Chapter 56: The Wealthy Have Finally Arrived

Busy with something this morning, I published the chapter early. If I can make it back tonight, I'll add another chapter. As for anything like twelve thousand words, don't even think about it; my all-time record is four thousand...

Chen Xi looked at the city wall before him, watching the few remaining officials of Fenggao come out of the city to welcome them. He let out a deep sigh—this place was simply too poor. Sweeping his gaze across the surroundings, he couldn't find a single overweight person. Those Taishan bandits were truly reckless; they sheared the sheep without even knowing how to feed them first. What was the point of robbing poor people anyway?

Standing inside the official administrative office of Fenggao, a gust of wind blew through, causing a layer of dust to drift down from the ceiling. When they opened the government granary, the interior was so empty that even mice would starve to death.

"Lord Xuande, this Fenggao is truly destitute," Chen Xi said with a helpless shrug. "It's a blank slate, but that's fine too. We don't have to worry about too many restrictions; as long as they have enough to eat, these people are willing to do anything."

"It truly is a blank slate. I wonder if Zichuan is ready to take on this mess," Liu Bei said with a wry smile. He had expected Taishan to be poor, but he never imagined it would reach this extreme. Not a single person in the entire city wore decent clothing.

"None of this is particularly troublesome. We should receive news in about three to five days. I originally thought Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang would arrive before us, but they haven't shown up yet. Still, that's fine; we won't lack money or grain. Lord Xuande, you should first open the granaries to distribute relief to the disaster victims. Tell them that in three days, we will start building water conservancy projects and renovating the city walls. Also, tell them that anyone who works will be fed and paid wages." Chen Xi shrugged as he looked at the granary devoid even of mice. He might not have money, but this world was full of people willing to pay to acquire technology.

"Since that is the case, I will go implement it right now," Liu Bei said, patting Chen Xi on the shoulder. "I'll leave everything else in your hands."

Over the next few days, Chen Xi strolled around leisurely while handling official business. Although he seemed casual, there were very few mistakes, as the overall direction was always correct.

For Chen Xi, he only needed to give the subordinates a general outline of what to do. The people below would fill in the details, draft a plan, and submit it for Chen Xi's review. After a few minor adjustments, a strategic plan combining a time-traveler's long-term vision with the realities of this era was successfully completed.

Because of this, although it had only been a few days, Fenggao's entire administrative framework was established. All government affairs began to be handled in an orderly manner, and the impoverished masses in the city—half bandits, half commoners—were guided by Liu Bei to begin realizing their proper value.

"Zichuan, you always seem to have nothing to do," Jian Yong remarked while taking a tea break from his busy schedule, only to find Chen Xi dozing off.

"I've already sorted out the overall direction. What needs to be done, how many people are needed in each area, and how to manage them—none of that is my job. What I need to do is establish the framework," Chen Xi replied, supporting his head with his eyes half-closed. With someone as good-natured and uninhibited as Jian Yong—a fellow townsman of Liu Bei's—Chen Xi couldn't be bothered to maintain strict decorum.

"Zichuan, didn't you always say that the capable should do more work? Even Zilong has been roped into handling administrative affairs, so why do you still have the mood to sleep? I always feel like you have no energy during the day," Jian Yong said, half in persuasion and half in frustration.

"That wasn't what was said when we assigned the tasks. All of you had expressions of schadenfreude," Chen Xi opened his eyes, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "Not only do I have to handle the Grain Ear solar term, but I also have to deal with land reclamation, disaster relief, refugees, city defense construction, rapidly increasing tax revenues, conducting population censuses, and reviving commerce, among a whole series of other things."

Chen Xi counted them off on his fingers one by one, leaving Jian Yong, who had just arrived in Taishan, feeling immensely depressed. When tasks were being assigned, Chen Xi had waved his hand grandly and declared that he would handle the overarching planning and coordination. Everyone else had been more than happy to let Chen Xi take full charge, and now things had turned out like this.

Chen Xi had spent five or six days resolving all the major issues, leaving himself the rest of the time to sit in the administration hall and watch Jian Yong hustle and bustle through official duties. Of course, Zhao Yun hadn't had it easy either; all the details of military agricultural colonies (*tuntian*) had been dumped on him. However, Zhao Yun seemed to be struggling immensely. Chen Xi had specifically offered pointers several times, but Zhao Yun still found it life-or-death hard, and it took a great deal of time and revision before the work finally looked passable.

"Who could have foreseen that you would finish three months' worth of work in five days!" Jian Yong was clearly driving himself crazy. He had to work frantically every day, only to watch his direct superior leisurely sipping tea—was this any way to treat a human being?

"You guys are just too slow." Chen Xi looked somewhat listless; having nothing to do was also a form of torture, especially when having nothing to do meant he couldn't leave the administration hall because there were always people who couldn't understand what he had written. Even though every single character was legible, once strung together, they made zero sense.

"Zichuan..." Jian Yong's mustache twitched with anger. As Liu Bei's close friend, he had come from Pingyuan to help out in Taishan, only to witness what a freak of nature looked like upon arrival. He felt utterly devastated!

"Report! Deputy Administrator Chen, Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping from Zhongshan request an audience," an orderly announced, stepping inside and cupping his fists just as Chen Xi was about to continue teasing Jian Yong and Zhao Yun.

"They're finally here. Good thing, too; if they were any slower, our food supplies would have run out. It seems I can finish everything today," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Xianhe, I'm going off to handle my affairs."

After Chen Xi left, Jian Yong finally felt a sense of inner peace. He turned to look at Zhao Yun, who was still busy reviewing documents related to the agricultural colonies, and asked, "Zilong, why are you so silent today?"

"Our military strategist is simply not someone we can compare to. Although he is young, he is truly a peerless talent. The overarching direction for all these tasks we are handling was already set by him. Giving them to us is mostly to let us familiarize ourselves with administrative procedures. I suspect that even without us, he could have completed all the work within ten days," Zhao Yun paused his brush and sighed. The more familiar he became with agricultural administration, the more he felt that Chen Xi was putting him through a rigorous trial.

"Xuande told me to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't overwork himself, fearing he might drop dead from exhaustion. Now, I'm not worried about that at all anymore. Those matters might exhaust us to death, but for Zichuan, they probably didn't weigh on his mind in the slightest," Jian Yong shook his head and said.

Chen Xi walked out the front gate, cupped his fists in a salute, and said with a smile, "The two of you have finally arrived. Lord Xuande has been waiting for several days. He went out not long ago to inspect the various counties regarding the Taishan bandits. Would the two of you be willing to wait here for a day or two? I imagine Lord Xuande will be back shortly."

"We dare not accept such a grand courtesy from Deputy Administrator Chen. How could the two of us presume to hinder Lord Xuande's major affairs? Hearing that Taishan was lacking in grain, Brother Zhang and I have come from Zhongshan to offer one hundred thousand *shi* of grain to support Lord Xuande's grand enterprise," Su Shuang's voice was truly resonant. He certainly lived up to someone who threw money around; "spending a thousand gold pieces on a whim" wasn't even enough to describe their current display.

"One hundred thousand *shi*!" Chen Xi thoroughly appreciated Su Shuang's boldness. As expected of a wealthy merchant from Zhongshan—while they might not rank among the four great magnates of the late Han, they were undeniably wealthy elites. "Since we are being straightforward, I accept this one hundred thousand *shi* of grain. I wrote the blueprint myself; you two must have already verified it, otherwise you wouldn't have come."

As soon as Chen Xi spoke, Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping visibly breathed sighs of relief. They weren't afraid of the other party demanding more; they were only afraid of the other party refusing to take anything. Asking for an exorbitant price and bargaining from there was just standard practice. Since the grain had been accepted, there was room for negotiation. It made all their strenuous efforts and pulling of favors to rapidly gather and transport a batch of grain worthwhile.