaven Park is very famous. Now it is the most popular park in the city. To be honest, I just visited the Spring Festival Garden Party at the Temple of Heaven with my wife and children. I felt that there were many measures to facilitate tourists, which was really great. I used to work in the TV system. I am good at maintaining equipment and arranging filming locations. But I lack experience in all aspects of the park's opening to the public. I should learn from you."

"Oh, you're too kind. You're too modest. Everyone knows that your Grand View Garden is a popular tourist attraction now. Although there are so many royal gardens in the capital, the palace culture is not as good as A Dream of Red Mansions. The average daily visitor flow of the Grand View Garden is at least 20,000 to 30,000, right? You are holding a golden baby, which makes people very envious."

"Haha, same here. Although I have Dream of the Red Chamber, the exhibition and animals filmed by the crew of Journey to the West are also housed at your place. And you have also solved the big problem of filming funds for the crew of Journey to the West. To be honest, I was inspired by you and thought of using the props of Dream of the Red Chamber to open an exhibition hall. Sure enough, the tourists' response was good. Your business strategy is really brilliant. I just have an innate advantage, but the Temple of Heaven can really gain advantages on its own. It's really admirable."

"Haha, this is nothing. If it can serve as a reference and inspiration to my peers, that would be great."

Gong Mingcheng was flattered and took all the credit for Ning Weimin without hesitation.

And then proposed cooperation intention in catering business.

"Director Hong, let's not beat around the bush. Our Temple of Heaven Park really wants to explore the path of multi-faceted development. For example, our catering business is developing well now, and branches have been opened overseas. Recently, I have seen that the media is always discussing the food issues in "Dream of Red Mansions". When I met you today, I suddenly had an idea. Can we cooperate to develop this "Red Mansion Banquet"? "

Gong Mingcheng still wants to do something big.

He thought that the handover of Tangong Restaurant was a foregone conclusion. From now on, without Ning Weimin and Pierre Catton to back it up, the management of the restaurant would completely depend on the Guo Group.

If you continue to make huge profits, that would be fine.

But the problem is that the management level of the Guo Group cannot be guaranteed to be higher than that of Ning Weimin.

If the income decreases, it will be a headache to explain to the superiors.

He also heard that Ning Weimin brought "Dream of the Red Chamber" to Japan, which caused quite a sensation.

Then he couldn't help but think that if he could keep the gimmick of "Dream of Red Mansions" in his own hands, wouldn't it be like having an extra profit insurance?

Not to mention that if the Tan Palace Restaurant in China launches the Red Mansion menu, it will surely attract countless diners to taste it.

I'm afraid that even in Japan, there are many people who are curious about this. Doesn't that mean he is just hitching a ride with Ning Weimin again?

If it really sells well overseas and becomes famous overseas, that guy would be so angry that he would die.

What surprised him was that although his idea was so good, Director Hong did not seem very positive about it.

He was stunned for a moment and then fell silent, his expression looking quite hesitant.

Gong Mingcheng couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Director Hong, don't you want to do such a good thing? Don't you think this is a mutually beneficial cooperation plan for both of us? Look, if this thing is done. For our Tan Palace Restaurant, of course, we can use the recipes of the Dream of the Red Chamber to enrich the business content and make it more famous. But for the Grand View Garden, it is not a loss, it can also increase its fame and generate income. Excuse me, the catering services that can be provided to tourists in the Grand View Garden tourist area should still be simple boxed lunches, bread and soda, right? How can this be possible? If we want to cooperate to open a restaurant, it will be different. Think about it, is this the case?"

"Of course, of course. What you said is that if we cooperate and open another restaurant in the Grand View Garden to run the Red Mansion Banquet, then the business will definitely be booming and the tourists will definitely be satisfied. I think so too... It's just that there is a special situation in this matter, which has some obstacles to our cooperation."

Director Hong of the Grand View Garden first agreed with a few words, but it was of no help to Gong Mingcheng's request.

Because immediately after that, Director Hong changed the subject and still rejected his request for cooperation.

"It's like this. The property rights of our Grand View Garden Park are complicated. It is not owned by the whole people. In addition to belonging to the National TV Drama Production Center, there is also a major shareholder who is the company that sponsored the construction of this photography base. Now, they have also thought of developing the commercial value of "Dream of Red Mansions". The current plan is to fund the construction of a four-star luxury hotel with international standards. Then naturally, the Red Mansion Banquet will also be the main feature of our hotel. So, if this matter is implemented, I am afraid there will be many obstacles in the middle, and I am not sure."

After hearing these words, Gong Mingcheng immediately understood what was going on.

It turns out that he has a strong backer and wants to invest in big things, so he has long regarded the Red Mansion Banquet as his own exclusive delicacy.

Then naturally, you don’t want others to interfere.

For this reason, after he suddenly realized it, he couldn't help but look a little embarrassed and disappointed.

He said that good things come to those who wait, and envied the other party's wealth and wished Director Hong a bright future.

He knew in his heart that this was a bit wishful thinking, and the other party did not say anything final to his face, but was just giving him face.

Look at this rejection, it's really boring.

But does this matter end here?

No, if Director Hong didn't understand the ways of the world, it would be fine. Maybe he could still keep Gong Mingcheng in a good mood for the day.

The key point is that the other party is quite good at dealing with people. He feels a little embarrassed that he has let down Gong Mingcheng's kindness on their first meeting.

I thought I should give Gong Mingcheng a decent way out, or give him some extra advice as compensation.

As a result, he remembered a piece of news he had just heard.

But what he said was exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

"Director Gong, I quite agree with your idea. I believe that regardless of whether we can cooperate or not, with a manager like you, the Tan Palace Restaurant will definitely get better and better in the future. Oh, by the way, I heard something recently that may also be an opportunity for you. Do you know Longtan Lake Park? Hey, I heard that they are planning an aquarium project called Dragon Palace, and they are also going to open a seafood restaurant. Your Tan Palace Restaurant serves palace cuisine. If we join forces with them, wouldn't it be a win-win situation?"

"What? Longtan Lake Park? Building an aquarium?" Gong Mingcheng was suddenly surprised and almost jumped up.

"Yes, it's Longtan Lake Park. I just wanted to meet the director, but unfortunately, I asked around and he didn't come. I later found out that he hasn't come yet. I think maybe he is busy with this project, so he can't spare time for the meeting. After all, it is a large project worth tens of millions of dollars. It is enough for us to build two hotels..."

"How is that possible?" This voice was even louder, almost attracting the attention of the people on the opposite side.

Director Hong didn't expect him to react so strongly and quickly tried to comfort him.

"What's wrong with you? Don't disbelieve me. I got this news from the district, and I heard that the district has approved it. The start-up funds for the project are in place. I heard that the investor is a businessman doing business overseas, and I think his last name is Ning. This project has been identified as the most important key project for support work in the district in the next three years..."

Well, these few words were even more discouraging than the previous rejection, and it was like a bolt of lightning to Gong Mingcheng.

However, even if he wanted to ask for clarification, he no longer had the chance.

Because with the arrival of the director and secretary of the Tourism Bureau at the venue, this occasion was obviously not suitable for further discussion on the matter.

So Gong Mingcheng had no choice but to stay calm and turn his attention back to the meeting.

However, he couldn't help but scream in his heart - Oh my God, how is this possible?

No, no, this can't be true! (End of this chapter)