Chapter 981: Baoxi's Promise

Chengqie is obedient now too, and he simply had the workers build a Tent for him to live in right next to Baoxi's room. Baoxi felt very stifled living in that dark room, so he went out and asked those workers who were building the houses.

"How long will it take for you to finish building the house here for me?"

The leader of the workers said to Baoxi very respectfully: "City Lord Baoxi (of the Suiren Clan, surname Feng), that depends on your required standards. If you want the kind of large courtyard you lived in at Huaxia, we estimate we can finish it for you before Winter, though the furniture might take a bit longer; we can only guarantee the furniture you normally use."

"If your requirements aren't that high, we could build it a bit faster, but you would have to send more people to help."

Baoxi immediately indicated: "Hmm, if we're going to build it, let's build it a little better, though it doesn't need to be as good as the courtyard I lived in at Huaxia."

"Let's see, just build me five rooms: one for receiving guests, one for me to work in, one for me to live in, and two for my women to live in."

"Build a kitchen, a toilet, and a washroom, and then outside the courtyard, build some similar houses for these servants of mine."

"I also want a courtyard wall. I will have people find the stone slabs and such for the inside; you don't need to trouble yourselves with that. Oh, and it would be best if you could also make me a garden and a small fish pond."

The group of workers looked at each other, their faces somewhat helpless. It seemed Baoxi's understanding of the word "average" was not quite right; this was already considered an extremely excellent configuration. It seemed the house Xuanyuan lived in was about the same, and Xuanyuan was likely going to live there for a lifetime, plus he could provide payment and rewards. But Baoxi would probably have to move after living here for just a few years; what a waste.

However, they had no choice. Although these Artisans had great autonomy, they still had to listen to Baoxi—who could argue with someone of such high status? It was just that they would have to work until deep into Winter before they could go home. It seemed they would have to squeeze more labor out of the Suiren Clan's Laborers.

"No problem, City Lord Baoxi. Then tomorrow, arrange for someone to take us to the place where Pottery is fired. I will tell them how to fire Brick and Tile so we can get them fired in advance. Also, you can have people start cutting trees now; find some good wood and let it air-dry so it will be ready when it's time to raise the ridge beam."

Baoxi agreed readily: "No problem. Tomorrow I will arrange a few people for you to command; if you need anything, just arrange for them to do it directly."

"I want such a nice house and courtyard not for my own enjoyment, but mainly to let my clansmen see what a house in Huaxia should look like. They won't be able to go to Huaxia for a while, but if they can have a simple understanding of Huaxia, they will be more willing to go to Huaxia."

The leader also sighed: "City Lord Baoxi really thinks far ahead. Rest assured, as soon as the materials are all here, we will start working immediately. Tomorrow we will divide into several teams; those who should select wood will select wood, and those who should fire Brick and Tile will fire Brick and Tile. Then we can start preparing the foundation directly. You just need to find us some smarter, physically stronger men, and we will get it built as quickly as possible."

"Good, I will arrange it." Baoxi then pointed to Chengqie and the others: "But I think there is no need to be too anxious about mine. You should build the houses for these brothers first. It is truly unjustifiable to still have them living in Tents after arriving at the Suiren Clan, but these are the only conditions I have here."

"What I can do is ensure that you can eat good meat every day."

The leader and the others beamed with joy: "Hehe, with City Lord Baoxi's word, we are satisfied enough. In Huaxia City, we have to wait to eat meat; there are only so many Meat Tickets a year, and it's not easy to eat good meat. With so many children at home, wanting to eat a full, delicious meal of meat—sigh, now we can only think about it."

Chengqie asked in surprise from the side: "Isn't it said that Huaxia doesn't lack food? How can you not even get to eat meat?"

The leader looked at Chengqie and first asked: "Your name is Chengqie, right?"

"Yes, it is."

The leader explained with a smile: "Chengqie, it's like this: Huaxia doesn't lack grain, and everyone can eat their fill. That's because our grain is grown—it's larger and better Grass Seed—so we don't need to hunt every day. We do have meat; we have a Pasture to raise livestock, like cattle and sheep, specifically for eating meat."

"But there are so many people in Huaxia, and there is only a certain amount of meat every day, so it's not enough to go around for everyone. Could the Suiren Clan let everyone eat meat? I see there are so many people here; even if you slaughtered all the wild beasts in these mountains and forests, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough for everyone to eat."

"It can only be that Leaders like you can eat meat every day; it's good enough if the ordinary clansmen don't starve to death."

Chengqie retorted: "Then do Leaders like you not get to eat meat every day in Huaxia?"

The leader waved his hands repeatedly: "Hey, I'm no Leader. I'm just an ordinary Worker. I have no official rank or Nobility; I'm just like the hunters, just someone who works. But I have some skills, so I can support more family members. As for meat, it's the same as everyone else; I can only eat so much in a year."

"But the Nobles of our Huaxia, which is what you call Leaders, they don't lack meat. If you go to Huaxia, with your father's status and position, you won't lack meat to eat either."

"Oh, is that so? Then you don't need to worry now. My father said you would be able to eat meat every day, so there will definitely be no problem." As long as it didn't affect his own interests, Chengqie didn't care. He didn't care whether he could eat his fill; he had never gone hungry in the Suiren Clan. If he couldn't even eat meat in Huaxia, then what would be the point of going to Huaxia?

Baoxi beckoned to the cook and said: "Si, you have to cook for too many people every day now, so tomorrow, look around yourself. Whoever you find pleasing, whoever you like, you can call them over to work for you. You can teach whoever you want to cook; in any case, you must cultivate enough cooks for the Suiren Clan."

The fat cook Si said carelessly: "City Lord, rest assured, I will definitely bring out more cooks for you. However, you must have people get more kitchen utensils; I have so few here, it's completely not enough!"

"I will first have people cast more copper kitchen utensils for you. If they aren't easy to use, I will go ask the King. I think, one way or another, he will be able to send me more kitchen utensils. For now, you'll just have to make do."

"You can roast or boil the meat; in any case, your skill makes even roasted meat smell more fragrant than what we make."

The cook was happy to be praised: "Hehe, as long as there is enough meat, I guarantee I can make fragrant roasted meat every day!"