Chapter 61: Another One

Zhao Shaozhu was having a rare moment of headache.

He had indeed intended to consider it and had even reserved a few positions, but he had never imagined the current situation.

This cousin's methods were too wild!

Ward Chief—that couldn't even be called a proper "official," it was merely a clerk!

The position was minor, the matters were many, and people of status looked down upon it.

Zhao Shaozhu patiently explained the drawbacks.

Wen Gu was unconcerned: "This is Xinzhou City, my cousin is the Zhao Clan Young Master, and I have my aunt and uncle backing me, so what is there to fear?"

Zhao Shaozhu looked at Wen Gu and laughed loudly: "Good! Well said! What is there to fear!"

In the territory of a clan and noble family, who would be so blind as to offend someone with connections?

Do whatever you want to do; even if it is just a tiny Ward Chief, who could look down on him?

Very well, to be able to bring five hundred people through these chaotic times, he must have ability, so let me see just how much capability you truly have!

However, this matter need not be decided immediately.

"How about this, you think it over carefully. You can walk around the city for these two days, and I will assign a few guards to take you around to various places."

After witnessing the various troublesome matters in the wards, this cousin might change his mind.

Wen Gu thanked him.

Once the matter was settled, he did not want to delay his cousin from handling important affairs here, and just as he was about to leave, he saw the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the surrounding walls, bearing the seal "Zhao Clan Qingjin."

Zhao Yao, Zhao Qingjin. It was Zhao Shaozhu's own seal.

Back when the world was peaceful, the imperial court valued civil officials and suppressed military ones, so the Zhao Family had originally intended to carve out a path among the civil officials. Compared to martial arts, Cousin Zhao was more accomplished in calligraphy and painting.

Although Wen Gu did not praise him aloud, the amazement and envy in his eyes were visible to anyone.

Cousin Zhao could not help but be amused at the sight.

"What, are you interested in calligraphy and painting?" he asked.

"I am very interested!" The footsteps that were about to head outside turned, and he turned back.

Wen Gu asked: "Cousin, are there any masters here who teach calligraphy and painting? As the saying goes, one should balance work and rest; when I relax, I like to write and paint."

Zhao Shaozhu still held this cousin in high regard.

Among the noble families currently seeking refuge with the Zhao Clan, there were plenty of idlers who practiced calligraphy and painting. But one had to be selective.

"Fine, I will pick a calligraphy and painting master for you, go back and wait."

"Hey! I really will be waiting!"

Wen Gu did not waste words and walked out quickly.

After he left, a scholar beside Zhao Shaozhu stroked his long beard, his words carrying a smile: "This cousin seems to have a temperament that is... extraordinary and forthright."

"Indeed."

Zhao Shaozhu looked at the book on the desk recording the vacancies for official positions and tossed it aside.

It was no longer needed.

Over there, Wen Gu left his cousin's office, and before long, four guards arrived.

The guards Zhao Shaozhu assigned were no ordinary guards; these four were all from the Xinzhou City Patrol Guard Division.

There was a City Defense Army in the city, primarily responsible for security within the city and defense outside the city.

The Patrol Guard Division was a bit more specialized, responsible for certain specific investigations and patrols; any troublesome matters the City Defense Army could not handle were all dealt with by them.

It was a new military institution established after the Zhao Family took control of Xinzhou.

Wen Gu did not go out of his way to get close to them; he called for Tietou and took the guards to tour Xinzhou City.

With local guides, Wen Gu gained a preliminary understanding of the ward market situation he wanted to know about, including who lived in those "luxury residential areas" and whether they were easy to provoke, the complexity of the "slums," and so on.

Sure enough, empty wards were easier to manage and could be developed according to his own plans.

The empty wards in the city had their gates closed and were all in a state of lockdown. As more people arrived from the south, these ward gates would be unlocked one after another.

Wen Gu inspected the places he had his eye on in person and was quite satisfied.

After roughly touring the Neicheng, he went to the outer city to check on the situation of the others in the group.

According to Xinzhou's procedures, they could be separated and settled after two days of quarantine.

Those willing to farm went to farm, and several villages nearby were designated to settle the refugees.

Those unwilling to farm entered the city and were arranged into various wards, but they had to earn their own food, drink, and housing rent.

There were many tasks in the city every day that required manpower; as long as one had strength and ability, one would not starve.

Outside the city.

After Wen Gu left with Zhao Shaozhu, although the people in the group obediently followed the local rules and procedures, their minds were restless and filled with joy.

The only one with a long face was probably Qingyi Daozhang.

The Daoist Priest was currently sitting inside his carriage, his expression gloomy.

He had already realized it.

That Gou Shusheng tricked me!

By letting those ignorant villagers flatter him, and because he had not enjoyed such a good life with people serving him for too long, he still had ambition in his heart and had gotten a bit carried away.

Qingyi Daozhang was cursing inwardly.

Just because I bickered with you for a few days, you let me get carried away first, only to slap me back down to the ground... that dog thing tricked me!

The Daoist Priest only felt that everything before him was gray; with Gou Shusheng's current status and background, could he let him rise to power in the Zhao Clan?

Just as he was thinking about whether to switch to another faction to join, he suddenly heard He Da's excited voice outside: "Boss Wen!"

Qingyi Daozhang lifted the curtain to get off the carriage, saw Wen Gu's figure, and curled his lip.

He had changed his skin and was even equipped with imposing guards; he looked the part, appearing just like a young master from a noble and wealthy family.

It seems he is getting along quite well with the master of this Zhao Clan.

Currently, this area is still under quarantine, so Wen Gu did not get too close; he spoke to the people in his group from across the guards.

The main purpose was to put these people's minds at ease.

Knowing that Wen Gu had not abandoned them and was still planning for their subsequent resettlement, the people in the group stopped thinking about other things and just waited for Wen Gu's news.

After giving a few instructions to Head Escort Lin Biao and Zhou Shan, Wen Gu's gaze fell back upon Qingyi Daozhang: "Daoist Priest, please rest assured; what I promised you will certainly be done."

Qingyi Daozhang, who was just pondering whether to run away: Eh? Really?!

What had that Gou Shusheng promised him?

One, build a Danguan.

Two, equip the Danfang with as many tools as possible.

With Wen Gu's current status, it really isn't difficult to accomplish these things.

If it were another power, perhaps one wouldn't even be able to find a pill furnace, let alone build a Danguan. There might even be competitors causing trouble.

Qingyi Daozhang was conflicted.

He's feeding me empty promises again!

He knew this Gou Shusheng definitely had other motives, but, this promise is truly tempting...

Given Gou Shusheng's temperament, the more he gives, the more he will scrape back; he will definitely exploit people!

But, this promise is truly tempting...

Qingyi Daozhang wavered.

Wen Gu took a stroll both outside and inside the city, returned to the Zhao Family, and when his cousin was free, he went over to confirm his intentions once more.

Zhao Shaozhu was not surprised; he took out the market map of Xinzhou City.

"Pick whichever one you fancy."

Wen Gu pointed to the vacant square he had taken a liking to earlier.

Zhao Shaozhu raised his hand.

Very quickly, the scholar nearby took a blueprint from the bookshelf and handed it over.

Wen Gu felt envious once again. As expected, having many talented people around is convenient.

When the time comes, besides Cheng Zhi, he will also cultivate He Xiaodi.

Focusing his attention back to the present, the drawing paper spread out on the table was the vacant ward Wen Gu had chosen.

Unlike that urban market map, this one showed various details within the vacant ward. For example, which houses and courtyard walls were still preserved, how many water wells there were, and so on.

Zhao Shaozhu pointed to two sets of houses and courtyards within the ward that were relatively well-preserved: "Keep these two sets for yourself; use them however you like."

He looked at the blueprint in front of him and still felt it was shabby and not presentable.

"Just this one? What else do you want?" he asked.

"Uh... if Cousin feels it's not enough, then allocate more building materials, or..."

Wen Gu put on an embarrassed look and reached out to point to another ward next door.

"How about you allocate this one to me as well?"

Zhao Shaozhu looked at the second ward Wen Gu pointed to; it was not large, also vacant, and close to the city wall, very near the City Defense Army.

It could be said that it was impossible to stir up anything too outrageous in that place; everything would be under supervision.

It was just that Zhao Shaozhu still didn't understand. He asked for the blueprint of the second ward.

Inside, there were only two or three sets of houses and courtyards that were relatively intact; the rest were mostly just some stone and earth walls and foundations remaining.

He looked at Wen Gu again.

Wen Gu nodded firmly. He wasn't joking; he was serious.

Zhao Shaozhu pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers on the blueprint, before saying: "Fine, I'll allocate both to you!"

He then circled the two sets of houses and courtyards in the second ward for Wen Gu.

These were being gifted directly to Wen Gu; in the future, they would belong to Wen Gu as his own personal property.

"Many thanks, Cousin!"

Who doesn't like being gifted a house directly? Wen Gu performed an exaggerated bow.

Zhao Shaozhu said with a smile: "Alright, stop acting up; I wouldn't even be able to mention these things to outsiders."

He lowered his eyes to look at the blueprints of the two wards on the table and suggested:

"That side doesn't face the main street; you can merge them into one ward, which will be more convenient to manage."

Even combined, the two wards were not as large as those luxurious wards in the central city area.

But Wen Gu did not intend to merge them; he pointed to the ward near the city wall.

"I want to build a Danguan inside here. Is it possible to build a Danguan in Xinzhou City?"

Zhao Shaozhu's brows immediately furrowed.

"A Danguan?"

Whether it be a Buddhist temple or a Danguan, to be honest, under the current circumstances, he was not happy to see them.

They were too easy to cause trouble.

Perhaps other clans worshipped Buddha or the Dao, or used them as tools to control the hearts of the people, but their Zhao Clan did not have such intentions for the time being.

If they set up a small Buddhist shrine or a small practice hall for themselves, it wouldn't matter, but to specifically build a Danguan, that was a matter on another level.

Wen Gu suddenly remembered something and said: "Oh, the Danguan I'm talking about might be different from the ones you've come into contact with before. There is a Daoist in the group I brought; I want to let him refine some things, and having a Danguan would be better."

He spoke of the fine salt refined by Qingyi Daozhang, as well as their experience when they went to Jinwu City, and how they had escaped a disaster there thanks to the fine salt.

"Jinwu City? Fine salt? Do you have any on you? Let me see," Zhao Shaozhu asked.

"I do, but it's in the room, kept in a small porcelain bottle," Wen Gu said.

Zhao Shaozhu sent people to the small courtyard where Wen Gu lived to retrieve it, and also had them take fine salt from the back kitchen.

Given their current status, they naturally used refined fine salt, but when the two portions were placed together and compared carefully, the one in Wen Gu's hand was indeed slightly cleaner and finer.

Even if it was only a little bit, it was still a difference.

Zhao Shaozhu did not care about this tiny difference in the salt he ate; he only thought that the one guarding Jinwu City should still be the seventh of the Ren family, a person who was cautious and sharp, and who had intercepted a certain talent the Zhao Family had set their sights on.

With Ren Qi's sharpness, he might have already discovered the problem with the fine salt and be hopping mad with rage; fortunately, Wen Gu ran fast.

Zhao Shaozhu was pleased: "Not bad, very good! Build it!"

Just based on the fact that Wen Gu and that Daoist Priest could anger Ren Qi once, could run to Jinwu City to hide from disaster during a crisis, and could successfully get out, they could be given a chance to build a Danguan!

If something is found to be wrong later, then deal with it.

"Control the influence," Zhao Shaozhu reminded.

If they incite the hearts of the people, when his father takes action then, neither Wen Gu nor that Daoist Priest will end up well.

"I will keep it in mind!" Wen Gu promised.

He had plenty of things arranged for the Daoist Priest; that dog of a Daoist Priest would have no time to incite the hearts of the people.

Wen Gu inquired about the construction requirements for houses in the city.

Generally speaking, whether it was houses or a Danguan, as long as it wasn't made too exaggerated, there weren't really any other restrictions.

The current state of the world is unusual, so there are not as many rules as before.

With the management rights of the two wards about to be in hand, Wen Gu did not leave immediately; he looked at the blank space on the blueprint, leaned over, and said:

"Cousin, your literary talent is extraordinary; could you conveniently name them?"

This was no trivial matter; for an heir of a noble clan to provide calligraphy and names had special significance, and it was also a Protective Talisman.

This was the most valuable thing today.

Zhao Shaozhu raised his eyes to look at Wen Gu, and after a long while, he smiled and said: "Fine!"

Besides wanting to see what Wen Gu could actually do, he also thought of the situation where Wen Gu happened to bring five hundred men to the outskirts of the city for sacrifices at an important moment this year as the Zhao Clan Young Master.

An auspicious time, an auspicious omen.

He lifted the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote on the paper—

"Jing Star"

"Qing Cloud"

Jing Star and Qing Cloud, look up and see joy.

Blessings are complete, and may all things go smoothly.

(End of this chapter)