People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

This was, after all, Wei Yanwu's request. If he asked his older siblings, they might have some reservations. But the old man was of Wei Yanwu's generation, and he certainly understood what Wei Yanwu was thinking.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, as long as Swire thinks he does.

How could Swire not understand her grandfather's mindset? Stubborn, obsessed with saving face, he would rather suffocate than admit that he couldn't understand Governor Wei's thoughts!

Picking up the landline receiver, Swire pressed the "1" speed dial key.

After the third beep, an extremely aged voice came through the receiver:

"Beatrice? What's wrong?"

"Grandpa, Governor Wei has given me a task."

The old man chuckled, somewhat dismissively: "Then you go and do it. Why are you calling me?"

He had always disagreed with Swire acting on his own initiative, and Swire's biggest act of acting on his own initiative was giving up his opportunity to study in Victoria and returning to Lungmen to join the Guard Bureau and become a police superintendent.

In the past, if this matter were brought up, Swire would definitely argue with her grandfather. But this time, she had a somewhat legitimate reason to argue, and instead of being angry, she answered simply:

“Then I will tell Commander Wei that Swire Group has rejected your request, and you should find someone else to publish this book.”

After she finished speaking, she did not hang up the phone immediately. Instead, she put down the receiver, waited quietly for five seconds, and then picked up the receiver again and put it to her ear.

Sure enough, the aged voice rang out again at the perfect moment: "Wait. What does Wei Yanwu want you to do?"

Beatrice Swire smiled smugly and replied, "He asked Swire to help publish a science fiction novel set in an alternate world called 'The Chronicles of Ersley.' He also specified that he wanted the best publisher and editor, and to arrange the best resources."

"The Chronicles of Erzley?" the old man repeated. "I've never heard of that name. Did he say why?"

Swire recalled what Pink Dragon had said and said, "Uh, no. But Chen Huijie said that Commander Wei was so engrossed in reading the manuscript that he didn't eat or sleep for three days. When he gave her the manuscript, he kept a copy for himself."

"Tsk, what is Wei Yanwu up to?"

The old man muttered something in a low voice, but Swire pretended not to hear anything.

After a moment, he said, "Send me a copy of the manuscript. I want to see what this is all about."

“The manuscript is in print; there is no digital version,” Powell said.

The old man chuckled as if amused, and retorted, "What? Are all those typists employed by the company thieves? Hand them over, I want to see the contents of this book today!"

Swire shrugged and replied, "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, she pursed her lips and muttered to herself, "Who's out of touch with the times?"

"Why doesn't the company just print in color, employing a group of people to type every single word?"

..........

As evening fell, lying in his bedroom, which had been transformed into a space even more luxurious than the most advanced hospital, the old man's terminal lit up as he had hoped, and he received an electronic document titled "The Chronicles of Erzley".

The layout is neat and the table of contents is clear. It is obvious that the typists put their minds to work in order to restore the original flavor of the manuscript as much as possible.

The elderly man contentedly projected the file from his terminal onto the hanging computer screen in front of him. Just as he was about to read it, he noticed a problem.

"For the best reading experience, readers from Yan should begin reading from the 'Ancient Civilizations - China' section after completing the basic worldview of this book."

He glanced at the table of contents and found that the relevant content did exist, but he couldn't find it in the main text.

He suddenly remembered what Swire had said: "Wei Yanwu kept a portion of the manuscript with great reluctance."

It seems she wasn't exaggerating or lying.

Does Wei Yanwu really think highly of this book?

He looked skeptical.

Since there are no suitable chapters for Yan Kingdom, let's just start reading from the beginning.

With that thought in mind, he finished reading the introduction and the first paragraph of the main text, and then began to read the first civilization in "Ers - Ancient Civilizations".

【Chronicles of the Kingdoms of Erz - Egypt】—【Erz - Egyptian Mythology】

"Although they were in the desert, the existence of the great river and floodplains allowed a minority of people to establish a stable social order and gradually believe that they were God's chosen one, possessing innate, noble rights bestowed by God. They even believed that they themselves were the incarnation of God!"

"These pharaohs, who claimed to be the earthly incarnations of Ra (the sun god mentioned earlier), loudly proclaimed their status as the rulers of all things and their infinite power—nothing is impossible for the pharaoh on earth! All things and phenomena are in my palm!"

For some reason, a smile suddenly welled up in the old man's heart when he saw this sentence. It was as if it was reminding him that he should follow it with a wild and unrestrained laugh to show the arrogance and pride in the hearts of these people who called themselves "Pharaohs" at that moment.

"Kryptonite hahahahahaha!"

The elderly man did not resist this feeling; on the contrary, he cooperated and immersed himself in it.

Amidst the unbridled laughter he hadn't experienced in a long time, he suddenly began to understand Wei Yanwu's feelings.

This book is indeed quite interesting.

Although the doctor advised him that given his physical condition, he needed to go to bed early, he figured reading a book shouldn't take up too much time, right?

Let's watch for a while longer, an hour.

I'll go to sleep in an hour!

............

The next day, Swire received a phone call from her brother, who immediately launched into a barrage of questions!

What did you give Grandpa yesterday?

"The doctor said that Grandpa seemed to be possessed. He stayed up all night watching the computer. If it weren't for his loud and penetrating laughter in the middle of the night, which was so loud that even the soundproof wall couldn't stop it and disturbed the doctor who was resting next door, he probably would have died of exhaustion today and been transferred directly from the ward to the funeral home!"

Swire was stunned by the scolding. She wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say for a moment. So she could only use a method that netizens liked: she opened her mouth wide, her pink tongue slightly curled up, and her eyes were blank, revealing innocence and disbelief as she spoke:

"what?"

Chapter 74 Hinterlea prepares to strike

Shelag, Tukarim, Shelag Government Office Building.

Time always flies in the Snow Kingdom; before you know it, the Harvest Festival is just around the corner.

Ernst has been incredibly busy lately, so much so that the rate at which tea leaves are being consumed in the office has reached an all-time low. This, ironically, has made Hintley's work much easier.

After all, government procurement has always been handled by Cintrea.

But Cintraya wasn't idle either; she had been preparing for the harvest festival for a long time.

From the moment she learned about the traditions of the Harvest Festival, she had already devised a complete "hide the snow leopard" plan!

Whether it was secretly going up the mountain beforehand to ask Ernst's sister, Miss Enya of the Manju Academy, what Ernst was interested in, or taking out some of his savings accumulated over the years as a knight to ask the caravan of the Kalan Trade to secretly bring him some "gifts," or even specifically telling Horhaiya not to appear next to Ernst on the day of the harvest festival.

Cintraya believes she has done an excellent job in the preliminary preparations!

We're just waiting for the snow leopard to take the bait!

Gently knocking on the Prime Minister's office door, Hinterlea peeked in and looked at Ernst, who was sitting alone at his desk, scratching his head at a blank sheet of paper with a pen in hand. Full of anticipation, she asked:

"Boss, boss?"

Ernst snapped out of his reverie, looked up, and stared at Hintlaya:

"What's wrong? Is someone looking for me?"

Hinterlea darted in, quietly closed the door, blinked, smiled, and whispered:

"No, no, I just wanted to ask what your plans are for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Isn't tomorrow the harvest festival?"

Ernst frowned deeply when he mentioned the date.

If it were any other day, it would be fine, but when it comes to the schedule of the Harvest Festival, he really knows it by heart.

"I have to get up at five in the morning to pick up Vina who is coming back from Lungmen. From eight to ten in the morning, I have to go to the Holy Mountain Holy Stone Square to preside over the Great Prayer of Yeragund with my sister. From eleven to twelve, I have to hold the annual meeting with Ensiodes, Actos, and Latatos at Manju Academy. I have lunch from twelve to two. At two-thirty, I have to go to Joyce to check this year's accounts and prepare to pay you your salaries. Since it's the first time, it may take a little longer. At four o'clock, I have to start preparing for the Harvest Festival party. At six o'clock, I have to preside over the party, and then continue until nine o'clock in the evening."

After rambling on about what he needed to do, Ernst took a breath, looked at Hinterlea, and gave her an innocent look.

In reality, the schedule I just mentioned is already a simplified version. Who knows how long it will actually take to execute all these tasks?

In particular, Ernst was either involved in some of these events for the first time, or they were happening for the first time in the entire Sherag region; no one had any experience with them.

Not to mention, Ernst also planned to give everyone a surprise.

When Vina returned, she brought back lanterns, paper-cut window decorations, firecrackers, and fireworks. Simple items like lanterns and paper-cut window decorations could be left for the people of Sherag to hang and post themselves. But items like firecrackers and fireworks, which could be dangerous if not handled properly and could even trigger avalanches, required Ernst's on-site guidance or even his personal handling.

Fortunately, his adoptive parents and older brother, Silver Boss, had excellent judgment. The location of the town of Tukarim was quite strategic, situated on a rare flat area within the Shiva'ish family territory. There were no mountains nearby with millennia-old snow accumulation, so even if an avalanche did occur, it wouldn't affect the town's urban area at all.

Because it is small enough.

As for roads that affect access to the outside world from the town, there's even less to worry about.

Because we don't have that thing.

The only railway line that might be affected, which was built through the efforts of two generations of the Shivaesh family, was cleared and protected from danger during the construction of the railway line thanks to the foresight of the Snow Leopard family.

As a result, Ernst had to squeeze out some time from his already tight schedule to help Vina set up the fireworks.

So when Ernst heard Hinterlea ask him about tomorrow's plans, he knew she probably meant no harm, but he still felt a pang of sadness.

What, so what if civil servants get holidays? Are you bullying me, a religious saint, who works all year round?

Hinterlea was unaware of the resentment in Ernst's eyes; at that moment, she was performing a simple calculation in her mind.

"Ernst's schedule is full tomorrow = Ernst is not free = I can't ask him out = I can't give him the gift I prepared = I can't raise the Snow Leopard Prince's favorability = all my preparations have been in vain!"

She shook her head violently, forcibly forgetting the terrifying substitution equation in her mind, and looked at Ernst, asking pleadingly:

"Um, don't you have any vacation time?"

Hey, why are you bringing up something you don't really want to talk about?

Have I been too lenient with you guys? I bet you've never seen what a boss's ruthless side is like!

Ernst rolled his eyes: "No. The Prime Minister of the Sherag government, like you civil servants, has holidays, but for all the events in question, except for receiving my salary, I attend as the [Son of Kalan].

"What, you don't want money?"

Hinterlea opened her mouth, but she really didn't dare to agree to that.

She doesn't want money. What is she doing here? Is it to realize her life's value or to develop a spirit of enduring hardship?

Admit it, although the snow leopard is indeed delicious, she hasn't actually tasted the cheese inside yet. If she were to hand over her salary to Ernst at this point, wouldn't that make her a simp?

Moreover, and most importantly, even if she doesn't ask for a salary, the rest of the people will.

Even setting aside the taciturn Finance Minister Joyce, who almost never leaves her office, the rest of them—whether it's Horhyah, who can freely enter and leave the Prime Minister's office, or Vina, who has recently become very close to Ernst, or Lola, who has the "home field advantage" buff—all possess unique skills!

In comparison, Cintraya already felt she lacked advantages in "all aspects." If she gave up her salary, she wouldn't even have the opportunity to showcase her "extraordinary emotional intelligence"!

Seeing that Hintlaya chose to remain silent, Ernst shrugged and gave a reassuring smile:

"It's nothing, I was just joking. No matter how busy I am, I will still pay your salary."

"Don't look so glum. You only have a few hours left before you get off work. Enjoy your rare holiday. We'll be busy next year."

"I......"

Hinterlea pursed her lips and gritted her teeth, saying:

"Boss, do you have any plans after 9 PM tomorrow night?"

"After nine o'clock?" Ernst blinked, somewhat puzzled by Hinterlea's insistence, but still answered truthfully, "Theoretically speaking, I should prepare for tomorrow morning's Holy Hunt, but preparing for this is like studying before an exam; it's not necessarily effective, the important thing is to reassure myself. So... I guess you could say I am."

"Then please give me an hour, and it's a deal!"

Hinterlea said seriously,

"Don't refuse, I want to give you a surprise too!"

Ernst paused slightly, then nodded with satisfaction:

"Then I'll look forward to it."

Chapter 75 Ernst's Speech

Harvest Festival.

One of the few major festivals in Jeragund. It is also one of the few festivals in this religious country that celebrates both Jeragund and the working people.

It was late at night, and the lights in the simple government office building in Sherag were mostly off. Both Horhaya and Joyce had already left work early and started their holidays.