Chapter 49: Qinlin Tribute Rice in the Future? Officials from the Tourism Bureau Arrive!

Chapter 49: Qin Lin’s Imperial Rice in the Future? Visitors from the Tourism Bureau!

Not only did Xiangshui Imperial Rice cost 500 yuan per jin, but it was also the designated rice for the Great Hall of the People. Because its geographical and environmental requirements were extremely strict, the annual yield was very small, making it impossible for even most wealthy people to purchase it.

There was even an exaggerated rumor that genuine Xiangshui Imperial Rice was guarded by the military, and the moment it was harvested, it was immediately transported to the capital, leaving almost nothing to circulate outside.

Whether it was truly that exaggerated was unknown to outsiders, and ordinary people could neither afford to eat it nor understand why this particular rice was so expensive when rice was just rice.

It wasn't as if attempts hadn't been made to use Xiangshui Imperial Rice seeds to grow it elsewhere, but either the plants failed to survive, or the taste, texture, and nutritional value fell far short.

Priced at 500 yuan per jin, the actual market value had long been driven much higher, and you couldn't really buy it for 500 yuan a jin.

Back in 2017, that famous Jack Ma from Cat Platform had used his connections to complete a transaction on the platform for just three small wine jars filled with Xiangshui Imperial Rice, with each portion selling for over ten thousand yuan.

Qin Lin never expected that his game would be able to grow this kind of rice. Everything produced by the game came with special attribute bonuses, and he wondered how this would compare to regular Xiangshui Imperial Rice.

He directly purchased the Xiangshui rice seeds and then controlled his game character to plant them into the paddy field. Since it was a game, planting was quite simple.

After that, he looked at another packet of Xiangshui rice seeds.

[☆Xiangshui Rice Seeds: Quality 1]

[These are specialized rice seeds, a carefully selected variety developed through long-term research, strict quality control, and continuous optimization. Planting them will yield Xiangshui Imperial Rice! Modified by the game, they can be planted regardless of the season, have a chance of mutation, and can adapt to one environmental change (Restriction: Game seeds).]

[Maturation time: 12 hours.]

The remark caught his attention: the seeds bought in the game had a chance to mutate and could adapt to one environmental change.

Did this mean that if he took these seeds outside and planted them, provided they mutated, there was a chance he could successfully grow this imperial rice right here in Yucheng?

When that time came, should he call it Yucheng Imperial Rice, or Qin Lin's Imperial Rice?

...

The next day, upon waking up.

Qin Lin harvested all the okra, yams, and broccoli in the twenty-four plots of Level 1 land, the six mature strawberries in the Level 2 land, and the Quality 2 watermelon in the Level 3 land, before planting new seeds.

As for the strawberries in the other six plots of Level 2 land, they would mature a bit later, while the Xiangshui rice in the paddy field would have to wait until noon.

After Qin Lin delivered the items to the villa in batches, Chen Shengfei and Ma Liewen arrived at the villa once again.

"Boss Qin, has that stuff arrived yet?" Ma Liewen was clearly very eager.

Last night, he had deeply experienced the effects of that item, and spending the night without his wife by his side had truly been agonizing.

"Mr. Ma, the items will probably have to wait until noon." Qin Lin naturally did this on purpose.

The items were right there in the game, and he had his own plan, so he asked instead, "Gentlemen, have you ever eaten Xiangshui Imperial Rice?"

Ma Liewen nodded and said, "I have. That stuff is indeed excellent, just hard to buy."

Chen Shengfei asked curiously, "Boss Qin, don't tell me you actually have Xiangshui Imperial Rice?"

"I managed to get my hands on some!" Qin Lin replied with a smile. "At noon, the two of you can help me taste this Xiangshui Imperial Rice and see if I've been conned."

This was his exact objective.

If people who had eaten Xiangshui Imperial Rice before tasted it, they would immediately know the difference.

Hearing this, both Chen Shengfei and Ma Liewen's eyes lit up.

Especially Chen Shengfei, who had eaten here twice already. The dishes were top-notch, the fruits were delicious, and the fish was a classic, but the rice had always left a little to be desired.

Now that this boss had actually managed to secure Xiangshui Imperial Rice, things would be nothing short of perfect.

While the three of them were chatting, a middle-aged man accompanied by a young man also entered the villa grounds.

Looking at the tourists coming and going all around, the young man said, "Director Chen, it's really hard to believe that a villa like this suddenly popped up in Yucheng and became an overnight internet sensation. Look, it's early morning and there are already so many tourists."

"Indeed incredible." The middle-aged man walked over to the fish pond. Quite a few people were sitting by the edge fishing, either in small groups of friends or with their families, discussing animatedly. They seemed to be saying that if you were lucky, you could even catch wild fish with superior texture and nutritional value in this pond.

The middle-aged man nodded. Turning a small fish pond into a source of anticipation was a clever tactic; it instantly added a lot of fun.

The two of them made their way all the way to the bougainvillea sea ticket office.

"Welcome, sir. How many tickets do you need?" Seeing the two of them, the ticket seller asked with a warm smile.

"Two," the middle-aged man replied. As the ticket seller was counting out the tickets, he casually asked, "Young lady, with so many tourists in this villa, you must sell quite a few tickets for the sea every day, right?"

The ticket seller didn't think much of it. Operating on the principle that the customer was king, she answered truthfully, "Quite a few. We sold over 950 tickets yesterday."

The middle-aged man's eyes visibly lit up. No wonder those three major hotels in Yucheng had seen an increase in guests recently.

One had to know that the Grand Canyon, carefully developed by Yucheng County with an investment exceeding 300 million for Phase 3, had only welcomed a little over 650,000 visitors last year, with daily visitor numbers on ordinary days hovering around 1,600.

Now, this villa had exploded in popularity purely because of a bougainvillea sea, pulling in nearly 1,000 visitors a day. The power of the internet was truly formidable.

He just wondered how long this kind of hype could last for the villa.

The ticket seller then added, "Today might be even more. At the same time this morning, we've already sold more than yesterday. Besides, people online keep asking about online reservations, and companies wanting group purchases have all been turned down by our boss—we just can't handle the capacity."

"Oh!" Hearing this, the middle-aged man felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in his heart. After receiving the tickets, he had his tickets checked by the security guard and stepped into the sea of flowers.

The sea of flowers was already bustling with activity, filled with tourists taking pictures everywhere. It was truly an enviable sight.

The two of them had seen seas of flowers before, having even gone on inspection tours to the city and Xiamen to observe various flower seas, and they knew the basic landscape well.

Yet, as they ventured deeper, the two of them were utterly astonished. How should one describe the sea of flowers before them? To put it more poetically: 'At first glance, your eyes can no longer hold anything else.'

Not only that, but upon witnessing this sea of flowers, they felt that all the flower seas they had inspected in the past were truly mediocre—at least those flower seas wouldn't captivate them at first glance and keep their eyes glued, nor would they evoke such a profound sense of ease and joy.

Arriving at the central area, laughter filled the air. Across the fences, numerous tourists were teasing little squirrels.

The number of squirrels had increased by a few, and the smaller ones followed closely beside the large squirrels.

These squirrels weren't afraid of people at all. When tourists took out pine nuts, they all stared intently. When a tourist placed a pine nut on their shoulder, the squirrels showed no fear, leaping directly up to snatch the pine nut while the tourists seized the opportunity to take pictures.

The scene was harmonious and heartwarming, making one linger and forget to leave.

Naturally, there were also tourists who wanted to catch the squirrels for more intimate photos, but nearby security guards would step forward to stop them.

The middle-aged man personally stepped up and fed two pine nuts to a squirrel, feeling genuinely amazed. How on earth did this villa train these squirrels to be so well-behaved? It was just like keeping them in the wild.

Reluctantly, the two of them eventually walked out of the flower sea. Having witnessed this spectacle, they could be certain that this flower sea could maintain its popularity indefinitely; anyone who came once would surely plan to return when they had free time, and recommend or bring their friends along.

Being able to create such a sea of flowers meant the boss behind it was no ordinary person.

Yet, once outside the flower sea, the middle-aged man looked at the vast patches of empty wasteland within the villa, along with the simple jungle adventure and grass-sliding facilities, and felt a deep sense of heartache.

With such a massive volume of tourists, how could they possibly...

"Come on, take me to see the boss of this villa!" The middle-aged man hurriedly led the young man toward the direction of the villa's main hall.

As soon as they reached the outside of the main hall, it was equally bustling. Many tourists surrounded the cooking stoves and barbecue grills provided by the villa, preparing to cook their meals.

Once inside the hall, the two of them were immediately drawn to two figures—none other than Chen Shengfei and Ma Liewen.

"Director Chen, these two were indeed attracted here by this villa," the young man remarked.

The middle-aged man nodded. Didn't this just prove the immense charm of the villa?

He walked straight up to a staff member. "Young lady, I am Chen Li, the Director of the Yucheng Tourism Bureau. Could you take me to see your boss?"

Gao Yaoyao was clearly startled.

As an ordinary young girl, she had never interacted with officials and felt somewhat nervous.

People from the tourism bureau coming looking for them—could something be wrong with the villa?