Wu Shen and Shi Kefa finally wrapped up their deeply uncomfortable conversation.
The kind that started stiff, got worse halfway through, and ended with everyone pretending they hadn't just been intellectually bullied by a teenager.
They cupped their hands, exchanged a few polite, hollow phrases, and left.
Only after their footsteps faded down the corridor did the air inside the office loosen again.
Liang Shixian watched their backs disappear, then turned with a smile that had been waiting patiently in reserve.
"Yuanbo," he said casually, "come. Sit."
Chen Yuanbo obeyed, folding himself neatly into the chair opposite the magistrate.
For a moment, Liang Shixian didn't speak. He poured tea, pushed a cup forward, then leaned back and studied the young man with open curiosity.
"You didn't come all the way to Chengcheng just to calculate fertilizer prices," Liang Shixian said at last. "So. What else are you here to do?"
Chen Yuanbo straightened his back immediately, posture snapping into something halfway between a student reciting lessons and a soldier reporting duty.
"No tasks," he said seriously.
Liang Shixian blinked.
"The Dao Xuan Tianzun told me to go out and walk around," Chen Yuanbo continued, utterly sincere. "He said I'm the first middle school graduate from Gao Family Village, and that I didn't favor any subject. I studied everything. So now I should see the world with my own eyes and determine where this knowledge can actually be used."
Liang Shixian let out a low laugh.
"So you're on… an inspection tour?"
Chen Yuanbo's eyes brightened. "Yes! Exactly."
"And you've already made a mark in commerce," Liang Shixian said, nodding toward the now-finalized fertilizer deal.
Chen Yuanbo scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. "Honestly, I didn't expect mathematics to be this useful outside textbooks."
Liang Shixian laughed outright this time.
"Good. Then I won't keep you here." He waved a hand. "Go. Wander. See what else you can stir up."
Chen Yuanbo stood, cupped his hands deeply, and bowed.
Then he turned and left the yamen with light steps, like someone who'd just been handed the entire world and told to figure it out.
Middle school graduates.
Released into society.
Heaven help everyone.
Meanwhile—
Puzhou City.
After several months of construction, the city barely resembled its former self.
Not because Gao Family Village possessed miraculous speed—
but because buildings in this era had the decency to stay short.
No towering monstrosities scraping the sky. No endless foundations dug for years. One or two floors at most. Sometimes the foundations were laid carefully. Sometimes… not at all.
Bricks stacked. Cement slapped on. Done.
Efficient. Brutal. Effective.
Qiu Qianfan stood before the newly completed prefectural yamen, hands clasped behind his back, face glowing with a health he hadn't known in years.
After months of being exiled to the fabric manor—where he had nearly become a full-time tailor—he had finally returned to civilization.
And what civilization it was.
"These walls…" he murmured.
Cement. Thick. Solid.
Solid enough that if bandits ever broke through the city gates, he was fairly confident he could retreat here, slam the doors, and fight a second siege inside his own office.
And the doors—
Heavy wood. Properly treated.
The windows—
Qiu Qianfan froze.
"…Wait."
He leaned closer.
Blink.
Blink again.
"Glass?"
He sucked in a sharp breath and whipped around.
"Madam Li!" he said urgently. "This—this is too much! These are glass windows! Do you know how this looks? If word reaches the capital, His Majesty will think I've been lining my sleeves with silver!"
Gao Yiye smiled calmly.
Above her collarbone, embroidered in fine gold thread, Dao Xuan Tianzun gazed benevolently into the mortal world.
Qiu Qianfan, being a proper gentleman, did not notice. His eyes remained firmly on her face. Even if the Heavenly Lord had started doing backflips, Qiu Qianfan would've missed it.
"Magistrate Qiu," Gao Yiye said gently, "glass has become quite common once the method of production was understood."
Qiu Qianfan's mouth fell open.
"We've already built a glassworks near the northern mining town," she added. "Sand in, glass out."
"…Sand?" he echoed weakly.
"Yes."
She gestured toward the building. "The yamen is the heart of administration. It should embody openness and honesty. Paper windows make everything dim and stifling. Glass allows light. Clarity. Transparency."
Qiu Qianfan hesitated, then stepped inside.
Light flooded the hall.
No shadows lurking in corners. No oppressive gloom pressing down on the chest.
For the first time in his career, the phrase 'upright officialdom' felt… tangible.
He sat at his desk, placed his palms on the smooth surface, and exhaled deeply.
Then something felt off.
He looked up.
Directly above his head—
Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Carved into the ceiling.
Watching.
Qiu Qianfan stiffened. "This is…?"
Gao Yiye smiled serenely. "It's called 'The gods are watching.' When the people see you working beneath the Heavenly Lord's gaze, they'll believe you dare not be corrupt."
Qiu Qianfan nodded slowly. "That… makes sense."
Then he frowned. "Though I admit, I'm more familiar with the Great Supreme Elder Lord."
"Oh, him?" Gao Yiye waved lightly. "Too lazy. Hasn't checked in on mortals for a thousand years. Dao Xuan Tianzun is more attentive."
Qiu Qianfan burst into laughter.
"Good! Good! Whoever's watching, I'm not afraid."
He toured the yamen thoroughly—front, back, left, right.
The old ruin was gone.
In its place stood something dignified.
Alive.
"Madam Li," he said sincerely, "I feel like I've gained ten more years of life."
She smiled. "Shall we inspect the factories?"
"Absolutely."
Horses were prepared. The party rode out.
The cement road unfurled before them like a gray ribbon, winding up toward Jiguanshan.
Qiu Qianfan stared. "This road—already finished?"
Gao Yiye laughed. "Puzhou is the center of the world. We called for labor. Tens of thousands answered."
Many hands.
Many hoes.
Fast results.
The road split ahead—one path toward the mine, the other toward the steel mill.
Qiu Qianfan pointed without hesitation.
"The steel mill first."
Some things, after all, were simply more exciting than holes in the ground.