Genshin Impact: The Sage's Disciple Doesn't Want Fame

Page 131

Chapter 167 Ninth Brother is a Good Man

Lord Yuheng seems to be in an unexpectedly good mood today?

When Keqing appeared at the construction site, the workers looked up and quietly observed the ambiguous-smiling Yuheng Star.

Her face was flushed, a far cry from her usual decisiveness and seriousness. She didn't even seem to care about supervising the work; as soon as she got back, she sat in a secluded spot and giggled foolishly.

Most of the workers were middle-aged, and each had either a son or a daughter. When they saw Keqing's expression, they immediately understood what was going on.

Lord Yuheng Star seems to be in love.

It seems there are no other options besides love. I wonder whose young master is so lucky to win the heart of Lord Yuheng Star.

The workers smiled knowingly. Normally, they might ask for their wages and send them back home so their families could have a good meal, but none of them had that thought now.

If you want your wages, go find Lady Yuheng's husband later. Lady Yuheng lives the same way as them in terms of food, lodging, and expenses. They're asking Lady Yuheng for their wages because they can only see her.

Without prior arrangement, the workers continued their work, and bundles of solid wood were transported to the construction site, where sturdy wooden buildings slowly rose from the ground in their hands.

Not far away, Ke Qing sometimes covered her face and sometimes complained softly. She felt that she was too easy to deal with. Despite being a high-ranking and powerful person, Yu Hengxing, she gave away her first kiss as soon as she saw Ji Ming, whom she had not seen for two months.

Damn it, this is practically free!

No way, Keqing, how can you be so easy to deal with? Giving it away for free is absolutely not an option...

Actually, it wasn't a complete waste. Ji Ming's kiss was probably her first, so thinking about it that way, she didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.

"Hehe, this feels so great..."

"Lord Keqing?"

"Eh?!"

Ke Qing was startled and immediately turned her head to look. She was relieved after seeing who it was: "Xiao Qian, is there something you need from me?"

Xiaoqian tried hard to suppress her laughter, her gaze darting around: "Well... the immigrant fleet has already docked, but there are only Qianyan soldiers on that ship, no officials at all. Would you like to go and take a look?"

Seeing her personal secretary looking like she was about to burst, Ke Qing felt even more ashamed. Fortunately, Xiao Qian was a member of the Li family and could be considered her cousin, so she wasn't worried at all that Xiao Qian would spread the word about her current appearance.

Shame aside, business is more important. Ke Qing noticed the key words in the secretary's words: Why are there only Qianyan soldiers on the immigrant fleet, but no officers leading the fleet?

"Lord Keqing, Lord Jiming has already led officials from the Guili County government to receive the immigrants. Would you like to go and take a look?"

You little brat, how dare you joke about your cousin!

Ke Qing reached out and poked Xiao Qian's forehead, saying irritably, "Forget it, immigration is fine... As for Ji Ming's matter, since he has already gone to receive him first, then I don't need to go over. I'll just continue supervising and measuring here."

Hmm... I still can't bring myself to call her that. This way of addressing her is a bit too intimate. Keqing decides to put off changing the way she addresses her for another time. There's plenty of time in the future.

"What's the situation with Ji Ming?"

Speaking of the officials of Guili County, they are actually the same group of people from the original Nine Gates. Now they have all turned from ugly ducklings to swans. Except for Chen Huaizhang and Yang Zaifeng, the others don't seem to like wearing official robes.

When Ji Ming sent these people to Guili County, Ke Qing thought that these former gang members might cause trouble, but she did not expect them to be so capable. They stayed in the yamen when they were working and came out to help whenever they had time.

He looks a lot like Ji Ming; they truly are sworn brothers.

Xiaoqian recalled: "Is Lord Ji Ming's smile terrifying?"

A scary smile? What kind of adjective is that? That guy's smile is so sly, but Ke Qing has never found his smile scary before; she's only occasionally found it gentle and cute.

Forget it, as long as what she does isn't out of line, Ke Qing will just let Ji Ming be. That guy isn't a child. He's a high-ranking official and a regional governor. There's no need to correct his mistakes every day.

Wait, Mr. Zhongli doesn't seem to be here, does he?

Oh no! If Mr. Zhongli were here, things would be fine. At least he could have a decent job in Guili County. But now that Mr. Zhongli isn't here, Ji Ming is probably going to become a master of ideas. His sworn brothers are no pushovers either.

Forget it, leave the Guili County matter to the General Affairs Department. She's just an ordinary civil engineer who only wants to hang out with Ji Ming in her spare time. Don't bother her with anything else.

Flicking her purple hair, Ke Qing stood up and said, "Xiao Qian, come with me to the northeast of Guili Plain. Villages and towns can be built there, and they might become the agricultural pillar of Guili County."

Xiaoqian covered her mouth and chuckled, "Lady Keqing, you really care about Lord Jiming."

What are you talking about? This was just something I did on the spur of the moment. I didn't care about Ji Ming at all.

The cat carver doesn't speak, but pretends to be an expert; he learned it from Ji Ming.

………………

"Ninth Brother, what do you suggest we do?"

Qingkui leaned against the wooden stake with his arms crossed, his eyes sweeping over the officials imprisoned in the cells. He didn't suppress a terrifying smile, and the small knife he was playing with in his hand added to the sense of danger.

If it weren't for Lao Jiu's instructions to be patient, he would have killed these officials long ago. Why wait until now?

It wasn't that he was speaking out for the people; Qingkui simply didn't like these guys. Offending Lao Jiu was the same as offending him.

To be honest, Qingkui felt that he was not suited to be an official, and was more suited to be an assassin. Unfortunately, his ninth brother had good intentions and arranged for him to be a clerk.

Let's get started then. I heard that all we need to do is arrange the movement of supplies and ensure their supply. It seems very simple.

Seeing the myna bird start playing with a knife, Ji Ming raised his hand to stop it: "Let's keep it locked up for a while longer, until the immigrant fleet docks..."

Chen Huaizhang interrupted, "Ninth Brother, the immigrant fleet has already docked. A soldier from the Thousand Rock Army just reported this."

Ji Ming nodded: "Okay, brothers, do you want to come with me? I plan to personally receive the immigrants."

"Of course, let's go together."

After leaving the top-tier dungeon in Guili County, the group of the Nine Gates headed straight for the temporary dock set up at Yaoguang Beach along the main road.

To be honest, the terrain of Yaoguang Beach is too fragmented and not suitable for port construction. It can only be used as a temporary dock. The future Guili Princess Dock should still be located by the sea, preferably on a wide, shallow beach.

As they walked, the people following behind exchanged glances, and finally sent Chen Huaizhang as their representative to find out what had happened that morning.

"Ninth Brother, you're a good man."

Looking back, Ji Ming saw Chen Huaizhang's face full of approval. He asked in confusion, "Fourth Brother, what's wrong?"

Chen Huaizhang flashed a white smile: "We all saw it."

Ji Ming had a bad feeling: "What did you see?"

"You and Ke Qing, the Jade Balance Star, secretly kissed..."

Ji Ming: "?"

No, there's clearly no one around.

Chapter 168 The Voice of the People

"Lord Ji Ming, the first fleet of immigrant ships transported a total of 8,000 immigrants. There will be three more fleets in the future, making a total of 32,000 immigrants in four fleets!"

The strong and capable centurion of the Thousand Rock Army saluted. Since there were no officers on board, the centurion had to take on the role of an administrative officer in order to keep the fleet running smoothly, which was a tough journey.

Ji Ming nodded. He had some impression of this centurion. Back when he was swindling and cheating in West Alley, it was this centurion who arrested him. Thinking about it now, he felt quite emotional.

The centurion seemed not to recognize him and continued his report: "Thirty-two thousand immigrants, one-third of whom are elderly, and two-thirds are young... young adults and children, with a male-to-female ratio of about 50/50."

They were described as young and strong, but they were only slightly younger than the older immigrants. They were far from robust, and regardless of age or gender, they were all... thin and weak.

The elderly population accounts for 10,000, while the remaining 22,000 are young immigrants, with 11,000 men and 11,000 women. This group also includes young children. A quick glance at the immigrant population reveals that there isn't a single decent worker among them.

In short, the centurion suspected that Lord Ji Ming might have offended someone. Even if no one dared to disobey the Emperor's decree, it was still possible that someone would do something malicious behind his back.

As a member of the Thousand Rock Army, the centurion was undoubtedly the most loyal follower of the Geo Archon. He kindly reminded him, "Lord Ji Ming, if you are not satisfied, I can take them back to Liyue Harbor. They should be re-selected on Tian Shu Star."

"Thank you for your kindness, but there's no need. When these immigrants set foot on the land of Guili Plain, they were already citizens of Guili County."

The immigrants had all disembarked, and Ji Ming wouldn't say anything bad about them in front of them. Besides, he didn't look down on these immigrants in the first place.

Eight thousand people—that's a considerable number. Compared to the million inhabitants of Liyue Harbor, it's like dust. But in Ji Ming's eyes, it has a different meaning. These eight thousand people are his first batch of citizens and need to be treated well.

Seeing the immigrants' fearful eyes, Ji Ming realized he might need to say something to reassure them.

Clearing his throat, Ji Ming stepped forward. The makeshift wooden planks beneath his feet made him appear several steps taller. His tone was not serious: "Gentlemen, I am your prefect. I believe you have heard of my name."

After saying that, Ji Ming grinned, but the immigrants became even more apprehensive, which troubled him.

The centurion stepped forward and whispered a reminder: "Lord Ji Ming, the immigrants are not in a very stable mood. It's best not to show any emotion."

"Understood," Ji Ming deliberately put on a stern face and scanned the eight thousand immigrants below the stage with a blank expression.

A huge, overwhelming number of them; it was quite a sight.

The mood of the eight thousand immigrants did improve; at least they were no longer afraid. These were all poor people who were used to a life of poverty and hardship. Some of them were hunched over, some were curled up, and some were constantly rubbing their hands.

At first glance, Ji Ming felt that they were very insecure, even to the point of considering themselves inferior.

"Behind me are the first batch of officials from the Guili County government. You should have heard of them, so I won't go into too much detail here. Just familiarize yourself with their faces."

Ji Ming paused again. Before going on stage to speak, he had imagined it many times and rehearsed it countless times in his mind.

How can we convince immigrants?

How can we make immigrants less afraid?

In fact, Ji Ming wanted to give an inspiring speech, but when he saw the immigrants' expressions and behavior, he immediately gave up the idea.

An ambitious speech might attract anyone, but it wouldn't attract these immigrants, because they are so miserable that they don't even have the patience or time to listen to a speech.

Ji Ming took a deep breath, turned to the side and pointed to the vast plains in the distance. It was time to fulfill his promise.

"Do you see that? That's a large, fertile land. Guili Plain has many lakes that nourish its soil, making it a great place for farming."

The immigrants reacted slightly, unsure of what Ji Ming wanted to say, so they simply continued to look at him without speaking.