Chapter 56

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In the morning, I had some matters to attend to, so I updated early. If I can return tonight, I'll add another update. As for reaching twelve thousand words, don't even think about it; the highest record is four thousand…

Chen Xi looked at the city wall in front of him and saw a few officials from Fengao coming out to welcome him and his group. He sighed deeply, thinking, "This place is really too poor. I can't even see a single fat person. The bandits from Mount Tai are really causing trouble. They don't even know how to raise the sheep before shearing them. What's the point of robbing poor people?"

Standing inside the administrative office of Fengao, a gust of wind blew, and a layer of dust fell from the beams. When he opened the granary, it was so empty that even rats would starve to death.

"Lord Xuande, this Fengao is really too poor," Chen Xi said helplessly, spreading his hands. "It's completely destitute, but that's not bad. We don't have to worry about anything. As long as they can eat, these people will do anything."

"It's truly destitute. Zichuan, are you ready to take over this mess?" Liu Bei said with a bitter smile. He had expected Mount Tai to be poor, but he didn't expect it to be this poor. He couldn't even see a single well-dressed person in the entire city.

"These aren't the real problems. News should come within three to five days. I thought Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang would arrive before us, but they haven't. That's fine, though. We don't lack money. Lord Xuande, you should open the granary to distribute food to the famine victims. Tell them that in three days, we will start repairing the waterworks and rebuilding the city. Also, tell them that they will be fed and paid for their work." Chen Xi shrugged, looking at the empty granary. He didn't have money, but in this world, there were plenty of people willing to pay for technology.

"Since that's the case, I'll start now." Liu Bei patted Chen Xi on the shoulder. "I'll leave the rest to you."

In the following days, Chen Xi handled the administrative affairs with a seemingly casual attitude, but he made few mistakes. After all, the overall direction was correct.

For Chen Xi, as long as he told the officials what to do in broad terms, the subordinates would fill in the details and write up plans for him to review. After a few adjustments, a strategic plan that combined the long-term vision of a穿越者 (穿越者 means "time traveler" or "穿越者" in this context) with the actual conditions of the era was completed.

Because of this, in just a few days, the administrative framework of Fengao was established, and all the affairs began to be handled in an orderly manner. The poor and semi-bandit population in the city, under Liu Bei's guidance, started to contribute their value.

"Zichuan, you always seem to have nothing to do," Jian Yong said while taking a break to drink tea, noticing that Chen Xi was dozing off.

"I've already solved the big picture. What to do, how many people are needed where, and how to manage them are not my concerns. My job is to set the framework," Chen Xi said, supporting his head with one hand and half-closing his eyes. He didn't care about his demeanor in front of Jian Yong, who was a good-tempered and easygoing friend of Liu Bei.

"Zichuan, didn't you always say that the capable should do more? Even Zilong has been pulled into handling administrative affairs. Why do you still have the time to sleep? You always seem to lack energy during the day," Jian Yong said, half in exasperation and half in helplessness.

"That's not how it was when we assigned tasks. You all looked so gleeful," Chen Xi opened his eyes, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "I have to handle the sowing, land reclamation, famine relief, refugee management, city defense, rapid tax increase, population census, and business promotion, among other things."

Chen Xi counted off the tasks on his fingers, making Jian Yong, who had just arrived in Mount Tai, feel extremely frustrated. When they assigned tasks, Chen Xi had confidently said he could handle the overall direction, and everyone was happy to let him take on the responsibility, leading to this situation.

Chen Xi spent five to six days handling all the tasks. For the remaining time, he sat in the administrative hall watching Jian Yong busily handle the affairs. Of course, Zhao Yun didn't have it easy either. All the details of the land reclamation were handed over to Zhao Yun, who struggled with it. Chen Xi had to give him several pointers, and even then, it took a lot of time to make the plan barely acceptable.

"Who would have thought you could finish three months' work in five days!" Jian Yong was clearly frustrated. He was now busy every day, while his superior sat leisurely drinking tea. Was this humane?

"It's you who are too slow," Chen Xi said, a bit listless. Being idle was also a form of torture, especially when he couldn't leave the administrative hall. Some people couldn't understand what he wrote, even though they could read each word, but when put together, it made no sense to them.

"Zichuan..." Jian Yong's mustache twitched in anger. He had come to Mount Tai to help as a friend of Liu Bei, but he felt utterly defeated by Chen Xi's abilities.

"Report, Deputy Prefect Chen, Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping of Zhongshan request an audience," a messenger said, bowing as he entered.

"Finally, they're here. Good thing, or our food supplies would run out. I think I can finish everything today," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Xianhe, I'll go handle this."

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

"Adviser is not someone we can compare to. Though young, he is truly a genius. He has already set the overall direction for the tasks we are handling. He's giving us these tasks to familiarize us with administrative work. I think even without us, he could finish all the work in ten days," Zhao Yun said, putting down his brush and sighing. The more he got involved in the land reclamation, the more he felt that Chen Xi was training him.

"Lord Xuande asked me to watch over him to prevent him from overworking. I was worried he might die from exhaustion, but now I'm not concerned at all. Those tasks might exhaust us, but for Zichuan, they might not even be a concern," Jian Yong said, shaking his head.

Chen Xi came out of the main gate, bowed, and said with a smile, "The two of you have finally arrived. Lord Xuande has been waiting for several days. He recently inspected the counties due to the bandits in Mount Tai. Would you be willing to wait a day or two? I believe Lord Xuande will return soon."

"We cannot accept such a grand gesture from Deputy Prefect Chen. We would not dare to hinder Lord Xuande's important matters. Brother Zhang and I have come from Zhongshan to hear that Mount Tai lacks food. We are willing to offer ten thousand dan of grain to support Lord Xuande's great cause," Su Shuang said with a resounding voice, living up to his reputation as a man of wealth. A thousand gold pieces was not enough to describe their current generosity.

"Ten thousand dan." Chen Xi acknowledged Su Shuang's resolve. As a wealthy merchant from Zhongshan, though not one of the four great merchants of the late Han, he was undoubtedly a wealthy man. "Let's be straightforward. I accept the ten thousand dan of grain. The formula is mine, and you should have already tested it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come."

Chen Xi's words clearly relieved Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping. They weren't afraid of Chen Xi asking for more; they were afraid he wouldn't accept the grain. Now that he had accepted it, there was room for negotiation. They had put in a lot of effort and used their connections to quickly gather and transport the grain.

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