Qin Yiyi sighed and was a little angry, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh to Xiaoyue.
"It's good that you have this idea, but you are you. You can decide to dedicate everything to yourself, but you can't decide to make your child dedicate everything to you too!"
"Why, my lord? That's my child! I have the right to decide everything for her!"
“That’s your child, not your hostage or slave, Xiaoyue!”
Qin Yiyi knew that talking to this child about these things would only drive her crazy. She didn't understand what love or marriage was. She treated herself as a commodity to be traded. If the mermaid boy gave Xiaoyue everything as she said and tricked her, Xiaoyue's life wouldn't be difficult. But Xiaoyue would lose her own pursuits, and the child she gave birth to would be brainwashed by Xiaoyue herself. Moreover, the most important point was that this endless support for her family would eventually be rejected by the sea tribe. You could see her entire life from just one sentence.
She had to change Xiaoyue's mind.
Xiaoyue doesn't understand that everyone is an independent individual, just as she can decide everything for herself, rather than tying everything to her family.
"Making your family prosperous is not your responsibility alone, but the responsibility of every member of the family. Responsibilities must be clearly distinguished; you cannot pile all the responsibility onto your own shoulders!"
Xiaoyue was silent for a while, then looked up at Qin Yiyi.
"But I am the next heir, and I should take on this responsibility, just as you are responsible for us, my lord!"
"My responsibility to you is based on the premise that you must abide by my rules. It's also because you are ambitious and hardworking. Do you think I would take full responsibility for someone who is unambitious and unmotivated? Xiaoyue, there are limits to being responsible. I will only take responsibility within my capabilities, not at the expense of others. Do you understand?"
Qin Yiyi thought about how Xiaoyue's living environment and upbringing were different from hers, and she didn't understand this principle. She then said, "Now you just need to remember that you don't need to be good to those who are not good to you, and you don't need to endure those who make demands of you because of the word 'responsibility.' You are the head of a clan, not the mother of a clan. As the head of the clan, you must use both kindness and severity. You must give kindness, but you must also make people respect you under your authority. You must understand that within the clan, your word is law, not the word of those who make demands!"
She is a child who has just come of age and is the next heir. What is more worrying is that she has this excessive sense of responsibility. Those in power are not afraid of a sense of responsibility, but they are afraid of a sense of responsibility with the word "kindness" added to it. To put it bluntly, she is too easily influenced.
The people below are always finding excuses to take advantage of others; one act of leniency leads to a hundred acts of indulgence.
Xiaoyue remained silent, seemingly understanding some things yet not others, but she did listen to Qin Yiyi's words.
"I understand what you have to say, my lord. I will carefully consider the Mermaid Viscount's future actions. Can I join Lord Sid's team now through the special assessment? I will strive to become someone who can help the territory!" Compared to becoming an excellent clan leader in the future, she now prefers to become someone who can help the territory.
"I understand. I'll talk to Sid about this."
Joining the army requires selection. Even a race as outstanding as the Naga has to go through tests. Only those who pass the tests can join. The Naga left, and soon after, Sid arrived.
"I have something to tell you, my lord. Perhaps, in this matter I should call you 'young lady,' because I feel this is a mixture of personal and official business!"
Sid tilted his head and looked at Qin Yiyi. Qin Yiyi blinked, as if she had thought of something, and was somewhat shocked.
"You're not trying to tell me that the Merman Viscount came looking for you, are you?!"
How did you know?
Qin Yiyi chuckled. It seemed this kid was serious. She had originally wanted to use an incident involving the merman viscount to tell Xiaoyue that even for the sake of the clan, one cannot give one's whole heart and soul; one must always think of oneself. Now, she hadn't expected that this young merman viscount would actually get so carried away by a simple act of saving a hero.
“Let’s talk about this privately. This concerns the sea tribe and our territory, and it also concerns… you know about my brother and Charlotte’s engagement, right? That merman viscount’s father is an elder of the sea tribe, a particularly troublesome fellow!”
Sid and Qin Yiyi exchanged a glance.
"Let's talk about the food street first. Currently, the underground construction is being handled by Pangolin, while the above-ground construction is being supervised in shifts. The food street is designed as a U-shaped structure with entrances on all four sides. Outside are snack stalls and drink shops interspersed in the middle, and in the very center are high-rise buildings where you can enjoy the night view of the territory. The top floor is full of upscale restaurants, but the variety of restaurants should be diverse, with all kinds of cuisines. However, the culinary skills of our territory's canteen are limited, so we'll need your guidance."
Food streets need to be diverse, but one street can't even accommodate all the Chinese cuisine, so why diversify with foreign varieties? It's not impossible to diversify after all the Chinese cuisine is covered.
Qin Yiyi glanced at the design drawings and followed Sid into the cafeteria. In fact, the culinary skills in their cafeteria were already quite good after a winter of training.
It's still uncertain what the restaurant on the top floor will serve.
Now, the ingredients for their territory are sourced from all over the empire, and they can no longer only eat white rice as before.
"Look at these delicious dishes: squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, poached chicken, sliced beef and tripe in chili sauce, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, braised pork intestines, and a special hot pot. They are all top-notch dishes. Who made them?"
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