Chapter 123: Countdown to National Day: Chaos and Camels

“National Day? Got it, Brother Hao! We’ve still got a few days to prepare!”

Hearing Xu Hao set a deadline for the guesthouse to open for business, Zhu Qiang’s tone lightened considerably.

“Yes! Starting tonight, we can begin accepting online reservations for the guesthouse. But first, let’s open reservations for Guesthouse One on Oasis 1 in Qixia Town and along Qing Brick Avenue…”

“…Reservations for Oasis 2 will wait until after National Day.”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao added a final reminder.

Although ‘Snowbound’ has finished filming, there are still many details to perfect in Wudi City—such as the ancient commercial street, guesthouse neighborhoods, and various decorative structures.

Wudi City has now been transformed into a scaled-down ancient city, two or three times the size of Qixia Town, with buildings far more intricate.

Opening reservations now would definitely disrupt the construction progress.

“Brother Hao, I think the same. With guesthouses in Qixia Town and along Qing Brick Avenue, we’ll surely handle National Day’s crowds!”

Zhu Qiang immediately replied.

The entire desert site was laid out in a T-shape, with the top ends precisely at Oasis 2 and Oasis 1.

The stem of the T was the five-kilometer-long Qing Brick Avenue.

Both sides of this avenue are lined with ancient buildings—aside from five dormitory blocks and three ancient office buildings, all the others are two-story guesthouses.

In total, there are over two thousand rooms, and along with those in Qixia Town and the rear part of Wudi City, the capacity far exceeds that of the county town in Qin County. Although it may not yet rival Wei City, it’s very close.

“By the way, Brother Hao, how many camels do we need this time? I feel like we’re a bit short!”

After a brief pause, Zhu Qiang suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked again.

“Camels? You mean the caravan that shuttles people in and out of the site?”

Xu Hao looked a bit taken aback.

In fact, once Qing Brick Avenue is completed, visitors will have many travel options—especially with carriages!

Public carriages have pretty much become the main mode of transport in the desert area.

“No. President Luo mentioned over the phone that his team has sorted out the transport. Our main concern now is ensuring there’s enough camel meat.”

Zhu Qiang chuckled bitterly.

Ever since the guesthouse restaurant on Oasis 1 introduced Mingsha’s signature dishes, camel meat, braised lamb with spices, and chilled wild onions have become must-try delicacies.

Some visitors even say a trip isn’t complete unless they have a serving of camel meat.

This has led to an overwhelming demand for camel meat.

A nearby village’s camel breeding farm had called a month ago to announce that this year’s camels were sold out. With National Day bookings beginning, the demand for camel meat will be several times higher than before.

“There’s only one camel breeding farm in Mingsha County?”

Xu Hao furrowed his brow.

When visitors come out, they care about two things: great food and great fun. Since camel meat is a Mingsha specialty, we simply can’t afford any mishaps.

“Our county has just this one supplier for the long term.”

“Understood. I’ll handle the camels while you take care of everything else!”

“Alright!”

“Is there anything else that might prove difficult to manage?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Got it.”

That night, with autumn winds swirling and neon lights sparkling over Haishi, the young locals on the streets remained full of energy.

At a night market restaurant, a group of friends was absorbed in their phones.

Suddenly…

One of the women let out a sharp shriek.

“Oh my gosh, Qixia Town is now open for reservations!”

“Really?”

Her scream immediately caught the attention of her friends, who clustered around her.

“It’s true! Look—this is the latest update from Mingsha Cultural Tourism’s official account.”

She quickly pointed to her phone screen.

“Here’s what it says: ‘Dear valued travelers, after nearly three months of work, our guesthouses will officially open on National Day, October 1st. Reservations start today. We hope everyone enjoys their stay in Mingsha County.’”

A friend beside her recited another part of the message.

“Then what are we waiting for? Hurry and book a guesthouse in Qixia Town! With the National Day tour of the northwest in Long Kingdom, our first stop is Mingsha County!”

Coming back to reality,

another woman quickly urged,

“Exactly! We must check in at Tongfu Inn!”

“Agreed!”

The woman who first saw the update quickly opened the booking page, but when she saw the list it left her stunned.

On the available rooms page, the icons for the Qixia Town and Oasis 1 guesthouses had turned dark grey, with ‘Sold Out’ boldly displayed.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t this just announced?”

She looked at her friend in disbelief.

The booking update had been released at 8 PM, and it was barely three minutes past 8 now. How did the rooms vanish so quickly? The rush is unbelievable!

“So the Qixia Town guesthouses are gone?”

“They’re completely booked!”

“Then let’s check if there’s any other option. Even if we can’t get into Qixia Town or Oasis 1, maybe we could try for Oasis 2.”

“Oasis 2 guesthouses aren’t taking reservations; only the guesthouse along Qing Brick Avenue remains. Should we book it?”

The woman scratched her head in thought.

She noted that although they had heard about Hongsha Gang Village 256 before, this was their first time learning of the Qing Brick Avenue guesthouse.

“Book it—whatever’s available. They’re all in the same area, so it won’t be far away. If we delay any longer, even the Qing Brick Avenue guesthouse might be gone!”

Her friend pondered for a moment and quickly replied,

“Alright, let’s see—upper room for 800 and lower room for 700. Should we book the upper or the lower room?”

The woman tapped into the Qing Brick Avenue booking page, glanced over it, and said,

“Upper room—definitely upper! Think about it; in ancient times heroes would always shout, ‘Waiter, two upper rooms, please!’”

“Great!”

Scenes like this were unfolding not only here but across major cities in Long Kingdom. By 8:06 PM, every guesthouse available had been booked, leaving many latecomers empty-handed.

Resigned,

those who had hoped to book in Qixia Town shifted their focus to the hotels in the county town of Mingsha County.

For them, any place to stay was acceptable—as long as Hongsha Gang Village 256 officially opened on National Day, checking in at Qixia Town was the main goal.

Thus,

half an hour later, hotel owners in Mingsha County’s county town were completely taken aback.

Time flashed by, and before they knew it, it was already 10 PM.

Haishi,

At Tianchen Culture Headquarters, Liu Qing from the Operations Department arrived at Yang Yuan’s office with a sour expression. “Yang, there’s commotion again in Mingsha County! It’s noisy tonight!”

“What’s happening over there?!”

Yang Yuan, who had been reviewing documents, instantly turned pale at Liu Qing’s words.

For the past two months, Tianchen Culture had been keeping a low profile. Even though filming for Chef Detective had wrapped and the project had entered post-production and marketing, they deliberately delayed launching their new series to ease tensions between the Director Association and Yan City TV.

Yang believed that any buzz from Mingsha Cultural Tourism could steal the limelight from their new project.

“So, they’re officially opening on October 1st, and reservations have already started. Wow—nearly three thousand guesthouses got snapped up in just a few minutes.”

Liu Qing gave a wry smile.

In contrast, Ning An Cultural Tourism was already facing a sharp decline in interest; with the film crew gone, both the guesthouses and the Ancient Building Courtyard had lost their luster.

In recent days, Ning An Cultural Tourism called to report a slew of empty rooms, urging Tianchen Culture to rope in some livestreamers to boost interest.

“Three thousand guesthouses booked in a flash? And here we are with barely two hundred empty rooms!”

Yang Yuan was momentarily stunned.

Over three thousand rooms—just one day’s lodging fees alone would run into millions, not counting the additional spending by visitors.

“The real issue is that Wulin Wai Chuan is incredibly popular. Once our Chef Detective debuts, things might improve.”

Liu Qing wasn’t sure if he was comforting himself or Yang Yuan.

Nevertheless, Ning An Cultural Tourism—a long-established travel company—had been completely outpaced by Mingsha Cultural Tourism. Catching up now was impossible.

“Sigh… here’s hoping!”

Yang Yuan seemed lost in thought, too disheartened to even look at his documents.

“Yang, Qi Haoyong is hounding us again, saying he wants Tianchen Culture to generate more traffic for them. He’s even willing to launch an activity for claiming the grass lattice.”

After a pause, Liu Qing continued,

“Claiming the grass lattice now? He begged us back then, promising to preserve the desert’s uniqueness. Now he’s just envious because guesthouse bookings have exploded?”

“Honestly, claiming the grass lattice is just leftovers from what Mingsha Cultural Tourism has already done. They’re all about the IP now, understand?”

Mentioning Qi Haoyong, Yang Yuan suddenly flew into a rage.

“Yang, the guesthouses and Ancient Building Courtyard in Ning An Cultural Tourism are our joint investment. What’s the problem? Didn’t they generate enough traffic back then? It was his failure to capitalize! Tomorrow, just call them and say that within three months of our Chef Detective’s debut, settlement will begin—profit or loss, if we partner with him, we’re out!”

“Alright then!”

Liu Qing couldn’t help but sigh.

That day, it finally arrived!

In the blink of an eye, it was 9:30 AM on the 30th—only one day away from National Day.

Wei City, Gu County—In front of a camel breeding farm, Mingsha County officials glanced at a middle-aged man and said with a smile,

“Li Xian, it’s settled. Starting tomorrow, all camels from this breeding farm will exclusively supply Mingsha Cultural Tourism!”

“Of course! We couldn’t ask for more!”

The middle-aged man cast an envious glance at Qin Xuan.

As the regional investment official from the neighboring county, every time he heard about Mingsha County he couldn’t help but wonder why the Ancient Architecture Research Institute’s poverty alleviation project was assigned to Mingsha County instead of his own. How much better it would be if it were his county!

“Qin County, after this tourism festival, don’t be surprised if you get promoted. With numbers like these, climbing the ranks is inevitable.”

After a moment’s pause, the man added,

“I’m just joking—I haven’t achieved anything! But one thing’s for sure: after this, our Xu County will definitely progress. Rumor has it the province is planning to poach talent from the Ancient Architecture Research Institute.”

At that, Qin Xuan waved his hand modestly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan waved his hand modestly.

But it was obvious to everyone that he wasn’t really denying it.