Chapter 101: Ambitious Developments in Mingsha County

Since that’s the case, we’ll first build an ancient office building and staff dormitories on both sides of Qing Brick Avenue. Perfect—the underground pipeline gallery runs right here, making material transport a breeze. Once filming wraps up, construction begins!

Hearing that both sides had this need, Xu Hao immediately made up his mind.

In fact, besides Mingsha Tourism and Mingsha Labor, Haofang Culture might also require such facilities.

After all, the companies over there have dozens of employees; they can’t always stay in Qixia Town, so why not use this opportunity to settle everything at once?

“Alright, Brother Hao!”

Seeing Xu Hao’s approval, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng exchanged gleeful looks.

They knew Xu Hao’s style—when he decides to get things done, the office buildings and accommodations always end up far better than expected.

“Besides Qing Brick Avenue, aren’t the waste incineration plant and sewage treatment plant set to break ground as well?”

After a pause, Xu Hao turned his gaze toward Zhu Qiang.

These two facilities have reached a point where they simply must be built—even if they’re far from Guesthouse One, they need to be completed as quickly as possible.

“Alright. I’ll notify the relevant urban construction companies to start work tomorrow!”

Zhu Qiang nodded in agreement.

Before now, Mingsha Tourism had already drafted a tender plan. Both the waste incineration plant and the sewage treatment plant were designed to mid-sized city standards. In the end, the tender was awarded at around 400 million for both plants combined.

Now that the compensation funds are in place, construction can finally begin.

“That’s good!”

“By the way, Brother Hao, I didn’t expect the construction pace of the Mingsha County Firefighting Substation to be faster than we thought. Yesterday afternoon, a county official called and said it should be completed within two months. We might even need to work on the ancient building’s facade then.”

Speaking of infrastructure, Zhu Qiang added.

“No problem at all.”

“Great!”

Time flew by, and soon it was five in the afternoon.

At the Mingsha County Government Building’s Office One, Wang Xun paused while reviewing a document, thinking before he spoke.

“Old Qin, isn’t there something missing from this application?”

“Secretary, I included everything I could, but the property at 256 Hongsha Gang Village is essentially a construction site and now belongs to Mingsha Tourism.”

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

Ever since Tengwang Pavilion and Qixia Town became trending topics, Mingsha County started preparing materials to apply for a tourism designation for that area.

With an official tourism tag, it could finally become a scenic spot—marked on maps and navigation systems and even listed among Long Kingdom’s tourist attractions, a huge draw for visitors.

Mingsha County would finally boast a state-recognized scenic area. But while drafting the application, Qin Xuan discovered one problem after another.

The biggest issue is the land’s classification! This patch of desert is officially designated for construction. Slapping on a tourism tag is like claiming a pretty house is a tourist attraction.

It simply isn’t compliant! Scenic spots are typically public spaces that, aside from a few paid attractions, must welcome the general public.

But 256 Hongsha Gang Village is different. If the locals aren’t willing, even paying won’t justify turning it into a tourist site.

“This…”

Wang Xun was stunned.

It was only at that moment he remembered the issue with the desert’s land classification.

“Is there really no alternative?”

Recently, as tourist numbers have risen, Mingsha County’s town center has grown noticeably livelier. Many visitors, unable to book a desert guesthouse, have been opting for hotels in the town instead. Mingsha County is clearly riding the wave of Mingsha Tourism’s success.

Along with the recent lawsuit compensation, Mingsha Tourism is expected to ramp up investments. With the acting county chief involved, all indicators show that Mingsha Tourism will soon become a golden emblem for the county and a key booster for local and even municipal GDP.

They hoped to secure more licenses and conveniences for Mingsha Tourism, but they hit a wall before even getting started.

“In other areas, things might be negotiable—County Xu and the provincial authorities could be flexible. But the land classification is a rigid requirement.”

Qin Xuan shook his head.

“So what do we do? The area clearly has all the attributes of a scenic spot, yet it can’t always remain just a guesthouse even if an ancient town is nearly complete.”

Wang Xun slowly slumped back in his chair.

“Secretary, if all else fails, maybe we should consider an alternative form of support!”

After a long silence, Qin Xuan sighed and replied.

“An alternative support plan? What do you mean?”

Wang Xun straightened up.

“Actually, the desert area is already somewhat renowned. Whether it gets the tourism label might not be that crucial. Why not try to secure more honors for Mingsha Tourism, like recognition as a poverty alleviation enterprise? With such honors, they could at least enjoy some tax benefits.”

Qin Xuan shared his thoughts.

“That’s definitely a positive move! Is there any other support option?”

Wang Xun shook his head.

Given Mingsha Tourism’s current scale and its role in solving unemployment and helping locals, earning honors from the city—or even the province—should come naturally.

“Other options…”

Qin Xuan looked a little awkward.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint what else Mingsha Tourism lacked.

“Forget it. You just keep brainstorming ways to push for that tourism tag. Maybe a special note to the approval authorities could work. Who knows?”

Wang Xun waved him off dismissively.

Securing scenic spot status must be fought for; otherwise, it just wouldn’t feel right.

“Alright, I’ll think up another plan.”

“Okay!”

Xu Hao hadn’t known that Mingsha County intended to upgrade its guesthouse. At eight in the evening in Qixia Town,

Xu Hao arrived at the courtyard residence of Fang Hou. “Monkey, how’s your rest?”

“Sigh, rest? What’s that?”

Seeing Xu Hao, Fang Hou couldn’t help but curl his lip—there was nothing to hide between them.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Hao paused, noticing Fang Hou’s troubled expression.

“Today, while taking a break, I figured I’d call Qixiong Video. But when they learned we’re a newly registered company with hardly any professional actors, they offered us a very low revenue share.”

Fang Hou sighed deeply.

He recalled that earlier he and Xu Hao had agreed to launch the series as a web drama first. It wasn’t that they didn’t want prime-time TV—it’s just that a new company with all newcomers is something TV networks are reluctant to buy, sometimes even giving it away for free.

Qixiong Video is one of the largest video platforms in the Long Kingdom, hosting many online series.

Although the main aim of the series is to promote Qixia Town, it’s essential to recoup the 2-million cost. Under Qixiong Video’s current conditions, that goal seems almost impossible.