Genshin Impact: The Sage's Disciple Doesn't Want Fame

It wouldn't be right for Zhongli to wave his hand in front of all the merchants in Liyue Harbor during the three-month-long summoning ceremony and announce that he was no longer capable and would immediately pass the throne to Ji Ming, would it?

If that's the case, then it's a bit too abstract. At least we should wait until he achieves some accomplishments and gains the approval of the people of Liyue.

Ji Ming stretched and asked, "Xiangling, do you need me to take you home?"

Xiangling thought for a while and shook her head in refusal: "Forget it, when we get back to Liyue Harbor, Amin will definitely want to run around everywhere, so I won't keep you by my side."

Doesn't it sound a bit like a small pet?

"How about we just send it to them?"

"What, Amin, are you afraid I'll be bullied?"

It was just a joke, but unexpectedly Ji Ming actually nodded. Xiang Ling found it a bit funny: "Besides Ah Ming, who else in Liyue Harbor would dare to bully me, unless they don't want to eat at Wanmin Hall?"

In the city of Liyue Harbor, among those who dared to bully Xiangling, Hu Tao was one, and Ji Ming was another.

"Alright, alright, go play by yourself."

Watching Xiangling leave, Ji Ming felt unusually lost. As a typical street thug, going home late at night was a basic requirement, but he was no longer a street thug, so what should he do?

Senior Sister Gan Yu and Ke Maomao are definitely at work, so it's best not to disturb them.

Go home and see if Hu Tao is home. Ji Ming would tease Hu Tao whenever he had free time. He loved seeing the girl's face full of annoyance, revealing her sharp little tiger teeth.

As Ji Ming strolled back to Feiyun Slope, he took a closer look and immediately burst into laughter. The gate of his own courtyard house was wide open, and Bai Tang was lying at the door, taking a nap.

Sensing the familiar scent, Bai Tang lazily opened its eyes. Upon discovering that it was its long-unseen human, the white-haired puppy barked a few times as a greeting.

Ji Ming walked into the courtyard, where many workers were gathered together discussing matters, while Sister Dudu from next door was constantly moving around in the yard with a measuring tape.

"Sister Dudu, what are you doing?"

Dudu was startled, shrank her neck and turned to look at him, saying irritably, "You're back? Remember to keep your voice down next time, you scared me."

Ji Ming said helplessly, "I didn't mean to."

So what's going on here? They haven't been back for a while. Is Wangshengtang planning to renovate the courtyard house?

The courtyard house looks quite nice and is far from needing renovation. The painting and furnishings also suit Ji Ming's aesthetic taste, and he feels that renovation is unnecessary.

But the courtyard house didn't belong to Ji Ming; he was just a tenant of the Rebirth Hall.

Dudu seemed very excited and put her arm around Ji Ming's neck. She introduced, "It's December now. There was a heavy snowfall in Liyue Harbor a while ago, and the Lantern Festival is coming soon. The Master has decided to renovate the courtyard house."

Ji Ming was very curious: "How will it be renovated? What does renovating a courtyard house have to do with the Lantern Festival?"

"Hey, you drank too much at your birthday party. Didn't you say you wanted to live a life with a wife, kids, and a warm bed?"

Did I... say that?

Dudu said with exasperation, "Of course you don't know because you've had too much to drink. You may not have meant anything by it, but our master has remembered it all."

It's kind of funny to think about it now. When Ji Ming said he wanted a wife, kids, and a warm bed, everyone else took it as a joke, but our headmaster kept writing it down in a notebook, afraid of missing Ji Ming's wish.

With the Lantern Festival just around the corner, and it being the coldest time of year, the head of the household was thinking of inviting a few of his close female friends to Ji Ming's house for the festival, and thus decided to renovate the courtyard house.

Ji Ming laughed: "So what kind of transformation do you plan to make Hu Tao into?"

"Transform the bed into a kang (heated brick bed), carve out a large chimney in the roof for ventilation, build an open-air hot spring in the backyard (you could call it a swimming pool), add water slides and other amenities, and place a few lounge chairs next to the hot spring."

Ji Ming stared in disbelief: "Is this really Liyue's interior design style?"

Dudu said smugly, "You didn't expect that, did you? Our master took into account that you've been to Mondstadt and Inazuma, and designed it specifically according to your preferences."

No, his living habits don't change randomly just because he's been to a place; he'll always be a Liyue native.

Ji Ming scratched his head: "Alright, then Master Hu is really thoughtful. Why didn't she design it like this in the Hu family mansion?"

Dudu gave him a look as if he were an idiot, and said in a strange tone, "The courtyard house under your feet is actually part of the Hu family mansion."

I really don't know if this guy is genuinely stupid or just pretending. Hu Tao isn't someone just anyone can meet; she's the daughter of a powerful family that monopolizes an industry.

Why can't this guy understand that a woman from a prestigious family would renovate her own mansion for him?

Living off the Hu family, residing in their mansion, and playing with their daughter, yet in the end he still doesn't want to become their son-in-law? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Being a womanizer is not allowed, and having multiple partners is out of the question. Ji Ming has only one choice in his life: to obediently become the Hu family's son-in-law.

If I have a son or daughter with the head of the hall in the future, Dudu can probably help take care of them.

Completely unaware of Sister Dudu's little scheme, Ji Ming simply nodded and then walked into the inner room: "Has the bedroom been renovated yet? If it hasn't, I won't have anywhere to sleep tonight."

This guy is such an idiot. He shared so much information, but all he cares about is whether the bedroom renovation is finished.

So what if there's nowhere to sleep? Does he have a mouth and can't be cute? He can be cute when the head of the hall comes back, and maybe he'll be allowed to sleep at the Hu family's main residence.

If we're lucky, we might be able to break the ice today, and see the little master born in ten months.

So, both the hall master and Ji Ming need to step up their game. What's the point of her and Lao Meng trying?!

Alas, as a staunch supporter of the sect leader, Dudu has truly poured his heart and soul into this.

Chapter 143 Who is in favor and who is against

Inside the magnificent hall of the Qunyu Pavilion.

The seven stars sat around the long table, with Tianquan star Ningguang at the head. As the person in charge of this meeting, she delivered her annual work speech as usual, speaking eloquently and precisely.

The three private secretaries held their respective documents, ready to provide the Seven Stars with accurate data analysis at any time.

Yuehaiting also sent officials to observe the meeting. As the de facto head of Yuehaiting, Qixing Secretary Gan Yu also attended the meeting. She chose to sit below Yuhengxing Keqing, participating in the meeting with the utmost humility.

Liyue's fiscal revenue has been stable and improving this year, especially after Mondstadt was freed from the effects of the Dragon Plague, and the tea and wine trade has become a major pillar industry in the foreign trade between the two countries.

"Speaking of the Dragon Plague, the leader of the friendly Mondstadt, Jean, once wrote to say that a Liyue native made a great contribution in the operation to quell the Dragon Plague, but unfortunately he was unwilling to accept the reward."

Upon hearing this, Gan Yu and Ke Qing, who had been quiet all along, exchanged a glance. They both guessed who the Liyue person was.

Ningguang, oblivious to their glances and gestures, took a sip of tea and continued, "Besides Mondstadt, our cultural exchanges with Inazuma are also gradually stabilizing, and many unemployed people in the country are choosing to work in the light novel field."

These are common knowledge, and they don't seem to be that important, so it's somewhat inappropriate to discuss them at the Seven Star Conference.

Ke Qing, being impatient, raised her hand and asked, "Let's put cultural matters aside for now. As a member of Yuheng Star, I'd like to discuss matters concerning land more seriously."

Ningguang nodded: "Sure, if it's something Yuheng Star wants to know, then feel free to ask."

"The agenda of rebuilding Guiriyuan City has been discussed since last year. I would like to ask my colleagues, do you support rebuilding Guiriyuan City?"

Liyue Harbor has a population of one million, which does seem very prosperous, but this prosperity is based on the premise that Liyue Harbor's commerce is thriving. If you take the top tens of thousands of people who do not work, the remaining nearly one million will all serve the commerce.

Handicrafts, light industry, and intensive agricultural production.

The city's population is already far exceeding Liyue Harbor's carrying capacity. If new settlements are not established, nearly half of the nearly one million people gathered in Liyue Harbor will return to rural areas.

It's not that building a new city will cause Liyue Harbor, the main city, to decline. Rather, it's about letting the new city take on other industrial chains, while Liyue Harbor only bears the responsibility of political and economic development.

Both cities offer numerous benefits to Liyue; the new city can create more jobs and alleviate competitive pressure.

The above are just background details; the most important point is that the reconstruction of Guiliyuan City was authorized by the Emperor.

Yes, the Emperor appeared in her dream again. Gan Yu was still awake. This time, it was Ke Qing who received the decree.

"Rebuilding Guiliyuan requires a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and it cannot be completed in a day."

Ningguang reiterated her stance, disagreeing with the plan to build a new city. She argued that Liyue Harbor was sufficient for Liyue's prosperity, and a new city would likely become a burden to Liyue Harbor.

As a shrewd businesswoman, Ningguang knows how to do the math, and the new city is undoubtedly a losing proposition; it's best to avoid it.

Ke Qing smiled slightly: "The Emperor appeared to me in a dream."

Upon hearing this, Ningguang, who was about to launch into a long speech, immediately withdrew her rebuttal and said calmly, "Since it was the Emperor who sent me a dream, then I have nothing more to say. I will cooperate fully."

Seeing that Tianquan Star had no objections, the other seven stars had even fewer objections and thus all agreed to the agenda of building a new city.

It still has to be the Emperor. After a year of back and forth, it still couldn't compare to the Emperor's one dream message.

Under the table, Gan Yu quietly tugged at Ke Qing's sleeve and gave her a meaningful look.

Ke Qing understood immediately, cleared her throat, and continued to announce: "There is another matter, which was also given to me in a dream by the Emperor. He hopes that Gan Yu's junior brother will take over the construction project of the new city, and he will serve as the mayor after the new city is completed."

These words caused an uproar, and even the well-mannered Seven Stars began to whisper among themselves.

A few months ago, the Emperor appeared in a dream wanting Gan Yu's junior brother to become a diplomat. Now, the Emperor has appeared in a dream again, but it is still for Gan Yu's junior brother.

This favoritism is far too obvious. In previous years, even among the Seven Stars who were directly nominated, the level of favor they received was probably not as outstanding as that of Junior Brother Gan Yu.

First a diplomat, then the mayor of a new city, and finally, could he become one of the Seven Stars?

It's very likely that Tian Shu Xing is about to retire. None of his offspring want to run for office, and he himself has always wanted to retire and fish all day long, the kind of person who's just lying around doing nothing.

If the Emperor truly has such thoughts, then Gan Yu's junior brother will likely become the next Tian Shu Star.

Coincidentally, Tian Shu Star governs planning and people's livelihood, which coincides with the construction and management of the new city. This is practically making their goals clear.

Gan Yu stood up and continued, "Regarding Ji Ming becoming mayor, please disregard his status as a disciple of an immortal. I will not act arbitrarily just because he is my junior brother."

This is a lie. If Junior Brother Ji Ming encounters difficulties, Gan Yu will definitely allocate resources to him.

It's not just Gan Yu; the other Seven Stars will definitely do the same, because Ji Ming was specifically appointed by the Rock King Emperor, and each of the Seven Stars will provide maximum assistance without affecting their own duties.

"So, regarding the issue of Ji Ming becoming mayor, who supports it and who opposes it?"

Very good, no one objects.

Gan Yu sat down with satisfaction, gesturing for Ke Qing to continue speaking.