Bai Yuan, Naval Commander of Gao Family Village, stood before a mirror in a spotless white robe.
He turned slightly to the left.
Then to the right.
Then nodded at his reflection with deep satisfaction.
"Mm. Impeccable."
Only after confirming—beyond all doubt—that he looked devastatingly handsome did he gather his retainers, mount his horse, and charge across the newly completed Linyi Yellow River Bridge.
The experience was… intoxicating.
The wind howled across the bridge deck. His white robe snapped and billowed like something straight out of a painting. The Yellow River thundered beneath him, vast and obedient, as though it, too, was impressed.
For a brief, dangerous moment, Bai Yuan almost fell in love with himself.
Fortunately, he recovered in time.
Bai Yuan's position granted him an unusual freedom.
He wasn't an official, so no bureaucratic borders constrained him.
He wasn't a bandit or salt smuggler, skulking about like a rat in daylight.
He was gentry.
An old family.
Money, but no post.
Respectable, mobile, and—most importantly—useful.
Men like him traveled freely, bought land, ran enterprises, and quietly held regions together while officials rotated in and out like seasonal decorations.
Thus, Sunji Town naturally fell under his jurisdiction.
As he crossed the bridge, he saw them.
A dense crowd of townsfolk gathered on the eastern bank, staring up at the white-robed figure like he'd stepped out of a storybook.
Bai Yuan smiled faintly.
He snapped open his folding fan with a practiced shap.
Facing outward were two large characters:
Gentleman.
"Esteemed villagers," Bai Yuan announced warmly. "My surname is Bai. You may call me Master Bai or Squire Bai. I, too, serve Dao Xuan Tianzun."
At the mention of the name, the crowd stirred.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun already knows of your hardships," Bai Yuan continued smoothly. "Just now, he issued a divine decree—ordering me to help you rebuild your homes and prosper."
The reaction was immediate.
Cheers erupted like boiling water.
Bai Yuan raised his fan again. "To prosper, one must first build roads. We'll start by laying a cement road from Sunji Town to Qichuan Ferry. All laborers will be provided meals—and paid three catties of flour per day."
The cheers doubled.
Then—
"…Bai Yuan… Bai Yuan…"
A voice echoed.
The ink-painted image of Dao Xuan Tianzun on the back of the fan opened its eyes.
And its mouth.
Bai Yuan screamed.
He snapped the fan shut so fast it nearly took his fingers off.
The voice immediately resumed—this time from the gold-embroidered Dao Xuan Tianzun on his chest.
"I was speaking," the avatar said calmly. "Why did you close the fan?"
Bai Yuan nearly dropped to his knees. "Forgive me, Dao Xuan Tianzun! The fan suddenly speaking startled me—pure reflex! I beg forgiveness!"
He reopened the fan.
With a faint shimmer, the presence shifted back into the ink-painted image.
"Recently," Dao Xuan Tianzun said, "Lao Huihui and the Eight Great Kings of the West Camp attacked the Longmen Yellow River Bridge. Shi Jian barely held them until Instructor He Jiu arrived."
"Oh?" Bai Yuan murmured, instantly attentive.
"They attacked Dragon Gate Ferry because it has always been the most critical crossing between Shaanxi and Shanxi," Dao Xuan Tianzun continued. "Now that a bridge stands there, they will covet it even more."
Bai Yuan nodded. "And now we have another bridge."
"Correct," Dao Xuan Tianzun said. "This bridge will draw attention—bandits and officials alike."
Bai Yuan understood immediately. "Then Sunji Town cannot be developed alone. It must be fortified."
Silence followed.
Dao Xuan Tianzun was satisfied.
Bai Yuan snapped his fan shut, eyes sharp. "Send word to Gao Family Village. Request funds, materials, and Blue Hats. Sunji Town will become a bridgehead fortress. No enemy touches this bridge."
He paused. "Oh—and ask for a few middle school graduates. They don't need to be prodigies. Anyone who's finished middle school will do."
The retainer bowed and left at once.
Bai Yuan gazed north, toward Dragon Gate Ferry.
Shi Jian must be doing the same, he thought.
Fortifying. Expanding.
Gao Family Village was growing faster than anyone expected.
The bottleneck was no longer money.
It was people.
---
Back at the main fortress—
San Shier was dying.
Not metaphorically.
Emotionally.
He clutched his temples, staring at stacks of documents like they were plotting his assassination.
Factories were opening in Puzhou.
Blue Hats were being drained away.
Baishui. Dali. Han City.
Everywhere demanded expertise.
Shi Jian wanted Blue Hats.
Dragon Gate Ferry wanted Blue Hats.
San Shier slammed the table. "Blue Hats! Everyone wants Blue Hats! Where am I supposed to pull them from?! Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice!"
"Master," Tan Liwen said gently, "that idiom exceeded four characters."
"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME?" San Shier snapped. "This is neglecting the root to chase the branches!"
Tan Liwen nodded seriously. "Our innovations are advancing too quickly. Without Blue Hats supervising, workers revert to old methods. Every new territory requires more specialists. There is no surplus—only faster training."
San Shier groaned… then froze.
"Wait."
He flipped through a dossier pile like a man searching for air.
"Puzhou's Third Steel Factory… operational. Stable. Blue Hats there should be free."
He seized the opportunity like a drowning man grabbing driftwood.
"Transfer a dozen. Immediately. Send them to Dragon Gate Ferry."
Orders flew.
Finally—finally—San Shier set down his brush.
Then the door burst open.
A retainer bowed deeply. "Third Steward! I bring word from Master Bai. Dao Xuan Tianzun decreed that Sunji Town is to be developed into a bridgehead fortress. He requests Blue Hats. And a few middle school graduates."
San Shier screamed.
"Aaaaaaagh! NONE LEFT! I'M COMPLETELY OUT! NOT ONE! ABSOLUTELY NONE!"
The sound echoed through the fortress.
Somewhere, the future quietly laughed.