Chapter 374: Foundations and Fortunes

“Still working on the pile foundations?”

On the other end of the line, Li Jue’s voice carried a trace of surprise.

“Yeah!”

“Alright then! Just say if you need anything—we’re all family here. The Ancient Architecture Institute will give it our all!”

“Thank you so much!”

“Thank me? Don’t mention it.”

And so, after a few more minutes of chatting, the call was ended.

Truth be told, after years together, Li Jue and Xu Hao no longer saw each other as mere superiors—they were more like trusted elders or family.

Yet, after hanging up in distant Yan City, Li Jue slumped on the sofa with a puzzled look.

“Pile foundations? Is Epang Palace’s foundation really that deep? How long has it been since…”

Days turned into weeks, and before long it was early August. It had been over a month since the opening of the Crystal Palace in Mingsha City. Due to summer vacation, Mingsha City was packed every day, with families in tow and even elite schools hosting summer camps.

They either went to the Protectorate of West Liang to see the Yeguang Cup or visited Mo Mechanism City to marvel at ancient technology.

In short,

over the past month, Mingsha City’s revenue had far exceeded expectations.

And the worries of many netizens about Mingsha City going bankrupt had not materialized.

At noon,

Xu Hao had just returned from outside, having been at both Wudi City and the Ancient Building Courtyard.

He wasn’t in the core zone today because last night the major pile foundations in that area were finally poured; next up was the ground work!

The ground work required a massive amount of construction.

Which meant he could afford to take a few days’ break.

Thump, thump, thump! Just as Xu Hao was about to tidy up and head out to see Han Xiaoqing, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

“Brother Hao!”

“Qiangzi, the door’s unlocked!”

Hearing this, Xu Hao immediately spoke up.

It was none other than Zhu Qiang; his familiar voice said it all.

Soon enough,

Zhu Qiang pushed the door open, holding a slip of paper in his hand.

“Brother Hao, take a look at this.”

He handed the slip over to Xu Hao.

“Huh? This is… six billion.”

After reading the document Zhu Qiang had given him, Xu Hao was stunned, his brows furrowing in disbelief.

“Brother Hao, it’s not even time for our financial reconciliation today. It turns out we only found out because the Industrial and Commercial Bank called—we learned that Third Brother had transferred this sum into Mingsha Tourism’s corporate account.”

Zhu Qiang let out a deep sigh.

The slip, a transfer order amounting to six billion, turned out to have been sent by Xu Chen.

“Didn’t I tell him there was no need to…”

Xu Hao passed the order back to Zhu Qiang, then picked up his phone and stepped outside to dial Third Brother’s number. Beep, beep, beep—it rang for dozens of seconds with no answer.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao turned to call Xu Xin instead.

The phone rang briefly before someone picked up.

“Second Sister!”

“Old Six, are you wondering about Third Brother’s transfer to Mingsha Tourism?”

Before Xu Hao could speak, Xu Xin’s voice came through the phone.

“Yeah! Didn’t I say last time that although Mingsha City needed funds, it could manage on its own? You know the situation there—daily cash flow exceeds a hundred million now.”

Xu Hao added,

Recalling that after Xu Chen’s call last time, he had even phoned Second Sister again to emphasize that point, yet the money had still come through—and even far more than he’d expected.

“Old Six, stop trying to act tough! He’s your Third Brother. If Mingsha City hits a rough patch, who else will help you?”

However, in the next moment, a note of finality crept into Xu Xin’s tone.

“Second Sister, I…”

Xu Hao paused, his emotions growing increasingly conflicted by her words, unsure of how to respond.

“Old Six, there’s really no need for this. Just treat it as a loan from Third Brother! Once the core zone of Mingsha City is fixed and cash flow improves, you can pay him back.”

At that moment, Xu Xin’s voice chimed in again.

“But this isn’t a trivial sum—isn’t it that Third Brother took out a mortgage, or maybe…”

Gathering his resolve, Xu Hao couldn’t help but ask,

He truly didn’t want Mingsha City’s troubles to affect Xu Chen’s company.

“Don’t overthink it! Third Brother’s company is now listed on the Nak market in Country M! They sold off some of their own shares and even pledged part of their equity—it’s essentially his own money.”

Xu Xin replied.

“What? His company is listed in Country M?”

Xu Hao was instantly dumbfounded.

In his mind, Third Brother’s clothing factory had always relied on Mingsha City’s ancient costumes business. How did it suddenly go public?

“Yeah! Third Brother had been planning it for a while. Besides, his company is doing much better than you think, so don’t worry. By the way, Haofang Agency has been bringing in a lot of income lately. If funds run tight there, just have the finance team coordinate with them.”

“Second Sister, I…”

About ten minutes later, Xu Hao walked back inside.

“Brother Hao, so about this money…”

Once Xu Hao was seated, Zhu Qiang couldn’t help but whisper,

“Since the money has been transferred, we’ll just use it for now and repay Third Brother later.”

Xu Hao waved his hand dismissively.

In truth, Mingsha City wasn’t on the brink of collapse at all. If things really went south, Haofang Culture would surely figure out a way to produce a few more blockbuster films.

Moreover, as long as work on Mingsha City’s projects paused for a few days, Mingsha Tourism would still see significant income—so the family’s worries over the cash flow were unfounded.

Besides, as Second Sister had pointed out, the funds had already arrived. Sending them back would just cause Third Brother to misunderstand. He could always repay the favor later.

“Alright, Brother Hao!”

Zhu Qiang nodded in acknowledgement.

“By the way, how’s the progress on Qiangzi’s city walls?”

After a pause, Xu Hao adjusted his thoughts and moved on to business.

“Brother Hao, both the north and south city walls are nearly done. By next month, they should begin work on the west wall. Manager Zhuang mentioned that if everything goes smoothly, Mingsha City’s entire wall could be completed as early as the end of this year, or by March next year at the latest.”

After finishing his update, Zhu Qiang picked up a laser pointer from his desk and stepped over to the sand table, indicating the current progress of the project.

“Oh? And what about the city gate?”

Xu Hao’s expression shifted as he followed him to the sand table.

The question about the walls arose because the buildings in the core zone would be extremely tall. Even though some clouds and fog would be arranged later, there was no guarantee that visitors would see the walls surrounding Mingsha City.

“Both the north and south city gates have been completed, but since the perimeter is still desert, they haven’t been opened.”

“Got it!”

“Brother Hao, I’ve got some good news on my end.”

“Go on!”

“Secretary Qin called yesterday and said that after some discussions, the high-speed rail station for Mingsha City will have rail and power connectivity by the end of this year. If the final adjustments go well, trial operations can start by mid-June next year.”

“That sounds pretty good.”

Time ticked by minute after minute,

and just as Xu Hao and Zhu Qiang discussed the ongoing construction projects in Mingsha City, a post on a previously quiet online forum suddenly sparked heated conversation.

“Really? Is it true?”

“It is! An announcement by Dino Park and Fengdu Scenic Area is out—new project officially opens on August 20th! Free admission for the first three days, then sixty yuan per ticket.”

“Let me check it out.”

“It really is! The project, called Magic Adventure, launches on August 20th—just about half a month from now.”

“I saw the promo videos on Dino Park’s website and other social media channels—they look pretty interesting, complete with dragons, angels, and even an experiential storyline.”

“Not bad at all. But I’m curious—when did Dino Park team up with Fengdu Scenic Area? They aren’t even next to each other! One focuses on modern entertainment while Fengdu Scenic Area deals with Long Kingdom’s traditional culture.”

“Not adjacent? They’ve been working together for a while now!”

“Since when?”

“Ever since the evaluation committee for Long Kingdom’s scenic spots rejected Mingsha City, and then Dino Park and Fengdu Scenic Area were both awarded a 5A rating. Back then, weren’t netizens questioning Mingsha City’s qualification for the 5A rating?”

“So they teamed up because of that?”

“That’s likely. I’d even wager that the joint project by Dino Park and Fengdu Scenic Area is partly a response to Mingsha City.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s no need to rehash the feud between Mingsha City and Dino Park, and if I’m not mistaken, Fengdu Scenic Area was also planning to sue Mingsha City over the No.3 Entertainment City incident.”

At this point in the discussion, some netizens naturally began to wonder about Mingsha City.

“So, does that mean this joint adventure project is aimed at challenging Mingsha City?”

“Highly likely!”

“Then what do you think—will Mingsha City respond? Last time, Mingsha City’s No.3 Entertainment City wiped out Dino Park’s Underwater World without a trace.”

Mentioning the past feud between Mingsha City and Dino Park immediately piqued many netizens’ interest.

“I really don’t know! Mingsha City hasn’t made any big moves lately.”

“That’s true!”

Meanwhile,

back at the Mingsha Labor President’s Office, Luo Peng sat in his office chair with a tea cup in hand, idly browsing the web with his mouse.

But as he continued watching,

he nearly choked on his tea, exclaiming, “Dino Park and Fengdu Scenic Area’s new project, Magic Adventure? On August 20th? Th-th-that’s too coincidental!”