Lord of the Desert

Chapter 587 Overwhelmed
For the people of Fengsui, the Spring Festival of the thirty-fifth year of Zhenghe was more peaceful and prosperous than ever before.

The first month of the lunar calendar is a time for the people of Dahua to reunite and relax, but Hong Fan, who returned to Liangzhou early, was so busy that he couldn't even stand still.

As his political and business reach expanded further, his private time was further compressed. Not to mention inspecting and managing his business empires, he couldn't even keep up with reports on large-scale projects.

Fortunately, the "Yanhuang" Group Holding Company, which had been conceived for a long time and which consolidated all of Hong Fan's personal business shares, was finally officially established in February.

The company is headed by Hong Fu as general manager, with Cui Yutang and Zheng Zhun as his deputies. They usually do not directly intervene in the business of the subsidiaries, but are only responsible for auditing, coordination, reporting, and performance evaluation.

Changing the group's name from its previous life would be too straightforward, but the history and culture of this world are different. People generally believe that "Yan" refers to fire and "Huang" refers to sand, so the meaning seems just right.

In early March, Gong Pengyun, then 29 years old, broke through to the Innate Realm after years of hard work. He was immediately summoned back to the family by the overjoyed Tongguang Gong Clan, and the Chisha Army did not stop him.

This was partly because a master of innate skill was too important to a powerful family, and they couldn't afford to waste their resources fighting against foreign tribes in another province. It was also because Gong Heng had temporarily donated two thousand taels of military funds.

In mid-March, the Juehou Mountain trade route was fully opened, and a large number of caravans led by Shen's Yifeng Company continuously delivered high-quality products from Liangzhou that were cheap and inexpensive to the northern frontier. The thawing of the Ling River further amplified this impact, which quickly spread to the entire Zhenbei Sanwei. For a time, the pressure on the Rongtie Palace in Hezhou increased dramatically, and the high-ranking officials were extremely anxious and prayed to gods and Buddhas.

In late March, Yanhuang Group promoted the establishment of Dahua's first oil company, "Black Gold Company," and quickly acquired a surface oil field outside Boyang City in Liangzhou to begin preliminary exploration work.

Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

"The freshly steamed buns are ready!"

The steamer was opened, sending up plumes of white steam that shrouded the morning sky over Xijingqiao West Street.

Mo Shiqing took the steamed bun with his bare hands, looked eastward, crossed the straight long street, and saw the rising sun—perfectly round, like a red-hot copper coin—atop Xianzun Bridge.

He took a small bite and felt the hot, soft white noodles clinging tightly to his lips and teeth. After a few chews, a pleasant sweetness emerged.

[Xi'an is a remote place, but these steamed buns are cooked quite well.]

A perpetual calendar hangs on the wall of the steamed bun shop; a page from yesterday was forgotten to be torn off.

Mo Shiqing flicked his finger lightly, and a wisp of true energy flew out and slashed.

The ninth day of the fourth lunar month fell silently, and below the bright red "tenth" were two lines of tiny, fly-like characters:

It is auspicious for weddings, sacrifices, building stoves, and receiving wealth.

It is taboo to conduct burials, open markets, repair tombs, or erect monuments.

"Let's go, the shop's open."

Leng Zhuoxi's call came from not far away.

Mo Shiqing swallowed the steamed bun in two bites and caught up with his friend.

"This is the newly opened Tiangong Department Store in Xijing. This is my second time here."

Leng Zhuoxi pointed, his voice filled with admiration.

Mo Shiqing looked in the direction he was looking and came into view a four-story building with a mix of blue and red bricks and glazed ceramic tiles on the exterior walls.

As people flowed into the queue, the first thing they heard was the dense clicking of machinery.

The department store's first floor displays watches, eyeglasses, jewelry, and precious metals; under the glass roof and gaslights, the metal sparkles and glitters everywhere.

The elevator used to go upstairs is a hydraulic lift with four floors and four stops. It is pulled by a steam engine installed in the basement, with a maximum load of 1,600 kilograms and a speed of one meter per second.

The goods sold in the mall are arranged by floor with different themes. The second floor is for fabrics, silk products, leather goods, and clothing; the third floor is for hardware and machinery; and the fourth floor is for cultural and educational products.

The two strolled up the floors for an hour or so, and finally Leng Zhuoxi bought a cloisonné pocket watch—its movement was a standardized lever escapement mechanism with a daily error of no more than thirty seconds. By the time they left Tiangong Department Store, it was already quite bright, and the clouds shimmered with a pearly white light under the sunlight, quite dazzling.

[These things in Xijing are not even found in Qingheng City, let alone Shenjing...]

Mo Shiqing silently followed Leng Zhuoxi, his pride as a native of Zhongzhou completely gone, and he even felt somewhat lost.

After strolling across Hamson Bridge, a tram full of passengers rumbled past not far away.

The billowing smoke and ash rise into the sky, permeating and heating up this era.

"This must be the first time you've met me, Shiqing?"

Leng Zhuoxi stuffed the pocket watch he had been playing with the whole way into his pocket and asked.

"This iron chariot is stronger than any alien species. It runs tirelessly without rest, without temper or complaint. Ah, the world changes so fast and so drastically that I sometimes feel overwhelmed."

Upon hearing this, Mo Shiqing couldn't help but think of his own family.

He is now twenty-one years old, has reached the first level of martial arts, and ranks sixty-ninth on the list of geniuses. He is at the age when he has a bright future and can travel the world as an honored guest. However, with the passing of the Mo family's immortal, the overwhelming pressure from the Martial Academy has suddenly made him fall from the clouds back to the ground.

Now, the family has made a tough decision and split in two. Mo Shiqing also followed the last remaining Yuan Ci in the family to migrate south and hide in Yunlan City. This former capital of Huaiyang Kingdom has not recovered from the devastation caused by Feng Jianke and war. However, after getting rid of the Feng family and Gong family, it has become a rare power vacuum in the Nine Provinces, and it is far away from the capital and the mountain.

That's how the two of them got to know each other.

“I visited Xijing City when I was a child and had a fairly deep impression of it, but I don’t recognize it this time.”

Mo Shiqing sighed.

"The changes in Xijing are far more than what we see today."

Leng Zhuoxi chuckled lightly.

"The Xi'an-Canglangshan Railway has just been completed, and the second Xi'an-Tianpengshan Railway is also half-built. When the Xi'an-Guangjicheng Railway was raising funds, my clan hesitated for a while because the investment was too large, and now we no longer have the opportunity to invest."

As the most ambitious project of the Lianxing Group, the railway from Xijing to Guangji City was widely questioned due to its enormous scale and the relatively small size of Guangji City itself. However, the opening of the Juehou Mountain trade route at the beginning of the year greatly boosted trade between Liang and He prefectures, making everyone regret their decision. "With the Lingbo Leng family's influence, how can they have money they can't spend?"

Mo Shiqing said incredulously.

He was born and raised in a family of celestial beings and knew best of his family's past omnipotence in Qingheng City.

“You’re not from Liangzhou, and you’ve rarely been to Xijing City, so you don’t understand Hong Fan’s importance here.”

Leng Zhuoxi shook his head.

Jingming County, where the Leng family lived, was located in the northernmost of the three counties and had long been incorporated into Liangzhou.

"In business, his judgments require no evidence and are irrefutable. As long as his name is involved, gold and silver will grow legs and come running to him."

As he spoke, he thought of Jingzhe Metal and Black Gold Company, which were established a month ago. Due to the resistance of Feixia Sect, the Leng family failed to acquire shares in the former, but at least they successfully invested in the latter.

"Go back and take a bath and change your clothes, the wedding time is approaching."

Leng Zhuoxi took out his newly bought pocket watch.

Mo Shiqing frowned slightly.

There was still an hour before the wedding, and it seemed unnecessary for a scion of a noble family to bathe and change clothes for such a purpose.

(End of this chapter)