Chapter 168: Schemes and Surprises

“Boss, it’s already the first day of the month. With only fifty days left until the New Year, what can Mingsha Tourism possibly do during the coldest days? At best, they’ll throw together that Ancient Guard Station and an ancient costume drama!”

A staff member whispered as they watched their boss nearly turn into a cowering mess at the hands of Mingsha Tourism.

“Fifty days might mean nothing for other companies, but for Mingsha Tourism, it’s ample time to pull off a lot!”

Qi Haoyong shot the staff member a withering glare.

At that moment…

He suddenly understood why Yang Yuan from Tianchen Culture had been so eager to team up with him for the Exploration of Talents; it must have been a similar sentiment.

“Boss, Mingsha Tourism might be capable of stirring things up, but I’ve noticed a pattern,”

the staff member hurriedly explained in a low voice.

“A pattern? What pattern?”

Qi Haoyong raised an eyebrow.

After all that overt and covert conflict with Mingsha, he’d never really noticed that they worked in cycles—suddenly springing a surprise on you.

“Boss, think about it: Mingsha Tourism only makes a move when they’re short on visitors. They filmed ‘Wulin Wai Chuan’ to draw tourists to Qixia Town, and when the local tourism bureau needed a boost, they launched Qing Brick Avenue and ‘Snowbound.’ The recent buzz-worthy ancient wedding was no different—if it weren’t for the drop in northwest traffic during winter, they wouldn’t have pushed it just to fill up the guesthouses!”

The staff member revealed the pattern he had discovered.

“Huh?”

Qi Haoyong, initially dismissive, suddenly found the analysis rather intriguing.

“This time, the Tiger Leopard Band…”

“Boss, the Tiger Leopard Band was purely set up to support Yan City TV. It was more of an accidental bonus!”

“So, if that’s the case, Mingsha Tourism won’t be stirring up any trouble again before the New Year?”

Qi Haoyong instinctively tapped his finger on the table.

“Boss, from what I can tell, as long as Mingsha Tourism isn’t launching new guesthouses, they won’t cause any commotion. If their visitor numbers remain sky-high after the New Year, they might even skip competing for the Long Kingdom Film Festival!”

“And what’s the point of competing if there are no places for the tourists to stay? How do they boost revenue?”

“Hmm?”

Qi Haoyong straightened his posture reflexively.

“You’ve got a point.”

“So I figure the only place Mingsha Tourism could possibly stir things up before the New Year is at the Long Kingdom’s Spring Festival Gala. The festival director might even invite that hit song ‘Wanjiang’ from the tourism festival. And, of course, the Tiger Leopard Band!

“Now that their popularity is soaring, they’re definitely on the radar of the gala’s producers,” the staff member added.

“Spring Festival Gala? That’s irrelevant. Whether it’s Wanjiang or the Tiger Leopard Band, they already have their momentum. The gala would just be icing on the cake.”

Qi Haoyong shook his head.

In recent years, with the rise of the internet, fewer people actually watch the gala. Most just have the TV on for background noise, not really paying attention.

Perhaps only those obsessed with social media keep tuning in to nitpick every detail.

“Then what are you worried about, Boss?”

“What if Mingsha Tourism decides to open new guesthouses during this period? Once they build new guesthouses, they’ll have even more visitors to lure in.”

Qi Haoyong looked at the staff member.

“Starting new guesthouses before the New Year? Boss, it’s not that I underestimate Mingsha Tourism—it’s that their cash flow is already stretched thin. In winter, infrastructure costs are sky-high. Plus, with the city wall continuously extending north and south and a newly built Vermilion Bird Building in the mix—even if it’s popular, it won’t recoup costs quickly. The Legend of Langya has only just begun filming…

Relying solely on daily guesthouse income is simply not enough! And remember, Mingsha Tourism never takes out loans; they operate entirely on self-owned capital. Keep pushing like this and even the top domestic conglomerates might not be able to keep up!”

The staff member couldn’t help but scoff.

He recalled that Ning An Cultural Tourism had taken out hefty loans for its new project this time. He just couldn’t believe Mingsha Tourism was so flush with cash.

“Are you saying, then, that I’m overreacting?”

Qi Haoyong fell silent.

The funding issue was indeed something no company could ignore.

Little did they know, just when Qi Haoyong and his team thought Mingsha Tourism wouldn’t make any more moves before the New Year, over in Wudi City at the Ancient Building Courtyard…

Xu Hao, Zhu Qiang, Luo Peng, and Fang Hou were in the middle of an internal meeting.

“How much cash do we still have? If Haofang Culture hadn’t transferred some funds over, Yan City TV would have had to prepay a portion of the Legend of Langya expenses.”

Xu Hao sipped some tea and glanced at Zhu Qiang.

“Brother Hao, no need! Even though we’re down to just over 20 million, Lawyer Zhang called this afternoon. He said we won the lawsuit over the Wu Nan incident. The compensation was only half of what was claimed but it’s still a tidy sum. It should hit the account in a few days!

Plus, Lawyer Zhang is already preparing to sue that second-tier celebrity agent, Li Ying.”

Zhu Qiang shook his head.

While Mingsha Tourism might be short on cash, its funding chain has never broken. In a bid for safety, they even set up a special account holding six months’ wages for all their employees.

“Who would have thought that legal fees would almost become our main source of income?”

Setting down his tea,

Xu Hao gave an embarrassed smile.

After two lawsuits, those self-media troublemakers and big-name online critics had at least contributed one Qing Brick Avenue and one Wudi City to Mingsha Tourism.

But then again, building infrastructure in the desert was incredibly costly.

Just a month ago, Haofang Culture had transferred over three hundred million to Mingsha Tourism. And now, in barely a month’s time, the account is down to just over 20 million—and that’s not even counting Mingsha Tourism’s own income this month.

“Brother Hao, this year is all about investment. The cash flow will improve later on,”

Zhu Qiang added as he seemed to understand Xu Hao’s mindset.

“Better next year, then?”

Xu Hao instinctively cast a glance at the sand table.

The entire plot contained thirty-two oases. They’d only developed the third one so far; there were over twenty more waiting. Can you really cut back on investment? And let’s not forget the ancient city wall stretching 250 kilometers!

He even had a feeling that next year’s spending might surpass this year’s.

So, whether it was Mingsha Labor, Haofang Culture, or Haofang Agency, there was just one mission: to make money!

Only by continuously generating revenue could they sustain Mingsha Tourism’s construction plans.

“By the way, does anyone have any suggestions for the development near the Guard Station?”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao continued.

“At noon today, the Qing Brick Avenue connecting the Guard Station and the City Gate parking lot officially began construction. But when I visited in the afternoon, it just didn’t have that certain spark.

It’s not that the idea of a Qing Brick Avenue is wrong, but a twelve-kilometer stretch leading straight to the Guard Station just seems too monotonous.

The Guard Station is a site of high prestige. Its infrastructure surely cannot be built to a lower standard.

“Brother Hao, don’t you think we should add some ancient architecture along one side of the avenue?”

Luo Peng, who had been silent until now, promptly spoke up.

“So… what do you all think would be a good addition?”

Xu Hao nodded. The Guard Station was located just north of the Ancient City Gate. Its eastern outer wall was only a few meters away from the old city wall, meaning that if the Qing Brick Avenue led straight to the front gate, there’d be room left for an ancient-style shopping street.

“Haozi, if things don’t work out, we could always build more guesthouses. The Tiger Leopard Band is already a hit, and given your operational skills, we’re bound to attract a ton of fans—though they might be short on places to stay!”

On the opposite side, Fang Hou couldn’t hold back.

“Today, ‘Longmen Inn’ has started filming. If it goes online before the year ends, we might even create another IP landmark. And along with the Tiger Leopard Band…”

“Turn all of it into guesthouses?”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao shook his head.

“It wouldn’t matter if the avenue were shorter. But now it’s twelve kilometers long, plus on the east side there’s the city wall with its attached guesthouses.

Too many guesthouses might boost capacity, but visitors’ overall experience would suffer. Besides being closer to the Guard Station, these guesthouses are too far from other attractions. More importantly, having guesthouses on both sides would create a less appealing atmosphere.”

“Little Luo, do you have any good ideas?”

Xu Hao looked at Luo Peng after a moment of thought.

Luo Peng was known for his creative ideas—if anyone could come up with something brilliant, it’d be him.

“Boss, since this Qing Brick Avenue is so long, why not transform it into a bona fide ancient long street? Imagine a street lined with inns, restaurants, wine houses, cosmetic shops—and even opera towers, temples, and gambling dens. Our current commercial district is too one-dimensional; it’s mostly just eateries and rental shops for ancient costumes, with clear separations between commercial and accommodation zones.”

Sure enough, Luo Peng seemed to have prepared his thoughts in advance. Almost without missing a beat, he said:

“Gambling dens in an ancient long street?”

Before Luo Peng could explain further, Zhu Qiang and Fang Hou nearly spat out their tea, and even Xu Hao was taken aback.

The idea was audacious! In today’s climate, that would be considered wildly illegal.

But given Luo Peng’s knack for coming up with ideas—from ostrich, elephant, to reindeer mounts—it wasn’t entirely surprising he mentioned gambling dens.

“Boss, it’s not what you think,” Luo Peng quickly waved his hands.

“We’d build an ancient-style gambling den and a brothel solely for visitors’ curiosity, so they can see what a typical Tang-era brothel and gambling den looked like. At most, they’d dress in period costumes and snap a few photos. We’re not really setting up an immersive experience here.”

Luo Peng continued.

“Oh, I see!”

Zhu Qiang and Fang Hou finally relaxed a bit.

“That does sound promising, though the construction would be no small feat. Designing a twelve-kilometer ancient long street will be incredibly complex—I’m worried we won’t have enough time!”

Leaning back in his chair, Xu Hao stroked his chin.

There’s no denying that Luo Peng had some creative flair. But under this proposal, the design work alone would be immensely time-consuming. They couldn’t just lock the Guard Station and wait for the ancient street to be completed.

“Designing an ancient long street? Boss, you could look to the ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’ of the Long Kingdom. With your connections, finding an original shouldn’t be too hard!”

At that moment,

Luo Peng scratched his head and immediately added his two cents.