Chapter 133: Turbulent Plans for the Tourism Festival

“Redistribute the seats?”

Zhu Qiang’s voice brimmed with astonishment. “Qin County, aren’t fifty VIP seats still not enough?”

“This time, top officials from both the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Su Province are coming. In short, the number of leaders attending has far exceeded our initial estimates,” Qin Xuan hurriedly explained.

Qin Xuan quickly added.

As Mingsha Tourism expanded in scale and influence, Zhu Qiang’s status, as its public face, rose accordingly.

In recent months, every high-ranking leader who visited Mingsha County for inspections made it a point to meet Zhu Qiang.

Thus,

both Qin Xuan and the others in Mingsha County began treating Zhu Qiang with far more courtesy than before.

“This many…”

“We really have no options—let’s see if we can reallocate some seats,”

“But Xu County argued that since it’s a tourism festival, its focus must be on tourists. Otherwise, it will stir up a storm all over town.”

Even though he understood the reasoning, Zhu Qiang hesitated.

“That’s true!”

Qin Xuan and Wang Xun couldn’t help but glance at Li Qilin.

The memory of Mingsha County’s trending incident was still vivid. If leaders were given priority again, netizens would surely claim that this wasn’t a genuine tourism festival but merely a staged show.

“But fifty seats is simply too few!”

Li Qilin shook his head.

He understood that Zhu Qiang’s concerns were valid—this event’s scale was unlike any previous festival. In the past, even twenty seats might have been enough.

“I’ll try to reallocate an extra fifty—bringing us to a hundred. More than that would surely trigger public criticism, especially with the second drama from the scenic spot now airing.”

After a brief pause, Zhu Qiang spoke.

“Alright, General Zhu, we’ll make the arrangements on our end and call you back once we figure out the festival’s schedule.”

Li Qilin nodded.

While one hundred seats were still insufficient, adding more now would only invite a backlash.

Especially after last night’s snow-driven ratings explosion, Peng Yuan—the top tourism bureau official—barely got any sleep. No wonder

the snowy spectacle had raised the bureau’s profile to a whole new level.

“Okay then, General Zhu. We’ll coordinate on our end and get back to you about the festival flow.”

Seeing the seating issue settled, Qin Xuan continued,

“Alright, Qin County! By the way, what about the local hosts? Our program is almost fully rehearsed, and we need them to bridge the segments. We’ll need a few run-throughs.”

Just as Zhu Qiang was about to hang up, he suddenly remembered something and quickly added,

“Alright, no problem!”

Wang Xun, from the side, interjected,

“Okay, Secretary Wang, I have to hang up now—there’s some urgent business to handle here.”

During this period of negotiations with Mingsha County, Zhu Qiang’s tone shifted upon hearing Wang Xun’s voice.

Meanwhile, a faint sound of hurried footsteps—“da-da, di-di, moving!”—could be heard.

“Alright, General Zhu, you focus on your work!”

“Mm!”

It wasn’t until the tone ended that Wang Xun and Qin Xuan glanced at the list, which had over a hundred names—many of which would undoubtedly be cut.

As Qin Xuan was about to add more, Li Qilin unexpectedly furrowed his brow.

“So, you plan to use only local hosts for this festival? Why didn’t you call Su Province TV to send a few of their hosts? Their talent is far superior to what we have locally.”

In the past,

any scenic spot entrusted with a tourism festival would immediately reach out to Su Province TV for hosts, who would always offer full support.

“We don’t need them—our county’s talent can handle it!”

Surprisingly,

when the topic was raised, both Wang Xun and Qin Xuan responded without hesitation.

“Hmm?”

Seeing their unified response, Li Qilin suspected something was amiss. It was unusual for two key county officials to be so in sync.

“What’s really going on? Did Su Province TV decline? If they had agreed, I’d go speak with the higher-ups myself!”

“No! We never even phoned Su Province TV—everything is being handled locally. Remember, most actors in last night’s drama were from our County Troupe, which shows our local talent isn’t weak at all.”

Wang Xun shook his head.

“Is there a conflict?”

Li Qilin’s rise to this level clearly wasn’t a fluke.

“Not exactly! A few months ago, Mingsha Tourism shot ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’ to promote Qixia Town and Mingsha County. Xu County even scrambled everywhere, eventually begging our Provincial Satellite TV, only for them to decline with various excuses.

Left with no options, Xu County even considered contacting Wei City TV—a small station. By sheer chance, Xu County finally reached out to Yan City TV; otherwise, Qixia Town might have never come into being.”

At this mention, Qin Xuan’s frustration was palpable.

Just because nothing was said doesn’t mean Mingsha County had no ideas of its own!

Back when Xu Hao had informed everyone that Su Province TV couldn’t broadcast live and that they should contact Wei City TV, everyone—from Wang Xun to the PR staff—felt an overwhelming sense of loss and helplessness.

Some county officials even felt that Su Province TV was looking down on them.

Had the drama been shot in Moktu or another renowned scenic spot in the province, they would have certainly arranged a prime airing slot.

Thus, a quiet grudge was formed.

So for the opening ceremony, neither the county nor Mingsha Tourism mentioned Su Province TV at all.

“Sigh!”

Li Qilin shook his head and said nothing more.

No outsider could truly grasp the desperate desire for progress in impoverished Mingsha County. Yet, it was still surprising that the drama ended up airing on Yan City TV.

At the time, everyone wondered how a local promotional piece ended up on Yan City.

“Alright then, county hosts it is—as long as they’ve got the hosting chops. Let’s discuss the list further.”

“Mm!”

Before anyone knew it, five days had flown by—leaving just four days until the Mingsha Tourism Festival.

In those five days,

as the snowy storyline reached its peak and ratings stabilized with rising enthusiasm, netizens and viewers inevitably brought up Mingsha County’s tourism festival in their discussions.

In contrast, the popularity of Chef Detective continued to wane—with only a few diehard fans of its leads keeping tabs, casual viewers had largely forgotten about it.

“Did you hear? Someone leaked the rehearsal schedule for the opening ceremony of the Mingsha Tourism Festival today.”

“Rehearsal schedule?”

“Mm!”

“So? With all the fuss Mingsha Tourism has stirred up for this festival, the opening show is bound to be spectacular!”

“Sigh, I took a look—it doesn’t feature any big names! The only notable act is a medley by the stars of Wulin Wai Chuan. There are also several actors from the snowy series.

The rest are relative unknowns—probably locals.”

A viewer couldn’t help but complain.

To him, Mingsha County’s tourism festival had been marketed as the pinnacle of such events, but the opening show was the one major letdown.

Not inviting a top-tier singer or actor was a colossal misstep!

“Huh? No way!”

That comment instantly sparked heated debate among netizens.

After all, opening ceremonies usually rely on high-profile song and dance acts. Without big stars, who would pay attention?

Some argued that without headliners, it didn’t really matter who performed—the show would feel the same.

Most tourists attend festivals specifically to see major stars perform; some even treat the opening as a de facto concert.

“Really? Someone looked up the names of the two hosts and it turns out both are locals—not even from Su Province TV.”

“How can that be? With the budget Mingsha Tourism has, they should be able to hire not just any celebrity, but even top-tier talent.”

“Exactly! I was really looking forward to seeing some of my favorite singers, and now you’re telling me this?”

“What’s even more baffling is that Mingsha County didn’t even use hosts from Su Province TV! Didn’t they get support from them?”

“So frustrating!”

“What’s really going on? Neither Mingsha Tourism nor Mingsha County has explained anything.”

The post quickly rose to the top, leaving many netizens not just confused but deeply disappointed.

“Everyone, calm down. In my opinion, this situation is understandable. Perhaps Mingsha Tourism wanted to invite big names but simply couldn’t secure them.”

At that moment, one netizen commented,

“Can’t secure them? That’s impossible!”

“Think about it—hasn’t Yan City TV been busy with the Director Association lately? Many members of that group hold positions in the County Troupe, and several singers also come from there.”

The netizen offered his explanation.

“Wait a minute—although that makes sense, I still believe that can’t be the reason.”

However, another netizen quickly retorted,

“Not because of that? Then what else could it be?”

“Heh, as impressive as the Director Association is, they’re no match for top-tier stars. At least real A-listers wouldn’t waste their time with them.”

“So what do you think is the reason?”

“Could it be that Mingsha Tourism simply doesn’t have the funds to hire big names?”

“Haha, that’s the biggest joke I’ve heard this year. If they really can’t afford them, then how did they manage those ancient structures?”

“Uh…”

As the debate continued, another netizen remarked,

“Listening to you all, I’m suddenly not so excited about my festival ticket anymore!”

That comment quickly shifted the discussion: “Huh? What did you say? Festival tickets? When did you get them? How much are they? I haven’t seen any ticket information on the Mingsha Tourism website!”

Ever since the snowy series aired, many viewers planning to visit Tingchao Pavilion and Wudi City have been waiting for ticket news. After all, whether it’s a tourism festival or a music festival, tickets are standard.

They serve two purposes: maintaining order and recouping some costs by selling a few general admission tickets alongside the guest seats.

“How much? They’re free!”

Before long, netizens started replying.