30. Each day feels like a year.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. With winter approaching, the construction team recruited by Zhao Da was finally assembled. The tasks ahead were relatively straightforward: constructing buildings and kilns along the river.

With the help of his smartphone, Xia Lin found the construction of traditional kilns to be no challenge at all. As long as there were skilled masons, everything would be fine; the rest was simply a matter of spending money.

"My lord, according to our projections, everything should be completed by June of next year. I heard you wanted to open a mine, so I’ve brought in a group of miners from elsewhere. I hope this meets your satisfaction."

"Satisfied, naturally. But the overall pace must be accelerated."

Xia Lin stood by the river, gazing at the massive construction site. He felt a wave of sentimentality. It was no wonder nine out of ten men loved playing city-building strategy games; the feeling of watching a region develop bit by bit right before one's eyes was truly delightful. A sense of pride and accomplishment welled up within him—it was a truly sophisticated pleasure.

"Zhao Da," Xia Lin bent down, picked up a stone from the riverbank, and skipped it across the water. "With these fifteen hundred men, you must have skimmed off ten thousand taels of silver or so in the process, right?"

"My lord... you wrong me! How would I dare to embezzle money while working for you? I..."

"Enough." Xia Lin raised his hand, waving it dismissively. "I once knew a high official whose surname was He. He said that to get subordinates to work, one must first ensure they are well-fed; only when they are fed can they work effectively. However, the point remains: keep the money if you must, but you must get the job done. If the work isn't done well, I will have to deal with you. Do you understand?"

Zhao Da didn't know any high official, but hearing this young lord speak made his heart race. That "high official surnamed He" sounded intimidating, and the way the young lord spoke was just like the high-ranking officials in storybooks. It seemed this young lord truly had a formidable background. But then again, what kind of ninth-rank sesame official could stand there with more imposing authority than the county magistrate?

"Yes, yes, of course. I will certainly get the work done perfectly for you."

"Good." Xia Lin nodded and turned to walk back. "By the way, I gave you the location of the mine yesterday. If you have time, take your men to scout it."

Xia Lin’s first step was, naturally, to produce porcelain. He could hardly manufacture bicycles. Relying on the famous Jingdezhen area, porcelain was an industry where even closing one’s eyes and diving in wouldn't lead to major problems.

According to the information he could find, the steps for ancient porcelain production were already clearly laid out. However, attracting investment was difficult. Xinping Township was far less renowned for its porcelain than the Yue or Xing kilns at the time, making it hard to convince merchants to invest in such a remote backwater. Thus, Xia Lin decided to operate under an entirely new model.

After returning from the river, he gathered the village chiefs and clan elders of the township and briefly explained his idea: "This so-called 'township-elder cooperative system' means the township covers half the funding, and each village covers the other half. Those with money can contribute cash, while those without can contribute labor in lieu of capital. We will start the workshops this way, and once production is successful, each village will gradually develop its own signature patterns. At the end of each year, the profits will be distributed to the villages for unified allocation."

The dozen or so village chiefs looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion. They hadn't understood a word of what Xia Lin meant.

Chuntao, who was listening on the sidelines, finally couldn't help herself. She cleared her throat, walked up, and said to Xia Lin, "Master, you are being too verbose. They cannot understand you."

"Then how should I say it?"

"Let me." Chuntao glanced at Xia Lin with a smile. "It seems there are times when even you, Master, are not quite up to the task."

"Hey! What kind of talk is that?"

Chuntao, after all, was a hand-picked maidservant of the young prince; her capabilities were beyond reproach. She conveyed Xia Lin’s concept in a way that these country folk could easily grasp.

Simply put, the villages wouldn't need to spend money to start a workshop—one workshop per village. The villagers would work there, and at the end of the year, they would share the profits. It was that simple. There was no need for complex systems. Ordinary illiterate folk only cared about two things: do I have to spend money, and can I make money?

No cost and a chance to earn? That was a deal they could work with!

Watching the village elders press their thumbprints onto the agreement, Xia Lin genuinely sighed that being a cadre was no easy feat. Every day he faced these people; it was an achievement in itself to keep them from starving, let alone helping them get rich. Good heavens... what a monumental task.

Looking at the signed agreement, Xia Lin didn't pay it much mind and told Chuntao to store it somewhere. He knew this paper was only useful once they started making money. If they lost money, he would still have to pay those people what they were owed, or they would cause trouble.

Thinking about it now, he had come here to build up his political record, but in reality, it was just poverty alleviation. It had all twisted and turned into "Reborn: My First Battle in Ancient Times."

Regardless, it was a good start. Now, he was most looking forward to this time next year.

In the afternoon, the grain, rice, flour, clothes, and bedding that Xia Lin had commissioned from a passing merchant caravan arrived. It cost over seven hundred taels of silver in total. These supplies would be distributed to the widows, widowers, and orphans of Xinping Township.

As for why he did this, Xia Lin wasn't sure, but he followed his memories—winter was coming, and during his recent visits to the villages, he saw that the lives of the elderly and widowed were truly difficult. Without these supplies, some of them might not survive the winter.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Chuntao."

Watching Chuntao and the village women organize the supplies, Xia Lin thanked her again. Chuntao had long since grown accustomed to this frugal life; she even began to enjoy the stability and spontaneity here. Her former melancholy had long vanished, and she had recovered the bright, pretty appearance she had when they first met.

"Master, you always say 'thank you for your hard work' without any sincerity. If you ask me, you're not even as good as those pale scholars in the red-light districts who trick girls; at least they know how to say sweet things. Unlike you, who only knows how to say that one phrase."

Xia Lin rolled his eyes at her, reached into his pocket, and took out a small box. "I was planning to give this to you on New Year's Eve, but since you're so impatient, take it, take it."

Chuntao curiously opened the box and saw a gold hairpin inside, intricately and beautifully crafted. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Xia Lin in disbelief. "Master... you..."

"You’ve been with me from spring to winter without a single cent of wages. I thought I’d buy you something for the New Year to cover your salary. After much thought, I had the caravan bring this gold hairpin to settle your pay."

Chuntao tilted her head, looking at Xia Lin with a complex expression. As a servant—even the servant of a young prince—she had no status to wear gold or silver. She had been sold by her parents to a human trafficker at a young age, who then sold her to a house that trained maids for the nobility. Since the age of six, she had known hardship; she had to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, or face brutal beatings.

At thirteen, she was bought by the Prince's estate, and at fifteen, she became the young prince's personal maid. Because she was clever and capable, she was favored by the prince and brought everywhere. Yet, even so, in the eyes of the nobility, she was nothing more than an object to be given away at will.

Ironically, in her life so far, the only time she had been treated like a human being was in this remote, poor countryside. Following this boy, who was a year younger than her, was hard work, but it was truly interesting.

What surprised Chuntao most was that he had actually prepared a gift for her with such care. This hairpin might not be incredibly expensive, but it was truly beautiful, and at the very least, it was the only gift she had ever received in her life.

"That's enough, it's just wages. I specifically chose a seventy-tael gold hairpin—wages plus a year-end bonus." Xia Lin yawned. "Someone gave me two fish earlier; have them cooked for dinner. I haven't had meat in a long time..."

And so, the year finally drew to a close. This year, the New Year arrived early; based on the sun's trajectory, it was mid-January. The township office began its holiday today. After Xia Lin distributed the year-end bonuses and salaries to the clerks and staff, the year was officially over.

The once-busy office suddenly turned quiet. After inspecting the workers who remained to finish tasks and giving them their year-end bonuses, he took Chuntao and drove the ox cart toward the only small market in the township.

The market was small, consisting of only a dozen or so traveling peddlers selling their wares. Today, however, it was exceptionally lively because Xia Lin had instructed Zhao Da to inform the widows, widowers, and orphans to come and collect their New Year supplies.

The items weren't much, but they weren't few either: twenty catties of rice and flour, half a catty of salt, a quilt, and three taels of cured meat. It was enough to ensure they could have a hearty New Year.

This gesture naturally drew praise from all the villagers. After more than half a year, no one looked down on this sixteen-or-seventeen-year-old township magistrate anymore; he was a man of action who had truly brought them tangible benefits.

The working people had a simple set of values: whoever could bring them benefits and make their lives better was a good person. Xia Lin was clearly that good person.

After the supplies were distributed, Xia Lin stepped onto a millstone and shouted to the villagers: "That's it for this year! By next year, I will strive to ensure every household has meat to eat, wine to drink, and money to share!"

No nonsense, just a big promise—but the key was that the villagers loved it. People cheered and applauded, but just then, Xia Lin saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"Why are you back?" He jumped down from the millstone. "Were you kicked out?"

"The year is ending, where else would I go if not back here?" Old Zhang said with a smile, waving his fan. He shifted slightly to the side. "Look who I brought for you."

Xia Lin tilted his head and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Behind Old Zhang, dressed in men's clothing, was the young princess. Upon seeing Xia Lin, she shrieked and threw herself around his neck...

"Get down, get down! If people see this, it'll be a disaster..."