Seeing Gu Yuzhi's dejected expression, Xu Mama felt sorry for him and whispered to confirm, "Your Highness, you just said you wanted to open a restaurant and asked me to be the head chef, right?"

Gu Yuzhi nodded repeatedly, his large eyes shining brightly in the darkness: "Granny, are you willing?"

Xu Mama shook her head slightly, enduring Gu Yuzhi's disappointed gaze, and said, "Your Highness, if there is anything I can do, this old servant will do my best. But throughout history, I have never heard of a restaurant where the head chef is a woman. Besides, my status is not appropriate. If Your Highness truly wishes to open a restaurant, this old servant can teach in the manor. Your Highness only needs to find a reliable person to learn from."

Gu Yuzhi had expected this outcome.

After all, apart from Professor Shu Xiaohan, who claimed to be a modern professor, no one else agreed.

He had no choice but to temporarily shelve the plan and slowly strolled back to his room.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, at 5:15 PM, Qi Wenhan arrived with a map of the northern desert. Gu Yuzhi had already instructed the gatekeeper that Prefect Qi did not need to wait for an announcement and could be brought directly into the council hall.

Upon hearing the servant's report, Gu Yuzhi strode toward the council hall with his short legs and said silently, "Teacher Shu, come out."

Shu Xiaohan had said before that when Prefect Qi brought the map, she would also take a look and choose a suitable place for crop production.

Gu Yuzhi naturally understood the importance of food, and upon hearing Shu Xiaohan's suggestion, he immediately agreed.

Shu Xiaohan smiled and waved to Gu Yuzhi: "Hello, Your Highness, it's nice to see you again."

Gu Yuzhi nodded with a straight face, and after turning a corner, he saw Xie Changshi waiting to the side: "Your Highness."

He trailed behind Gu Yuzhi by half a step: "According to reports from my subordinates, Prefect Qi has been to many places recently. It seems he has been scouting locations for His Highness in advance. We can listen to Prefect Qi's suggestions later."

"OK."

As soon as Gu Yuzhi stepped into the council hall, Prefect Qi quickly stood up and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Prefect Qi, please rise." Gu Yuzhi smiled and looked up at him, then pointed to a seat to the side, "Sit down and let's talk."

With everyone sitting down, his neck didn't feel so sore.

After Gu Yuzhi took his seat, Prefect Qi didn't dare to say anything more and handed the map directly to Chief Secretary Xie: "Your Highness, this is the latest map of the Northern Desert. Please take a look."

Chief Secretary Xie placed the map on the table and opened it. He saw that the map had many markings and some comments written in small print at the bottom. After taking a quick look, Chief Secretary Xie explained to Gu Yuzhi in a low voice: "Your Highness, you can see that Changzhou, where we are, is located here. This road is the official road leading to the capital."

Gu Yuzhi craned his little head to look and silently asked, "Teacher Shu, can you see clearly?"

Shu Xiaohan hummed in agreement, silently comparing these places with modern cities, and began to consider her options: "Your Highness could first ask Prefect Qi which places to recommend, and then conduct on-site inspections once the locations are confirmed."

In fact, she had many ideas that seemed suitable, but after all, this was ancient times, the roads were impassable, and there was also the threat of the Northern Di, so Shu Xiaohan dared not speak up easily.

If they fail to complete their mission and the host dies, these systems will be completely wiped out.

Chief Secretary Xie whispered to Gu Yuzhi, “Your Highness, please look. These circled blank areas are places that Prefect Qi has already explored. Although they are wastelands, they are relatively safe and suitable. Your Highness may choose these places to inspect first.”

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head, listened to Shu Xiaohan's words, and pointed to the prefecture near the border, asking, "Where is this?"

Prefect Qi's brow twitched: "Your Highness, this is Quanzhou, a border city of our Sang Kingdom, adjacent to the Northern Di."

Good heavens, does His Highness intend to establish a prefecture in Quanzhou? Even if the Emperor dislikes His Highness, he wouldn't send His Highness to such a dangerous place, would he?

Before Gu Yuzhi could even say that he was definitely going to Quanzhou, Prefect Qi had already imagined a whole host of miserable lives for Prince Wen in Quanzhou...

He looked at Chief Secretary Xie with a bitter face, almost crying: "Chief Secretary Xie, the Northern Barbarians harass the entire prefecture every year, and the prefecture is also garrisoned by the Northern Desert Army. It is really not a good place to establish a fiefdom."

Chief Secretary Xie thought for a moment and said, "Does Your Highness have something you wish to ask?"

“Yes.” Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head. “This place you pointed to earlier is adjacent to Quanzhou, and it’s also next to a county town and Changzhou. Why is no one living here?”

He scratched his head: "According to the map, the official road doesn't go through here; it's a shorter route. Why does the official road bypass this place?"

Prefect Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "This place is called Xinliang, and it has been a place of exile throughout history." Prefect Qi pointed to the border between Xinliang and Quanzhou, "This is an iron mine, and it was a place where exiled people served their labor."

Gu Yuzhi understood that the official road would naturally bypass the iron mine.

Chief Secretary Xie glanced at the spot Prefect Qi was pointing at, his eyes flickering slightly, and whispered, "Does Your Highness think Xin Liang is suitable?"

Gu Yuzhi didn't speak because Shu Xiaohan was roaring in his mind: "Your Highness, Your Highness, I think Xinliang can be the first choice."

"Huh?" Gu Yuzhi scratched his head. "Didn't Prefect Qi say that Xinliang was a place of exile?"

He was somewhat afraid: "My mother said that those who are exiled are all vicious and wicked people. If we choose Xinliang, will it be dangerous?"

"Could exiled people be more vicious than the Northern Barbarians?" Shu Xiaohan said with a smile. "Your Highness can take a closer look at the map. Xinliang is bordered by Quanzhou to the north and Changzhou to the south. It is a major transportation route connecting these two prefectures. As long as the road is built, there will be no shortage of development here."

"Your Highness should know that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads."

"Furthermore, a large area means a lot of wasteland. As long as there are enough people to reclaim the land, there will naturally be plenty of arable land. With more land, there will naturally be more people. Didn't Chief Secretary Xie say before that His Highness's land is exempt from taxes..."

While Shu Xiaohan was still talking eloquently, Wen Xiuzhu had already fallen into deep thought.

He didn't think highly of Xinliang. After all, as a place of exile throughout history, the environment must be very harsh. Even if they wanted to reclaim wasteland, they would have to find a place with a better environment.

Grain production depends entirely on the weather.

But Shu Xiaohan's words gave him a jolt. Putting aside his prejudices, he looked at Xin Liang again and felt that she was quite suitable.

Compared to other areas enclosed by Prefect Qi, Xinliang is the largest in area. Once transportation is opened up, merchants from the north and south will definitely stop and rest in Xinliang.

Once people are on the move, businesses will thrive.

Upon thinking about it, Wen Xiuzhu nodded and said, "Your Highness, I also think we should go to Xinliang first."

Gu Yuzhi nodded, trying to process Shu Xiaohan's words: "Xinliang connects Quanzhou and Changzhou, and it's a larger place than other places. There must be a lot of wasteland here. We can go and take a look first."

Chief Secretary Xie smiled slightly: "In that case, we'll trouble Prefect Qi to lead the way tomorrow, and we'll go to Xinliang to take a look."