Chapter 105 - 88: Stunned! Recognition of Status

Chapter 105: Chapter 88: Stunned! Recognition of Status

Zhao Han felt President Zhang still hadn’t realized how bad the situation was, but he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Nearby, Wang Yu was still trying to persuade Lin Haida, but it clearly wasn’t going well.

He had no choice but to step forward and try to persuade him personally. "Master Lin, you know the Bamboo Culture Park is just getting started. You can’t leave now. You have to have a basic sense of professional ethics. If our county hadn’t sought you out, you never would’ve had this opportunity to become famous!"

Lin Haida looked a little embarrassed at this.

But Lin Qing had a fiery temper. Hearing this, she shot back viciously, "Sir, don’t try to guilt-trip my dad. You only sought him out because of his skills. Don’t make it sound so noble now!"

"The ’renowned’ craft of the Lin Family," Old Guo said sarcastically. "Didn’t your family learn its skills from my Guo Family back in the day? You learned the craft, alright, but you sure didn’t learn a thing about being a decent human being."

"Why do you have to stick your nose in everything, you old coot?" Lin Qing had been annoyed with Old Guo for a while now. "If you learn what one plus one is, does that mean you own the equation? You’ve clearly got too much time on your hands. Go find something better to do."

Old Guo was no good at verbal sparring. He immediately flushed red, at a loss for a reply.

Zhao Han’s brow furrowed tightly.

He could see it now. Lin Haida could still be reasoned with; the problem was his daughter, who was clearly the instigator.

But Lin Qing had already pulled out her phone and aimed it at Zhao Han. "Everyone, take a look! My dad doesn’t want to work at Li Yuan Farm anymore, but now they’re trying to force him to stay! They just want to make money off his skills and suck him dry!"

"How can you say that?" Wang Yu was furious when he heard this and immediately started to step forward.

Zhao Han quickly stopped him.

In this day and age, public opinion is a terrifying thing.

Now that she had her phone out, there was a lot they couldn’t say. If this got posted online, there was no telling what trouble it might stir up. They could easily be painted as the villains she was describing.

That’s why so many people who are just trying to cause trouble will whip out their phones to record themselves playing the victim. They mistakenly believe that whoever is holding the phone is in the right, and that the internet will automatically take their side.

Now, even if they wanted to reason with them, there was no way to do it.

Seeing this, Lin Qing smugly pulled Lin Haida toward the exit. "Dad, we’re going home!"

She felt a surge of triumph as she looked at the expressions on Zhao Han and the others.

She had tried to become an influencer before, and while it hadn’t amounted to much, she had learned a lot about how the internet works. This trick of pulling out her phone was clearly very effective.

These people were afraid of exactly this.

Once they were out of the Bamboo Culture Park, she said to Lin Haida, "Dad, it’s perfect. I’ve already set up our own workshop and got the tools ready. Tonight, we’ll officially start our own livestream."

The traffic they’d drawn from the Bamboo Culture Park over the last two days had been a pleasant surprise; the numbers were huge.

She felt she had made the right move. Her father could definitely become a famous influencer. Then, she could appear on camera beside him, learn the craft, and leverage his fame to become an influencer herself. It was the perfect way for an established name to launch a new one.

In a way, she would have accomplished her dream of becoming an influencer after all.

"I suppose so," Lin Haida said, feeling like he had no other choice. He’d lose too much face going back to the Bamboo Culture Park now. All he could do was focus on his own venture and maybe promote the park later on to repay the favor.

Zhao Han, Wang Yu, and the other officials from the tourism bureau watched the father and daughter leave, their faces full of dejection.

After all, the Bamboo Culture Park was supposed to be the tourism bureau’s biggest and most significant achievement of the year. Who would have thought it would all be ruined by simple greed?

Just then, Zhang Lin rode into the Bamboo Culture Park on his beat-up scooter.

Although he wasn’t concerned about one craftsman leaving, since Zhao Han, the director of the tourism bureau, was here, he felt he had to come and check on the situation.

Seeing Zhang Lin arrive, Zhao Han hurried over anxiously. "Boss Zhang, Lin Haida is dead set on leaving. If he really becomes a famous influencer, the other craftsmen will get restless. What are we going to do?"

"Director Zhao, it’s a small matter. Don’t worry," Zhang Lin said with a reassuring smile.

Zhao Han sighed. "He’s already gone. How can I not be worried?"

But Zhang Lin just asked, "Director Zhao, you don’t actually believe this whole Bamboo Culture Park relies solely on the craftsmen’s skills, do you? You don’t think I spent all that money on these tools, fire pits, kilns, and everything else just for show, do you?"

"As the saying goes, ’A craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do his work well.’ The skill of these craftsmen is one part of the equation, but the money I spent on these tools and facilities is the other. Everything here was professionally designed and constructed, and the tools were all custom-made."

"There’s also the most important factor: the atmosphere. The Bamboo Culture Park has a unique atmosphere that allows the craftsmen to feel truly immersed. It changes their entire mindset as they work, and that changes the quality of the things they create."

"When it comes to art, your mentality, your state of mind, your inspiration... those are the most important things. But forget it. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it, Director Zhao."

He deliberately said this nonsense a little louder, intending for the other craftsmen nearby to overhear.

Zhao Han could understand the points about tools and facilities, but he truly didn’t get the third point about "mindset" and all that followed. It was all too abstract for him.

Of course, it was normal that he didn’t understand. If he did, he would have created a place like the Bamboo Culture Park himself long ago.

The other craftsmen, however, understood immediately.

Because they had felt it themselves.

Old Guo quickly and readily admitted, "No wonder! I tried making a piece back home, and not only did my own tools feel clumsy, but I completely lost the feel for the craft!"