Chapter 117

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After chatting with Cheng Yuan for another quarter of an hour, Cheng Ling returned alone from outside. Without saying a word, she went straight upstairs.

Cheng Yuan had no idea what to do with his precious daughter. Though he secretly shook his head, he still had to pretend that nothing was wrong. He politely told Li Zhan that he was feeling tired and wanted to retire early, but in truth he went upstairs to console his beloved daughter.

Li Zhan courteously watched Cheng Yuan and the others go up to the second floor. Then he remembered the training grounds and wondered where that coquettish “scholar” had built them. He hurried out of the inn and asked several villagers for directions. Their expressions changed from astonishment to helplessness, and in the end, amid shakes of the head and sighs, they pointed him toward the eastern side of the settlement.

The northern half of the village market.

A large crowd of wandering players had gathered together, watching Zheng Jun and the others work on the foundations amid the market stalls. Their expressions varied wildly. When they saw Li Zhan enter through the market gate, they all hurried over to question him.

“Mayor Li, congratulations! You built the training grounds so quickly!”

“Mayor Li, my stall was forcibly removed because it occupied construction land. Could you arrange another stall for me?”

“Why did that scholar insist on building the training grounds here? Is this some kind of auspicious location?”

Li Zhan first calmed the players, who were all speaking at once, then walked over to the newly laid foundation of the training grounds. When Zheng Jun saw him, he hurried over and said,

“Mayor, we really had no choice. The scholar said that if he was to oversee the training grounds, they had to be built here. I wanted to return and ask for your permission first, but he said that if I came to seek your approval, he would withdraw and refuse to supervise the project.”

Li Zhan nodded to show that he understood. Looking over the site, he saw that the training grounds covered roughly three thousand square meters and could accommodate fifty soldiers at a time for combat drills. It was a small training ground.

Small though it was, it occupied half the northern section of the market. The northern market could no longer operate normally and would have to be relocated and rebuilt.

If the northern market were demolished and rebuilt elsewhere, the southern section would lose its symmetrical counterpart. The entire market would become much more isolated and awkwardly arranged. In other words, because of these training grounds, the whole market would have to be demolished and rebuilt.

Li Zhan calculated the losses from every angle. Once the market was rebuilt, they would lose at least one hundred gold coins. Yet when he looked at the foundation before him, the frown on his brow finally eased. A hundred gold coins for a training ground was not a bad bargain after all. Many villages and towns, even if they could produce far more gold, were still unable to hire a special NPC to help them. No amount of gold could simply buy them a training ground.

Under the expectant gazes of Zheng Jun and the five construction workers, Li Zhan helplessly shook his head. He told them to continue laying the foundation and announced that the market would be demolished the next day and rebuilt near the western gate.

The western gate was close to the residential district. A market built there would make it more convenient for the villagers to buy food. It was also the route that players and NPCs had to take when traveling from the docks into the settlement. The fact that so many players had set up roadside stalls near the western gate was proof of its commercial potential. A market built there would certainly flourish more than the present one.

As for the eastern gate, since the training grounds had been built there, the barracks, the pasture, and the stables that would soon be constructed could all be moved to the same area. The eastern district would become the military zone of Flame-Yellow Village, with all future military buildings concentrated there.

The area around the southern gate, meanwhile, would become the processing district. Once they found an NPC capable of producing blueprints, they would design a garment factory and build it there. The joint workshop would also be moved to that area.

A blessing in disguise.

Cheng Ling had originally been filled with resentment and had mischievously intended to set Li Zhan a difficult problem. She had never imagined that her prank would instead lead him to make up his mind and radically reorganize the settlement’s buildings. The various structures that had previously been scattered about in disorder would now be systematically assigned to their proper districts, laying the groundwork for the future urban design of Flame-Yellow City.

When the players learned that the market would be rebuilt—and that their existing stalls and shops would still be retained—they were satisfied and gradually dispersed.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Zhan told Zheng Jun and the construction workers to stop for the day and go home for dinner. They would continue building the next day.

After Zheng Jun and the others left, Li Zhan made another inspection of the settlement. He visited the dye shed, the joint workshop, and several other places. Most of the villagers had already finished work and gone home to prepare dinner.

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The inn was packed with people. The hired villagers were eating in the dining hall, creating a lively commotion. Even more hired villagers were waiting outside, and the overlapping voices formed a continuous buzz.

As he passed the inn and saw the situation, Li Zhan secretly made up his mind. Once he found an NPC capable of producing blueprints, he would not only design a garment factory but also a proper canteen. If the inn remained this noisy every mealtime, no guest would ever want to stay there.

By the time he reached the docks, night had fallen. Beneath the silent night sky, the only sound was the river striking rhythmically against the shore. Dozens of vessels, large and small, were moored beside the docks and the two civilian shipyards, swaying gently with the river waves in an atmosphere of perfect tranquility.

From time to time, a boatman would climb out of a cabin for some fresh air. Seeing Li Zhan, they would inevitably exchange a few words with him and invite him aboard. Li Zhan chatted casually with them as he boarded several cargo ships and looked around.

Afterward, he returned to the village hall and logged off.

It had been an entire afternoon. He wondered how Zhao Guoqing was doing. The fellow could not have slept himself into a coma, could he?

As he pondered this, Li Zhan removed his gaming helmet.

The instant he opened his eyes, he saw a face like a block of sauce right in front of him, its nose almost touching his own. A pair of eyes stared fixedly at him, while two golden clumps of eye discharge hung conspicuously from the corners.

Li Zhan’s first reaction was to smash the helmet into the other man’s face. But when it was only a centimeter from his forehead, he timely restrained his strength. At last, he recognized the motionless figure staring at him like a wax statue: Zhao Guoqing.

Li Zhan placed the gaming helmet on the sofa behind him, pushed Zhao Guoqing’s head aside, and stood up.

“You’ve known I was handsome for quite some time. Do you really need to stare at me so intently?”

Zhao Guoqing immediately pretended to vomit and spray blood. Then he grabbed Li Zhan, who was heading toward the bathroom.

“I never thought you’d fallen this far too, staying home all day to play online games. If I remember correctly, today isn’t a holiday. What about work? You don’t want your job anymore?”

Li Zhan turned around and sneered.

“Work, my ass! I’ve had enough of being exploited by that old fox every day. Even if he doesn’t fire me, sooner or later I’ll submit my resignation myself. And I refuse to admit that I’ve fallen. Why do we work in the first place? Don’t tell me it’s for the sake of our country’s modernization. If they stopped paying you, you’d have cursed them to the heavens long ago.

“My village currently has more than three thousand gold coins in reserve. Converted into world currency, that’s over thirty thousand. The village earns around four hundred gold coins a day, which comes to roughly four thousand in world currency. And I’ve achieved all that in less than two months since entering the game.

“Even as a business manager, I’d make no more than fifty thousand a year, while suffering endless exploitation and oppression. Gains and losses—don’t tell me you can’t do the math.”

With that, Li Zhan turned and continued toward the bathroom. He had not bathed for nearly a week and felt it was time to take care of his personal hygiene.

Behind him, Zhao Guoqing stared suspiciously at the gaming helmet on the sofa.

Li Zhan was enjoying the warm water washing over him when the bathroom door was suddenly pulled open. He opened his eyes and turned around to see Zhao Guoqing rushing into the corner of the bathroom, squatting there and carefully examining the box that had contained the gaming helmet.

After studying it for a while, Zhao Guoqing turned his head and said,

“Empire Rising? What an interesting name. I might…”

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At that point, Zhao Guoqing’s voice abruptly stopped. His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Li Zhan’s groin. His mouth slowly opened wider and wider.

Li Zhan hurriedly turned sideways and covered himself with one hand.

“Damn it! Why are you making such a lewd expression? It’s a penis, not a sausage!”

Zhao Guoqing grinned.

“I never knew, Old Li. You were hiding something so impressive all this time. And after all these years of friendship, I never discovered your true specialty.”

He deliberately emphasized the word “specialty.”

Li Zhan gave a smug snort.

“You poor little thing. I was always worried about hurting your fragile and pitiful self-esteem, but somehow you still managed to discover my true power. Looks like the world has gained another insecure man.”

Zhao Guoqing spat and jeered,

“So what if it’s impressive? Isn’t it just like the thing between my legs—an unused hero with nowhere to fight?”

Li Zhan let out a laugh.

“Don’t compare yours to mine. Yours really has always been a hero with nowhere to fight. Mine is different. It has seen real action, charging into battle countless times. Its battlefield experience is far richer than yours.”

The remark struck Zhao Guoqing where it hurt. He shook his head helplessly.

“Nothing we can do. These days, there are too many shallow and vulgar women who don’t know how to appreciate inner beauty. As a result, a diamond like me has remained buried all this time. Alas, even heroes grow old before they can fulfill their ambitions.”

After saying that, Zhao Guoqing continued,

“Enough of this nonsense. Bread and milk are waiting for me not far away, waving their hands and calling my name. Let’s talk about what matters. Old Li, I’ve grown sick of being exploited and oppressed too. I’ve decided to play online games with you. We’re brothers, so you’d better take good care of me.”