Lighting Lanterns in the Mountains and Seas

Since there are options, who wouldn't want to choose a good location.

In fact, after the initial rough planning of the city, the truly prime locations weren't used to build these free houses. Instead, they were clustered in secondary and tertiary positions. The good areas were left blank within the city, reserved for the wealthy and powerful to buy at high prices in the future.

Fortunately, everyone didn't care about those, knowing that such opportunities wouldn't belong to them.

However, there were still better choices available, so people climbed to high places to observe the terrain, striving to choose houses near good locations.

Once someone officially registered a house, it was as if they were free. They could come and go freely inside and outside the city.

Some people ran back to places where they were previously confined, shouting across the distance to those confined, "Xing Er, hurry up, won't you?"

A voice immediately responded from the confinement area, "Are there really houses being given away?"

The newcomer loudly replied, "Yes, with doors, windows, and even a small yard. I've already moved in. Hurry up, good locations are limited, if you're late they'll be snapped up by others."

The guarding soldiers couldn't help but grin, realizing how low the bar for satisfaction was.

And the newcomer had come to spread the word, but since they weren't allowed near, they could only shout from a distance.

Once these words were spoken, many confined people immediately became restless and crowded toward the guards.

"Sir, I have original residency in the Heavenly Capital, please verify it quickly."

"Sir, there must be no problem with me, verify me first."

The scene became chaotic, everyone wanting to leave first to choose a good location, yet they were helplessly forcefully subdued by the guards.

But those restless hearts couldn't be suppressed.

After hearing the news, Shi Chun immediately ordered that all the confined individuals be escorted into the city for supervision so they could see the progress of the house construction.

Then, under Shi Chun's urgent request, a few days later, Young Master Nan first organized a batch of people responsible for planting, publicly recruiting those who had officially registered houses as residents in the city.

The anxious confined individuals, seeing this, felt greatly reassured.

Due to the slow verification speed, Shi Chun and Young Master Nan met again for discussion and further promoted the method of loosening first and verifying later, allowing people to occupy houses first, then clearing out those who failed verification afterward.

However, the release of people wasn't done all at once; a batch would be let out only after a batch of houses was built, following the first-come-first-served principle. Those who came in earlier were released earlier to avoid making people wait too long.

Meanwhile, Young Master Nan's extensive land grabbing also began.

This move quickly alerted the keen-sensed peers to something, and soon others followed suit rapidly.

More people came to help solve the livelihood issues of those in poverty, and Shi Chun naturally welcomed them with open arms. After all, the Nan family alone couldn't handle that many people.

However, others couldn't get the no-rent benefits. There's no way, as Young Master Nan's conditions were reasonable and was part of the incentives for helping bring in population.

Even so, it didn't prevent those people from getting involved, given the low labor costs were readily available.

With Young Master Nan's massive land grab alongside those people, many quickly realized something was amiss, even alerting Miao Dingyi, one of the Central figures at the Bowan Building, who personally went to the Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture for a visit, bringing along his wife, Lan Qiaoyan, openly claiming it was because Lan Qiaoyan wanted to see Shi Chun.

Shi Chun was naturally flattered and accompanied them personally.

In a barely developed area, there was nothing much to sightsee, so Shi Chun accompanied the couple on the city wall, watching the bustling construction scene inside the city.

The city was crowded. Miao Dingyi, looking over, said, "It's been more than a month, right? How many people have been brought in?"

Shi Chun forced a smile, "Currently over fifty million, and the speed is faster than I imagined. The speed of building houses really can't keep up."

"Fifty million already?" Lan Qiaoyan exclaimed in shock.

Miao Dingyi, with his hands behind his back, sighed, "It's beyond everyone's expectation, not just yours. I must say, Shi Chun, you've made a good move; even the Left Minister spoke up for you."

"..." Shi Chun was dumbfounded, "The Left Minister spoke for me?"

Lan Qiaoyan was also surprised, asking her husband, "What happened?"

Miao Dingyi smiled faintly and explained, "Why are all parties scrambling for positions in the Heavenly Domain? Isn't it to occupy the Spirit Vein for more significant benefits in the future? Now that he's letting Young Master Nan and the others grab land massively, regardless if it's rented, once the Spirit Vein emerges, even if Young Master Nan could be made to transfer it out, the group behind Young Master Nan isn't easy to deal with. With fairness on their side, they can't just be brushed off with a few bucks, right? The group competed for positions with considerable resource investment, only to turn around and see it ended up like this; they were all stunned."

Lan Qiaoyan came to a revelation, "So these people won't let it go easily."

Miao Dingyi nodded, "They want to change the rules of the game and deny the leasing matter. Yet, the Left Minister replied, 'If you keep this up, will you also deny me?' Terrified them into retracting their claws obediently."

"They think their conduct was too unsightly." Lan Qiaoyan chuckled, looking at Shi Chun with more appreciation; he was someone she had watched climb step by step to where he was today.

Shi Chun smiled wryly, "Ashamed."

"Nothing to be ashamed of. It might not even be to speak on your behalf. The higher-ups have their own reasons for saying so." In a lighthearted exchange, Miao Dingyi suddenly shifted the conversation, "I've already informed the Bowan Building in the Heavenly Court. The Bowan Building will inevitably be built here in the Heavenly Domain sooner or later. It doesn't hurt to start a bit early. The matters of selecting and commencing construction for Bowan Buildings within all the cities in your Southern, Western, and Northern regions will have personnel dispatched this month to start. If the entire Heavenly Domain is to be developed fully, there will be pressure, so the Central and Eastern parts of the Heavenly Domain will be slowed down. You here should prepare to coordinate."

Lan Qiaoyan was stunned. This open favoritism was a public stance announced early.

Shi Chun was also taken aback but folded his hands in gratitude.

After a tour, shortly after sending off Miao Dingyi and his wife, Young Master Nan came cursing, complaining about the peers.

In the pavilion, where Shi Chun poured tea, he consoled gently, "Let it go; you can't handle all of it alone. Letting them do some isn't a big deal."

Young Master Nan glared, "I'm not worried about them stealing business; what annoys me is their actions causing labor wages to rise. How much less will I profit? The problem now is that the rising trend can't be stopped. Do you know? It's not just us renting land now; many forces are following suit. In Manxi's Central and Dongguo Shou's Eastern region, the forces behind them have also come to rent the land. The key is it's not just renting; they're also coming to your territory to snatch workers. With the wage increase, no wonder! Even those who initially agreed on wages are no longer content, all demanding more pay, it's driving me crazy. The pace of house construction is still slow, and there are so many people stuck waiting to be released."

Shi Chun was surprised; as the hands-off shopkeeper, he really didn't know about this, and he wondered, "Don't they have people on their own territories? Why come here to grab workers?"

Young Master Nan laughed angrily, waving his fan, "You've got a large population here, even if wages go up, they're still cheap. Just those transferred from their territories wouldn't even consider these wages, nor would they go to farming or the like. The Heavenly Court is also wicked; I've heard that a decree is soon going to be issued. If the leased land isn't farmed, it will be reclaimed, causing everyone to scramble for workers, making wage hikes unavoidable."