Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1610 - 768: Top Ten Historical Specialties_2

Chapter 1610: Chapter 768: Top Ten Historical Specialties_2

"..." Yan Fei was a bit speechless. "Why submit so many applications? There are only ten spots, and seventeen places are competing. Our region doesn’t have a clear advantage. Submitting too much might actually not be too good, right?"

"What do you mean we don’t have much of an advantage? Our region has a large population, and our GDP is always among the top in the province..." Director Niu quickly cited several ’advantages,’ non-stop, as if securing three spots out of the top ten would be a piece of cake.

"We’re too far away!" Yan Fei interrupted him. "Our region is far from the Provincial City. No matter how well we develop, we definitely have a disadvantage compared to the places closer to the Provincial City. Their cherries and lotus roots, New City’s jujubes, Middle City’s watermelons... When the harvest comes, they can all sell directly to the Provincial City, and the people there can actually taste them. What about our local specialties’ reputation in the Provincial City?"

"This..." Director Niu was rendered speechless at that moment and only after a while did he respond, "Well, doesn’t our place have a long history? The judges should see that, right?"

"Regarding long history—whose place doesn’t have one? Besides, you also need economic advantages, prospects for development, and already formed competitive edges." As Yan Fei shot down his thoughts, he also casually gave a score to his own beef, which indeed had already gained quite an advantage among Wancheng City’s specialties.

"We need to consider the worst-case scenario and focus on a key area to tackle. Otherwise, if we submit three specialties, we’ll just dilute our own votes during the election. Then how can we be chosen?"

"That actually is a problem?" Director Niu sucked in a breath. "If we go by what you’re saying, we have indeed been too optimistic. Hold on, I’ll report this to Deputy Mayor Chen and see what he thinks."

"Don’t rush, don’t rush. Tell me where Director Liu and the others are staying. I’ll go have a look." Yan Fei stopped him.

"Right, I forgot you’re always in the Provincial City now." Saying this, Director Niu gave Yan Fei the address of where Director Liu and his party were staying, then hurriedly hung up, probably to report the situation to the leadership.

Every place has its pros and cons. Wancheng City is historically rich, with many local specialties. But in Yuzhou Province, this isn’t considered an advantage — in Yuzhou Province, if a local specialty only has a few hundred years of fame, it’s almost embarrassing to mention it. And nowadays, with economic development as the main goal, having a long history alone isn’t enough; one must ensure to have a core competitive edge nationwide.

Wancheng City has a building in the Provincial City advertised as a restaurant, which mainly caters to personnel from Wancheng City on official business. Its nature is similar to that of a regular office based in the Capital. Indeed, apart from the Provincial City, some places also set up bases in big cities like Magic City if their business expands broadly enough.

However, in a few years’ time, these provincial office agencies will be facing cancellation. Although they operate under the guise of hotel management, most are actually running deficits and primarily rely on local government finances.

Director Liu and his group were staying in the so-called Wan City Hotel. Although Yan Fei had never been there, he was familiar with the place. He confidently made his way there, and upon arriving, the front desk immediately tried to call Director Liu and the others upon hearing his name.

Yan Fei smiled and said, "No need, as long as they haven’t gone out, just take me to them!"

The staff at the Provincial City office must have sharp eyesight. Besides, it was improbable they hadn’t heard of Yan Fei. Upon hearing Yan Fei’s words, the staff immediately led him upstairs.

Before entering, Yan Fei heard the voices of Director Liu’s meeting from inside the room. At the moment, Director Liu was encouraging everyone: "Don’t think the Provincial capital’s people are that intimidating; they’re just like us, working at their jobs. When you go there, don’t be timid, ask whatever you need to, and we must find out the exact news as soon as possible. If there’s an acquaintance to dine with, then don’t hesitate to invite them..."

Yan Fei knocked on the door, and when someone from inside opened it, Director Liu turned around, first startled then followed by delight: "Boss Yan, what brings you here? Come in, come in, what a rare visitor!"

Yan Fei smiled: "Are you in the middle of a meeting? I just called Director Niu, and he told me you guys were here, so I came to see if I could offer some help."

"Of course, of course, how could you not?" Director Liu had a guess in his mind, and his attitude couldn’t be better.

The others also echoed the welcome for Yan Fei. Anyone could tell why Yan Fei had come to find them at this time; to think otherwise would be foolish.

But there were two who didn’t seem happy; as soon as Yan Fei saw them, he had an idea in mind. He didn’t often see people from the city’s units, but he had some minor dealings with them. Thanks to his strong memory, he usually remembered those he had met. And these people who ran errands, they couldn’t have failed to remember the city’s big cattle rancher, so they were more or less acquaintances.

The two who were unhappy were the responsible persons for the other two local specialties. One was for kiwifruit, the other for kale.

Just by the names, it was clear why Yan Fei wasn’t optimistic about the other two specialties being selected. Under the current inadequate transportation conditions, shipping kiwifruit was a major issue. Moreover, Wancheng City’s key county for kiwifruit cultivation lagged behind Tanghe County, and transportation was even more inconvenient.

As for kale, the kale promoted by Wancheng City was actually cabbage. Wancheng City’s kale only had a modest reputation, but this thing was grown everywhere in the country; even a primary school student could describe the market situation.