Chapter 91 The reward is corn!! ...
Just as Qi Chengming was finishing his speech, Xiao Chengzi gently reminded him from the doorway, "...Your Highness."
Qi Chengming subconsciously opened the infrastructure system to check the time. It was almost time to go and say goodbye to Wen Er.
"Go back and think about it carefully." He concluded with this sentence, "I have other things to do, so let's leave it at that for today."
"Your Highness—" Prefect Mu reluctantly raised his head, still having many questions to ask, but as soon as he looked up, the young man in front of him had already walked away.
Mu Maoshi: "??"
"Stop looking, His Highness has gone far away on business," Qin Liusong said irritably.
He was jealous.
Is this yet another Mr. Huang? These guys, who excel in certain areas, are naturally gifted and can't catch up no matter how hard they try!
Qin Liusong's sense of crisis resurfaced.
But what he didn't know was that while he and Prefect Mu were still in the side room, someone had swiftly broken into their home.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, where are you going? I'll take you there." Prefect Lu chased after him enthusiastically. There were carriages and horses already prepared in the courtyard. He cleverly squeezed out a skillful ingratiating smile and, without waiting for the coachman to come over, took the initiative to lift the carriage curtain.
"..." Qi Chengming chuckled for a moment, having no reason to refuse. He had been talking so enthusiastically that time was running out. He really needed to get to the city gate immediately.
"Alright." He bent down and got into the carriage. The driver was about to approach when Prefect Lu waved his hand twice to stop him. He then dragged his fat body and squeezed in himself, driving the carriage himself.
Xiao Chengzi was determined to follow, but he asked with concern, "Sir, are you sure you can drive?"
“Absolutely no problem!” Lu Yu patted his chest confidently, trying to ingratiate himself, “Let me drive the carriage for Your Highness.”
To secure this position, Prefect Lu not only dismissed the coachman but also neglected to bring his own servants. Now, only Qi Chengming and Xiao Chengzi were in the carriage, enjoying a quiet and peaceful time.
The wheels began to creak and groan, and the horses' hooves clattered as they moved forward. Qi Chengming hesitated for a moment, then his smile returned: "Just say what you have to say."
"Well...it's nothing serious, Your Highness. I'm just..." Prefect Lu didn't dare turn around, his voice weak and apologetic.
"explain--"
“I’ve realized that Your Highness doesn’t dislike me anymore, and I want to keep up the good work!” Prefect Lu blurted out, then his voice broke into a forced, obsequious laugh. He didn’t dare turn around, but tried to explain, “…Well, because very few people don’t dislike me.”
To be precise, most of the people who don't dislike him are people Lu Yu himself dislikes; he looks down on them and doesn't want to consider them "his kind."
The prince is different; this is the new emperor, capable of changing impressions—though he doesn't yet know how, he's already on the verge of tears of joy!
“You…” Qi Chengming saw Xiao Chengzi secretly glancing outside the carriage curtain with a disdainful look. He coughed to cover it up. “Sit up straight, straighten your posture, and put on a more imposing air. I guarantee that more people will change their impression of you.”
After observing for so long, Qi Chengming realized that Prefect Lu wasn't the kind of person who used clean methods; he also engaged in many underhanded tactics. But what were those tactics for? They were all about testing the waters and trying every possible way to curry favor with Qi Chengming.
Therefore, he seemed to have sensed that Qi Chengming disliked corruption. After arriving in Liuzhou, aside from accepting the regular tributes from the wealthy families in the city and the county government, he made no other moves. He neither demanded nor seized anything that others desired; at most, he acquired a small plot of land and started recruiting tenants. His desires were crystal clear. He even tried to look at the case files at the prefectural government office—though he didn't glean anything of substance from them.
Calling him mediocre and useless is not wrong, but that's already a plus.
Therefore, although Qi Chengming still harbored strong prejudice and dislike towards Prefect Lu's appearance and demeanor, he had learned to suppress these feelings when meeting people. Unexpectedly, Prefect Lu was so perceptive that he noticed it on their first meeting.
"Your Highness, this humble official...cannot do it!" Lu Yu cried out from the front.
He tried to put on a stern face, trying to appear upright and dignified, avoiding flattery and speaking naturally. But he just had that cunning, fat-headed look, as if he gained weight just from drinking water. Even a normal, questioning glance made others think he was sinister and not a good person.
Now he's always grinning like an idiot, and people think he's a good-for-nothing. But if he were to put on a stern face and speak and act coldly, he'd look like the most despicable corrupt official!
"You..." Qi Chengming was speechless after hearing this rant. "How exactly did you pass the imperial examination?"
He understood now; no wonder people said Prefect Lu had always been unlucky. This was probably just bad luck orchestrated by people. Anyone seeing him like that would turn from scrutiny to harshness. Fortunately, he hadn't completely gone astray. Lu Yu, having been fortunate enough to become the prefect of Liuzhou, was now anxiously trying to climb the social ladder by clinging to his powerful connections. He was quite shrewd.
He fully understood Qi Chengming's concerns, so after some probing, he perfectly avoided Qi Chengming's minefield, not daring to take any rash steps, honestly seeking loyalty, and not harboring any ulterior motives.
Qi Chengming liked this kind of person.
He has obvious weaknesses that can be exploited, and he might even willingly offer himself up, eager to be controlled and made obedient, all for the sake of this perceived favor.
Qi Chengming received a letter from distant Chang'an these past two days. Although he temporarily put it aside, he had some thoughts on it. Now that Qi Chengming could trust Prefect Lu, he spoke slowly, intending to test him:
“I’ve been busy with these matters lately and have neglected to learn about the other counties. Prefect Lu, I heard you’ve been reviewing case files for a while? And even sat in on some trials? How about you go and inspect the six counties?”
Prefect Lu is too good at flattery, but Qi Chengming isn't the type to be easily impressed by it. Even though the useless fellow can already help, perhaps we should still explore what Prefect Lu can do? Besides, these are the prefect's duties after all.
"Your humble servant understands." Lu Yu readily agreed, his interest piqued and his fighting spirit soaring.
Qi Chengming nodded in satisfaction.
In this way, the salt ponds can be built.
He would hand over the technology to Huang Dong to take away, transforming Lingnan into a port near Liuzhou and a vital logistical hub for transporting silver, rice, salt, and iron. Anything that couldn't be openly displayed could be disposed of in the densely forested, poisonous wilderness between Liuzhou and Lingnan. Even... if they were to stumble upon something later, this place would be convenient for murder and cover-ups.
Once the sea routes are organized, Lingnan will even be a good escape route.
Qi Chengming felt relieved after thinking about this.
The carriage came to a sudden stop, and a laughing voice called out impatiently, "Hey! Wuyou, are you taking me here today, or am I taking you?"
Why would someone about to depart wait for friends who come to see them off?
This is so much fun!
Wen Zhongnan waited here with great pleasure.
Qi Chengming abruptly lifted the car curtain, jumped out, and looked up—
The elegant young man standing in front of the pavilion on the outskirts of the city was none other than the Second Young Master Wen, who had changed into a set of old, durable clothes. He was carrying nothing, casually leaning against the tree, idly flicking the ground with a branch.
Two rows of guards sat on horseback, while a steward and a servant peeked out from the carriage behind to check the situation. The heavy luggage made the carriage creak and groan.
"I'm late!" Qi Chengming said apologetically as he walked over, but he couldn't help but make a self-justifying remark, "Only a true friend would do this! You might have walked two miles by now, and I would still catch up and say—Wen Er, I don't know where else is a good place to take a walk, can you recommend another one for me?"
"...Why didn't you come and ask me this two quarters of an hour after I fell asleep on the road?" Wen Zhongnan almost laughed and cursed out loud.
Having a friend like Wuyou is truly a blessing for him.
"I don't treat you like a stranger, but that doesn't mean I'm brainless." Qi Chengming rolled his eyes. He's not the kind of person who lacks emotional intelligence!
"Alright, now that we've waited for you, let's not waste any more time." Wen Zhongnan was very carefree. With another wave of his hand, he jumped onto the carriage. "We should set off! If we don't leave now, we'll be late."
"Remember to send a letter when you arrive!" Qi Chengming called out, his hands cupped in front of his face, clearly worried.
Wen Er is going to join the army. He'll only be able to send one more letter after he reaches his new home; after that, they'll lose contact. Goodbye...it won't be for several years. At this moment, Qi Chengming frantically prayed that things would unfold as originally planned, and that Wen Er would be safe and sound.
"—You'd better take good care of your health these next few years!" Wen Zhongnan leaned out of the carriage, not only not responding but raising his voice so loud it was almost cracking as he roared.
"...Why are you so obsessed with my health?" Qi Chengming said, both amused and exasperated.
But since Wen Er was leaving, Qi Chengming stopped worrying. He replied in a way that others couldn't understand, "I know! He's got all his health bars maxed out, so don't worry!"
Xiao Chengzi: "?"
Xiao Chengzi doesn't understand.
Qi Chengming opened the infrastructure system with satisfaction and checked his character's health bar: "9/10".
A normal person of the same age should have a maximum health score of 10. When Qi Chengming transmigrated, this body was very weak from all the damage, so a score of 7 was the maximum. Thanks to Doctor Bian's miraculous healing skills, the score was finally raised to 8.
Qi Chengming was a vigorous young man, a teenager whose body was growing rapidly, so his foundation was already strong. With the doctor's instructions and the dietary supplements he had been taking, he had managed to raise his health bar to 9.
...What an amazing achievement! Dr. Bian is a god.
Qi Chengming can guarantee that by the time Wen Er returns, he will be fully recovered and back to normal! Stop worrying unnecessarily!
...
In this spring season when new buds are hanging on the treetops, the second young master of the Wen family leisurely left to join the army.
As time slowly passed, and it was almost the end of March this year, the ticket system, fueled by the public's enthusiastic support, spread throughout Liuzhou at an astonishing speed...
Even people on the Lingnan border were proud to possess these tokens. At times like these, they no longer represented simple "silver," but rather a matter of status. How rare they were!
When Qi Chengming woke up groggily one morning, he habitually glanced at the infrastructure panel, and then he suddenly woke up: "...!"
The third stage of the "Create Currency" task, which had been hanging there for a while, quietly changed to the (completed) status at some point.
Rewards! It's time for his favorite part: receiving rewards!
Qi Chengming didn't even glance at the fixed rewards for the first two stages of the task to stabilize prices; his finger went straight to the roulette wheel for the third stage.
Perhaps he had just woken up and his mind hadn't quite registered, or perhaps he was too excited and his fingers moved faster than his brain. This time, Qi Chengming didn't even have time to borrow luck from anyone else; he directly clicked on the roulette wheel.
His smile and movements froze instantly. His mind went blank, and just as Qi Chengming was about to shout in frustration—
But what he saw as the fireworks revealed the reward—
A sack of corn seeds.
Qi Chengming's eyes widened, and he jumped out of bed in an instant:
"...Ouch!"
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