IDWBE -Chapter 107 There’s Nothing Money Can’t Solve

Lin Yi was stunned.

An earthquake could be blamed on them too?

After a long pause, he sighed.

“When the earth dragon turns over—haven’t you seen that before?

‘Rivers boil, hills collapse.
High banks become valleys, deep valleys become hills.’

Such things are common.”

The leader stiffened his neck.

“No! Ever since you started building the road, the mountain collapsed!”

Chen Xinluo stepped forward and said quietly, “Your Highness, it was blasted with gunpowder.”

Lin Yi sighed again.

He had no time to explain what gunpowder was.

“Fine. How much do you want?”

Lin Yi had always been straightforward.

Whether in his previous life or this one, some truths remained the same.

Why believe in gods and spirits?

For benefits, of course.

If there’s no benefit, people would curse the heavens and all the Buddhas alike.

Give enough money, and who still cares about ghosts or feng shui?

“Uh…”

The big official being this direct caught the leader off guard.

Legend had it that government troops slaughtered indiscriminately. Ten years ago, they had even witnessed vast armies sweeping through.

Lin Yi said impatiently, “Be quick. How much to let us continue building the road? Name a number.”

Ye Qiu suddenly pointed his branch at the leader. “How about I kill them all for you, and we’ll be even?”

Suddenly, his chest tightened. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Hong Ying in terror.

Quietly, he wiped the blood away with his sleeve and said nothing.

“It’s hot. Too much fire in your body. Talk less—no one’s treating you as mute,” Lin Yi said coldly.
“Everything about you is fine except your lack of humanity. Even cats and dogs aren’t to be killed at will. You’d better remember that. If staying by my side or in my residence feels like such a grievance, you may leave right now.”

He did not want someone so devoid of humanity around him.

Ye Qiu lowered his head in silence.

He wanted to leave.

But without that damned eunuch’s permission, how would he dare?

At twenty-three, when his sword-heart reached perfection, he had traveled far and wide—never once defeated.

But before Hong Ying, he had broken many “firsts.”

His first defeat.

His first defeat within three moves.

His first time fleeing.

And he hadn’t even escaped.

Today, another record was broken. A hidden palm strike had come at him—he hadn’t even dared dodge, just endured it head-on.

Now he wanted to cough up blood—

But he dared not.

That damned eunuch had said their prince liked cleanliness.

“I…”

The tribal leader was already at the hua jin level. He clearly felt Ye Qiu’s killing intent.

If that man acted, not a single member of his clan—young or old—would survive.

He was certain of it.

He wasn’t a fool.

Lin Yi said impatiently, “Name a number.”

“Sir… would one hundred taels do?”

The leader finally forced out a figure.

“One hundred taels?”

Lin Yi was speechless. These people had truly never seen the world.

With a wave of his hand, he said, “I’ll give you one thousand taels. How about that?”

“This…”

The enemy being so generous made the leader hesitate instead.

Lin Yi asked, “Do you know Fangniao Island?”

“Of course.”

“Then do you know what tribes lie along the road there?”

“There is only one Li tribe ahead. Their chief draws a bow several feet long, with arrows over a foot long—mighty and fierce!”

Lin Yi waved him off impatiently.

“I don’t care what tribe they are. Just tell me—if I give you one thousand taels, can you handle them? Make sure they don’t interfere with road construction?”

After hesitating for a long while, the leader swung his blade and gritted his teeth.

“We sons of the Lian tribe are not to be trifled with!”

“Good. Then it’s settled.”

At Lin Yi’s words, guards brought forward a large chest.

When the lid was lifted, the silver inside glittered brightly.

The tribespeople swallowed hard.

Some of the bolder ones even stepped forward to carry the chest.

“But,” Lin Yi added, “you must agree to one more condition.”

“What condition?”

The leader’s face stiffened.

“You have so many idle people anyway. Help with the road construction,” Lin Yi said with a smile. “Three meals a day. All you can eat.”

“Like what they’re eating?” The leader pointed at the craftsmen.

“Of course. Fair and honest.”

“Then it’s a deal!”

The leader suppressed his joy.

If they truly ate the same as those craftsmen, forget building roads—risking their lives would be worth it!

“Good.”

The guards stepped back, and the Lian tribespeople happily carried the chest away.

Lin Yi himself looked unconcerned.

Sanhe was his. Baiyun City was his.

In the end, these people would spend their money in Baiyun City anyway.

Left pocket, right pocket.

The money would still return to him.

What difference did it make?

He had often seen newspaper headlines in his previous life: “Raising rural purchasing power is key to expanding domestic demand.”

Read enough times, and you understand.

Without giving, how can you gain?

You can’t let these people remain too poor.

It’s for their sake—and for your own.

The two sides reached an agreement.

The craftsmen from Baiyun City resumed construction, and the Lian tribe joined in.

Facing the shattered rocks blasted by explosives, they no longer cared. With full stomachs, lying down felt best; they had no interest in meddling with anything else.

After all, roadwork meant three meals a day.

The labor-reform prisoners, however, only got two—and never enough to fill them. But that wasn’t their concern.

Lin Yi stayed in the Lian tribe for two nights.

Seeing the hundred or so children, barely clothed, he couldn’t help but say he would take them away.

The leader, Ning Gu, asked for three hundred taels.

“Is this selling children?”

Lin Yi didn’t bother arguing.

He paid without hesitation.

The next day, he led away a group of laughing children, followed by a long trail of women crying their hearts out.

The men held them back; they couldn’t catch up even if they tried.

“If you want to see your children, you can come to Baiyun City anytime!”

Lin Yi had Shen Chu shout it several times.

The voice echoed through the valley for a long time.

As they walked farther away, more children began to cry.

Lin Yi himself wasn’t sure whether this was right or wrong.

If the children had stayed, he believed half wouldn’t survive to adulthood.

Such was the level of sanitation in this era.

Even in wealthy households, many children died young.

Back in Baiyun City.

The grand expedition returned without prisoners, greatly disappointing the city’s residents.

The crowd that had come to watch dispersed quickly.

The children brought from the Lian tribe were placed in the orphanage.

They were cared for by Granny Sang—the first in Baiyun City to reach hua jin. Despite her exhausting efforts, she couldn’t prevent the children from being bullied.

Not a single one of them spoke the official tongue. They didn’t even understand the local Baiyun dialect—only their own incomprehensible speech.

The most exhausted were Mingyue and Zixia, busy day and night.

Lin Yi saw it all.

But he spread his hands helplessly.

All he knew how to do was talk.