Chapter 25

Before going to sleep at night, the Great King lay in the blankets, one arm around Little White Ze, the other opening the full topographic map of Secluded Prefecture.

It was utter bliss and ease, left embracing, right holding.

First he skillfully located Secluded Prefecture, then positioned the northern suburbs, then looked at that plot of land for the New Prince's Mansion… and then he sat up.

There was no sign of the former desolation; now the surroundings were dotted with tents, lights blazing. Countless children dressed alike bustled back and forth on the construction site.

The Great King didn't understand what an efficient worker was; right now he only had one thought: it would be great if these people didn't recycle!

The Great King pulled the blanket over his head, almost letting out a 'wang' sound as he cried, famished.

Just thinking that tomorrow's side quest would start work, he not only completed the task but would also possess the New Prince's Mansion, so excited he couldn't sleep.

Rustling, he lifted the blanket and then took out the map, pointing here and there.

As he pointed, he noticed the White Marsh lying on his chest lift its head and look along with him at the shining board ahead, its deep purple eyes gazing intently.

The King looked at the board, then at his beloved pet.

……Little Whitey, Little Marshy, Little White Marsh, you can actually see it?

White Marsh elegantly yawned, lifted its head and gave him a look for him to feel.

"That's right, you came from here. Then…" The King pointed to a few letters in the mission reward area, "Do you recognize these letters?"

White Marsh: ……

It rose from the King's chest, fearlessly smearing itself onto the King's face, "Go to sleep! Late at night the brain is prone to short‑circuit."

The King put on a 'White Marsh' eye mask, really lay down to sleep, as he still had to go watch the new prince's mansion tomorrow.

Youzhou City's Wuye Ward — this is a famous slum in Youzhou City. Although the whole Youzhou is a slum in the King's eyes, this Wuye Ward is absolutely the outstanding one.

The stench of pig and sheep dung on the street is even stronger than in other wards.

Qian Dàyong's family, burdened with a paralyzed mother, a deceased father who left medical bills, and young siblings, struggled daily on the brink of starvation. In Wuye Ward, where everyone is dirt poor, they managed to secure a quota.

Early that morning, the ten‑year‑old sister rose early, turned the last bit of millet into porridge and brought it to her older brother; the side dish was the wild greens she had dug with her brother by the city wall yesterday. Qian Xiaomi skillfully blanched it in hot water, added a pinch of salt, and brought it inside — this was the dish her family ate most often.

A big bowl of porridge, Qian Dàyong only took a few sips before setting it down, then passed the rest to his seven‑year‑old younger brother. This was the family's last store of grain; he did odd jobs in the city, and a day's wages bought the family an extra day of life. Their grain was bought with nothing, and if he finished this porridge, the three of them at home would have to go hungry today.

Qian Xiaomi got anxious: "Older brother still has to report for duty today — how can we get by eating so little? Mother still has some; I and Xiaobao can eat a bit less at home, it'll be fine…"

Qian Dàyong stroked his sister's thin, yellowish braid: "I'm not hungry. I heard that working for the Prince You comes with meals and grain rations; if they really give out grain, Brother will bring some back tonight and we'll eat together."

Qian Xiaobao sensibly pushed the bowl back: "Then let me and my sister wait to eat together tonight. Brother, the neighbor's Xiaogebro said that after finishing this work for the Prince You, you can earn several dozen taels of silver; by then, could our family afford two meals a day?"

"What does a little kid know!" Qian Xiaomi wouldn't even dare dream of doing that.

"Xiaogebro's mother is scolding older brother at home, and his father wants to go too. What the adults say is definitely true!"

……

Families that don't believe such a good thing exists in the world are far more than just the Qian family.

When they followed their respective ward heads and village chiefs to the northern suburb construction site, a group of sallow‑skinned, emaciated poor folk were deeply shocked by the King's strength.

Is this the emperor's son? He can just casually enclose such a huge tract of land to build a prince's mansion.

Overnight, the wasteland was piled high with endless stacks of stone and timber, plus countless unknown materials neatly stacked in piles.

On the construction site, people came and went in a bustling throng, wearing uniform gray‑red‑trimmed linen clothes, black short boots, holding tools they knew or didn't know, already at work.

Under Zhao Zhuge's arrangement, the local corvée laborers of Youzhou formed five teams and began distributing work uniforms and tomorrow's meals according to the roster.

Zhao Zhuge had the minor official strike the gong, waited for the crowd to quiet, then loudly said: "I am the supervisor in charge of building the prince's mansion, my name is Zhao Zhuge. I'll say a few words: in a moment each of you will receive a set of work clothes and tomorrow's meal. After you collect them you may go home to rest; work officially starts tomorrow. The schedule is tight, so everyone must arrive at the yin hour. The work clothes are sturdy, durable and convenient for labor; tomorrow's work requires wearing the uniform. The meals have already been distributed; you may bring lunch at noon, arrange it yourselves."

Seeing Prince You actually start distributing things without doing any work himself, the Youzhou corvée laborers erupted in excitement, their faces bursting with uncontrollable joy.

Soon, the people at the front of the line had already received theirs: a square bundle tied with hemp rope and a hemp‑colored cloth bag.

The first laborer to receive it had a strange expression, half‑laughing, half‑crying. His fellow townspeople who knew him shouted, "Zhao Lao San, is it really two dou of grain?"

Zhao Lao San wiped his eyes: "I checked — it really is grain! A full two dou of rice! They said this is tomorrow's subsidy; we'll work a day tomorrow and after finishing we can still get a bag for the day after."

The crowd exploded!

No one knows who started it, but every laborer who received the uniform and grain bag went out and knelt toward the direction of the Prince You's mansion in the southern city, kowtowing loudly.

"Kowtow thanks to the King!"

Most of them are poor, uneducated folk; if you give them a little sweetness, they too know how to be grateful.

Bai Li Jing, having skipped class to rush here, saw this scene of devout kowtowing directed at himself, and even the King felt a bit embarrassed, his face flushing.

Just as he was hesitating whether to slip away, a teenager rushed out of the crowd clutching the uniform and grain bag tightly, stopped right beside him, knelt and kowtowed three resounding times.

His forehead turned red from the impact; after kowtowing he got up, walking while wailing loudly. The King, curious, approached and asked, "Little brother, why are you crying?"

Qian Dàyong cried so hard his vision blurred; hearing a greeting, he hastily rubbed his eyes with his sleeve — only to find nobody in front…

The King persisted, "Little brother…"

Qian Dàyong lowered his head and only then noticed a child standing beside him: '... It's nothing, I just thought of my mother, my younger brother and sister — they won't have to die, I'm so happy, I'm so happy~ You don't know, I'm so exhausted, I've been exhausted… Now that we have rice to eat, my younger siblings won't starve, I don't have to be afraid…' His excited words were incoherent, but the King still understood.

This little brother didn't mention his father, and he came here to work himself; presumably his family relies on him to provide, so seeing hope made him relax and then suddenly break down. He's just a fourteen‑ or fifteen‑year‑old boy, yet he must shoulder the burden of supporting his family.

Hearing this, the King also felt heart‑ached; to put it another way, he felt a kinship in suffering. Youzhou also needs him to bear the load, and he too has the duty to support his family.

If the good deed of 'shearing wool to feed the people' could continue, that would be great; otherwise, what will we do in three months? With this round's 1,500 households' work funds used for food and spent frugally, could it last a year or only half a year? And what about next year?

The King wanted to put his hands on his hips and gaze up at the heavens with a long sigh — Oh heavens!

How can the hunger index of such an impoverished Youzhou be eliminated?! Could he still obtain the reward to unlock that whatever myriad‑realms market? After all, just running into a random little brother outside is the sort of family that's about to starve to death…

After exchanging names, the two parted ways.

Now it was the King's turn to start worrying; the little brother's pressure had been successfully transferred.