Chapter 481: Cooperation Offer ( 1 )

With these noble and wealthy families investing in their businesses at Northeast City, the progress of rebuilding the buildings and roads was faster than expected.

The problem was that the locations of their shops were scattered and situated at intersections, which disrupted the city’s layout.

After she gained an understanding of the current situation in the city, she said, "Hei’er, go to the southern outskirts."

Receiving the order, her male puppet nodded and changed the carriage’s direction.

As soon as they left the market area, the number of pedestrians lessened instantly. Without the road stalls and people blocking the road, they were finally able to travel faster.

Less than half an hour later, they reached the city’s south gate.

Since the southern outskirts would be used to build military barracks, Lu Qianxuan had marked them as a restricted area. Those without permission were not allowed to enter.

Seeing the incoming horse carriage, the guards raised their spears and blocked the road.

Before the carriage collided with the guards, Kui Hei’er pulled on the reins and slowed down. The carriage stopped a few steps away from the guards.

The guards exchanged glances before one of them said, "This is a restricted area. No one is allowed to enter. Please go back."

Inside the carriage, Yao Zhi took out a jade token from her system’s storage and gave it to Kui Baiyi.

Accepting the jade token, Kui Baiyi lifted the curtain covering the carriage window and showed it to the guards.

The moment the guards saw the token, they were taken aback.

This token was issued by the General and given to the people of the Lei family. Besides Lei Feng, there was only one person who owned this token. That person was a wealthy merchant known for her beauty, Hu Niang.

Despite her beauty, she was also known as a generous person. Soon after she arrived in Northeast City, she donated more than 10,000 jin of medicinal herbs to the army.

Not to mention how expensive the herbs were, some of them were hard to come by. Even with money, there was no guarantee that one could buy them.

When they realized the identity of the person inside the carriage, the guards quickly opened the gate and bowed to her.

Before the carriage left, Yao Zhi took out a jar of berry jam made from strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries from her system orchard’s warehouse and gave the jam to Kui Baiyi.

Understanding her master’s intention, Kui Baiyi handed the jar to the guards and said, "Sir, this is a small gift from my master. Thank you for your hard work."

The guards were flattered, and it took them a moment to react. Since it was just some food, they didn’t refuse and accepted it.

"Thank you, Madam Hu."

Soon after, the carriage left. This small episode was nothing for Yao Zhi, but it was something worth remembering for the guards.

Until now, no one had seen Madam Hu’s face except for the General, the General’s wife, and the high-ranking military officers.

Most of them only knew that she was a widow of a wealthy merchant. After her husband passed away, she inherited all of his wealth and became a hidden owner of various businesses outside the Great Yan.

Added to her contradictory personality and appearance, rumors about her were countless. Yet, no one knew which one was real and which one was fake. This made many people curious about her and made her name spread far and wide.

While Yao Zhi knew about people’s curiosity of Hu Niang, she didn’t put this matter in her mind. For her, Hu Niang was just another identity she used for convenience. If needed, she could make Hu Niang disappear like Lei Feng.

Yao Zhi and her servants traveled for another twenty minutes before they saw the barricades and simple mud walls built by the soldiers.

Like before, the carriage stopped a few steps away from the guards. This time, Kui Hei’er showed the jade token to the guards without even being asked.

As soon as the guards saw the token, they removed the barricades and let them in.

With a flick of the whip, Kui Hei’er urged the horse forward, and soon the carriage entered the barracks.

When they reached the area where the workers and soldiers were mixing the sticky rice mortar, Yao Zhi finally got down from the carriage.

She observed her surroundings for a moment before signaling to Kui Baiyi.

Receiving the order, Kui Baiyi showed the jade token to a nearby soldier and asked, "Sir, we are from the Hu Mansion. Can you show us the way to the Prefectural Commander’s tent?"

Hearing her words and seeing the jade token, the soldier cupped his fists and bowed slightly. Then, he gestured for them to follow him and said, "Madam Hu, this way, please."

Yao Zhi nodded and followed the soldier. Along the way, she called out to her system.

"System, help me scan the area being used as the military barracks."

A moment later, the system’s mechanical voice echoed in her mind.

"Scanning complete."

The next second, a blue screen appeared in front of her. On the screen was a detailed map that included the geographical information of the cliff and the surrounding area.

Yao Zhi read the information and frowned.

The soil near the cliff was loose and unsuitable for building walls. The weight of the walls would cause the ground to collapse. But if they didn’t build walls, it would become the weakest point of their defenses.

Recalling the city layout designed by her personal assistant, Lu Chi, her worries disappeared.

Although the points needed to buy the materials from the system were considerable, they were not a problem for her. The main problem was how to relocate the people and the merchants.

Since the city layout included the defense mechanisms, they had to rebuild the entire fief.

While she was still considering the best plan, they arrived at Bai Yunxiao’s tent.

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