Chapter 253: One Month
“Grandmother, what… what are you saying? Yu Haojie is rebelling? Haha! Are you telling the biggest joke in the world?! That coward Yu Haojie, and that disaster Yu Luo—if they are capable of leading a rebellion, I… I will take my sword and slit my own throat!”
Yu Zhengqing remained expressionless, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, clearly uninterested in engaging with his mother. Instead, it was Yu Xiaoxuan who, upon hearing this so-called news, couldn’t hold back and burst into loud laughter.
The laughter echoed through the cave, piercing and jarring in the silence. It wasn’t until he realized just how out of place it sounded that he hurriedly covered his mouth, sneaking a glance at his father’s still darkened expression.
Seeing Yu Zhengqing’s face still grim, Yu Xiaoxuan dared not utter another word, only stealing a few sidelong glances at Old Madam Chen.
Old Madam Chen had initially been overjoyed, thinking she had finally found the perfect leverage against Yu Haojie and that her righteous son would finally reassess the brother he cared so much about. But to her surprise, Yu Zhengqing didn’t react at all—not even a flicker in his eyes.
Seeing this, she awkwardly turned away, glancing behind her at Lady Lan and her two children, who were sitting cautiously on the floor mats. Just thinking about the fact that she had to cook for them filled her with renewed resentment!
“Fine, I’m the sinner here! No matter what I say, it means nothing! I carried this child for ten long months, yet he chooses to trust the son of some vixen instead of his own mother! Oh, heavens, why haven’t you taken me yet? Why leave this old woman here to suffer? Old man, look at this! Ever since you’ve been gone, this family has fallen apart—our son doesn’t even acknowledge his own mother anymore!”
“Shut up!”
Finally, Yu Zhengqing’s blank expression gave way to anger once more!
That single, forceful command seemed to drain what little strength he had left. The roar pulled at his wounds, sending sharp pains through his chest and turning his face pale.
“Husband!”
“Father!”
Lady Lan and Chang Huilan both rushed forward in concern, but Yu Xiaoran was quicker, appearing at Yu Zhengqing’s side in an instant. He placed a hand on his father’s back and channeled his inner energy to stabilize his condition.
Only after a long moment did Yu Zhengqing’s complexion regain some color, and his body no longer felt so weak.
“In the future, you are not to use your inner energy to heal me.”
Yu Zhengqing’s cold gaze locked onto Yu Xiaoran, his voice firm and commanding, leaving no room for argument.
Yu Xiaoran nodded obediently, though in his heart, he knew that if a similar situation arose, he would never just stand by and watch.
“The firewood at home is running low. Staying in the cave all day isn’t good for us. I’ll take Xiaoxuan out to gather some.”
Yu Zhengqing said nothing, nor did he give any sign of approval, his demeanor unchanged from before his outburst.
Even Old Madam Chen, having just thrown a fit, now dared not stir up further trouble. She knew full well that everyone in the family still depended on Yu Zhengqing. If she truly angered him to the point of worsening his injuries, she would bear the blame alone.
*
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
The rice paddies had been fully cultivated, and the seedlings planted. Cabbages and lettuces had already been harvested once, with a second round now ready for picking.
Looking across the once-barren wasteland, it was now covered in lush greenery.
Yu Luo and Yu Haojie had taken another trip outside and returned with thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses. They had even brought back thousands of piglets, along with large numbers of chickens, ducks, and geese.
The rainfall had created new lakes, now teeming with fish. Although still small, by next year, they would provide an additional food source for the settlement.
What had once been a landscape dominated by desert poplar trees was now sprouting new plant life, even young saplings.
Seizing the opportunity, Yu Luo purchased an abundance of seedlings from her system shop—watermelons, yellow peaches, grapes, cherries, loquats, persimmons, nectarines, oranges—transforming vast areas into thriving orchards.
Though it was a bit late in the season for watermelons, they were rare and valuable in this era. Yu Luo spent fifty thousand taels of silver to purchase five bottles of organic growth accelerant. A single drop could be diluted into an entire vat of water, dramatically accelerating plant growth.
When she first saw this item in the seventh-tier shop, she could hardly believe something so miraculous existed in her system.
The system then advised her that by unlocking this tier, she had already gained enough power to live freely in this world. It warned against unlocking the eighth-tier shop recklessly.
She understood—anything in the eighth tier would likely be far beyond what this world should possess. The growth accelerant was merely a transitional tool.
As for the livestock, with no dedicated enclosures yet, she let them roam freely within the walled city. Simple shelters were built to provide nighttime cover from the dew.
The wild grasses that had flourished after the rain became a convenient food source for the animals.
She continued replenishing the grain stores in the underground cellar every few days, occasionally restocking the ice cellar with vegetables and meat.
Though Zhang Hu and the others remained suspicious, none dared to question it.
The city walls were nearly complete, with only the main gate remaining.
With an increased number of horses and carts, Storm now assigned hundreds of men to travel dozens of miles away to gather timber daily.
In just one month, a modern railway track had been laid, stretching from the city to Stone Mountain’s farmland and the kilns.
Certain transport carts had been modified with rail wheels, transforming them into makeshift trains. This greatly increased transportation capacity and speed, reducing travel time significantly.
With the continuous coal mining efforts, stockpiles had grown large. Millions of bricks had been fired, and many laborers were now being recalled from land clearing to begin construction inside the city.
The streets had already been mapped out, and the next step was to build houses along them.
To save time and resources, Yu Haojie decided against elaborate architecture. Instead, they opted for single-story blue-brick, black-tile houses, with all outer walls uniformly painted white.
Their primary goal was to complete the storefronts facing the streets before the heavy snows arrived.
With over ten thousand people needing shelter, the priority was constructing large communal dormitories. The expansive backyards of the shopfronts could be developed later, perhaps next year.
By mid-October, the wilderness would begin to see snowfall, and housing for the workforce needed to be secured before the cold set in.
“Father, there are many streets in the city plan, but we don’t have to build them all this year. Let’s focus on three major streets first.
Right now, the farmland only needs a few hundred guards, and the brickyards, lime kilns, and coal mines require about five thousand workers. That leaves us with ten thousand available laborers for construction.
Instead of spreading ourselves too thin, let’s concentrate on making two main streets look impressive. I’ve been to Feng City, and all their streets are made of old wooden planks—they look outdated.
Our city will not only focus on commerce but also on tourism. Aesthetic appeal is crucial. If we can’t complete everything this year, we can continue next year.
With the city walls nearly finished, the wilderness may be hot during the day, but it’s cool at night, so construction won’t be delayed.
Most importantly, now that we have fortified defenses, we no longer have to worry about being invaded.”
