Heading to Taoyuan County for an Inspection

Ever since Qin Hao led the people of Taoyuan County to prosperity, Jia Fugui has looked down on that high-ranking official in the Capital.

If Qin Hao hadn't instructed him to maintain contact with high-ranking officials in the Capital, he wouldn't have paid any attention at all.

Therefore, he didn't care about any important people or anything like that at all.

We are currently on our way to Taoyuan County.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the current prime minister Zhang Shuo, the current princess Li Xuanxuan, along with Eunuch Wang and a senior Wang Gonggong guard, were currently driving a carriage towards Taoyuan County.

"Your Majesty... what if Qin Hao fails to complete the mission and the situation in Taoyuan County remains unresolved?"

Zhang Shuo asked from the side.

"If the mission is truly not accomplished, then execute him! A king's word is his bond!"

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang stroked his beard and said.

"Brother, I've read Qin Hao's articles. His writing is quite good, but when he talks about governing a county, he writes in such exaggerated and outrageous ways. I think he just has a rich imagination. How could he possibly govern a poor county that is plagued by drought?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang narrowed his eyes and stared at his younger sister, as well as Chancellor Zhang Shuo and Wang Gonggong.

"You guys have so little faith in Qin Hao?"

"Sir, it's not that we lack confidence, it's just that Taoyuan County has been suffering from drought for three whole years, and this year is no exception; not a single drop of rain has fallen. How could Qin Hao possibly change the situation in Taoyuan County in just one year?"

"Haha, actually, after thinking about it carefully, although Qin Hao's writing is somewhat fantastical and should be classified as a fantasy novel, some of the concepts he expresses are quite reasonable, even rather advanced."

Everyone was confused upon hearing this, thinking, "What kind of concept is reasonable? What 'airplane'? What 'cannon'? What 'information technology'?"

What are these things? They're so fantastical, yet they make sense. At most, they just prove that Qin Hao has a rich imagination.

Seeing the disbelieving looks on everyone's faces, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang laughed and said, "Hahaha, think about it, if you want to get rich, build roads first. There's nothing wrong with that idea, is there?"

"Dude, this idea is so old, it's not new at all!"

"Haha, don't rush, think about it again. The business models and commercialization he mentioned, such as advertising (product promotion), and concepts like express delivery and food delivery!"

"Sir, these are all just business mindsets, nothing special."

"No, no, no, you've missed a crucial point: he strongly advocated for the development of industry in the article, but he didn't abandon agriculture. Instead, he commercialized, packaged, and promoted agriculture, which led to the development of the express delivery and food delivery industries."

"Brother, that's right, all of that is right, but the premise is that you need the kind of transportation he mentioned, like cars, airplanes, and trains, to achieve that, right? Isn't that still just fantasy?"

"That's right, so he strongly recommends developing industry; that's the idea he wants to express in his article!"

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang looked at everyone with a smile.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Shuo also found it to be very reasonable. Recalling Qin Hao's article, he felt it was even more reasonable, and even thought that Qin Hao might have really solved the problem of Taoyuan County.

The main problem in Taoyuan County is drought. Drought leads to no harvest, which means no food to eat, and thus causes famine.

Qin Hao did indeed mention the express delivery industry and transportation in his article; the saying "To get rich, build roads first" refers to transportation.

With improved transportation, Taoyuan County could purchase grain from other counties when it ran out of food, thus eliminating the possibility of famine.

Moreover, Qin Hao has been in office in Taoyuan County for a year, and apart from the 1,000 taels of silver allocated by the imperial court, he has not sought any further assistance from the court.

Even if Qin Hao didn't embezzle and used all 1,000 taels of silver on the disaster victims, it wouldn't last a year.

There is only one explanation: Qin Hao has already solved the problem in Taoyuan County.

As a prime minister of a country, Zhang Shuo finally understood some things and realized why Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had sent Qin Hao to Taoyuan County.

"Brother, if that's the case, then Qin Hao really is a good official. He probably has to be careful with his food, even when it comes to eating steamed buns!"

"Yes, anyway, we shouldn't have too high hopes for this trip to investigate Taoyuan County. It's only been a year; even if Qin Hao is incredibly capable, he probably won't achieve much."

"However, I believe he has already solved the problem of no harvest after the drought in Taoyuan County. Therefore, I will not actually execute him. On the contrary, I will allocate another 2,000 taels of gold to him so that he can properly develop Taoyuan County!"

"Your Majesty... is wise!"

While a group of people were still discussing whether Qin Hao was eating coarse food every meal, Qin Hao was actually having a meal at a five-star restaurant called "Haidilao" in Taoyuan County.

At this moment, a large table is laden with delicacies from land and sea; it's an incredibly lavish feast.

"Master, the food at our restaurant is absolutely delicious!"

"That's right, it's almost as good as what Master makes!"

"Yes, have you finished eating? If you have, let's go now. We still have to greet our distinguished guests later."

Qin Hao wiped his mouth and then said.

"Master, Ling'er is all better!"

"Feng'er is all better now!"

"Okay, let's go then!"

And so, Qin Hao led Chu Feng and Chu Ling'er away from the Haidilao restaurant and into the underground parking lot.

The three walked towards a black luxury van and then drove away from the underground parking lot.

Today, the roads in Taoyuan County are incredibly smooth, just like they were on Blue Star in the past.

Moreover, the first expansion project in the Eastern District of Taoyuan County is now the construction of a sky villa area.

It's not just Eastern District; West Urban District, South Urban District, and Beichen District are all undergoing expansion.

Taoyuan County has expanded considerably in size, but it is still expanding outwards.

It's very simple; Qin Hao is dedicated to creating the most prosperous metropolis in the Great Tang Dynasty.

They drove their black luxury van out of Taoyuan County and stopped 1,000 kilometers away.

Soon, a poor but handsome scholar arrived.

In the sweltering summer heat, especially in Taoyuan County, a dry region, the sun's intensity is considerable.

The impoverished scholar wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve as he walked; he was now completely soaked.

The impoverished scholar noticed from afar that the road ahead was somewhat different; it appeared to be a single, solid rock, yet it was not quite the same.

Meanwhile, a large, black, rectangular box was placed on the road.

This black rectangle has windows, and they are glass windows with a glossy black surface. When sunlight shines on the rectangular box, it reflects a bright light.

The light instantly blinded the impoverished scholar's titanium-alloy eyes.

At this moment, a young boy, who looked about the same age as the poor scholar, came down from the rectangular box.

"Brother Qin, it's you! Shouldn't you be in Taoyuan County? What are you doing here?"

"Brother Li, it's been a long time!"

The impoverished scholar was none other than Li Bai.

At this moment, Li Bai approached the black luxury van and asked, "Brother Qin, what's this rectangular box called? Why does it look so much like a house, yet it's supported by four round wheels?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao burst into laughter. "Hahaha, hahaha..."