Chapter 171: The Grand Workforce Initiative

The boss didn’t say exactly what project to launch with President Luo—only that we need a massive workforce with triple pay during the Spring Festival!

The Young Man hurriedly replied.

“A massive workforce? This project’s definitely huge.”

Qin Xuan paused for a moment before looking up and saying, “Alright, call the township and get a headcount of those willing to work, then I’ll call the neighboring county. This is a chance—maybe we can even keep all our migrant workers local.”

Though he wasn’t sure what Mingsha Tourism had planned this time, Qin Xuan had learned one thing after nearly a year of working with them.

That as long as they need labor and support, just provide it—and don’t get involved in other matters or ask too many questions.

In fact, asking too much might only slow things down.

“Boss, I’ll get on it right away.”

“Mm, keep your phone close. If any issues come up, call immediately.”

“Got it, Boss.”

Deep into the night, just after midnight the decorative lights of the Mingsha Ancient Building had gone out, leaving only the basic ones on—signaling the official end of the day.

Yet, the Ancient Building Courtyard in the heart of Wudi City still shone bright.

Xu Hao wasn’t resting; he stood by the sand table, frowning and mulling over something as he spoke. On the opposite side, besides Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng, several area managers were gathered.

“Qiangzi, will the pre-made sand bricks be affected by the winter conditions?”

(a brief pause)

Xu Hao then glanced at Zhu Qiang.

Earlier that morning, after Xu Hao had stressed the importance of the Ancient Heritage Forum project to Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng, they immediately began preparations.

With just over three months on the clock, slacking off isn’t an option.

If it were merely a film festival, renovating Oasis 3 would have sufficed without such massive efforts.

“Brother Hao, don’t worry about the sand bricks. Our plan is to enclose the entire lot, and we’re running the pre-made bricks at full capacity. We’ve got plenty in stock!”

Zhu Qiang nodded in agreement.

The production area for the sand bricks was located behind three office buildings and five employee dormitories. To meet the high demand, a patch of land—originally part of the sand ridge and dunes—was transformed into a flat space as large as seven or eight football fields, as if the dunes had been magically removed.

The yellow sand was processed into bricks, while the regular soil was transported to near Langya Pavilion, where quality soil was needed for landscaping.

“As long as the bricks are sufficient, make sure the northern city wall behind the Protectorate of West Liang is completed before the end of March. For the south side, slow it down a bit and consolidate all workers here.”

Xu Hao ordered.

At noon, he had contacted Feng Wancheng and obtained an ultra-high-definition digital copy of an original Qingming Scroll. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see the real artifact in Yan City—he simply had no time.

After all, the digital version wasn’t much different from seeing it live.

Besides, without an external wall, the scroll’s layout would look too scattered.

“Understood!”

Zhu Qiang responded promptly.

“Also, aside from Langya Pavilion, wrap up work at Oasis 3 quickly and shift all manpower here.”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao added,

“Brother Hao, I’ll have the construction team push harder at Oasis 3.”

Zhu Qiang nodded vigorously.

“Little Luo, you’re solely responsible for coordinating workers and machinery with the county. The river channel excavation should begin officially tomorrow.”

Xu Hao then turned to Luo Peng.

The Qingming Scroll was essentially a blueprint—just enlarge the proportions accordingly. It saved a lot of hassle; simply reconstruct the buildings exactly as depicted.

“Got it, Brother Hao!”

Luo Peng promptly assured.

“Qiangzi, regarding the water supply: if there’s an underground stream there, liaise with the county to allocate that land to us, and build a moat city connecting the water source to the city wall. Otherwise, outsiders will have plenty to criticize!”

Xu Hao surveyed the sand table.

When the county acquired land for a fire station, they had an agreement with Mingsha Tourism. Any ground used by local departments would later be compensated by desert areas.

Now, for convenience, the county planned to build a large, antiquated police station and a major business registration office next to the fire station. These occupied significant space, easily offset by the desert.

“Boss, I’ve already contacted the engineer. He’ll lead a survey team tomorrow.”

Zhu Qiang nodded.

“Alright, then all the other managers, fully cooperate with President Zhu and President Luo.”

“Understood, Boss!”

“And one more thing: keep the reconstruction of the Qingming Scroll project confidential. If news leaks and the result strays too far from the scroll’s design, it’s not worth the trouble.”

After a moment, Xu Hao looked around at everyone again.

“Brother Hao, rest assured—I’ve arranged for onsite workers to avoid filming or posting on social media.”

Luo Peng immediately replied.

He knew well that much like not lifting the lid too soon when steaming buns, this project needed zero publicity. Once completed, it would be announced officially on the website.

Most importantly, if tourists or outsiders caught wind of it, they’d swarm in and disrupt the construction schedule.

In fact,

this had become a routine practice during Mingsha Tourism’s projects.

The Protectorate of West Liang was built this way—with netizens unaware it was finished and merely awaiting final inspection. Part of that was because the relic site lay over ten kilometers from the city gate, with no proper road.

“That’s great! Everyone, give it your all—your hard work won’t go unrewarded!”

“Understood, Boss.”

At dawn the next day—as the moon set and the sun rose—the parking lot by the city gate teemed with people. Tourists lined up to ride horses or palanquins to Qixia Town and to guesthouses in Wudi City.

Especially after Tiger Leopard Band became famous, visitors flocked to the offices of Haofang Culture and Haofang Agency, all hoping for a chance encounter with a band member.

“Eh? What’s going on here?”

At that moment, as tourists disembarked, one of them raised a question.

They noticed that the northern section of the parking lot was completely fenced off with construction barriers, the sound of heavy machinery and roaring engines emanating from within.

The high barricade completely concealed what was happening inside.

“Who does construction in the dead of winter? And it’s at the north end of the lot—no one mentioned any new project here.”

Collecting their thoughts, a curious tourist asked.

“Get used to it. When Mingsha Tourism rolls out a new project, do they ever warn tourists? Just like when Vermilion Bird Building and Vermilion Bird Street opened, everyone was caught off guard.”

Another nearby tourist added,

“Exactly!”

“Alright then, let’s enjoy ourselves. Mingsha Tourism will surely make an official announcement once the work is underway.”

Some tourists agreed, quickly boarding their palanquins, while others took out their phones to snap photos of the construction fence and post them online with a caption: “Mingsha Tourism sets up winter fencing—what are they building now?”

A few individual posts might not mean much, but as more tourists shared the news on social media and forums,

by afternoon,

the topic sparked considerable discussion.

“What is Mingsha Tourism building? Could it be a TV drama set?”

“No way! Haofang Culture’s third drama hasn’t even wrapped up—how could they be gearing up for another so soon?”

“Then what might it be?”

“Do you think they’re constructing a road?”

“A road?”

“Remember, the Protectorate of West Liang is just north of the city gate. I bet Mingsha Tourism will first build a road there and then begin rebuilding the Protectorate.”

A netizen analyzed,

“Rebuilding the Protectorate?”

“Yeah, there were online rumors about Mingsha Tourism rebuilding the Protectorate, but they never responded. Later, when they trended for an ancient wedding, most netizens forgot about it.”

“That analysis makes sense!”

While many netizens began speculating wildly, in Ning’an, Qi Haoyong sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen. His heart sank as his face drained of color.

“Didn’t you say Mingsha wouldn’t make a move before the New Year? What’s going on here?”

(a long pause)

Qi Haoyong glared sharply at the Deputy Director sitting in front of him.

On New Year’s Eve, that Deputy Director had confidently presented various analyses, insisting that due to funding issues, Mingsha Tourism wouldn’t act before the New Year. And yet, just days later, this news broke online.

“President Qi, these are just netizen speculations. Even if there’s fencing, it doesn’t mean much. Reconstructing the Ancient Protectorate is just talk—it’s extremely difficult to actually build a road there. I checked the map; the Protectorate relic site is over ten kilometers from the city gate. Building a road would be an enormous task.”

The Deputy Director muttered under his breath.

“Does that prove anything? In my view, Mingsha Tourism is simply trying to secure a spot in next March’s Long Kingdom Film Festival!”

Qi Haoyong’s face turned so pale you could almost see water dripping from it.

He refused to believe that Mingsha Tourism would set up winter fencing and then do nothing—unless it was all for the upcoming Long Kingdom Film Festival.

“President Qi…”

The Deputy Director hesitated.

“No way. We need to step up our efforts too. Contact the director and have him expedite filming for the outdoor scenes at other locations. I’ll push the construction team again. Even if New Moon Building and Bright Moon Hall aren’t fully completed within two weeks, they must be ready for filming.”

Qi Haoyong was visibly panicked.

New Moon Building was constructed to mimic Mingsha Tourism’s Vermilion Bird Building, while Bright Moon Hall was a new palace hall designed to outdo Mingsha Tourism.

After all, Mingsha Tourism still hasn’t built a proper palace hall or a legitimate filming location for court dramas. With Bright Moon Hall, Ning’an Cultural Tourism would surpass them in some aspects.

“Alright, President Qi!”

Hearing the instructions, the Deputy Director immediately nodded.