When everyone heard Qin Zian's idea of ​​giving fresh fruit as a return gift, they couldn't help but start mocking him.

"I told you, Xiao Qin is still too young and needs more experience. He only has a superficial understanding of what our Ice City has, how can he possibly rise through the ranks?"

"Zi'an, it's not that I look down on you. But even if you don't have a brain, you must have eyes, right? Look around this huge ice city, where can you find fresh fruit in winter?"

"That's not entirely true. We can still get fresh fruit if we bring it in from elsewhere. But the problem is, when we give a gift to Guangxi, it has to be something that has Harbin's own specialties."

"My assessment is that the return gift is not as good as Wuchang rice, and Zian still needs to mature further. Once the tourism boom in Harbin cools down, you should quickly go down to the grassroots level to gain experience, otherwise you may not be able to keep your position as director."

"Fortunately, everyone attending today is family. If this happened outside, we would be laughed at. All show and no substance is useless; you still need to have real knowledge."

These mid-to-high-level officials at the Harbin Culture and Tourism Bureau witnessed Qin Zi'an's rapid promotion and his sudden rise to become a favorite of Wang Jianye...

On the surface, they are all smiles and friendly, but inside they are already incredibly resentful.

Now that these people have finally discovered Qin Zian's mistakes, they naturally want to take a good look at him.

Even Wang Jianye shook his head helplessly, somewhat disappointed with Qin Zian's suggestion.

Qin Zian remained unfazed by these sarcastic remarks.

"Don't you all know? Our Harbin has the largest cranberry plantation in all of Asia."

As Qin Zian finished speaking, all the attendees fell silent.

But soon, the meeting room erupted in laughter again, with several people even laughing until they cried.

cranberry?

Isn't this a foreign fruit?

They had lived in Harbin for most of their lives, but had never seen this thing before.

I've never even heard of it, let alone seen it.

But amidst the laughter, Wang Jianye frowned and fell into deep thought.

When Qin Zian first said that Bingcheng had considered it, Wang Jianye thought he was talking nonsense.

But when he uttered the words "cranberry," Wang Jianye's long-dormant memories suddenly resurfaced.

Wang Jianye recalled that during a previous meeting, the director of the Agriculture Bureau had mentioned that Harbin had opened up cranberry planting bases.

Because cranberries were such a novel species, several colleagues discussed the topic for quite some time.

However, Wang Jianye had no idea what the situation was like at the cranberry plantation.

Have they been planted yet?

That can't be!

If they were grown, they should be visible throughout the streets and alleys of Harbin.

But what if it doesn't grow...

Soon, Wang Jianye shook his head, rejecting the idea.

Qin Zian has always been a steady person and would never say anything he is not sure about.

Therefore, Wang Jianye gestured to everyone, signaling them to quiet down.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Jianye made a phone call to Director Lin of the Bingcheng Agricultural Bureau.

As soon as the call connected, Wang Jianye asked eagerly, "Old Lin, I think I heard you mention before that we set up a cranberry farm in Harbin. How's it going? Any progress?"

When Wang Jianye posed his question, the attendees in the conference room were stunned.

They looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

Holy crap!!!

No way?

Damn it, there wasn't a single word about this beforehand.

"There must be progress! Today's harvest was quite good; we just harvested a large batch of fresh cranberries a few days ago." Director Lin paused, then asked cheerfully, "What's up? Why are you suddenly interested in this?"

"The Guangxi Culture and Tourism Bureau is planning to send us several hundred tons of tangerines. We figured since they've sent us fresh fruit, we should reciprocate with fresh fruit as well. Remembering what you mentioned about the cranberry plantation, we came to ask about it."

As he spoke, Wang Jianye glanced guiltily at Qin Zian.

After all, if Qin Zian hadn't brought it up, the people at the Harbin Culture and Tourism Bureau wouldn't have known that Harbin had such a rare thing.

At the same time, the other attendees also lowered their heads.

They were just mocking Qin Zi'an for being so ruthless, and now they felt just as bad.

So it turns out the clown was actually themselves.

Just when the middle and senior management of the Harbin Culture and Tourism Bureau were feeling hopeless, Director Lin brought them new hope.

"If you'd like to reciprocate with fresh cranberries..."

Director Lin remained silent for a while before continuing, "It's not impossible, our production capacity can still handle it, but I have a reminder for you."

"Don't be fooled by the fancy appearance and high nutritional value of cranberries. Fresh cranberries are absolutely awful, incredibly sour."

When everyone heard Director Lin's evaluation of the fresh cranberries, they immediately raised their heads, their faces regaining their previous arrogance.

Look at their expressions, their faces practically scream "I knew it!"

Upon hearing the news, Wang Jianye said he needed to think it over further and then hung up the phone.

Following closely behind, the other attendees stood up straight.

"Xiao Qin, although we have fresh fruit in Harbin, the taste isn't good... so we can't present it to the public."

"But no matter what, fresh cranberries are a specialty of our Harbin, so they would be a very suitable return gift."

"Didn't you hear Director Lin say that those cranberries are so sour they're deadly? If you ask me, let's send Wuchang rice instead; it's a local specialty and filling."

Seeing that these people were arguing again, Wang Jianye's face also turned ugly.

He's useless at everything except arguing.

Qin Zian hadn't even finished giving his suggestion when they started rambling on and on.

"Stop arguing!"

Wang Jianye glared at them angrily, and the conference room fell silent instantly.

Then, Wang Jianye turned his gaze to Qin Zian and asked him with a kind and amiable expression.

"Zi'an, I think your suggestion of giving fresh fruit as a return gift is quite good. But Director Lin also said that fresh cranberries don't taste very good. Do you have any backup plans?"

"This would definitely be inappropriate in other places. But if it's given to Guangxi as a return gift, then it's truly the right gift."

When everyone heard Qin Zian's answer, they thought he was a fool.

Director Lin's original comment was "so sour it's sickening," so was Qin Zi'an either stupid or deaf, to actually say something like "the right person to receive it"?

Just as everyone was preparing for another wave of mockery, Director Liu, whose ancestral home is in Guangxi, spoke up first.

"Director Qin is right, sending these fresh cranberries to Guangxi was definitely the right choice."