Chapter 61 A large crowd had gathered at the entrance.
Director Sun was Qin Shaohua's classmate and quite well-known in the industry. He happened to have a six-month gap in his career, so Qin Shaohua recommended him.
He originally didn't want to come, but he couldn't refuse Qin Shaohua's request, since the latter had helped him several times.
However, after arriving at Qinghe Ancient Town, Director Sun suddenly felt that the trip had been worthwhile—most people with a background in classical dance have some understanding of traditional culture, and Director Sun was among the best. He spent half a month carefully experiencing and investigating the area, discovering that this place was not some cheap tourist trap; the locals had genuinely invested a large sum of money in cultural revival and historical restoration. This was evident in the craftsmen he saw.
Moreover, after Lu Xiaoqi found him a group of dancers, Director Sun felt that the place had a profound cultural heritage.
Where did they find all these actresses? Especially that girl named Gongsun Jin, she's absolutely amazing! She's just as good as Zhao Yizhu, the one Qin Shaohua found before. With them, Director Sun feels like he could just start a professional dance troupe, it's just a bit short-handed.
Lu Xiaoqi vaguely said that she was found by a closed-down song and dance troupe, and Director Sun could only sigh at the vastness and abundance of talent in China.
In short, with money and connections, he happily stayed in Qinghe Ancient Town, helping to organize the program.
Due to time constraints, this dance performance did not emphasize storytelling or high artistic merit. Instead, it presented the splendid history of China, more like a medley of dances, music, and operas from different dynasties. The performance lasted about forty minutes and focused on a lively, festive, and colorful atmosphere.
Director Sun also used his connections to recruit many dancers and opera performers for Qinghe Ancient Town. Many of them were professionally trained or had worked in theater troupes, and their quality was much higher than that of performers at other scenic spots.
Since he was so dedicated, Lu Xiaoqi naturally couldn't be rude to him.
When he asked, Lu Xiaoqi quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, I've already asked them to speed up the construction of that theater. It will be ready for use by early October! I guarantee it will be ready for use by the 11th of the month, and it will be completely environmentally friendly and odorless, ready to use immediately."
Director Sun asked skeptically, "Really?"
"More real than pearls!" Lu Xiaoqi looked at him, raised her hand, and swore!
The system says it's three months, so it definitely won't be three months and one day.
Director Sun nodded in satisfaction.
He then asked about the reception of Qin Shaohua's dance drama. Because he was busy rehearsing, he didn't even attend the premiere, but only sent a flower basket.
"Very good!" Lu Xiaoqi said happily.
Not only was the on-site feedback positive, but she also checked online reviews and reports, which were all full of praise.
[Director Qin's masterpiece, ten years in the making, is indeed worth seeing. Without hesitation, it's the most worthwhile live performance I've seen this year.]
[Agreed. Excellent stage design and outstanding performers. I was initially a little worried when I heard that Director Qin had hired an internet celebrity to dance the lead role, but after watching it, I just want to applaud her. It was absolutely fantastic! Completely on par with the top performers.]
[The final dance scene on the golden lotus was amazing. I even thought to myself, if she were really Zhao Feiyan, she could perfectly perform the legendary palm dance. Moreover, her pitiful appearance in the early stages and her commanding presence as empress later perfectly matched the character.]
If Director Qin's talent created this dance drama, it must be said that the lead actress's performance made it what it is today.
Dance enthusiasts gave it high praise, while fans enthusiastically posted some of the highlights they captured that day online, attracting the attention of many passersby as well, resulting in a lot of data.
Anyway, when she left Hangzhou, she heard that tickets for the next stop were sold out.
Lu Xiaoqi also instructed Liu Chan to create momentum online by posting comments such as "The female lead really fits the image of the empress" and "Zhao Yizhu is the empress in my mind."
In any case, she wanted to bring Zhao Feiyan and the image of the "Empress" as close as possible. Ideally, the image of Zhao Feiyan should immediately come to mind when the Empress is mentioned.
Director Sun chatted with her for a few more minutes before leaving. Lu Xiaoqi then went to check out the theater.
Behind the blue curtain lies an area of 1,500 square meters, absolutely occupying a prime location on the main street of Zone 2. The buildings next to it are all under renovation and refurbishment, and there will be cultural and creative shops, snack bars, and more surrounding the theater.
Others might not notice anything amiss, but she could see the progress bar within the system:
"Current renovation progress: 95%"
It will be available soon.
Even earlier than the opera stage was the restoration of the ancient town's waterways, which was completed as early as the beginning of August. Now the water quality in the ancient town's rivers is very clear, and after work, the workers like to sit in twos and threes by the river to cool off and enjoy the breeze.
After the water bodies were restored, Lu Xiaoqi used the town's basic maintenance functions to begin repairing the town's roads. The project, also with a 45-day timeframe, is nearing completion. Now, the town's roads no longer suffer from cracked stone slabs or slippery moss, and even the wooden walkways have been completely renovated.
Next, she will gradually repair the greenery and damaged buildings in the ancient town. Judging by the timeline, she should be able to open in time, allowing the ancient town to present a perfect image to its first visitors.
......
Yao City.
There's a small stall under the bridge in Chengnan Science and Technology Park that specializes in hot rice noodles. It doesn't have a sign, but it's been open for a year or two and has its own regular customer base. The owner uses the broth from braised beef as the base, and adds beef, tripe, offal, and radish.
When someone orders noodles, you grab a handful, put them in a strainer, dip them in the boiling broth for about ten seconds, then pour them into a bowl that already has seasonings. Add two spoonfuls of broth, a few pieces of radish, and some blanched greens. For a more luxurious option, you can add a side of braised beef or tripe.
Eating a bowl of hot rice noodles like this at mealtimes, especially on autumn and winter evenings, is simply one of life's greatest pleasures.
Xiao Zhou sat down and quickly finished the bowl of hot rice noodles in front of him.
tasty!
The broth was delicious, and the rice noodles were a local specialty—smooth yet slightly springy. The tripe was tender yet still had a bit of chewiness. The owner's chili sauce was especially fragrant; just one spoonful was intoxicating, yet not too spicy. Even someone like him who can't handle too much spice could enjoy it.
Xiao Zhou thought for a moment and then ordered another bowl: "Boss, give me another small bowl, with extra radish."
The stall owners, an elderly couple, happily agreed, "Okay!"
Xiao Zhou finished another bowl, but he didn't leave after that. He checked the time and lingered until the owner finished serving the last customer and was waiting to close up shop before finally going over.
The elderly man in the couple was taken aback: "Young man, is there anything else you need?"
Xiao Zhou chuckled and handed over a business card: "Grandpa Feng, let me introduce myself. I'm a salesman from the Qinghe Ancient Town Investment Promotion Department..."
Yes, Xiao Zhou's mission this time was to check out the dozen or so food stalls on the list in Yao City. They had made all the necessary phone calls a few days ago, and for those stall owners whose contact information they couldn't find, they had to come in person to see for themselves if the food was really good.
After eating there for the first time, he made up his mind to invite Mr. Feng to open a shop in Qinghe Ancient Town!
It's really delicious!
Upon hearing Xiao Zhou's words, the elderly couple waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, Qinghe City is too far from here. We're both getting old and can't handle the hassle. Manager Zhou, please find someone else."
Xiao Zhou tried to persuade them again and again, but the elderly couple remained unmoved, and he could only leave empty-handed.
The elderly couple packed up their stall and went home.
On the way, the old woman suddenly said, "Actually... it doesn't sound like a bad thing. We don't have to pay anything to go, and the first year is rent-free."
Running a roadside stall certainly has its advantages: flexible hours, no rent, and no taxes. When business is good, a couple can earn tens of thousands of yuan a month. But anyone who has actually done it knows that it's also very tiring. It's a mess when it's windy or rainy, and sometimes you have to dodge the city management officers.
"Haven't you always wanted to open a shop?" She became more and more excited as she spoke. "Think about it, if we open a shop there for a year, we can save all the money we have. Wouldn't that be better than being out in the wind and sun like this? And Manager Zhou even said that accommodation will be provided, which means there will be no expenses!"
Grandpa Feng remained silent for a moment, then said, "Qinghe City is too far away... Our daughter is still here."
"Oh dear, you're so stubborn!" the old woman said, exasperated. "Our daughter is still in college, and we only see her once or twice a month anyway. It's only an hour by high-speed rail from here to Qinghe City, it's very close. Why don't we work hard for two years, save some money, and buy our daughter a house in the city?"
They've already saved up quite a bit.
Grandpa Feng was still hesitant: "Who knows if that Qinghe Ancient Town is reliable? If there aren't any tourists, then we've wasted our time."
"So we have to go and take a look!" The old woman wanted to knock him on the head, muttering, "With your indecisive nature, I don't know what I ever thought of you..."
Grandpa Feng said matter-of-factly, "The child is so old, and you're still talking about this!"
His voice trailed off: "I didn't even get his business card..."
"You're driving me crazy!"
"Take me for example, you didn't even think about collecting business cards!"
The sounds of their incessant arguing dissipated in the evening breeze; though they were arguing, their bodies remained close together.
The next day, Grandpa Feng was pleasantly surprised to see Xiao Zhou again.
"Boss, another serving of hot rice noodles, with beef tripe." Xiao Zhou smiled shyly.
He still intends to try again.
Similar stories have occurred in Qinghe City and other cities.
Some people chose to rudely refuse: "Go away! Don't delay my business! I'm doing just fine here, why would I go to your run-down old town? Do you think I'm just wasting my time?"
Some people politely declined, saying, "Sorry, I'm not interested."
Some people were excited and kept asking, "Do you really reimburse travel and accommodation expenses? Is there any other compensation if we just have to make a snack competition on site?"
By the time the employees of the Qinghe Ancient Town Investment Promotion Department returned from other cities one after another, the National Day holiday was already over.
As the project is set to open at the end of the year, most people in the ancient town had no rest during this Golden Week holiday, all working overtime. Fortunately, the boss was generous, paying everyone their due wages at several times the normal rate, and each person even received a small bonus. Therefore, everyone did their best and left no room for error.
The tasting event at Qinghe Ancient Town began on the first weekend after the National Day holiday.
......
Liao Yunyun received a text message: [Are you done? I'm waiting for you downstairs.]
She hurriedly replied, "Okay, coming right away, just five minutes."
Putting down her phone, she asked her roommate, who was chuckling to herself, "How do I look? Does this outfit suit me?"
Her roommate gave her a thumbs up: "Wow, that'll seduce him! By the way, where are you two going on your date?"
Liao Yunyun: "Go to Qinghe Ancient Town, there's a tasting event there."
Roommate: "...Okay, it's quite suitable for the two of you."
Liao Yunyun grabbed her small bag, slipped on her shoes, and immediately went out: "I'll bring you some good food if you find anything."
My roommate's eyes lit up: "Okay!"
She stood on the balcony, watching Liao Yunyun and her date walk out of the residential complex side by side, and stretched. "Wow," she thought, "I never imagined that my socially awkward classmate Yunyun would soon have a boyfriend and leave single life behind. It's so wonderful!"
However, my roommate was a little confused about Qinghe Ancient Town. Wasn't it not open yet? How come there was a tasting event?
"Miss Lu said that the invitations to this tasting event were only given to us regular customers." Xu Chen looked at Liao Yunyun next to him and said excitedly, "I heard that those who joined the group later didn't get any."
He and Liao Yunyun met through food.
At the time, they were among the first regular customers of Song Sao Fish Restaurant, and both of them liked to buy set meals to take back to the office to eat, so they would always run into each other while queuing. However, Liao Yunyun was shy and socially awkward, so the two of them never spoke to each other.
The icebreaker was the food group. After learning about the group, Liao Yunyun, wanting to be the first to know about new dishes, mustered up the courage to ask someone to join. The person she asked was Xu Chen.
Over time, the two went from not greeting each other when they met to chatting for a few minutes when they did.
Xu Chen was a social butterfly, and by the time Song Sao Fish Restaurant closed down, he was already able to have meals with Liao Yunyun. Once they got to know each other, they discovered that although their personalities were completely different, they shared the same tastes and aesthetics, and their interests overlapped by half, making them very comfortable to be around.
Young men and women, whether they're interested in each other or not, everyone knows the answer. Xu Chen felt that Liao Yunyun probably didn't dislike him, and he planned to take this tasting event to see if he could take things further.
When Liao Yunyun arrived at Qinghe Ancient Town, she found that there were quite a few people, all heading towards the main square of Zone 1 where the tasting event was being held.
Didn't they say there were very few people invited? She glanced at Xu Chen.
Xu Chen immediately understood what she wanted to ask and explained, "Besides our group of diners, Miss Lu also sent out a lot of invitations to people in Anping County, as well as their own employees. In total, there are quite a few people. She originally wanted to hold it completely openly, but she was afraid that it would be difficult to control the crowd if there were too many people, especially since Qinghe Ancient Town is currently under renovation everywhere."
"That's true." Liao Yunyun smiled, pursing her lips. "Are you a know-it-all? You seem to know everything."
Xu Chen scratched his head and chuckled.
The two arrived at the large square, which was already packed with people. Liao Yunyun took a deep breath upon seeing the crowd: "My goodness, I thought it was just a dozen or so small stalls, but there are so many!"
She counted the food trucks around here; there were probably fifty or sixty of them.
Xu Chen also exclaimed, "Qinghe Ancient Town has really gone all out."
He knew that many of those who came to set up stalls to participate in the election were invited from other places.
"Luckily, I only ate a little bit for breakfast today." Liao Yunyun rubbed her stomach, feeling fortunate for her foresight. "Which restaurant should we eat at first?"
With so many stalls, she could see fried mochi, taro dumplings, mugwort cakes for Qingming Festival, fried rice cakes, radish and beef offal, fried cold noodles, hot rice noodles... Goodness, there were so many, and each stall was different, looking very appetizing.
In her excitement, she added, "It really is just like what Boss Lu said, not the kind of snack you can find anywhere."
Grilled sausages, stinky tofu, grilled squid... she's really had enough of these.
Xu Chen started rubbing his hands together, eager to get started: "Shall we start with the stir-fried mochi? We can order one serving for two people, so we can try more dishes."
Liao Yunyun nodded emphatically without any objection.
The stir-fried mochi was delicious; she loved this chewy, sticky food. After taking a couple of bites, she reached for the small bowl Xu Chen was holding and tried to poke it with a skewer, but to her surprise, Xu Chen had already poked it and handed it to her.
"Thank you..." Liao Yunyun said softly.
Yes, the red bean paste filling is indeed very sweet.
Seeing her shy expression, Xu Chen grinned sheepishly. However, the two of them didn't forget their business.
"I'm going to give this place a vote." Liao Yunyun ticked "Grandma Chen's Fried Mochi" on the slip in her hand.
When they come in, they are given a form with the names and numbers of all the stalls. If they think something is delicious, they can check the corresponding vendor's name; they have ten chances to do so.
Xu Chen said, "How about we eat one round first, and then tick off the ones that impressed us the most?"
Liao Yunyun nodded: "That works too, to avoid preconceived notions."
She crossed out the marks she had just made, very meticulous. They came from a background of food enthusiasts, so they definitely needed to be even more rigorous when it came to tasks related to food, especially those assigned by Lu Xiaoqi.
The two of them went to the next store together.
......
"So sweet." Lu Xiaoqi leaned against the second-floor railing, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the scene below, a maternal smile appearing on her face.
Liao Yunyun and Xu Chen looked very familiar to her; they were regular customers who had been coming to Song Sao Fish Restaurant since its opening day. She never expected that the two of them would end up together.
Sister-in-law Song smiled and said, "Young people these days are much bolder than we were back then."
Lu Xiaoqi grinned: "You can't be without a girlfriend these days if you're not brave enough."
Su Jun: "......"
For some reason, he felt he couldn't continue this topic, so he decided to change it: "How many companies came in the end?"
During this period, he was busy with his own mechanical work, so the assistant's workload was reduced considerably.
"Fifty-seven in total." Lu Xiaoqi was very satisfied with this result. The investment promotion department had worked hard lately, so she decided to double their bonuses this month.
Of these 57 companies, not every single one will be willing to stay, but selecting 20 to sign contracts from among them should not be a problem.
She also saw Liu Chan and her assistant livestreaming, so she opened her phone to take a look. Thanks to several consecutive high-quality broadcasts, the number of viewers in the Qinghe Ancient Town livestream room has stabilized, starting with over 100,000.
However, today is clearly different.
[Where did the phone guy come from?]
Is this streamer planning to switch to mukbang (eating broadcasts)? Wait, does your boss know you're using the official account for this?
I want to report this! I want to report it to the beautiful boss.
Liu Chan joked around with the group of people for a few moments before revealing that today's event was a tasting session to determine the best restaurants in Qinghe Ancient Town. It happened to be lunchtime on the weekend, and many people were drooling in front of their screens.
[Seriously?! You didn't even tell me beforehand! I'm in Qinghe City!]
I want to go! It's so much more interesting than the night market.
[This is great! This is great! No more eating at expensive and bad restaurants in tourist areas! I wholeheartedly support this!]
[These all look so delicious! Could you introduce them one by one, host?]
Liu Chan introduced the food stalls one by one, and then took the opportunity to sample the dishes at each stall, making viewers drool once again. Many fans even spotted local delicacies from their hometowns.
Wow, they even have taro dumplings! That's rare; you hardly ever see them anywhere else.
[Crab shell sesame cake! It's a crab shell sesame cake from my hometown, it's really delicious, host, you should go try it! If possible, buy me two pounds, thank you. A child who has left their hometown is crying.]
Some people even recognized the store they knew:
[Ahhh, it's the rice noodle shop near our company! That's right, I know that old man, I eat there every day! Host, hurry and try his place, make sure to add his special chili sauce, it's so delicious!]
Someone quickly replied to him: "Didn't you even consider why this rice noodle shop would be here in the first place?"
[Hahaha, stop talking, the original poster is about to cry when they realize what's happening.]
The person sent a series of exclamation marks and tearful emojis: 【Noooooo!!! I'm going to break down! You've taken the old man away, what am I going to eat? Please don't do this, or I'll get angry!】
[Our suggestion is that you just get angry.]
The netizens' tragic experiences always brought amusement, and the live stream was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
After reading it, Lu Xiaoqi felt rather guilty.
But then I thought, if these stall owners really did choose Qinghe Ancient Town, it means the environment and conditions it offers are better than what they have now. People always strive for better things.
So she quickly calmed down.
"Come on, let's go down and have something to eat." Seeing the crowd below getting more and more lively, Lu Xiaoqi also felt a little hungry, so she pulled Song Wusao and Su Jun down to run.
She invited a total of four or five hundred people, including familiar residents of the town. With the construction workers and her own employees, the number reached over a thousand. Fortunately, the square in Zone 1 was large enough that, although lively, it did not feel crowded.
"This place would be suitable for hosting events or something in the future."
A thought flashed through Lu Xiaoqi's mind, but before she could think about it further, she saw many familiar faces she needed to greet. There was Ren Zhijiao's family; there was He Guihua with her son and his family, who had rushed back from the provincial capital overnight after hearing the news; and there was Uncle Zhao, who ran a hotel in town, with his daughter Zhao Simin waiting for a serving of lotus root starch dumplings.
Uncle Zhao was particularly pleased: "You've organized this event very well; it's really boosted the county's morale."
So many stall owners came from all directions looking for accommodation; Qinghe Ancient Town practically booked out Uncle Zhao's newly renovated hotel. How could he not be happy? What a great start!
He took a bite of the lotus root starch ball and exclaimed, "Wow, these balls are delicious! Simin, you should buy a bowl and have some too!"
Uncle Zhao has made up his mind: if Qinghe Ancient Town opens, he'll definitely buy an annual pass to support it. With so many delicious foods, he'll be able to eat his fill every now and then.
Su Jun asked her in a low voice, "Do you want it?"
Lu Xiaoqi waved her hand boldly: "Yes! We're going to eat our way through the entire square!"
There was no way she could finish it all; by the eighth serving, she was already quite full. She counted what she had eaten—from main dishes to pastries to desserts and sweet soups—and realized she really couldn't eat anymore!
“Take your time,” she exhaled, “Come back tonight.”
There's another show tonight, and it will continue the next day.
Just as I was heading back to my office to rest, the security captain suddenly called, his voice sounding tense: "Boss, something's wrong! There are so many people at the main gate now, all asking if they can come in for the food festival?!"
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