"Ee-ya, cha-cha-cha-cha-cha! Everybody dance, don't be shy, oh don't be shy! Ee-ya, cha-cha-cha-cha-cha! Learning the rumba isn't trendy, learning the samba has no charm..."
"I Love Cha-Cha-Cha" was an infectious earworm in Puluo Province. Once heard, it easily played on an endless loop in one's mind.
Liao Zihui was especially fond of the song today. He sang and danced in his office all afternoon without feeling the least bit weary.
The inspection team had left today, and the Balancer had left as well.
Ling Sujun stepped into the office. "Chief Commissioner, Garrison Commissioner Liu Guocai of Wuqin Township has arrived."
Liao Zihui quickly sat back down at his desk and nodded. "Send him in."
Liu Guocai entered, having come once more to apologize to Liao Zihui for the earlier incident.
Liao Zihui waved his hands dismissively. "Guocai, that's all behind us now. Why bring it up again? Hurry back to Wuqin Township and handle the real business. The railway to Moxiang Shop has been cut off for so long; it should have been repaired ages ago. Have a good discussion with Li the Seventh, make sure no conflicts break out between the two sides, and strive to break ground before the New Year."
With only a few days left before the New Year, the task was rather urgent.
Liu Guocai hurried off to find Deputy Chief Commissioner Tang Huanjie, who was primarily in charge of railway affairs.
Tang Huanjie was well prepared. "Guocai, just go ahead and do it. I've already handled the paperwork for you and gotten all the equipment ready. I have an evening banquet to rush to on my end, so let's keep in close contact later if anything comes up."
Liu Guocai found it odd. Lately, every time they met, Tang Huanjie was always in a hurry to attend a banquet.
Upon returning to Wuqin Township, Liu Guocai made brief preparations and ordered his subordinates to notify Li the Seventh that railway repairs were commencing.
His subordinate went and returned with word: "Didn't see Li the Seventh."
Liu Guocai didn't take it to heart. "As long as the message was delivered. We break ground tomorrow."
Liu Guocai hadn't been in Puluo Province for very long and held no high opinion of the place.
He knew Li the Seventh was no gentle soul, but Li was ultimately just a resident of Puluo Province.
Previously, suspecting Li the Seventh could manipulate Boundaries, Liu Guocai had felt a measure of fear toward him, worried he might get dragged into the mess and lose his official post.
Now that the whole affair had turned out to be a ridiculous misunderstanding, in Liu Guocai's eyes, Li the Seventh was no different from any other wealthy merchant.
Carving out an entire territory proved the man had some skill, but no matter how skilled he was, wasn't he still just a local of Puluo Province?
As for why Liao Zihui cared so much about Li the Seventh, even making massive concessions on freight rates, Liu Guocai didn't know, nor did he care to find out.
Liu Guocai disapproved of many of Liao Zihui's practices, which was one of the reasons he had reported over his head in the first place.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place as scheduled, and Liu Guocai attended in person.
Materials were shipped directly from the Outer States, and technical personnel had been transferred from the Outer States as well. However, some manual laborers had to be recruited locally, and so far, very few had been hired.
Even so, Liu Guocai felt this did not affect the broader picture. For a groundbreaking, the most important elements were atmosphere and momentum.
On the construction site, Liu Guocai gave high praise to the various tasks while also pointing out several shortcomings.
In truth, he knew nothing about engineering, but he still had to raise issues; in any case, even if he spoke in error, no one dared point it out.
Walking over to a stone pile, Liu Guocai immediately pointed out that the rocks were stacked untidily, issuing a stern critique: "This looks like a minor detail, but minor details fundamentally reflect underlying problems. This is a severe issue of understanding and attitude..."
While the crowd held small notebooks and jotted down the Garrison Commissioner's directives, the stone pile suddenly collapsed. Liu Guocai perished on the spot in the line of duty.
***
Liao Zihui took the report and let out long sigh after sigh. "Guocai, ah, Guocai... Why didn't Li the Seventh show up on the day of the groundbreaking?"
The person who delivered the report was Deputy Garrison Commissioner Zhang Xinglai of Wuqin Township. Liao Zihui naturally had his reasons for having him bring it.
Zhang Xinglai replied, "Commissioner Liu didn't invite Li the Seventh. He only sent someone to notify him."
Liao Zihui looked somewhat dissatisfied; he had originally intended to pin the blame on Li the Seventh.
Still, Li the Seventh's absence could also be twisted into some connection, and even if it couldn't, it hardly mattered—the crucial issue had already been resolved.
"Xinglai, you've been in Wuqin Township for quite some time. With Guocai martyred in the line of duty, you must shoulder the burden of the Garrison Office."
Zhang Xinglai rose immediately and made a solemn declaration, pledging his utmost dedication.
With his appointment in hand, Zhang Xinglai returned to Wuqin Township.
He had lived in Puluo Province for many years, longer even than Liao Zihui, and he knew what kind of people one must never offend.
That evening, Zhang Xinglai brought gifts to visit Li the Seventh.
Li the Seventh had just finished building a courtyard house and was eating instant-boiled mutton with Ma the Fifth.
Seeing the gifts Zhang Xinglai brought, Li the Seventh was quite pleased. "Brother Zhang, you understand etiquette far better than your Chief Commissioner."
Zhang Xinglai smiled. "With the New Year drawing near and having just assumed office, I came specially to pay my respects to Seventh Master."
"Brother Zhang is too polite," Li Banfeng said, standing up. "Old Fifth, hurry up and add a chair to celebrate Brother Zhang's promotion!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Xinglai raised his cup. "Seventh Master, I'm an honest man, so I won't waste words on empty formalities. Seventh Master calls the shots on all matters in Qiqiu City; from now on, I will rely entirely on Seventh Master to look after me."
The man truly knew how to talk.
And it wasn't just a matter of uttering a few courteous lines.
Others had called this place Wuqin Township for who knew how many years.
Yet Zhang Xinglai had changed his tune to Qiqiu City. That was genuine respect for Li the Seventh.
The three of them raised their cups and drank the wine in one gulp.
Zhang Xinglai added, "As for repairing the railway, we're currently short-handed, so I must ask Seventh Master to assist us."
Li the Seventh nodded. "That's easy enough. Leave it to Old Fifth."
At his side, Ma the Fifth said, "We have the manpower, and the rates are open to discussion. If Brother Zhang thinks well of us, I'll host a private gathering tomorrow on Junyang Avenue, and we can discuss the details." The only main street in Wuqin Township had now been renamed Junyang Avenue.
Zhang Xinglai raised his cup again. "With Fifth Master's word, my mind is at ease."
Li the Seventh said, "When it comes to building the railway, we help each other out. And regarding freight rates, Brother Zhang will also need to look out for us."
"You're treating me like a stranger, Seventh Master! Tomorrow I will submit a report to the Chief Commissioner. Originally, Seventh Master paid fifty percent freight. I can't speak for other places, but here in our Qiqiu City, whether goods are coming in or going out, I will fight to drive the rate down to thirty percent."
Li the Seventh remained silent.
Dropping the rate to fifty percent before had been earned through several secret, bloody clashes between both sides.
And now, on Zhang Xinglai's word alone, he claimed he could lower it to thirty percent? How could Li Banfeng possibly trust him?
Ma the Fifth smiled. "Commissioner Zhang, I'm afraid Commissioner Liao won't agree to that."
Zhang Xinglai looked at Li the Seventh and Ma the Fifth, lowering his voice. "In another place, I wouldn't dare say it. But this territory originally had no real industry. With that train station, it only occasionally ferried a few passengers and transported some daily necessities, earning next to nothing in freight.
"Now that it's in the hands of you two masters, Qiqiu City is bound to flourish. As long as we can make a modest profit without making things difficult for me, everything is negotiable."
The words hit the mark perfectly.
The three found themselves in ever closer agreement, and the drinking lasted late into the night.
When work on the railway began, Ma the Fifth's laborers were indeed used. Li Banfeng specifically instructed: "Don't ask for high wages. Even if we have to subsidize the difference ourselves, it doesn't matter."
He summoned Chuanzi back from Black Rock Slope and had him blend in among the workers.
Chuanzi was also eager to study the Outer States' railway techniques, but after two days, he returned crestfallen.
"Seventh Master, they let us work on the middle stretch of track. But laying sleepers and setting rails isn't hard—I already knew how to do that.
"The tracks on either end, where they actually approach the border, are completely cordoned off by Boundaries. They won't let any of us get close. There's no way for me to learn their methods."
The tracks on both ends were the crucial part, involving the means by which trains crossed the Boundary.
This was well within Li Banfeng's expectations. If the methods were so easy to learn, someone would have stolen them long ago.
Having Chuanzi infiltrate the laborers was primarily to investigate one question: "Are the materials used for the middle stretch the same as those for both ends?"
If the materials were identical, it meant craft cultivator techniques were employed during construction, which would make things trickier; Li Banfeng was not a craft cultivator and could not learn craft methods.
If different materials were used, however, it would prove that special materials were required for the tracks crossing the Boundary. That would make matters considerably easier—getting his hands on some materials wouldn't be difficult for Li Banfeng.
Chuanzi replied with certainty, "Seventh Master, the materials used are all identical. During the first unloading, they unloaded too much over by the border and even shifted a good deal outward."
The Outer States were using craft methods. That made things complicated.
That night, Li Banfeng donned work clothes and arrived at the construction site near the border.
The site was dead silent. No work was carried out at night, and glowing halos shone around the perimeter, forbidding anyone from entering.
Li Banfeng pulled a mechanism, opening a passage. Only after testing it with a cabbage person to ensure it was safe did he walk inside.
What had he come to the site for? He understood nothing about construction, and no work was underway at night anyway.
This matter had to rely on the companion dwelling. Wherever the key went, the companion dwelling followed. It didn't matter if Li Banfeng couldn't make sense of it, so long as the companion dwelling could.
Ahead lay a half-built stretch of railway. Li Banfeng walked back and forth along it several times, then sat down beside the tracks.
*Old Master, you had better watch closely.*
*The switch can only be used once a day. I can't leave anyway, so take your time learning here.*
***
On Junyang Avenue, construction on the Qijun Restaurant had already begun.
The blueprints Chu Shaoqiang had drafted were truly superb. The restaurant featured a main building flanked by two wings, linked by covered walkways and pavilions. Behind the buildings lay a garden, within which six premium private dining rooms were specially arranged.
It possessed both classical elegance and the distinctive luxury of Puluo Province. The moment Ma the Fifth saw the drawings, he couldn't bear to put them down, and he paid Chu Shaoqiang a handsome reward.
Yet he still couldn't recall who this man was.
Chu Shaoqiang had made up a fake name. Ma the Fifth had his doubts, but he didn't rush to investigate. He invited Chu Shaoqiang to his residence for a private meal, hoping to coax some information out of him, only to end up drunk halfway through the feast.
Chu Shaoqiang produced a puppet to convincingly keep Ma the Fifth company at the table, while he himself stepped out of the residence and headed toward Qiu Luoye's territory.
With the New Year approaching, Qiu Luoye was drinking at home with Tiger. Two jars of wine had already been downed, and just as Tiger was about to unseal a third, Qiu Luoye's ears twitched and fanned, signaling Tiger not to move.
He walked out of the residence and gazed into the distant forest.
Chu Shaoqiang's figure slowly materialized, and Qiu Luoye asked bluntly, "Who are you?"
"You must be Qiu Luoye?" Chu Shaoqiang smiled. "I've heard your name in the Inner States, and I've even seen your covenant deed."
"The Inner States?" Qiu Luoye spat on the ground and glared at Chu Shaoqiang. "What do you want with me?"
"Don't be so tense. I came to help you.
"I heard you transformed your territory from a deep land into a proper land. Everyone in the Inner States praises your capability; your reputation has already spread far and wide."
Qiu Luoye said expressionlessly, "Say what you have to say, fart what you have to fart. I don't have time to listen to your drivel."
Chu Shaoqiang nodded. "I admire your bluntness. I've brought three good things for you this time.
"First is money. In a newly opened territory, everything is waiting to be built, and money is needed everywhere. I've brought gleaming silver for you; spend as much as your heart desires.
"Second is cultivation. Becoming the local spirit of a proper land brings more encounters and more adversaries. We promise to help you advance to the next level.
"Third is manpower. The Inner States have dispatched a large number of hands; they will help you govern this land..."
Qiu Luoye cut Chu Shaoqiang off and chuckled. "I don't want money—I have a brother who knows how to make money. As for cultivation, I'll build it up slowly myself; there's no need for the Inner States to worry on my behalf. And as for manpower, take them and get lost. Get as far away from here as you possibly can."
Chapter 433