Chapter 85: Unexpected Connections

“You signed with a major director right after your contract? Not bad!”

Hearing the firm tone in his voice and the offhand reply over the phone, Fang Hou was momentarily stunned before a bitter, self-deprecating smile crept onto his face.

It turned out he had simply overthought things.

Even though external circumstances intervened, the bond among the three could never return to what it once was.

“Alright, I won’t keep you.”

Getting back on track, Fang Hou uttered a word before hanging up.

“Hold on, I’m short on time, but you could try reaching out to Yao Mei. Other than her tendency to speak her mind, she really doesn’t have any major flaws. I saw on her social feed that she’s been doing special roles over in Zhejiang lately.”

Perhaps realizing his remark was a bit too blunt, even before the call ended, Fang Ya’s voice returned.

“Yao Mei?”

A vivid image of her flashed through Fang Hou’s mind.

In fact, Yao Mei was Fang Ya’s grad school classmate. She majored in acting as an undergrad and, thanks to sharing a dorm with Fang Ya during her postgrad, became more of an acquaintance—exchanging numbers without much more than the occasional like online.

On reflection, Yao Mei did share some features with Guo Furong, the character in the script. Yet Fang Ya’s relationship with her was never as close as one might assume, more like classmates living under the same roof.

But would she agree if he reached out suddenly? “I’ve recommended her to you—whether she accepts is between you two. Alright, I’m hanging up now. I need to get ready with my lines and blocking for a few scenes in half an hour.”

Fang Ya ended the call abruptly.

Beep beep beep. Staring at his now dark phone, Fang Hou remained silent for a long moment.

“They call that a recommendation? Whatever. We were never cut from the same cloth anyway. I wonder if I’m just too naive or simply lack social finesse—serves me right! At least the call wasn’t completely wasted.”

He casually lit another cigarette.

After finishing it,

Fang Hou finally shook off his gloom. After rifling through his phone contacts for a while, he dialed a number. “Hello, is this Yao Mei? Not sure if you remember me—I’m Fang Hou!”

Night had fallen, vast and mysterious.

Under neon lights, Yan City’s streets buzzed with traffic, and trendy, avant-garde youths strolled in small groups along the pedestrian street. The city pulsed with life.

In a renowned café on the famous pedestrian street along Second Ring, Xu Hao had just ordered his coffee and handed the menu to the waiter.

“Is this your way of saving a few bucks?”

After the waiter left, Xu Hao glanced at Han Xiaoqing sitting across from him.

It had been nearly a week since he arrived in Yan City. On his first day, he went for a check-up at the affiliated hospital, dined with colleagues that evening, and only started work the following day.

Behind the 49 Imperial City at Wanchun Pavilion, although the structure was complex and of royal workmanship, the restoration wasn’t too demanding with several research staff lending a hand.

At most, it would be finished in another week.

With a day off and nothing pressing to do, Xu Hao decided to thank Han Xiaoqing for suggesting the idea of claiming the grass lattice, sending her a message. To his delight, she agreed immediately.

And that set the stage for the scene before him.

“No rush, the feast is on me later, right?”

Han Xiaoqing beamed a radiant smile.

“By the way, has school been busy these days? Last time you mentioned taking your students over to plant a Time Tree. Now, the grass lattice around the Desert Pavilion is nearly all claimed by someone else.”

Xu Hao smiled and went on,

Although it was only their second meeting, Xu Hao and Han Xiaoqing felt like old friends, with no awkwardness or hesitation.

“Time Tree? In just over half a month, the students will be on summer break and we can all head out together! You wouldn’t believe it—after I shared the Time Tree plan with my class, they were ecstatic. A lot of them have already taken an interest in your Desert Pavilion and Tengwang Pavilion!”

Han Xiaoqing quickly replied, “But you need to book guesthouses for our students ahead of time. I heard the rooms are incredibly hard to snag.”

“Guesthouses? No worries! Recently, I built an Ancient Building Courtyard on the northwest slope of the Desert Pavilion—there are plenty of traditional courtyard houses inside!”

At the mention of guesthouses,

Xu Hao replied promptly, “Not a problem.”

Although in Qixia Town only part of the guesthouses are open to the public, with the rest reserved for film crews, Han Xiaoqing’s class is small enough to be accommodated.

“A new Ancient Building Courtyard? That’s fantastic! It’s a pity I’ve been so caught up with project research that I haven’t caught one of your live streams to see what it looks like.”

At the news of a new building in the Shadou area, Han Xiaoqing’s eyes lit up.

“I barely even livestreamed when we were building the Ancient Building Courtyard. By the way, what exactly do you teach?”

Xu Hao couldn’t help but ask.

He knew Han Xiaoqing was a professor at Yan City University, but he wasn’t clear about her research focus.

“I mainly work on mine ecological restoration—it falls under ecology.”

“Mine restoration? That actually sounds promising.”

“Promising in theory, but in practice it’s incredibly challenging!”

Han Xiaoqing let out a wry laugh.

“Challenging? Is it a technical issue?”

“Not a technical issue—it’s all about profitability. The technology is mature, but companies are unwilling to shell out big bucks for restoration. They dig mountains with lightning speed, and once they’re done… who would then invest in repair?”

Han Xiaoqing sighed in resignation.

This wasn’t an isolated case—such matters couldn’t be changed singlehandedly.

“Sigh!”

Xu Hao refrained from saying another word.

Every industry has its standards and its own unspoken rules that outsiders can hardly comment on.

After pausing, Xu Hao shifted the topic. “By the way, since your ecological restoration technology is so advanced, couldn’t it be applied in the desert?”

“Applied in the desert? Are you serious?”

Han Xiaoqing was taken aback.

“Yep! Honestly, even though the guesthouse area around the Desert Pavilion is already lined with grass lattice planted with saxaul trees and Chinese hackberry, the yellow sand remains exposed. Sometimes strong winds blow by, dampening the tourist experience.”

Xu Hao nodded in agreement.

Though it was just offhand, greening the desert had been a long-held plan.

He truly wished to transform the Shadou area, where the guesthouses stood, into a lush, verdant haven with shaded trees and aromatic grasses—reserving specific spots for desert-themed landscapes rather than a monotonous sea of yellow sand.

“You know what? I actually have a method perfect for greening both the desert and mine areas. If we apply it in the desert, your Shadou area could resemble a golf course. Though, the cost would be steep!”

Han Xiaoqing straightened up and met Xu Hao’s gaze.

“Really? It could truly look like a golf course? How steep are we talking?”

Excited by the prospect of transforming the desert, Xu Hao’s interest peaked.

Imagine if the entire Number One Shadou area was covered in lush grass, coupled with the Desert Pavilion and Tengwang Pavilion—what a magnificent sight!

“This technique, called Ecological Vegetation Spray Seeding Technology, normally costs 30 to 50 per square meter for restoring natural embankments. In the desert, it might cost between 90 and 150 per square meter.”

Han Xiaoqing calculated briefly before responding.