"If it were before, it would be hard to say... But now only a few guesthouses have reopened, yet the market is so big. Uncle, do you think we can make money?... Let me do the math for you. We currently have ten rooms. If we can sell them all, we can earn about 6,000 yuan a day, which would amount to about 2 million yuan a year. After deducting rent, labor costs, and depreciation, we'd still make at least 1.5 million yuan in profit. Mi Gao would get at least 400,000 yuan, which is much better than him working in Shanghai... Moreover, if we can have such a successful guesthouse in Dali, we're confident we can replicate this model in other tourist cities. We can also continue to expand in Dali... In the future, we'll be a true company, and we'll all be the bosses, working for ourselves."

"If you really have such lofty ambitions and can make that much money, what do I have to worry about... But is this money really that easy to make? Not to mention Dali, even in our small county, I've seen too many examples of businesses failing."

Just as Old Mi raised his questions again, a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase entered our inn and asked our group, "Who is Mi Gao?"

"Yes, that's me. Is there something you need?"

"Hello... I am a member of the working group for the cleanup of Erhai Lake. I have been asked by our group leader to come here to learn about the specific situation."

"Hello, hello... Please have a seat, I'll get you a cup of tea."

"No need to be polite, I'm quite busy here, so I'll get straight to the point... Have you installed sewage treatment equipment here?"

Bai Lu replied for me, "It's installed. It was just installed a few days ago. We chose the best sewage treatment equipment on the market. I can guarantee that any water discharged from our guesthouse will absolutely not burden the ecological environment of Erhai Lake."

The staff member nodded and then asked, "Do you have a discharge permit issued by the Environmental Protection Bureau?"

Bai Lu was stunned for a moment...

The staff member explained, “After discussion and research, our working group believes we can give you an extra spot, given your contribution to improving Dali's tourism image. We also hope that this reward will motivate everyone to do more things beneficial to Dali's tourism development… However, some things must be handled officially, at the very least, they cannot violate the core principles of our Erhai Lake cleanup campaign… Therefore, you must provide a wastewater discharge compliance certificate issued by the Environmental Protection Bureau before we can grant you this extra spot.”

Bai Lu doesn't come to the inn often, so she doesn't know the situation very well. I quickly replied, "Yes, yes, we have this proof... Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you right away."

As I spoke, I jogged into my room and handed the certificate to the staff member. He looked at it, confirmed it was correct, and then said to me, "This certificate is not easy to obtain... Originally, I came here to check if your sewage treatment equipment was in place. If it was, I would ask my colleagues at the Environmental Protection Bureau to help me issue a certificate, but I didn't expect you to already have it... This is a certificate that you can't get even with ordinary connections!"

"So, even if sewage treatment equipment is installed, it doesn't mean you can get this certificate?"

The staff member smiled and replied, "That's for sure. There are over 3,000 guesthouses along Erhai Lake, and at least 1,000 of them have installed sewage treatment equipment. But as far as I know, only about 100 have obtained this certificate. Do you think it's difficult? ... Your guesthouse has really taken advantage of the right time, place, and people... So, people should do more good deeds."

I nodded, completely agreeing!

The staff member added, "Take this certificate, make a copy, and then send it to the city government, to our working group's office... After that, just wait for us to announce the first batch of guesthouses that will resume operations."

Overjoyed, Bai Lu also said to the staff with gratitude, "Okay, I'll take care of it... Thank you so much!"

"Keep it up... This is an opportunity you can't get even through connections."

The staff member offered us a few words of encouragement, then took out his camera, snapped a few more photos, and left our guesthouse. The moment he stepped out the door, Bai Lu couldn't contain her joy and hugged Coach Ma, bursting into tears of happiness…

If yesterday it was just hope, today that hope has truly become a reality!

Seeing Bai Lu's discomposure, I had another question in my mind: Although it was a great thing that the inn was able to resume business ahead of schedule, she had a job, a bar, and a good family background, so there was no need for her to be so happy as to cry.

The only explanation is that she saw Coach Ma's expectations and efforts for the inn. Now, his dream is finally about to come true, so she is happy that Coach Ma can start anew.

Something must have happened between them.

...

After calming down, Coach Ma asked me with a puzzled look, "Sun Jiwei had the same goal before, so why did you refuse, but you didn't this time?"

I smiled and replied, "Sun Jiwei is using the media to hype me up in order to attract the attention of higher-ups and to boost his own political achievements... The two are completely different in nature and purpose..."

I stopped mid-sentence... I knew that this time I didn't refuse, mostly because of Yang Sisi; I couldn't let her down. Besides, her approach was much more positive. She simply made sure everyone knew about it through her own efforts, instead of using the media for deliberate publicity or exaggerating the beauty of human nature.