Chapter 115: Trouble in the Desert

“Let’s go!”

Bang! Bang! As the Impatient Youths led the charge, several others jumped into their SUVs.

Woosh! Amid a cacophony of roaring engines, a few SUVs veered off into the desert, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust behind.

“Are they looking for trouble?”

Zhu Peng narrowed his eyes before pulling out his phone and dialing a number. Moments later, the call connected. “Director Zhang, this is Zhu Peng from Mingsha Labor. We have a few individuals who blatantly refused to heed warnings and are purposely stirring up trouble. Check it out.”

“Where are they?”

“They’ve already entered the desert! Their license plate starts with Su A.”

“Alright, I’m sending colleagues from the Hongsha Gang Village police station over immediately!”

Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was noon.

At Oasis 2, Xu Hao had just finished his work and jumped off the wooden frame when he noticed Zhu Qiang waiting nearby.

“What’s wrong, Qiangzi?”

Accepting a towel and quickly wiping sweat, Xu Hao asked.

In recent days, Xu Hao had been busy with Tingchao Pavilion while Luo Peng managed the outer city of Wudi City, and Zhu Qiang was mainly responsible for the guesthouses along both sides of Qing Brick Avenue. Each was occupied with his own duties, leaving hardly any time to meet.

“Brother Hao, something minor happened this morning!”

Walking along, Zhu Qiang explained.

“What happened?”

“Mr. Fang is hyping up the ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’ project in Qixia Town, drawing in a lot of people eager to check-in and snap photos. But as you know, our current site is a complete mess and not fit to host tourists at all!”

Zhu Qiang sighed heavily.

The activity at Hongsha Gang Village 256 had escalated too far, making it impossible to accommodate visitors. Otherwise, who wouldn’t want to capitalize on the buzz from ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’ to attract more customers?

Given the current stage of construction, it would take at least another month or two before they could welcome tourists again.

“Did some stubborn folks ignore the warnings and insist on going to Qixia Town?”

Xu Hao’s expression shifted.

Frankly, he wasn’t entirely surprised. No matter where you go, there are always a few who detest rules; expecting everyone to follow orders is unrealistic.

Even where the law is strict, some will still break it – especially when it’s merely a warning.

“Yeah, a few minor business heirs from Lanshi have already been taken to the police station.”

Zhu Qiang nodded in agreement.

At first, those few youngsters were brash. But once the police arrived, they quickly crumbled, offering apologies and admitting their mistakes without a trace of their earlier bravado.

In truth,

if one truly has connections, they would have scouted the opposition beforehand. People who want to visit these spots typically call in favors rather than acting recklessly. There was even an incident of someone driving straight into Yan City’s 49 Imperial City – let alone a mere Qixia Town! “It’s good that the issue is resolved, but this incident has alarmed us. Without proper barriers at the entrance, similar cases may crop up again.”

Xu Hao’s brows furrowed.

“Exactly, that’s what I’m getting at! Our Qing Brick Avenue leads directly into our territory. Once self-driving tourists enter, they tend to forge deeper inside. Even if there are boundary posts, at the end of the day, posts are just posts.”

Zhu Qiang glanced back toward Hongsha Gang Village.

“So you’re suggesting we build a gate?”

Xu Hao felt a tinge of excitement.

He’d had the idea for a while, but with one thing after another here, he had never found the time to seriously plan the boundary of the site.

“Yeah, with the tourism festival coming up, not having a gate just wouldn’t do! If we constructed an ancient city gate at the entrance of Qing Brick Avenue, everyone would recognize that they were in our territory.”

“How much is left in the Mingsha Tourism account now?”

After a moment of silence, Xu Hao asked.

“There’s still over 30 million left in the account!”

“Over 30 million? Building in the desert sure burns money.”

Xu Hao couldn’t help but shake his head with a bitter smile.

Remember the lawsuit compensation? Five hundred million and twenty million spent in just over a month – and now only 30 million remains. Their spending power was on full display.

“Even though the money’s gone, our sewage treatment plant and waste incineration power plant are progressing quickly. The office building and staff dormitories are almost done – that’s several major milestones completed.”

Zhu Qiang hastily added, “I was thinking, since we’ve already laid out plenty of faux-ancient sand bricks for Wudi City, why not go ahead and construct a grand old gate as well?”

At the mention of sand bricks, a flash of pride crossed Zhu Qiang’s face subconsciously.

Outside, many dismiss sand bricks for their inconveniences, but at Hongsha Gang Village 256, it seems the sand brick technology was tailor-made for them.

Not only does it make use of excess yellow sand, but it also costs less than the imitation ancient blue bricks used elsewhere.

Especially since sand bricks can be made in various sizes and can even be colored.

The outer wall of Wudi City mirrors those ancient city walls perfectly.

“Alright then. If funds run short, we can borrow some from Haofang Culture – they’ve just sold the exclusive TV and streaming rights for a show, and they have 200 million on hand!”

After some quick calculations, Xu Hao continued,

“But our territory spans over 200 kilometers – building a 200-kilometer-long wall overnight is unrealistic. Even though sand bricks fit our needs well, it still represents a significant expense.”

“Over 200 kilometers?”

Zhu Qiang was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected Xu Hao to propose enclosing the entire area with ancient city walls from the get-go. He had just hoped to erect a single grand gate as a showpiece – the idea of completely surrounding the site had never even crossed his mind.

If they really pulled it off, Hongsha Gang Village 256 wouldn’t just be a guesthouse site – it would be a genuine ancient city!

No! It might even surpass any existing ancient city in grandeur.

“Alright, I’ll draft a design tonight. Tell Little Luo to bring his team over tomorrow so we can gradually extend the boundary – starting with the city gate and the walls flanking the north and south sides.”

Noticing Zhu Qiang’s momentary daze, Xu Hao quickly added,

“Sounds good, Brother Hao!”

Coming back to reality, Zhu Qiang let out a small sigh of relief.

“By the way, how’s progress on the guesthouses?”

After confirming the ancient wall project, Xu Hao turned to Zhu Qiang.

The guesthouses along Qing Brick Avenue are modeled exactly after those at Oasis 2. The blueprints are complete; all that’s left is the final assembly of the beams.

“Brother Hao, the foundations and wood for the guesthouses are ready. We plan to start construction on the first floor tomorrow. If the ordinary carpenters struggle, I’ll get in touch with you!”

“Alright, the framework for my part at Tingchao Pavilion will be ready in a few days. Once the framework is up, the rest should be manageable for the regular carpenters. I’ll carve out some time then.”

“Oh, and Brother Hao, President Luo mentioned that once the outer wall of Wudi City is complete, they plan to set up various ancient-style guesthouses. The style over there…

“It’s incredibly complex inside. It will depend on the shooting schedule of the new project by Haofang Culture, so nothing’s finalized yet.”

“Oh!”

And so, the two walked and talked as they gradually drifted apart.

It was clear that

Xu Hao’s mind was entirely focused on the ancient construction and the tourism festival on October 20th, leaving little room for other concerns.

In Xu Hao’s eyes, ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’ had already fulfilled its mission; however, just because he was indifferent to its popularity didn’t mean others were.