Chapter 46: Capital’s Drive

Capital is the strongest driving force!

The Shadou area is buzzing with activity, and Hongsha Gang Village is equally lively.

At the village entrance, twenty modern carpenters from Mingsha County arrived with their own tools to kick off various projects. Each piece of timber was measured, cut, and tagged with a unique number.

Even though these carpenters had no clue what their client wanted with such odd pieces, money made everything negotiable—even if it meant turning all the timber into sawdust.

Village chief Wang Jianhuan temporarily took on the role of supervisor. With Luo Peng’s persuasion, all the able-bodied villagers had already signed up with the new labor company. With daily work came pay and insurance, so everyone was working harder than ever.

“Everyone, pay close attention! If these pieces aren’t cut to exact dimensions, we’ll face deductions,”

Wang Jianhuan announced as he meticulously inspected the work.

“Relax, everything’s under control. By the way, Uncle Wang, will there be more jobs like these?”

A carpenter grinned and looked up to ask.

Today, Mingsha Cultural Tourism Company paid each of them 600—double the usual rate.

“There should be!”

Wang Jianhuan instinctively glanced toward the Desert.

Since the big boss planned a project in the Desert, it wasn’t just a simple guesthouse construction—there were bigger plans in the works.

“Then, Uncle Wang, keep me in the loop when more work comes. I’m ready at a moment’s notice,”

the carpenter quickly added.

“Ready at a moment’s notice?”

“Yeah, these past couple of years have been unbelievably tough. There’s barely any work.”

“How about this: after today’s job, register with our labor company. We’ll consider you first whenever new work comes up.”

Wang Jianhuan couldn’t help but sigh. The last few years had been rough, especially in Mingsha County. To earn a living, you had to work elsewhere—and even then, with scarce jobs, barely enough earnings could be saved.

“Alright!”

“Uncle Wang, is that a promise?”

Soon, the other carpenters joined in.

“Sure, let’s finish the work well, no matter what,”

“No problem!”

At 2 PM, a massive load of blue bricks and gray tiles arrived, and several masons began constructing the three-to-seven walls and laying the foundations for the guesthouse.

At 6 PM,

the first batch of numbered timber was swiftly delivered to Shadou by a camel caravan. Under Xu Hao’s command, a dozen workers set about assembling it.

At 8 PM,

the second batch of tagged wooden components arrived at Shadou.

At night, as a cool breeze swept in, construction at No. 256 Hongsha Gang Village showed no sign of slowing down. Unlike the previous night, two large machines had now parked at the outskirts of Shadou, ready on standby.

Under the floodlights, Xu Hao and his crew worked busily.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t only Xu Hao who was busy. In a small county hotel, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng were equally occupied.

“Xiao Luo, do you know if there’s a good chef nearby who can whip up our local specialties?”

Zhu Qiang glanced at the account balance and remarked.

Today’s expenditure hit 300,000—mostly on labor—leaving exactly one million in the account.

“Local specialties?”

“Yes!”

Zhu Qiang nodded in agreement.

Beyond just offering a place to stay, the guesthouse’s highlight was its food. After all, you wouldn’t expect guests to order takeout in the middle of a desert.

Shadou is ten kilometers from Hongsha Gang Village. Not only would delivery be impossible, but any courier brave enough would also likely lose their way in the desert.

“When it comes to local cuisine, we have it all—sour and spicy camel tendons, whole lamb soup with yellow corn noodles, sand-grain jelly, chilled sand scallions, lamb sand-grain noodles, assorted gourd offal, Mingsha lamb, Mingsha cantaloupe, and more. But choosing the best chef isn’t easy; each has his own flair,”

Luo Peng mused after a moment.

“Oh? They even serve camel tendons? Unlimited servings of camel meat?”

Zhu Qiang was visibly taken aback.

Perhaps having spent his life in a big city, he had subconsciously assumed that camels were rare beasts used only for transport—camel meat is hardly ever sold.

Even this challenge made it seem like only in extreme survival conditions would anyone eat camel.

“Of course, you can eat as much as you like. We even have a dedicated camel breeding farm. But camel farming is costly, so camel meat is expensive. With the local economy struggling, hardly anyone can afford it, which is why few have heard of it.

Every New Year, however, the village pools money to slaughter a few camels.”

“That sounds great. Let’s hire two top chefs—one who specializes in camel meat and another in Mingsha lamb. While city tourists may have sampled other local dishes, few have ever tried camel meat.

From now on, camel meat will be the signature dish of our guesthouse.”

Once it was confirmed that camel meat could be supplied consistently, Zhu Qiang decided without hesitation.

Not only would out-of-towners be eager, even he was itching to try the sour and spicy camel tendons.

“Mr. Zhu, there’s no issue—but camel meat is pricey. A single plate isn’t cheap, and since our guesthouse rates won’t be low, what if tour groups think it’s overpriced? Some might even claim we’re overcharging them.”

Luo Peng couldn’t hide his concern.

“Price? Don’t worry! As long as our service matches the cost, it’ll be fine. Plus, we won’t force anyone to splurge. Besides the signature dishes, we’ll offer more affordable noodles so that guests can choose what suits them best.”

Zhu Qiang waved off the concern, clearly signaling that Luo Peng should not worry.

Overcharging?

That simply wasn’t an option here.

“That’s reassuring. There’s no shortage of quality chefs in the county.”

“Yes! Get in touch with them tonight, and tomorrow head over to Shadou so these chefs can do a trial run for Hao Ge to sample. Check if the flavors are up to par.”

“No problem!”

As the moon set and the sun rose, a new day dawned in no time.

At 10 AM,

Xu Hao let out a long, relieved sigh as Shadou revealed its marvelous transformation.

A row of crescent-shaped, two-story ancient-style guesthouses had mostly taken shape. Only the interior furnishings were pending, with a total of 32 rooms.

The two largest buildings at the forefront were designated as a kitchen on the first floor and an expansive dining hall of over 100 square meters on the second, while the remaining 30 rooms served as guest accommodations.

“Engineer Li, inform the workers that roof tiles are ready to be laid. Bathroom fixtures, wooden beds, and other installations should also commence. Let’s aim to have everything installed and tested by 5 PM this afternoon.”

After stretching a bit, Xu Hao turned to the middle-aged man beside him.

This man was the foreman he had hired from Hongsha Gang Village.

“Got it, Hao Ge!”

Looking at Engineer Li, the foreman’s eyes shone with admiration.

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he’d never have believed that in just two days, Xu Hao had erected an entire row of ancient-style guesthouses in Shadou. Except for the new timber, everything else was an exact replica of relics preserved as antiques.

Walking along the freshly paved blue-brick path truly gave one the feeling of stepping back into an ancient market street—it was simply magical.

And all of this was orchestrated by Xu Hao himself.

Lao Ba’s updates never stop. Many thanks.