In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

The two then followed the roadside signs to the end of the street.

Inside the temporary meeting room of the festival's executive committee, a refined-looking male staff member greeted them.

"Hello, I am an officer of the town's internal affairs association. My surname is Nagai."

"Hello, this is Kudo, who just called to inquire. This is my business card."

Miyoko presented her business card with both hands.

Mr. Nagai also bowed slightly, accepted the gift with both hands, and carefully examined it.

The business cards are made of embossed paper with natural textures or patterns, giving them a rich feel, visual depth, and even a faint perfume scent.

The top of the business card features the words "Hoshino Eiki Co., Ltd." printed in gold foil. The name "Miyoko Kudo" is located in the center of the card. Below are the company's office address, hours of business, contact number, and email address.

Furthermore, all of the above content is accompanied by additional small-print English annotations.

As you can tell from the name, Hoshino Eiki Co., Ltd. was founded by Minamoto Chiya.

Although the name contains the word "Co., Ltd.", which seems prestigious, it cannot be compared with typical large international corporations such as "Toyota", "Sony" and "Mitsubishi".

In fact, this company was indeed a subsidiary established by Touma Yoko at the suggestion of Touma Yoko when both of Minamoto Chiya's books won awards and she gained some fame, and it was backed by her "Touma Yoko OFFICE Co., Ltd."

When the decision was made to establish the company, there were some audit requirements regarding the specific registered address, annuities, and insurance. Touma Yoko, with her experience, was a great help.

In reality, Hoshino Eiki Co., Ltd. only has two internal members to date, and its revenue comes solely from the personal reputation of Gen Chiyo and the copyright income from his works.

So it is called a corporation, but it would be more appropriate to call it a studio.

However, when you're out in the world, your identity is always something you give yourself. Having a definite, seemingly impressive backer makes social interactions and business negotiations much easier.

Mr. Nagai was unaware of all of the above; he subconsciously used his experience in judging people to assess the other party.

Miss Kudo has a dignified appearance, is exquisitely dressed, and exudes confidence. From head to toe, she radiates the elite qualities of a superior person, further enhanced by the high-quality business card in her hand.

He realized that the woman in front of him and the company behind her seemed to have some real power.

Although she was accompanied by a high school student and was wearing a mask in this weather, which was slightly out of place in the workplace, it wasn't a big problem.

Mr. Nagai invited the two into his office, served them hot tea, and took out some loose bagged senbei (rice crackers) he had bought from a store to entertain them.

During the phone call just now, he had already learned about Ms. Kudo's purpose from her, but it was only mentioned in general terms. Now that they were officially meeting, they needed to discuss the specifics in more detail.

After a few brief pleasantries, the two sides got straight to the point.

Miyoko spoke sincerely: "I apologize for bothering you in your busy schedule. I came here today hoping to do my part for this year's Tanabata Festival."

Nagai's eyes brightened slightly, but his attitude remained cautious and polite: "Oh, it's so kind of you to have this thought."

He said softly, "Please wait a moment," then got up, went to his desk, took a document, and handed it to Miyoko.

"The specific sponsorship options are listed here; you can take a look first."

Miyoko lowered her head slightly, took the document, and examined it carefully.

Nagai picked up the teacup, brought it to his lips, and waited quietly, observing silently in the meantime.

When this stylish and beautiful urban woman was looking at the sponsorship form, she leaned slightly towards the person next to her, placing the form between them. Her actions suggested that he was in charge.

But he was clearly just a high school student; his school uniform was unmistakable, and he looked completely ordinary, with nothing particularly outstanding about him...

Miyoko was unaware of the doubts and thoughts that were swirling in Nagai's mind at that moment.

Yuan Qianye was unaware that he had been unintentionally labeled as ordinary.

They carefully examined the sponsorship form.

The document lists various sponsorship options, such as "Sasatake sponsorship," "Lantern sponsorship," "Souvenir sponsorship," and "Children's gift sponsorship," with each option detailing how the sponsorship funds will be used.

For example, Sasatake sponsored it.

Sasatake is the absolute visual center and spiritual symbol of the Tanabata Festival. People tie short scrolls filled with wishes and other decorations to bamboo branches, praying that their wishes will come true.

The sponsorship of Sasatake means that the sponsorship funds will be used to purchase Sasatake bamboo and various decorations to adorn it.

The sponsorship brochure also explains the benefits of sponsorship in this form.

Subsequently, these bamboo poles will be placed in the most prominent locations such as the entrance of the shopping street, in front of the park gate, or at the crossroads. The names of the sponsors or their companies will also be written in a very eye-catching way on the decorative plaques and hung on the top or bottom of the bamboo poles.

Festivals and celebrations attract huge crowds, and people's eyes will inevitably be drawn to the decorations. These decorations will also appear on social media and spread online as people take photos and commemorate them. In short, this is a very efficient way to promote oneself.

As for other forms of sponsorship, they are all pretty much the same: printing the sponsor's name on various items.

However, that's not the purpose of Yuan Qianye's visit this time, so there's no need to make it so complicated.

Seeing that her boss had looked away, Miyoko understood.

She put down the list in her hand and asked directly, "Mr. Nagai, is it possible for me to directly sponsor a sum of money?"

"of course can."

In business collaborations, giving money directly is definitely more satisfying than contributing materials or labor.

Nagai said in a friendly tone, "For sponsorships of different amounts, in addition to expressing our gratitude, we will also provide certain returns within our capabilities."

He gave a brief overview of the corresponding benefits that could be obtained with different sponsorship amounts.

Starting from 10,000 yen, with no upper limit.

The benefits gradually upgrade with the amount of sponsorship; reaching 500,000 will grant you a prominent signature in a large decorative booklet and an honorary position in the parade.

In addition, they will be listed on the honor roll in the street and have a photo taken with the president, which will be displayed on the honor wall in the street.

Of course, the last option is entirely voluntary.

“I can sponsor 500,000.” After hearing his words, Miyoko immediately chose the highest tier.

Upon hearing this, Nagai was quite excited. He never expected to encounter such a generous boss right before the festival, especially since the boss had come to him of his own accord.

It should be noted that this Qixi Festival was originally a small-scale festival organized by the community.

Most of the sponsorships that were actively sought out came from small businesses and private shops located in the nearby streets. Out of consideration for the local neighborhood office, they would sponsor one or two thousand yuan, and another would sponsor two or three thousand yuan. The amounts were not large, and only two companies sponsored more than two hundred thousand yuan.

However, he understood the principle that everyone is driven by self-interest, so he didn't show his emotions on his face and remained relatively calm.

"Of course, but I imagine you have some requests as well?"

"I do have some small ideas, and I hope Mr. Nagai can help me with them."

"Please speak."

“I noticed that this year’s Qixi Festival included a fireworks display, but only a few small fireworks were set off, and the scale was not very impressive. So I think if we could increase the number of fireworks and expand the scale, the fireworks would light up the night sky and the whole festival would be much more interesting.”

Nagai thought to himself, "As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch. This sponsorship isn't so easy to get."

This year's Qixi Festival does indeed include a small fireworks show.

However, due to budget constraints, only small fireworks that everyone can buy will be set off on site, such as spinning fireworks, lightning bolts, and small bouncy fireworks.

However, if they could secure this 500,000 sponsorship, it would indeed add a lot of color to the fireworks show.

Nagai maintained a polite smile: "I understand. In that case, according to your needs, we can use your sponsorship to buy some better medium-sized aerial fireworks. The live performance will definitely be more spectacular, and the children attending the festival will surely enjoy it. On behalf of the community, I thank you in advance."

The price of a single medium-sized performance firework varies from two thousand to over ten thousand yuan, depending on the amount of gunpowder used.

Considering the specific performance effect, we can choose a compromise style and a moderate price, which will allow us to buy about a hundred of them.

Looking at it this way, using 500,000 to support a spectacular fireworks show isn't much, but even so, it's definitely much better than the original plan that only cost a little over 100,000.

"Oh, that's not what I meant."

"Ok?"

Miyoko explained, "What I mean is that the 500,000 yen is simply for sponsorship, and the town can use it however it pleases. The preparation costs for the fireworks will be handled separately by our side."

“Ms. Kudo, I don’t quite understand what you mean.” Nagai scratched his head, then sorted out her words: “You mean you will give us a sponsorship of 500,000 yen, which we can use as we please, and your requirement is that we hold a more spectacular fireworks show, and that we don’t need to prepare the fireworks, but that you will be fully responsible for them, is that right?”

Yes, that's right.

"Excuse my intrusion, Ms. Kudo, does your company... specialize in making fireworks?"

Nagai asked instinctively.

This was the only possibility that Nagai could think of.

Yes, it's Hoshino Eiki Co., Ltd. The name itself is quite fitting for fireworks.

Because her company mainly produces fireworks, she took the initiative to seek cooperation and offered sponsorship. Her goal was to use their company's fireworks at the festival, let people know about the excellent quality and performance of their company's fireworks, and thus expand the company's brand awareness and product strength.

But Miyoko shook her head with a chuckle: "That's not it. The reason we did this, apart from some personal reasons, is simply to make the festival more exciting."

“I see…” Nagai felt a dry cough in his throat and subconsciously picked up his teacup: “…We can’t really refuse this kind of cooperation, since it only benefits us. However, I need to know what your specific ideas are for the fireworks display, because if we change the original plan, we need to communicate with the fire department and police department in time.”

“Of course.” Miyoko expressed her understanding: “Our general idea is that the fireworks show will mainly feature medium-sized aerial fireworks.”

"Hmm." Nagai nodded to show that he was indeed listening attentively, and brought the teacup to his lips.

"The initial number of launches will be set at more than two thousand."

"puff!"

Nagai spat a mouthful of water onto the table in front of him.

He frantically pulled out tissues to wipe himself, saying, "Sorry, sorry! I lost my composure!"

Miyoko waved her hand to indicate that she didn't mind.

After all, she had a similarly shocked reaction when she heard her boss's plan twenty minutes earlier.

It took several minutes for him to calm down.

"You just said, how many rounds?" Nagai asked cautiously.

Miyoko answered clearly, "At least two thousand shots."

"..."

After calming down, Nagai fell silent, his brows slowly furrowing.

He now felt like he'd been tricked by the woman in front of him.

Yes, what respectable company employee would bring a high school student along when discussing business cooperation?

What does it mean to have more than two thousand performance fireworks?

The cost of purchasing fireworks alone is already approaching ten million.

This does not include the costs of on-site planning and setup by professional pyrotechnicians, order maintenance, fire safety expenses, and post-event cleanup.