[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-967":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Shadow Empire",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2268587,4428,"Chapter 967: Master","the-shadow-empire-chapter-967",967,"\u003Cp>The next morning, Lans arrived at the location described by the drivers; the ground here was indeed pitted and uneven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the edges of those depressions showed they had been made only recently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some pits were a foot deep or more, one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around them, many children and several adults had already gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children carried only cloth sacks, while the adults carried simple-made winnowing baskets and brooms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, they had come for the spilled wheat kernels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, people regarded Lans’s vehicle with some awe, but as the trucks arrived on schedule, they forgot Lans and his strange car entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drivers had slowed as much as possible, but these heavy trucks, even with a single bump, would shake loose or spill some wheat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans saw clearly that each bump corresponded to a crushing force on the tires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he was not a mechanic, he knew that repeatedly subjecting the parts to such pressure would eventually cause fatigue and damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever wheat spilled, people surged forward in a mob.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children squatted on the ground, grabbing with their hands—whether a handful or just a few grains, they stuffed it all into the cloth sacks at their waists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The older adults used brooms to quickly sweep wheat kernels and dust together into their baskets, then dumped them into their own backpacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One truck after another, drivers had to keep changing positions to avoid the crowds fighting over the spilled wheat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if each truck spilled only a few pounds, dozens of trips daily added up to no small amount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Lans, this was trivial—he earned money by the ten thousands daily; even if all the spilled wheat were collected, it wouldn’t total a ton in a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if a ton were lost, it was only a few dozen dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said nothing, watching quietly as he thought of a solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Hiram were here, he’d be shouting to gun down every last one of these dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans had not brought Hiram this time; Hiram remained in Denuozhou assisting Aierwen  in expanding their business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jinbiao Brewery had been burned down, and President Richard had gone mad—he now roamed like a rabid dog, biting anyone he found.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had also taken control of some gangs; to prevent them from going completely berserk and launching reckless attacks on the New Birmingham headquarters after their massive losses, Lans had left Hiram, the battle-obsessed man, there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men he brought were all Ma Duoer’s people, all trained militarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had assumed that without Hiram, no one else would speak so crudely—but he hadn’t expected Ma Duoer had learned the same bad habits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, should we give them a lesson?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans did not answer “yes” or “no,” but asked instead, “How do you plan to teach them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question left Ma Duoer speechless. “Maybe… I arrange for someone to beat them up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?” Lans asked. “What if they do it again tomorrow?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beat them again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t keep beating them. Hitting them once won’t work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans himself was also troubled. If he reported it, the police would likely show up, glance around, and leave. The wheat had fallen from the trucks, and the drivers didn’t stop to pick it up—meaning they abandoned it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The police wouldn’t arrest these people; at most, they’d scold them a few times and leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What about arresting those who damaged the ground at night?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That method was useless too. These people had tasted the sweetness; even if some were caught and arrested, others would take their place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Lans, a few hundred pounds of spilled wheat daily meant nothing. But for these poor people, it might mean slightly better meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And most crucially, this was the time to build the Lianbangzheng’s image of benevolence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching for a while, Lans made his decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, workers came and filled in the pitted ground; many eyes watched them silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But surprisingly, after leveling the ground, the workers did not leave immediately—they stayed there, which made some people restless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In recent days, some had already gathered several pounds of wheat; for the starving Lapa people, it was like a festival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not everyone liked the starchy foods made by special processing; people preferred actual wheat and wheat products over those unpleasant substitutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought that these workers might not leave, and they could no longer enjoy the same advantages as before, filled them with anguish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the trucks arrived the next morning, more people came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locals and Lianbangzheng people alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had set up a table by the roadside; two Lapa locals walked over with arrogance and stood behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They struck the table with sticks, making loud thumping sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noise quickly drew the attention of those waiting to take advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come here! The honorable Master Lans has a message for you, you mud-legged dogs!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd, including the children, looked at each other, then slowly gathered closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wanted to hear what this man’s “Master Lans” had to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When enough people had gathered, one of the locals shouted loudly, “Master Lans cannot tolerate you mud-legged dogs ruining the road and risking damage to his vehicles!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of those trucks could buy the heads of your entire families!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the merciful Master Lans pities your poverty, so he will distribute relief grain here every day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone may reach into the grain sack and take one handful—how much you get is up to you, but only one handful per person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three hundred pounds of wheat kernels daily—until it’s gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If anyone damages the road again, not only will the grain stop, but the trucks will no longer pass here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he finished, men dumped five sacks of grain onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the hundred-pound sacks, everyone stirred with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One handful—how much is that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had no idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd surged forward, but thanks to men holding sticks maintaining order, they soon formed a line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children went first—that was Lans’s rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The adults had no objections; children’s hands were so small, how much could they take?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children lined up eagerly; the first child grabbed a large handful and placed it on the small tray—there was barely any.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked disappointed, but knew each person had only one chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This amused many; they found it novel and began lining up too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the heavy trucks passed through—no more bumpy ground, and the drivers sighed in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had speculated wildly—some thought Lans might kill a few and hang them—but now it seemed Master Lans was still kind-hearted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roger also asked Lans this question; he had heard of the incident last night and learned of Lans’s actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not punish them, instead of rewarding them?” he didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the poor capital. “Before you went to the Lianbangzheng, what did you think of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unrelated question—but it plunged Roger into memory and thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back then… they told me the Lianbangzheng was a very polite, civilized country.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if you left your windows and doors open, no thief would ever come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“People were courteous, knew shame and morality, and gold lay everywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My clearest memory was of a group of old cowboys who found a gold mine in a western river and became rich.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In my mind, it seemed Lianbangzheng people succeeded at everything they did.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke with nostalgia—that was his deepest impression of the Lianbangzheng in that era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never been to the Lianbangzheng; everything he knew came from others’ words or newspapers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans looked down at the city below. “Here, illiteracy is even higher; ordinary people don’t buy newspapers. They know nothing about us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a channel for propaganda. The Lianbangzheng people possess golden virtues—they will spread far and wide.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And at the most critical moment, they will see us as their only hope for survival.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have no need to quarrel over such small matters. Even if we control these people today, how do you know some of them won’t harbor resentment toward our actions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our true opponents are the ruling class of this country—not its lowest strata.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused. “How much grain has been shipped out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roger snapped back to attention. “More than half.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans nodded noncommittally. “Let the others begin too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t just buying grain directly from the Lapa government—he had many others entering Lapa’s cities, buying grain from locals at higher prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchants gathered in groups of three or five, riding horses through city streets, buying grain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>November brought gradually cooler weather; though here in the tropics, temperatures still hovered around seventeen to eighteen degrees—perfectly pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his way to school, Pedro saw those merchants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stood outside a grain shop, weighing two sacks of grain on a scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched for a while, then saw the foreigners pay with two one-dollar bills, one fifty-cent coin, and several smaller coins before leaving with the food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They paid in Lianbangzheng Soles—Pedro had seen this money before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Curious, he walked over. “What did you sell them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper happily stuffed the money into his pocket. “Wheat and wheat flour. They paid in Lianbangzheng Soles—very generous, and the price was high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was in a good mood and didn’t mind chatting. “These foreigners are truly generous—they bought all the grain at over one dollar and thirty cents per unit, and paid in Lianbangzheng Soles!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro asked a question others hadn’t noticed. “Why don’t they buy from the grain station? Why come to your little shop?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper paused, stunned. “Who knows?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As long as they pay, that’s all that matters.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1598,"2026-06-19T21:10:31.886Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f260e6c93ae4ae871a1e77e7ae85be8903843be8283cbd1283a0fa7bb514b852","the-shadow-empire-chapter-968","the-shadow-empire-chapter-966",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]