"Seasonal chestnut imports."
"Indeed, Lady Cai," Ling Qi said, hands clasped in front of her. Bowed at precisely the correct angle, it allowed her growing hair to hang past her face and give cover to her small smile.
She might enjoy causing Cai Renxiang to wear that particular expression a little too much.
Her liege set her quill down and steepled her fingers in front of her. "Because that is what was being roasted when the winter spirit came upon you."
"Correct, Lady Cai."
Renxiang closed her eyes and breathed out. "Very well. I expect you to have the trade requisition for the specific breed of chestnut used, as well as the yearly cost estimates of the import given route tariffs filed in full by tomorrow morning."
Ling Qi's smile vanished. "Ah…"
"Baroness Ling has surely considered the full needs of her request on the journey home after all," Cai Renxiang said blandly.
…This wasn't as much fun, now that Renxiang bit back.
She supposed she couldn't complain. She was going to have to adjust strategy for sure though.
"But that aside, the mission was successful, and you did not damage your health?"
"I have put some strain on my meridians and body but no more than is required for recovery, I think," Ling Qi said, straightening up. "Though I will need to take things lightly for a day or two."
"A good thing, given your tasks. I believe the requisition should only be needed by weeks end, given you said sir Bao has a small supply for our immediate needs."
She wasn't actually getting out of it though.
"A few days in the manor will do me well, I suppose I can begin organizing things for my family too. I have to say, I am impressed with the quality of the construction," Ling Qi said.
"I am pleased with the results myself," Cai Renxiang said, leaning back in her chair, together with Ling Qi they looked out of the board window which peered through the mist at the rising town center. "We will be growing far more quickly than a normal settlement. it is best to begin this way."
Normally such a small hamlet would use much more rustic styles and materials, but they were not going to be a small hamlet for very long, in most measures of things. In the end, this was a great investment of the Cai clan, putting a population hub directly on the route to the summit location. They were tied to that success, in so many ways.
"Housing is still being allocated, would you care for something detached, or would you like a manor wing?" Cai Renxiang asked idly. It was rare to see her smile, but looking out over the town managed to make the stoic girl's lips curve up.
"Is that viable?" Ling Qi asked. "The manor is needed for many things."
"A Barons manor is meant to house their clan as well as settlement administration. I have none to house and will not in any near future. Gan Guangli has already elected to take a plot outside the manor for his needs. Xia Lin is not bringing anyone," Cai Renxiang replied.
"It would save us having to import more domestic staff," Ling Qi said. She did like the idea. "...And integrating the panic room I commissioned from Xuan Shi would be best suited to the manor."
"Then do so, give the dimensions to the architects, and we will find a place for it in the ongoing digging."
Ling Qi nodded, stepping away from the desk to sink into one of the chairs arranged around the office. "I'll go this evening then. What are our plans now that the city center is set up?"
"I will have to convert much of my allowance into usable resources, as the reserves purchased by Xia Lin and yourself have finally run dry," Cai Renxiang said consideringly. "I will see a portion of that replenished to your clan coffers of course, now that my funds are not so constrained."
"I never had any doubts," Ling Qi shrugged. This was going to be her home; she had never been troubled by investing into it. "I suppose that explains all the traffic still coming in though."
"Bulk storage rings would reduce the load, but are a frivolous expense at this point in development," Cai Renxiang agreed. "For now the main task is a proper propitiation of Snowblossom Lake, if you feel you are recovered enough."
Ling Qi considered her confrontation with the Weeping Mother, and then the somewhat alien but warm curiosity she had encountered in her first contact with Snowblossom Lake's spirit. Yes, she supposed she could manage. "I see, yes, I can. I would have thought you would want to develop the administration a little more."
"It does pain me to leave it aside, but the cost savings are less valuable than the stability the populace will feel knowing that proper rites have been laid down for something so central to the settlement's future economy," her liege said.
"Understandable," Ling Qi agreed. "You know, what is the actual purpose of the central granary and taxation plans here, it's not as if WE have any need for their grains."
"At this stage, insurance against poor condition," Cai Renxiang. "Each farm household will pay a tithe into the central storage, and this will be used to distribute aid should any one household be struck by a poor harvest. In the future, it will be used to provide a certain baseline of nutrition for the population not working in food production. Something similar can be arranged with the fishermen, though more preservation efforts will be needed"
Ling Qi tilted her head. "...that does not match my experience at all."
"...It is one of Mother's innovations. It is easier in Xiangmen, but I do not find it credible that mortals will become decadent and unmotivated without such insecurity, as many insist they will," Cai Renxiang said. "I wish to see if it is possible under less optimal circumstances."
Ling Qi did remember Xiao Fen's friend, Liu Xin, saying something about there being places to go in the rootways to receive a meal and sleep safely, even after he had been driven out of his father's house.
…How luxurious.
"I see, I think I like that idea," Ling Qi said. "Though…"
"I am not blinded. My Mother has accomplished many things. I am not so childish as to ignore that."
Ling Qi simply inclined her head. Cai Renxiang was speaking more for her own benefit than Ling Qi's there. When a moment or two of considering silence had passed, Ling Qi spoke up again.
"Well There's much to build on and test. Do you have a plan for letting our people start doing something on their own?"
"I do, it will require more administration, but I would like the populace to be able to apply requests to open community projects on their own. We simply do not have enough capacity or demand for it at the moment," Cai Renxiang said, standing up from her seat.
"I suppose so, everyone has their hands full just getting the basics done," Ling Qi said.
"Indeed, what are you planning for your own time, Ling Qi?"
"Well my dress should be back in a few weeks, so I'll need to acclimate," Ling Qi said, smiling at the thought. It would be so good to get back into her proper gown, no other cloth felt quite right anymore, and it would do wonders for her peace of mind to have those layers of enhanced silk between her and any danger again, let alone the security of being able to fly if she needed too. "Buuut… Beyond the ceremonies I'd like to begin cultivating properly again, and looking into some personal projects.
The problems at the Cathedral of Winds, the vision of the regenerating Behemoth in the liminal, Zhengui's…
Well one of his progenitors. It had been itching in the back of her head for a long time now.
"I see, I have you slated for light duty until the year's end, so that is fine enough," Cai Renxiang said, facing the window with her arms folded behind her back.
"Ling Qi hummed. "You know… I was cultivating my offensive arts, out on this journey and while I feel I've refined it conceptually, that's a little different from practice."
Cai Renxiang turned her head to look at Ling Qi over her shoulder.
"It's been a long time since Gan Guangli, you and I have sparred, hasn't it? Xia Lin might appreciate some team building too. Light contact of course."
"Team building, I see," Cai Renxiang said dryly.
Ling Qi tilted her head innocently.
"Some recreation may be in order. There is time in the schedule, and I suppose it will create confidence among the garrison if allowed to be witnessed."
"Lady Cai is wise."
"I wonder."
She looked thoughtful, peering outside, over the town center still filled more with the bustle of construction than populace. "You were being facetious. But we will soon need to fight together. We will not be in the van, but we are not going to be far behind. I strongly suspect Mother intends for us to earn more traditional honors in the offensive."
"It will certainly firm our position in a way no one can challenge," Ling Qi said quietly. Her thoughts flashed back to the vast underground territory of the ith, where they would soon be going to make war.
It was going to be a nightmare. She had only seen the edges of war, the ripples and memories and scars it left in its wake. But even this left her with no illusions.
But it was a nightmare they would have to endure and survive. And no amount of brooding or overthinking would change that. "So, all the more reason. Next week… the sixth day?"
"So you have been paying attention to my timetables," Cai Renxiang said. "Yes, that will do."
"The question is…. Pairs you think? We haven't gotten to fight on the same side since the caldera."
Cai Renxiang turned to fully face her, one eyebrow raised as high as it would go.
"...For one round, we can switch it up," Ling Qi said defensively. "I'd like to test my arts beyond renewing them when you strip the effects off you know."
"I have not said anything," she replied blandly. "Rotating pairs will be sufficient. Now Lady Ling, I believe you should head to the archive, and begin researching that import route."
Ling Qi sighed. She REALLY wasn't getting out of that, huh?
AN: Just a little wrap up and a bit of indulgence coming next time, along with the vote for the second cultivation project you'll be beginning.
