Chapter 57: Raising Landmarks and Stirring Crowds

At this moment, Xu Hao’s livestream room not only hit a new record with 400,000 viewers, but his follower count also skyrocketed from just over 500,000 to 850,000.

Just like the new viewers, the longtime fans in the chat were flooding the screen with national pride and a continuous stream of ‘thumbs up’ gifts.

As for the trolls, they had completely vanished — Xu Hao had given them a vivid lesson in what self-inflicted humiliation truly meant.

Truly, when it comes to numbers, Zhang Chi is a one-man show, but when it comes to quality, they’re worlds apart. It’s like one person building a wall with bricks and then daring to challenge the Great Wall — if that isn’t self-humiliation, what is? “Brother Hao, you’re amazing!”

“I’m impressed!”

“Converts from bystanders — I love a streamer with real strength.”

“That pavilion is absolutely stunning! If they add some colorful paintings, it could easily rival the Four Great Ancient Pavilions of our Long Kingdom.”

“Standing in the pavilion to watch the desert sunset is an unparalleled experience. Even without the ancient architecture turned guesthouse, just this pavilion is worth a visit to Brother Hao’s project.”

“Absolutely — I’ve already booked a room for ten days from now.”

“I’m booking one too.”

“Hey Brother Hao, are you playing with the folks Zhang Chi left behind? Why haven’t you said a word? I mean, can Zhang Chi even pull off something as you do?”

“I strongly demand a head-to-head between Zhang Chi and Brother Hao!”

“@him, get out here for a bit.”

“And what happened to all his fans? They’ve gone mute!”

Along with the constant flood of small gifts, the comments in the chat burst with excitement as Xu Hao’s longtime followers finally erupted with enthusiasm.

In the livestream, in the Shadou area, as Xu Hao finished installing the last deep green glazed tile and jumped off the wooden scaffolding, both tourists and the construction crew were left breathless. It wasn’t until Xu Hao spoke that they began to regain their composure.

“Dear visitors, as the pavilion hasn’t been painted yet, it won’t be open to the public today. We’ll open it once the murals are finished in the next couple of days, how does that sound?”

“Great! Great! We get it. Hurry up and have the workers set up the barricades — this is the landmark of Hongsha Gang Village No.256.”

Before the tourists could reply, Li Jue jumped in first.

At this point, he already treated the pavilion as a true ancient structure and naturally didn’t want it to be marred before it was protected with paint.

“No problem, we can wait!”

The onlookers quickly gave Xu Hao a thumbs up in agreement.

Honestly, being able to witness the creation of an ancient pavilion built without a single nail or drop of wood glue was a feast for the eyes.

“Alright, thanks for your understanding, everyone! It’s getting late — you should all go have dinner and get some rest.”

After Xu Hao joined his hands in gratitude to the onlookers, he finally turned to the camera.

“Dinner? For fuck’s sake.”

On the sidelines, Tan Mianhua, the guesthouse chef, had been watching the excitement with a self-satisfied smile.

In his eyes, the better the landmark constructions in the Shadou area, the more beneficial it is for guesthouses — ensuring his job as a chef would last longer. But hearing the tourists mention dinner, he was suddenly reminded that he was still here while they dined. Without hesitation, he grabbed two apprentices and rushed to the guesthouse restaurant.

“Hello, everyone!”

A minute later, Xu Hao appeared before the livestream camera and greeted his audience as usual.

“Brother Hao, you’ve worked hard!”

“Brother Hao! I told you before, if you can build this pavilion, I’m sending you a space projectile tip. Now, keep your promise.”

“Brother Hao, please accept my admiration!”

The moment Xu Hao appeared, the screen was flooded with gifts of all sizes — so much so that the stream nearly froze until it eased off a few minutes later.

“Thank you all for your support. I promise to work even harder to give visitors from Su Province, Wei City, Mingsha County, and Hongsha Gang Village No.256 an even better experience.”

Xu Hao glanced at the viewer count before seizing the opportunity to advertise Shadou.

Ever since Hongsha Gang Village No.256 was registered, many navigation apps have updated — meaning Shadou is finally on the map.

“So the Shadou area is at Hongsha Gang Village No.256! Remember that.”

“By the way, Brother Hao, what project are you planning next? Give us a hint.”

At that moment, a level-30 fan asked.

“Next?”

“Yeah! What’s next?”

It wasn’t just that one fan — almost everyone in the chat was curious about what Xu Hao would do next.

Both the ancient crescent-shaped guesthouse and this pavilion had brought them countless surprises, making them even more eager to see his next move.

Many viewers were also keen to see how Xu Hao would transform this once lifeless desert into something spectacular.

“Next, I should replace the log cabin with an ancient courtyard.”

Glancing toward the Shadou area, Xu Hao said.

The renovation of the log cabin wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision but a plan that had long been in place. Earlier, during the challenge, the construction was rough. Now, looking out from the dunes, the log cabin clashed with its surroundings — only an ancient courtyard could perfectly harmonize with the Shadou area.

Soon, atop Shaji there’d be a pavilion, on the hillside an ancient courtyard, and at the base of Shadou an ancient guesthouse. If the trees were lush enough, it would look like a scene straight out of a period drama.

And of course, another important reason was to improve the current living conditions — no one can keep living in a log cabin forever.

“An ancient courtyard? Heh, just as I imagined — only an ancient courtyard can do justice to this place!”

“Exactly, it seems only an ancient courtyard can dominate the aura of this Shadou area.”

“Can’t wait!”

Sure enough, as Xu Hao finished speaking, another wave of excitement surged through the livestream.

There’s no wall that can keep secrets, especially in the digital age.

At eight in the evening,

in Ning’an, at the southeastern corner of the Tengli Desert, on Shaji, Zhang Chi’s live broadcast took a turn for the worse; his expression grew increasingly grim until he finally lost his composure.

“It’s just a pavilion, what’s all the fuss? Hmph! If I wanted, I could have assembled one using sheer manpower and resources.”

This morning, Zhang Chi was convinced he had completely outdone Xu Hao and suppressed him entirely. But by the afternoon, the atmosphere in the livestream had done a complete 180.

New viewers were sending dismissive emojis, and even his loyal supporters who once defended him were now silent. His follower count, which had peaked at one million, began to plummet — now down to just over 900,000, with no sign of stopping. How could he not be angry?

“It’s just a pavilion. Then you create one just like Brother Hao’s — using manpower and resources too.”

One viewer immediately fired back.

“I’m in a survival challenge right now, alright? What if using external help blows the prize money? Will you compensate me?”

For a moment, Zhang Chi inexplicably felt a pang of guilt.

Everything he said earlier was just hot air! When things started looking grim that afternoon, he covertly switched off his livestream and snuck into Xu Hao’s channel. Speaking honestly,

even without nails and wood glue, using them openly would still require huge amounts of time and effort. In the end, whether one can achieve the grandeur of Xu Hao’s work remains uncertain.

PS: I saw many brothers asking about the pavilion design — this Lao Ba really had no idea what he was doing. I based it on the Hubin Pavilion, one of the Four Great Pavilions in Hangzhou.