Chapter 73: A Night of Plans and Revelations

Old Li was still fretting and giving endless warnings—it seems his worries were all for nothing!

Seeing that Xu Hao had been prepared for a long while, Feng Wancheng couldn’t help but laugh. After a brief pause, he continued:

“Xiao Xu, don’t get me wrong. Old Li isn’t trying to confiscate your blueprints; he wants to use them to nominate you for honors. Without those blueprints, the relevant departments won’t recognize your Tengwang Pavilion.”

“Besides, your honor will also shine on the Ancient Architecture Institute.”

“Boss, I know that already,”

Xu Hao replied with a laugh.

In the construction industry, blueprints and research papers carry about the same weight—if you publish it, it’s essentially yours.

Especially in ancient architecture, personal skill is everything. Outsourcing or ghostwriting just won’t work; even the smallest detail can give you away.

“The second matter is about the fees!”

Feng Wancheng glanced at Peng Yuan.

“Fees?”

Xu Hao looked a bit taken aback.

“Exactly. When your Tengwang Pavilion is built, there will be an entrance fee for visitors. To be honest, the Tourism Bureau and the Cultural Heritage Office will often bring people here for study. Charging full price every time would be unsustainable, so we’re hoping to get a group discount from you, Xiao Xu.”

Feng Wancheng felt a little embarrassed at that.

This super replica, designed for research and learning, has enormous value. Of course, it’s unthinkable to bar visits, but since it isn’t an official attraction of the Long Kingdom, operating and maintaining it still costs a lot.

Free visits every now and then might be acceptable, but long-term that would be too burdensome.

“Boss, are you really suggesting that? No! No! When folks from the Tourism Bureau and the Cultural Heritage Office come to learn, it’s essentially free promotion for the building—how can we possibly charge them?

Besides, both our leaders have been tremendous supporters of Mingsha Tourism. Just give General Zhu a heads-up, and anyone with the proper work ID from these departments can visit freely.”

Xu Hao laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

After all, what’s the point of constructing Tengwang Pavilion if not to boost popularity and attract tourists? Even if visitors from these agencies skip the entry fee, spending on food and drinks at Oasis 1 could still contribute significantly to Mingsha Tourism’s revenue.

More importantly, these agencies have truly been a huge help.

“But we can’t do away with the fee—maintenance costs aren’t trivial.”

“Boss, you and Director Li have been old classmates for ages. Commissioner Peng and Director Li are also well acquainted. Just on that basis alone, why charge any admission fee?”

Xu Hao continued,

“Oh, apologies then!”

Feng Wancheng kept deferring, though a smile gradually appeared on his face—especially after Xu Hao’s last remark, which he found particularly gratifying.

Meanwhile,

in his heart, he began to see Xu Hao as one of his own.

Face value isn’t something that’s deliberately handed out; it naturally emerges in subtle ways.

“Bosses, it’s settled then! Oh, and it’s getting late—I’ve arranged for the guesthouse to prepare some signature Mingsha dishes. How about we eat and chat along the way?”

Xu Hao glanced at his watch and said,

“Signature dishes?”

Peng Yuan looked at Feng Wancheng in surprise.

“That works! After all, today you’ve already gotten quite a bit from Xiao Xu, so one meal won’t hurt. Commissioner, the camel meat and braised lamb there are simply unparalleled! I still crave more after my last visit.”

Feng Wancheng laughed heartily.

“This…”

“Boss, this meal is on me personally—it has nothing to do with Mingsha Tourism.”

“Then let’s go try it out,”

“Let’s roll!”

A joyful dinner lasted until 10 PM. With no spare rooms at the guesthouse and many guests present, Feng Wancheng’s party rushed off to Wei City overnight to rest.

Over in Shadou,

Xu Hao tidied up before heading back to the construction site. Meals aside, the building progress must not be delayed.

“General Zhu, I never imagined Brother Hao was also a researcher at the Ancient Architecture Institute. He’s so low-key—he never mentioned it before.”

Luo Peng, standing by the window as he watched Xu Hao resume his work, could only marvel at the sight with a mix of awe and reflection.

He had been at that dinner too.

It was there that he inadvertently learned another facet of Xu Hao’s identity.

“Today, when those leaders from Su Province suddenly arrived for an inspection, something felt off. In retrospect, it was all thanks to Brother Hao’s connections.”

Zhu Qiang nodded emphatically.

“Even having water and power delivered right to our doorstep is directly linked to Brother Hao.”

Today, Mingsha Tourism had finalized a plan with Mingsha County for water and electricity delivery. If everything goes smoothly, the site entrance will have formal utilities within a month.

“So we…”

“Let’s get back to work. The wooden boardwalk to Oasis 2 must be completed in the next few days. General Zhang, since Brother Hao hasn’t made his researcher status public, let’s keep it to ourselves.”

“Understood.”

Time flew—it was already two days later.

Just like before, Xu Hao wasn’t livestreaming; even changing batteries was handled by the foreman, yet the livestream’s audience slowly began to recover.

There was nothing else to it,

simply because Tengwang Pavilion had reached its fourth floor and the first external corridor was finished.

Its overall grandeur was unmistakable.

“You have to admit, Brother Hao might not have built the Ancient Building Courtyard, but this structure is amazing! It perfectly complements Shadou’s guesthouse and the Desert Pavilion.”

“Exactly. Zhang Chi’s team might never have pulled that off.”

“A lot of fans left thinking Brother Hao was playing it safe. If he had clarified that he wasn’t building the Ancient Building Courtyard, maybe those fans would have understood.”

“There’s no way to explain it—Brother Hao didn’t clarify anything.”

“The prototype of Zhang Chi’s Ancient Building Courtyard is already emerging—it looks pretty promising.”

“Sigh!”

Netizens continued debating, now with an added hint of understanding.

By the third and fourth days, as the second-floor corridor of Tengwang Pavilion was completed, the livestream audience started getting restless. “Don’t you all think Brother Hao’s building looks incredibly familiar? Like you’ve seen it somewhere before!”

“It does give off a strong sense of déjà vu.”

“Constructing an all-wood pavilion like this is no small feat.”

“The cost must be astronomical!”

“And you should hear what the tourists in Shadou say—the entire pavilion is made of Oil Cedar. You can catch a whiff of a subtle wooden aroma from afar. It seems like all their recent revenue was poured into this project.”

“Seriously, you can actually smell Oil Cedar from a distance?”

“Yeah, especially when you’re atop the Desert Pavilion and a breeze passes, the scent becomes even stronger.”

“Enough talk—I’m itching to check it out right now.”

By the fifth and sixth days, as the third-floor corridor of Tengwang Pavilion was completed and final roofing work began, the livestream completely exploded. Viewer numbers surged from under 10,000 to a steady 50,000.

“Damn. Isn’t this…this is Tengwang Pavilion?”

“Exactly. Its exterior and base are strikingly similar to the one in Gan Province.”

“That explains why it felt so familiar these past few days.”

“Tsk, Brother Hao really went all out this time! The difficulty and craftsmanship far surpass Zhang Chi’s Ancient Building Courtyard.”

“All out? Why do you say that?”

“Xiao Bai! Brother Hao used an all-wood structure here—none of that reinforced concrete from Gan Province. Got it?”

“Damn!”