Chapter 69: Trouble Brewing?

Chapter 69: Trouble Brewing?

The assistant was genuinely curious when he asked Ao Youda about the situation.

After all, it was really hard to gauge the flow of public interest. Otherwise, their Noah's Bamboo Maze, despite all the publicity, would only be known within a niche circle. People might hear that Noah's Bamboo Maze was the best of its kind, but it never managed to break out of that small circle.

If you went out and asked ten random people on the street, not one of them would have heard of Noah's Bamboo Maze.

But Linyuan Farm was different. With its current level of popularity, if you asked ten people on the street, more than half would have seen their videos. Their follower count had already surpassed 1.5 million in a short time, which was incomparable.

Ao Youda, however, asked, "How is that maze guy, Aluo, doing lately?"

The assistant couldn't help but grumble when he heard the name: "That guy is a real pain in the neck. He always picks on us. Right after we upgraded our bamboo maze, he came and criticized it, saying it was too easy after he completed it."

Aluo was a popular influencer who gained fame by playing maze games. He had a significant following and specialized in challenging mazes all over the country, claiming he could conquer all the world's mazes.

Of course, if the maze operators were willing to pay, he wouldn't hesitate to give them a favorable review and promote them.

Ao Youda chuckled at the assistant's words and said, "He's just doing his job. How else would he make himself look good? But this time, we can use him to our advantage. Go to him, give him 100,000 yuan, and have him play the bamboo maze at Linyuan Farm. Once he completes it, have him say that Linyuan Farm's maze is not as challenging as ours."

The assistant's eyes lit up at this suggestion.

What a brilliant move!

With Linyuan Farm's high popularity, there were bound to be many people following them. If a maze expert like Aluo were to challenge their maze, it would attract even more attention. Once he completed it and publicly stated that Linyuan Farm's maze was not as challenging, the focus would shift back to Noah's Bamboo Maze.

"Go and take care of it!" Ao Youda instructed immediately.

The assistant didn't hesitate and immediately pulled out his phone to make the call.

On the other side, a young man quickly answered the call. He was none other than Aluo, and he smiled as soon as he saw the number.

It was from Noah's Bamboo Maze.

He found it amusing that these people were so annoyed by him but couldn't do anything about it. He always managed to get the upper hand.

Answering the call, he said, "What can I do for Noah's Bamboo Maze?"

The assistant didn't beat around the bush and said, "Aluo, I'm sure you've seen the videos of Linyuan Farm's bamboo maze. We can give you 100,000 yuan to play their maze. All you need to do is say that their maze is not as challenging as ours after you complete it."

"Ah, so you're offering me money. That's easy!" Aluo agreed without hesitation.

He had already planned to visit Linyuan Farm's bamboo maze and had even bought his ticket. His flight was scheduled for late at night.

He was eager to win the 200,000 yuan reward.

Moreover, playing the maze at Linyuan Farm would give him a boost in popularity, a win-win situation.

He never expected that Noah's Bamboo Maze would offer him another 100,000 yuan. All he had to do was say that Linyuan Farm's maze was not as challenging as Noah's.

This was a triple win.

How could he refuse such a good deal?

Besides, once he completed Linyuan Farm's maze and became the first to claim the 200,000 yuan prize, who would argue with his assessment of which maze was more challenging?

In his opinion, Linyuan Farm's maze was just larger. It couldn't compare to Noah's Bamboo Maze, which had some genuine tricks up its sleeve.

Noah's Bamboo Maze was genuinely the most challenging he had encountered.

Thinking about it, Aluo quickly took out his phone and started recording a video: "Hi everyone, this is Aluo. I'm sure you've all heard about Linyuan Farm's bamboo maze. Many of my fans have been calling for me to challenge it. To satisfy their requests, I've already bought my ticket and will head to You City tonight. I won't let you down, as bamboo mazes are not a challenge for me."

After finishing the video, Aluo uploaded it immediately.

...

You City.

Another day had arrived.

Zhang Lin checked his balance: 1,985,614.25 yuan.

Yesterday, his balance had exceeded 3 million yuan, but after recruiting employees and other expenses, it had dropped below 2 million today.

The 1 million yuan reward was guaranteed by the Tourism Bureau and the Agriculture Bureau. He had contributed 800,000 yuan, and the Tourism Bureau had added 200,000 yuan, all of which were transferred to a notarized account.

He had also paid the remaining 140,000 yuan to Huang Tao.

Additionally, the costs for the signal jammer and surveillance equipment had been significant, and the overnight rush work added even more expenses.

However, as long as it didn't affect today's project promotion, it was all worth it.

Next, he opened the market interface and saw the procurement list.

1. Sweet Peaches (Quality 1), wholesale price: 4 yuan per pound, available for wholesale: 1500 pounds per day.

2. Sunshine Rose Grapes (Quality 1), wholesale price: 6 yuan per pound, available for wholesale: 1000 pounds per day.

3. Special Rapid-Growing Rapeseed (Quality 1), purchase price: 250 yuan per pound, available for purchase: 10 pounds per day.

4. Blueberries (Quality 1), wholesale price: 4 yuan per pound, available for wholesale: 500 pounds per day.

5. Sweet Potato Seedlings (Quality 1), purchase price: 0.5 yuan per seedling, available for purchase: 10,000 seedlings per day.

6. Mature Sweet Peach Trees (Quality 1), purchase price: 50 yuan per tree, available for purchase: 1000 trees per day.

7. Premium Horse Feed, 10,000 yuan per ton!

These were the items he could now purchase. Zhang Lin made arrangements for each item, then washed up and went out for breakfast.

His mother, as always, had prepared breakfast for him.

Lin Yan, seeing her son come out, looked at him with a mix of hesitation and something she wanted to say.

Zhang Lin noticed his mother's unusual behavior and asked, "Mom, what's wrong? Is there something you want to tell me?"

Lin Yan, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, "Xiao Lin, Mom has been resting for a while now, and my health is much better. I can't just sit around doing nothing. Is there anything I can help with at the farm?"

As a mother, she didn't really want to ask her son for a favor, but her health had improved, and she couldn't bear to be idle.

Zhang Lin smiled at his mother's words. This was a minor issue, and he had a task in mind for her. "Mom, it's a small matter. Liu De is already busy with many tasks, including overseeing the logistics. You can help me manage the logistics. You can distribute uniforms and living supplies to new employees."

This task was light and didn't require much mental effort, making it perfect for his mother.

Lin Yan just wanted to stay active and didn't mind what kind of work it was. She smiled broadly after hearing his response.

After finishing his breakfast, Zhang Lin left and rode his scooter to the farm.

Although he had Bai Long as a mount, it was impossible to ride him back to the neighborhood at night.

Upon arriving at the farm, Zhang Lin immediately called a female server and asked, "Lin Hong, have you prepared everything?"

Previously, he had recruited servers for the Bamboo Maze, and Lin Hong was one of the managers he had promoted.

"Boss, the ticket office has already printed them out," Lin Hong said, handing Zhang Lin two vouchers.

One was a cash voucher worth 500 yuan, which could be exchanged for 500 yuan in cash. The other was a meal voucher that could be redeemed for a 500-yuan meal at the restaurant.

These vouchers were to be placed inside the Bamboo Maze.

The Bamboo Maze had many puzzles and some unexpected surprises, and rewards were needed for these areas.

So, he planned to place these vouchers in the puzzle lockboxes and surprise boxes. He was sure that visitors who found them would be thrilled.

Zhang Lin instructed, "Good job. Go to the Bamboo Maze and place these vouchers. Tourists should be arriving soon!"

"Sure, Boss!" Lin Hong nodded and immediately got to work.

Liu De followed him into the prefabricated office to report, "Boss, we will continue planting peach trees today. However, the sweet potato seedling experiment you mentioned has already been planted on two acres. Should we continue?"

With the increased number of game-recruited employees, Liu De had been promoted to a managerial position and no longer needed to handle deliveries personally. Reporting to Zhang Lin daily was now part of his job.

Zhang Lin's interest was piqued by this. Sweet potatoes had a unique characteristic, allowing them to be harvested in quick succession.

He had instructed Liu De to transplant the seedlings to see if they retained any special properties and if they were affected by any restrictions.

He was very curious about this.

If the experiment succeeded, it would open up new possibilities.

He immediately followed Liu De out of the office and went to check the two acres where the sweet potato seedlings had been transplanted. According to the game's speed, these transplanted seedlings should soon be rooted, and they could assess the situation.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Zhao Han, the tourism bureau director.

He answered with a smile, "Director Zhao, calling me so early in the morning. What's up?"

Zhao Han's voice was urgent, "Boss Zhang, did you check the internet this morning? There might be a problem with the Bamboo Maze!"

"How could there be another issue?" Zhang Lin frowned, hung up the call, and checked his phone. He soon saw what the popular topic was about.

So this is what Director Zhao meant by a problem?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end