Chapter 135

"Li Yao, take a look, I told them but they wouldn't listen. Why don't you come and talk to them?"

Li Yao was also drunk. The village chief here really had no credibility at all.

Building a hotel and a scenic spot was her idea, of course not to attract tourists and make some pocket money for the villagers. She just felt that there must be these things here to match her aesthetic standards.

She was just "embezzling under the guise of public good".

As for why she insisted on adopting a collective system, it was just that she didn't want her own family to become too prominent, which would make people jealous.

"Let's just do as the village chief said."

"Now that Li Yao has said so, then we'll listen to you."

"Right, listening to Aunt Li must be right."

"Then we won't contribute money."

...

With just a word from Li Yao, all the villagers changed their minds. This made Wang Jiafu very depressed, feeling that he was just a figurehead.

Whereas Liu Yun, who had just arrived, was surprised many times in his heart.

He had never even heard of a collective system.

And this Li Yao was also beyond his expectations. She was not the "village woman" he had imagined, but was instead well-dressed, with a smile like a flower, and an easy and carefree temperament.

In all his life, he had never seen such a graceful woman.

He felt that even the Empress and Imperial Consorts would be inferior to her in some respects.

After the villagers' meeting was over, Li Yao was about to go back when Jia Zhanliang came over with several people.

"Mrs. Li, I've come again to get goods."

After some small talk, Li Yao had Jia Zhanliang's coal carried away to unload it.

There was no coal in Yizhou Prefecture, so it had to be transported from other places, at frighteningly high costs. Fortunately, every time Jia Zhanliang and Liu Yuan came to get goods, they would help bring some coal, charging only a minimum freight fee, which saved her a lot of trouble.

If only there was a train... Li Yao was determined to build trains, but the technology was not yet mature.

"Mrs. Li, let me introduce you," Jia Zhanliang made way for Liu Yun, "This is the young master Liu Pan, a big merchant in the capital city. He came this time wanting to get goods from you to sell to the lands beyond the pass."

Li Yao frowned. She looked Liu Yun up and down.

He was dressed luxuriously like a rich young master, just a little too young.

If he wanted to get goods to sell to Nan Zhao, Goryeo, or even Japan, she might have agreed.

But the lands beyond the pass were not a place ordinary people could go!

"A little brat wants to learn to do business?" So she bluntly refused, "Go back and have the elders in your family come."

Having said that, Li Yao turned and left, not intending to say another word to him.

Liu Yun, who was all smiles just now, was stunned in an instant.

Wasn't Li Yao too fierce?

Was this how to treat guests?

"Little Brother Liu," Jia Zhanliang said, "Mrs. Li is just temperamental like this, don't take it to heart."

"Brother Jia, is she... always like this?"

"I forgot to tell you, this Mrs. Li used to be a fierce woman who shook things up for miles around," Jia Zhanliang said with a laugh, "She's much better now. As long as you don't provoke her, she usually won't lose her temper."

Liu Yun: ...This is not what he imagined at all!

But now that he had come all this way, Liu Yun certainly would not be dismissed with just a word. So he quickly caught up.

"Mrs. Li, please wait."

Seeing him shamelessly chasing after her, Li Yao frowned, "Call me auntie."

Bai Song, who was attending Liu Yun, subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword when he saw Li Yao being disrespectful to Liu Yun repeatedly.

Seeing this, Li Yao smiled and asked, "What, just because I asked your young master to call me auntie, you want to stab me a couple times? Do you believe that before your sword leaves its sheath, I will beat you until your own mother can't recognize you?"

Bai Song: ...

Whether or not Li Yao was exaggerating, this momentum made him feel completely suppressed.

His hand reaching for the sword hilt unconsciously withdrew.

Liu Yun didn't even know what to say seeing this.

Damn, have you forgotten who you are?

You're the top martial artist in the imperial palace, yet just because of a remark, you chickened out? Of course, he didn't intend to bully people with power, so he very obediently changed his words: "Auntie Li, please give me a chance."

Although she didn't know Liu Yun's exact identity, Li Yao guessed a thing or two.

Someone who could bring a bodyguard like Bai Song and do business beyond the pass must be one of those royal princes or high ministers, maybe even related to the imperial family.

Never mind that General Ling was fighting the barbarians.

Fighting was one thing, business another. They were basically two unrelated things. But how could a greenhorn like him have any control over the business beyond the pass?

"I'll say it one last time, I won't do business with you," Li Yao said. "Go back and have your family's elders come."

Liu Yun thought to himself that his family's elders did want to come, but couldn't.

But it was just as well. After all, his main purpose was not to do business. Doing business was just an excuse. So he would take this opportunity to stay here for a while and secretly investigate whether those things really were done by Li Yao.

"Alright, alright, I'll send someone to call my dad over," Liu Yun said. "But I've come all this way, I can't just go back like this. Why don't I stay here and wait."

"That's up to you."

"Auntie Li, don't go!" Liu Yun shamelessly followed her, "You see I didn't bring much travel money. I can't afford to stay at an inn every day. I wonder if I could stay at your house for a few days?"

He had heard from Jia Zhanliang that even a casual meal cooked by Li Yao tasted dozens of times better than those made by the best chefs in the capital.

Li Yao thought to herself that this kid was quite thick-skinned.

A rich man's son, huh. Too comfortable and lazy, huh. She would let him know that the daily life of the common people at the bottom was not so easy.

"You can stay at my house, but there is a rule." Li Yao said, "I won't take your money. I'll provide meals every day, but you have to help out with the work around my house. If you can't do that, even if your dad comes, don't expect to buy anything from me."

Liu Yun felt his face rotting away.

He was the Ninth Prince!

Pampered since childhood, with food delivered to his mouth and clothes to his hands. And now that he had come here, he had to work to earn his meals?

But thinking of the mission Emperor Father had given him, he hardened his heart.

"Deal!"

Li Yao hadn't expected that he would actually agree, and felt that she had underestimated him.

"Then come with me."

After bringing Liu Yun and Bai Song back home, she had them stay in Wang San'er's house.

Before even settling in, Liu Yun was attracted by the various strange gadgets in the yard.

High-speed fans, flour mills, shelling machines... He hadn't seen these things even in his dreams, and they were all water powered!

"Auntie Li, did you make all these?"

"These are nothing," Wang Xiao Si played the host since they had guests at home. "To my mom, these are child's play. She has also built many large machines, all coal powered, at the workshop over there. Come, I'll take you to see!"