The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Yun Xi's gaze towards Qi Rong gradually took on a different shade. So she directly voiced her doubts.
Qi Rong nodded slightly. Seeing a small flower on the rock wall, he casually plucked it and pinned it in Yun Xi's hair. But his tone was cold as he said:
"Local officials only care about their political achievements and promotions. They don't care about the lives of the common people. If they truly cared about the livelihoods of the people downstream, they would conduct on - site investigations, and these swallow caves wouldn't be hard to find."
"However, the reality is that 'even a clean - looking local official can amass a fortune of 100,000 taels of silver in three years'. They collude with each other, fabricating their political achievements. Even the reports on this dike - building project are vastly different from the actual situation on the ground!"
If he hadn't sent people to re - investigate in advance and timely discovered the flaws, even if they completed the tasks of building the dike and the bridge within the scheduled time according to the previous blueprints, the new bridge would be washed away again within five years! Once the flood season came, the flood would overflow the banks again, submerging houses and farmlands downstream, and even causing greater floods that would endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of people downstream!
Listening to Qi Rong's analysis, Yun Xi's face suddenly changed, and she couldn't help taking a sharp breath.
Building dikes and bridges is originally a great deed that benefits the country and the people. Not to mention the huge scale of the project, which requires a large amount of manpower and financial resources. Yet, for such an important matter, local officials dared to deceive their superiors and the public and lie about the real situation!
Didn't they fear beheading?
Yun Xi remembered that before she came here, those officials had been blocking the courtyard gate for several days. How many of them knew the truth?
Or perhaps, they already knew the truth but still didn't care about the lives of the people downstream. They only cared about whether they could complete the tasks on time and get promoted!
Thinking of this, Yun Xi couldn't help shivering.
"Haven't you thought about reporting this matter directly to the emperor?"
Yun Xi frowned as she looked at Qi Rong. She didn't want Qi Rong to be criticized for being stubborn. He was truly concerned about the people, but it would be difficult for him to defend himself!
"Tell him?"
Qi Rong suddenly sneered, his expression full of disdain:
"Qi Hong is fond of boasting about his achievements. Now the situation in the court is turbulent, and he is eager to assert his authority. Not to mention that this project might last for about five years. Even if it could only last for two years, he would still insist on promoting this dike - building plan."
So, if the truth were told to Qi Hong, it would be the worst strategy!
"Then what can you do?"
Hearing Qi Rong directly call the emperor by his name, Yun Xi didn't correct him. Instead, she looked anxious.
She finally understood the real reason why Qi Rong was willing to take the risk himself rather than discuss it with those officials.
The current emperor had usurped the throne by killing his father. After ascending the throne, he was fatuous and incompetent. He was only busy eliminating his political opponents and never made any achievements beneficial to the people.
On the contrary, during his reign in the past few years, he had encouraged the struggles among several forces, making people feel panicked. Coupled with the excessive taxation and extortion of local officials, the people were suffering even more!
Compared with the prosperous era of the previous emperor in the Liuguo, the country was already showing signs of a rapid decline!
"You're worried about me?"
Qi Rong raised his eyebrows and looked at her. The joy in his eyes couldn't be hidden. Yun Xi glared at him:
"Isn't that obvious?"
It was such a critical moment, yet he still had the mood to tease her?
Although she was happy to discover these swallow caves, thinking about the great risk Qi Rong had to take for the livelihoods of the people downstream made her feel as if there was a fishbone stuck in her throat.
She also wanted to share some of his burdens!
Facing Yun Xi's anxiety, Qi Rong looked calm. He picked her up horizontally again and strode down the mountain.
"You don't need to worry about the dike - building and bridge - building. You just need to think about how to deal with these bird's nests."
Yun Xi pursed her lips. She thought that she really didn't understand the former and couldn't get involved. But regarding the latter, she might really need to think about how to turn these things into wealth and truly benefit the local people.
"Although I haven't come up with a good strategy for the time being, one thing is for sure!"
Yun Xi said firmly. Qi Rong smiled and asked.
"What is it?"
Yun Xi snorted and said forcefully:
"That is, we must never let the local officials know this news! Otherwise, with their greed, they will surely try to take it for themselves!"
These local officials were eager for fame and fortune. They secretly exploited the people. If they learned that there were blood - red swallow nests here, they might over - harvest them and destroy the sustainable source of wealth.
And the local people wouldn't even get a drop of the profit!
"You're right!"
Qi Rong looked at Yun Xi appreciatively and immediately announced:
"So tomorrow I'll go to see the magistrate of Lingchuan and buy out all the mountains stretching for dozens of miles. I'll assign people to guard them, and no idlers will be allowed to enter the mountains!"
By then, even if the local officials learned about this, it would be too late. They would have full control over the harvesting of the swallow nests.
Hearing this, Yun Xi's eyes lit up:
"That's a good idea!"
It wasn't unusual for private individuals to buy out mountains these days. As long as one had money, it wasn't difficult to own several mines. Moreover, the government would issue official documents to guarantee their ownership.
At that time, she could hire local people to harvest the nests and pay them wages. She could even teach them the techniques of sorting and processing the bird's nests, and let capable people contract and manage the business, giving them a share of the profits. It would be a win - win - win situation!
As long as these bird's nests were harvested, with the influence of the Su family's business, she wouldn't have to worry about the market.
Moreover, she could create a unique brand for the blood - red swallow nests, make their name well - known, and sell them all over Liuguo and even the world!
But thinking of another problem, Yun Xi couldn't help asking curiously:
"Buying out these mountains will cost a fortune. How much silver do you plan to spend?"
Then, she quickly added with a smile:
"Of course, as your partner, I'm also willing to bear half of the cost!"
After deducting all the expenses, she would naturally share the profits equally with Qi Rong. In business, she wouldn't do a losing deal.
Looking at the cunning in Yun Xi's eyes, Qi Rong smiled and quickly pecked her on the lips. His tone was ambiguous as he said:
"As long as you're willing to marry me, I'm all yours."
So when he first discovered the swallow caves, he had already decided to leave everything to Yun Xi.
Moreover, who said he had to spend silver to get these mountains? He had plenty of ways to make the magistrate of Lingchuan offer them obediently without a single complaint!
"I don't want you!"
Yun Xi didn't know what Qi Rong was thinking. But she minded being kissed by him for the second time today. She blushed with anger and pounded his chest hard.
Perhaps after learning about Nightingale's identity, she gradually believed Qi Rong's words and no longer felt jealous about the other women in his mansion.
So she was more frank with her own feelings.
"Really don't want me?"
Qi Rong's voice was hoarse and deep, which made Yun Xi tremble all over. She pulled his cheeks back with both hands until they were almost deformed. Her expression was shy and annoyed:
"You're really going too far! How can you be so shameless? You don't care about your reputation at all!"
Qi Rong laughed even more wantonly and tightly held her in his arms.
His black eyes stared at her intently:
"What do I need reputation for? As long as I have you, that's enough..."