Chapter 998: Not Wanting to Let It Go to Waste

The next day, Baifeng did not expect these people to be so patient; not a single person came to find him. However, they certainly could not have failed to notice the importance of this matter. If it were ten years ago, Baifeng would have believed it, but after so many years in Huaxia, they had learned what they should and should not have learned, and they understood what they should and should not have understood.

Therefore, Baifeng felt that they might be waiting for an opportunity, waiting for someone else to come first, or perhaps they had some other ideas.

Sure enough, while Baifeng was eating lunch, he heard a servant report that Prime Minister Sanxin had brought food to see him. Baifeng chuckled and had them invite him in.

Sanxin carried a food box in his hand, looking not at all like a Prime Minister, but more like an old father coming to visit his child. Baifeng had a full three dishes on his table and was eating with relish; even though Baifeng knew what Sanxin was there for, he had to pretend he did not.

"Sanxin, why have you come so suddenly, and with a food box? Are you planning to add to my meal?"

"Come, come, sit down and eat together."

Sanxin was somewhat uneasy. The servant took the food box from Sanxin and placed the dishes inside onto the table one by one, while simultaneously bringing a water basin for Sanxin to wash his hands first.

After Sanxin washed his hands, he picked up his chopsticks, but he did not know whether to speak first or eat first. At a time like this, Baifeng naturally had to apply pressure, so he said: "Eat, eat, Sanxin. You brought so many good dishes; if you don't eat them, they'll get cold."

Sanxin had no choice but to pick up his chopsticks and reach for the dish closest to him, then chew slowly, looking for an opportunity to speak at any moment. But Baifeng was eating the food in large mouthfuls, head bowed, not even looking directly at Sanxin.

"Hmm, this dish is delicious. I didn't expect there to be such tender bamboo shoots now. Qiuyu, arrange for the kitchen to add a bamboo shoot dish for me tomorrow; this flavor is really good."

The servant Qiuyu nodded quickly, saying he had noted it down.

"King, if you find it delicious, eat more. My cook is not better than yours, but he seems to have had good luck today and made a dish the King loves." As Sanxin spoke, he pushed the plate closer to Baifeng's position.

Baifeng took a handkerchief, gently wiped the oil from his mouth, and then said: "Delicious, favorite dishes should actually be eaten sparingly. Eating too much is not good for a person, and only by often being unable to eat them can one maintain the desire to eat them. If you can eat them every day, there will always come a day when you grow tired of them."

"Yes, yes, the King's lesson is correct. I also need to control my mouth; I cannot always eat what I like in the future."

Baifeng pointed at the dishes with his chopsticks: "Alright, eat up. Why is your appetite so poor now, eating so slowly? It is better not to talk while eating; it affects the speed of eating and is not conducive to digestion."

Sanxin immediately shut his mouth and hurriedly began to pick at the food again. He felt that the King was very difficult to talk to today. Had someone already beaten him to it and spoken to the King about the fiefdoms, making the King unhappy? If so, should he speak or not?

Baifeng restrained the corners of his mouth that wanted to smile, and after eating a few bites, he spoke slowly again: "Sanxin, why do you seem so reticent today? Are you in a bad mood?"

"Oh, that's right, coming to find me to eat together so suddenly, is there something important you want to tell me?"

Sanxin was in a difficult position: "King, didn't you say not to talk while eating?"

"Heh, it's fine. If you have something you want to say, just say it directly. Isn't it worse for your health to keep it bottled up inside?"

Sensing that the situation was wrong, Sanxin immediately withdrew his intentions: "It's nothing, King, I have nothing to say."

"Is it about the fiefdoms? After all, this is a newly introduced policy, and it is closely related to you nobles, especially you, as the Prime Minister of Huaxia and an old comrade who helped me found Huaxia. The fiefdom I gave you is large enough, but unfortunately, it hasn't been cultivated and is no different from wasteland."

"Do you have any thoughts on this? You can bring them up. It's fine, speak. I believe this issue this time is a good thing."

Sanxin still dared not bring up the issue: "King, I, I have nothing to say."

"You can bring it up, and you should. You are considered the representative of the Huaxia nobles, right? Your thoughts are basically their thoughts. I also need to listen to your opinions more. I cannot hurt the hearts of those of you who have made contributions for the sake of Huaxia's development, right? If so, who would be willing to strive and struggle for Huaxia in the future?"

"Sanxin, your grandsons and great-grandsons, they are quite numerous now, aren't they? Your entire family must have over a hundred people. The pressure of such a large family is all on your shoulders; it's not easy. If you have any difficulties, bring them up, and I will solve them for you."

Having been told this by Baifeng, Sanxin felt that if he didn't bring up his thoughts, it would be even worse. So he had to put down his chopsticks and, biting the bullet, said: "King, I originally did come to talk to you about the fiefdom, but now that I think about it, I think I'll forget it. I cannot affect the development of Huaxia for my own private gain."

Seeing that he had finally made Sanxin speak, Baifeng simply put down his chopsticks: "Heh, what kind of talk is that? I believe that our Prime Minister of Huaxia certainly has a scale sufficient to weigh his own interests against the overall interests of Huaxia, and it won't be affected. Tell me first what your own thoughts are."

Sanxin said extremely awkwardly: "King, I have a fiefdom around our Huaxia City, right between Yongfeng Town and Yongning Town. The place is a very good place, but..."

"Everyone knows it is my fiefdom, so no one dares to go in and cultivate it. I had never thought about this matter before, but after you spoke yesterday, I suddenly felt that leaving such good land to go to waste is indeed a great waste, and it will also limit the expansion of these two towns."

"So, so I thought..."

"So you want the people of our Huaxia City to migrate to your fiefdom, or do you want the people in those two towns to help you cultivate the fiefdom?" Baifeng said mercilessly, even a bit harshly.

Sanxin was also frightened into waving his hands repeatedly: "No, no, King, that is not what I thought. I was thinking according to the policy from yesterday, that since Yongfeng and Yongning towns are also expanding, the fiefdom could just be left for them to cultivate and inhabit. It would just so happen that the two towns could eventually connect together, which is also a benefit."

"I can provide all the good policies, tax exemptions, and such. Mainly, I just don't want such good land in the fiefdom to go to waste; it's too much of a pity, isn't it?"