Chapter 196: A Stir in Tradition

“So I’m curious—what is Xiao Xu up to to cause this much fuss? Last time at the Protectorate of West Liang, it only took a couple of months with almost no noise. And now look at this…”

Liu Shan remarked, filled with awe.

“Oh, speaking of the Protectorate of West Liang—wasn’t the review panel already through with it? Then why haven’t we heard an official announcement from Xiao Xu about the Yeguang Cup yet?”

Li Jue’s expression shifted.

“Old Feng would know. All the necessary approvals have been sent to the relevant departments in Su Province. I suspect Xiao Xu hasn’t made an announcement because he’s building momentum for our Ancient Architecture and Cultural Heritage Forum.”

Liu Shan shook his head.

If it weren’t for the small scale of the Protectorate, just the prestige of the Yeguang Cup and the fame of that poem might have been enough to earn Mingsha guesthouses the title of Ancient City—no need to start digging up old structures.

“It’s possible! Our previous forums ended quietly, but this year the topic exploded even before it began.”

“Then when Xiao Xu uses this as an opportunity to officially announce the Yeguang Cup, tsk tsk, the buzz around this forum will reach unprecedented levels. Some major websites might even run headline stories,”

he continued, “and the higher-ups will be over the moon!”

“I mean, when has a traditional cultural event in the Long Kingdom ever generated this kind of hype?”

Liu Shan sighed once more.

Recalling a meeting, he added, “One of the leaders said that traditional cultural events have reached a point where they care less about attention and just want to keep going—it’s almost impossible to get any buzz nowadays.”

“Yeah, so we should wait until the 31st. Just one month, and by then all of Xiao Xu’s secrets will be revealed.”

“I hope that after the 31st, Mingsha guesthouses can officially be renamed Mingsha Ancient City!”

“Agreed,” came the reply.

In Haishi, neon lights flickered.

At 10 PM, several offices at Eggplant TV still had their lights on.

Cai An scanned the online comments impassively. After a long pause, he said flatly, “This could have been settled with a simple apology, but it’s been blown so far out of proportion. What do you think will happen in the end?”

“Boss, due to the fallout from this matter, Ning An Cultural Tourism’s movie has seen a dramatic box office plunge, while Longmen Inn’s film has surged for the second time, reaching 1.8 billion. Its single-day earnings even topped those of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.”

A middle-aged man across the desk added,

“It’s normal for family films to tank after the Spring Festival! Besides, box office numbers are trivial compared to the third point in Mingsha Tourism’s announcement.”

Cai An rubbed his brow.

Neglecting to maintain a good relationship with Haofang Culture would invite sudden backlash from both them and Yan City TV in the actors’ circle.

Furthermore, with today’s announcement from Mingsha Tourism, there’s no mystery left about the news hotspot on March 31. If the film festival launches that same day, it is doomed to be a flop.

Even if international movie stars show up, it won’t matter.

They may sound impressive, but to the average viewer, foreigners all look the same—even if those stars were right in front of you, they’d go unrecognized.

Especially when it comes to animated characters. Seeing a real person in their place would only tarnish their reverent image.

“Boss, Mingsha Tourism might just be talk. What film or actor ever completely shuns the film festival? Skipping it would mean missing out on Best Actor and Actress awards, which could severely affect the actors’ rankings on the golden list.

I feel that if the Director Association just offers an apology, this matter might blow over,”

the middle-aged man whispered his thoughts after a pause.

“Let bygones be bygones! Even though Mingsha Tourism only released four announcements, the information overload is staggering.”

In their eyes, Mingsha Tourism focused primarily on cultural tourism projects—films and TV series were just a part of it. But the Director Association saw films and TV shows as everything.

“If it were that simple—powerful, well-regarded actors not winning top honors? Would those awards mean anything? The Long Kingdom Film Festival has always been valued by the public for its fair and just awards.

More importantly, do you really think the Director Association will apologize to Mingsha Tourism?

Last time, I tried to persuade Ran Xiangfei for ages with no luck!”

Cai An shot a sidelong glance at the middle-aged man.

The Director Association has been dominant in the industry for too long; it’s nearly impossible to make them bow in public.

“But if the Director Association doesn’t apologize now…”

The man paused in surprise.

Before he could add another word, the phone on the desk vibrated and a message popped up. A quick glance made his eyes widen instantly.

Barely regaining his composure,

the man immediately said, “Boss, you’re spot on! The Director Association just responded—and they made it very clear that no apology to Mingsha Tourism was forthcoming.”

“Responded? What did they say?”

Cai An raised an eyebrow and explained, “On their official website, the Director Association apologized for the misleading wording of one of its staff that caused public confusion. In light of that, the organizers will revoke Ning An Cultural Tourism’s qualifications to host the film festival. They will also carefully select a new venue and announce it later. Additionally, the current film festival will be postponed until a new date is set.”

The man hurried to relay the details.

“Hah, revoking Ning An Cultural Tourism’s rights? This sort of announcement is just to placate the public. It seems more like Ning An Cultural Tourism decided to call it quits. The Director Association is just saving face!”

Cai An curled his lip in disdain.

He knew full well that Ran Xiangfei had really put Ning An Cultural Tourism through the wringer this time.

“Then…”

“From now on, we should steer clear of the Director Association. For now, all films recommended by them on our channel will be put on hold. At the very least, they need to understand our stance! It’s not as if only films suggested by the Director Association can fill the TV slots!”

After a moment’s thought, Cai An issued the directive.

“Okay, boss! What about Mingsha Tourism?”

The man hesitated as he nodded.

Not only must the Director Association grasp Eggplant TV’s position—but Mingsha Tourism needs to know as well.

“Here’s the plan: Contact the head of Mingsha Tourism and tell them our channel wants to broadcast the entire Ancient Architecture and Cultural Heritage Forum live. They won’t have to pay a dime—it’ll be our way of promoting the Long Kingdom’s traditional culture. See if we can forge a partnership.”

After a long pause, Cai An added,

“Our channel will broadcast it live in full.”

The man was taken aback.

Usually, when such events occur, the organizers spend a fortune to secure a TV partnership, but here Eggplant TV is taking the initiative to approach Mingsha Tourism. Unbelievable!

“Just do as I say. Once it’s set up, we won’t be at a loss!”

“Yes, boss,” came the reply.

It turned out that Cai An, as a top executive at Eggplant TV, had quite the knack for predicting events.

It wasn’t that the Director Association abandoned Ning An Cultural Tourism—rather, Ning An Cultural Tourism itself called to drop the ball. When Qi Haoyong connected the call to Ran Xiangfei, things went off the rails immediately! Ran Xiangfei, who disliked confrontation but wasn’t intimidated by Qi Haoyong, had planned to use the Director Association’s weight to threaten him, but one sentence from Qi Haoyong left him speechless:

“Damn it, I’ve got money. When I make my own film, I don’t have to pander to some Director Association! As long as there’s money, there are plenty of directors!”

He then hung up abruptly, leaving Ran Xiangfei flushed with anger.

Later, the Director Association held a meeting, and after a round of negotiations, they released a third announcement.

“Old Ran, you know exactly whose fault it is that things turned out this way. So from now on, the Association will put its ongoing projects on hold.”

In the conference room, Ding Xiaoping glowered at Ran Xiangfei.

“Old Ding, I…”

Ran Xiangfei fumbled for words.

At that moment, his hatred for Mingsha Tourism had reached its peak. In his eyes, if it weren’t for Mingsha Tourism, things wouldn’t be so disastrous.

But that was just his frustration speaking—after all, with Mingsha Tourism’s current scale, even a Vice President from the Director Association couldn’t easily control it.

“I’m not feeling well; I’m leaving now!”

After a brief pause, Ran Xiangfei adjusted his clothes and left the office.

At that moment, walking away was the only way to salvage the last shred of dignity.

“Old Ding, although Old Ran did make mistakes, Mingsha Tourism is being overbearing—offering no room for negotiation! They even claim that without their participation, the film festival would collapse!

What’s more infuriating is that both the TV channels and the Actor Association are blaming us—all our fault!

In fact, apart from Yan City TV, other networks have nothing to do with Mingsha Tourism!”

After Ran Xiangfei left,

a man in his fifties frowned and said,

“Yeah!”

“So, should we stop believing that every drama by Haofang Culture is a blockbuster and that every film will smash box office records?”

The man’s expression shifted.

“We shouldn’t rush. Let’s wait until this buzz dies down. I’m curious to see what Mingsha Tourism will pull off on March 31.”

Old Ding tapped the table with his finger, a cold gleam in his eyes.

This was the first direct confrontation between Mingsha Tourism and the Director Association. Although the outcome was disastrous, it might open up opportunities in the future.

“Alright!”

The next morning, as the sun rose, the debate over the film festival venue came to a temporary close with the Director Association’s third announcement.

Surprisingly, the Director Association’s statement managed to fool many people, making them believe that the Association was fair and handled issues swiftly by immediately cutting ties with Ning An Cultural Tourism.

After the discussions, netizens and viewers grew even more eager to see what fresh project Mingsha Tourism would unveil on March 31.

After all, this project had stirred up so much controversy—even forcing the film festival to back down. If they didn’t deliver something impressive, all this commotion would be for nothing.

And so…

By March 29, March 30, and March 31, all the guesthouse reservations were completely booked, with booking dates continuously moving forward.

At noon,

in Mingsha County at Mingsha Tourism,

a delivery truck pulled up in the parking lot. Before long, all the items in the truck were quietly unloaded by Mingsha Tourism staff and delivered to the construction site behind the fence.

At that moment,

Luo Peng stood on an opera stage tower, holding a loudspeaker. In front of the stage, more than eight hundred villagers gathered—old and young alike.

“Fellow villagers, from today onward, consider yourselves on duty. Your wages start from now. In a short while, staff will hand out your ancient costumes, each with its own number. Please do not take someone else’s.”

After a pause, Luo Peng repeated into the loudspeaker.