Chapter 1128

Pride swelled in his chest, evident in his words.

This land of Shui State was called Ju Lu State over a hundred and sixty years ago.

Of course, today only the name Ju Lu Port remains, and the territory has shrunk by one-third.

The door panel also looked left and right: "Actually?"

"In the past we were poor; my family couldn't afford meat for half a year. But these past few years, each year has been more comfortable than the last."

Stepping off the gangway, two figures emerged from the crowd ahead, one tall, one small.

The small one saw Wang Wei and rushed over, calling: "Father, father!"

This was a five- or six-year-old girl, her hair tied in twin buns, charging forward like a small cannonball, knocking Wang Wei back two steps in an instant.

The girl was especially sturdy; Wang Wei felt a bit strained holding her.

Accompanying her was a boy about fifteen, whose eyebrows and eyes bore some resemblance to Wang Wei.

Upon seeing Wang Wei, he too wore a look of delight.

"A Sheng, come!" Wang Wei waved at him, "This is Mr. He and his team, good friends I met on the ship."

Wang Wei then turned to He Lingchuan: "These are my two children; the elder is called A Sheng, Wang Ge Sheng, the younger is called Xuan Xuan."

Both children were polite, greeting He Lingchuan and the others.

"Come stay at my home! You all need a place to settle." Wang Wei issued the invitation again.

He Lingchuan, touched by the sincerity, could only agree.

The crowd threaded through streets and alleys, heading toward the Wang residence.

Along this way, every trade and profession was complete—wineries, eateries, inns, and general stores were abundant throughout the port, the two markets well-stocked, appearing to have both supply and demand thriving.

He Lingchuan and the others felt this market town brimming with vitality, everywhere filled with the warmth of everyday life.

Strangely, a few streets here retained their positions from later ages; He Lingchuan had to exert some effort to recognize them. The tea house at the street corner, bustling with comings and goings and noisy voices, had become in later times a teetering warehouse, frequented only by sea winds and rats.

This sense of temporal overlap made people feel especially melancholy.

The Wang residence lay east of the port, just six or seven hundred paces from the dock.

Wang Wei's private school was not small; besides two classrooms of different sizes, it had seven or eight guest rooms, clearly he also took in boarding students here. But now, during the busy farming season, the rooms were vacant, perfect for tidying up and arranging furniture, temporarily converted into a guesthouse.

He Lingchuan's group of ten occupied four rooms.

After drifting at sea for seventy or eighty days, everyone smelled the musty odor on their clothes—no wonder Xiao Yuan kept her distance. Next came bathing, scrubbing off grime, changing clothes, shaving, to clean themselves up.

Wang Wei, being resourceful, summoned several foot masseurs from a nearby bathhouse to give everyone a thorough back-pushing and kneading, loosening tendons and activating bones.

When the guards stepped out of the guest rooms, they all felt as if they had come back to life, their bodies seeming several pounds lighter—

The years of accumulated grime were scrubbed away.

The dishes were already set on the table; ten people shared seven or eight dishes, with fish and meat, all quite home-style.

Though He Lingchuan had eaten all manner of mountain delicacies and seafood, the shredded radish and potato pancake on the table still struck him as remarkable.

Though countless people can make this dish, each has their own flavor, basically never the same. Wang Wei's family's radish shred pancake is vegetarian, aside from the egg you see no trace of meat, yet the taste is simply good.

Other teammates also recognized its quality; the pile of radish shred pancakes as high as a small mountain was instantly emptied, and Wang Wei hurriedly called the cook to fry another batch.

Wang Wei smiled and introduced: "This is the white radish grown by my students; the flavor is rich."

He Lingchuan recalled that the Shu Min Academy and the Yuheng Academy had also opened large vegetable plots, called "study fields," where students usually did labor classes, and the fruits and vegetables grown were collected by the school for cooking, serving as student lunches.

The door panel tore off a large piece of oily, glistening pork belly, stuffed it into a steamed bun: "Master Wang, you're naturally gifted in business—why not engage in trade, but instead open a private school?"

"Running a private school is stable; here, for each student I take, the Ju Lu Port authorities subsidize me a bit. The more students I enroll, the better my family's food and expenses can at least be secured."

He, with his whole family in tow, needed to first establish a safety net before considering how to earn more money.

Hu Min wondered: "Do you also have subsidies here?"

"Yes, our state was recently founded, foundations unsteady, so we need literate people like me to come teach and educate, to transform folk customs. Otherwise, if the people of a state cannot read, when will pillars of talent emerge?"

The group exchanged glances, all feeling astonished.

As they say, ten years to grow trees, a hundred years to nurture people. Education is a systemic project requiring great input and slow returns; if rulers do not plan for the long term, they will not expend such effort or spend such money.

On the Flash Gold Plains, the rise and fall of states and families is normal, yet even a small state looks so far ahead?

He Lingchuan sighed: "Rare to encounter a wise ruler; the people of Ju Lu are blessed."

He and Wang Wei had sailed together for a long time; from this man he also learned much about Ju Lu State's past.

Ju Lu State's territory was somewhat larger than that of later Shui State; it was founded only seven years ago, its ruler surnamed Ran, now under forty, worthy of being in his prime.

The policies implemented by the Ju Lu king proved effective; after years of rest and recuperation, today's Ju Lu State enjoys political harmony and people's peace, livelihoods revived, the nation's appearance flourishing.

Not only Wang Wei, but He Lingchuan on the ship also chatted with several other sea travelers, all praising Ju Lu State's recent years: trade gradually revived, livelihoods recovered, making it a rare tranquil place on the Flash Gold Plains.

Upon disembarking today, he saw from Ju Lu Port a glimpse of the whole; indeed, the Ju Lu monarch had managed this state well.

Life had prospects, commoners had hope, merchants also wished to come here to do business.

Given He Lingchuan's experience, he deeply knew governing a state was no easy task; it was not simply issuing a few light corvée and tax relief orders to nurture the people that could lead the nation to a prosperous age.

Which ruler does not desire a wealthy state and strong people, not wish for steady progress? Some can achieve it, like the Ju Lu king; some cannot, like the later Shui king.

Even the best methods must suit the environment; they cannot be mechanically copied.

At least, the people of Ju Lu in this era enjoy a rare tranquility.

After chatting awhile, Wang Wei's eldest son, Wang Ge Sheng, returned, carrying meat and vegetables in his hands.

He Lingchuan saw him gripping at least three lamb legs, twenty jin or more, not counting other vegetables and fruits, yet he carried them lightly and easily, knowing this youth possessed cultivation.

He asked the youth: "Care for a cup?"

Wang Ge Sheng inherited his father's nature, responding cheerfully: "Good!"

So He Lingchuan filled a cup and tossed it over.

He applied just the right force; the cup flew as if someone had pushed it flatly forward, slowly drifting to Wang Ge Sheng's face. The latter reached out and caught it, not a drop of wine spilled.

He looked at He Lingchuan, his eyes instantly showing a hint of surprise, then tilted his neck and drained the cup in one gulp.

He Lingchuan pointed at the seat next to Wang Wei. "Come sit."

His tone was flat, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

Wang Gesheng had never met him before, but walked over involuntarily; only when he reached the table did he find it strange — how could he be so obedient?

But Wang Wei promptly dragged his son down into a seat.

He Lingchuan poured him another cup. "You're in the Julu Port Guard?"

"Yes."

Wang Wei's face beamed with pride. "Selected last spring. Twenty-odd young men at the time, the Guard only picked two, and Asheng was one of them."

"Good to eat rations." Hu Min gestured at everyone. "We all eat rations."

Everyone laughed.

Working under Commander He, isn't that just eating rations?

Is this an army? The youth asked curiously. "Where did you come from?"

"The Panlong Wasteland to the west, ever heard of it?"

Wang Gesheng shook his head honestly, never even heard of it.

He Lingchuan didn't mind. From the Panlong Wasteland to the Shanjin Plain was truly too far. "What about the Between Between Between Beijia Kingdom, heard of it?"

"Heard of it, very powerful and wealthy, and very formidable."

"The Panlong Wasteland lies to the west of Between Between Between Beijia." He Lingchuan smiled. "We crossed the vast ocean to reach the Shanjin Plain, to find something. Have you heard of Bai Mao Peak?"

If not for hearing that Wang Gesheng served in the port city Guard, He Lingchuan wouldn't have stayed at Wang Wei's house.

He came precisely to gather information.

The letter Shao Jian wrote to Zhong Shengguang used a cipher; decoded, it read:

Bright Lamp Grass grows on Bai Mao Peak, currently the territory of a bear yaoguai.

Father and son Wang exchanged a glance. Wang Gesheng asked. "The White Bear King's old lair?"

"Seems you both know."

"Bai Mao Peak is named because of the White Bear King." Wang Wei spoke up. "Don't know where it came from, roughly twenty years ago it occupied the mountain as king, made a den on Bai Mao Peak. The mountain originally had lots of good stuff, nearby people would enter to hunt game, gather fungi and vegetables. But ever since it appeared, Bai Mao Peak — no living soul may approach. Oh, the den seems to have forty-odd bears too."

"Dad, what you know is all outdated, long past that number." Wang Gesheng immediately said. "The White Bear King's den has over eighty white bears, over three thousand wolves, additionally foxes, badgers, leopards and such, and has subdued a portion of bird yaoguai."

"That's a yaoguai that has established a power base." At this number, He Lingchuan also felt astonishment. "Occupying a mountain as king, with numerous followers."

What is a yaoguai that has established a power base? Zhu Erniang is one.

In former years it lived in the Panlong Wasteland, its offspring swarming under it; even General Nanke leading an army into its territory died at its hands.

A yaoguai able to threaten local regimes has established a power base.

But Zhu Erniang's evil forces are all composed of her own offspring, almost no other yaoguai.

This White Bear King, however, has multiple yaoguai species under it.

Great yaoguai and great yaoguai, temperaments differ.

Wang Wei exclaimed. "My heavens, already this many? These white bears, wolf packs still often come down the mountain to eat people."

Menban spoke up. "Eighty-odd bears, three thousand wolves? Numbers a bit large, Bai Mao Peak probably can't feed so many big eaters."

Carnivores usually have their own hunting territories, because food is limited. The bear yaoguai summoning a large force to guard its den, Bai Mao Peak would struggle to sustain so many fierce beasts.

Them coming down the mountain to forage becomes inevitable.

What prey down the mountain is both plentiful and easy to catch? Naturally, humans.

Hu Min interjected. "All these years, has the government not launched a suppression campaign against the bear yaoguai?"

(End of Chapter)