Shadowsong looked helplessly at the man before him. After over a year of interactions, he had long since figured out this man's identity none other than the future Emperor Xue Ye, currently still the crown prince.
Ever since he'd bought a kerosene lamp from Shadowsong, Xue Ye had made frequent visits. Half of the great sage reputation that Shadowsong enjoyed in Heaven Dou City could be attributed to this very prince.
"Brother Cheng, long time no see! You're the renowned great sage of Heaven Dou City surely you won't mind a little rudeness from a mere prince," Xue Ye said bluntly, seating himself at the tea table without the slightest sense of formality and helping himself to tea.
From upstairs, the Ice Empress came down rubbing her eyes. Yawning, she muttered, "Morning. The freeloader's back again." As a soul beast, she had no reverence whatsoever for human royalty.
"I'm not here to freeload today." But even as he spoke, the tea was already at his lips.
"Then tell me what business brings you here this time. Let me make it clear in advance—soap, mirrors, glycerin, spinning wheels—these are off the table. I'm not selling them to anyone," Shadowsong said as he moved a stool over and gestured for Ice Empress to sit as well.
"Well, I would like to buy them, but that's not what brought me today. I came to seek the great sage's aid with disaster relief. This year, vast areas north of Jialing Pass have suffered a severe drought, followed by a locust plague. The farmlands have yielded nothing.
"I was deeply moved by what Brother Cheng just said. You clearly are someone who cares for the greater good. This matter of aiding the disaster-stricken..."
"Okay, okay, stop! Cut the flattery!" Shadowsong interrupted, rummaging through a drawer. "To me, every person is a resource. Of course I can't just watch as they eat their own children or boil bones to survive."
These simple words stunned Xue Ye into silence. Though Shadowsong had merely used descriptions commonly used in his previous world for famine conditions, Xue Ye interpreted it as firsthand experience of the worst kind of catastrophe—how else could he have described it so vividly and succinctly?
"However, let's be clear. I'll help, but the Empire must pay for it. Disaster relief is the duty of the state. At most, I'm offering to front the cost for now.
"Here." Shadowsong handed over a proposal. "This is my disaster relief resettlement plan. I've included planting instructions for fast-growing crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and radishes—some can mature in as little as two and a half months and are extremely resilient to drought and flood.
"Take this note, signed by me, to my city warehouse and withdraw ten million gold soul coins. Then go to my outer-city warehouse and haul away all the potatoes I had reserved for distilling alcohol. Tch, I was planning to use the ethanol as a gasoline substitute, and now you've messed that all up!"
He pushed both the proposal and a slip of special paper toward Xue Ye, who was momentarily stunned.
"Brother Cheng… you predicted this year's drought ahead of time?" Xue Ye couldn't help but think so. The plan was far too comprehensive to have been thrown together last-minute. Combined with Shadowsong's seemingly omniscient image, it was thoroughly convincing.
"Of course not. The best I can do is guess from the clouds whether it'll rain tomorrow. Predicting El Niño? Not my specialty. But your agricultural system has always been fragile—famine was only a matter of time. I was simply preparing in advance."
"Preparing in advance…" Xue Ye murmured, repeating yet another unfamiliar idiom. It made sense, though. Shadowsong often spouted thought-provoking expressions like this, which only deepened Xue Ye's belief in his wisdom.
"Oh, by the way, when you distribute the relief supplies, take some of the farmers who manage my outer plantations with you. Your officials probably won't know how to grow my crops properly.
"Also, clear out my oil-press warehouse inventory. Didn't you say there's a locust plague too? Deep-fried locusts are actually quite tasty—if you can get past the mental block. Tell the refugees that if they can't afford oil, roasting over fire works too. Just don't boil them... the smell is... indescribable."
"Thank you, Brother Cheng, for your assistance! The Empire will not forget this favor! The matter is urgent, so I won't delay further. I'll be back another day to express proper thanks!" Xue Ye bowed deeply, picked up the proposal and the note, and left.
He'd never heard of eating locusts before, but since Shadowsong said it was fine, he believed it. After all, Shadowsong had already achieved many things that were far more unbelievable.
Once Xue Ye was gone, the Ice Empress grumbled angrily, "Why bother helping those people? We're soul beasts, not humans. The more of them there are, the more they'll come hunting us. Let them starve, I say!
"And ten million gold soul coins! Do you know how much that is? And you just gave it away with a single note? Now I finally get what you meant when you said I'd be shocked by a piece of paper!"
Shadowsong, well-versed in how to pacify her, pulled out a tray of freshly chilled fruit from the artificial fridge and pushed it toward her. Only then did he explain:
"One who doesn't plan for the long term is unfit to plan even for the short term. I know you're mostly upset about the ten million…
"But haven't you noticed something after spending so long in the human world? The gap between soul masters and ordinary people is just as vast as the one between us and them.
"I'm saving ordinary people without soul power—not soul masters. No matter how poor a soul master is, famine won't ever threaten them. Those corpses littering the roads—those are all commoners.
"And they're easy to please. Do you know why I'm sending the plantation farmers along? Because their uniforms bear the logo of our technology company.
"In the disaster zones, they'll be the 'blue-clad angels' in the midst of despair. These men, who themselves come from humble roots, will distribute food selflessly, teach survival farming techniques, and sit side-by-side with the victims, sharing thin porridge where every grain of rice is visible.
"They'll use simple language to tell the same stories I once told them—of a future where every farmer owns their land, every family has a home, the elderly are cared for, and children are educated.
"These experiences will carve themselves deep into their memories, even passed down to future generations. They won't remember that it was the Empire that paid for the relief. They'll remember the old farmers in blue work clothes who pulled them out of suffering.
"And those people will become the foundation for our future. Once enough power is amassed, I will lead them to shout those now-treasonous slogans—to let the light of technology replace the grace of the gods."
Shadowsong spoke at length, and by the time he finished, the Ice Empress had already polished off the plate of fruit.
"I don't really get it. But basically… helping them means there'll be more fun stuff in the future, right?"
Shadowsong thought of the glowing molten steel pouring from a blast furnace, illuminating an entire era in red. He nodded with certainty.
"There definitely will be."