Chapter 188: Box Office Schemes and Chaotic Beginnings

“Why? You should know the reason, Mr. Qi! Right now, the box office for ‘New Moon Legend’ and ‘Longmen Inn’ are neck-and-neck—not exactly a Spring Festival hit! How am I supposed to announce it officially? Once we do, netizens will have endless complaints!”

At that moment, Ran Xiangfei’s voice came through, calm and measured.

“Spring Festival box office champion? Chairman Ran, it’s hard to say at this point!”

Qi Haoyong frowned.

“Exactly! If ‘New Moon Legend’ clinches the Spring Festival box office crown, Ning An Cultural Tourism can announce it to the public and the audience will accept it. But what if it isn’t? Does that mean we don’t announce at all? That’s why I told you not to rush—wait until the seventh day. If things don’t work out, then buy some box office. As long as on the seventh day the earnings surpass Longmen Inn and we secure the Spring Festival title, it doesn’t matter who leads in total after the eighth.”

Before Qi Haoyong could press for more details, Ran Xiangfei added, “

“Buy box office?”

Qi Haoyong’s heart skipped a beat.

“No choice! I told you earlier to buy a few bots to bash Longmen Inn, but you didn’t listen! Now you’re stunned—the box office figures of both films are tied! If you had listened, ‘New Moon Legend’ might have easily lapped Longmen Inn, and there’d be no need to buy box office on the seventh day.” Ran Xiangfei chided, his tone laced with exasperation.

“I…”

Qi Haoyong hesitated, lost for words.

Even though Ran Xiangfei’s logic had some merit, something still didn’t feel right.

“Trust me, it’s foolproof! I predict that by the seventh day, the earnings for ‘New Moon Legend’ and ‘Longmen Inn’ will be almost even. All you need is to buy roughly ten million in box office—then we’re set.”

“Ten million?”

Qi Haoyong, sitting at his computer, suddenly raised his voice.

“Right now, Ning An Cultural Tourism’s funds are drained with loan repayments, and visitors don’t flock here like at Mingsha Tourism. Forget ten million—even pulling out a few million is a challenge.”

“Hmm!”

“Chairman Ran, ten million is just too much, as you know.”

“Relax! I’m not asking you to actually spend ten million in cash—I have my ways, and we won’t really need that much. I’ll contact you beforehand.”

Ran Xiangfei agreed immediately.

“I see.”

A wave of relief washed over Qi Haoyong.

“Mr. Qi, look here.”

“Then let’s wait and see on the sixth and seventh.”

After much thought, Qi Haoyong decided not to refuse.

There was no turning back now; he only hoped that ‘New Moon Legend’ would beat Longmen Inn, allowing him to buy little or no box office boost.

He hung up the phone.

Leaning back in his chair, Qi Haoyong took a moment before dialing the Deputy Director’s number.

“Mr. Zhang, please update our group’s website today. Announce that the New Moon Tower and New Moon Hall from ‘New Moon Legend’ will officially open to the public on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Invite all tourists to visit.”

Even if not many netizens follow the background architecture of ‘New Moon Legend’, we have to try, don’t we?

What if it actually makes an impact?

Even if it doesn’t reach the headline status of Mingsha Tourism, a little buzz is enough.

“Alright, Mr. Qi! I’ll get right on it!”

……

“Spring taps at sixty-nine, rivers open at seventy-nine, and nights arrive at eighty-nine.” With the arrival of early spring before the New Year and ever-changing weather after, people could clearly feel the warmth returning—even spotting tender buds on the riverine willows.

Moreover, as Mingsha Tourism’s announcements and chatter about Longmen Inn grew, by the second day of the New Year, Mingsha guesthouses were packed with tourists. On the third day, long queues formed for rides. By eight in the morning on the fourth day, after the city gate and large parking lot were finished, a long line of vehicles appeared for the first time.

And that wasn’t all.

At the parking lot exit, tourists waiting for rides and entry to the scenic area reached full capacity.

Everyone wanted to be among the first to check in at Langya Pavilion and Longmen Inn.

“Do you think we should go to Longmen Inn first or Langya Pavilion?”

While waiting for the carriage,

a woman turned to her companion.

“Let’s head to Langya Pavilion first!”

Her companion responded without hesitation.

“What? Langya Pavilion? The tourism board shows it’s about eight kilometers away, while Longmen Inn is less than three kilometers from here—easily walkable!”

The woman was puzzled.

“Are you out of your mind? Look—if you delay at Longmen Inn, catching a ride becomes nearly impossible. The public carriages there are always full.”

“We can’t exactly walk from Longmen Inn to Langya Pavilion!”

Her companion rolled her eyes.

“Oh, true…”

“So, we just wait for the carriage.”

She couldn’t help but glance at the other queues.

The line for public carriages was the longest; next were the camel and sedan zones. But by then, all ten camel teams and fifty sedan groups had already left—and who knew when they’d return.

As for the waiting areas for donkeys, ostriches, and horses, there were very few riders on such scarce mounts. Especially for ostriches—only a hundred in total.

If you wanted to ride an ostrich today, you’d be waiting for hours.

Tourists were out for fun, but long waits wore on anyone’s patience.

At that moment, the Tourist Service Center was packed with inquiries. “Why are your public carriages taking so long?”

“Sir, our scenic area currently has two hundred public carriages in operation. Please be patient.”

The staff explained politely.

“Two hundred? How is that enough? Look at the number of tourists today—can you not dispatch another two hundred?”

Hearing the numbers, the tourist grew anxious.

“Sir, that’s the maximum capacity we can operate.”

The staff member couldn’t help but offer a wry smile.

Originally, only one hundred and fifty public carriages were allocated for the guesthouses. With the opening of Langya Pavilion, fifty extra were added for a dedicated line.

Who would have thought that both the number of tourists and the dual IP launch would be so underestimated?

It was nearly impossible to add more on short notice—a new carriage needed to be built, and drivers and horses had to be trained for safety.

“Maximum capacity? For a place this large, that’s not enough! You’ll have to contact your leadership. We can’t have early arrivals stuck in the parking lot.”

“Another complaint from our tourists.”

“Sir, please hold on! We’ve reported the situation to our leadership. We’ll have an answer soon.”

The staff member continued.

“Then hurry up!”

At the Mingsha Parking Lot, people jostled in dense crowds. At the Qingming Scroll construction site, aside from workers, there were hardly any tourists. As one ancient building after another rose along the river, the scattered workers made the site seem oddly deserted.

At that moment,

thanks to Xu Hao and hundreds of master craftsmen working day and night, Qingming Scroll was eighty-five percent complete. At this pace, it should be finished by the end of March.

“Engineer Li, how’s the progress on that sunken ship?”

Standing on the stone bridge spanning the river, Xu Hao asked the foreman.

The scene of a cargo ship colliding with a bridge was a classic element of Qingming Scroll and had to be perfectly recreated.

“Boss, it’s nearly done. They’ll haul it over by tomorrow night,” the foreman replied hurriedly.

In his rush, the foreman added,

To speed up progress, this time Qingming Scroll adopted a dual processing method. Previously, wood and components were processed in Hongsha Gang Village and then transported to the guesthouses.

Now, Qingming Scroll set up its own processing area. The two zones had distinct roles; wooden items like the ship were still crafted in Hongsha Gang Village.

“Then that’s fine. It must be a perfect replica.”

Xu Hao nodded.

“Don’t worry!”

Ding-ding-ding. Just as Xu Hao was about to give further instructions, his phone rang suddenly.

He saw it was a call from Luo Peng.

Xu Hao answered immediately.

“What’s up, Little Luo?”

“Brother Hao, our guesthouses are overflowing today. All transport has been deployed, yet problems persist.”

At that moment, Luo Peng’s voice rang out urgently.

Now,

Luo Peng was truly experiencing the bittersweet thrill!

Despite a flurry of instruction calls, such a situation was every scenic area’s dream. Constant crowds meant extraordinary revenue.

“Were the fifty prepped public carriages all put into service?”

Xu Hao’s expression changed.

“All of them!”

“So you’re planning to deploy those new mounts at the last minute?”

Having worked closely with Xu Hao for a long time, Luo Peng’s coordination was impeccable. By the time he finished speaking, Xu Hao had already guessed his intention.

“Yes, Brother Hao. Those new mounts are in Hongsha Gang Village, not far from here. Bringing them in should ease the pressure.”

Luo Peng said hurriedly.

Originally, these mounts were meant for the Xianxia zone, but in this emergency, they were brought out as a temporary fix.

“Safe?”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao asked,

“Brother Hao, rest assured. These mounts have been pre-trained and each has a dedicated handler. They’re definitely safe!”

Luo Peng immediately assured him.

Being in charge of this matter, he knew the importance of skilled drivers, especially for elephants, and had already reassigned some staff from Mingsha Labor.

“Alright. Since safety is guaranteed, follow your plan. But be cautious—these new mounts are large, and if too many tourists gather around them, chaos could ensue. Avoid injuries.”

Xu Hao did not object.

The new mounts would be deployed sooner or later, so a short delay was acceptable.

“I understand, Brother Hao! I already called Secretary Qin from the county; he’ll send extra security.”

“Good!”

Time flew, and soon it was ten in the morning.

Even though public carriages and camel teams shuttled back and forth, the queue at the parking lot only grew longer.

“What’s going on? Weren’t the staff supposed to coordinate with the leaders at Mingsha Tourism? Why is nothing happening?”

“Exactly!”

“Will this work? We’ve been waiting for almost an hour!”

“They say Mingsha Tourism offers excellent service, but right now it seems just average.”

“I agree!”

As the increasingly frustrated tourists prepared to approach the service center again, a sudden commotion arose at the city gate.

“Howl!”

“Moo!”

Loud calls rang out repeatedly, growing clearer—a veritable parade of wild animals.

“What’s happening?”

This spurred many tourists to rush to the city gate, eager to see what was unfolding.

“Old Ba thanks you endlessly!”