Chapter 546 I'm All Out
Bai Yuan, the Naval Commander of Gao Family Village, donned a pristine white robe.
He admired himself in the mirror, convinced he looked utterly dashing. Only then, gathering his retainers, did he gallop across the Linyi Yellow River Bridge on horseback. The sensation of charging across the bridge was truly exhilarating, utterly incomparable. The river wind howled, and his white robe billowed majestically.
For a moment, he was almost swept away by his own handsomeness.
Bai Yuan’s status afforded him great freedom of movement.
He wasn’t a court official, so he wasn’t bound by geographical restrictions. Nor was he a brigand or salt smuggler, forced to operate covertly, shying away from the light.
A gentry member like him, whose ancestors had once been illustrious, and who held wealth but no official post, was free to travel widely, conducting business in various counties, or purchasing land from farmers. This was quite standard practice; everyone did it.
Therefore, the development of Sunji Town naturally fell to him.
As he crossed the bridge, he saw a large crowd of Sunji Town residents on the east bank. They gazed expectantly at the distinguished gentleman in flowing white.
Bai Yuan dramatically unfurled his fan. He presented the front of his fan to the townspeople, where the characters for "gentleman" were inscribed. “Esteemed folk! My surname is Bai. You may address me as Master Bai or Squire Bai. I, too, serve the Heavenly Lord. He is already aware of the hardships here in Sunji Town. Just now, he bestowed a divine decree, commanding me to help you build your homes and prosper.”
Bai Yuan presented Gao Family Village’s tried-and-true method: “To prosper, first build roads! Let us begin by constructing a cement road from Sunji Town to Qichuan Ferry. All road workers will receive meals, and a daily wage of three catties of flour.”
The townspeople cheered once more.
Just then, the image of the Heavenly Lord painted on the back of the fan suddenly began to speak. This ink-drawn Heavenly Lord, with only its eyes and mouth capable of movement, resembled a hanging portrait from a horror film. Its voice carried a ghostly echo: “Bai Yuan... Bai Yuan...”
Bai Yuan startled, quickly snapping the fan shut. The image of the Heavenly Lord instantly folded away, enclosed within the fan.
The Heavenly Lord embroidered in gold thread on Bai Yuan’s chest then opened its mouth. “I was speaking! Why did you close the fan?”
Bai Yuan let out a small cry. “Forgive me, Heavenly Lord! The fan suddenly speaking startled me so, I instinctively closed it. Please, forgive me!”
He hurriedly reopened his fan.
The gold-threaded Heavenly Lord shook its head lightly. With a flash, it reappeared on the ink-drawn Heavenly Lord. It spoke: “Not long ago, Lao Huihui and the Eight Great Kings of the West Camp attacked the Longmen Yellow River Bridge, which Shi Jian was guarding. Fortunately, Instructor He Jiu arrived in time to hold them off.”
“Oh?” Bai Yuan murmured.
The ink-drawn Heavenly Lord continued: “The brigands attacked Dragon Gate Ferry because, historically, it has been the most vital crossing point and transport route between Shaanxi and Shanxi. Now that they’ve discovered the Dragon Gate Bridge there, they will likely pay even greater attention to it.”
Bai Yuan nodded. “That’s certain. From now on, this Linyi Yellow River Bridge will also become a crucial strategic location.”
He immediately understood. “Does the Heavenly Lord mean that this place of mine is also highly likely to be targeted by brigands in the future?”
“Precisely!” the ink-drawn Heavenly Lord declared. “Not only brigands, but government troops will also fix their sights on it.”
Bai Yuan understood. “We must not only focus on economic development here but also fortify it militarily.”
Seeing that he grasped the meaning immediately, Li Daoxuan saw no need to elaborate. He fell silent.
Bai Yuan snapped his fan shut again, his spirits buoyed. He turned to his retainer behind him and said: “Go to Gao Family Village and request more funds and technical personnel from San Shier. We need more Blue Hats. We must transform Sunji Town into a bridgehead fortress for the Linyi Yellow River Bridge. If brigands dare to attack, we must absolutely prevent them from reaching the bridge.”
As the retainer turned to leave, Bai Yuan suddenly called him back. “Oh, and have San Shier send over a few middle school graduates. They don’t have to be the top students like Chen Yuanbo, even those with average grades are fine. As long as they’re middle school graduates, that’s all that matters.”
The retainer bowed and quickly departed.
Bai Yuan gazed northward, in the direction of Dragon Gate Ferry. He thought to himself: *Meanwhile, Shi Jian must surely be transforming the Dragon Gate Ferry dock into a crucial bridgehead fortress as well. Gao Family Village’s endeavors are expanding rapidly. The true test of our talent reserves is about to begin—*
In Gao Family Village’s main fortress, San Shier was grappling with a headache!
In recent months, he had begun to feel overwhelmed by the endless tasks.
Puzhou City was undergoing extensive construction across its prefecture, with several factories commencing operations simultaneously, drawing away a large number of Blue Hat technical workers from Gao Family Village. At the same time, Gao Family Village was expanding into Baishui County, Dali County, and Han City, constantly introducing its new innovations, which also demanded a significant number of Blue Hats.
He felt as though he was working himself to death trying to manage everything. Now Shi Jian at Dragon Gate Ferry was demanding personnel, specifically Blue Hats...
San Shier furrowed his brow, grumbling to Tan Liwen beside him: “Blue Hats, Blue Hats! Everyone keeps asking me for Blue Hats! Where am I supposed to find so many to give them? It’s called, ‘Even the cleverest housewife cannot make a meal without rice!’”
“Master,” Tan Liwen replied, “you’ve exceeded your four-character limit.”
“Is this the time to criticize my word count?!” San Shier fumed. “Can’t you grasp the main point? This, it’s called, ‘Neglecting the root and pursuing the branch!’”
Tan Liwen quickly refocused. “We have developed too many new innovations, each one different from before. Without Blue Hats present to supervise, the workers will only construct things using old methods, and we won’t achieve our goals. Thus, every one of our territories requires a substantial number of Blue Hats. It’s impossible to have a surplus of them; apart from accelerating their training, there’s no other way. Let’s brainstorm again and see where we can spare a few Blue Hats to send to Dragon Gate Ferry.”
San Shier rummaged through a pile of dossiers for a while, finally finding a glimmer of hope. “Look, Puzhou City’s Third Steel Factory is essentially complete and has begun normal production. The Blue Hats there should have some downtime now. I’ll select a group from there and assign them to Dragon Gate Ferry.”
He and Tan Liwen sifted through the worn dossiers together. With great difficulty, they managed to reassign a dozen or so Blue Hats, quickly issuing transfer orders. They were to “travel for work” to Dragon Gate Ferry, and would be compensated accordingly.
After a long struggle, they finally finished.
No sooner had he put down his brush than one of Bai Yuan’s retainers rushed in, bowing with cupped hands. “Third Steward,” the retainer announced, “I have been dispatched by Master Bai to the main fortress to request assistance. The Heavenly Lord said Sunji Town is to be built into a bridgehead fortress, requiring a contingent of Blue Hats. Oh, and also a few middle school graduates.”
“Aargh!” San Shier shrieked. “None left! I’m out of people! None, absolutely none!”
Comments