Desert Highway Project

Wuzhong Ou looked at the sun overhead, wiped the sweat from his neck, then looked at the wheat shoots in the field and smiled with satisfaction.

"I really don't know what you're smiling about all day. You farmed in the Land of Fields, and now that you're in the Land of Wind, you're still farming." Wuzhong Ou's younger brother, Wuzhong He, casually replied as he weeded the field.

"What do you know? The Kazekage saved the lives of every one of us. What's there to be dissatisfied about? Besides, whose land did we farm before? The landlords'! Whose land are you farming now? Our own! We have land deeds issued by Lord Garukei and Lord Baki. How could that be the same? So many immigrants went to the Construction Corps to build houses or to the Forestry Office to plant trees. How many people got such a large plot of land right from the start, like us? This is all the Kazekage's grace, understand? You." Wuzhong Ou glared at Wuzhong He in displeasure.

"Maybe the Kazekage took a fancy to our Crystal Release." At Wuzhong He's age, he loved talking back. He was useless at everything else but unmatched at arguing. Tell him salt was salty, and he would smack his lips and insist he tasted sourness. Tell him the sun was round, and he would squint until he found corners on it.

"You ungrateful brat, I think your hide's itching!" Wuzhong Ou raised his hoe and prepared to teach Wuzhong He a lesson. Seeing that his older brother was truly angry, Wuzhong He hurriedly scrambled onto the ridge and ran. The two put on quite a chase among the field paths.

Just as the chase continued, a crisp child's voice suddenly rang out from the fields.

"Dad, Uncle He, stop fooling around! Lunch is ready!"

Wuzhong Ou stopped chasing and followed the voice in search of his precious daughter, Honglian. Instead, he saw his daughter sitting on the shoulders of a tall figure, carrying a lunch box in her hand, her face full of blissful smiles.

"Ka... Kazekage." Once Wuzhong Ou saw the visitor's face clearly, he dropped to his knees in the field with a thud.

"Oh, Brother Wuzhong, why such a grand gesture? Get up, get up. Pakura, help me take the child."

Keiko handed Honglian to Pakura, then quickly helped Wuzhong Ou up and dusted the dirt from his clothes.

"Actually, I heard the conversation between you and your younger brother just now."

"Huh? Kazekage, I..."

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I think your younger brother was right."

"Huh?"

"When I brought you out of the Land of Fields, I did have a selfish motive. That motive was your family's Crystal Release."

"Ah!?" Wuzhong Ou was utterly confused.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Let's eat first. Let me see... Oh, this meal looks pretty good! Flatbread, vegetables, and even fish from Moon Lake! Honglian, how about Uncle joining you for a simple meal here?" Keiko casually opened the lunch box.

"It's fine, Uncle, eat as much as you like. I brought plenty today, enough for three people." Honglian smiled sweetly.

Moon Lake's municipal administrative residence stood in a corner west of the lakeshore. Though it was called an official residence, it was really just a two-story building. At first glance, one might mistake it for the home of an ordinary middle-class family. Yet this small building housed two important institutions of Moon Lake Base. However, Garukei, commander of the Production and Construction Corps, and Baki, director of the Immigration Bureau, were both military men by background. They worked efficiently and lived simply. Aside from staff dormitories and offices, the entire residence did not have a single extra room or piece of unnecessary furniture. Even after Baki received the hundred-million-ryo loan Keiko had transferred from Konoha, he did not spend a single extra coin on the residence. In Baki's words, the Kazekage had bent his back and swallowed his pride to painstakingly beg Konoha for that hundred million. The Kazekage had entrusted such a huge sum to him, Baki, to build Moon Lake Base, not to waste on some official residence. Once they had money in the future, what grand residence could they not build?

With superiors like that came subordinates like that. Moon Lake's administrators had all developed the "Three Simplicities" administrative style: brief speech, concise wording, and efficient work. This style was highly effective and involved simple procedures, quickly winning the love of the immigrants. Many willingly built their homes beside the official residence, even though that was not the best location.

Now, the two heads of the Immigration Bureau and the Construction Corps, Baki and Garukei, were holding a meeting in the second-floor conference room. The room was not large, there were not many attendees, and neither side spoke in circles. They went straight to questions and answers. It was highly efficient.

"Regarding the Construction Corps' plan to purchase sea buckthorn shrubs from the Land of Forest?" Garukei asked.

"I've read the proposal. It's feasible," Baki said.

"We plan to purchase fifty thousand saplings, at a cost of roughly two million ryo."

Several advisers beside Baki chatted briefly among themselves. After a while, they handed Baki a note. Baki read it, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Allocate 1.5 million ryo. One million will be used to purchase the shrubs. The other five hundred thousand will be for your Construction Corps to send people to the Land of Forest and recruit at least two forestry experts. Additionally, allocate another five hundred thousand ryo to establish specialized plant greenhouses in the sun-rich area east of Moon Lake. Then we won't need to import our tree varieties from other countries in the future."

The advisers on Garukei's side considered the feasibility of the matter and ultimately concluded that it was workable. Once the two leaders nodded, clerks immediately compiled the meeting records into formal documents, made in duplicate, and handed them to the two leaders for review and stamping. A document bearing both seals became a valid Moon Lake regional document. One copy was archived, and the other was given to the executor. A proposal had gone from submission to resolution in less than six minutes!

"Next is the issue of food imports?"

"I think we can stop importing food from the Land of Rice and turn to the Land of Grain. Their rice and wheat are nearly ten percent cheaper."

"If the quality of the Land of Grain's food is not a problem, we can implement that plan. However, don't discard the Land of Rice suppliers for now. We can use this as a reason to push their prices down. Moon Lake currently has a great demand for food. Relying on a single supplier is unsafe. Before the newly reclaimed land produces food, there absolutely must not be a problem with your supply chain." Baki's tone turned stern.

"Yes! The Construction Corps will certainly ensure food security!"

"Regarding the resettlement of refugees from the Land of Rain?"

"Handle it according to the old rules. Send them some food first, and the Construction Corps will help build their housing. Screen every person individually. I'll remind our ANBU colleagues here: Lady Chiyo is now in charge of counterespionage. If something goes wrong in that regard, she is not known for having a good temper."

"Yes."

"Regarding the construction of chicken farms and pig farms?"

Just as everyone was preparing to discuss the next agenda item, the door opened. The somewhat blinding sunlight made everyone uncomfortable, and four figures stood in the doorway.

Baki was just about to lose his temper. Who dared interrupt a meeting of Moon Lake's senior leadership? So many matters were awaiting decisions! Then he suddenly found the figure before him somewhat familiar.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have a very urgent plan."

"Kazekage!" Once Baki recognized the visitor, he was overjoyed and excitedly stood up. Garukei was even more dramatic, rushing over and directly hugging Keiko.

"All right, all right! I know it hasn't been easy for you. Let's discuss business first. We can talk about everything else over dinner. Pakura, give it to them."

"Yes, Kazekage." A proposal was handed to Baki.

"Desert Highway Project Proposal?"