I understand that this mod is probably dead. But it's a LOT easier now to add new areas and NPCs now than it's ever been before - and I think you'd find an avid market for it. But obviously, you've probably moved on. Not everyone uses Stardew Valley Expanded. But if you decide you want to... message me on Discord.
Hey! Actually, I'd love to update the mod (at least some parts of it, I'd like it to be compatible with SVE) but I don't have as much time as before and I don't know how to do it. Are you up for cooperation, Lemurkat?
I quickly created an account when I finally found this mod again so I could give some ideas. I loved your mod when I played it in the past, and I feel that it could fit in perfectly alongside SVE and Ridgeside. There is a mod called "Walk to the Desert Redux" on Nexus that has been connecting a bunch of mods as sort of a 'hub world' of sorts. The mods connected currently are Garden Village, Ridgeside village, and Zuzu city. Here is the link - https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8630 If you can get this mod updated for 1.5 and fix the dialogue issue, i'm sure the Walk to the Desert team would be happy to add another road leading to the expansion area you created. The next thing is to make it compatable with the Bus locations/train station mods to add a fast travel to the area. One other thing you may want to consider is renaming this mod to something more unique (so it doesn't get mixed up with SVE) since if I was having a hard time finding it specifically when looking for it, someone new would never be able to find it. I wish I could help but unfortunately I have no modding experience at all so I thought I could give some suggestions instead. Hope this message finds you well and inspires you to continue this mod!