A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

While Su Fan, Pan Lei, Lin Shan, and others were busy discussing the details of the Mawei Post Station project, people heading to Lijiapo also arrived one after another.

Xu Meng and He Xiaoxiao got off the plane.

Ye Yao also arrived.

Not only them, but also representatives from several other organizations, some from the provincial capital and some who flew in from other provinces.

Their goal was the same: to directly approach Su Fan to discuss cooperation and try to secure the project entirely on their own.

The overall financing amount for the Mawei Post Station project is not large; for these investors, it is indeed not a significant sum.

What they truly value is the person behind the project and the certainty brought by Qin Province's high-profile endorsement.

The reason why so much capital came to them was ultimately due to Wei Zhirang's guidance.

Since returning from Mawei Post Station, he first used the official WeChat account of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to promote the Mawei Post Station project.

Then they spread the word that the mastermind behind this project was Su Fan.

Those investors aren't fools; Su Fan's recent achievements in the cultural tourism sector speak for themselves.

Sichuan Province, Jiangxi Province, and the three northeastern provinces—everywhere is a testament to his achievements.

In their view, Su Fan's operation of Mawei Post Station was basically a sure thing.

Therefore, everyone wants to be the first to grab the project and take it all for themselves.

This is exactly the situation Wei Zhirang wanted to see.

With capital pouring in, the Mawei Post Station project will only progress faster.

Correspondingly, Su Fan will definitely release relevant songs for promotion in order to attract traffic.

In the end, it won't just be Mawei Post Station that benefits.

Tourism throughout the entire Qin Province will benefit from this.

However, this bustling scene was the last thing his deputy, Lin Hang, wanted to see.

Lin Hang sat in his office, flipping through the briefing on the Mawei Post Station project that had leaked from the Bureau of Culture and Tourism, his brows furrowed in worry.

He originally thought that the failed loan would drag the matter down, and that he could restart it after taking over, with the credit naturally going to him.

But Su Fan didn't play by the rules; crowdfunding and capital intervention directly paved the way.

This achievement will be claimed by Wei Zhirang before he even takes office.

After thinking for a long time, Lin Hang decided to send his own people to Mawei Post Station to secretly hinder the project's progress.

But Wei Zhiran had already anticipated this move.

He had arranged for his trusted confidant, Xiao Li, to be a liaison officer at Mawei Post Station beforehand.

Then, under the guise of "strengthening grassroots training," several key personnel under Lin Hang were transferred to other remote projects.

The reasons are high-sounding: to improve the cultural tourism industry in Shaanxi Province, we must first go deep into the grassroots.

With this series of combined measures, not only Lin Hang's men, but even Lin Hang himself was demoted to a county under the pretext of conducting on-site research by Wei Zhiran.

As the saying goes, a higher-ranking official can crush you.

Lin Hang knew something was wrong, but he couldn't find fault with it.

He vaguely felt that Wei Zhiran was deliberately suppressing him, but he could only sigh helplessly.

From then on, as long as Wei Zhirang remained in power, it would be virtually impossible for Lin Hang to advance any further.

Xie Xun, the bank president who had initially aligned himself with Lin Hang, also sensed the crisis.

He never expected Su Fan to take the crowdfunding route.

Even more unexpectedly, the Shaanxi Provincial Culture and Tourism Association publicly endorsed the event.

What made him even more uneasy was that several capital firms had already sent people to Mawei Post Station.

If the Mawei Post Station project succeeds, someone will inevitably bring up the fact that he refused to take out a loan in the first place.

At that time, no matter how valid his reasons are, they will be defined as a mistake due to a lack of strategic vision.

In other words, they lack the ability to be in that position.

Xie Xun couldn't sit still any longer.

He first called Lin Hang and learned that Lin Hang had been demoted, which made him feel disheartened.

After hesitating for a long time, he dialed Wei Zhiran's number again.

"Director Wei," Xie Xun's tone was more polite than ever before, "We had a meeting and discussed it, and we think we should still cooperate with the development of the Mawei Post Station project. As for the loan, it can be approved."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhirang sneered inwardly, "It's too late to approve it now!"

However, one must maintain the decorum expected in official circles. Wei Zhirang said in a nonchalant tone, "I appreciate your kindness, Director Xie, but Mawei Post Station should be flush with cash now, so I won't trouble you any further."

……

After hanging up the phone, Xie Xun held it in his hand for a long while, stunned.

He was unwilling to accept it.

So he called Pan Lei, the Party Secretary of Lijiapo Village.

In his view, Pan Lei, as the village party secretary, should be the person with the most say in project decision-making.

As for Su Fan, no matter how capable he is, he's just a young man who writes good proposals; he still has to listen to the village.

At this moment, Pan Lei, Su Fan, Lin Shan, and several village officials were having a meeting at the village committee to discuss the details of the construction team's entry into the site.

The phone rang. Pan Lei looked down and saw it was an unfamiliar number. He answered it.

"Secretary Pan, hello, I'm Xie Xun. We met a few days ago."

The voice on the other end of the phone was very enthusiastic, completely different from the last time.

Pan Lei paused for a moment, then realized what he meant. He deliberately raised his voice so everyone present could hear, "Oh, President Xie! Hello, hello, what can I do for you?"

In the conference room, everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

Pan Lei calmly placed his phone on the table and pressed the speakerphone button.

Xie Xun's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Secretary Pan, after I left last time, we went back and had a meeting to discuss it. We felt that we should still support you. The loan has been approved by our bank."

Pan Lei glanced at Su Fan.

Su Fan shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Pan Lei understood and replied calmly, "No need to trouble you, President Xie. We've already resolved the funding issue; we don't need a loan now."

Xie Xun was a little anxious: "Our interest rates are very low, and we can even offer interest-free loans. Secretary Pan, please reconsider."

"President Xie, really, it's not necessary. I'm still in a meeting, I'll hang up now."

……

The people in the conference room looked at each other in bewilderment.

Only Su Fan and Pan Lei knew about the loan.

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Pan Lei briefly recounted how he had been harassed at the bank.

He omitted the part where Xie Xun wanted to use Su Fan's song copyright as collateral.

The villagers couldn't stand this, and they all started to speak up.

"They wouldn't lend us the money when we were begging them, but now that the project is about to become a hit, they're shamelessly coming to us again? What kind of scum are they!"

"I've seen plenty of people like that. When you're poor, they'll stay far away, but when you're about to get rich, they'll be more enthusiastic than anyone else. We don't care for them!"

"We're doing a great job with crowdfunding now, and he's seeing the profits and wants a piece of the pie!"

……

Xiao Li was also in the conference room and witnessed the whole process.

He made an excuse to go to the toilet, left the village committee, walked to the old locust tree behind the courtyard, took out his phone, and reported what had just happened to Wei Zhirang in detail.

After hearing this, Wei Zhirang couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"You're really grasping at straws when you're desperate. Fine, let you experience what it's like to be treated the same way you treat someone else!"

With a sigh, Wei Zhirang contacted Xie Xun's deputy, a veteran who had worked in the banking system for many years but had always been suppressed by Xie Xun.

He didn't need to personally handle what happened next.

If the Mawei Post Station project succeeds, people will naturally bring up Xie Xun's initial refusal.

Furthermore, Xie Xun's decisions would shift from strict risk control to a lack of strategic vision.

Once this label is attached, those who know how to operate it can accomplish many things.