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"Ah Mo, have people set up tents in Chen Village, at the tea Lodge, and at the foot of the tea mountain a bit north. I'll have Brother Chen organize it, providing each household with a set of coal stoves, cooking utensils, and bathing and sleeping facilities. This should help reassure the people," Xiang Bei said, her consideration for the living details reflecting her gentle nature.
"Xiao Bei is indeed a kind and good girl. It's a pity that my Son ZiQiu missed out," sighed Old General Qiao. His comment made the room tense, especially with Cheng Mo's reaction, who protectively drew Xiang Bei close to him like a mother hen.
"Haha, what I meant to say is that although my Son missed this blessing, the soldiers of Southern Frontier and the people of Dongbin are lucky to have her," Old General Qiao quickly added, trying to lighten the mood.
"Father, your son is also blessed, and you are the most blessed, especially with good food! Look at how much delicious food Xiao Bei has prepared," Qiao Ziqiu interjected, supporting his father as they headed to the table.
After the meal, they drank tea and listened to Xiang Bei explain the glass panels embedded in the dining room walls. She spoke about how, if the annealing kiln technology could be refined, the float glass production could yield larger single panels, and how large silver mirrors could be made using the mercury backing method. Looking at Qiao Ziqiu, she playfully added, "Brother Ziqiu, not only the South Sea, but Europe would also try to squeeze into our Yunmeng Kingdom."
"No need for them to squeeze in, Brother Ziqiu will help you establish your first island chain. You can sell it to whomever you want, wherever you want," Ziqiu promised, gazing dotingly at Xiang Bei.
"It's our Yunmeng Kingdom's island chain and your North-South Market," Xiang Bei said, touched, but she quickly glanced at Cheng Mo, whose face was starting to darken with jealousy. She quickly added, "Old General Qiao, you will be with Little Bei in the future, watching Brother Ziqiu achieve maritime dominance, how about that?"
Old Marquis Qiao's eyes flickered with emotion as he looked at his only remaining son with some heartache. Before he could respond, someone reported from outside that Chief Du had arrived at the Tea Lodge.
"Since Ziqiu has arranged to return in three days, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to show up today. How about Xiao Bei and I go as the owners of the Same City traveler lodges?" Cheng Mo's decision made sense, but everyone couldn't help but notice the hint of jealousy in his tone, sharing a smile.
The two of them rode together to the Tea lodge, arriving just as Tong Biao was demonstrating the food made from cassava and old tea seeds to Chief Du. He explained that compared to waiting for grain supplies from afar, a quicker and more reliable method would be to have the townspeople of Haifang City do it themselves. Upon seeing the owners arrive, Chief Du hurried over to greet them.
"It's an honor to meet you both here, truly a stroke of luck," Chief Du said.
"Chief Du, you've worked hard. We didn't expect you to come personally today, especially since we heard you had an appointment with Mr. Qiao the day after tomorrow," Cheng Mo said, subtly surveying the surroundings and noting that Chief Du appeared to be alone.
"It's thanks to Shopkeeper Tong who sent word about the method for preparing grain supplies. The Wa People worried that a large number of people might cause trouble, instructed me to come personally and confirm the information. This gave me a chance to report the current situation in the city face-to-face," Chief Du explained. He seized this rare opportunity, free from the watchful eyes of the pirates, to give Cheng Mo a detailed report on the Wa forces gathering in Haifang City.
Just as Old General Qiao had analyzed, this gathering included not only sea pirates but also some ronin and commoners from their home island. There were even foreigners who had disembarked from large sailing ships in the inner city. Yunmeng merchants, including Chief Du, had already had their homes completely ransacked under the guise of "borrowing grain," leaving not a single grain of rice. The women among the Wa were sent to the outer districts to scavenge for food. Regardless of whether they had completed their gathering, if no more grain arrived, it was likely they would open the city gates for a raid and sweep within three days.
With the situation urgent, Chief Du immediately took the news that the townspeople could gather their own grain back to report. Although prepared for this, Xiao Bei was still shocked when, less than four hours later, she saw him appear outside the Tea lodge again, especially since this time he was accompanied by a long line of carts and a crowd of hundreds of men, women, and children.
Tong Biao quickly prepared hot porridge and steamed buns for everyone. The elderly and children were arranged to do light work in the workshop sheds behind the lodge, the men were building bamboo and wood houses on the cleared land, and the women were sent to the cassava fields to dig.
An hour later, guards of Family Cheng and soldiers, dressed in commoner clothing, pushed pre-prepared grain carts, along with a small number of city residents, back to Haifang City. The unwashed cassava was unloaded from the carts, and the Wa women waiting inside the city gates came forward to take it away for cleaning, grinding, and further processing.
When the empty carts exited the city again, several hundred more outer-city residents were forcibly sent out to work. The city lord had issued an order commanding more people to leave the city to find food. Disguised as commoners, the guards of Cheng soldiers easily blended in with the new batch of residents leaving the city. When these residents arrived at Xiawan bay, they were once again led back to the city with grain by another group of guards of Family Cheng. By the next night, nearly seventy percent of the outer city's able and willing residents had been transferred to Xiawan and several other lodges further north. Five hundred elite guards of Cheng soldiers quietly took up hidden positions in the shantytown area of the eastern city. Unfortunately, Chief Du and several major merchants' families could not completely conceal themselves among the commoners, only managing to get their children and attendants out.
On the third day, Cheng Mo received a message from Qiao Ziqiu that he and Prince Rong, the eldest prince, had completed a naval encirclement with the Southern Yue Navy commanded by Cheng Mo's maternal grandfather. At dusk, Chief Du personally led a team outside the city gates to welcome the convoy bringing tea seed oil back to Haifang City, which was then directly delivered to the inner city．