Chapter 67: The Grand Unveiling of an Ancient Masterpiece

2:00 PM – Above Mingsha County, an endless expanse of brilliant blue sky stretched with not a speck of cloud in sight.

At Oasis 1, the sound of continuous fireworks bursting in mid-air suddenly erupted, startling tourists napping in the afternoon into an abrupt wakefulness.

“What’s going on? Why are they setting off firecrackers in broad daylight?”

Snap out of it.

Many tourists hurried to the windows lining the blue-brick pathway.

Upon closer look, several of them quickly got out of bed and dressed while murmuring, “Damn, Brother Hao’s Ancient Building Courtyard is finally starting construction!”

Inside the guesthouses, the same excitement buzzed. The base sparkled with fireworks and displayed offerings! Such grandeur hadn’t been seen even during the construction of guesthouses or the Desert Pavilion, highlighting just how much Xu Hao values this true Tengwang Pavilion.

The display of offerings and fireworks wasn’t born of superstition—it was a tribute to the upcoming ancient structure!

From one corner of the base, Xu Hao had already launched his live broadcast.

“Hello everyone, today marks the official start of construction on the ancient building. If you’re interested, come over to the desert and see it for yourself.”

As usual, Xu Hao began by greeting his live viewers.

“Brother Hao, you’re finally starting!”

Once the viewers and fans saw the scene at the base, comments flooded in—it was obvious even a fool knew what this spectacle meant.

“If you don’t get moving soon, Zhang Chi’s side will be finished before you!”

“Hurry up!”

“Even if our area is smaller, we can’t afford to fall too far behind.”

“That’s right—lose one round, and there’s always another chance.”

Seeing all the comments, Xu Hao chose not to explain them one by one.

“Friends, we’re about to get busy. Any questions, we can talk later when I have time.”

With that said,

Xu Hao led nearly a hundred laborers toward the woodpile.

“Engineer Li, get the team to work on the base columns!”

“Got it, Brother Hao!”

A few minutes later, a familiar scene unfolded once again at the base.

Apart from netizens and viewers fond of desert construction, Xu Hao’s following included Tianchen Culture—whose involvement went well beyond mere curiosity.

At that moment,

Yang Yuan and Liu Qing, who had just received the news, were seated in a conference room where a large screen displayed Xu Hao’s live broadcast.

“They even set up offerings—it’s so superstitious!”

Liu Qing couldn’t help but murmur under his breath.

On our side, our Ancient Building Courtyard projects didn’t have any such ceremony; construction started straightaway.

However, Yang Yuan’s puzzled expression deepened as he observed the materials piled in the live feed. A few minutes later, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked, “Wait a minute—why are the materials Xu Hao is using so different from ours?”

In his mind, even with different design approaches, the material usage for ancient building courtyards shouldn’t differ that much.

“Yang, this kid Xu Hao said it’s going all-wood this time, so he’d obviously need more wood. Our side uses reinforced concrete with an antique finish; naturally, the materials will differ.”

After a moment’s thought, Liu Qing explained.

To him, it didn’t seem like a major issue.

“Wood… no, wait! Even if the basic building materials are different, they’d still need drainage pipes, right? Look—there isn’t a single PVC drain pipe in sight here.”

“And what about that raised platform on the foundation—what style of courtyard is that supposed to be?”

Yang Yuan’s frown deepened.

“Drainage pipes?”

Liu Qing was momentarily stunned; he hadn’t even thought that far.

Little did they know, Xu Hao was constructing a pure ancient structure, modeled entirely on a Song Dynasty painting. Naturally, there were no PVC pipes in that era.

But as the atmosphere in the conference room grew increasingly tense, the term “base columns” began to echo continuously from Xu Hao’s broadcast.

“Base columns?”

Yang Yuan couldn’t sit still any longer; he leaped to his feet.

“This isn’t right—this kid isn’t building an Ancient Building Courtyard at all! Ancient courtyards don’t require base columns. Get me Zhao Fei, now!”

“If it’s not an Ancient Building Courtyard, then what is he building?”

Liu Qing was utterly baffled.

Ever since Zhang Chi expanded their Ancient Building Courtyard to 9,000 square meters, things had finally begun to ease up, and Zhang Chi’s approval ratings were steadily rising. As long as they held on, victory was assured.

But now, suddenly, they were claiming that Xu Hao wasn’t building an Ancient Building Courtyard at all—what was going on?

“Do I have any idea what this kid’s building? Get me Zhao Fei, quick!”

Yang Yuan was on the brink of exploding with anger and let loose some harsh words.

It was like watching two competitors in a weightlifting contest—one was halfway to victory, and suddenly the other switched to a ping-pong match. How could anyone not be furious?

“Alright, Yang!”

Liu Qing, swallowing his pride, didn’t dare utter another word and dashed out of the conference room.

Meanwhile, Liu Shan, the deputy director of the Yan City Ancient Architecture Research Institute, hurried upstairs in search of someone, exclaiming, “Old Li! Old Li!”

Disregarding what might be happening in the director’s office, Liu Shan pushed the door open.

“What’s up?”

Seeing Liu Shan, Li Jue—who was reviewing documents—looked puzzled.

After hastily returning from Oasis 1 to Shadou a few days ago, he had been preparing various application materials, aiming to restore the Wanchun Pavilion behind 49 Imperial City as soon as possible.

Moreover, after other leaders at the institute watched Xu Hao’s video on constructing the Desert Pavilion, they had no objections to him leading this restoration project and fully endorsed his status as a Level 3 researcher at the Ancient Architecture Institute.

“Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu—he’s gone and stirred up trouble again!”

Although Liu Shan was older and noticeably out of breath, his excitement was unmistakable.

“Xiao Xu is up to something? What’s happening? Has someone provoked him?”

At the mention of Xu Hao, Li Jue’s expression turned serious.

Xu Hao is considered the prized asset of the Ancient Architecture Institute—there can be no mishaps.

“Haven’t you been watching Xiao Xu’s live streams lately?”

Liu Shan was anxious, unsure how to explain.

“Well, he hasn’t been streaming much lately either!”

Li Jue shook his head.

“Then do you know what he’s planning over in Mingsha County?”

Liu Shan continued,

“Planning what? I heard Xiao Xu is about to launch an Ancient Building Courtyard project. It’s not surprising—if he can pull off ancient guesthouses, an ancient courtyard shouldn’t be a challenge.”

After a moment of thought, Li Jue said,

“But what kind of Ancient Building Courtyard? Xiao Xu is probably about to make a big move this time.”

Liu Shan hurried over to Li Jue’s desk and swept aside a stack of application documents.

“Old Li, come with me downstairs—let’s take a look.”

“Hey, don’t mess with my documents! First, tell me what’s going on!”

Li Jue grew anxious as he beheld the scene.

“Documents? What are your documents compared to what I’m telling you—Xiao Xu isn’t building an Ancient Building Courtyard this time. After careful comparison, it appears he’s gearing up to build the Tengwang Pavilion of Gan Province! Old Li, the Gan Province Tengwang Pavilion—an all-wood structure! All wood!”

By the end, Li Jue’s voice trembled with excitement.

“What? Did you say Xiao Xu is planning an all-wood Tengwang Pavilion?”

Thud! Li Jue froze as if struck by lightning. Every seasoned expert in ancient architecture knew what an all-wood Tengwang Pavilion entailed.

“Yes, all wood.”