180: Chapter 181 Don't Make Things Difficult for Me

The reply from Qinghe City arrived on the afternoon of the second day.

The messenger was ushered into the side hall, and before the tea was even served, the director-general in charge of receiving documents had already broken the wax seal.

Everyone in the room stared at the paper in his hands.

He read it at a glance; his previously tense face didn't move at first, then the corners of his mouth lifted bit by bit.

"Did it work?"

Someone nearby immediately asked.

"Halfway there."

The man put the document on the table, his voice steady, but the joy in his eyes couldn't be suppressed.

"Flower City didn't refuse outright, just said the resettlement pressure is too high and they can't take too many people. But out of consideration for our trade relations, they are willing to provide five thousand spots first."

"Five thousand?"

Someone was stunned, then beamed with joy.

"Is five thousand not enough?"

"As long as this first opening is made, the rest will be easy to handle."

The room suddenly became lively.

Someone snatched the document and read it again, laughing as they read.

"What a 'resettlement pressure is too high'."

"They're really putting on airs."

"Let them put on airs, as long as they are willing to take them."

At this moment, the Lord of Qinghe City, who had been sitting at the head of the table without saying a word, finally set down his teacup.

"Don't get happy too soon."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room went quiet.

He looked up and scanned the crowd, his tone neither cold nor hot.

"The five thousand spots are given by Flower City."

"How to choose the people is our business."

The director-general immediately understood and bowed.

"Does the Lord of Qinghe City mean that we should also stuff those who need to be stuffed into the list?"

The Lord of Qinghe City gave a faint "Hmm."

"Those who have fallen into the execution line, those about to fall into it, those who have been causing trouble recently, and... those who can scout the way for us."

When he said the last sentence, his voice wasn't deliberately lowered, but the people in the room tacitly didn't respond directly, just exchanged glances, understanding without words.

Someone still couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.

"Flower City, they really dare to give..."

This sentence was spoken very softly.

The room went quiet for half a breath.

Because there wasn't just happiness in that voice, but also a strange mixture of something unnameable.

It was as if even he didn't expect that the city would really dump grain, fields, and houses onto these people.

But this strangeness only lasted for a very short moment.

The next moment, it was suppressed by even greater greed.

"The more they give, the better."

The director-general sneered first.

"If they are willing to support even these kinds of people, then it's just reducing our burden."

"Besides, once the people are in their city, eating their food, living in their houses, and using their things, if things get chaotic, it will be their chaos."

"Where else can you find such a good deal?"

The others laughed upon hearing this.

The Lord of Qinghe City didn't laugh, just tapped the tabletop lightly.

"Give me the list tonight."

"Also, let the news out."

"Just say that Flower City has loosened the opening. Let the other three cities get anxious on their own."

As the words fell, the eyes of the people in the room lit up.

This step was ruthless precisely because of this.

Since Qinghe City opened the door first, the other three cities would never be willing to fall behind.

Once they all rushed in, sending people, spies, and trouble, it wouldn't just be Qinghe City doing it.

By then, even if Flower City really noticed something, they would only think that all four cities were the same.

No one could hope to be clean.

...

The news spread faster than the wind.

The document from Qinghe City had only been back for half a day, and by evening, the other three cities had all received the news.

Liefeng City was the first to not sit still.

"What does it mean to give Qinghe five thousand first?"

"What about us?"

"Why should they be the first to stuff people in?"

Nanchang City and Maple Leaf City had similar reactions.

On the surface, they said, "Since we are all trading partners, we should be treated equally," but in their hearts, they were calculating the same thing.

If Qinghe sent people in first, it would be like burying five thousand nails in Flower City first.

No one could say for sure how many useless people, how many spies, and how many paths that could be used in the future were among those nails.

But one thing was certain.

Whoever was a step slow would suffer.

So three documents were sent to Flower City almost one after another.

And Flower City seemed to have anticipated this scene.

The reply didn't come out immediately.

They just let the messengers stay, saying that this matter involved population, land registers, resettlement, and the Granary, and it couldn't be decided in a moment; the internal affairs department needed to re-verify it.

This delay made the three cities anxious and itching.

But they couldn't find any fault with it.

Because the reasons given by Flower City were all legitimate.

More people meant they needed to be resettled.

Tree houses weren't enough and needed to be built.

Fields needed to be divided and verified.

Whether Professionals needed to be listed separately also had to be checked.

Which of these things wasn't a serious matter?

So they could only wait.

But the longer they waited, the more precious those five thousand spots felt.

...

Three days later, a line finally appeared on the horizon outside the gates of Flower City.

First, it was a gray line.

Closer, one could see it was people.

A long, dragging line of people, like a rope wrapped in dust moving forward.

There were old people, children, women holding bundles, and men with numb expressions who hadn't looked up the whole way.

People from Qinghe City followed on both sides of the line, neither like guards nor escorts, just following at a distance, as if they were delivering a pile of things and were about to hand them over.

There were more tables set up at the city gate today than usual.

Wooden signs were standing, pens and ink were laid out, and bags of Spirit Rice were stacked in the back. On the other side, there was a specially cleared area where several Flower City officials were walking back and forth, clearly having prepared early.

Nuan Nuan stood behind the table, holding an account book, with a layer of sweat on her nose.

Several managers stood beside her, constantly checking names, categories, and numbers.

Wan'er stood a bit further away, her sleeves hanging down, her expression quiet, showing neither joy nor anger.

Minister Wang Fugui had also come, standing on the side, smiling, as if to watch the fun, but his eyes were actually shifting back and forth between the line and the accompanying clerks from Qinghe City.

At the very front of the line, those few people who were being pushed forward, after truly seeing the new notice posted at the gate of Flower City, slowed their steps in unison.

The words on the notice were not flashy.

They were even very straightforward.

Flower City accepts relocated citizens, resettling them according to the old rules for citizens.

Those entering the city will be given ten catties of Spirit Rice.

One hundred mu of fertile land will be allocated.

One tree house will be bestowed.

Anyone wearing a metal ring will have it removed.

If they are a Professional, after verification, they will be issued a set according to their Rank.

The wind blew from the city gate, causing the corner of the notice to lift gently.

The crowd seemed to be suddenly suppressed by something.

No one spoke.

Even the few clerks from Qinghe City who had been pressing them forward the whole way couldn't help but let their gazes linger on the notice for a while.

Finally, a woman holding a child spoke first, her voice trembling.

"Is... this..."

Her throat rolled, as if she hadn't found her voice for a long time.

"Is... this true?"

The voice was very soft, so soft it seemed squeezed out of her throat, with a dry tremor.

The area outside the city gate went quiet.

The wind blew past the notice board, making the paper corners rustle.

The people at the front stood still, and those behind who had been keeping their heads down and shoulders hunched also seemed to be pulled by this sentence, raising their eyes in unison.

The notice was posted right there.

Black ink on white paper, point by point, clear and distinct.

"All new citizens entering Flower City will be resettled according to the old rules for Flower City citizens."

"Distribute ten catties of Spirit Rice, allocate one hundred mu of fertile land, provide one tree house, and remove metal rings."

"Professionals will be verified by Rank and can receive corresponding Professional sets."

"The elderly, the weak, children, and the sick will be resettled with priority."

There were no passionate words, nor any extra explanations.

It was just written there, as if stating something perfectly normal.

But the more it was like this, the more the suppressed commotion in the crowd couldn't be suppressed.

"Ten catties of Spirit Rice?"

"And land?"

"The tree house... is it one per person, or one per family?"

"They're even removing the metal rings?"

"Is this really not to fool us?"

Several voices rang out one after another; some couldn't believe it, some were suspicious first, some had obviously craned their necks to read it twice but were still asking repeatedly, as if they couldn't force themselves to believe it without asking a few more times.

The Flower City guards responsible for maintaining order didn't seem impatient.

The person at the front raised a hand.

"Don't crowd, come one by one."

"If you can't read the words, there are people next to you to read them."

"Those with children go to the left, the elderly and the sick go forward. Everyone who can stand steady, don't move around."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the middle-aged man who had spoken first, his tone plain.

"You asked about the tree house just now?"

The man was named, and he subconsciously hunched his shoulders, thinking he was going to be scolded for talking too much.

"Yes... yes."

The guard pointed to the right.

"Divided by household."

"Register first, then get the number, then go to the resettlement area to get the key plate."

He paused and added another sentence.

"Flower City has many rules, don't find it annoying. Since we are letting you live inside, we can't have no one telling you which way the door opens."

The man opened his mouth, and after a long while, he murmured an answer.

"...Okay."

After he replied, he was stunned for a moment himself.

Having been guarded, driven, and urged along this whole way, he hadn't heard this tone for a long time.

It wasn't like shouting at livestock, nor was it high-and-mighty charity; it was just a very normal instruction, like talking to a person.

His throat moved, and suddenly he didn't know where to look.

...

At the back of the crowd.

Several clerks and merchant team followers from The Four Cities who had come with the team stood in the corner, watching from a distance.

They were nominally "delivering people" this whole way, and happened to bring some goods to make another deal with Flower City.

But when they really arrived at the city gate, no one was in a hurry to crowd forward, all putting their minds on these people in front of them.

One of them stared at the notice for two times, then took a low breath.

"They really dare to write this?"

The person next to him didn't speak, just stared at the place where the metal rings were being removed.

Two lines of people had already formed there. Hammers, pliers, and fine knives were laid out on the wooden table, and several Flower City craftsmen were half-crouching, removing them one by one, their movements very neat.

"Clack."

"Clack."

The sound of metal rings hitting the ground was one after another, crisply excessive.

There was already a small pile of scrap iron on the ground.

Several of the people sent from The Four Cities didn't move at the moment the ring was removed.

Not because they didn't want to walk.

It was because their legs were weak.

It was as if the thing that had been chafing their ankles for who knows how long was suddenly gone, and the whole person felt empty instead.

A woman holding a child reached out to touch her neck, and tears suddenly fell.

She didn't dare to cry out loud, just lowered her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

The old woman who was removing the ring for her looked at her, didn't persuade her, just handed a small bag of Spirit Rice into her arms.

"Take it well."

"Don't drop it."

The woman was stunned, holding the child, and looked down at the bag of Spirit Rice again, nodding in a flurry.

"Okay, okay..."

She replied twice in a row, but the tears fell even more fiercely.

In the corner, the follower from The Four Cities licked his dry lips.

"They... really give."

This time, even he couldn't suppress his voice.

The person next to him turned to look at him, a flash of strange color in his eyes, which was quickly suppressed.

"The truer they give, the better."

"Soft-hearted now, when we really take down Flower City, won't these all be ours?"

He said it very lightly, as if to comfort the other person, and also as if to comfort himself.

But after saying that, his gaze still didn't move from the front.

Because this group of people from Flower City gave too smoothly.

There was no panic of acting for them to see.

It was as if this set of things was what they normally distributed.

This feeling made people feel hot and hair-raising.

...

"Next household."

The guard behind the registration desk looked up and shouted, his pen not stopping.

"Name."

"Zhao... Zhao Cheng."

"How many people?"

"Three."

"Profession?"

"Black Iron... two-star Warrior."

"The other two in the family?"

"Wife, commoner. Child... six years old."

"Go to the left to get the rice first, then go to the eastern resettlement area to get the tree house number plate. You stay, verify your Qi, and get your set."

"Huh?"

Zhao Cheng was stunned for a moment, subconsciously hugging the bag of Spirit Rice that had just been issued.

"Really... really get it?"

The recording guard suddenly looked up and said somewhat nervously:

"Since you have become a citizen of Flower City, of course you have to get it! I'm just an official, don't make it difficult for me!"

"Ah! No, no! You misunderstood, I mean... I'll take it! I'll take it immediately!"

Zhao Cheng replied almost immediately, and after replying, he realized his voice was too loud, and several gazes from around him swept over, his face flushing red.

But the redness only lasted for a moment, and was soon suppressed by another kind of heat.

That wasn't shame.

It was an eagerness that had been long-lost to the point of being strange.

He handed the Spirit Rice to his wife and walked to the other side himself.

Halfway there, he turned his head twice.

The first time was to see if his wife and child were following.

The second time was to look at the "family assets" he had brought with a lot of effort.

He looked for a long time, his footsteps slowing down.

Until someone urged him from the front.

"Hurry up, there's still a line behind."

He then snapped back to reality and quickened his pace to catch up.

On the other side, several Professionals who were also assigned to verify their Qi stood together, looking at each other, their expressions very strange.