Chapter 165: New Beginnings and Bold Ventures

“Also, we need to wait until we get the proper permits before anything proceeds—and only then can the related relics be shipped over!”

Feng Wancheng nodded.

In his view, the expert panel’s evaluation was beyond reproach; after all, he was one of its members. The other experts were true professionals from Long Kingdom’s higher cultural relic department—not those pseudo-experts flaunting the title ‘Professor’ and spouting lofty rhetoric.

“So, Commissioner Feng, shall we head over to Wudi City for a meal now?”

Checking his watch, Xu Hao added promptly.

“Actually, the opening of the Guard Mansion depends on the guesthouse traffic. It wouldn’t hurt to wait until Mingsha Tourism’s reception capacity improves dramatically. Besides, they’ve never officially addressed the reconstruction of the Guard Mansion on their website.”

“Once it goes public, tourists will flock here. With the guesthouses already at full capacity, what difference does it make? Hehe, good! By the way, Xiao Xu, I heard you’ve got an ultra-premium classical wedding scheduled for tomorrow?”

After wrapping up business, Feng Wancheng relaxed considerably.

“There’s one on New Year’s Day!”

Xu Hao nodded.

Although no one had booked the top-tier package recently, many had opted for other ones. Some weddings were held in Qixia Town, others in Wudi City. In short, the guesthouses were packed.

“Alright, tomorrow we’ll check out Mingsha Tourism’s Wan Gong Sedan Chair! That thing is a rarity now—and it’s your doing, isn’t it? No one else could pull it off like you.”

Feng Wancheng continued.

He’d been eager to see it ever since he heard Mingsha Tourism had produced the Wan Gong Sedan Chair, but last time he couldn’t make it due to other commitments.

“Well, what else can you do but produce it!”

“Xiao Xu, you’re the only one from the Ancient Architecture Research Institute. Otherwise, I would have definitely tried to lure you over to our Cultural Relics Bureau.”

“Commissioner Feng, you’re too kind.”

“Your skill is simply unmatched!”

Over at the Guard Mansion, behind Vermilion Bird Building in the Shadou area, Fang Hou—like Xu Hao—hadn’t clocked out yet and didn’t have time to check on his own artist’s live broadcast on Yan City TV’s New Year’s countdown.

He was deep in discussion with a few men. Under the stage lights, one could distinguish a newly constructed, traditional guesthouse in the distance. At one corner, a long pole bore a string of lanterns.

“Director Zheng, are the horses in place?”

After a brief pause, Fang Hou glanced at one of the men.

The man, Zheng Dan, was a formidable martial arts director whom Fang Hou had known long ago. Now, he served as the in-house martial arts director for Haofang Culture. It was under his guidance that the last Snowy Series was produced.

“Director Fang, the horses have already reached the stables!”

Zheng Dan nodded.

“Alright then, our film begins shooting the day after tomorrow, as planned. And if the actors fumble any action scenes, Director Zheng, you’ll have to step in as the villain yourself!”

Fang Hou’s eyes caught a text on a toolbox in the distance boldly titled ‘New Dragon Inn Crew Equipment Checklist.’

Over twenty days ago, he had returned to Mingsha and, after a discussion with Xu Hao, received a script two days later! Titled “New Dragon Inn,” it was a pure desert-themed wuxia action film.

Thus,

The very next day, he began crew preparations—filing records, casting, and so on.

“Shooting the day after tomorrow? So, tomorrow we continue with Langya List, right?”

Zheng Dan looked a bit puzzled.

Frankly, he never expected Haofang Culture to go all out like this. While Oasis 3 had just held the Langya List kickoff ceremony, here they were quietly launching a wuxia film. A double launch—now that’s bold!

“No, tomorrow there’s a wedding at Vermilion Bird Building. Shooting tomorrow might disrupt the event.”

Fang Hou shook his head.

“Oh, so after tomorrow, on both fronts—”

“Once the Guard Mansion is finished, Director Xu will take over Langya List, and we’ll need to speed things up here! However, if any fight scenes are required over there, we’ll need you to come over.”

Fang Hou shook his head again.

Though his title nominally made him director of all projects, the real director was Xu Hao. Whenever Xu Hao helmed a segment, he would hand out a separate director’s script—meticulously detailed like a video storyboard, right down to the actors’ subtle expressions.

“No problem with that!”

“Alright, that’s enough for today. Everyone, head home and get some rest. We’re racing for a Spring Festival release—this year’s debut is set for February 24. With just over fifty days left, and after post-production, submission, and scheduling with theaters, we may have less than twenty days for actual shooting!”

Fang Hou sighed deeply.

This film was on an incredibly tight schedule with heavy tasks, leaving him no time for anything else. Everyone was absorbed in their own work.

“Got it, Director Fang!”

At 7:30 in the evening, as darkness descended over Mingsha, Yan City was already alive with neon lights at the Yan City TV headquarters building.

Ren Long monitored the viewership data while intermittently glancing at the live broadcast feed.

To generate buzz for the New Year’s countdown concert, rehearsals were minimal. The actors had only visited the venue yesterday to test the sound system and get a feel for the flow—there were no onstage rehearsals.

All in a bid to capture a sense of realism—and perhaps unintentionally engineer some unexpected ‘accident scenes.’

In the past, a live show would have been rehearsed at least four or five times.

“Sigh, in the end we just can’t compete with those stations that hired a superstar.”

After a long pause, Ren Long exhaled deeply.

The viewership data said it all. Despite Yan City TV’s final efforts, few viewers tuned in.

The trending topics were even fewer than when the station first announced its live coverage.

It seemed the audience had completely forgotten about Yan City TV.

“Director, the ratings are doomed. We’ll have to see if any of the celebrities manage to have an onstage mishap. Otherwise, our countdown show might not make a ripple.”

At that moment, an editor approached Ren Long with a wry smile.

Although he knew it was somewhat unethical, the cold truth was that only an onstage mishap by a celebrity would spark enough buzz to drive entertainment headlines. Without that, making waves would be nearly impossible.

As for singers grabbing entertainment headlines purely with their songs, they never really expected that—it seemed almost unthinkable.

“Forget it, adjust your mindset! Let the singers perform however they will. You can’t purposely sabotage them—our station may care about ratings, but we aren’t without dignity.”

“We accept this loss!”

Standing up and stretching, Ren Long grabbed the down jacket from beside a chair and said,

“Director, are you about to—”

The editor, noticing Ren Long now fully bundled in his padded coat, couldn’t help but ask.

He had only been talking earlier—there was no way he would resort to such underhanded tactics.

“Xiao Wang, keep an eye on things. I’m stepping out to grab a bite.”

Ren Long remarked casually.

Yet everyone could tell his mood was sour; his demeanor revealed he had completely lost hope for the countdown show.

In previous years, at such an important moment, Ren Long would have been nervously coordinating in front of the monitors.

“Director, you—”

The editor began to speak, then resignedly watched Ren Long leave the office with a dejected gait.

As time ticked by, it was suddenly 8:00 p.m. Neither the netizens nor the public knew about Mingsha Tourism and Haofang Culture’s new moves, or that Yan City TV had essentially given up the fight.

By then, most people were already seated in front of their TVs—even guests at the guesthouses and wedding attendees scheduled for tomorrow.

For them, tonight’s New Year’s countdown show was the main event; everything else could be pushed to the back burner.

“Has it started yet? Zhao Tianwang, I wonder which hit song you’ll perform tonight.”

An audience member checked the time before switching the channel to Eggplant TV.

Sure enough…

As the screen flashed, several formally attired, festive hosts took the stage, officially kicking off the countdown show.

One minute, two minutes passed,

only for many viewers to start switching channels frequently, curious to see how the other stations were staging their countdowns.

The reason: the superstar-level celebrities only appeared just before midnight, while the early acts were merely minor artists.

These minor acts lacked both style and charm, barely managing to capture anyone’s interest.

However, upon switching channels, some viewers felt disoriented when they noticed that several stations were airing recorded shows. They were surprised to see a famous singer performing on two channels simultaneously.

“A singer on two channels at once? The countdown show suddenly feels like a TV drama. Honestly, it’s better to watch the live show!”

Complaining, an irritable viewer immediately switched back to Yan City TV.

This year, only Yan City TV is airing live!

No sooner had they switched than the singer’s voice from the TV caught their attention:

“Among the crowds, there’s you and me / We meet, we learn, we analyze each other / Among the crowds, it’s you and me / Pretending to be righteous with knowing smiles.”

Listening to the deep rock vocals and the dynamic rhythm, many viewers wondered what song this was—none of them had heard it before!

In terms of vibe, this was by far the most stirring rock track in recent years.

Snapping back to attention, viewers hurriedly fixed their eyes on the screen, desperate to identify the band behind the performance.

“Wait a minute—is this Tiger Leopard Band? They’ve released a new song? And it’s so good! How come we hadn’t heard anything about it?”

When the lead singer came into clear view, many viewers were left dumbfounded.

Though news of Tiger Leopard Band’s appearance on Yan City TV was circulating, no one had expected them to drop a new single at this moment.

Before anyone could think further, the singer’s voice carried through the TV, compelling them to hum along unconsciously:

“PS: Brothers, tonight is New Year’s Eve. Lao Ba sends his best wishes—may you all achieve great wealth, good fortune, pockets filled with dollars, beds crowded with beauties, boundless energy, and lovers as fierce as they are sweet.”