Chapter 55: Peach Blossom Dock Upgraded Once More (Please Vote!)

Some within the mansion were anxious. After Su Ze returned, the steward quickly gathered everyone together.

Zhang Yaozuo’s wife had long passed away, and his son was studying in their hometown. Everyone in the household knew Su Ze was capable, so all eyes turned to him now. Normally, Su Ze and Zhang Yaozuo addressed each other as uncle and nephew. Now, it was time for this nephew to take charge.

Su Ze called over the steward and said, “Arrange a schedule for tonight. The servants will take turns patrolling, and place reliable men at the front and back gates. Also assign guards inside the residence. Everyone will work hard through the night. When the uncle returns, he will reward you.”

With Su Ze’s words, the people found their anchor. He then accompanied the steward on a patrol, adding extra guards at several weak points. Soon, the atmosphere within the mansion settled.

Once back in his room, Su Ze finally had the chance to take out a book. After locking the door, he lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and entered the Peach Blossom Spring.

[Congratulations, master of Peach Blossom Spring! You have gathered 200 points of literary energy!]

Two hundred points!

Su Ze was pleasantly surprised; he hadn’t expected the anthology from this gathering to be so rich in literary essence.

It made sense, though. The gathering included two members from the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Wang Gui, a disciple of Ouyang Xiu, was highly accomplished in literature. Yang Zhi and Yang Jiang, having ranked in the top imperial examination, were no less impressive. Naturally, the collections they wrote carried great value.

“Absorb!”

Su Ze chose to absorb the literary energy. When he saw his reserve reach 245 points, he decisively spent 50 points to upgrade Peach Blossom Dock.

The guiding child brought him a brush and said, [Please tap the literary energy, master, to complete the upgrade!]

Su Ze tapped the scroll in his hand. A gust of wind swept through, and Peach Blossom Dock transformed immediately.

The dock expanded once more. In reality, the Flower Festival was approaching, and the dock was piled high with bouquets. Petals floated gently across the river’s surface.

A willow tree sprouted from the bank, stretching toward the dock. Outside the pavilion, emerald green willow branches swayed in the breeze.

Such a refreshing scene delighted Su Ze. He unfurled the scroll again; indeed, more buildings appeared after the upgrade.

First, the basic buildings: “Medium-grade fertile fields” (green) was joined by “High-grade fertile fields” (blue).

More planting options emerged: “Mid-mountain tea fields” (blue) for growing tea trees; “Mulberry groves” (blue) for mulberry trees; “Mountain orchards” (blue) for fruits; and “Mountain medicinal fields” (blue) for herbs.

Su Ze couldn’t take his eyes off them, though the prices were steep—15 points of literary energy per mu.

Besides farmland, there were upgrades in animal husbandry.

Following “Free-range chicken coop” (green), there was now “Refined chicken coop” (blue), and also “Refined pigsty” (blue).

Additionally, a new building called “Riverside fishery” (blue) appeared. However, the “Musk deer park,” which could provide musk as Ah Zhi had mentioned, was absent—probably a higher-level building.

In terms of production buildings, several new options for agricultural product processing beckoned, tempting Su Ze to build them.

First up was:

“Coarse Silk Weaving Workshop” (blue)

“Spring silkworms spin thread into silk, summer silkworms peel the cocoons.”

Price: 15 points of literary energy.

Function:

“Weaving silk”: raises silkworms to produce silk fabric (requires mulberry groves).

In the feudal era, silk was not just fabric but equivalent to currency.

A bolt of silk was worth roughly one string of cash coins, often more stable in value than copper currency.

This was no mere “coarse silk workshop”—it was essentially a mint!

Though the investment was considerable.

One mulberry grove meant a one-time expenditure of 30 points of literary energy, plus a monthly cost of 10 points to employ two spiritual essence children.

If it were just silk weaving alone, the return was only slightly better than farming.

But silk fabric could be upgraded!

Su Ze spotted the “Natural Dye Workshop” (blue), a facility to dye silk.

Dyed fabric commanded prices several times higher than plain white silk and was highly sought after in Bianjing.

Though not present this time, Su Ze suspected there must be an even higher-level “Brocade Workshop,” specializing in weaving patterns into silk.

Since the Three Kingdoms period, Shu had been famous for brocade production. During the Tang dynasty, Shu brocade was a prized commodity on the Silk Road. Even today, it remained a precious luxury item, priced tens or even hundreds of times higher than ordinary silk.

Establishing such an industrial chain would yield profits far exceeding mere farming.

Another building making Su Ze’s mouth water was truly tantalizing:

“Neighborhood Diner” (blue)

“A diner’s size does not determine its quality.”

Price: 15 points of literary energy.

Function: The diner is modest, capable of producing simple home-style dishes, offering daily small banquets but unable to host large feasts.

“Head chef”: The quality of food depends not only on ingredients and kitchenware but crucially on the skill of the chef. The quality of dishes produced is influenced by the chef spiritual essence child’s ability.

In other words, if Su Ze could recruit a high-quality chef spiritual essence child to take charge, even this blue-tier building could produce delicious cuisine.

Bianjing’s food was excellent, but eating out was costly. If one moved away from home, daily meals would become a major expense.

With this “Neighborhood Diner,” Su Ze could solve his dining problem.

There were also “Rustic Winery” (blue) and “Sugar Syrup Workshop” (blue).

However, selling homemade liquor was illegal. Su Ze was an official, and Bianjing’s wine market was well developed. Low-quality homemade wine would hardly be profitable.

The “Sugar Syrup Workshop” was slated for construction but would have to wait until next month’s sugarcane harvest.

Oh, and what about special upgraded buildings?

The guiding child produced three blueprints and said to Su Ze:

“Please choose your reward from these three blueprints!”

Still three? After building the “Wandering Pavilion” last time, weren’t only two left?

Su Ze looked at the guiding child. It seemed this fellow had quite a stash of good blueprints hidden away.

Su Ze glanced again—next upgrade required 100 points of literary energy, and many buildings remained unconstructed. It would take a long time to upgrade again.

Did this mean that after choosing this time, he’d have to wait a long stretch before obtaining advanced blueprints?

Su Ze turned to the guiding child and suddenly changed his tone, asking:

“Ah Yin, what do you like? If I give you something, will you give me a blueprint?”

The guiding child shivered and quickly replied:

“Ah Yin is happy as long as Peach Blossom Spring improves!”

Su Ze continued, “So, as long as I develop Peach Blossom Spring, you’ll give me gifts? Not only when I upgrade Peach Blossom Dock?”