The streets teemed with people, bustling and crowded. Handcarts laden with goods delivered cargo to every corner of the city.
Shop clerks greeted and saw off customers with smiling faces, peddlers hawked their wares, hard-working adults sweated like rain, and children darted through the crowds in the streets, knowing nothing of sorrow.
Others quarreled over household trifles or accidental collisions.
Southern Prefecture was indeed beginning to feel somewhat crowded.
With the entire framework of the Yan Kingdom Imperial Court having moved to Southern Prefecture, Southern Prefecture City had become extraordinarily prosperous, every inch of land worth its weight in gold.
The city's scale in Southern Prefecture could not compare with Yan Capital's. As vast numbers of nobles and wealthy merchants arrived, even the crude dwellings tucked away in hidden nooks and crannies became prized plots sold at high prices. Some had already paid for them. This was not the Yan Kingdom capital; on Shang Chaozong's territory, none of the outsiders from the Capital City dared seize property by force. They could only pay for it politely.
Quite a few impoverished families had made a windfall. As for where they would find shelter from wind and rain in the future, that was not something people struggling to survive could consider. Even if they did consider it, there was nothing they could do. The urgent need to resolve their immediate plight was bound to cloud their long-term vision; the poor could only be somewhat shortsighted.
Faced with this situation, Lan Ruoting, who presided over government affairs, was also in a difficult position. He could hardly force the people not to sell when they needed to live. Was he going to give them money? All Lan Ruoting could do was resettle the people in remote areas.
In short, the city's core districts were