Chapter 144: Connections and Guesthouse Arrangements

“Brothers? A relative?”

Wang He was taken aback.

He recalled that the Xu Family was said to have only one male, Xu Chen, while all the others were daughters.

“Yes, a relative—though his reclusive nature means he never admits to being part of the Xu Family, so hardly anyone knows him.”

Xu Chen sighed.

These days in the Xu Family, it made no difference whether people knew him or not.

“Oh, so what does he do at Mingsha Tourism? Didn’t he hook you up with something?”

Wang He couldn’t help but ask further.

No matter how well he mingled with the people at Mingsha Tourism, he was still an outsider; an internal recommendation would have been much easier.

“Him? He’s just a livestreamer. Contacting him is useless.”

Xu Chen shook his head.

“Right, a small-time streamer isn’t much help with big matters, but he can book an internal guesthouse. That way, you wouldn’t be running back and forth—you could simply wait here in Mingsha.”

As Wang He suddenly realized something, a thought struck him.

From what he knew, Mingsha Tourism also had a group of small streamers who live-stream by introducing local attractions—and sometimes even serve as guides—in the most basic department.

Even the most basic departments surely had access to internal guesthouses.

“Alright, I’ll call him and ask if he can help.”

Xu Chen couldn’t help but glance at Wang He.

Throughout their walk, it was clear that Wang He’s relationship with Zhu Qiang from Mingsha Tourism wasn’t as close as he’d claimed—probably just a one or two-time meeting.

If it had been that good, Zhu Qiang wouldn’t have sounded so tentative when Xu Chen called the office earlier.

Moreover, if the connections were solid, booking two guesthouses would have been a breeze. But now they had to rely on their Old Six. That said, since he was already involved, they’d wait until the day after tomorrow to see how things panned out.

“Hurry up and ask for help,” Wang He urged hopefully.

“Alright!”

And so, Xu Chen took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and dialed a number. It wasn’t until ten minutes later that he rejoined Wang He.

“So? Did you manage to book them?”

Seeing his anxious expression, Wang He asked urgently.

“Booked!”

Xu Chen gave a slight, enigmatic nod.

No further explanation was needed.

Earlier, when he called Old Six after announcing his arrival at Hongsha Gang Village 256 in Mingsha County, Old Six had told him to wait while he handled everything.

Especially when Xu Chen mentioned booking two guesthouses, Old Six brushed it off as a trivial matter.

How could that not be surprising? In Xu Chen’s view, someone like Xu Hao—a low-level worker—should have first made an internal call before booking guesthouses. That’s the proper procedure.

Mingsha Tourism’s guesthouses are in such high demand. Does he really expect to book for outsiders?

“They actually booked it? Your brother’s connections at Mingsha Tourism must be impressive!”

Wang He was equally amazed.

Although he had hoped, deep down, he hadn’t expected much.

“He’s probably on good terms with the department manager responsible for guesthouses. But my brother said he’s busy outside at the moment, so it might take a while for him to arrive. He told us to wait, saying someone would escort us shortly.”

Xu Chen glanced at the bustling tourists along Qing Brick Avenue.

“Then we wait. Securing a guesthouse is all that matters.”

“Yeah!”

At the conference room in the county town government building in Mingsha County, Wang Xun and others were in a meeting—and Zhu Qiang was unexpectedly there.

“General Zhu, it’s settled. In a couple of days we’ll send more personnel from the fire station, and we’ll expedite matters with the industry and tax bureau,” Wang Xun stated while looking at Zhu Qiang.

With Mingsha Tourism growing larger, the initial fire station team was clearly insufficient, so more members needed to be sent.

Moreover, to better serve Mingsha Tourism and the merchants along its commercial street, the county decided to establish an industry and tax substation in Mingsha.

The newly built fire station featured an ancient-style office building with plenty of unused offices ready for use.

“Thanks, boss!”

Zhu Qiang replied.

“No need to thank me. It’s what Mingsha County deserves! Without Mingsha Tourism, our county wouldn’t be in such a great state.”

Wang Xun glanced at Qin Xuan.

During this travel festival, Mingsha County had received numerous accolades, and the relevant departments had already spoken with him. He might even be reassigned to Wei City after the New Year.

Meanwhile, Qin Xuan would assume full responsibility for work in Mingsha County.

In fact, their promotions were largely thanks to Mingsha Tourism—especially Qin Xuan, who had been promoted well beyond his usual rank.

“Mingsha Tourism also owes thanks to the leadership.”

Just as Zhu Qiang was about to offer further formalities, his phone rang.

Glancing at it, he told Wang Xun and Qin Xuan, “Boss, it’s a call from Xu County. I’ll answer it.”

“Pick it up quickly. We’ve just finished our discussion,” they replied.

“Okay!”

After that, Zhu Qiang left the office with his phone.

Two minutes later, he returned. “Bosses, there’s an issue with the guesthouse. I need to hurry back and address it.”

“What’s wrong? Do you need our help?”

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

Now that he considered Mingsha Tourism his benefactor, he was ready to assist in any way possible.

“No, it’s fine. The big brother from Xu County has reached the guesthouse. Right now, Xu County is at the excavation site of the Protectorate of West Liang’s ruins, and General Zhu from Mingsha Labor is at the construction site. I’ll go take care of the reception.”

Zhu Qiang grabbed his clothes.

“Big brother from Xu County?”

Wang Xun and Qin Xuan were taken aback.

“Yes!”

“Then how about this—since nothing urgent is happening now, let’s all go together. A guest coming from afar should be properly welcomed; it wouldn’t be right to leave him waiting.”

After a moment of thought, Wang Xun said, “Since you two are free, let’s all head over together. Later, over dinner, we can discuss things with Xu County.”

Zhu Qiang paused, then nodded without objection.

In the Great Northwest, the more guests, the merrier.

“Alright!”

“Let’s walk and chat. I’ll make arrangements over there and also notify President Luo.”

Zhu Qiang nodded.

At Hongsha Gang Village 256, just when Xu Chen and Wang He were growing anxious, two staff members from Mingsha Tourism hurried up to them.

“Are you Mr. Xu Chen?”

The two tourism staff inspected them before asking quickly.

They were panting from their hurried run.

“I am. And you are?”

Xu Chen nodded.

“Hello, Mr. Xu Chen. We’re from the Visitor Reception Center of Mingsha Tourism. I’m Liu Heng, and this is my colleague Xiao Ma. We apologize for keeping you waiting.”

The staff quickly introduced themselves.

“Visitor Reception Center head?”

Xu Chen was taken aback, and Wang He looked equally puzzled.

Did his brother really have such high connections that the head of the Visitor Reception Center would personally come to escort them to a guesthouse? It seemed trivial—just handing over a room card should suffice.

“May I ask who you are?”

As Xu Chen hesitated, Liu Heng looked at Wang He.

“He’s my friend!”

“Oh, then Mr. Xu, will you be checking out our ancient building here or heading straight over? If you leave now, I can arrange a carriage.”

Liu Heng said hastily.

After receiving a call from General Zhu, all he could think was that the big boss’s third brother had arrived—we must offer first-class hospitality.

“Thanks, but there’s no need to trouble yourselves. Just give us the room card and number—we’ll find our way on our own.”

When Liu Heng insisted on escorting them, Xu Chen quickly waved him off.

In his view, regardless of how well-connected his brother was in Mingsha Tourism, unnecessary expenses must be avoided; otherwise, someone might later say that Xu Hao’s third brother is showing off.

“Mr. Xu, it’s our duty. You don’t often visit Mingsha County.”

Liu Heng quickly responded.

“Sigh, it’s already too much trouble for you. We’ll just walk and chat on our way; my brother said he’d join us soon.”

Faced with Liu Heng’s courtesy, Xu Chen quickly waved him off.

“Alright.”

Liu Heng glanced at Wang He, expecting Xu Chen to say something since their conversation might be inconvenient if left aside.

After a pause, he said, “Mr. Xu, here’s the address and my phone number. If you get there, call me.”

With that, Liu Heng wrote the address on his business card.

Since there were so many guesthouses, many signs and door numbers had been installed to guide visitors.

“Address? My brother’s booked guesthouse doesn’t have a room card or room number?”

Xu Chen was taken aback at those words.

“Yes. The place you’re headed to doesn’t use a room card or room number.”

Liu Heng nodded emphatically.

In a joking tone, he added, “If the ancient building in central Wudi City had room cards and numbers, that would be absurd—in fact, besides the big boss, no one lower has access inside.”

“Mr. Xu, some internal employee rooms indeed don’t come with room cards or numbers.”

At that moment, Wang He leaned in and whispered,

“Alright. Thanks a lot!”

Xu Chen accepted the business card.

“It’s our duty.”

“We won’t trouble you any further. We’ll head over now.”

“If you have any issues, just call me.”

“Okay, thanks!”

Two minutes later, Xu Chen and Wang He walked down Qing Brick Avenue with the business card in hand.

“Mr. Xu, your brother’s doing quite well at Mingsha Tourism—having the head of the Visitor Reception Center personally deliver the address.”

Looking back at the departing Liu Heng, Wang He felt a tinge of envy.

If only he had a brother who could provide internal rooms, he wouldn’t have to worry about lodging the next time he visited Mingsha.

“It’s probably just colleagues helping each other out.”

Xu Chen’s expression noticeably relaxed.

Judging by this, their Old Six must be doing well—and that’s a good sign.

“By the way, Mr. Xu, could you check where the internal room is located? The guesthouse area is vast; if it’s too far, we might need a carriage,” Wang He asked after a pause.