Chapter 126: Tourism Troubles and Strategic Shifts

Ever thought about it?

Peng Yuan fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man.

“Boss, next term—maybe our old scenic spot in Su Province can reclaim its stature.”

The middle-aged man stuttered, unable to give a coherent answer.

“Old scenic spot? Which one in Su Province could ever create an IP like ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’? If any place had that kind of power, they wouldn’t have lasted this long!”

Peng Yuan managed a bitter smile.

A southern tourist spot once skyrocketed in popularity for seven or eight years thanks to a TV series—and it still reaps some benefits. That just goes to show the immense impact an IP can have on tourism.

Sure enough, from now on every tourism festival in Su Province would be compared with this year’s performance at Mingsha County.

“Then again, you never know—maybe…”

The middle-aged man’s voice dwindled to a whisper.

“Now’s not the time for talk; let’s focus on making this term a success first.”

Pausing to rub his brow, Peng Yuan added, “Later, get in touch with folks at Mingsha County to check today’s reception. I just saw a number of complaints linked to Mingsha Tourism.”

“Boss, these complaints mainly arise because Mingsha County only opened just over three thousand guesthouses, even though far more out-of-town visitors turned up.

So some tourists complained that Mingsha Tourism failed to provide accommodations! And others grumbled that the unique travel services meant they couldn’t secure their preferred mode of transit.”

Switching back to business…

The middle-aged man’s expression turned serious as he hurriedly said,

“If they couldn’t book a guesthouse, they should have known there was nowhere to stay.”

Peng Yuan furrowed his brows.

“Boss, these days anyone can be involved. Some tourists think booking online is one thing, but when they get there hoping to snag a spare room and find none, they end up calling in complaints!”

The man continued his explanation.

“Oh, I see! Later, compile the other data. With Mingsha County joining as a new force this year, our province’s National Day tourism revenue should far surpass last year.”

Nodding, Peng Yuan said nothing further.

“Okay, Boss, I’m on it!”

Under the deep night sky…

In Mingsha County at Honggang Village, 256 — As warm lights flickered on, both the city gate and Qing Brick Avenue transformed instantly. Once the city gate lit up, its glow echoed with Tengwang Pavilion at Oasis 1 and Tingchao Pavilion at Oasis 2, exuding grandeur. The throng of tourists and costumed service staff on Qing Brick Avenue evoked the splendor of an ancient capital during a Lantern Festival.

Yet at this moment, Xu Hao, along with Mingsha Tourism’s top brass and Luo Peng, had little time to enjoy the spectacle. In the main hall of an Ancient Building Courtyard at the heart of Wudi City, Xu Hao was holding a meeting.

The hall, decorated in classic style, was a space Xu Hao had set aside for business—it served both as his study and his reception area.

“Xiao Wang, what issues have you encountered today?”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao looked toward a sharp, short-haired young woman seated nearby.

Her name was Wang Xuan.

Originally an unemployed graduate from Mingsha County, she joined Mingsha Tourism when they were recruiting and has since grown into one of Zhu Qiang’s most reliable aides.

Now, Wang Xuan is primarily in charge of operations in Qixia Town.

“Boss, there’s nothing major on my end—except that the street shop owners never expected such a flood of tourists today. Many goods and ingredients fell short, but we’ve already coordinated a solution.”

When questioned further,

Wang Xuan quickly replied.

To outsiders, Xu Hao might seem just like a livestreamer for Mingsha Tourism, but insiders know he’s the true mastermind behind this operation.

Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng dare to call him ‘Brother Hao’; others refrain. In fact, only Zhu Qiang, Luo Peng, and Fang Hou are bold enough to address him as ‘Hao Ge’ or ‘Hao Zi.’

“What about the self-operated stores?”

Xu Hao nodded slightly before asking,

“Everything’s well prepared at the self-operated stores. Most visitors come here just to check in today.”

Wang Xuan elaborated.

By ‘self-operated stores,’ she meant Tongfu Inn and several specialty shops run directly by Mingsha Tourism. Particularly, Tongfu Inn has evolved into a proper establishment, featuring eight guest rooms and a dining hall.

These eight rooms aren’t available for public booking—it’s first-come, first-served, perfectly replicating the set of the TV drama.

“Good! Xiao Liu, how are things on your end?”

Xu Hao then turned his attention to a young man seated opposite Wang Xuan.

The young man, named Liu Cheng, had a background much like Wang Xuan’s. He now mainly handles projects related to Oasis 1’s guesthouses, Tengwang Pavilion, and the grass lattice assignment.

“Boss, everything’s fine on my side! Although Tengwang Pavilion capped entries at 3,000 today, the visitors without tickets were understanding. The only hiccup is that many tourists kept asking if they could rent ancient costumes to have a fully immersive traditional experience.”

On hearing this,

Liu Cheng quickly added,

“Oh, for the costume matter, coordinate with General Zhu. He’s in talks with some domestic Hanfu producers, so the first batch should arrive at the guesthouses by the festival’s opening.”

Xu Hao glanced at Zhu Qiang.

In fact, tourists had been asking about costumes since Qixia Town first opened.

It was just that ancient costumes require pre-booking and the demand in Mingsha County is very high, so it couldn’t be resolved before National Day.

“Understood, Boss!”

Liu Cheng immediately jotted it down in his notebook.

After a moment, Xu Hao turned to another young woman and said,

“Next!”

“Boss, Qing Brick Avenue’s guesthouses are in great shape; all the booked rooms are fully occupied, though many tourists are still asking about offline reservations.”

And so, over the next hour,

Xu Hao went on to question the heads of the Qing Brick Avenue guesthouses, the city gate, waste management, and other related departments about their specific situations.

“Alright, it’s getting late. We’ll stop here today. If any issues come up later, just communicate directly with President Luo.”

Glancing at the time, Xu Hao remarked,

“Boss, let’s head back now!”

At his signal, everyone he’d been addressing stood up.

They were all stationed at an administrative building by the city gate, with dormitories designed as single apartments for staff—a very convenient setup.

“Okay!”

A few minutes later, after everyone else had left, only Xu Hao, Zhu Qiang, and Luo Peng remained in the room.

“It seems we encountered quite a few issues today!”

Closing the door, Xu Hao casually poured tea for the two and said,

“Hmm, earlier Wang Xuan only mentioned the positives. She overlooked that during peak dining hours, the street shops in Qixia Town had long queues, signaling that our commercial reception capacity is still far from sufficient.”

Relieved of mid-level pressures from other companies, Zhu Qiang visibly relaxed.

“Also, the travel service arrangements were lacking—today many tourists couldn’t secure their preferred ride,” Zhu Qiang added, with Luo Peng chiming in.

“If you ask where the longest queues were today, it was at the ancient city gate and the parking lot exit,” Luo Peng observed.

Once tourists dispersed throughout Qixia Town, the situation improved considerably.

“Really, fixing travel services isn’t hard. We could always add more sedan chairs, horses, or even camels—the real challenge is boosting our commercial capacity. With the festival drawing even more visitors, even a fully open Wudi City might struggle to cope.”

Zhu Qiang shook his head and chuckled bitterly.

Within Wudi City, there was a cross-shaped ancient commercial street, with an Ancient Building Courtyard right at its intersection.

In terms of scale, the cross-shaped street was larger than Qixia Town’s ancient commercial street, yet once Wudi City fully opens, an influx of tourists will make it impossible to meet the demands of the tourism festival.

“For now, we need to find a way to hold things together. If push comes to shove, we could bring in some mobile vendors to set up stalls along Qing Brick Avenue to boost local activity.

But one thing—the vendors must be managed together with those on the ancient commercial street, and they should dress in period costumes and adhere to strict hygiene standards!”

After a brief silence,

Xu Hao looked at Zhu Qiang and said,

“Building another ancient commercial street is now impossible—even if we construct one, leasing it would lag behind.”

“We’ll have to manage this way. But Brother Hao, what about after the festival? This is a long-term issue,” he added.

Zhu Qiang nodded.

“After the festival? Once it’s over, we’ll develop Oasis 3 and build a large-scale ancient commercial street there—the kind without guesthouses.”

Xu Hao glanced at the terrain model behind him.

To facilitate construction, he had insisted on a terrain model where each building was crafted to scale as a miniature masterpiece.

Oasis 3 is located southwest of Oasis 1 and northwest of Oasis 2. Once developed, they’ll form a triangle.

“A large ancient commercial street? Following the same model as Oasis 1 and Oasis 2?”

At that, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah, then we’ll figure out how to launch a new ancient costume drama. But whether it’s a historical epic or a martial arts period piece, we’ll have to plan carefully once ‘Snowbound’ premieres,” they said.

The night deepened further.

Just as Xu Hao mentioned the Oasis 3 development plan, in Yan City at the Ancient Architecture Research Institute’s leadership dormitory area, Li Jue’s voice suddenly rose as he answered a phone call,

“What? They’re trying to snatch Xiao Xu?”

The call came from Li Jue’s old friend, Dong Liping.

“Yeah, I just caught wind of it. Apparently, a few top officials spent an entire hour discussing it today,”

soon followed by Dong Liping’s voice again.

“All because of the commotion at Mingsha County?”

Snapping back to reality, Li Jue couldn’t help but ask,

“Xu Hao isn’t just the golden boy at the Ancient Architecture Institute; he’s also our top candidate for its next director. How could Su Province let him be snatched away so easily?”