Chapter 109: Plans, Projects, and Premieres

Brother Hao, no problem. The guesthouses are easy to manage—but we still need the blueprints for Wudi City and Tingchao Pavilion. I’m afraid you’ll have to come back in person.

Zhu Qiang, upon hearing about building the guesthouses, quickly nodded in agreement.

“I understand. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. We can discuss the tourism festival plans then. Also, inform Little Luo to prepare as many laborers as possible—get us every worker we need!”

Xu Hao continued.

Plans always change. Now every project must be planned in advance and executed with overtime. Luckily, we made some money from that lawsuit; otherwise, we’d be utterly flabbergasted this time.

“Alright!”

Meanwhile…

In the conference room of the administrative building in Mingsha County, the leaders’ expressions lightened. “Boss, it seems Mingsha Culture does have some clout—otherwise, Zhu Qiang wouldn’t have taken charge of everything.”

Li Heng couldn’t help but remark.

“Actually, that makes sense. If the tourism festival succeeds, Mingsha Tourism will benefit the most.”

After Li Heng finished speaking, another man chimed in.

“Let’s get one thing straight—the county gains the most when the festival is successful! And although General Zhu from Mingsha Tourism has promised many things, that doesn’t mean we can slack off. As agreed, if he needs people, we support him. In short, we must fully cooperate with Mingsha Tourism this time.”

Wang Xun shot a sharp glance at Li Heng and the man who had just spoken.

Sensing Wang Xun’s look, Li Heng realized he had misspoken and quickly added,

“Boss, we won’t drop the ball! Besides, Xu County is keeping a close watch.”

The other man echoed immediately.

“I don’t need assurances—I want real results! If Xu County reports back, just imagine how terrible your performance must have been!”

Wang Xun furrowed his brow.

“Yes, yes.”

“The fire station over there must be completed and staffed as soon as possible. Li Heng, you’re in charge of that! And shouldn’t we set up an additional police post over there?”

After a brief pause, Wang Xun continued.

“Secretary, I believe that’s necessary. First, the area already attracts a lot of tourists, and second, with so many transient visitors during the festival—even though Mingsha Tourism has security, guards aren’t the same as police!”

At his call, Li Heng quickly replied,

“Alright. Then issue a countywide notice to see if anyone is willing to be permanently stationed at Hongsha Gang Village 256. Let’s start by sending ten police officers over.”

Wang Xun tapped the table with his finger.

“Understood, Secretary. I’ll handle it right away.”

“Also, reassign some traffic police to help maintain order. With Mingsha Tourism’s infrastructure projects ramping up in the coming months, there’s bound to be a lot happening.”

“Understood, boss.”

Day in, day out…

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. At a street corner in Mingsha County’s county town, a few elderly men watching chatted as dump trucks rolled by one after another, their brows furrowed.

“What’s going on? Why have so many big trucks shown up these past few days?”

One elderly man in a vest asked.

“I heard they’re working in Hongsha Gang Village,” another replied.

After a moment’s thought, a second old man said,

“Working in Hongsha Gang Village? They only need a few dump trucks for the work, yet in the blink of an eye, dozens have been seen.”

The man in the vest couldn’t help but glance at his companion.

“I don’t know exactly what they’re doing. All I know is that a bunch of excavators and bulldozers from the county have been snapped up by Mingsha Labor. And yesterday afternoon, truck after truck laden with wood lined up to unload in Hongsha Gang Village.”

I’ve never seen such a spectacle in my life!

The old man scoffed.

“Now that you mention it, I’m reminded that Hongsha Gang Village must be tinkering with some new project. I have a nephew who specializes in sand brick technology. He arrived in Wei City last night and said he’d head to Hongsha Gang Village today to offer technical guidance.”

Just then, another old man suddenly remembered something and added,

“Sand bricks? They’re expensive and not cost-effective. Why would Mingsha Tourism bother? Building an extended Great Wall?”

At the mention of sand bricks…

The remaining old men exchanged astonished glances.

Sand bricks have been a trendy industry in recent years. Many have tried to use desert sand, but although the technology emerged, it proved impractical.

Sometimes, transportation costs even exceed construction expenses.

Once the hype died down, hardly anyone brought up sand bricks again.

“Who knows—Mingsha Tourism has money anyway.”

“That’s true. Without money, could they even rent the county’s supply of bulldozers and excavators?”

“But to be fair, using so many machines and employing so many people means the scope of work in the desert is no small feat. Once it’s finished, you’ll definitely want to see it for yourself.”

“Absolutely.”

The old men weren’t wrong. Mingsha Tourism had launched into full-blown construction madness. Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng were so busy they barely even had time to eat.

And that wasn’t all.

Due to ongoing construction around Oasis 2, the company halted guesthouse reservations. The tourists who had previously booked were rerouted to Guesthouse One and Qixia Town.

In short, at that moment, there were far more workers than tourists—by a significant margin.

Yan City

Unaware of the situation in Mingsha County, Fang Hou let out a long sigh as he clutched a document.

Since finishing post-production on the film, he had come to Yan City to complete the approval process.

At long last…

At that moment, he received his release permit.

An hour later…

Fang Hou entered Yan City TV, and an hour later, he emerged looking relieved.

“Done!”

Glancing back at the TV station, Fang Hou clapped his hands.

Everything had gone smoothly. Director Han Lijun had clearly planned it all. As soon as Fang Hou explained his purpose, the station staff escorted him to the editorial department. After handing over the raw footage and the access key, his premiere time was set.

Three days later, the show aired promptly at dawn.

Yet what Fang Hou didn’t know was that, the moment he left the editorial room, the production team began discussing the matter.

“Chief, should we review the film first?”

An editor carrying a disc approached a middle-aged man with glasses. The man, Ren Long, was the director of content at Yan City TV, responsible for reviewing uploaded material.

“No need! The film has already been approved and meets all content standards. Just upload the footage.”

Hearing this, Ren Long waved his hand dismissively.

“Chief, what exactly is the backstory of this film? How did the director personally intervene to fast-track it?”

The editor, nodding, muttered under his breath.

“The director said the film was shot in a desert in a poor county in the west by a new company with fresh talent. They weren’t aiming for huge ratings or profits—the sole purpose was to showcase the film’s locations as a favor to the impoverished county!”

Leaning back and adjusting his glasses, Ren Long said,

“Just to showcase the locations?”

The editor was taken aback.

“Yeah, which is why I’m not even interested in the content!”

Ren Long nodded and resumed typing on his keyboard.