Hua Hui was a newcomer who had only recently joined the Yuheng Office.
Yet in just a single week, she had already deeply felt how overwhelming the place was.
The Yuheng Office was in charge of civil affairs—but "civil affairs" covered almost everything.
In only one short week, Hua Hui had thoroughly experienced how busy the Yuheng Office truly was.
As an ordinary civil servant, she might simultaneously face tasks such as construction permit approvals, bridge maintenance requests, deciding whether a certain tree in a certain area should be cut down, or handling demolition permits.
Some of these matters she could process according to established procedures.
Others—ones she didn't know how to handle—she could only report upward.
Of course, most things ended up being reported upward anyway, because many issues were things even her mentor couldn't confidently decide on.
But… wouldn't reporting everything place an unbearable burden on Lady Keqing?
Hua Hui had asked this question to the senior who originally guided her.
Unexpectedly, after hearing her question, the senior only sighed.
"There's no helping it…"
The senior said slowly,
"My own mentor once told me that, in the beginning, the Yuheng Office wasn't this busy."
"At the annual Rite of Descension, the Geo Lord would announce that year's policies, and the Seven Stars would carry them out."
"If something could be done, it was done. If it couldn't, ways would be found to make it happen. Back then, whether it was the Seven Stars or others, they only needed to handle small matters."
"Only the Ministry of Civil Affairs was truly busy, expanding constantly because of Liyue's commercial growth."
"Other than that, a house could be built and left alone until it naturally collapsed, and no one would care."
"But in recent years, Liyue seems to be developing better and better. Almost every year, something new appears—changes happening faster and faster."
"And so, the matters handled by the Yuheng Office increased. More and more, until it became what it is now."
Hua Hui still remembered asking her senior at the time:
"Then… has no one tried to improve things?"
"Improve? Improve what?" The senior chuckled, but there was bleak sorrow in that smile.
"In the end, no matter what gets reported upward, Lady Keqing can handle it. To her, we are inefficient. We only need to be her hands and feet, carrying out orders."
As he spoke, the senior patted Hua Hui's shoulder heavily.
"When you come to truly understand this, you'll leave on your own."
"No one is an all-round genius like Lady Keqing."
"No matter how desperately you try, you'll never truly reduce her workload. No matter how long you work, there will always be tasks you don't know how to handle."
"In the end, you'll only be able to report the things you truly can't finish."
"And then, you'll start slacking off."
"That sense of frustration, along with disappointment and guilt, will keep tormenting you. Eventually, when you can't endure it anymore, you'll leave."
The senior's words were filled with desolation.
Hua Hui hadn't understood back then—but now, she was starting to.
Just like the traffic optimization proposal she had submitted earlier. She had no idea how to handle it, nor did she know who to turn to.
A sense of loss lingered in her chest.
So, carrying a hint of self-abandonment—
Hua Hui could only continue submitting her work upward.
...
...
"So that's how it is."
After actually going out and seriously talking things through with everyone, Bai Ge finally understood.
Chaotic work. No division of labor. No sense of future. Too many tasks. No skilled workers. Everyone a rookie—and not particularly capable.
On top of that, the inherited political structure itself wasn't very good.
With a god above, people below only needed to carry out the god's commands. The system had never truly been reformed.
Because the Geo Lord stood above all, everyone unconsciously followed his example: a single decision-maker at the top, with everyone else merely executing tasks below.
From the very beginning, the Seven Stars handling everything personally had already become the norm. Overtime was tradition.
Did no one ever grow tired of this?
Sorry—Visions anchor a person's ambitions, meaning that the "corrosion" of human will is delayed by supernatural power.
Just like Fischl: chūnibyō from childhood, and after receiving a Vision, still chūnibyō. The Vision fixed her chūnibyō in place.
As for erosion—that's something only gods and adepti talk about.
For Vision holders?
Men remain boys until death.
Everyone was basically Zhuge Liang.
No wonder they were exhausted.
Bai Ge understood now.
"Ahem—then let's start dividing the work."
Bai Ge looked at the thirty-plus people in front of him.
"Resource planning, housing management, construction oversight, landscaping and water services—group all tasks by category."
"Each group will have a lead. Do what you're good at. If you don't know how, then we'll talk."
"And starting today, we implement a performance-based system. The capable rise, the weak fall."
Bai Ge began a sweeping reform of the Yuheng Office, then sent the documents back down, ordering them to be reclassified and reviewed.
After the initial division of labor—
Keqing stared silently at the only document left on her desk.
A water quality inspection application.