I'll Protect the GDP of Monster Town

[Landscape Designer, Confident Elite and Plushie Lover Heroine VS Shamate Makeover Influencer, Tsundere Fashionable Panda Spirit Hero]

Jian Zhu was a landscape designer. After pulling an all-nighter to finish some drawings, she died suddenly, but was unexpectedly selected by the [Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development Town Affairs System] and reborn as the mayor of Lingtai Town, a nationally designated poverty-stricken town inhabited by monsters. Her lifespan depended on whether the town's performance improved or declined.

Jian Zhu: Me? Mayor to a bunch of monsters? My abilities just aren't up to it!

Fortunately, her luck was off the charts. In her new-hire gift pack, she unlocked an outrageous golden finger called the "Stroke of Divine Inspiration": any blueprint she drew could become reality.

Jian Zhu: This must be the fate of a drafting slave.

When she arrived in town, the monster residents, distrustful of humans, avoided her. Then a flash flood struck, and the place where she was staying was about to be submerged. Furious, Jian Zhu swept her brush across the page and drew a scenic lake right outside her door. Pavilions, terraces, waterside halls, strange rocks, flowers and plants, and three mountains in a single lake all appeared in an instant. Not only did the lake successfully hold back the water and avert the flood, it also recreated the magnificent pre-Qin landscape of King Wen's Ling Marsh, a surviving site overflowing with spiritual energy that could help monsters advance their cultivation by leaps and bounds in a single day!

The monsters secretly watching the spectacle were stunned!

The phoenix said coolly, "If you draw Mount Danxue, parasol trees, bamboo seeds, and sweet springs for me, I'll settle here."

The nine-tailed fox smiled behind her hand. "A mountain in Qingqiu, the Ying River, and a few Guan Guan birds and red fish would surely make this place wonderful."

The white deer rolled around on the ground. "Draw some ancient spirit plants! The kids really can't stand not farming!"

Jian Zhu, outwardly: The rural population return plan is a success!

Jian Zhu, inwardly: Aaaaaah, all my clients are fluffy!

Qin Xuesong, hiding behind the monsters: "I want a grove of Dijun bamboo that never flowers."

Jian Zhu: "Stop right there! You look just like that Shamate influencer I hate most. Anyone who insults giant pandas is on my blacklist for life!"

Qin Xuesong, the actual panda himself and the actual mount of Chiyou, was furious. "What's wrong with me disciplining my own junior?"

After making sure the townsfolk had homes, Jian Zhu also had to make sure they could make a living. She put her professional skills to full use, arranging industrial development plans and landscape improvements! Everything was ready, but then she realized that even the finest wine can languish in a back alley. So...

Qin Xuesong, the makeover influencer with thirty million followers, started a livestream!

Netizens eagerly flocked to the livestream, only to find that today's style was completely different. The rebellious, flashy visual-kei streamer of old was dressed in simple, subdued clothes, leading his fans on a tour of Lingtai Town's magnificent scenery!

The ancient, poetic landscape gardens on screen were captivating, and rare birds and beasts wandered freely. There were even what looked like appearances by celebrities such as a rising financial star, a fashion mogul, and a world champion!

Netizens: Nice. You have my attention.

The comments exploded, the livestream hit the trending searches one after another, and tourists flooded in!

Qin Xuesong, outwardly: Who! Else! Is! There!

Qin Xuesong, inwardly: My popularity can't even beat those useless juniors! At least my girlfriend doesn't mind.

With one hand petting a bear and a brush in the other, Jian Zhu declared, "I'll protect the GDP of the Three Realms' number-one cultural tourism town!"

A reader's guide:

1. The protagonist has to adapt to her circumstances and grow. The early stages move at a slower pace, while things blossom on all fronts later on. There's farming, infrastructure development, running a business, and a whole cast of quirky, adorable monsters! [Some readers said they couldn't picture Lingtai Town's overall layout, so I made a schematic. See WB @-Ling Song-.]

2. The heroine is an independent, clear-headed woman in a STEM field. The story focuses on her career, with a smaller romance storyline, sweet without being cloying.

3. Additional notes on the characters:

Heroine: A big sister who is cold toward humans but overflowing with love for little monsters.

Hero: A reliable big brother who favors every color under the sun despite being black and white, with questionable taste.

4. In this story, a landscape designer and a garden designer mean the same thing. The debate between the garden-design and landscape-design schools is not addressed here.

5. Gardens do not just mean planting trees. Garden design is defined as the process of creating beautiful natural environments and places for living and recreation by using the arts and techniques of garden design, through such means as reshaping the terrain (or further building hills, arranging rocks, and managing water), planting trees and flowers, constructing buildings, and laying out paths. Quoted from the university textbook Garden Design.

6. The protagonist has an unrealistic golden finger, and some professional details are not true to life. Those who care deeply about historical and technical accuracy, please don't scrutinize it too closely.

Theme: Poverty alleviation and rural development cannot wait.