Chapter 183: High Salaries and New Year Ambitions

Such a high salary? Is Xiao Gang a company leader now?

Upon hearing about the salary and benefits at Mingsha Tourism, the young man’s face went blank.

They offer free meals and accommodation, are close to home, pay 9,000 a month, and include full social security. That kind of package can easily rival first-tier cities where monthly wages hit 20 to 30 thousand. Only they know how much of their earnings really sticks.

“No way! Would a leader get that little? I heard from Xiao Gang that mid-to-senior leaders at Mingsha Tourism even earn equity bonuses. With this year’s scale, the numbers must be impressive.”

Han Zi glared.

“This package is simply too good.”

The young man suddenly felt that earning elsewhere wasn’t as appealing anymore. After all, with benefits like these, it’s just like working a few extra days over the New Year!

Absolutely acceptable!

“So, is Mingsha Tourism still hiring?”

Snapping back to attention,

the young man in a black down jacket hesitated before asking.

“Yes! Every time Mingsha Tourism develops a new patch of desert, they hire a fresh batch. I heard Xiao Gang say that after the New Year the cultural company will be preparing a TV series, so they’ll definitely need more staff. But their hiring standards are much higher now—graduates from Wei City and nearby urban centers are all coming over.”

Han Zi glanced again at the two young men.

“Alright then, Uncle, you go enjoy the sun while we head home!”

“Okay!”

This scene was by no means unique—it played out time and again in Mingsha, a little western county. Many young people, lured by such attractive benefits, think: first, these perks are irresistible; second, working here isn’t bad at all; and third, if they’re hiring, why not submit a resume?

Consequently, as the New Year neared and tourists gradually left Mingsha to celebrate at home, a fresh wave of young people poured in. Instead of dwindling, the local buzz even grew a bit—it hardly felt like the festive season at all.

Before long it was the 27th day of the last lunar month—just two days until New Year’s Eve. “Old Six, I know you’re trying to vent on my behalf, but aren’t these back-to-back high-intensity projects too exhausting? Besides, that group didn’t suffer any losses—they even managed to promote Haofang Culture’s film.”

At the riverbank construction site, Xu Xin glanced sideways at the buildings behind and across, her eyes flashing with both shock and sympathy.

At that moment, the construction progress of Qingming Scroll had reached 60% under relentless, high-intensity work. Extras had already started arriving early to get acquainted with the future work environment. By nightfall, when the lights along both sides of the river were switched on, the scene truly came to life! Of course,

only high-level personnel from Haofang Culture like Xu Xin were allowed inside, while the other visitors remained clueless about what was being built.

“Don’t worry! I promise I’ll take a break if I get overwhelmed!”

Xu Hao smiled, fully understanding what Xu Xin meant.

But the next moment, when Xu Xin spoke again, Xu Hao was instantly at a loss for words.

“Well, maybe you brought this on yourself. If you had a girlfriend, maybe things would be different. Besides, I came over to tell you that for the Xianxia drama the lead role has gone to Hu Xiao. I still need a blockbuster to catapult him to top superstar status. And by the way, I just signed a new actress—she’s got a fantastic presence.”

“You’re such a true sister!”

Snapping back to reality, Xu Hao couldn’t help but complain. He had felt a pang of emotion only for it to fizzle out halfway through.

Only a true sister could pull off something like that.

“What? Am I wrong? I heard that in Yan City there’s a girl named Xiaoqing who’s been a tremendous help to you. Have you two gotten close? Next time she visits, let me know. And if you’re too shy, have Miss Dan speak up for you.”

Xu Xin rolled her eyes at Xu Hao.

“Hu Xiao is definitely going to be the male lead in the next Xianxia drama!”

Hearing this, Xu Hao quickly interjected,

“Why not at least meet up once?”

Xu Xin raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Fang is busy overseas these days with Spring Festival projects. Once he’s back, I’ll tell him that your newly signed actress must be cast as the female lead in a Xianxia drama!”

Xu Hao hurriedly added,

“Alright then, you relax. I’m off to the office. Longmen Inn is set to hit nationwide screens on New Year’s Day, and I still need to keep an eye out for potential new talent.

Also, Haofang Agency is finally making money. Tiger Leopard Band snagged several bookings for local Spring Festival Galas and Lantern Festival shows. We’ll reconvene after the Lantern Festival.

The net proceeds from those shows have already been transferred. So if you need funds, just have the accountant connect with Haofang Agency’s finance department.”

Xu Xin patted Xu Hao on the shoulder,

and without giving him a chance to reply further, she turned and left the construction site.

“Uh…”

“Brother Hao, Second Sister’s presence is really something.”

Spotting Xu Xin’s departure, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng quickly approached from a distance.

“We’re used to it! Now, on to business—are the New Year’s Eve arrangements all set?”

Xu Hao glanced at Xu Xin’s departing back before turning to Zhu Qiang.

Although work at Mingsha Tourism kept going over the Spring Festival, New Year’s Eve was still observed as a day off—a small but respectful nod to tradition.

“Brother Hao, everything is ready! We’ll have the reunion dinner at Vermilion Bird Building, then head to Fireworks Square for a grand display. After the show, free time is on the agenda.”

Zhu Qiang promptly replied.

“With so many employees and their families, can Vermilion Bird Building really accommodate everyone?”

Xu Hao thought for a moment before asking further.

Whether it’s Mingsha Tourism, Haofang Culture, or Mingsha Labor, the teams are only getting bigger. Mingsha Tourism alone, with branches in Qixia Town, Wudi City, and other areas, employs nearly two hundred people in each location.

“Brother Hao, besides Vermilion Bird Building, we’ve also reserved tables at restaurants on Vermilion Bird Street, in Qixia Town, and even in Wudi City. It should be fine.”

Zhu Qiang nodded slightly.

“Have all these venues been booked solid? What about the guests at the guesthouses? I saw this morning’s data showing tens of guests are still staying in Mingsha on New Year’s Eve.”

Xu Hao turned to glance toward Qixia Town.

No matter what, not even a single guest at the guesthouses should be overlooked.

“Brother Hao, here’s what I suggest: have customer service contact those guests to see if they’d like to celebrate the New Year with us. If they agree, include all expenses in our group activity cost.

If not, make sure their meals are pre-ordered and ready.”

Zhu Qiang nodded in agreement.

He too had noticed the issue of guests staying over during the holiday.

“Good then! Also, prepare some cash red envelopes for the dinner. Every employee—from department managers to janitors—should receive 500.”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao added,

“Normally, Mingsha Tourism would host an internal staff party. But this year’s situation is so unusual that it’ll have to wait. However, the New Year red envelopes are a must.”

“Alright, Brother Hao. I’ll have finance take care of it right away!”

“By the way, Little Luo, make sure to leave some staff at Hongsha Gang Village over the New Year. All those transported mounts are stored there. We can’t let them run loose.”

With that, Xu Hao turned to Luo Peng.

“Don’t worry, Brother Hao. I’ll handle it over there!”

“Alright then, that’s enough for now. I need to speed up my work. It’s already been several days since Li Chun, and after the New Year the weather will warm up soon. You two better pick up the pace too—in just over 40 days, the Ancient Architecture Forum will be here.”

“We won’t drop the ball!”

In reality, Mingsha Tourism was already in full swing preparing for New Year’s Eve while online, the hot topics were Long Kingdom TV’s Spring Festival Gala and the New Year movie slate.

On an entertainment forum, many netizens, after checking out the rehearsal program list, seemed to lose all their interest.

“What the heck? There’s really nothing to look forward to.”

“I really don’t know what the director was thinking.”

“Right? I thought Mingsha Tourism Festival’s song ‘Wanjiang’ would make it to the Gala, but it didn’t.”

“It makes sense—’Wanjiang’ was overused on KuaiDou, so it quickly lost its appeal. Meanwhile, Haofang Culture has raked in big fees from the licensing of ‘Wanjiang’, ‘Desert Camel’, and ‘Passionate Desert’.”

“That makes sense.”

“So everyone’s really talking about the New Year movie slate now. I feel it’s far more interesting than the Gala!”

The public’s anticipation for the Gala had waned, but when it came to the New Year movie slate, netizens suddenly became animated, and the forum buzzed with new posts.

“How so?”

“The roadshow for New Moon Legend is underway—I heard its ‘comedic effect’ was pretty good. Pre-sales start tomorrow, and these days people love family-friendly films; ultimately, the box office won’t be too shabby.”

This wave of promotion for New Moon Legend is directly targeting Haofang Culture’s Longmen Inn. Who will come out on top remains to be seen.

Due to the aggressive promotion by both New Moon Legend and Longmen Inn, the New Year movie slate has become a battleground, leaving other films to play supporting roles.

Hence, most discussions among netizens revolve around these two movies.

“I feel Haofang Culture will ultimately prevail!”

Some netizens firmly backed Haofang Culture.

“Why?”

“Because Haofang Culture has never disappointed us. Most importantly, the director of New Moon Legend is Wan Shan—last time, he bragged about taking on Haofang Culture’s ‘Snowy Series’ and ended up losing miserably. I bet this time he’ll fall under Haofang Culture’s iron grip again.”

“That’s a solid reason, but it isn’t a sure thing this time!”

“Not sure?”

“Not sure indeed. Although Haofang Culture’s productions guarantee quality, don’t forget, these are martial arts films! The box office for martial arts movies is cursed!”

“Cursed?”

“Yes! A look through Long Kingdom’s film history shows that to date, no martial arts film has exceeded 500 million at the box office. The highest, released five years ago, made 499 million—a few million short of 500. That’s the curse of martial arts films.”

As one netizen commented.