{Meng Mei's Room}
"Come to Daddy," I cooed at my son as he attempted to crawl to me from his place on the floor.
His arms wobbled from insufficient strength, but he remained upright. With his limbs in sync, he crawled towards me inch by inch. His face scrunched up in concentrations as he did so.
"Almost there, Feng! Just a little further!" I cheered.
Whether it was from my cheering or perhaps out of stubbornness, little Feng managed to reach me. He sat on his bottom and looked up at me while he tried to keep his head upright and still.
My heart felt like it was shot by an arrow, and I felt my eyes water a bit. Blinking the wetness away. I picked up little Feng and made sure he knew how proud I was.
"Of all the babies in the world, I declare you the best!"
While I knew he did not understand my words, my enthusiasm was apparently contagious, judging by the way he let out a high-pitched giggle.
From my place on the floor I looked over at Meng Mei and raised up Feng as if I were showing off a trophy.
"Don't you agree, Mei? Isn't our Feng the greatest?"
The usual cold expression on Meng Mei's face was nowhere to be seen. She looked at us calmly, and if I looked sideways, I thought I could even see a smile.
"Yes, yes, Feng is the mightiest indeed." She said calmly from her place on the sofa.
Noticing that I had gotten overexcited, I sat Feng down on my lap while I gathered my thoughts. I just remembered that I came here for a reason other than eating lunch and playing with Feng. It was just that Feng's crawling expertise had completely drawn my attention.
I cleared my throat and decided to discuss the topic that has been on my mind.
"So according to Ling Yu, the initial distribution of ID tokens should be finalized in the next few days, and I wanted to talk to you about the next project."
"Oh?" Her eyes locked with mine while occasionally dipping down to Feng in my lap.
"Now that we have a somewhat accurate count of the residents of Skyfall City, we can do a census." I said this while using Feng's hands to gesture and emphasize my words.
Her eyes shone with mirth before she focused on my words. She paused for a second before nodding.
"I can see why that would be useful. With the census, we would be able to accurately track population growth as well as..." She spoke with the confidence and calmness of someone who had been doing this for years.
Hearing her speak, I could not help smiling. Whenever I spoke like this to the other officials I hired or even Cao Peng sometimes, they would either look at me with profound confusion or as if I just made up some new words on a whim.
However, with Meng Mei, even if she doesn't know a word, she is able to understand the meaning behind it and get on my wavelength.
"Another thing I wanted your thoughts on was paving some roads and organizing a festival."
Hearing me mention road pavement, her face scrunched up slightly. This was not our first discussion about paving the roads of the city. While she agreed that the project was important, the cost would be at least two months worth of taxes, not including the cost of materials. However, when she heard the words "festival," her expression turned curious.
"Why a festival, and why now?" I asked while taking a sip of tea from the coffee table in front of her.
"Fu Yun has been very vocal about some people becoming dissatisfied with the new requirements of constantly carrying identification. He also thinks that some of the new laws we are planning would further upset them."
"Then let them be upset." Her face had cooled again. She seemed as if she were confused about why I cared what they thought. Truth be told, I didn't. At least not too much.
"The happier they are, the more calm they will remain when I institute further changes."
If I were going to live in this new world, then I would be comfortable and as safe as possible for me and my family. If that required me dragging this city kicking and screaming into the future, then so be it.
"Also, I figured this could be a good way to raise some more funds for upcoming projects," I finished.
"Pray tell, how can hosting a festival raise money?" She seemed skeptical.
"I was thinking maybe of giving incentives to food stalls and game stalls if they offer a discount to those with IDs. I figure that a few days of that would condition people to carry their IDs more often." For the first time in the conversation I spoke hesitantly.
This was also the reason I came to Meng Mei first. While I barely cared what others thought of me, I am a ruler. Just like when I was a manager in my last life, if you wanted to be respected in a position of power, you had to look and sound like you knew what you were doing. That means doing research, explaining things clearly, and being ready to fix any problems that are bound to show up.
The only two people I felt close enough to explain these kinds of thoughts to were Cao Peng and Meng Mei.
Meng Mei's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she stared off into the distance. I noticed this habit of hers during our frequent meetings.
"The discounting wouldn't work." She began
"In fact, it would work against us. If your plan goes well and many people show up at these stalls, then odds are that the taxes we make from their increased revenue would not be much more than we paid the owners for their discounts." She continued.
I was going to say something before she lightly raised her hand as if asking me to wait. I moved Feng's hand as if to tell her to continue. Feng seemed remarkably calm for how I was using his hands. I thought he would eventually get upset, but if anything, he seemed just as invested in our conversation as we were. Every now and then he would chime in with a "coo" or a "gah" sound, helping me emphasize my point.
I could see the smile that Meng Mei was trying to hide as she saw our antics. Eventually she gathered her thoughts and continued.
"Right now food stalls are restricted to side streets and away from any major businesses. What we can do instead during this festival is offer a low rental price for spaces on the street near the manor if they promise to slightly discount their prices to ID holders. Then we can hire some entertainers to set up near by. This way we might actually profit something." After finishing, she drank some more of her tea.
I took in everything she said and began nodding. The plan sounded feasible to me. Also, since the discounts are only for citizens with an ID, then any visitors or those without will have to pay more, further increasing the income of these shops and thereby increasing their monthly tax.
I let a smile enter my face as I looked at Meng Mei once more.
"I like it. What and who do you need to make this festival happen?"
"Just tell me when you want it done, and I'll manage it." She stood up and picked up Feng from my lap.
I let a genuine smile appear on my face. Competent women had always attracted me like a moth to a flame. I even had the slight urge to pull her into my lap, but some primal instinct told me that would be a fatal error. Knocking away that thought, I stood up and approached the door.
"Next month will be the perfect time. We will introduce the new project at the meeting in a few hours. Until then," I said, approaching the door.
"Until then."
...
{Meeting Room}
"That ends my report. I estimate that the majority of citizens have been issued, and the only remaining few are those that are homeless, living in alleyways or in other hidden areas." Ling Yu said seriously.
Ling Yu always seemed so serious. It reminded me of a child doing his hardest to seem like an adult. The difference is that Ling Yu was actually competent. The only problem was that he was too serious.
As Ling Yu sat down, I looked around the room. Fu Yun wore a stiff customer service smile as he stared into space. Honestly, he wouldn't look out of place at a fast food restaurant. All he was missing were the dead eyes.
Meng Mei was writing something down in her journal and would look up every so often. Every hour or so she would gesture to the maid to fill mine and her cups with more tea. I was unsure if she was purposefully ignoring the others or not.
Zhen Li sat at his desk looking bored. Compared to everyone else, he had the least amount of work to do so far. Therefore, he spent the majority of his time nodding and pretending to pay attention with a blank expression.
I coughed into my fist to draw everyone's attention.
"Starting today, Councilor Fu Yun and Marshal Zhen Li will be working together to complete a census of the population. This is an important task that I'm entrusting to the two of you.
Hearing my words, Zhen Li perked up a bit, seemingly thankful for the task. By contrast, Fu Yun looked as if the world were ending. This was his second major task since starting working here, and he looked as though he was regretting every second of it.
"City Lord I—" Fu Yun began.
Remembering how Cao Peng told me to handle him, I cut him off.
"Complete this task well, and twenty percent of your debt will be wiped away."
Before I could even finish my words, Fu Yun stood at attention and gave me a salute.
"Right away, City Lord Meng! I'll burn myself for you in a heartbeat!" Fu Yun spoke dramaticly.
I simply rolled my eyes.
"If you two have any trouble, you can look to Spymaster Ling Yu for assistance and Steward Meng Mei for clarification.
The meeting concluded shortly after that. As everyone was leaving, I held Zhen Li behind for a discussion. After hearing my request, Zhen Li seemed puzzled.
"You want me to recommend a tutor from Martial Hall?"
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