Chapter 579

Chapter 579

Harper wasn't wrong.

Mr. Barnes didn't argue with her either.

He nodded, signaling Harper to go on.

Feeling encouraged, Harper was now fairly confident the partnership would work out. She continued with full confidence, "Mr. Barnes, you're currently lacking both a track record and financial backing. I have an idea that might interest you."

But then Mr. Barnes suddenly shook his head at Harper.

He clearly didn't fully agree with what she'd said. "Ms. Orsini, your business mindset doesn't always apply here. You may not understand what I actually need right now."

He said, "Money may be very important to you business people, but to me, it's just a nice bonus."

"What will actually move me up is real, concrete achievements. So Ms. Orsini, if you can't offer me what I'm looking for, I'm afraid there's not much room for us to work together."

Mr. Barnes was being very straightforward.

He wasn't playing games with Harper.

He was making it clear — this was a transaction. If Harper couldn't help him build the kind of track record that would take him to the next level, he wasn't going to risk going after Dominic.

Harper understood his concern.

She actually liked his directness.

She preferred clean, businesslike deals. And this was proof that Mr. Barnes was willing to give her a chance.

Harper thought for a moment, then turned the question back on him. "Mr. Barnes, are you saying you don't think I'm in a position to help you?"

"Money isn't everything," Mr. Barnes said. "What I need goes far beyond that."

But Harper simply shook her head, calm and unbothered. "I actually think, Mr. Barnes, that you might be overcomplicating this."

"I'm listening."

Harper's tone was light, but her words landed with weight. "I have a way to get you a real achievement."

Mr. Barnes's expression shifted noticeably.

He clearly wasn't convinced.

But he waited to hear what Harper had to say.

"Here's the thing — before coming here, I looked into Harbor City's economic makeup. I'm sure you know this better than anyone, Mr. Barnes. Harbor City is one of the country's major economic and trade hubs. Its development is already highly advanced. The GDP generated within the city alone is already an impressive number."

Mr. Barnes nodded.

As someone who had witnessed, lived through, and — most importantly — helped drive Harbor City's growth over the decades, he knew this well.

Harbor City's urban GDP already put it among the world's leading cities.

So he wasn't sure why Harper was bringing this up.

Did she think it wasn't good enough?

That was definitely not what Harper meant.

She simply asked Mr. Barnes, "But if things just keep moving steadily at this pace, will that give you the kind of achievement you need to move up?"

Even though Mr. Barnes didn't answer, Harper already knew — most likely not. Otherwise he wouldn't have shared his frustrations with her in the first place.

He probably figured the chances of her actually solving it were so low that it didn't matter if he told her.

"I have an idea that could change things for you, Mr. Barnes — one that could help you generate foreign exchange revenue."

"Oh?"

He was clearly interested now. He sat up a little straighter.

Harper pulled out a city map of Harbor City and said, "Just within the city proper, there are three airports — all international, connecting to destinations around the world. So why not bring foreigners here to spend their money?"

"Is that all?" Mr. Barnes frowned, a little disappointed.

Classic business thinking — too blunt and simplistic.

She clearly didn't understand that for foreign visitors, visas alone — not to mention the time involved — were a huge hidden cost.

Harper seemed to catch what he wasn't saying.

She didn't mind his skepticism. She smiled patiently and continued, "What I mean is — what if you applied for a temporary transit visa-free policy?"

"That's not possible," Mr. Barnes said instinctively. "Our country's policies are strict. And no country would implement a blanket visa-free policy."

"I said temporary," Harper said. She kept looking at the map, marking Harbor City's tourist spots, shopping and entertainment districts, and flight routes to other well-known travel destinations. "Harbor City isn't just an international aviation hub — it's also a major domestic transit point. You can get direct flights to just about every city in the country, with the longest trip taking no more than ten hours."

"So let's use that ten-hour travel time as our baseline, then add a hundred hours on top of that for sightseeing. We can round it up to a clean number — one hundred and twenty hours, or five days — as the visa-free stay allowed for transit visitors."

Mr. Barnes was getting more and more interested.

The smile at the corner of Harper's lips grew brighter. She pressed on confidently, "Five days is just the right amount of time. It's not too long, but for tourists who are genuinely excited to be here, it's more than enough for them to spend a good amount of money."

And all that money would eventually become solid, real achievements for Mr. Barnes.

She quietly glanced at him as he fell into thought.

Her confidence went up another notch. If she'd started at fifty-fifty, she was now at seventy percent.

This had been her plan from the very beginning.

Mr. Barnes might see it as overly simple — typical business thinking. But Harper felt he was the one overthinking it.

After a long pause, Mr. Barnes let out a breath and gave Harper a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Talent really does show up in the young."

Harper finally let herself relax.

It seemed her suggestion had been accepted.

"I'll get someone to put together a full proposal right away and submit an application for the visa-free policy. There's a ninety percent chance it'll be approved. And when that happens, Ms. Orsini, you deserve a great deal of the credit."

Mr. Barnes's mood had lightened considerably.

He then turned to Harper with genuine curiosity. "Have you ever thought about going into politics? You have a real talent for it. We could use fresh minds like yours."

Harper shook her head without a second thought, smiling at Mr. Barnes. "You're far too kind. I'm just a regular person running a small business. All I want is a quiet, stable life with my husband. If he knew you thought so highly of me, he'd be shocked."

"Sounds like you two have a wonderful marriage," Mr. Barnes said. A soft look crossed his face when she mentioned her husband. "My wife and I — we've been by each other's side since we were young too."

He felt a wave of emotion.

Seeing how loving Harper and Caden were together, the last bit of hesitation in his heart faded away.

He looked at Harper with ease and said, "Then let's wait and see if the proposal goes through. Once it does, as my way of thanking you for this idea, I'll make sure Dominic gets a lesson."

"After all, as someone in an official position, stepping in and meddling in local business affairs — that was already overstepping his bounds."