Chapter 176: No Chance Left?

Is it over? Is there really no chance left?

Li Ying’s expression darkened.

In Kun City, Yun Province, she had already recorded plenty of segments—detailing how they met, the ensuing grievances, and even her decision to apologize in person. But to her astonishment, when she arrived, Xu Xin completely ignored ‘Ace Mediation’ and didn’t give a shred of respect to such a well-known program, having security escort the show out immediately.

“Sister Li, ‘Legend of Langya’ aired today on Yan City TV and got great reviews! As the director of Haofang Agency, they’re surely too busy pushing Hu Xiao to have time for mediation.”

The mediator nodded.

During this period, he had been keeping an eye on Haofang Culture and Haofang Agency to resolve conflicts, so he naturally knew what had sparked the feud between Li Ying and Xu Xin.

Now, Hu Xiao’s acting and looks had won over the audience—a move that delivered a severe blow in response to Li Ying’s earlier harsh words!

At this point, there was no longer any need for mediation.

Better to use the time and energy to hire a good lawyer for the defense.

“So are the production team heading back tomorrow?”

At the mention of ‘Legend of Langya,’ Li Ying’s face grew even paler.

The infamous Weibo post, ‘Personal Vendetta—This Show Must Fail,’ had long been deleted, yet after ‘Legend of Langya’ aired today, meddlesome netizens dug up screenshots of it to lambast her, making the scene as mortifying as it could possibly be.

This had affected not only her but also severely impacted Feng Xuan. If fate gave her a second chance, she would never have posted that tweet!

No! She should have just agreed when Xu Xin came knocking on Feng Xuan’s door for an endorsement!

“According to our usual practice, we’ll try to meet Xu Xin again tomorrow. If we get blocked once more, the mediation will be deemed a failure.”

After a moment’s thought, the mediator spoke.

Their production team had a custom: if the mediated party refused three times, they would officially call off mediation.

“Will the show still air?”

After a long pause, Li Ying asked again.

“Sister Li, whether mediation fails or succeeds, the show will air as planned. It’s just that this episode might be the only one without the mediated party making an appearance. In previous cases, even when mediation failed, they at least showed up on the program.”

The mediator snorted.

That was probably the difference between celebrities and ordinary people—celebrities simply don’t give the production team any respect.

“As long as it airs, it proves my stance, at the very least!”

Li Ying rubbed her temples again.

“Yep! It’s scheduled to air next Monday.”

The next day, as daylight broke and ‘Legend of Langya’ aired, a swarm of visitors arrived at the end of Qing Brick Avenue early in the morning. To the left, the road led to Qixia Town; to the right, paths headed toward Wudi City and Tingchao Pavilion. Straight ahead, however, a massive construction sign blocked the view.

“Excuse me, can we pass through here?”

With no other option, one visitor approached a security guard from Mingsha Tourism.

The Mingsha Tourism guard was clad in traditional ancient city-guard armor, dutifully patrolling both sides of Qing Brick Avenue despite the winter chill.

Especially this morning! Expecting a crowd, eight guards were stationed at the end of Qing Brick Avenue; two, dressed in the constable uniforms from Wulin Wai Chuan, had clearly been temporarily assigned from Qixia Town.

“Sir, I’m sorry. The road ahead isn’t open, so it’s best not to proceed.”

One of the guards promptly replied.

“Does the road from here lead straight to Langya Pavilion?”

The visitor asked, disappointed.

“We’re not exactly sure of Langya Pavilion’s precise location, but it should be within that area. However, I strongly advise you not to wander into the undeveloped zone. If you ignore the warning and enter, we might not be able to rescue you in time if things go awry. Thank you for your understanding!”

The guard added.

“When will the road be completed? It doesn’t seem like any work is happening—no sounds of machinery at all.”

The visitor couldn’t help but press on.

After watching a couple of episodes of ‘Legend of Langya’ at the guesthouse last night, his first impulse was to check out the secret mechanism underneath Langya Pavilion to see if it was as magical as on TV. He exclaimed, “So when will it be finished? Logically, since ‘Legend of Langya’ aired, this area should be open by now. Instead of repairing the road to Langya Pavilion, you’re busy fussing over the north side of the City Gate? I just don’t get it!”

Another visitor nearby, equally perplexed, questioned him.

To them, repairing the road to Langya Pavilion was the priority; all other projects should take a backseat for now.

“We’re not entirely clear on the specifics, but rest assured, Langya Pavilion will open to the public soon. Please be patient,” the guard explained.

The guard reiterated his explanation.

But frankly, that was just the official line. As a mere guard, he had no idea when Oasis 3 would open or when the road would be fixed.

One thing he was sure of, though, was that the project north of the parking lot was far more critical than opening Oasis 3.

No more words needed.

Now, top executives from Mingsha Tourism and Mingsha Labor were stationed there every day—a scene that had never been seen before.

“Oh, what a pity!”

“Exactly!”

“Alright, everyone disperse and head back to wait for further notice. We originally thought that once we looped around Langya Pavilion we wouldn’t have to return, but now it seems we’ll have to make another trip!”

While disappointed visitors grumbled about not seeing Langya Pavilion firsthand, at the construction site north of the parking lot, Xu Hao, Zhu Qiang, and Luo Peng had already arrived by the riverbank.

This wasn’t because Xu Hao didn’t want Langya Pavilion to open sooner—it was simply a lack of time.

“Brother Hao, the foundation work is 95% complete. We only need two more stone bridges!”

Pointing to the thirty-plus-meter wide river, the neatly lined stone embankments, and the even foundations on both sides, Zhu Qiang explained.

Completing this in such a short time was nothing short of a miracle in construction history.

Moreover, the engineers had confirmed that there was indeed an underground river to the north of the Protectorate of West Liang, outside the city. That site had now been coordinated with Mingsha County’s relevant departments and designated as part of the desert area.

All the necessary paperwork had been completed.

Construction of the earthen fortification had already begun over there. Once finished, they could drill a well in the underground river to channel water into the river.

“Alright! From now on, I’ll handle restoring the ancient buildings on both sides. You all need to focus on recruiting long-term extras and producing some basic props, such as the grain boats from the Qingming Scroll.”

Nodding, Xu Hao looked at Zhu Qiang.

Replicating the intricacies of the Qingming Scroll wasn’t just about recreating tea houses, taverns, shoe shops, butchers, temples, pavilions, brothels, gambling dens, pastry shops, fabric stores, and so on; the minute details posed an immense challenge.

First, the specialized shops selling luxurious silks, jewelry, spices, incense, and paper horses had to be included.

Additionally, there needed to be medical clinics, cart repair shops, fortune tellers, barbers, merchants, city gentry admiring the street scenes, riding officials, street hawkers, families in sedan chairs—the list went on. There were even itinerant monks carrying baskets, out-of-town tourists asking for directions, street urchins listening to storytellers, extravagant scions guzzling drinks in restaurants, and disabled beggars on the city’s outskirts.

In short,

men, women, young, old, every trade and social class had to be represented.

As for transportation, there were sedan chairs, camels, ox-carts, rickshaws, palanquins, traditional carts—a full array, each unique.

And that wasn’t even all of it.

From the painting, it was clear these figures weren’t just standing around; they were busy with all sorts of activities—shopping at markets, trading, strolling, drinking, chatting, rowing boats, pulling carts, riding sedan chairs, and horseback riding. Every scene had to be faithfully reenacted exactly as depicted in the Qingming Scroll.

Only then would the complete restoration of the Qingming Scroll be achieved—capturing both its form and essence.

“Recruit extras? Brother Hao, how many do we need?”

Luo Peng asked immediately from the side.

Clearly, that was his area.

“We need to hire 815 extras, and they must be long-term. They have to perform on the Qingming Scroll set every working day—from 9 AM to 6 PM with a two-hour lunch break.”

Instinctively, Xu Hao glanced toward the employee dormitories.

“Wait, 800-plus extras? The kind that work every day?”

Not working would have been fine,

but when they heard, not only did Luo Peng freeze in disbelief, even Zhu Qiang was astounded.

815 extras? That was staggering. Perhaps only large-scale war scenes needed that many extras, and those scenes were rare—maybe only one or two occasionally.

“There’s no way around it. The Qingming Scroll features 815 characters, and each one must be portrayed. Our goal is for a drone to capture an aerial panorama that looks just like the Qingming Scroll.”

Xu Hao explained.

He had crunched the numbers: for 815 extras to be paid a minimum of 4,000 each per month, wages alone would exceed three million monthly, and with food and accommodation, the total would easily hit five million.

But if they could recreate it perfectly, that five million monthly cost would be totally justified! “Brother Hao, I’ll figure something out!”

Returning to reality,

Luo Peng immediately agreed.

815 extras it is—fortunately, they didn’t need acting skills; they simply had to be on the street during working hours. In fact, nearly everyone from Hongsha Gang Village and the neighboring village could work here.

More importantly, if the project unfolded as planned, that street would morph from a mere tourist spot into a full-fledged cultural landmark.

“Brother Hao, since that’s the case, do the extras need special costumes?”

Zhu Qiang chimed in.

“Don’t worry about the costumes—I’ll call Third Brother!”

Xu Hao waved his hand dismissively.

Since Xu Chen had returned to New Country, they hadn’t been in touch much; this was the perfect opportunity to check on things over there.

“Alright!”

“By the way, Qiangzi, now that ‘Legend of Langya’ is streaming on Star, the project over there has been delayed for too long. Once the online rights are sold, they’ll extend Qing Brick Avenue right up to Langya Pavilion, and the large commercial street in front of it will be prepped for business—shops will welcome customers as soon as they open.”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao added.

P.S.: Many thanks to all the brothers for the tips, subscriptions, and monthly ticket support. Lao Ba is deeply grateful.

Brothers, as we have commitments during the day tomorrow, the update may be delayed. It’s even possible that tomorrow night I’ll release four chapters in one go. Hope you understand.

Lao Ba sends his thanks!