Chapter 434: The Heart of Neizhou (Requesting Moon Tickets)

"Ee-ya, cha-cha-cha-cha, everyone dance, don't be shy! Ee-ya, cha-cha-cha-cha, you're not stylish if you learn rumba, you've no charm if you learn samba…"

"I Love Cha-Cha-Cha," a wildly popular song in Prozhou, once heard, easily loops endlessly in the mind.

Liao Zihui particularly loved this song today; he sang and danced in his office all afternoon, never feeling tired.

Because today's inspection team had left, and the balance officer had left too.

Ling Sujun entered the office: "Director, Liu Guocai, the Frontier Warden of Wuqin Township, has arrived."

Liao Zihui quickly sat back at his desk and nodded: "Let him in."

Liu Guocai had come again to apologize for the previous incident.

Liao Zihui waved his hand repeatedly: "Guocai, that's all in the past—why bring it up again?"

Get back to Wuqin Township and handle your real duties. The railway with Moxiang Shop has been severed for too long—it's high time it was repaired."

Discuss it properly with Li Qi. Avoid conflict on both sides. Aim to break ground before the New Year."

With only a few days left before the New Year, this task was urgent.

Liu Guocai hurried to Deputy Director Tang Huanjie, who was primarily responsible for the railway project.

Tang Huanjie had already prepared everything: "Guocai, go ahead. All the paperwork is done, the equipment is ready. I've got a banquet to attend—let's keep in touch later."

Liu Guocai found it strange: why did Tang Huanjie always rush off to banquets whenever they met?

Back in Wuqin Township, Liu Guocai made preliminary preparations and sent word to Li Qi that he would begin railway construction.

The messenger returned: "We didn't see Li Qi."

Liu Guocai didn't think much of it: "Just deliver the message. Construction starts tomorrow."

Liu Guocai had been in Prozhou for a short time and held no favorable impression of it.

He knew Li Qi wasn't a good man, but Li Qi was still a Prozhou native.

Previously, suspecting Li Qi could manipulate the boundary, Liu Guocai had feared him, worried he might lose his post due to association.

Now that the matter turned out to be a misunderstanding, in Liu Guocai's eyes, Li Qi was no different from any other wealthy merchant.

He managed to open up an entire territory—that showed some ability—but no matter how capable, wasn't he still just a Prozhou man?

As for why Liao Zihui cared so much about Li Qi—even making huge concessions on freight fees—Liu Guocai didn't know, and didn't want to know.

Liu Guocai disapproved of many of Liao Zihui's actions; this was one reason he had bypassed the chain of command to report upward.

The groundbreaking ceremony proceeded as scheduled, and Liu Guocai attended in person.

Materials were shipped directly from outside the province, and technicians were transferred from outside, but laborers had to be hired locally—so far, only a few had been recruited.

But Liu Guocai felt this was irrelevant to the bigger picture. What mattered most for the groundbreaking was atmosphere and momentum.

On the construction site, Liu Guocai gave high praise to all operations while also pointing out some issues.

He didn't understand engineering, but he still had to speak up—after all, no one dared correct him if he was wrong.

At the stone pile, he immediately criticized the disorganized stacking: "This may seem trivial, but small things reveal fundamental problems. This is a serious issue of perception and attitude…"

As everyone jotted down the Warden's demands, the stone pile suddenly collapsed, and Liu Guocai died on the spot.

…

Liao Zihui read the report and sighed repeatedly: "Guocai… Guocai… Why didn't Li Qi show up on the groundbreaking day?"

The report was delivered by Deputy Warden Zhang Xinglai; Liao Zihui had specifically sent him for a reason.

Zhang Xinglai said: "Warden Liu didn't invite Li Qi—only sent word."

Liao Zihui was displeased—he had wanted to pin this on Li Qi.

But since Li Qi didn't come, it could still be twisted into some connection—even if it couldn't, the main goal had already been achieved.

"Xinglai, you've been in Wuqin Township a long time. With Guocai's death, you must shoulder the burden of the Frontier Office."

Zhang Xinglai immediately stood and solemnly pledged his dedication and duty.

With his appointment in hand, Zhang Xinglai returned to Wuqin Township.

He had spent more years in Prozhou than Liao Zihui—he knew who not to offend.

That night, Zhang Xinglai brought gifts to visit Li Qi.

Li Qi had just finished building a mansion and was having hotpot with Ma Wu.

Seeing Zhang Xinglai's gifts, Li Qi was pleased: "Brother Zhang, you understand etiquette better than your Director."

Zhang Xinglai smiled: "The New Year's approaching. I've just taken office—I came to pay my respects to Seventh Master."

"Brother Zhang, you're too kind," Li Banfeng rose and said, "Wu, bring another chair—let's celebrate Brother Zhang's promotion!"

After pleasantries, Zhang Xinglai raised his cup: "Seventh Master, I'm straightforward—I won't waste words. Everything in Qiuqiu City is under your command. I'll rely entirely on your guidance from now on."

This man knew how to speak.

Not just with empty flattery.

Everyone had called it Wuqin Township for years.

But Zhang Xinglai now called it Qiuqiu City—that was genuine respect for Li Qi.

The three raised their cups and drank deeply.

Zhang Xinglai added: "We're short on labor for the railway. I hope Seventh Master will lend support."

Li Qi nodded: "Easy. Leave it to Wu."

Ma Wu added: "We have workers. Prices are negotiable. If Brother Zhang trusts us, tomorrow on Junyang Avenue, I'll host a private feast—let's discuss details."

Wuqin Township's only main road had now been renamed Junyang Avenue.

Zhang Xinglai raised his cup again: "With Master Wu's word, I feel at ease."

Li Qi said: "For the railway, we help each other. You must also support us on freight fees."

"Don't be formal, Seventh Master. I'll submit a report to the Director tomorrow. Originally, you paid fifty percent freight. Elsewhere, I can't interfere—but in Qiuqiu City, I'll fight to reduce all freight to thirty percent."

Li Qi said nothing.

Previously, reducing it to fifty percent had required several covert clashes.

Now, with just one word from Zhang Xinglai, he expected it to drop to thirty percent? How could Li Banfeng possibly trust him?

Ma Wu laughed: "Director Zhang, I doubt Director Liao will agree to this."

Zhang Xinglai looked at Li Qi and Ma Wu, lowering his voice: "If this were another place, I wouldn't dare speak up. But this territory had no industry before—a railway station only occasionally transported people and daily goods, earning little freight revenue."

Now that it's in your hands, Qiuqiu City will surely prosper. As long as you earn a little and don't make things hard for me, everything is negotiable."

His words were perfectly pitched.

The three grew increasingly harmonious; the drinking lasted deep into the night.

The railway construction indeed used Ma Wu's workers. Li Banfeng specifically instructed: "Don't demand high wages—even if we make up the difference, it's fine."

He recalled Chuanzi from Heishipō and had him blend into the labor force.

Chuanzi was eager to learn the outside province's railway techniques, but after two days, he returned dejected:

"Seventh Master, they let us work on the middle section—laying sleepers and rails isn't hard; I already knew how to do it."

"But on both ends, near the boundary, everything is sealed off by the boundary barrier—we're not allowed near. I can't learn this technique."

The railway on both ends was critical—it involved how trains crossed the boundary.

This was expected by Li Banfeng. If the technique were this easy to learn, it would've been stolen long ago.

Sending Chuanzi into the workforce was mainly to investigate one thing: "Are the materials used in the middle section identical to those on the ends?"

If the materials were the same, then the construction used gongxiu techniques—this would be harder. Li Banfeng wasn't a gongxiu; he couldn't learn the technique.

But if the materials differed, then the boundary-crossing section used special materials—this would be easier. Obtaining some samples would be simple for Li Banfeng.

Chuanzi answered firmly: "Seventh Master, the materials are identical. When the first shipment was unloaded, the boundary side over-unloaded and even gave away extra."

The outside province used gongxiu techniques—this was problematic.

That night, Li Banfeng put on a work uniform and went to the construction site near the boundary.

The site was silent—no work happened at night. Around it glowed a luminous aura, forbidding entry.

Li Banfeng pulled a mechanism, opening a passage. He tested it with a cabbage man, confirmed it was safe, then entered himself.

Why was he going to the site? He understood nothing—and no work happened at night.

This required the Personal Dwelling. Wherever the key went, the Personal Dwelling followed. Li Banfeng didn't need to understand—he just needed the Personal Dwelling to.

Ahead lay a half-built railway. Li Banfeng walked back and forth along it, then sat beside the tracks.

Grandpa, watch carefully.

The switch can only be used once a day. Since I can't leave anyway, take your time learning here.

…

On Junyang Avenue, the Qijun Restaurant was already under construction.

Chu Shaoqiang's design was excellent: a main building, two side buildings, connected by corridors and pavilions. Behind stood a garden with six premium private rooms.

It blended classical elegance with Prozhou's unique luxury. Ma Wu fell in love with the blueprint at first glance and paid Chu Shaoqiang a large sum.

Yet he still couldn't recall who this man was.

Chu Shaoqiang invented a fake name. Ma Wu suspected something but didn't investigate immediately. He invited Chu Shaoqiang to dinner alone at his mansion, hoping to extract information—but after half the meal, Ma Wu passed out drunk.

Chu Shaoqiang pulled out a puppet, pretending to dine with Ma Wu, then slipped out of the mansion and headed toward Qiuluoye's territory.

The New Year was near. Qiuluoye was drinking with a tiger at home. Two jars of wine were gone; the tiger was about to open the third when Qiuluoye's ears twitched and he told the tiger to stay still.

He stepped out of the mansion and stared at the distant forest.

Chu Shaoqiang's figure slowly materialized. Qiuluoye asked directly: "Who are you?"

"You're Qiuluoye, right?" Chu Shaoqiang smiled. "I've heard your name in Neizhou. I've even seen your covenant."

"Neizhou?" Qiuluoye spat. He glared at Chu Shaoqiang. "What do you want?"

"Don't be tense. I came to help you."

I heard you turned the Land of the Deep into the Proper Land; even the Inner State praises your ability, and your name is already spreading.

Qiu Luoye said without expression: "Spit it out, don't waste my time with nonsense."

Chu Shaoqiang nodded: "I admire your frankness. I've come here today with three gifts for you:

first, money — your new land is in ruins, everywhere needs funds; I've brought you piles of silver, spend it freely;

second, cultivation — now that you're the Land Lord of the Proper Land, you'll face more challenges and more enemies; we've agreed to elevate you to the next level;

third, manpower — the Inner State has sent many personnel to assist you in governing this land…"

Qiu Luoye cut him off, smiling: "I don't want your money — I've got brothers who can make money. My cultivation I'll build up myself — no need for the Inner State to worry about me. As for manpower, take them and get the hell out — go as far away as you can."

PS: The Inner State has still come knocking.

(End of Chapter)