His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

After a short rest, Tang Dayu knocked on the door and told the owners of the three rice shops, Xu Bingda, Anmin, and Deliang, that they had been invited to the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

Xu Bing dressed simply, tied his long hair loosely with a ribbon around his head, put on a loose robe, and went to the tea room.

Three middle-aged men, each with an air of nobility, sat upright, whispering among themselves. Hearing footsteps approaching, they all peeked out.

Upon seeing Xu Bing, the three were all startled and quickly stood up, intending to kneel down to greet him.

"No need." Xu Bingqing waved his hand, and small, gentle wind blades supported their bodies without harming them.

It eliminates all those red tape and formalities.

Inside the tea room, Xu Bingxian took a sip of tea to refresh himself, then got straight to the point, telling the three shop owners that he wanted to buy their rice shop.

"this…"

The three looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Name your price." Xu Bing put down his teacup, acting decisively and efficiently.

Before an incense stick had burned out, the three business owners left the Imperial Preceptor's residence, and the deal was done.

Xu Bing purchased rice from all three shops for 450 taels of silver, a very fair price. In fact, Xu Bing's offer was slightly higher than the actual price.

With the acquisition of the three rice shops and the addition of Jiu Mi, Xu Bing is now practically a leader in the rice business.

However, this was not enough; Xu Bing needed more leverage.

【Ding! 】

[Number of host industries reached: 5]

[Rewards: 4 Talent Recruitment Vouchers, +3 Charisma, and one National Fortune Lottery Draw.]

The system voice sounded.

Xu Bing was somewhat surprised, and his mood became even more cheerful. Although the system left him with such a mess as Da Xi, its auxiliary capabilities were indeed undeniable.

Xu Bing changed his clothes, got into a carriage, and inspected three rice shops.

To date, most of Xu Bing's businesses are concentrated in the Xuanwu and Baihu urban areas.

The four rice shops in Xuanwu City, the Qingmeng Restaurant in Baihu City, and the Chiying Escort Agency.

Xu Bing's business is expanding little by little, and his capital is becoming increasingly abundant.

Xu Bing left the city.

Following the post road in the south, we traveled for more than forty miles until we arrived at a desolate mountain forest.

Currently, Da Xi City houses a total of 10,000 refugees, of whom 7,000 have been relocated here to reclaim wasteland.

The so-called land reclamation involves chiseling mountains, cutting down trees, leveling land, and transporting water to transform unusable land into usable land.

The land reclamation project has just begun, and progress has been quite difficult in the early stages. So far, Xu Bing is operating at a loss.

The project was officially launched on January 24th.

Today is January 28th, and four days have passed. Half of those days were spent on the relocation.

One and a half days were spent building temporary shelters, and the land reclamation officially began on the third day.

As for Xu Bing's daily expenses, on January 24th, the total number of refugees in Da Xi City was only over six thousand.

As of today, January 28th, more than 4,000 people have joined, bringing the total to over 10,000.

Every migrant was recorded and assigned to a shed group.

On average, each person consumed two catties of grain. Xu Bing calculated that the daily expenditure on food was approximately ninety taels of silver.

As the days dragged on, four days passed, and Xu Bing had already spent over 360 taels on this.

This is only part of it.

It is currently the early stage of land reclamation, and the refugees do not have suitable tools and need to buy them from elsewhere.

The tools, including hoes, axes, shovels, etc., total at least five thousand pieces.

They are used in rotation.

According to Da Xi's prices, this kind of farm tool, which is a mixture of iron and copper, costs around fifty wen.

More than 5,000 items were purchased, and the cost of agricultural tools alone was more than 250 taels of silver.

Six hundred and ten taels... So far, Xu Bingbai has wasted six hundred and ten taels of silver, but has not received a single penny in return.

However, he wasn't in a hurry. This was a long-term project, lasting at least through the entire winter.

It’s just the beginning.

Once this wasteland is developed, Xu Bing can use it for many things.

Only Xu Bing could handle a project of this scale. Fortunately, things are gradually getting back on track in the area near the wasteland, and the shed area has been built.

Xu Bing summoned the project manager, Wang Jinfu, a scion of the prestigious Wang family.

Upon hearing his report, Xu Bing frowned slightly, narrowed his eyes, and scanned the man up and down.

Whether it's due to a lack of ability or intentional misconduct, the arrangements in many places are extremely inappropriate and will slow down the process to some extent.

There has also been some disruption to established routines, as seen in the past two days.

The land reclamation efficiency was only around 30%. If Xu Binglai were to come and replan, the efficiency could easily reach 60%.

If we were to stay here and gradually improve the arrangements, the personnel utilization rate and land reclamation efficiency could reach over 80%.

Wang Jinfu felt a pang of guilt under their gaze; he had indeed done so on purpose.

Xu Bing patted Wang Jinfu on the shoulder, "Take care of yourself."

They boarded the carriage and left.

On the carriage.

Xu Bing was not angry about Wang Jinfu's actions, something he had expected.

Since he could temporarily use this person, he gave a few brief tips and made some adjustments to the original management structure before leaving.

This Wang Jinfu was one of the few people Xu Bing could still use in the court.

If he is like this, then others would probably be even more outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

The people in the imperial court are all seasoned veterans. If you're seriously ill, fine, they won't confront you head-on.

We will carry out your orders, but not proactively, and we are deliberately negligent. We intentionally avoid some core issues and fail to address potential risks.

These issues will not affect the overall progress of the project, but they will slow it down to some extent.

Even if Xu Bing were investigated, there would be a whole host of excuses to avoid it.

Back in Da Xi City, Xu Bing made a detour to Qinglong District.

There are still more than 4,000 refugees here, some of whom are the elderly, women and children, and others are people who helped Xu Bing build a bathing pool.

The bathing pool was nearly half completed, but Xu Bing did not linger. He merely glanced at it from afar inside the car before leaving.

……

at night.

Xu Bing was sitting in his study when Black Thirteen, a crow, brought him a book and then affectionately rubbed its head against Xu Bing's palm.

Xu Bing lightly scratched his head with his fingers, then shook him off and began to read the book carefully.

Whether it's business within Da Xi City.

Still clearing land.

Ultimately, they all share the same goal: to strengthen the power under their command.

The book in his hand was a migrant scorebook, which recorded the performance of each shed group.

Four groups performed particularly well, each with about twenty people, mostly men and few women.

The fact that these groups performed well indicates that they are highly organized and disciplined. Xu Bing intended to recruit these people into his private army.

Enjoy higher-level treatment.

If the conditions weren't right, Xu Bing also planned to let them settle in Da Xi City and help them find some jobs.

Incidentally... it also serves as my eyes and ears in various places and industries.

Xu Bing took out a brush and started sketching on the paper, writing down thirty names in one go.

Their fates were thus changed.