Chapter 53: Chapter 26: A Chance Encounter Amidst Mountains and Waters
Qiyun Mountain is a famous Buddhist site near the suburbs of Qi Yuan, with several ancient temples from the mountaintop to the base, along with many cliff carvings left from various dynasties within the mountain.
Buddhist sites and BBQ lamb sound like a strange combination, right? But the BBQ lamb isn’t in the temple; it’s in the village at the mountain’s base. Just because there are monks in the mountain doesn’t mean the villagers must be vegetarians, does it?
Nowadays, places called "Some Manor" are plentiful, for example, the real estate and hotel project that Ye Hui is working on in Tai Gu South Suburb, called Chuanyue Manor. There’s a village at the base of Qiyun Mountain, where a piece of land was fenced off and several courtyard homes were renovated, called Qile Manor.
Qile Manor has been around for seven or eight years, initially conceived as a tourism vacation project, relying on the nearby Qiyun Mountain scenic area.
Unfortunately, it’s too close to the urban area, and most visitors to Qiyun Mountain return the same day. People seldom stay overnight, and even those specifically coming for a vacation wouldn’t choose the village as there are better-conditioned hotels and inns in the mountain.
Later, the area underwent upgrades focused on nearby rural tourism, which was very popular for a few years; however, in the past two or three years, business hasn’t been as good, with increasingly fewer customers.
This undertaking is a local villagers’ self-run project, so it doesn’t have land costs or loan burdens, which allows it to stay afloat, whereas many similar projects in the suburbs of Qi Yuan City have gone bankrupt. This is actually a positive for Qile Manor because there are fewer competitors now.
For the service industry, there’s always a need for innovation and uniqueness. The farmhouse BBQ lamb is a recently launched feature of the manor, which is still quite rare around Qi Yuan. If, in the future, many copy this idea, they can consider switching to other attractions.
It’s rumored that this time Jinxing Media is hosting again, and Qian Guran is somewhat uneasy. Some details might go unnoticed by ordinary people, but for someone like him, anything odd would be quite noticeable.
Jinxing Media is a partner of the department. Last time, they organized the team-building event at Bada Club. They are also a partner of Bada Group, outsourcing advertising and promotional work to Jinxing Media.
The entire Qi Yuan Branch has several project teams. Although the Cloud Living project team collaborates with them, from a business perspective, it’s certainly not the top priority.
For public relations, Jinxing Media has already conducted a networking event with the Cloud Living project team. Why hold another one shortly after? Don’t other departments of the division need PR too?
Business is all about cost-effectiveness for relationship building, so Qian Guran finds it rather odd. There’s definitely some shady dealings involved.
Whatever it is, it’s none of his business. He’s just there to enjoy the BBQ lamb. Since joining the company two months ago, to conceal his ulterior motives, he has performed his tasks with extreme diligence and responsibility, almost as if he’s the model employee.
Despite being a P5-level employee at Tengxin Group, with an annual pre-tax income just over 800,000 yuan, receiving around 600,000 yuan after tax isn’t significant to him. There’s really no need to work so hard.
Now that he’s realized he’s been watching the wrong person, Qian Guran is somewhat disinterested. While it doesn’t mean he’ll resign immediately, he’s more relaxed about it; no more volunteering for overtime, just indulging in food, drinks, and fun as he pleases.
On this Saturday, Jinxing Media rented a coach bus to bring everyone to the base of Qiyun Mountain. The department’s entire staff comprises thirty-seven, of which thirty-two were present, with Huang Si being one of the five absentees.
Huang Si’s mom called him back, saying there was something at home that required his presence. What could be happening in Pugang Town, He Kao speculated, most likely another matchmaking set-up for meeting a girl. Perhaps Xiaopang was going on a blind date.
Xiaopang seems quite averse to the idea of blind dates, so Mrs. Chen didn’t reveal the truth, intending to bring him back first. If he and the girl get along, wouldn’t that be great?
Xiaopang’s situation differs from He Kao’s. He Kao doesn’t have elders worrying over him, but Mrs. Chen has been quite anxious ever since Xiaopang graduated from college, urging him daily to find a partner, to the point of frustration for Xiaopang.
He Kao used to be puzzled about Xiaopang’s unwillingness to find a partner. At least get a girlfriend and see where it goes. Now he somewhat understands since Xiaopang is a person with a big secret.
Yet, these things are hard to call. Perhaps he simply hasn’t met someone who catches his eye. Otherwise, no secret can withstand love at first sight! Thinking about Xiaopang’s gossip, He Kao got off the bus with his colleagues in front of Qile Manor.
Qian Guran had just gotten off the bus and immediately noticed something off here. The manor’s entrance was made with faux rockeries on both sides and an arched top, with a bulletin board nearby, displaying a large poster at the moment.
The poster advertised Qile Manor’s latest event promotion, with the theme slogan "Encounter by the Scenery," featuring the scenery of Qiyun Mountain, photos of Qile Manor, and more.
For these large banner promos, the right one-third to one-half area, the golden ratio position, typically portrays the core image of the theme, occupying the largest area.
The core image here shows a man and a woman sitting at a table, the man dressed business-like, and the woman casually, with exquisite tea sets on the table, alongside two plates of artfully colorful wild raspberries.
They were not viewing the scenery but gazing affectionately at each other.
This picture suggests that they’re hardly here for BBQ lamb but seem more like they’re having afternoon tea at a five-star hotel, contrasting with the scenic backdrop, exuding a certain boutique style.