A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

Sure enough, the voting soon took a different turn.

As the Weibo post from Ningxia's Department of Culture and Tourism continued to spread, coupled with the online buzz, it became a hot topic.

The previously undisputed vote difference began to narrow at a visible rate.

More and more netizens flocked to Dianping (a Chinese review platform) to cast their votes for Ningxia Province.

Some even openly stated, "Given the attitude of Chonyong province towards this 'green tea' (a derogatory term for a corrupt official), I absolutely have to go and see for myself!"

The number of votes for Ningxia Province rose steadily, and the gap between it and Sichuan Province soon narrowed to less than 50,000 votes.

In the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Qi Tongwei paced back and forth in anger as he looked at the real-time data on the big screen.

Sichuan Province has prepared so many promotional plans, even bringing out pandas for marketing purposes.

As a result, Ning Province did nothing but post a tea-themed Weibo post, which fooled hundreds of thousands of netizens.

What angered him even more was that netizens, even though they had clearly seen through Ning Province's tactics, still willingly cast their votes for them.

Qi Tongwei grew increasingly aggrieved and couldn't help but curse, "That old devil Lin, he's inhuman!"

The assistant, standing beside him, cautiously reminded him, "Director Qi, the internet is saying that although Ning Province isn't going to compete, they're showing a lot of sincerity."

"Can't compete?" Qi Tongwei pointed at the vote count on the screen, almost laughing in anger. "Can't compete and still catch up with hundreds of thousands of votes in a few hours? If Lin Xiangyu can't compete, everyone in other provinces would have to go back to farming!"

The assistant kept his head down and didn't reply.

Qi Tongwei picked up his phone again and read through the Ningxia Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism's Weibo account once more.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt that there wasn't a single human word in it.

Sichuan Province is very good.

Ning Province will not cause trouble.

Put away any prepared routes first.

This is hardly a withdrawal from the competition.

This is clearly telling netizens that Ning Province has suffered a tremendous injustice, but is too sensible to speak out.

However, Lin Xiangyu did not directly campaign for votes from beginning to end.

Even if Qi Tongwei wanted to publicly accuse them, he couldn't find a single point of contention.

After holding it in for a long time, he couldn't resist and called Lin Xiangyu directly.

The call was answered quickly.

Lin Xiangyu smiled warmly and said, "Director Qi, congratulations! Sichuan Province is still in first place. It seems like the next stop is definitely yours."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei's forehead veins throbbed: "Old ghost Lin, stop pretending to be confused. What's the deal with that Weibo post of yours?"

Lin Xiangyu's tone was full of innocence: "I just felt that Sichuan Province was well-prepared and Ning Province couldn't compete, so I wished you all the best in advance. What, is it wrong to praise you?"

Qi Tongwei sneered, "After you finished praising us, our advantage of hundreds of thousands of votes is almost gone."

"What does this have to do with me? The votes were cast by netizens themselves. We can't accuse us of malicious competition just because people suddenly want to visit Ningxia, can we?"

Qi Tongwei gritted his teeth and asked, "Didn't you say you wouldn't fight anymore?"

"We really haven't contested it. We haven't said a single word about voting for Ningxia. Should I post another Weibo message urging everyone to continue supporting Sichuan?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei nearly threw his phone away.

Ningxia Province is already in a pitiful state.

If Lin Xiangyu were to post another Weibo message telling people not to vote for Ning Province, netizens would definitely flood the rest of the votes into their hands.

Qi Tongwei immediately stopped him, saying, "Just stay put and don't post anything!"

Lin Xiangyu sighed, seemingly still somewhat troubled: "Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate not to post it? So many netizens are concerned about Ning Province right now, we have to respond."

"Senior brother, please have some decency. We've had it tough too."

"You make it sound like I'm having an easy time. Don't worry, I'll definitely set a good example."

……

The two graduated from the same university. Lin Xiangyu was a year older than Qi Tong, so he was considered the senior.

The two exchanged greetings (and some sharp words) before hanging up the phone.

Lin Xiangyu looked at the phone that had been hung up on, his face showing no anger, but rather a smile.

He looked up at the head of the publicity department and said, "That phone call was from Qi Tongwei in Sichuan Province, you all heard it, right?"

Someone tentatively asked, "Should we still send them?"

Lin Xiangyu said matter-of-factly, "Of course we'll post it. The caption will say, 'Thank you for your concern, and we hope everyone will vote rationally. We will respect your decision, no matter where you ultimately choose.'"

The person in charge paused for a moment, then immediately understood.

On the surface, this Weibo post was meant to urge netizens to remain calm.

In reality, not a single word actually stopped people from voting for Ning Province.

Not long after, Ningxia Culture and Tourism Bureau released a new Weibo post.

After the Weibo post was published, it caused quite a stir online.

At this moment, Ning Province is like a young wife who has suffered a great injustice.

Netizens, on the other hand, fully demonstrated their chivalrous spirit.

As a result, Ningxia's votes increased again.

The 50,000-vote gap was quickly closed.

Thirty thousand.

Ten thousand.

Ultimately, Sichuan Province, which had consistently held the top spot, was pushed down to second place.

Ningxia Province topped the list for the first time by a very narrow margin.

The cultural and tourism departments of other provinces were completely stunned by this result.

To garner votes, some hired celebrities, some offered perks, and some worked overnight to produce promotional videos.

Everyone is competing on scenic spots, food, culture, and also on advertising budgets.

But they never imagined that campaigning for cultural and tourism projects could be done in this way.

A cultural and tourism official from another province stared at the voting data for a long time before finally asking, "This works?"

The staff member next to him nodded with a complicated expression: "Judging from the results, it does work."

"Immediately have the publicity department study these two Weibo posts from Ning Province."

"What are you researching?"

"Let's figure out how to make netizens across the country feel that we are particularly pitiful without saying that we are pitiful ourselves."

……

Su Fan also saw the online voting results.

I couldn't help but sigh, "Sure enough, the right tactics still win people over!"

Little did anyone know, at that very moment, Qi Tongwei was sitting in his office, staring at the glaring results on the voting page, looking utterly dejected.

Just then, the cell phone on the table suddenly rang.

He glanced down at the caller ID and saw that it was Zhou Haiyang calling.

As soon as the call connected, Zhou Haiyang's voice, barely suppressing a laugh, came through: "Seventh Brother, you've really messed up this time."

Hearing his gloating tone, Qi Tongwei asked irritably, "Did you call specifically to see me make a fool of myself?"

"How could that be? I was worried you might be upset, so I called to comfort you. Besides, Lin Xiangyu isn't an outsider. We all came from the same school, and he's our senior. Losing to your own senior is nothing."

"That sounds so nice, why don't we have him intercept you there next time?"

"Then forget it. Senior brother finally won once, he can't keep bullying us junior brothers."

"You know he's bullying people? I'm speechless. How could he come up with such a despicable trick?"

Zhou Haiyang finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Have you forgotten that back in school, he had the most ideas..."