Chapter 173: Crossroads of Opportunity

Little did anyone know, while Xu Hao was busy and blissfully unaware of everything else, in a café at the heart of Kun City, the capital of Yun Province, a man and a woman sat across from each other, deep in conversation.

Yun Province, located in the southwest of the Long Kingdom, boasts a pleasant climate, beautiful surroundings, and year-round spring-like weather, making it an ideal retirement haven with plenty of tourists visiting.

Especially in the southern parts of Yun Province, numerous unique tourism offerings have emerged, making it the number one destination for southern travels in the eyes of many visitors.

“Old Wang, given our relationship, you must help with this favor!”

The woman turned her gaze toward the man.

She was none other than Li Ying, Feng Xuan’s agent. The man opposite her was Wang Xiaobin, the content chief of the comprehensive channel at Yun Province TV.

“But our flagship mediation show usually picks cases from within the province. Isn’t your case a bit…”

Wang Xiaobin hesitated for a moment.

“Old Wang, am I not a native of Yun Province? Besides, when your station needed celebrity support for events, I was there to help out plenty.”

Li Ying gave Wang Xiaobin a look laden with subtle meaning.

“That may be true, but Xu Xin isn’t an ordinary person—and besides, Haofang Culture is on a tear right now, backed by Mingsha Tourism!”

Wang Xiaobin stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Xu Xin isn’t ordinary. Wouldn’t she add some serious heat to your station’s show? Your flagship mediation ratings, while decent, have been on a slow decline.

Why? It’s because every case you handle is run-of-the-mill—everyday conflicts with little variation, often even played by your own crew as the troubled parties.”

Li Ying continued.

“That may be, but Mingsha Tourism isn’t a small fry; I’ve heard they’re quite formidable.”

Wang Xiaobin ran his fingers through his sparse hair.

Li Ying was right. The show had indeed hit a plateau and needed something fresh to break through. If they could mediate disputes among public figures, it might just be the breakthrough they needed.

But that kind of case was extremely risky! A mishandled case would certainly offend the parties involved.

“Old Wang, Mingsha Tourism is just a local tourism development company. What are you worried about? You’re from Yun Province—aren’t you bold enough to face firms from that side?”

Li Ying scoffed and shook her head.

In her view, after several high-profile incidents, Mingsha Tourism had gained significant fame, boosting local employment and GDP—but what did that have to do with Yun Province TV? Should the GDP belong to Yun Province now?

Wang Xiaobin was momentarily at a loss for words, intrigued despite himself.

When you think about it…

Mingsha Tourism is just a tourism company. They really can’t be pushed around, even if the situation feels a bit off!

“Old Wang, just do this one favor for me. I promise you won’t be helping for nothing.”

At that moment, Li Ying spoke again, glancing at her briefcase.

“So, when do you want the mediation to happen?”

Wang Xiaobin casually eyed the brown paper briefcase. After a moment’s thought, he replied,

“How about eight days from the recording on my end? If we delay any further, it won’t work—we must resolve this before the hearing.”

“Eight days? That works. I’ll try to coordinate and head to Mingsha County in Su Province right after.”

“Great!”

January 20th. Unbeknownst to them, twenty days had already passed since New Year’s Eve, with just a month left until the Spring Festival.

At 8 a.m.

Han Lijun of Yan City TV had just settled into his office when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

“Boss, just now Mr. Fang from Haofang Culture called me.”

No sooner had Ren Long stepped into the room than he couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly.

“Hmm? What happened?”

Hearing the call was from Fang Hou of Haofang Culture, Han Lijun hurriedly inquired.

After all, Haofang Culture was now Yan City TV’s round-the-clock strategic partner, demanding serious attention.

“Boss, Mr. Fang said that Legend of Langya has finished filming and editing. They meant to send it for review, but they were too busy over there, so they asked us to help, much like we did with Snowbound.”

Ren Long explained.

“What? Legend of Langya is done?”

The initial indifference evaporated; as soon as Han Lijun heard, he was utterly astonished.

Ever since netizens mentioned on the forum that the northern parking lot of Mingsha Tourism was cordoned off, many of them suspected that Mingsha Tourism was planning new constructions in preparation for next year’s film festival, possibly delaying Legend of Langya.

Who would have thought—it was now confirmed to be finished!

How could that not be shocking?

“Yes! But they might need our people to fetch the original footage storage hard drive from Mingsha, since sending it online isn’t secure.”

Ren Long nodded.

“That’s doable. Did Haofang Culture mention when they plan to air this drama? Any specific deadlines?”

Gathering his thoughts,

Han Lijun rubbed his hands together.

It must be said,

Haofang Culture’s drama came at the perfect time. Ever since Wulin Wai Chuan and Snowbound finished airing, Yan City TV’s prime-time slot at 8 p.m. had a gap. Although a new urban drama had been introduced, its ratings were mediocre, barely stirring any buzz, slowly draining the popularity built by the previous hits.

Securing Legend of Langya now was like a life-saving remedy.

“Boss, Mr. Fang said they haven’t set a fixed air date. We just need to follow our usual schedule!”

Ren Long replied hastily.

“No fixed air date? Are you sure?”

Han Lijun couldn’t hide his delight.

The urban drama was just too bland. Without a fixed schedule, even if Legend of Langya bumped the current show at the last minute, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Boss, I even asked Mr. Fang if they needed any promotional materials to coordinate publicity. He said there was nothing required!”

Ren Long shook his head.

“Alright, then. You’ll take a flight today to Mingsha County to grab the original footage. Once it’s pre-reviewed in the editing department, I’ll personally handle the submission to the broadcasting authorities. As soon as we have the broadcasting license, we’ll air it.”

After a moment’s thought, Han Lijun made his decision.

“Ah? Boss, isn’t this a bit rushed? Shouldn’t we promote a bit to build some momentum?”

Ren Long hesitated for a moment.

It didn’t matter that outsiders didn’t know; after all, our station chief had impeccable connections with the broadcasting authorities. With Han Lijun personally submitting the footage, it’d likely be approved by the next day.

In other words, if things moved a bit faster, Legend of Langya could go on air within three or four days.

“Haofang Culture’s drama carries its own hype. There’s no need for extra promotion. When the time comes, we just need to post an ad on our station and on KuaiDou the day before, and then a forum post announcing that Haofang Culture’s urban drama starring Hu Xiao is debuting in Yan City TV’s prime-time slot.”

Han Lijun waved his hand dismissively.

Under normal circumstances, Ren Long’s plan wasn’t flawed. But Haofang Culture wasn’t an ordinary company—the buzz and controversy attached to it rivaled that of a second- or third-tier celebrity.

So there was really no need to waste money on additional promotions.

Besides, nowadays dramas are more about word-of-mouth. All those flashy marketing stunts only boost initial ratings; the real merit lies in the show’s quality.

“Then it’s settled—I’ll book my ticket right away.”

Ren Long agreed and turned to leave.

“Oh, and once you get the original footage back, notify Finance to transfer the remaining payment for Legend of Langya.”

Just as Ren Long was about to step out, Han Lijun suddenly remembered something and added,

“Boss, don’t worry.”

Time flew by, and soon three days later, the electronic calendar on the wall displayed January 23rd.

Yan City

Director Association Vice President Ran Xiangfei had finally grown uneasy.

“Xiao Zhang, have you received any application from Mingsha Tourism to host a film festival recently?”

He approached a young woman in the office area and asked.

“President, we’ve only received one application these past few days—from a 4A-rated scenic spot in Qing Province. They didn’t meet many key criteria, so it was rejected.”

The woman replied hastily.

Once an application for a film festival is received, the team first checks several key criteria, such as whether the venue has hosted a show before and if it has the capacity to do so.

Since applications close in a week, any venue or film city capable of hosting a festival would have already applied; the rest are just hopefuls with subpar facilities.

“Oh, I see!”

Ran Xiangfei furrowed his brow and turned back to his office.

“It’s already the 23rd. Mingsha Tourism should have submitted their application by now!”

Leaning back in his chair, Ran Xiangfei grew more perplexed.

Ever since he learned that Mingsha Tourism had made a move, he had been waiting every day for their application just to have the chance to put them in their place in front of the group.

But now, even after twenty days, there hadn’t been a peep—not even a single inquiry call.

As a result,

he was completely stumped.

Not only had his plan to put Mingsha Tourism in a difficult position fizzled out, he was now getting anxious.

Everyone knew about the conflict between the Director Association and Haofang Culture. If Mingsha Tourism failed to submit an application, people might suspect that he had interfered—and that would be a total disaster.

Therefore,

no matter whether the film festival ends up being held in Mingsha County or not, the application must be in.

“So, what’s really going on? Don’t let me be implicated in this mess!”

Ran Xiangfei, clearly troubled, rubbed his forehead.

Now, if Mingsha Tourism simply doesn’t apply, he can’t exactly call them up and say, “Mingsha Tourism, shouldn’t you submit an application?”

“Ding dong ding”

Just as Ran Xiangfei’s frustration was mounting, the phone on his desk suddenly rang.

He picked it up and saw it was a call from Qi Haoyong.

“President Ran, something’s happened!”

The next moment, Qi Haoyong’s voice came through the phone.

“What’s wrong?”

Ran Xiangfei’s heart skipped a beat.

“President Ran, just a few minutes ago Yan City TV dropped a bombshell: Haofang Culture’s third period costume drama is set to debut in the prime-time slot at 8 p.m. tomorrow night. The online promotion forums are in an uproar.

This bastard timed it perfectly—100% a move to snatch the film festival rights. What am I supposed to do?”

From his tone, it was clear that Qi Haoyong was not only frustrated but also terrified and flustered.