Chapter 213: Silent Strategies and Unspoken Grievances

Online

Due to an announcement from the authorities, Mingsha City and Jinlong Ancient City became trending topics. By early evening, Jinlong Ancient City even issued a statement expressing gratitude for the support from the public and netizens, vowing to fulfill its main venue responsibilities and showcase the charm of Long Kingdom traditional culture to the world.

As a result, Jinlong Ancient City leapt to the top of the cultural news section on major portals.

The likes and support numbers quickly soared into the hundreds of thousands.

Nearly all netizens expressed hope that Jinlong Ancient City would give Long Kingdom a boost and decisively end H Country’s lingering ambitions for certain heritage project applications.

In contrast, Mingsha City remained as usual, with no response whatsoever.

In real life at Yan City TV, the Director Association’s Ding Xiaoping stared at his screen for a long time while Bai Ming stood silently across the desk. Their unspoken understanding kept them quiet until Bai Ming finally broke the silence.

“President, the five projects assigned to Mingsha City seem to have no real promise!”

They had been waiting for final project updates these past few days.

After all the waiting, the projects allocated to Mingsha City turned out to be a huge letdown.

The first four projects were hardly worth mentioning—barely eye-catching and unlikely to impress H Country. As for the final traditional costume project, Mingsha City has practically become the realm of ancient garb; tourists now feel awkward entering Qingming Scroll without wearing period costumes.

Thus,

there’s no way H Country can compete with Mingsha City.

Moreover, the costumes in Mingsha City are no ordinary theatrical outfits! The more than 800 extras wear outfits replicated exactly from the Qingming Scroll—authentic Song Dynasty attire.

“What’s the response over at Mingsha City?”

After a long pause, Ding Xiaoping looked up at Bai Ming.

“There’s absolutely no response from Mingsha City!”

Bai Ming shook his head.

“No response?”

Ding Xiaoping arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, not a peep. They haven’t issued any announcement about the subsidiary venue. I suspect they’re upset about the project allocation, which is why they’re staying silent.”

After a moment’s thought, Bai Ming shared his speculation.

If it were him, he’d be frustrated too.

These five projects offer little in the way of standout potential. With Mingsha City’s current capabilities, they could easily handle them without breaking a sweat. Unlike Jinlong Ancient City’s over-the-top announcement, there was no need for such hype.

“President, in my opinion, our film festival should tackle another city head-on. We can’t really rely on the Cultural Expo.”

After a brief pause, Bai Ming added,

“Head-on? No way! We must wait until Haofang Culture’s xianxia drama finally airs!”

Ding Xiaoping gave Bai Ming a deep, reproachful look and shook his head.

“Wait? But…”

Bai Ming paused thoughtfully.

“Mingsha City is unnervingly silent. They’re definitely up to something. Just wait—you mentioned earlier that Mingsha Tourism might vent its frustration through that xianxia drama.”

Ding Xiaoping casually lit a cigarette.

He rarely smoked before, but ever since the Director Association clashed with Mingsha City, he had gradually picked up the habit.

“Vent their frustration through a xianxia drama?”

Bai Ming looked slightly taken aback.

Although it sounded a bit far-fetched, if you think about it, Mingsha City is certainly capable of it. They may not directly protest, but they could escalate the drama to subtly warn the higher-ups that they chose the wrong main venue!

“So, wait until the end of May!”

“That works! We’ll wait for the xianxia drama at the end of May.”

“Agreed!”

Meanwhile, behind the scenes at Eggplant TV, Cai An felt an uneasy premonition after reading the online news.

“Is Mingsha City really completely silent?”

“Boss, there’s been no announcement from that side. Everything remains business as usual.”

The General nodded in agreement.

“No, quickly notify those production companies planning to air on our channel at the end of May that if they want solid ratings, they’d better delay. Mingsha City might be gearing up for a vent!

We can’t have Yan City TV snatching our ratings and then blaming us for a lack of viewers.”

Coming back to focus,

Cai An hurriedly spoke up,

“Vent their anger?”

The General was momentarily puzzled, unsure why his boss would suddenly say that.

“Think about it—why hasn’t Mingsha City responded?”

Cai An looked toward the General.

“I believe it’s normal. Both Mingsha City and Jinlong Ancient City have undoubtedly received the official notice. They just need to prepare on time!”

The General was even more baffled.

To him, it was normal for Mingsha City not to issue a statement—like Eggplant TV simply following orders from above. But this situation was different. If Jinlong Ancient City felt compelled to respond, then Mingsha City should have as well. Their silence clearly signals resentment about the Cultural Expo. With resentment comes an inevitable venting!

Cai An waved his hands emphatically.

Eggplant TV had once done something similar—complaining openly wasn’t an option, so why not let the projects speak for themselves?

In his view, the eventual fallout from the xianxia drama would be significant.

“I see.”

“Alright, then notify them! If they don’t believe us, we’ll go along with their plan.”

“Okay, boss.”

Days passed, and before long, another day dawned. Although netizens don’t have the refined perspective of industry professionals, they aren’t clueless. By the following afternoon, many netizens noticed an issue,

posting, “Friends, have you noticed that Mingsha City seems to have not responded to the Cultural Expo venue issue?”

“Yeah, they haven’t commented or responded at all.”

“Why?”

“Why wouldn’t they? There are only five performance projects, almost a foregone conclusion—purely theatrical. What’s there to respond about?”

“But theoretically…”

“Enough with the theory. You were about to say Mingsha City is likely upset with the higher-up decision, right?”

“Yes!”

“Resentment is natural—no resentment would be abnormal! Still, I believe even if Mingsha City is disgruntled, they can still manage these five projects perfectly.”

“I hope so, but I can’t shake this uneasy feeling.”

“Don’t worry! Just relax and wait for the Cultural Expo.”

Evening.

At Oasis 23, Xu Hao stood on a high platform, directing hundreds of workers. “Engineer Li, get Section 3 moving faster!”

“Got it, Leader!”

“Also, accelerate progress in Section 5. We need that area ready for filming, while other sections can lag a bit.”

Xu Hao reiterated his instructions.

“Yes!”

“And what about the engineers from the smelting plant?”

Just as Li Shaoqing, the head of Mingsha Tourism’s Engineering Department, was about to leave, Xu Hao suddenly remembered something and asked,

“Leader, they’ll arrive at Mingsha City tomorrow afternoon for a break. They should reach us around 8 PM tonight.”

After a moment’s thought, Li Shaoqing hurriedly replied,

“Alright! Be sure that the heavy machinery and lifting equipment reach Oasis 23 by tomorrow morning.”

Xu Hao nodded slightly.

“Leader, rest assured—they’ll get the job done!”

The phone began to ring.

Just as Xu Hao was about to add something, his phone rang unexpectedly. Glancing at the screen, he was taken by surprise. Nodding to Li Shaoqing, he stepped aside to take the call.

“Hello, Leader!”

The call was from Dong Liping in Su Province.

Though Xu Hao and Dong Liping were on good terms and quite familiar with each other, Xu Hao didn’t get calls as often as he did from Feng Wancheng.

“Xiao Xu, are you busy right now?”

“Not at all! What’s up?”

“Xiao Xu, has the Cultural Expo been finalized? The higher-ups called me today, insisting that you show no grievances. Stick with the five performance projects as assigned.”

Moments later, Dong Liping’s voice came through clearly.

“Grievances? Leader, how could I have any? You know I’m heading to Yan City to renovate the 49 Imperial City, and there’s a strong chance I’ll also be refurbishing Mingsha Academy. The five performance projects are clearly a favor from above to Mingsha City—there’s no room for any complaints!”

Xu Hao was taken aback, unsure how to respond.

“Heh, I know. I already mentioned it to the higher-ups. They probably saw some online chatter and got worried, so they asked me to follow up.”

Dong Liping chuckled.

His call was simply to relay the higher-ups’ instructions to Xu Hao.

“Online chatter? What are they saying?”

Xu Hao looked dumbfounded.

He had been working non-stop lately, barely having time to check the news online—it was a sleep-deprived blur.

“There are many online reports claiming that Mingsha City hasn’t responded to the Cultural Expo, suggesting they’re resentful about only being assigned five minor projects.”

Dong Liping continued,

“So, should we reply now? General Zhu from Mingsha Tourism has been so busy day and night that he’s had no time to address these issues.”

Hearing this, Xu Hao suddenly understood and immediately said,

He never imagined such a minor oversight could stir up so much discussion.

In fact, Xu Hao didn’t realize that this small mistake had already convinced Ding Xiaoping, Cai An, and several others.

“I guess that’s it! Let’s not reply now—if we do, people will say Mingsha City only responded under pressure.”

Dong Liping added promptly,

“Alright then!”

“By the way, Xiao Xu, I heard from Old Li that you’ve been insanely busy lately—so busy that you sometimes don’t even hear your phone ring. If you need any help, just let me know and I’ll arrange it.”

After a brief pause, Dong Liping’s voice returned.

“Help? No, Leader, speaking of help, there’s actually something I need to ask you about.”

Xu Hao almost replied that it wasn’t necessary, but at the last moment, he held his tongue.

“Go ahead! I’ll figure something out for you!”