Chapter 378: Contested Rewards

“Hmm!”

Liu Shan replied with a wry smile.

“The reason? Our institute’s staff gets five days of paid vacation each year to visit Mingsha City.”

Li Jue straightened up.

Inside Wudi City, there’s an Ancient Building Courtyard reserved exclusively for the Ancient Architecture Research Institute. Although the interior isn’t as private as the individual offices enjoyed by him, Liu Shan, Cao Jun, and the others, it still rivals some three- or four-star hotels in urban areas.

It can be said that nobody from the Ancient Architecture Research Institute ever feels the need to join the crowd.

“And it’s all thanks to the No.4 Entertainment City in Mingsha City! Today, Yan City TV announced that anyone who clears the challenge will be rewarded with a 120-square-meter apartment either in Yan City or within Haishi’s fourth ring.”

Liu Shan spread his hands in exasperation.

Truth be told, when he saw the news, even as an “old relic” who cared little for such programs, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity.

“A challenge? And apartments in Yan City or Haishi as prizes?”

Li Jue’s eyes grew even wider.

“That’s why… our staff…”

“This is unacceptable! If all our employees head over to Mingsha City, who will handle the work at the institute?”

Li Jue growled in frustration.

“Exactly!”

“Alright, I’ll call Xiao Xu in a minute and ask about the specifics of this project. If Xiao Xu is daring enough to launch such a challenge, it certainly isn’t something trivial. Better inform our staff early so they can brace themselves.”

Coming back to reality,

Li Jue continued,

“It can only be this way! But seriously, we need to rein in Xiao Xu. If the projects keep ramping up like this, our Ancient Architecture Institute will be forced to move out sooner or later.”

Liu Shan nodded, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

Based on Cao Jun’s recent behavior, it seemed the situation was already spiraling out of control.

“Rein it in?”

Li Jue glanced instinctively at the map of Mingsha City pinned on the wall.

For a moment,

the office fell into a strange silence.

In this bustling world, everyone chases profit!

Even the Ancient Architecture Research Institute was reacting like this after Yan City TV’s announcement, so one can only imagine how netizens and ordinary citizens might respond.

By 8 PM that evening, tickets for the two-day journey to Wei City and Lanshi were completely sold out.

And that wasn’t all—

booking calls for hotels in Mingsha County and Wei City had all been flooded.

It wasn’t that netizens or the public didn’t want to book guesthouses in Mingsha City; ever since the dust storm, they had been booked solid, leaving virtually no last-minute availability.

Of course,

the excitement of the netizens didn’t represent everyone’s sentiment.

Inside the Mingsha County Government Building’s conference room,

Qin Xuan drew a deep breath and addressed the heads of various departments, “Everyone, snap to it. Judging by the current situation, August 20 will be a tough battle. We might see even more tourists coming to Mingsha County than when the No.3 Entertainment City opened!”

“Boss, it’s not that we don’t want a challenge—it’s just that we’re completely out of hands right now!”

No sooner had Qin Xuan finished speaking than a middle-aged man interjected.

During the last rush for the No.3 Entertainment City opening, the county’s transportation and cultural departments were all hands on deck. But since then, many staff members have permanently stayed with the Mingsha Sub-Bureau.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to return to the county; it was that the tourist flow over there hadn’t died down.

They had hoped things would ease with time—

but no, Mingsha City was now launching a No.4 Entertainment City project, this time with even more commotion. Already, many local tourists had quietly headed to Mingsha City. One can only imagine how crowded it will be on August 20.

“No more staff,”

Qin Xuan paused, massaging his temples as he pondered for a long while.

Finally, he spoke again, “If it comes to that, we’ll have to temporarily borrow personnel from Wei City or our sister counties. Our county’s current quota for civil servants and positions in public institutions has already been filled, and there isn’t time for temporary hires.”

“Borrow personnel? Boss, with friend counties and Wei City guarding against Mingsha City like warding off thieves, how can we possibly borrow staff? Last time, Gu County temporarily lent five staff from the Industry and Commerce Department and they still haven’t been returned.”

The middle-aged man cast a sidelong glance at Qin Xuan, his expression as if he were a resentful spouse.

“Exactly! Mingsha City now has endless dining, entertainment, schools from elementary to university—and the environment there keeps getting better. Who would want to go and then come back?”

After he finished speaking, another department head picked up the thread.

“Then—”

Qin Xuan couldn’t help running his hand through his hair.

“Boss, to be honest, it’s not just that we can’t handle it—the merchants in Mingsha City are at their breaking point too!”

After a brief pause, the department head added,

“The merchants can’t take it anymore? What’s going on? There must be no issues inside Mingsha City.”

Qin Xuan’s expression shifted as he quickly asked,

“Isn’t it because there are too many tourists? Especially at Ancient Snack Street, where merchants have been swamped from dawn till dusk. I heard that when one camel meat grill owner set up shop in Mingsha City, he was a nearly 200-pound heavy fellow, but now he’s dropped to 140 pounds.”

The department head continued.

“This…”

“Boss, if you ask me, we should suggest to Director Xu to rein things in in Mingsha City, or at least slow down the pace of these projects. And as for Dino Park and Fengdu Scenic Area, why on earth did we have to provoke Mingsha City?”

“Rein it in? Is that even possible?”

Qin Xuan glanced at the phone on the conference table.

The meeting room once again fell into silence.

In truth,

this sudden hush wasn’t limited to Mingsha County—the boardroom of the Mingsha City Group was equally quiet, with Zhu Qiang and the others staring at each other.

“President Luo, isn’t our situation a bit too extreme? This afternoon, the number of negative reviews for Ancient Snack Street shops skyrocketed as each owner fumbled with ratings, fearful that they’d be overwhelmed on August 20.”

If things continue like this, I’m really worried the merchants on Ancient Snack Street will all pack up and leave!

After a moment,

the head of Ancient Snack Street’s management, Tan Mianxian, looked over at Luo Peng.

Having been in the food industry for so many years, he had never seen anything like this—even the challenge section on food streets had managed before.

Besides, these days, merchants have been coming to his office asking for more similar snack shops to be added. One alone just can’t handle it. This clearly shows they’ve reached their limit.

If they weren’t at their limit, who would voluntarily create competitors?

“Too much commotion?”

At this, Luo Peng scratched his head and glanced at Fang Hou beside him.

“Ahem! This No.4 Entertainment City project might be stirring up a storm partly because of Yan City TV’s program. The reaction during the No.3 Entertainment City phase was manageable—at least the merchants could cope.”

Hearing this, Fang Hou immediately waved his hand,

“President Luo, while that may be true, I believe the uproar is mainly due to General Zhu’s overly attractive rewards! It’s got so many city employees itching to take part.”

“Rewards?”

In a flash, all the Mingsha City executives turned their gaze towards Zhu Qiang.

“Hold on—what do you think I’m doing? It was Brother Hao who insisted we maintain a buzz when the project launched, so I just added a little bonus.”

Zhu Qiang glared fiercely.

“Brother Hao.”

Instantly, the vast conference room fell into an unyielding silence.

After about ten to twenty seconds—roughly a minute—

Zhu Qiang cleared his throat and addressed Tan Mianxian, “Alright, Tan, chat with those merchants tonight and urge them to hold on a little longer! When Mingsha City launches its next project, we’ll take note. And of course, if any of the directors have good ideas or suggestions, they can approach Brother Hao directly.”

“Alright, alright!”

Tan Mianxian let out a long sigh.

What a joke!

Sending him to see Director Xu? Might as well have him talk to the merchants.

Night fell thickly,

while sorrows and joys remained disconnected in the human world. Over in Mingsha City, merchants were wracked with headaches from the strain, whereas over at Dino Park, Cole was nearly smashing a table in rage over the barrage of negative online reviews.

“Does Mingsha City really have that much confidence? Offering apartments in Haishi or Yan City as rewards!”

When Cole saw Yan City TV’s announcement today, he was left speechless for several minutes.

“Boss, Mingsha City’s move is ruthless!”

Across from him,

Adam hesitated.

An apartment in Yan City—it’s simply too extravagant for us to match! If we continue this way, not even the entirety of Dino Park plus Fengdu Scenic Area would cover the losses.

“The problem is, what do we do now? The internet is flooded with news about Mingsha City’s No.4 Entertainment City, and even many tourists who originally planned to try our new project are changing their minds at the last minute.”

The more Cole thought about it, the more incensed he became.

On one side, there’s a reward of 1,000 bucks; on the other, 10 million! The disparity is simply astronomical.

“Boss, I actually have an idea.”

After a brief silence, Adam looked at Cole.

“Speak up!”

“Boss, since Mingsha City is offering apartments and even enlisted Yan City TV to host the program, why don’t we call Headquarters directly? Let them send over some top-notch challenge experts and parkour teams! They’re among the best in Lanstarr in both courage and skill, and they’ll surely ace the challenge.”

“Send over professionals?”

Cole was taken aback.

“Yeah! While we can’t compete with Mingsha City in hype and foot traffic, snagging a few dozen or even hundreds of apartments from them wouldn’t be bad! After all, Yan City TV’s announcement stated that there’s no time limit or nationality requirement—only a successful challenge guarantees the reward.”

Adam nodded.

“Will there be enough time?”

After a moment’s thought, Cole lit a cigar.

“Absolutely! August 20 is the day after tomorrow! Even if we leave tomorrow night, we’ll make it in time.”

“Alright then! I’ll call Headquarters right away. I’m curious to see how Mingsha City handles this big show!”

Biting his lip,

Cole declared.