Chapter 84: New Developments

Winter is deepening.

Every day, there is an endless stream of vehicles at the Neicheng District gates, with servants from various households waiting in lines there.

Some of the vehicles entering the city come from the south, while others belong to people from various noble families and prominent clans returning home for the New Year.

Cart after cart loaded with goods—either supplies moved from Beidi or festive gifts brought back—makes many people green with envy.

Recently, the military workshops in the Outer City District have also become more active, with the Xianshou Army returning. The commotion caused by large numbers of men and horses is always noticed by those in quarantine.

Most of the troops arriving from afar need to be quarantined in the Outer City District; they might not see the specific movements of other military workshops, but the commotion caused by such a large number of men and horses cannot be ignored, and they always manage to receive some news.

And this news, following those entering the city, is brought into the Neicheng District.

"Another part of the main force of the Xianshou Army has returned!"

He Da informs Wen Gu of the latest news.

Wen Gu calculates; there are still many of the Xianshou Army who went out that have not returned.

Those who have not returned by this time should not have encountered any accidents. The atmosphere in the Zhao Family is light; when he went to find his cousin to apply for the shopfront plaque, he did not encounter much resistance, and it was clear that his cousin was in a truly good mood.

Therefore, just as he had guessed before, the main force of the Xianshou Army went out to complete other tasks.

After giving He Da a few more instructions, Wen Gu goes to urge on the construction of the flying bridge.

The cloth curtains remain tightly drawn, and outsiders cannot know what exactly is inside.

There are always people guarding the surroundings, not allowing anyone to get close.

The wounded and retired personnel of the Patrol Guard Division are proving useful at this time; they are not easily bluffed, and anyone who wants to sneak in to scout for information—whether they are bluffing to intimidate with power or using diversionary tactics—is ruthlessly blocked and turned back.

The confidentiality work is being done quite well.

Because some prefabricated parts were brought over, this section of the flying bridge above the alley is actually already built, but the cloth curtains have not been removed, as they are still undergoing detailed maintenance and adjustments.

The temperature outside is too low, so some localized low-temperature protection is being done.

Fortunately, only this section is being built; it would be very difficult to maintain anything longer in this weather.

As the end of the year draws closer, a heavy snow falls over Beidi.

The construction sites have all stopped work, and perhaps they will have to wait until it warms up to start again.

Jingxing Fang, which had been bustling for a long time, has also become much quieter.

The topics of conversation in the city regarding Jingxing Fang have also subsided along with it.

However, the idlers who collect news still like to gather here; seven or eight people stand or sit around a wooden table in the large canteen of Jingxing Fang, exchanging news from various wards.

With the Grain Tickets they have saved, they come here every day to get a hot meal or two; the canteen is sheltered from the wind and warm.

With the snow these past two days, He Da does not go outside to read the newspaper either, but reads it right inside the canteen.

He reads the new issue of the newspaper with cadence and emotion.

Now that he is skilled in the business, even if he takes out a new newspaper and suddenly sees a character he doesn't recognize or a phrase he doesn't understand, he can naturally bluff his way through it.

While reading the paper, he also pays attention to the conversations of those idlers to see if there is any news he needs.

Having heard all the gossip from the various wards but nothing important, He Da tidies up the finished newspaper and starts chatting with the people nearby.

At the same time, in a certain ward in the core area of Xinzhou City.

Usually, there are always craftsmen going in and out; at first, the people around were curious, but they couldn't ask for any useful news, and the craftsmen didn't know anything either.

Others only heard that they were constantly repairing the house inside, and had various guesses about the identity of the occupants, but as time went on and there were no new movements there, everyone's attention was drawn to other things in the city, and they stopped paying attention to this place.

After the snow, most people are huddled in their homes and are even less likely to pay attention to this place.

Today, several craftsmen arrived here, took down the plaque with the original ward name, and replaced it with a new one.

Not far away, an idler peeks and pokes, watching the movement over there, pretending to be passing by, glancing over there, then shrinking his neck and running away quickly.

Many wards in the core area of the city are inhabited by noble people, and they are not places that bottom-tier poor people like them can enter at will. Even when there are people, they dare not approach the ward gate.

But from that hurried glance just now, he had already confirmed that the plaque here had been changed and the ward name had been changed, and he was ecstatic!

Hiding not far away to continue observing, he waits until those craftsmen leave before stomping his somewhat numb feet and shivering as he walks over.

He takes a piece of burnt wood from his sleeve. He has had this thing prepared for a long time, and it has finally come in handy!

He is illiterate, but he can always copy by drawing.

On his thin, patched clothing, he carefully traces it stroke by stroke, and after finishing, he takes off running, sprinting toward Jingxing Fang.

The large and small walkways within Jingxing Fang have already been cleared of snow, and where there are no stones or flagstones, a layer of burnt coal slag is spread; walking on this, it is not easy to slip, and there is no need to worry about getting mud on one's feet when the snow melts.

This idler who ran over cannot help but feel envious.

Jingxing Fang is still the best; so many people want to move in now but can't, as it is strictly controlled now.

Fortunately, there are not too many restrictions on entering the ward gate here.

He enters the ward and runs directly toward his destination, his eyes fixed on the place where a large amount of white steam is rising.

That is the large canteen of Jingxing Fang.

The furnace fire inside is strong, and they use large pots to boil porridge, water, and ginger soup; there is almost no time during the day when it stops.

Protecting the side of his sleeve where he wrote the characters, he runs into the canteen. The aroma of food enters his nose, and he cannot help but swallow his saliva.

Controlling his gaze so as not to look at the stoves or the food on the various tables, he finds He Da's figure and squeezes over.

He Da is chatting with someone; seeing him run over panting, he gives a wink, and the two walk one after the other to a small room at the back of the canteen.

"Boss He, that ward you mentioned, they changed the plaque today!"

He hands the characters written on his sleeve to He Da to look at.

He Da takes out paper and a pen, and it takes a great deal of effort to transcribe the somewhat falling-apart characters the other person wrote.

"Is it like this?" He Da shows the characters he wrote to the other person.

"Seems like it," the man says with some hesitation.

He no longer remembers what the characters on the plaque actually looked like.

"Alright, I know now." He Da didn't expect these people to be able to pass on the characters accurately; receiving the news is enough.

He took out two Jingxing Fang Grain Tickets and handed them over; the other party quickly grabbed them and stuffed them into his clothes.

He had already saved up quite a few Grain Tickets, waiting for the days around the New Year to bring his family here to the canteen to eat some thick, hot porridge.

After that Idler left, He Da personally made a trip to the core area before returning to report the news to Wen Gu.

Walking to the Jingqing Public Office, He Da's usual flippancy involuntarily vanished, and he became solemn and serious.

A gatehouse had been built at the main entrance of the Public Office; at the window, there was an outer layer of wooden boards and an inner layer of Glass, with the wooden boards pulled back during the day, leaving only the Glass window.

This allowed the guard inside to see visitors.

A plaque was hung above the gate, and the courtyard was now under formal management, requiring an Identity Plate or a face scan to enter.

He Da was already a familiar face; he walked over, knocked on the Glass window, and gestured: "Luo Ge, I have business with the Ward Chief!"

The person inside glanced at him and pulled open the barrier blocking the entrance.

This person was one of the ten members who had been transferred over; after being wounded and retiring from the Patrol Guard Division, he was reassigned here, and Wen Gu had arranged for him to be here.

Wen Gu's assessment of him: typical, he even looks at dogs with a scrutinizing gaze, perfect for this position!

Inside the courtyard, in the document room.

Wen Gu looked at the piece of paper He Da had handed over.

The ward he had asked He Da to keep an eye on had a new ward name today.

"Sihai Fang?"

Sihai?

Sea?

Wen Gu's heart skipped a beat.

Those who were about to move in there would either be immensely wealthy or extremely, extremely big spenders!

The new big spenders were coming!

Based on the existing information, this was highly likely a part of the Zhao Family uncle's layout; to be valued so highly, their family wealth must be extraordinary.

What are big spenders like?

You can smell that aura of nouveau riche from ten zhang away.

How to attract big spenders?

High-end eye-catching often requires only a more direct approach.

"Notify the craftsmen, perform the final inspection on the flying bridge!"

We must let the big spenders arriving from afar feel the undeniable potential and shining enthusiasm from the Jingqing Two Wards the very moment they enter Xinzhou City!

Dear, welcome to Xinzhou City!

(End of chapter)