Chapter 135: Festival Frenzy at Mingsha

Traffic was snarled at the city gate, while at Oasis 1, pedestrians found themselves blocked from entry.

According to the official schedule from Mingsha Tourism, the Tourism Festival kicks off at 10 AM. By 8:30, visitors with tickets had already started passing through the check-in gates.

To ensure the safety of the visitors and maintain order on site,

Mingsha Tourism and the county’s security department opened only one wooden ticket-checking path, while all other entrances to Oasis 1 were sealed off.

“Friends, this is the scene—stay tuned, as we’ll be live streaming the event shortly!”

Apart from the Long Kingdom TV live broadcast team already in place,

many visitors who had found their seats also began streaming live.

In an age of non-stop live broadcasts, missing out on streaming such a big event would waste the ticket entirely.

“Anchor, aside from the imposing backdrop of Tengwang Pavilion, the stage setup seems rather unremarkable,”

a visitor commented in his live stream, unable to hide his surprise.

The venue was much like any other tourism festival—a massive backdrop boldly declaring ‘The 16th Su Province Tourism Festival,’ with the event organizers listed in the lower right.

In front of the backdrop stood a small stage.

The stage was carpeted in red, with a podium positioned at its left front.

Were it not for the extensive array of lighting and sound equipment hanging overhead, the scene could easily be mistaken for a real estate company’s groundbreaking ceremony.

“That’s exactly how it’s arranged at the venue!”

The streaming visitor quickly replied.

Usually, he only dabbled in live streaming with just a few viewers, but this time his channel already had thousands tuning in.

“I was hoping Mingsha Tourism would deliver a surprise like those hit dramas, but it appears it’s just as the internet predicted.”

“Indeed!”

“We’ll see. If the show turns out to be a county-level performance, Mingsha County might lose a batch of visitors.”

“Thank goodness I sold my ticket!”

“Now I get why entry tickets for the Mingsha Tourism Festival were given out randomly. Had they been sold at high prices, the backlash would have been relentless.”

“In that sense, Mingsha Tourism seems to know its limits.”

With that, the live stream chat erupted with discussion.

Some planned to watch the event via the live streams of ticket-holding visitors, while others settled in front of their TVs, tuned into Long Kingdom TV’s variety channel for the live broadcast.

Consequently,

the variety channel’s ratings on Long Kingdom TV skyrocketed, even briefly surpassing those of its flagship general channel.

“This Su Province Tourism Festival is by far the hottest tourism event Long Kingdom has seen in years!” exclaimed a staffer at the headquarters of Long Kingdom TV’s variety channel.

Every year, dozens of tourism festivals are held across the cities and provinces of Long Kingdom with ratings hovering around 0.6. The public has grown indifferent—either attending in person or ignoring them. Local scenic audiences usually make up the bulk of the ratings.

But now, with the variety channel’s ratings reaching 1.8 and still climbing, the staff couldn’t help but marvel. “No wonder—two blockbuster dramas just aired over there, making it impossible not to attract attention.”

“A small, impoverished county managing to stir up such buzz is nothing short of impressive!”

“Although, I heard they didn’t invite any big-name celebrities—only locals from the county troupe, which has triggered its fair share of criticism.”

“That’s none of our business. Even if ratings drop once the show starts, they’re still far beyond what we’ve seen in previous years.”

“Absolutely!”

Minutes ticked by,

and by 9 AM,

all the audience members had filtered in, and the on-site equipment, including sound systems, had been fully set up. Some visitors’ live streams were already boasting tens of thousands of viewers! By 9:30, leaders at various levels began to arrive at the Mingsha Tourism Festival, taking their seats in the front row as assigned.

At 9:50, stage crew could just be seen making preparations on both sides of the stage.

At 9:59,

as music filled the air, two hosts in formal attire confidently strode onto the stage.

“Honored leaders, esteemed guests, dear visitors, and all viewers at home—welcome to the 16th Su Province Tourism Festival!”

After a series of formal introductions, the male host continued, “Now, please welcome the Congratulatory Speech from the Long Kingdom Culture and Tourism Department!”

Meanwhile,

the live camera panned toward the front row.

“While the uninitiated see only spectacle, the insiders understand the nuances!”

Regular viewers weren’t interested in the opening remarks. For them, every speaker sounded the same; they cared only about the upcoming performances, not the faces of the leaders or guests.

In his office, Ning’an Cultural Tourism Chairman Qi Haoyong gasped as the camera swept over the front-row officials.

Ever since Chef Detective went live, Qi Haoyong had lost his former air of confidence, now appearing as deflated as a withered vegetable.

Even the long-awaited final lifeline couldn’t avert the plummeting tourist numbers.

Thus,

Qi Haoyong found himself paying increasing attention to Mingsha Tourism.

He even lingered over negative online comments about the festival’s opening, clicking like after like to vent his own frustrations.

In Qi Haoyong’s mind, Ning’an’s tourism industry had sunk in just six months thanks solely to Mingsha Tourism. Without their interference—and with the backing of Chef Detective—Ning’an Cultural Tourism would have been thriving.

Today, his reason for watching the live stream was partly to enjoy the spectacle. He found it unbelievable that they could stage such an opening without any top-tier celebrities!

Yet as he stared at his computer screen, his feelings mixed shock and confusion rather than envy.

He readily accepted that Mingsha had managed to secure a high-ranking official from the Culture and Tourism Department—after all, Mingsha had been on a roll lately.

But why was Xu Hao sitting in the first row? When the camera panned, Mingsha Tourism’s legal representative, Zhu Qiang, appeared only in the third row.

“Could a host specializing in heritage buildings possibly have a higher status than Zhu Qiang? No way!” he muttered.

Mumbling to himself,

Qi Haoyong fell into deep thought.

“No! At an event like this, the front row is reserved solely for leaders from the relevant departments. Not even a top-tier KuaiDou streamer with under a million fans would ever earn such a seat.”

The more he pondered,

the more Qi Haoyong sensed something was amiss. He had attended countless events, yet never before had he been seated so centrally, even at a county-level function.

“Something’s definitely up!”

With that realization, Qi Haoyong lost all interest in watching the Mingsha Tourism Festival.

He wasn’t alone; in Haishi, Tianchen Culture CEO Yang Yuan felt similarly.

At that moment,

Yang Yuan’s back was soaked with cold sweat as a profound sense of foreboding struck him.

“Xu Hao… sitting in the first row—no wonder Haofang Culture ignores the Director Association and collaborates with Yan City TV instead. It explains why Mingsha Tourism is thriving in Mingsha County; they’re fully committed,”

Yang Yuan’s grasp of the situation was far keener than Qi Haoyong’s.

When the live stream camera caught Xu Hao’s image, many of his suspicions suddenly fell into place. Front-row seating isn’t just about affiliation—it comes with rank! The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

He recalled all the issues he had attempted to pin on Xu Hao over the past six months and realized one thing: Xu Hao had never truly regarded Tianchen Culture as a real rival.

If he had, Tianchen Culture might have been wiped out long ago.

“So what exactly is Xu Hao’s role?”

Yang Yuan slowly leaned back in his chair.

After a long moment,

he straightened up once again.

“No way. I must inform the board that we should sever all ties with Haofang Culture from now on!”

Unbeknownst to anyone, just as the Mingsha Tourism Festival was about to commence on stage, at the exit of Haishi International Airport,

a young man and a woman in their early thirties emerged, dragging suitcases behind them.

“Third Brother, half a year has slipped by without us even realizing it,”

the woman lamented as she stood in the terminal hall, watching the steady stream of travelers.

“Indeed, time changes everything!”

The young man echoed her sentiment.

At that moment, Xu Hao was absent—otherwise, he would have immediately recognized the pair as none other than his second sister, Xu Xin, and third brother, Xu Chen.

“Third Brother, shall we head to Heyun Brokerage first?”

After a brief pause, Xu Xin asked.

This time, her return was mainly aimed at boosting sales for a local clothing factory. Although she had designed several outfits, their performance in New Country had been lackluster.

Her primary goal now was to secure a few second- or third-tier celebrities as endorsers, helping to break into the Long Kingdom market.

It wasn’t that the Xu Family didn’t want to hire top-tier stars; they simply couldn’t afford them.

“Heyun Brokerage? You really want to see your former artists? Ever since the old man sold Longhai Brokerage to Heyun Brokerage, those artists have long forgotten who you are. Going there would only spell trouble.”

Xu Chen cast a glance at Xu Xin.

“I know that, but what choice do we have? If we’re going to risk humiliation, we might as well try—maybe one or two old connections could spark a deal.”

Xu Xin gave a wry smile.

She was well aware that going there would mean losing face, but it seemed they had no other option.

After a pause, Xu Xin looked at Xu Chen again.

Their roles on this trip were clear—she was responsible for finding endorsers, while Xu Chen would handle other clothing ventures.

“And you?”

“I’m thinking of meeting Old Six!”

After a moment of thought, Xu Chen declared,

“Meeting Old Six?”

Xu Xin was taken aback.

“Yes. I reached out to an old friend in the industry. He mentioned that a major client urgently needs large quantities of traditional costume fabric and a variety of costume design drafts. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that the client is none other than the Mingsha Tourism Group from Mingsha County. Old Six works at Mingsha Tourism, right? I want him to introduce us to the chairman so we can land the contract for subcontracting work!”

Xu Chen exhaled deeply and added.