Chapter 59: A Network of Projects and Promises

Steal Xiao Xu? With both of you guarding things for me here in Su Province, I’m not worried at all! Hahaha. Just as long as Xiao Xu doesn’t mind my handwriting.

Li Jue was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.

“How could that be!”

Xu Hao quickly replied.

High-ranking officials always talk in riddles – as if they’ve said a lot, yet nothing at all. In any case, the matter of the Desert Pavilion was settled.

As night deepened, the Shadou area blazed with lights, and the entrance of Hongsha Gang Village was even livelier. Alongside the roar of machines and the curious villagers, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng were present.

Zhu Qiang said, “I heard Brother Hao’s pavilion project has left numerous netizens awestruck today. Too bad we couldn’t see it in person.”

Glancing at the dozen bulldozers at work ahead, Luo Peng’s disappointment was written all over his face.

“Don’t worry. There will be plenty more chances, and 256 will have more than one pavilion. And remember our chat with Brother Hao about filming a drama the other night,” he added.

Zhu Qiang couldn’t help but laugh.

For someone from Mingsha Tourism, missing a glimpse of ancient construction was hardly a concern.

The ancient building at 256 Hongsha Gang Village had just begun.

“That’s right, let’s do it tomorrow,” he concluded.

Just as Luo Peng was about to ask another question, village chief Wang Jianhuan suddenly stepped forward from the crowd.

Wang Jianhuan said, “Zhu, it was your company after all. The county even sponsored a five-kilometer road! Right after yesterday’s meeting, the construction team was already on site tonight. The efficiency is incredible!”

At that moment, Wang Jianhuan was genuinely delighted.

While a five-kilometer road might seem ordinary elsewhere, to the people of Hongsha Gang Village it was nothing short of a lifeline—an essential route for transporting saplings, irrigation water, and more into the desert.

“Honestly, the county was short on opportunities too! If it weren’t for Brother Hao’s live streams drawing in viewers and tourists to boost the local economy, things might have been grim,” he remarked.

Zhu Qiang shook his head with a smile.

Although no one knew why the county acted so swiftly this time, it was clear that Xu Hao was involved.

“Exactly!”

Wang Jianhuan nodded emphatically.

“By the way, Uncle Wang, has your village received the tree-planting notice?”

After a brief pause, Zhu Qiang suddenly remembered something and looked over at Wang Jianhuan.

“Tree planting? I thought you mentioned a five-kilometer green belt as a boundary, Zhu?”

Wang Jianhuan scratched his head and, after a moment’s thought, replied,

“Yes, that’s it!”

Zhu Qiang nodded.

That five-kilometer-wide green belt had been secured during his previous negotiations with county officials about the road.

256 Hongsha Gang Village spans 50 kilometers in both length and width. Its southern border touches an uninhabited, saline Gobi in Mingsha County, while its eastern side borders a five-kilometer-wide stretch of desert adjacent to Hongsha Gang Village.

The newly built county road conveniently reached the southeast corner of 256.

Although Mingsha Tourism had begun investing in the desert, windbreak and sand stabilization were not tasks for them alone. Local support was still crucial.

So, during the meeting, Zhu Qiang proposed that the locals find a way to reclaim that five-kilometer desert expanse.

This would not only shield the villages from the encroaching sand but also create a protective five-kilometer green barrier around 256 Hongsha Gang Village.

Thus, both sides would remain unaffected and undisturbed. Anyone wanting to access 256 would have to use the new road.

“Notified already. It seems other county towns and villages are sending teams too, though their efficiency won’t match that of the road construction – or your company’s, for that matter.”

Mentioning this, Wang Jianhuan sighed with emotion.

In just a few days, Mingsha Culture had shipped nearly a hundred truckloads of wheat straw into the desert—a pace that even old hands at sand stabilization found astonishing.

The county’s policy rollout clearly wouldn’t be as rapid as Mingsha Tourism’s. At this rate, the five-kilometer green belt could be completed within six months.

“Anyway, as long as we’ve been notified, that’s enough,” Zhu Qiang remarked.

He didn’t press the issue any further.

Such decisions weren’t for a single village chief to make. Besides, Mingsha Culture’s current focus wasn’t even on the fields’ boundaries.

If one day Mingsha Culture focused on the property lines, Xu Hao—true to his style—would never settle for a mere green belt. Expect an astonishing move.

“Luo, let’s head back to Shadou tomorrow and see if Brother Hao needs anything,” Zhu Qiang instructed.

After a brief silence, Zhu Qiang turned his gaze toward Luo Peng.

“Alright, Zhu!”

The vast northwestern night was dark and silent. By 10:30 PM, many families had already turned off their lights to sleep, while in the southern metropolis, neon glow and bustling nightlife marked the beginning of a new shift.

In Haishi, neon lights flickered vividly.

The headquarters of Tianchen Culture remained brightly lit.

“What did you say? This afternoon, we received hundreds of calls from viewers and over fifty thousand comments on our official social media?”

Yang Yuan adjusted his tie, his brows deeply furrowed.

“Yes, all urging us to change the Ning’an Desert Challenge mode,” he replied.

Liu Qing murmured softly, unable to meet Yang Yuan’s eyes.

After Zhang Chi completed the wooden pavilion, the entire Tianchen Culture erupted in cheers, thinking they’d achieved a major turnaround. However, their joy was short-lived as Xu Hao’s actions completely undermined them and even sparked a social media backlash.

It turned into a high-stakes game of ‘Fight the Landlord’—Tianchen Culture played a ‘three Xu Hao’ only to be hit by an ace move.

“Change the challenge mode? That’s impossible! Desert investments are a bottomless pit that Tianchen Culture simply cannot sustain. We may not know exactly what Brother Hao and Zhu Qiang spent on this pavilion, but it’s definitely no small sum.”

Hearing the netizens’ demands, Yang Yuan pounded the table in determination.

He hadn’t watched Xu Hao’s live stream, but he did catch a glimpse of the completed pavilion.

If such a pavilion were designed by an architect and built by carpenters, the fees would easily run into a million or two.

And this was just an ordinary cement and steel replica of an ancient pavilion. Forgoing nails and wood glue would likely multiply the cost several times over.

“But now, netizens are demanding to see a showdown between Zhang Chi and Xu Hao in ancient architecture. If we stick to our current policies, not only will our wilderness survival show lose its spark, but our company’s reputation will also suffer. Future shows or dramas won’t have the same appeal, plus we’d have to compensate Ning’an Cultural Tourism with penalty fees.”

Liu Qing’s voice had almost dwindled to a whisper.

Before they knew it,

Tianchen Culture had been cornered by Xu Hao, with no clear way out.

Many netizens had openly declared that if the challenge mode wasn’t changed, they would stop traveling to Ning’an and head straight to Mingsha County.

“This…”

Yang Yuan rubbed his temples.

Both he and Liu Qing understood all too well that desert investments were beyond Tianchen Culture’s reach. When the board took over, they made it clear that the focus was on variety shows and dramas.

Minutes passed—silence stretching for seven to eight minutes—before Yang Yuan finally looked at Liu Qing again.

“So, what is Xu Hao planning this time?”

“An ancient compound!”

Liu Qing replied quickly.