Chapter 252: Culinary Revelations in Mingsha City

Could it be that a staff member from Mingsha City simply made a mistake?

Snap out of it.

One netizen couldn’t help but comment, only to have it immediately shot down by others.

“A mistake? That’s impossible!”

“Exactly! This is the Cultural Expo. How could Mingsha City make such a rookie error, especially with the signage? Without proper oversight from management, it couldn’t be produced!”

“Then what could be the reason?”

The netizen was refuted and, puzzled, asked again.

“There’s only one explanation: the Mingsha Food Street isn’t a true traditional culinary exhibition area! Mingsha City pulled a fast one on us!”

After a long pause…

Many netizens concluded that aside from this, there didn’t seem to be any other answer.

“Not a real exhibition area? Then where is it? What traditional cuisine would Mingsha City showcase?”

Someone couldn’t help but gasp audibly.

In their view, although the traditional snack street in Mingsha City was clearly marked, it was already perfect—authentic flavors that even local tourists applauded.

“The signage is already installed, isn’t it? Just follow it and you’ll see! I think if it isn’t the snack street, it’s most likely the Vermilion Bird Building!”

Snap out of it. Many netizens began offering suggestions.

“Makes sense. The Vermilion Bird Building frequently hosts various banquets. Its style and functionality scream a proper restaurant. Mingsha City probably figured that a traditional snack street wasn’t upscale enough—they wanted to impress domestic and international visitors at the Vermilion Bird Building!”

“So what are we waiting for? Everyone at the scene, follow the road sign and check it out. See if it really is the Vermilion Bird Building.”

“Alright! You wait and see!”

Yet, a dozen minutes later, the original poster reappeared in the thread with a photo attached. “Look everyone, it’s not the Vermilion Bird Building! The sign still points deep into Qing Brick Avenue!”

The photo, taken at the intersection of Qing Brick Avenue and Vermilion Bird Street, showed that the food exhibition sign didn’t veer off—it pointed straight ahead just like the other four exhibition zones.

“So it’s not the Vermilion Bird Building? Then where could it be?”

“Could it be set up at Langya Pavilion? I heard that the mountain behind Langya Pavilion hasn’t hosted tourists in ages!”

At this point…

The netizens were utterly baffled.

From what they knew, Mingsha City only had a few enclosed developed areas; beyond that lay Yuelu Academy and the block behind Oasis 1, as well as the area behind the Demon-Locking Tower.

After a moment…

Another netizen said, “Then what are we waiting for? Keep following the signs!”

“Alright!”

Before long, the interest online grew and a large number of tourists in Mingsha City began searching for the food exhibition area following the signs.

Ten minutes, half an hour—by the time tourists reached the intersection of Qixia Town and Wudi City, they were stunned by the scene before them and even forgot about finding the exhibition area.

It was nothing else…

Simply because the high enclosures around Mingsha Academy were finally being taken down. At that moment, the tourists at last saw the true face of Mingsha Academy.

Apart from the seemingly endless low wall…

they were captivated by the glimpse of ancient rooftops peeking over half the wall.

“This is Mingsha Academy? It’s so cool! Other universities stick to plain brick walls and iron railings, but here they’ve built a mini city wall. How extravagant!”

And that wasn’t all.

The signage here had also changed. It clearly indicated that one kilometer ahead, a right turn would take you to the Ancient Architecture Exhibition Area—exactly at the north campus gate of Mingsha Academy.

As for the signage for the food exhibition area, it had also been altered—it clearly showed that at the intersection, you must turn left to reach the food exhibition area, with that leftward turn leading directly to Wudi City.

“Which way should we go first?”

After snapping out of it, the tourists began to hesitate!

In the end, some headed for the Ancient Architecture Exhibition Area while others turned toward Wudi City.

Time flew by, and before long it was evening.

A light snowfall had dusted Yan City that morning. Although the skies had cleared by now, the roads remained slick and few pedestrians were on the streets.

Director Association

At this moment, Ding Xiaoping and Bai Ming’s moods were as dismal as the wet streets.

“How could this happen?”

Bang! Glancing at his computer screen and then at the stack of draft materials printed just yesterday, Ding Xiaoping couldn’t hold back any longer and slammed his fist hard on the desk a few minutes later.

These past days, they had been preparing various promotional materials, all attacking the Mingsha City snack street—even detailing specific dishes—claiming that some were unhygienic, others outright garbage, and some traditional snacks could even cause cancer over time.

And what was the result? The food exhibition area turned out not to be a traditional snack street at all.

It felt as if all their punches had landed on cotton!

Even more infuriatingly, this afternoon, as netizens followed the signs all the way to Lutai and saw the two enormous ancient seal characters for “Lutai”, the internet—and reality—erupted instantly.

The massive Lutai, with its overwhelming visual impact and imposing ancient grandeur, made visitors forget about the food exhibition for a moment.

Soon, netizens began showering praise, claiming that Mingsha City never disappoints, with some even saying that this Lutai was more suited to an Ancient Architecture Exhibition Area.

Many even expressed their amazement, saying that building a Lutai for a food exhibition was like constructing a mansion just to cook a meal—utterly extravagant.

In this way…

keywords like Mingsha City and Lutai immediately trended. The trending topic read: Mingsha City’s Over-the-Top Construction of Lutai for the Food Exhibition.

At that moment, Mingsha City’s sub-venue had far surpassed Jinlong Ancient City in popularity.

“These netizens are such fairweather fans!”

In a moment, Ding Xiaoping slammed his fist on the desk once again.

Remember when he had ordered the creation of a scandalous post? He had said that Mingsha City might build a Zhou King Palace, only for netizens to retort that during the Pre-Qin era, such things were taboo and impossible!

And now? Mingsha City had quietly managed to create a Lutai that felt even more impressive than a Zhou King Palace.

What upset him more was feeling mocked by Mingsha City. Just thinking of the expression on Zhu Qiang’s face, the head of Mingsha Tourism, during the interview after the post had exploded online made him sick to his stomach.

They had clearly planned something else, while pretending to renovate the snack street.

Is this even something a human can do?

“President, please, calm down first!”

Seeing Ding Xiaoping’s face turning bright red, Bai Ming hurriedly cautioned him.

He was really afraid Ding Xiaoping might blow a fuse.

“Calm down? How can I calm down!”

Ding Xiaoping once again glanced at the thick stack of materials on his desk.

In truth, near Lutai, only the enclosures had been dismantled; they hadn’t been officially opened to tourists yet. Otherwise, if tourists saw the buildings and Zhaixing Pavilion above, they’d be utterly shocked—and Ding Xiaoping’s expression would be even worse.

“President, the traditional cultural exhibition hasn’t started yet. We might still have a chance!”

Bai Ming quickly interjected.

“Still a chance?”

Ding Xiaoping raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Mingsha City also stated that this is the food exhibition area, so it’s the cuisine showcased during the Cultural Expo that counts. In the end, we just focus on the food and ignore Lutai.

Besides, there’s a possibility that the food displayed on Lutai might still be the same as what’s on the old snack street—just new packaging on the same old wine!”

“New packaging on old wine?”

Hearing Bai Ming’s analysis, Ding Xiaoping glared at him fiercely. “Do you reckon Mingsha City would do that? What do stinky tofu and river snail noodles look like on Lutai? A gust of wind would mix all the traditional flavors! And besides, can you really imagine any of Mingsha City’s Channel Directors approving that?”

“Uh…”

Bai Ming was at a loss for words.

To be honest, he hadn’t really thought about the mix-up of stinky tofu and river snail noodles.

After a pause, Bai Ming whispered, “But if they don’t dress it up as old wine, what else could Mingsha City serve?”

“It doesn’t matter what they serve now! Our priority is the Palace Festival. Netizens have pointed out that based on Mingsha City’s designated exhibition areas, the Palace Festival appears to be staged on an artificial mountain backdrop.

That should be identical to what we exposed before.”

Ding Xiaoping gritted his teeth and carelessly tossed all the materials from his desk into the trash.

“Palace Festival?”

Bai Ming took a deep breath.

During this period, besides scrutinizing the shortcomings of traditional cuisine, they had also been researching the Fengchan Ceremony, even visiting the Long Kingdom Library for extensive references.

They had now figured out every detail of the Fengchan Ceremony.

If Mingsha City’s ceremony had even the slightest flaw, they would expose it immediately and blow it out of proportion, turning the whole event into a laughingstock.

“In that case, book two plane tickets for tomorrow. We’re going to Mingsha City to personally observe this Fengchan Ceremony. I bet we can find some mistakes!”

Ding Xiaoping gritted his teeth and added.

“Huh? You want to go to Mingsha City in person?”

“Yes! Only by seeing it live can we spot details that a livestream might miss.”

“President, but the guesthouses in Mingsha City have already been fully booked. If we go, where are we going to stay?”

Snap out of it.

Bai Ming asked in a low voice, raising a very practical question.

“Where to stay? It’s not just about staying in Mingsha County—if it’s in Wei City or one of the nearby counties of Mingsha, we’d have to go!”

Ding Xiaoping glared, his resolve unyielding as he declared.

The sunset fell and night draped over the city.

Mingsha City still shone brightly! At this moment…

On Langya Mountain, although the stone steps leading upward remained tightly cordoned, there were plenty of staff at the summit—Xu Hao, Zhu Qiang, and Luo Peng were all present.

“Has the mold been raised yet?”

Turning around,

Xu Hao looked over at Luo Peng.

Even though various road signs had been installed and the enclosures around the buildings had been removed today, they still hadn’t opened them to tourists—many exhibition areas hadn’t been set up yet. The enclosures were taken down merely to film that three-minute panoramic promo.

“Brother Hao, it’s already been lifted to the top of the altar!”

Upon hearing this,

Luo Peng nodded, then looked at the massive altar over thirty meters high before him.