Seeing her hesitant expression, Xu Nian asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The demand for salt is not high in the city now, so mining indiscriminately will not have a good effect.

"Those people rely on mining for food. If the adults stop this work, they might not be used to it for a while, and if they complain..."

Before Han Xiao'e could finish speaking, Xu Nian already understood.

She was afraid that the sudden change in the lives of these people who made a living from mining would cause them to blame her.

Thinking of this, Xu Nian let out a barely perceptible sigh.

At this stage, she has come to admire those emperors in history. How did they manage to govern such a vast country so easily?

Now, facing a small city, Xu Nian feels constrained and restricted.

Even so, Xu Nian still said, "It's alright, just give the order and say it was my idea."

Seeing that Xu Nian was determined, Han Xiao'e naturally had no objection. She nodded and turned to go down to prepare.

Slumped in her seat, Xu Nian stared blankly at the ceiling.

Currently, there are still many hidden dangers in this city.

Uncertain crop yields, a large population without a source of income, natural disasters, and even water shortages...

Wait a minute, the water source?

Xu Nian suddenly perked up, straightened up, and slapped out a yellow talisman.

The talisman tumbled on the table, then shook violently before finally settling steadily in Xu Nian's hand.

What is the streamer doing?

[Is this another new talisman? It looks really powerful. What exactly does it do?]

"It's nothing serious, I just checked if there was any water nearby."

Seeing the eager expressions of the viewers in the live chat, Xu Nian picked up the yellow talisman and showed it to them, then came up with a plan.

Even if the mining team is gone, she can create a well-digging team. In short, as long as she finds a reason to get them moving and involved in building the city, no one will have any complaints.

Thinking of this, Xu Nian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Coincidentally, she had noticed a few days earlier that the city's only well seemed to be drying up.

So, Xu Nian picked up a pen and hastily wrote something that resembled a planning document, then went out to hand it to Han Xiao'e.

As soon as she arrived at the place where the notice was posted, she saw that a large crowd had gathered there, and it seemed that they were arguing.

Are you serious?

The men stared in disbelief at the notice Han Xiao'e had posted, asking incredulously, "Are we really not required to go mining anymore?"

Seeing their aggressive demeanor, Han Xiao'e wasn't too surprised and patiently explained, "The city lord said that the salt reserves are already sufficient. They haven't even finished refining the previous batch of salt yet, so they don't need any more ore."

After speaking, Han Xiao'e took a deep breath and turned to leave.

"No! How will we survive if we don't mine?"

"That's right, let's go and talk to the city lord!"

They were making a noisy commotion, clearly intending to confront Xu Nian.

Xu Nian watched coldly and said leisurely, "No need to look anymore, I'm right here. What do you want to say?"

The men, who had been so aggressive, shrank back upon hearing Xu Nian's voice. "This..."

"You can't survive?"

Xu Nian slowly approached the men, looking them up and down. "All four limbs are intact, and you're not mentally impaired. You can't survive without mining?"

"There are many elderly people and women working in the fields, and even teenagers dare to go hunting in the mountains. How come you can't survive?"

As she finished speaking, Xu Nian's voice became tinged with a thin layer of anger.

The grown men listened, their faces flushed with shame, unable to utter a single word.

Indeed, thanks to Xu Nian's governance, they even forgot what they were capable of doing and focused solely on exchanging food for the simplest labor.

Xu Nian's words were harsh, but very pertinent.

[The anchor is absolutely right! I think it's because these people are spoiled.]

[If it weren't for the streamers, would they even survive? They've become so used to the streamers' help that they're practically crippled.]

[That's not entirely true; these men probably just haven't figured it out yet.]

"Sir, it was our fault."

The men were not the type to throw tantrums or refuse to admit their mistakes; they immediately lowered their heads and apologized, their faces full of remorse.

Seeing their sincere expressions, Xu Nian didn't say anything more, but said seriously, "Remember not to have such thoughts in the future. I will leave here one day. What will you do then?"

After giving everyone a thorough lecture, Xu Nian handed the planning document to Han Xiao'e and whispered, "Don't spread this news yet. Let them reflect on their actions for a few days, so they don't get their priorities all wrong."

Han Xiao'e naturally had no objection to this, and looked at Xu Nian with eyes full of admiration.

What seemed like an extremely difficult problem to her was solved by Xu Nian with just a few words, which enlightened everyone.

After finishing her work, Xu Nian had some free time, so she checked on Da Bao and Er Bao's homework.

The result was quite satisfactory to her; both children studied very diligently, as if they cherished this hard-won opportunity.

"Sister, how about that? Aren't we awesome!"

Da Bao puffed out his little chest, held Er Bao's hand, and said proudly.

Erbao also looked at Xu Nian expectantly, because this was the result of their day-long review and memorization!

Xu Nian never hesitated to praise well-behaved children, and immediately gave them a thumbs up, saying, "You're really amazing. Whatever Da Bao and Er Bao want, your older sister will give it to you."

Upon hearing this, Da Bao and Er Bao were clearly conflicted. After discussing it together for a long time, they firmly declared, "We want to play with Xiao Bai!"

Suddenly, Xu Nian froze on the spot.

She didn't hide the fact that she had brought back tiger cubs from her younger brothers; their curiosity about unknown creatures was understandable.

The little white tiger is still young and is exceptionally affectionate, so it's unlikely to cause any trouble.

Thinking this through, Xu Nian didn't refuse, her eyes crinkling as she said, "Alright, I'll take you to see Little White!"

The three of them rushed to the military camp with great enthusiasm, only to see Gu Zhan teasing Xiaobai with his head down at the gate.

He leaned slightly forward, holding a piece of meat in his hand, and quietly fed the child.

Xiao Bai, meanwhile, was happily munching on the small piece of meat in Gu Zhan's hand, looking exceptionally content.

"Gu Zhan!"

Xu Nian waved and called out to him as usual, then walked over with Da Bao and Er Bao.

But after hearing her voice, Gu Zhan's body stiffened for a moment, then he placed his hand on the ground and said in a calm voice, "There are still important matters in the army. You guys have fun first."

Immediately afterwards, he vanished without a trace.

Xu Nian stared blankly at Gu Zhan's retreating figure, and couldn't help but click her tongue.

Is Gu Zhan avoiding her?