Chapter 53: Revitalizing Secluded Prefecture

Secluded Prefecture is a city devoid of any entertainment.

The Second Prince's only pastime here was buying, buying, buying; those two little trinkets almost had him buying out the stock, but the shopkeeper said he wanted to keep a set as a sample, so he stopped. If anyone else asked about the two items, the shopkeeper said you could sign up for pre‑order, and the goods would arrive when the overseas ship came next month.

The Second Prince wasn't buying these trinkets just for himself; he kept some for his own use, some for display, and sent the remaining sets to the Jin family's merchant house, where they could fetch a sky‑high price in Ever Peace City.

This profit‑making king wasn't greedy; he had no manpower or shop of his own, and a thousand taels satisfied him. He also hoped the Jin family could make this imported‑goods business work well, so that future purchases would come from him—all that is later talk.

In this place, Bai Li Heng really couldn't stay; the prosperous, lively Chang'an was his home. After staying three days, he flicked his sleeves amid his third brother's earnest pleas and left gracefully.

The Great King sighed deeply, "I don't know when my second elder brother will be able to come to Secluded Prefecture again!" Bai Ge said something like that—Bai Li Heng staying three days equaled Secluded Prefecture's annual GDP. He didn't originally understand what GDP meant, but after an explanation he fully agreed. In front of his second elder brother, the richest man of Secluded Prefecture is nothing.

Bai Li Heng set off ahead, and the next day the Great King moved back to the Northern Border New Prince's Manor with just a bundle.

After losing his major patron, the Great King felt gloomy for two full days; in those two days he finally completed the ten‑person headcount in Myriad Worlds. As for the external revenue of ten thousand taels, his second elder brother alone more than made up for it.

The familiar chime sounded again, 【Congratulations, Lord, on completing the side quest of conducting commercial activities in Great Jin and Myriad Worlds Garden. Would you like to claim the reward now: a one‑kilometer‑long commercial street ×1, yes/no】

Now that the commercial street is finished, the main quest task of eliminating three percent of the populace's hunger index is nearly complete. Then… he could claim half the reward: the Myriad Worlds steward and a lottery wheel.

The Great King is no longer a gaming newbie; he knows that not everyone in Myriad Worlds Garden is a lord. Take Bai Yang—his world has no such thing as a lord. His quests are completely unrelated to his own, and Bai Yang jokes that he's just a lifestyle player filling the numbers in Myriad Worlds. Now the Great King can grasp about eighty‑nine percent of this game? Roughly.

Tong Hui reported that the vegetables planted in the vegetable garden base were growing wildly in the now‑cool Secluded Prefecture, and he didn't know what the next lottery would yield.

The Great King, full of hopeful anticipation, clicked: Yes.

In the next instant a new bubble popped up:

【Reward claimed: construct a one‑kilometer‑long commercial street.

Official subsidy: all raw materials; all tools and equipment;

On‑site Technical Supervisor NPC ×1 (reclaimed after quest completion);

Professional technical personnel ×1000 (reclaimed after quest completion);

Logic chain supplement: recruit Secluded Prefecture local manpower ×1000 (one thousand people);

Estimated construction period: 2 months (60 days)

Quest items: winter work uniforms ×1000 sets; meals ×1000×60 (60 days); labor cost ×1000×60;

Winter construction subsidy: cold‑resistant tents ×100 (tops)

The Great King lamented the shortfall of five hundred workers this time, yet consoled himself that this quest's reward couldn't compare to the You Prince's Manor—the scale was vastly different. Look, the technical personnel Meng Meng gave have decreased.

There was good news, too: seeing the familiar On‑site Technical Supervisor NPC, the Great King felt eighty‑nine percent sure it was Zhao Zhu Ge.

Moreover, there were extra tents, and the Great King soon became gleeful again. This time the issue was winter clothing, plus the cold‑resistant tents that wouldn't be taken back afterward—this might just rescue the poorest folk, for it's said that every year people freeze to death in the northern regions.

At the next morning's minor court assembly, the Great King again produced that familiar corvée conscription notice; this time he intended to build a commercial street.

The starting point was just outside the New Prince's Manor gate, past the two wards he'd reserved for officials; from there it ran straight to the gate of Secluded Prefecture City. The Great King intended that this future main thoroughfare inside the city would have shops packed side by side, so that whatever one wanted to buy would be available.

The Great King meant that later these areas would be enclosed by walls, turning Secluded Prefecture City into a super‑large metropolis.

It would stretch north to the border north of the Prince's Manor, south to the South Gate of Secluded Prefecture City, and outward a bit east and west. How wide it would be depended on whether Meng Meng gave a subsidy, or how much grain the Great King had stockpiled.

If no subsidy came, he'd just make do; with a subsidy the Great King would of course prefer the larger the better—who wouldn't want a boulevard vast and boundless?

He pulled out that familiar conscription slip again, knowing the Great King wanted to build another commercial street; the officials below were already numb.

Or Xiang Xue asked the Great King, with this money, why not first build the walls?

Well said! Who wouldn't want to build the walls first?! That concerns his very life.

The Great King could only speak solemnly: Secluded Prefecture currently needs its economy revitalized.

Heaven knows if Meng Meng doesn't give a subsidy, he simply can't build the commercial street—what choice does he have?

As for the walls, if the game doesn't provide them, he plans to prepare and build later. Having seen the walls of the You Prince's Manor, ordinary walls no longer satisfy him. Now lacking the strength to build such a scale, putting up a flimsy ordinary wall would just have to be redone later—a waste.

And Secluded Prefecture cannot afford any waste.

Xue Xiang knew he'd opened a shop selling his family's koi, but he didn't realize how profitable it was; this had the Great King's heart racing, and they both began studying how to revitalize Secluded Prefecture.

Just as with the You Prince's Manor last time, the Great King merely gave notice.

"…This time the corvée conscription will first enlist Dragon Head, Peace and Safety, Peace and Health, and Floodwater Counties—two hundred each from those that missed out last time, and the remaining two hundred split evenly among those that were called before. The priority rule is the same as last time; Zhao Langguan, you handle it—dismissed!"

After the Great King left, Xue Xiang caught up with Zhao Bao, who had lagged a step, and asked, "Your Highness, is the koi trade really profitable?" How did it suddenly swell into a thousand‑person project? Just how long of a commercial street are we building?

Zhao Bao stopped and held up four fingers: "Just the Second Prince alone spent over forty thousand taels at that shop."

Xue Xiang: ……

With the prestige from last time, nobody in Secluded Prefecture didn't want to work for the Great King.

When this notice went out, the response was completely unlike last time. For families with someone in the army and who are relatively poor, it was practically springtime.

First time raw, second time familiar—the Great King skillfully picked the spot, placed the entire semi‑transparent antique‑style district on the map, and upon doing so felt a special sense of accomplishment.

Secluded Prefecture began to improve, although it had only just started. Once he builds the walls in the future, encourages commerce and land reclamation, and preferably opens the marine products market… then Secluded Prefecture will catch up with Henan Sunny!

It will surely happen!

Once the populace's clamor settled and the headcount was confirmed, the Great King formally broke ground.

He first summoned the On‑site Supervisor NPC, clicked… and nothing happened—there wasn't a soul in the hut! The Great King scratched his head, wondering if he'd placed all the work sites together this time? He had no choice but to also summon the other thousand laborers; after a while he opened the map and saw familiar gray‑short‑brown little figures bustling at the work site he'd marked, hauling building materials back and forth, stacking them up, then arranging them piece by piece—the whole site was busy but orderly.

The Great King was delighted—what amiable little ants, they're back!

He watched them with interest for a long time, mesmerized by their busy back‑and‑forth hauling of goods—it was truly amazing!

Footsteps sounded outside; he then closed and turned back to the book before him. Entering was Tong Chen, who came in beaming to report: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhao has returned!"

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