Threads 422 Shenglu 1

Ling Qi was going to have to adjust her strategy in the future.

“But that aside, the mission was successful, and you did not damage your health?”

“I have put some strain on my meridians and body but no more than is required for recovery,,” Ling Qi reported, straightening up. “I will need to be on light duty for a day or two.”

“All the better, given your tasks. I believe the requisition should only be needed by the week’s end given that Sir Bao has a small supply for our immediate needs.”

She wasn’t getting out of her assigned paperwork.

“A few days in the manor will do me well. I suppose I can begin organizing a place for my family, too. I have to say, I am impressed with the quality of the construction.”

Cai Renxiang leaned back in her chair. “I am pleased with the results myself.” Together, they looked out of the window which peered through the mist at the rising town center. “We are growing far more quickly than a normal settlement. It is best to begin this way given the speed of our growth.”

Normally, a small hamlet would use much more rustic styles and materials, but they were not going to be a small hamlet for very long. In the end, this was a great investment of the Cai clan, putting a population hub directly on the route to the summit location. They were tied to that success in so many ways.

“Housing is still being allocated. Would you care for something detached, or would you like a manor wing?” Cai Renxiang asked. It was rare to see her smile, but looking out over the town managed to make the stoic girl’s lips curve up.

“Is that viable?”

“A baron’s manor is meant to house their clan, as well as settlement administration. I have none to house and will not in the near future. Gan Guangli has already elected to take a plot outside the manor for his needs. Xia Lin is not bringing anyone,” Cai Renxiang replied.

“It would save us from having to import more domestic staff,” Ling Qi said. She did like the idea. “And integrating the panic room I commissioned from Xuan Shi would be best suited to the manor.”

“Then do so. Give the dimensions to the architects, and we will find a place for it in the ongoing digging.”

Ling Qi nodded, stepping away from the desk to sink into one of the chairs arranged around the office. “I’ll go this evening then. What are our plans, now that the city center is set up?”

Cai Renxiang considered the question. “I will have to convert much of my allowance into usable resources, as the reserves purchased by Xia Lin and yourself have finally run dry. I will see a portion of that replenished to your clan coffers, of course, now that my funds are not so constrained.”

“I never had any doubts.” Ling Qi shrugged. This was going to be her home; she had never been troubled by investing into it. “That explains all the traffic still coming in though.”

“Bulk storage rings would reduce the load, but they are a frivolous expense at this point in our development,” Cai Renxiang agreed. “For now, the main task is a proper propitiation of Snowblossom Lake, if you feel you have recovered enough.”

Ling Qi thought of her confrontation with the Weeping Mother, and then the somewhat alien but warm curiosity she had encountered in her first contact with Snowblossom Lake’s spirit.

“I see. Yes, I am. I would have thought you would want to develop the administration more first.”

“It does pain me to leave it aside, but the cost savings are less valuable than the stability the populace will feel knowing that proper rites have been laid down for something so central to the settlement’s future economy.”

“Understandable. Although, what is the actual purpose of the central granary and taxation plans? it’s not as if we have any need for their grains.”

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“At this stage, insurance against poor conditions. Each farm household will pay a tithe into the central storage, and this will be used to distribute aid should any one household be struck by a poor harvest. In the future, it will be used to provide a certain baseline of nutrition for the population not working in food production. Something similar can be arranged with the fishers, but more preservation efforts will be needed before then.”

“That does not match my experience at all.”

“It is one of Mother’s innovations. It is easier to fulfill in Xiangmen, but I do not find it credible that mortals will become decadent and unmotivated without such insecurity, as many insist they will,” Cai Renxiang said. “I wish to see if it is possible under less optimal circumstances.”

Ling Qi did remember Xiao Fen’s friend, Liu Xin, saying something about there being places to go in the rootways to receive a meal and sleep safely, even after he had been driven out of his father’s house.

How luxurious.

“I see. I think I like that idea,” Ling Qi said. “Though…”