Marquis Xia's Pot

June 10th.

Early in the morning, Chen Hao rushed over. As soon as Su Yu opened the door, he anxiously said, "Ayu, something's happened!"

"Slow down."

Su Yu was unhurried; the sky wouldn't fall.

What major event could this Chen Hao possibly be talking about?

He had just gotten initiated into the Thunder Origin Blade these past two days, and Su Yu was busy practicing it, trying to speed up his Qi unification. He didn't have the headspace to pay attention to whatever big news Chen Hao had.

Opening the door, he let Chen Hao in and turned to eat the noodles he'd just cooked that morning.

With his dad not home, his meals had been quite meager lately.

And he didn't have much money left either. He had 30,000 yuan, which he needed to save for Civilization Academy.

School wasn't free, after all.

While Civilization Academy's registration fee wasn't expensive, it still required over ten thousand yuan upfront. Plus, he'd need money for food once he got there.

Seeing him eat noodles, Chen Hao swallowed. He'd only eaten a little that morning and was a bit hungry after running over.

Su Yu pretended not to see. There was only one bowl of noodles, and none of it was for him.

"Ayu..."

Chen Hao sat opposite him, no longer looking at the noodles. He quickly said, "My dad said there's been some change in Great Xia Prefecture this year, and the enrollment numbers for the major academies might decrease."

"Mm."

"Enrollment numbers decreasing!"

Chen Hao emphasized it again.

Su Yu looked up helplessly. "How does that concern me? As for you, you're still at Kaiyuan fourth level, but you'll reach fifth soon. Plus, you have 30 bonus points. Even if they reduce enrollment, it shouldn't affect you much, right?"

Su Yu genuinely didn't care much and said speechlessly, "Are they really going to reject everyone from Nanyuan? If Great Xia Prefecture dares to do that, Nanyuan would dare to break away from Great Xia Prefecture's control and defect straight to Great Ming Prefecture!"

Nanyuan wasn't far from Great Ming Prefecture. Less than three hundred miles north was Great Ming Prefecture's territory, making it one of the cities closest to Great Ming Prefecture.

Though small, Nanyuan had a population of a million.

And over ten thousand battle-ready soldiers!

Including retired veterans, Nanyuan could mobilize tens of thousands of willing soldiers at any time. No matter how many people Great Xia Prefecture reduced, Nanyuan wouldn't be significantly affected.

They didn't recruit many people to begin with, so Su Yu really didn't care. He said powerlessly, "Whether this news is true or not, Great Xia Prefecture is the one who should be crying. They have the most enrollment slots, so any reductions will hit them the hardest."

Su Yu looked completely indifferent. Chen Hao's face fell. "I know, my dad said the same thing, but he also said... with this change, some people who could have gotten into the academies in Great Xia Prefecture won't be able to this year. Those with some background might have to move to smaller cities!"

"..."

At these words, Su Yu was slightly taken aback. He realized he hadn't thought as deeply as Chen Hao's father.

That's right!

If they reduced enrollment numbers, they would primarily reduce them for Great Xia Prefecture. But what about those in Great Xia Prefecture who felt they wouldn't get in? What would they do now?

They'd come to the smaller cities!

Nanyuan was, after all, one of the 28 cities. Although its enrollment numbers weren't high, there were still some slots.

They might not be the most outstanding in Great Xia Prefecture, but coming to Nanyuan, Great Xia Prefecture's requirements for Nanyuan weren't high.

For example, over ten people from Nanyuan could get into Daxia Civilization Academy each year. Even with reductions this year, those slots wouldn't be drastically affected because... they couldn't be reduced any further.

Any more reductions would incite public outrage.

The students from Nanyuan weren't weak because they were truly inferior; it was a different environment. This damned place had insufficient spiritual energy, making cultivation slower than in Great Xia Prefecture, and resources were scarce. You couldn't expect people from Nanyuan to be on the same level as those from Great Xia Prefecture.

Therefore, Nanyuan's slots were almost fixed; they wouldn't increase, and it was difficult to reduce them.

Su Yu frowned slightly and looked at Chen Hao. "Are both War Academy and Civilization Academy reducing enrollment?"

"Yeah!"

Chen Hao said distressedly, "This is all thanks to that Marquis! The Academy Head is in seclusion. If he weren't, he definitely wouldn't do this! This damned Marquis, he doesn't do anything proper all day, just focuses on making money!"

Chen Hao looked dejected, feeling like he was in danger.

Su Yu chuckled. He knew who the Marquis he mentioned was.

Marquis Xia, the uncle of Xia Longwu and son of King Daxia.

He was a well-known figure in Nanyuan, in Great Xia Prefecture, and even among humans.

The Xia Family Merchant Guild was founded by him!

No one knew if Marquis Xia's real name was actually that. Everyone now called him Marquis Xia, as he himself requested. His father was King Daxia, so he was, in a way, a marquis.

So, a long, long time ago, that person was already called Marquis Xia.

"How did this matter get connected to Marquis Xia?"

"Don't you know? He's the one who issued the order!" Chen Hao said dejectedly. "I heard Marquis Xia felt the major academies spent too much, so Great Xia Prefecture's budget allocation is to be reduced by thirty percent this year."

"That's not all..." Chen Hao said with a pained expression. "I heard, no, my dad heard, that Marquis Xia is actually selling enrollment slots!"

Chen Hao said with a look of despair, "That person is actually selling spots, not academy spots, but household registration spots for the 28 cities! To take the assessment in other cities, you need local household registration, so those people who want to come for the assessment have to buy household registration with money!"

"Buying household registration isn't enough, you have to buy a house! So, all together, a house and household registration will cost at least over a million!"

"You haven't seen it, but many people have been selling their houses these past few days, and housing prices have gone crazy. Here, it's now ten thousand per square meter!"

"..."

Su Yu was stunned for a moment. There was such a tactic?

So, could his house be worth a million now?

He had previously planned to sell it for 500,000!

"Don't you think he's immoral? Everyone in Great Xia Prefecture is cursing him now!"

Chen Hao was still complaining, but Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle, "Marquis Xia is really interesting. Originally, everyone was flocking to Great Xia Prefecture, but with this move, he's driving people to the small cities!"

"What's interesting about it? Isn't this increasing our competition?"

Chen Hao said unhappily, "It only costs a million or two to get household registration. There are so many wealthy people in Great Xia Prefecture, won't they all rush over here in droves?"

Su Yu laughed, "It's not that exaggerated. Truly wealthy and influential people's children don't lack money or Qi Liquid, and they have competitive power even in Great Xia Prefecture. Those who run to the small cities are mostly from the middle class. Do you think anyone can afford a million or two?"

"In the end, even if there are more people, it won't be too many."

Su Yu saw it clearly, but Chen Hao was also right; it did increase the difficulty of the assessment for Nanyuan students.

The mid-tier students in Great Xia Prefecture might be at the fifth or sixth level of Kaiyuan, but in Nanyuan, they would be top students.

Those with real family conditions would come nine times out of ten.

This way, the assessment difficulty would increase significantly.

Of course, Nanyuan would definitely profit this time, like those selling houses. Selling houses now would easily earn them hundreds of thousands.

Su Yu could only say that Marquis Xia's strategy was... unparalleled!

"If I were Marquis Xia... I would build a few residential communities in advance at this time, and stipulate that houses can only be bought in those communities. Easily selling several hundred or a thousand units, a million per unit with no room for negotiation, and billions would be in my hands immediately."

Su Yu sighed, lamenting, "If one city is like this, the 28 cities can immediately earn hundreds of billions. If this happens every year, and those who buy this year cannot transfer their property within ten years... then they can continue to harvest another wave next year."

Chen Hao was dumbfounded. After a long while, he said with a bitter face, "Yu, I came to talk to you about something, not to ask you how to make money! What are you thinking!"

Su Yu chuckled, "It's okay, don't worry too much. This matter won't be that simple. If they really occupy all the spots in Nanyuan, do you think Nanyuan will agree? If nothing unexpected happens, there will definitely be other policies to compensate."

"Really?"

Chen Hao still believed Su Yu quite a bit, but he said uncertainly, "Will that affect me?"

"Probably not."

Su Yu wasn't sure either, just guessing, "If I were Marquis Xia, I might have some other policies. For example... Nanyuan recruits a total of 20 people, so 15 are locals and 5 are outsiders. This way, money is earned, outsiders have opportunities, and Nanyuan people don't lose out."

"And these people could have gotten into the academy in Great Xia Prefecture anyway. With this exchange, perhaps the number of students in the academy remains the same, but they earn tens or hundreds of billions more. As for this money, it's what those parents are willing to spend. If you have the ability, you can test in Great Xia Prefecture yourself, and then no one will complain."

Su Yu chuckled, "In general, it's about forcing a group of middle-class families who didn't need to spend money to spend money to solve the problem. They spend tens of billions, Marquis Xia gets it, and then spends it. Back and forth, that's hundreds of billions."

Chen Hao listened, not understanding. Wasn't it hundreds of billions?

How did it become hundreds of billions?

Su Yu didn't explain to him and comforted him, "Don't worry, the people in charge aren't stupid. They wouldn't really cause widespread discontent, would they? The Prefect is just in seclusion, not anything else. Aren't they afraid the Prefect will come out of seclusion and cause trouble for them?"

He was certain that Marquis Xia wouldn't really cause major trouble for Great Xia Prefecture. If Marquis Xia were that foolish, could the Xia Family Merchant Guild monopolize all the cultivation resources in Great Xia Prefecture?

Of course, it was related to the Xia family, but without some capability, other major families wouldn't agree.

"Yu, then tell me, why is Marquis Xia doing this? Earning so much money, making so many people in Great Xia Prefecture want to kill him now!"

"How much money does his Xia Family Merchant Guild make? Just buying something costs tens of thousands."

Su Yu shook his head slightly, "No one dislikes having too much money. Maybe Marquis Xia just likes counting money, then there's nothing you can do."

At this moment, no one knew that the treasury of Great Xia Prefecture was empty.

Even when Wan Tiansheng said so in the meeting, everyone thought it was fake, a scare tactic.

What a joke!

Great Xia Prefecture was one of the strongest prefectures of the human race, with countless experts, a developed economy, and a peaceful populace. Its front-line wars were invincible. How could it be out of money?

If there was no money, could Xia Longwu spend money so extravagantly?

Now, even if Xia Longwu himself stood up and said that Great Xia Prefecture was out of money, many people would probably laugh and say, "The Prefect is joking."

How could that be possible!

Su Yu couldn't imagine it, and Chen Hao couldn't imagine it either. After being comforted by Su Yu, he felt much more at ease and sighed, "That's good, as long as it doesn't affect us. My dad also said he was considering whether to sell our old house this time..."

Su Yu cursed inwardly, What a rich guy!

Chen Hao's family had a house before, in Su Yu's neighborhood. They hadn't sold it yet. If they really sold it this time, it would be a million in income.

Su Yu stroked his chin and brought up the topic again, "Haozi, you say... is it really worth selling houses now?"

A million!

When Su Long bought his house back then, because he was a soldier, the price was very cheap, only around seventy to eighty thousand.

The restricted trading period had long passed. Before, housing prices in Nanyuan City were reasonable, around 500,000.

In the blink of an eye... they doubled!

It was terrifying!

Upon hearing this news, Su Yu even considered selling his house now. He'd make a fortune!

Chen Hao looked at him suspiciously and whispered, "Ah Yu, you're still thinking about that? Uncle Su will really beat you to death when he gets back. If you're short on cash, my dad can lend you some."

"What are you thinking?"

Su Yu chuckled, "Just saying. I can't sell it anyway. Even if I did, I'd need my dad's permission. What a shame, this opportunity is truly rare!"

Chen Hao didn't think much of it. He didn't understand the cost of living and didn't have a big concept of money. He wasn't short on cash either.

Continuing their previous conversation, Chen Hao said nervously, "Even if it doesn't affect us, on the day of the assessment, there will probably be a lot more people from Great Xia Prefecture. I heard there are many geniuses there, tons of people at the fifth or sixth level of Kaiyuan, and quite a few at the seventh or eighth. Ah Yu... do you think they'll laugh at us then?"

Su Yu was unfazed. "Laugh at what? If you put them in Nanyuan, they might not be as strong as you! Our starting point is different, but once we get to Great Xia Prefecture, we'll all be the same. Their progress will definitely not be as fast as ours then."

He didn't think highly of the people from Great Xia Prefecture, nor did he underestimate the people of Nanyuan City.

People from smaller places had a harder start, but once they reached Great Xia Prefecture, everyone was treated equally. As long as their minds were clear and they worked hard, many would achieve success. It wasn't unheard of.

"Alright then!"

Chen Hao dropped the subject and quickly asked curiously, "Ah Yu, what are you planning to do these next few days? The academy will be on holiday soon. How about we go out and have some fun together?"

"Not interested."

Su Yu had too many things to do these days. He needed to repair his "Thunder" little brother, practice the Thunder Origin Blade, prepare to kill a mid-stage Qianjun, read books, and increase his willpower. He was swamped with tasks and had no time for fun.

"You need to cultivate properly and aren't allowed to go anywhere! I'm just speculating, it doesn't mean Nanyuan will still have the same number of people. It's best if you reach the fifth level of Kaiyuan, that way you'll have a better chance. Otherwise, it's normal for some underperforming students to be eliminated. If one or two spots are reduced, you might just get one!"

Su Yu hadn't used any of the three drops of Qi Liquid that Chen Hao's father had given him.

However, his cultivation of the Thunder Origin Blade these past few days had consumed too much energy, and he couldn't recover. He also hadn't opened his Baihui acupoint, so he couldn't actively absorb Qi. This had caused Su Yu to be severely depleted.

He planned to consume a drop of Qi Liquid in the next two days to give himself a significant boost. It would be better for Chen Hao to cultivate here.

"Alright then."

Chen Hao's face fell. He had to go back to studying. He regretted coming to Su Yu's place.

At the same time.

Nanyuan City Lord's Mansion.

City Lord Wu Wenhai, Dragon Martial Guard Squad Leader Xia Bing, Liu Wenyan, the old Academy Head, the Hall Master of Jifeng Hall... many high-ranking officials had gathered.

Wu Wenhai and the others sat down and got straight to the point. "Everyone knows the situation. Great Xia Prefecture's intention is one person, one household. This means if a family has two children coming for the assessment, they will need to buy two houses, each over a hundred square meters. Anything less than a hundred square meters won't count!"

The old Academy Head tugged at his beard and gasped, "Marquis Xia's heart... is too black!"

Wu Wenhai acted as if he hadn't heard and continued, "Also, the assessment time is tight. We'll open a special channel for processing, with an additional tax of 10%!"

"..."

Even Liu Wenyan couldn't help but complain, "Is this money from Nanyuan, or Great Xia Prefecture?"

"Great Xia Prefecture and Nanyuan will split it 50/50!"

Wu Wenhai chuckled, "It's a good thing. Anyway, Marquis Xia is taking the heat, we're just collecting the money. It doesn't affect us much. The ones who will suffer are those from Great Xia Prefecture. If you have the ability, don't come. It only benefits Nanyuan, with no disadvantages."

The old Academy Head frowned, "I'm just afraid they'll end up taking our spots."

"They won't. The higher-ups' intention is that the number of recruits will be roughly the same as before. The difference won't be too large, maybe one or two people. They won't reduce it too much at once."

Wu Wenhai reassured him. "This is actually beneficial for us. Originally, Great Xia Prefecture was going to reduce the spots across the board, and we would have lost a quarter of our spots. Now, not only have we not lost any, but we're also making a profit. Nanyuan isn't wealthy, and this is a chance to earn some money. In the future, we'll have more funds for various allocations."

Everyone nodded. Seeing this, Wu Wenhai said, "This matter is settled. It's useless for us to object. The main reason I called everyone here is to tell the students not to feel pressured or cause chaos. The higher-ups consider things carefully and won't act recklessly without considering our opinions."

"Also, Great Xia Prefecture will definitely be a bit chaotic recently with people coming and going. Jifeng Hall and the City Guard should prepare for security and defense against the Ten Thousand Races Cult trying to take advantage of the situation. We must be vigilant against them inciting trouble and guiding public opinion!"

Wu Wenhai said sternly, "Some people won't understand and will spread rumors. If the people of Nanyuan feel that outsiders are encroaching on their spots and interests, it will definitely lead to some unrest. We must be vigilant about this!"

Everyone quickly agreed. Wu Wenhai breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled, "Also, the higher-ups' intention is to keep these guys in Nanyuan as much as possible. They are all wealthy individuals. Nanyuan's development is slow, its resources are limited, and its economy is not developed. This time, they are essentially being sent to us for free... no, they're paying us to come!"

"If they stay, Nanyuan can develop better in the future. Also, for the academy... there are additional money-making plans."

"What?"

Wu Wenhai smiled, "Marquis Xia said that all assessment personnel must be affiliated with an academy! In other words, those people who come to Nanyuan must enter a middle-tier academy. They need to be listed on the academy's roster. The fee for each spot... you can decide yourselves, just don't be too outrageous!"

Liu Wenyan gasped, "This fatty... cough cough, Marquis Xia is really squeezing every last drop! With the additional taxes, the academy affiliation, and buying houses to register, if he doesn't take millions from each family, he won't be satisfied!"

Wu Wenhai also said with a wry smile, "That's just Marquis Xia's personality. He also said, if you don't want to spend, don't. He's not forcing anyone to spend money. If you have the ability, you can pass the assessment in Great Xia Prefecture yourself. He's not making things difficult for anyone, so... who can do anything about it?"

"Marquis's methods of accumulating wealth..." the old Academy Head clicked his tongue. After a pause, he said, "Does the old King Daxia know about this? If he knew... wouldn't he beat him to death!"

"That's none of our business then."

Wu Wenhai said insincerely, "As long as Marquis Xia can handle it himself, that's fine. Of course, he's used to it. Let them scold him. It's not the first time anyway. A few years ago, Marquis Xia secretly opened a black market and traded a large amount of merit points, swindling over ten billion from wealthy families in Great Xia Prefecture. In the end, it was all settled, wasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone had different expressions.

Merit points had a hierarchical system. Some people, even with money, couldn't buy certain items.

A few years ago, Great Xia Prefecture had a black market where you could buy anything if you had the money!

Of course, the prices were outrageously high.

And transactions were done with merit points. Back then, one merit point was being resold for over 100,000, and that wasn't all; the items bought were also double the price!

This meant a difference of over ten times the price.

Even so, many wealthy families flocked to it, only for it to be shut down. Marquis Xia did a good job!

The merit points bought by the wealthy families were all wasted!

Xia Longwu personally shut it down!

He didn't confiscate the merit points, but they could only be used for normal merit point transactions. Things that couldn't be bought before still couldn't be bought. Some people had bought hundreds of thousands of points, but their merit level only allowed them to purchase goods that cost a few hundred points. They had money but couldn't spend it!

They couldn't secretly trade with others either, because these people were all on Xia Longwu's list. Who would dare to trade in secret... wouldn't they worry that the person they were trading with was from the Ten Thousand Races Cult?

After that incident, Marquis Xia kept a low profile for a few years, but now he's back to making money!

He heard that he made tens of billions, or even more, that time. No one knows where that money went, and no one dares to ask. Anyway, it wasn't other people's money; it was just some rich patrons willingly spending their money.

When Wu Wenhai mentioned this, Liu Wenyan and the others fell silent. If Xia Longwu hadn't been so serious and iron-fisted, they would have suspected it was entrapment.

In the end, it was the wealthy patrons who suffered the losses, and it had limited impact on others. Not many people discussed this matter.

However, during that period, Marquis Xia was heavily criticized by the wealthy patrons. That's when the nickname "Xia the Pig Head" started spreading.

When Marquis Xia was mentioned, everyone burst into laughter.

Liu Wenyan was also laughing, but as he laughed, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This Fatty Xia, who knows how many scapegoats he's taken. Now, there are probably very few people who remember the dashing young Marquis Xia from fifty years ago.

Half of the sky in Great Xia Prefecture was supported by this guy they called "Pig Head."

It's a pity that people are ignorant and just follow the crowd. How many people know this?

"With a pig's face, but a clear mind," this saying perfectly describes this Marquis Xia, who is constantly criticized.