Chapter 17 Don't scare them away!
Only a small minority hold an optimistic attitude:
"Don't laugh, if this town can really operate well, it will be good for us. To put it simply, we won't have to go to the city to work anymore, right? We can open a small restaurant or set up a small stall to sell water right here and earn enough to cover our monthly living expenses."
Most people in the town now work in the city or run small businesses in the surrounding area. They are actually doing quite well financially, but who wouldn't want to stay at home and still make money? Especially those who are no longer young.
“That’s true.” Someone agreed. “During the peak season, everyone was able to make some money from it. My neighbor’s eighty-year-old mother was even able to earn some pocket money by selling water.”
So, the people who were just laughing at the boss for being stupid immediately fell silent, hoping that the boss's foolishness would be blessed and that his business would last a long time.
At this moment, someone spoke up: "It's strange, don't you guys feel that this town has been almost invisible for the past few years?"
His words startled everyone, but they immediately understood what he meant: such a large town, with no one and not even security guards, yet apart from the occasional blogger who came to explore, it seemed no one had thought of it.
It remained there quietly, as if no one around had ever thought of disturbing it.
"This water stinks!" Someone fanned their nose with disgust. "I live nearby, and I never want to come here in the summer!"
"Yes, this water does have a strong smell."
Whether Qinghe Ancient Town can be opened is another matter, but it would be best if the water could be cleaned up. If not, they will file a complaint.
......
“We can scoop up the garbage, branches, and leaves from the water, but we can’t handle the silt and algae.” The head of the cleaning company in town told Lu Xiaoqi, “You’ll have to find a water and environmental protection company for that, but that’s not cheap; it’ll cost seven or eight figures.”
Lu Xiaoqi took a deep breath and put on a smile: "No rush, let's take it one step at a time."
She looked at Qinghe Ancient Town with a heavy heart. It was a money-devouring beast, costing money everywhere, and not in small amounts.
She had just carefully inspected the entire town, with Yuwen Kai beside her, pointing out areas that needed repair and reconstruction, giving her a more comprehensive understanding of the ancient town. Worse still, she realized that Yuwen Kai was only referring to the above-ground replicas of the ancient buildings; the underground pipes, water pipes, electrical wires, and internet systems—all of which needed maintenance.
For a project this big, throwing 500,000 into it wouldn't even make a sound.
Just as I was sighing inwardly, the system suddenly said: "If players complete the weekly tasks ten times in a row, they will be able to obtain the basic maintenance function of the ancient town, and then they can clean the waterway themselves. However, the basic cleaning work of the waterway still needs to be done by people."
Lu Xiaoqi was overjoyed; what a wonderful thing!
"Just you wait and see!" she exclaimed, bursting with energy. "I'm determined to get my hands on this feature!"
The system was clearly pleased with her performance, praising her with a few words: "Keep it up, player! Making a fortune every day is not a dream!"
"Are you just shouting slogans...?"
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the person in charge, Lu Xiaoqi led Yuwen Kai and the others to other places.
These past few days, besides making money, she hasn't been idle either. She spent a long time at home studying the information she had previously taken about Qinghe Ancient Town, and compared it with some other tourist towns in China with similar business models, and made a simple plan for Qinghe Ancient Town.
She wants to make Qinghe Ancient Town a place where modern people can truly experience ancient culture and even ancient life.
Zhao Feiyan frowned slightly and asked blankly, "Would anyone really want to experience the life of people in ancient times?"
She thinks modern people live such comfortable lives! Why would someone be so pessimistic?
“You underestimate the allure of ancient culture to us.” Lu Xiaoqi’s eyes sparkled. “Even if you’re not a history buff, every Chinese person knows about the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, can recite a few ancient poems, and knows about the Four Great Inventions.”
“However,” she shrugged, “you’re right, people just want to experience this kind of atmosphere. If you really gave them a muddy road with no water, electricity, toilets, air conditioning, or cell phones, we’d probably run away faster than anyone else.”
Then post it online: I've been burned! Avoid these pitfalls!
She blurted out that no modern person could live without these things for three days! Including herself.
Therefore, the necessary modern facilities must be present, and they cannot be neglected.
Sister-in-law Song said with a smile, "I had heard that there was a thatched hut in the Emperor's Imperial Garden so that he could get close to nature with the nobles in the palace. But I think that if it was really just a thatched hut in a mountain village, dark and with only tattered quilts, the nobles probably wouldn't stay there."
There had to be palace servants, there had to be beautiful scenery, and every item had to be exquisite. It looked simple, but in reality, it was all the result of painstaking effort.
Lu Xiaoqi gave her an approving look: "That makes sense."
She led a few people through the ancient town.
Qinghe Ancient Town is really big.
Its waterway is entirely man-made, drawing water from a nearby river to form the "protective river" of Qinghe Ancient Town. This river meanders through the town, dividing it into eight sections, somewhat resembling an irregular fan shape. The fan surface is divided into seven areas by the waterway, while the handle is a small lake, which is the eighth area.
Lu Xiaoqi simply and crudely divided them into Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3... all the way up to Zone 8.
"This area, Zone One, is the main street. It's right here at the entrance, so it's the face of the area and needs special attention. The landscaping needs to be attractive, and it needs to have a commanding presence,"
Yuwen Kai asked gently, "Young friend Lu, how do you plan to build it?"
Lu Xiaoqi gave an awkward laugh, then looked at him expectantly: "What does Teacher Yuwen think?"
She had no idea what to build and was preparing to ask Yuwen Kai, the chief planner of Chang'an, to come up with a plan.
Yuwen Kai paused for a moment: "Then I'm afraid we need to take a long time to plan and make a proper arrangement."
Lu Xiaoqi immediately seized the opportunity: "Then I'll have to trouble Teacher Yuwen."
Yuwen Kai stroked his long beard and remained silent for the time being.
The group continued walking inside. Section 1 had three areas on each side: the left side was designated as areas 2, 3, and 4; the right side as areas 5, 6, and 7; and the area containing the lake was area 8.
“I think Zone 2 on the left can be used as a historical and cultural exhibition area, and Zone 5 on the right can be used as a handicraft workshop and market. Both of these zones are adjacent to the main street and have the best locations. We should designate one street from each zone to be used as a food street.”
"...There should be buildings such as visitor service centers and cultural exhibition centers, as well as public service facilities like docks and rest stops. In addition, there should be theaters, stages, living areas, game areas, hotels, and guesthouses..."
Lu Xiaoqi rattled off a bunch of requests in one breath, then asked a little hesitantly, "What does Teacher Yuwen think?"
Oh no, did she make too many demands all at once? I hope I don't scare her away.
Yuwen Kai was not annoyed at all. On the contrary, he listened very carefully and noticed that she was a little embarrassed. So he said seriously, "It is my honor that young friend Lu wants to entrust this matter to me. Although I am not very familiar with this kind of construction, I believe that as long as I am given some time to figure it out, I will definitely live up to my mission."
His words revealed a confidence that came from within, stemming from his talent and a lifetime of professional experience.
Sister-in-law Song smiled and said, "That's right. We came here to help your town. Please don't treat us like outsiders. Just let us know if you need anything."
Zhao Feiyan nodded: "We are your helpers."
In just a few days, the three of them had gradually gotten used to using modern terms like "you," "me," and "him" when speaking.
Lu Xiaoqi paused for a moment, then broke into a big smile and nodded emphatically: "Okay!"
I have several helpers now, so I'm no longer fighting alone.
......
The cleaning company was very efficient, completing the contract in just three days. They cleaned the entire ancient town thoroughly and took away three large truckloads of garbage, including but not limited to broken bricks and tiles, weeds and branches, broken decorations, and so on.
While the entire ancient town cannot be said to have undergone a complete transformation, it at least looks less dilapidated and is much cleaner.
Lu Xiaoqi quickly settled the final payment with the cleaning company.
System notifications arrive almost instantly:
"Congratulations to the player for successfully completing the weekly task and obtaining a special building blueprint, which can be viewed in the space."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
