Settlement

Normally, Hua Hong holed up in that pawnshop named Chang'an to handle official business, but lately he had been staying at the Tian'an Head Office. At the Grand Banquet, the Prime Minister's Manor's leadership and the aides from various sectors had set the development policy for the next three years. As president of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce, the old man had spent these past several days continuously receiving figures from all quarters to coordinate industries and implement those established policies. For that reason, after bringing Xiao Bai to the nineteenth floor, Xu Yuan did not seek Hua Hong out directly, instead heading first to an adjacent guest waiting room. Through the sensing array arranged in the Tian'an Head Office, Hua Hong was currently meeting with several chief shopkeepers at the provincial level; presumably, he was delegating tasks and was best left undisturbed. With the soul key clearing the way, their path was unobstructed. Though the old man Hua Hong was stingy to a fault, the materials used throughout the Tian'an Head Office were lavish and opulent. The waiting room was over ten zhang across. Its interior furnishings—elegant stools, partitions, daybeds, and tea tables—were all crafted from golden-silk paulownia, their grain and luster of the finest quality. Upon entering, Xu Yuan casually found a daybed and reclined on his side to rest. Bai Muxi followed him, but did not sit; instead, she knelt at his feet, delicately raising her jade-like hands to gently untie and slip off his boots. Noticing the touch by his feet, Xu Yuan looked over with slight surprise at Xiao Bai in her alluring kneeling posture. In Great Yan, the wealthy and noble typically had servants attend to their dressing, hair styling, washing, and grooming morning and night. Ask why they didn't do it themselves, and the answer would be "ceremony." After all, even in some farming households, the wives attended to their men's washing once they returned home. However, since servants were barred from the Prime Minister's Manor's inner courtyard, Xu Yuan had never quite grown accustomed to having someone wait on him hand and foot, whether in his past life or this one. He felt an urge to refuse, but after a second thought, he kept his eyes half-closed and tacitly allowed it. Yet a dozen breaths later, Xu Yuan opened his eyes. He stared at the boot still firmly fastened to his foot, a touch of amusement rising in his chest. Fumbling for a dozen breaths without even loosening the laces... It had the comical charm of a virgin who didn't know how to unhook a bra. "..." Sensing his gaze, Xiao Bai obediently pulled her hands back and looked up at Xu Yuan with pleading eyes. Her movements were actually quite practiced—she had clearly crammed her lessons on serving as a maid beforehand. The problem, however, was that Xu Yuan's boots were no ordinary footwear. To meet combat demands, a cultivator's boots featured intricate fastenings and durable craftsmanship, let alone this pair custom-tailored for him by the Gewu Academy. Thinking of this, Xu Yuan waved a hand at her. "Forget it, don't take them off. It'll just be a pain to put them back on later." Her purple veil swayed softly as Bai Muxi bit her lip. In the young master's life, she had arrived far too late. A person's heart was only so big, able to hold only two or three individuals. Yet the confidantes around him were all forceful in temperament; with gentle, unspoken tenderness and delicate care, she had hoped to pry open a crack in his heart, but now... Though frustrated, she could only let it be after hearing Xu Yuan say so. Bowing her head in disappointment, her swaying figure moved toward the side room, returning with a small serving stand and refreshments from the array-inscribed ice chest there. Array-inscribed ice chests were not particularly rare; a decade or so ago, they had already spread to ordinary wealthy families. Many nobles liked to place one in their reception antechambers to chill citron, fruit, liquor, and sweet tea for guests. Kneeling back down beside the daybed, she set out a plate of citron fruit and poured a cup of purplish-red wine. Just as Bai Muxi was about to feed it to him, Xu Yuan reached out and caught her slender, snow-white wrist, saying with a hint of exasperation, "Where did you learn all this?" Bai Muxi blinked, cautiously watching the man's expression. Seeing that he was not angry, she murmured softly, "From the manor's etiquette texts..." Xu Yuan sat up on the daybed, took the cup from Xiao Bai's hand, downed it in one gulp, and said, "I figured as much. With the way you were holding it, the wine would have spilled all over me. 'Knowledge from books is shallow after all.' When you have time, go see Lou Ji and let her teach you." Hearing the name Lou Ji, a clear flicker of fear showed in Bai Muxi's eyes. She was somewhat afraid to seek out Lou Ji alone. Though she had been constantly bullied, Bai Muxi was not truly afraid of that princess, nor of that Saintess. The only one she truly feared was the young master's sister. Because Lou Ji genuinely wanted to kill her. Lowering her eyes, Bai Muxi softly replied, "Alright." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. Surprisingly, not a waft of green tea fragrance came drifting by. He knew full well Lou Ji's attitude toward Xiao Bai, so he had thought Xiao Bai would seize this chance to display some of her tea-master passive-aggressiveness. It seemed she still understood propriety and boundaries. As he thought this, Xu Yuan suddenly looked toward the entrance of the chamber. The next moment— *Knock, knock, knock.* The door was knocked on, and without waiting for Xu Yuan's assent, an old man in an opulent black robe trimmed with red pushed the door open and strode in. His sharp gaze swept across Xu Yuan and Bai Muxi, and Hua Hong's brow furrowed unconsciously. Due to the matter of the crypt remnants, the core leadership of the Prime Minister's Manor largely held the attitude that this crypt Chief Arbiter should be executed swiftly to remove all future trouble. Though Xu Yinhe had forcibly suppressed this sentiment, feelings on the matter certainly lingered. Yet the moment he saw the brat Xu Yuan bring her here, Hua Hong had already pieced together the general cause and effect. Pacing slowly toward the daybed, his expression stern, every gesture and movement exuding an intangible air of authority, he asked, "What did you bring her here for?" His voice was cool and displeased, carrying an innate dignity without needing to raise it. Previously in Xu Yuan's presence, this old man had always put on the shameless facade of a stingy miser, showing none of the imposing presence befitting the president of Tian'an. This was the first time Xu Yuan had seen Hua Hong like this. It made him instinctively sit up straight, giving him the tense feeling of facing his homeroom teacher back in his past life in high school, while Xiao Bai beside him hung her head even lower. "..." A moment of silence passed. Once Xu Yuan caught himself, he chuckled, crossed his legs, and retorted quizzically, "Old man, what kind of play are you putting on?" "..." Their eyes met, neither yielding an inch. Hua Hong stared at Xu Yuan for several breaths before letting out a quiet, internal sigh. *Sure enough, I can't bluff this kid.* With a soft snort, the aura belonging to the president of Tian'an vanished from around Hua Hong, returning him to the miserly old man of before, though his eyes remained serious: "I never understood why Xu Yinhe insisted on keeping those ancient remnants from ten millennia ago. Seeing this now, it turns out it was because of you." His voice was very soft, but Bai Muxi's body could not help trembling upon hearing it. These words were spoken to the young master, but even more so to her. She stole a glance at the young master beside her. Xu Yuan leaned against the daybed, his crossed leg bobbing gently, and said with a chuckle, "Where in this world do you get returns without taking risks?" "As long as they're broken up, those risks can be completely ignored." "..." "Cough... what I mean is maximizing benefits. Old man, just think about it—" "Don't talk nonsense with this old man." Hua Hong plopped down across from Xu Yuan, waving his hand to cut him off. His aged yet sharp eyes bored into Xu Yuan as he spoke earnestly, "Changtian, this old man has no place telling you what to do. But I hope that once us old fogies have passed away, you'll have the strength to bear the weight of the choices you make today." Indeed. The old man had seen through the deal between him and Bai Muxi in a single glance. Thinking of this, Xu Yuan smiled nonchalantly and lowered his voice: "You don't need to worry about that at all, Old Man." "Oh? And why is that?" "Because Xiao Bai's kin might not even make the list when it comes to maternal in-laws." "..." Hua Hong's eyelids twitched. He opened his mouth to swear at him outright, but held himself back in the end. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he said, "Suit yourself. If you've got business coming to the Head Office, out with it. This old man is very busy these days and has matters to attend to afterward." Xu Yuan followed his lead with a smile, resting a hand on Bai Muxi's supple, delicate shoulder: "Didn't I just mention it? Regarding her kin, I need the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce to help find a resettlement site—" "Impossible," Hua Hong refused without a second thought. "Old Man Hua, my father—" "Your father would never agree." "You should know he gave me full authority over this matter." "Giving you full authority does not mean he would have the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce provide manpower and resources." "Tsk, if you don't believe me, you can go to the Prime Minister's Manor and ask him." "I'll go tonight." "..." Xu Yuan fell silent. "..." Hua Hong looked at him like he was an idiot. In commerce and trade, Hua Hong had seen far too many schemes that packaged identities and exploited information gaps to swindle profits out of thin air. This brat actually thought he could fool him with such tricks. Silence fell over the room, so quiet a falling needle could be heard. Bai Muxi knelt on the floor, eyes cast down, but the hands resting on her lap gripped her skirt tightly. The young master's conversation today would determine the future of her people. Amidst Bai Muxi's tension, Xu Yuan suddenly sighed softly. This old man was too sharp. Borrowing his father's tiger skin didn't work on him in the slightest. *Day one of missing Qing.* With a touch of resignation, Xu Yuan said quietly, "Fine, then let's handle this strictly as business. "I'll find a way to cover the funds and provisions personally, but I'll need to borrow the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce's name. That should be fine, right?" Hua Hong pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. "That works." "First is a settlement." "Building a settlement city capable of accommodating several hundred thousand people won't cost a small sum of silver," Hua Hong reminded him. Then, as if recalling something, he chuckled, "Even if you poured in every copper of the eight million taels you gave Xinyao, it still wouldn't be enough." "About this... we can find our own way," Bai Muxi suddenly chimed in. Her clear eyes glanced at Hua Hong, and she said cautiously to Xu Yuan, "Young Master, we can fell timber and quarry stone ourselves..." "Did I tell you to speak?" Xu Yuan shot her a glance, and Bai Muxi immediately fell silent. Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan said to Hua Hong, "The city for the crypt remnants' settlement will be built strictly according to the specifications of a Great Yan county seat." "Now that is quite a large venture..." Hua Hong laughed, stroking the white beard on his chin. "Under the policy of the land reclamation decree, you wouldn't need to purchase land. But Changtian, do you have the silver to build a city?" If his Sumeru ring hadn't been ransacked by that old woman Lou Ji, the war supplies worth nearly ten million taels of silver could have barely been traded for the initial construction materials, but right now, he definitely didn't have enough. Yet facing the old man's amused gaze, Xu Yuan unhurriedly drew a map from his Sumeru ring and said softly, "When did I ever say I wanted to build a settlement under a land reclamation decree? A backwater wilderness like that is beneath this young master's notice." Hearing this, Hua Hong frowned slightly. "You want to buy land? Even if calling upon the Prime Minister's Manor's connections means you won't need to bribe officials up and down, the funds and grain needed to purchase land are hardly a small amount." "Heh." Chuckling softly, Xu Yuan smoothly spread the entire map across the tea table before him. His slender index finger tapped a location on it, and he looked up with a smile: "Old Man Hua, have you forgotten that Huizhou County was destroyed earlier? "Sitting at the border of two provinces and serving as the gateway to the capital region, the imperial court could never abandon such a location. When I was reviewing memorials in the study earlier, the court was already preparing to allocate funds for its reconstruction. Although the Ministry of Revenue's allocated budget isn't large, it's barely enough for the initial phase." Saying this, Xu Yuan smiled faintly: "Old Man Hua, with the sheer scale of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce, taking on the reconstruction project for an entire city shouldn't be difficult, right?"