Chapter 248: Mingsha City Uprising

Leader, so what are we going to do now? The food street in Mingsha City has trended online, and once the vendors of traditional snacks from other provinces catch wind of it, they’ll all be itching to set up shop in Mingsha City.

After a brief silence, Bai Ming spoke up again.

Earlier, one of their concerns about Mingsha City’s ability to host a traditional food showcase was that the city’s resources were too limited to gather every traditional snack throughout the Long Kingdom.

But now, with this promotional challenge, a well-placed ad saves us a lot of effort.

For these vendors specializing in traditional cuisine, it hardly matters where they set up shop—as long as they make money. Even more crucial, there’s no competition in Mingsha City! Just one store per snack and a constant flow of patrons—it’s a dream come true.

“Forget it! It’s just early hype to get Mingsha City jumping. Today, they’re riding high, but in four months they’ll be scrambling!”

He added, “Besides the food showcase, we’re also launching a palace sacrificial event! Just seize even one of those and you can knock Mingsha City off its pedestal.”

He waved dismissively.

Ding Xiaoping signaled to Bai Ming not to worry too much.

Of course, the reality is that panicking won’t help! The traditional snack vendors won’t listen to the Director Association anyway; for now, we have to pin our hopes on H Country.

As long as H Country supports us fully, everything will work out.

Night had fallen deeply—it was already early morning of the next day. Yet, surprisingly, the traditional snack street in Mingsha City was bustling as ever! This was the first time since the city’s inception that such a scene had unfolded.

Moreover,

besides tourists, the street was filled with local staff and nearby residents.

It couldn’t be helped. Mingsha City had already been livelier than Mingsha County, and now with this traditional snack street added, many staff members had completely forgotten about the county town.

In Mingsha City, there’s a place to shop, eat, and stay. Who would even remember the county town?

Some employees are even considering making Mingsha City their permanent home!

If Mingsha Tourism dares to open real estate—and even schools—they’ll be first in line to settle here, forever Mingsha City residents.

At this moment, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng appeared on the snack street, accompanied by its head, Tan Mianhua.

“Manager Tan, you’ve done a fantastic job with this promotional challenge! It even trended online—a free marketing coup for us!”

He glanced at the shops on either side.

Zhu Qiang remarked.

He had handed over the food street details to Tan Mianhua and barely checked in afterwards. Clearly, Tan Mianhua was a real talent! “Zhu General, you’re too kind. Really, it was just a daring attempt from someone in the catering business! Authentic flavors are best kept separate, so we figured it was better to group them together in one area.”

Tan Mianhua quickly waved his hand in dismissal.

“So far, not only has it worked well, but it’s also added a touch of fun.”

Nearby, Luo Peng chimed in.

He never expected that a simple promotional event would land Mingsha City on the trending list.

“Manager Tan, although the debut of the snack street was impressive, you must ensure the management remains tight. We can’t allow those greedy vendors to overcharge. If one oversteps, we remove them immediately!”

After a pause, Zhu Qiang continued.

To boost the snack street, Mingsha City really spared no effort. Just consider the shop rent: each vendor only pays 50,000 a year!

In a booming tourist spot, a rent of 50,000 is practically like free rent! Compare that to the million-starting rents in Long Kingdom’s hotspots, and some are even higher! That’s why,

Mingsha City’s sincerity means even the snack vendors can’t cheat their customers.

“Zhu General, rest assured—I’m a professional. With the footfall in Mingsha City, even if vendors sell at street prices, they’ll still make a tidy profit. But if they dare hike prices, Mingsha City won’t stand for it! I plan to issue an official price list so that if any food exceeds it, tourists can report it.”

Upon hearing this,

Tan Mianhua quickly interjected.

In fact, Zhu Qiang cared about this issue even more than he did!

There are countless renowned tourist spots in the Long Kingdom ruined by unscrupulous vendors charging sky-high prices, leaving tourists with a bad taste and headaches whenever they mention them.

“That’s good then!”

Zhu Qiang nodded.

“By the way, Zhu General, what’s our next policy? Do we open all at once once construction is complete, or do we roll it out province by province?”

After a pause, Tan Mianhua couldn’t help but ask.

Since Mingsha City’s snack street trended today, his phone almost exploded with calls—and the staff’s phones were equally busy! Nearly everyone was inquiring about how to set up shop in Mingsha City.

Some calls even came in back-to-back from vendors all selling the same snack, each claiming to be the most authentic.

It’s safe to say that introducing inheritors of traditional cuisine next will be a breeze.

“Alright, if you prep one province, I’ll open that province! With the pace of construction, don’t worry about space—Brother Hao promised that this street will keep expanding without limits until it houses every snack vendor from the Long Kingdom.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhu Qiang said.

“Alright, Zhu General. I’ll start the census first thing in the next couple of days!”

At this,

Tan Mianhua exclaimed with relief.

“Mm-hmm!”

Meanwhile,

in the conference room of Mingsha City’s government building, lights burned late into the night. Qin Xuan, who was chairing the meeting, leaned back in his chair while watching the agitated department heads, helplessly rubbing his temples.

He never imagined that an afternoon meeting would drag on until dawn. Judging by the scene, even if the meeting stretched into the morning, it wouldn’t end soon.

The agenda, aside from fire safety, industry, commerce, and taxation, also included establishing branch offices or sub-offices in Mingsha City. But soon, the discussion shifted from merely setting up branches to considering relocating entire departments, leaving the county’s old town with just the branches and sub-offices.

“Leader, we really need to move. Today, nearly 200 specialty snack shops opened on Mingsha Snack Street alone, not to mention the existing restaurants in Mingsha City. Their numbers now exceed all the snack shops in the county town. If we don’t move, it just won’t cut it.”

After a moment of silence, a representative from the Food and Drug Administration firmly stated.

“Well…”

Qin Xuan sighed.

“Alright then! I’ll confer with the other leaders tomorrow. If all else fails, you move first! Food safety is paramount.”

Qin Xuan felt a mix of joy and pain at that moment.

Mingsha City was now contributing a larger share to the local economy, especially in tax and consumption. Just today’s half-year data had already surpassed last year’s full-year figures, and it was far ahead of other counties in Wei City!

No—one could even say that in the whole province, except for the few directly-administered counties rich in minerals or oil, none rivaled the might of Mingsha County.

But with these successes came problems—everyone wanted to be in Mingsha City rather than the old county town! Especially when insiders heard that plans for new elementary and middle schools were underway, and even a secret subway was being built, their resolve only hardened.

So, the county must not open up!

If it does, every organization in the county will rush to Mingsha City, and what about the other towns? The Food and Drug Administration really has no choice this time.

Over 200 snack shops opened all at once—it was impossible not to be overwhelmed.

“Leader, if the FDA moves there, we’ll have to move too!”

Just as Qin Xuan finished speaking, another official spoke up.

This person was in charge of public security for the county town.

“You all? Didn’t you leave plenty of police over there?” Qin Xuan frowned. “Leader, yes, many were stationed there, but the tourist flow now is staggering—at least 40,000 to 50,000 visitors a day, plus lodging for Mingsha City’s staff, all adding up to 60,000 or 70,000! How many people does our county have?”

The official continued.

“This…”

Qin Xuan was momentarily speechless.

“Leader, if they can move, we’ll have to move too!”

Before Qin Xuan could decide, another department head spoke up.

This one was responsible for the county’s finances.

“Finance? Surely that’s unnecessary!”

Coming back to his senses,

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but say,

“Leader, there’s really no choice. I heard that all four major banks in the county are planning to relocate to Mingsha City. They’re currently negotiating whether to set up money shops or remittance offices!

If they move, we’ll definitely have to follow. Many of our public accounts depend on coordinating with them.”

The man added,

“Huh? A money shop?”

Qin Xuan was instantly taken aback.

“Mm, anyway, it seems the Industry and Commerce department has already decided on establishing what they call the Commercial Money Shop! The Agricultural Bank’s will be the Agricultural Remittance Office, while the Construction Bank is still undecided. Besides, I heard the Commercial Money Shop’s head said that once they move, they’ll facilitate cash and silver conversion.”

“Silver conversion?”

“Mm, the Industrial and Commercial Bank already had a commemorative silver coin project, but it never took off. They’re banking on Mingsha City’s purely traditional vibe.”

“So, Mingsha City provides the setting?”

“Mingsha City already has everything in place! It seems the Qingming Scroll even features money shops, and similar plans are in the works for Wudi City and Qixia Town.”

“Uh…”

Qin Xuan rubbed his temples once again.

Before he knew it, it was 2 a.m.

At the Ancient Building Courtyard in Wudi City,

Xu Hao had spent the entire day at Taiyi Hospital. Now, he wasn’t resting or checking trending topics online; instead, he lay in bed with the books “Self-Cultivation for Temple Builders” and “Eight Thousand Questions on Building Taoist Temples” in his hands.

Ever since the Forum Hall had been imbued with an otherworldly aura, he was convinced these two were excellent reads—regardless of their scientific merit. Mastering their contents could only be beneficial, especially since the precepts in Self-Cultivation for Temple Builders must be fully met as soon as possible.

Only then could work on building Wuzhuang Temple begin.

Moreover, Xu Hao was excited. He truly wanted to see what kind of Taoist temple would emerge under the guidance of the Daoist Master’s books.

“Question: How should one arrange a perfect sacrificial altar? Answer: Start by burying eighty-one pieces of five-foot square Kunlun Mountain jade in all eight directions of the altar’s main hall.”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Xu Hao’s thoughts suddenly shifted.

He recalled the palace sacrificial event slated for the Cultural Expo—a display far grander than the Fengchan ceremony he’d planned. If he could incorporate this altar into the performance, wouldn’t it make the event even more spectacular?