Reborn as a comedic artist

Chapter 120 Square Jungle

Ancient City Airport!

Two-thirds of the month was spent on the trip to Shaanxi Province, and to save time, the rest of the trip was spent traveling by plane.

After speaking with Zhang Xiaoqi, Cheng Ming walked into the waiting hall as she watched him leave.

In the lobby, Li Feng, wearing sunglasses, was fiddling with a camera.

Beside him, Wang Shuo, wearing a mask, a baseball cap, and with the hoodie pulled up over his head, was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, huddled in a corner shivering.

"Shuo'er, is it really necessary?"

As Cheng Ming walked into the hall, seeing Wang Shuo's guilty look, he couldn't help but tease her: "You're a top star now, the 'Nation's Richest Woman.' So many people would kill for this kind of treatment."

"Go! Go! Go!"

Wang Shuo lowered his voice, his exposed eyes filled with grief and indignation: "How dare you say that? My mom called me yesterday, asking if I'd suffered some kind of trauma, and said even the village dogs avoid my picture!"

"Even a week later, the hype is so intense that I still don't dare take off my mask, afraid someone will recognize me as that red-clad ghost!"

Beside him, Zhao Yufeng was happily munching on a bucket of instant noodles. Hearing this, he looked up, a noodle still dangling from his mouth, and mumbled an insult: "Be content, Brother Shuo. Now everyone online is saying you're a hero who sacrificed yourself for art. Your sacrifice has increased Qinbei's GDP; that's a meritorious deed."

"This merit is for you, do you want it?" Wang Shuo glared angrily.

"I'd like to, but with my figure..."

Zhao Yufeng glanced down at his chest, which looked like it was about to burst out of his sun-protective clothing, and sighed, "I can't portray that kind of despair of being 'flat-chested.'"

"Cough cough—"

Lin Yiyi, who was drinking water, quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, her face turning bright red.

Cheng Ming's lips twitched as well.

This girl is definitely a tough one; when she gets ruthless, she even smears herself.

"Alright, stop joking around."

Cheng Ming rubbed his throbbing temples: "The final work in Shaanxi has been completely handed over. Director Liu just sent a message saying that our 'hard work fee' has been deposited into the company account. Gu Xiao said the amount is quite substantial."

"We are getting a lot of attention online right now. Almost all the cultural and tourism bureaus across the country are tagging us, especially the official accounts in Shandong and Hebei provinces. They've been going crazy these past few days, fighting each other in the comments section."

Zhao Yufeng was taken aback and put down the instant noodle cup: "Fight? Fight about what?"

"What else can we fight over? We can only try to steal them."

Cheng Ming stood up and looked out the window at the planes taking off and landing.

"As the saying goes, whoever controls Guanzhong controls the world. In this battle in Shaanxi, we have not only taken root in Guanzhong and spread our influence, but have also covered the surrounding provinces and the Northwest, making our name known far and wide. Now we are not just doing publicity, but conquering territory."

Cheng Ming turned around, his eyes burning: "Bilibili and Chen Yao have paved the way for us. We've already established a foothold in Jiangdong and Shanghai."

"As for the core areas of Sichuan and Chongqing, and the southwest region, there is no need to elaborate."

At this point, Cheng Ming held up two fingers: "As I mentioned before, the general strategy in the early stages is to build high walls and stockpile resources. According to Teacher Ma's square jungle strategy, we have now revealed three corners."

"Next, we need to light up the top right corner of this square."

Cheng Ming's gaze fell on Zhao Yufeng and Wang Shuo, his eyes flashing with a light that sent chills down their spines: "Yan and Zhao are home to many generous and tragic heroes, and Lu Province is the land of Confucianism and Mencius's rites."

"These are two tough nuts to crack, and two big pieces of fat."

"Especially the Yan and Zhao regions..."

'

Cheng Ming looked at Zhao Yufeng and said in a low voice, "You must understand the frustration of being 'blind in the dark'—you have little presence, yet you surround Beijing and Tianjin, right, heroine?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yufeng nearly bent the fork in her hand.

She took a deep breath, and a fire ignited in her strikingly handsome eyes: "Don't even mention it! Every time I introduce myself and people ask where I'm from, if I say Yan Zhao, their first reaction is, 'Oh, the one next to Yanjing?'"

"Or is it that all you have in your area is donkey meat sandwiches and Wancheng noodles?"

"I f***ing..."

""

Zhao Yufeng gritted his teeth: "We must let those people know that our land of Yan and Zhao is the place that produced Zhao Zilong and the Five Heroes of Langya Mountain! It is not anyone's vassal!"

"Look, this is emotion, this is the pain point."

Cheng Ming turned to look at Wang Shuo: "As for Shandong Province..."

'

Wang Shuo instinctively shrank back: "Old Cheng, Godfather! Let's talk this out. The people in Shandong Province are honest and kind, but the belt in my dad's hand is anything but. If I dare to go back and cause trouble, he really will turn against me!"

"Don't worry, Shandong Province is a very hospitable province, they won't be so stingy." Cheng Ming smiled innocently.

at the same time.

Conference room of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Shandong Province.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water.

On both sides of the long conference table sat the heads of cultural and tourism bureaus from various cities in Shandong Province, each with their heads down, looking at the documents in their hands, not daring to breathe loudly.

Seated at the head of the table was a burly, dark-skinned middle-aged man, Li Zhengdao, the director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

At that moment, he was pointing at the soaring red data for Shaanxi Province on the projection screen, his voice as loud as a mic booming from the top of Mount Tai: "Look, everyone! Open your eyes and take a good look!"

"Those people in Shaanxi! They're right next door, not far from us! How did they manage to do that?"

"A crappy Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a wedding procession, and a chivalrous hero—these three combined have drained the nation's internet traffic!"

What about us?

Li Zhengdao slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup lids bounce around: "What did we send? Huh? 'Welcome to the hospitable Shandong Province'? 'Green onions with dipping sauce are waiting for you'?"

"I'm embarrassed for you! You've been using the same language for twenty years! Not even a single punctuation mark has been changed!"

Have you seen the comments online?

Li Zhengdao clicked on the next slide, which was filled with sarcastic comments from netizens:

[Shandong Province's Culture and Tourism: So rustic it's almost heartbreaking.]

[Other provinces use promotional videos, but Shandong province uses a documentary, the kind from the 1980s.]

[Please, Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, even just tying a dog to the village entrance to run the account would be better than this bunch of people!]

Listen to this!

Li Zhengdao was so angry his face turned red and his neck bulged: "Even a dog on a leash is better than us!"

"You've completely disgraced me!"

Below, a bureau chief from a prefecture-level city muttered under his breath, "Director, that Cheng Ming isn't just anyone, he's a prodigy—"

"evildoer?"

Li Zhengdao whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning: "You know he's a prodigy? Then why can't this prodigy be used by me?"

"I checked! In Cheng Ming's team, there's a core member named Wang Shuo! He's the one in the red cotton-padded jacket! He's from Shandong Province!"

"Your own children are working for other people, making their businesses thrive, while our own home is deserted and empty. Aren't you ashamed?"

The audience was silent.

Li Zhengdao took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said in a deep voice, "I don't care what methods you use, whether you kidnap me, deceive me, or beg on your knees!"

"We must bring Cheng Ming here to me!"

"The people in Yan and Zhao are being sarcastic and cryptic, saying they have a girl in Cheng Ming's team who wants to poach him to film something called 'Yan and Zhao Chronicles.'"

"I'm telling you, if those people from Yan and Zhao get there first, you'll all have to give back your entire bonus this year!"