Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 343

It is now 1610. In his original timeline where there was no supernatural power, it was the era when the Ming Dynasty was gradually heading towards its demise, when the entire civilization was in decline and lifelessness, and when it would be surpassed and quickly left behind by the West.

In this world of Seris, the conflicts between North and South, old and new, have reached a breaking point. Who will win? It's unknown, because the victor will be the one with the greater violence.

Seeing that Ronan was in a bad mood, Dinia suggested, "How about we have a few drinks tonight?"

“Okay,” Ronan agreed.

After saying that, the two glanced at Astrid and Yang Nian's fight a few more times before leaving.

Not long after the two left, Elena, who had just woken up, walked out of her room in her pajamas and into the middle of the courtyard. Still sleepy-eyed and with her blonde hair still frizzy, she looked at her daughter and Yang Nian and said, "Are you two crazy? Fighting here so early in the morning."

Astrid stopped and said to Yang Nian, "Ignore her, let's go get breakfast."

Yang Nian nodded, like a little follower.

The two put away the wooden replica weapons and quickly went outside. There were no servants at home, so naturally no one made breakfast, and they had to eat outside. Since everyone had different schedules, they all ate separately.

There are many breakfast stalls in Foshan, but the densely populated streets in the neighborhoods are quite far away, and you have to walk a while.

“Your outfit is wrong. You won’t be able to seduce that old man like this. Look, he didn’t even give you a second glance,” Astrid said.

Yang Nian's face flushed instantly, and she retorted loudly, "Don't talk nonsense."

"Tch, at such a young age, not only are you cunning, but you also don't learn good things, you're just like some people." Astrid's tone didn't carry any reprimand, but rather the teasing between friends. Seeing that Yang Nianzhen was getting anxious, she added, "Yes, yes, I was just talking nonsense. Let me put it another way, this outfit doesn't suit you."

Yang Nian didn't speak, but expressed her dissatisfaction with her eyes.

“You’re so short, you need to go for the heroic lolita look, understand?” Astrid said.

Yang Nian retorted, "You long gourd, how am I short? In your Western terms, I'm 158cm! And what's with this 'loli' nonsense?" Her height of 158cm is taller than most women in the South, okay?

Astrid continued, "Anyway, take my advice: don't wear such an ethereal Seres dress if you have short hair, and flesh-colored stockings are even less suitable for you."

Chapter 794 Breakfast, Western Clothes, Because of Your Summoning Spirit

Yang Nian and Astrid walked and joked around.

"Long gourd, then tell me, what would look good on me?" Yang Nian said angrily.

Astrid grinned like a lovesick fool, "Call me 'good sister' and I'll tell you."

"Pah!" Yang Nian spat. "How do I know if you're bragging?"

"Do you know who I am? Back in my days in the aristocratic ladies' circle, I was the most important person there," Astrid said with a proud expression.

"The top seat sounds like a bandit's position," Yang Nian muttered.

Astrid reached out her large hand and gave Yang Nian's head a good ruffled scrape. "What do you know? Lady, do you understand what a lady is?"

Yang Nian calmed himself down, thinking to himself, "You damned foreign woman, you're more like a bandit than I am. If I could beat you, I would have dealt with you today."

Astrid couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong? Are you angry? Want to jump up and hit my knee?"

"That's enough!" Yang Nian said, suppressing her anger. "Look at yourself, you look like a long gourd, no one would want a woman like you."

"Heh, don't even mention my looks. With my strength alone, even if I were wrinkled and looked like a witch, there would be men lining up for blocks to beg me for a free meal," Astrid said with a disdainful expression. Back in the capital, countless men pursued her. Keep in mind, she was an illegitimate child. Those noble young men chased after her not because of her background, but because of her strength.

"Alright, alright, just tell me, what would look good on me?" Yang Nian didn't want Astrid to keep going on like this.

"What's the rush? Let's eat breakfast first," Astrid said with a smile.

Soon, the two arrived at a breakfast stall.

Astrid skillfully sat down on the small stool. "Boss, two servings of rice noodle rolls with meat, four tea eggs, two servings of pork offal congee, and six fried dough sticks."

The boss, who was dark-skinned, thin, tall, and somewhat hunched over like a bent wooden stick, simply nodded. Early in the morning, all six small tables were occupied; he was very busy.

A young man sitting at the same table turned to Astrid and asked, "Miss Luo, who is this young lady?"

Astrid doesn't come here every day, but she comes two or three times a week. She's a language genius; in just a few months, she became fluent in the local dialect. She's also a local expert and has already become familiar with all the regulars here.

“My father bought this maid,” Astrid replied.

A hint of disappointment flashed across the young man's face, then he smiled and said, "I see." He didn't believe Yang Nian was a maid, because Yang Nian was clearly not an ordinary person; she had cultivation that was no less than his own. How could such a woman be a maid? Astrid said this because she didn't want him to have any contact with her.

Astrid smiled smugly. "By the way, how's the enrollment thing I asked you to inquire about going?"

The young man was a student at a small academy. After her plan to study at a large academy failed, Astrid changed her approach.

The young man sighed slightly, "Well, it's not possible where I am either, but I have an uncle who runs a martial arts school there, maybe that will work."

“Alright, breakfast is on me. If it works out, I’ll treat you to a brothel.” Astrid said happily, then changed the subject, “Don’t be in such a hurry. As Seris once said, ‘A real man has no shortage of wives.’”

The young man gave an awkward smile, "Then I'll take your kind words."

He was twenty-seven years old and at the second level, which was considered excellent among extraordinary individuals, roughly one in a thousand. However, in Foshan, a place with numerous academies and martial arts schools, gathering talents from all over Guangdong and Guangxi, his background was rather poor. Although his clan also had extraordinary individuals, his parents were ordinary people, and his own strength was still far from the level of geniuses that even powerful families would inquire about.

So, it ended up in a limbo.

If he had the same power as Miss Luo in front of him, he could marry whomever he wanted.

Before long, breakfast was served. Astrid ate without any aristocratic manners, devouring the food in a flash. Yang Nian was no better, and the two of them quickly finished off the entire breakfast.

After breakfast, Astrid led Yang Nian to a newly opened Western-style clothing store.

There are many foreigners in Guangdong, and nearly 10,000 in Foshan alone. However, most of them are Muslims who have been doing business with the Seres for hundreds of years and have deep roots in the industry. Unlike Westerners, who have only started doing business in the last hundred years, there are very few shops selling Western clothing. Moreover, these shops either sell cheap items or very outdated styles.

But this newly opened store is different. It's owned by Ambrina, and it's full of the latest styles. To be precise, it incorporates various modern clothing styles from Ronan's memories, and modifies the original aristocratic clothing of the Kingdom of Fas, using 17th-century craftsmanship to cut and sew Western-style clothing.

For Ronan, this was called "retro style," but for the West in this era, it was a new trend.

Upon entering the store, Astrid immediately pulled out a thick leather tag with gold lettering—the receipt for her custom-made clothing. "Have all my orders been made?" she asked.

"Miss Artes, everything is ready," the waiter replied respectfully.

Astrid was an illegitimate child, and by custom she couldn't use her father's surname, but rules meant nothing to someone like Ronan.

Astrid placed the leather tag on the counter and beckoned to Yang Nian, "Come on, come on, let's try on your new clothes."

Yang Nian was not very willing, but under Astrid's coercion, she began to change into "barbarian clothes" in the completely enclosed fitting room.

First came the underwear, then the floral collar and sleeve shirt, and finally the fitted, waist-cinching off-white cashmere vest.

She wore a caramel-colored cropped trench coat over her clothes, followed by thick white stockings underneath, and then a beige high-waisted cashmere knee-length skirt, the same color as the vest.

Astrid pulled out a pair of burgundy mid-length, fitted knee-high boots. "These boots would suit you very well."

Yang Nian is 158cm tall. Ankle boots make her look short, and knee-high boots make her look bulky. These tight-fitting knee-high boots with a slight heel and a pointed toe wrap around her calves, visually lengthening her calves and feet. They make her look taller without ruining her loli-like appearance. The key is that they suit Yang Nian's little wolf cub temperament very well.

"Beautiful." Astrid was very satisfied.

"Satisfied? Satisfied? Can I take it off now?" Yang Nian said, and started to drag it off.

Astrid didn't stop her, but said, "Actually, it's mainly because your short hair doesn't really suit Seris's clothes and makeup. By the way, why does someone from Seris have short hair?"

“I used to pretend to be a little boy from Southeast Asia,” Yang Nian replied, while taking off his clothes and shoes.

"I see." Astrid understood. "The Western style is still a bit lacking overall. However, you really don't suit flesh-colored stockings. White suits you, and black is also fine. I'll go back and study it carefully to figure out how to wear them to look good. Otherwise, I don't know when you'll..."

Seemingly afraid that Yang Nian would get angry with her again, Astrid didn't continue.

"Why are you so concerned?" Yang Nian suddenly asked.

“Because of your summoned spirit,” Astrid replied.

Chapter 795 It's not a small matter; every industry needs to take off, so you have to have a drink with me.

In May, Luo Nan and his group followed Liu Menglong to Foshan. Now, in December, with the end of the year approaching, everything is finally on track.

With the technical and talent support provided by Luo Nan, and based on high-quality iron ore from various regions of Guangdong and high-quality coal shipped from Southeast Asia, a brand-new steel industry alliance was officially launched, spearheaded by Wang Zhixiao and other businessmen originally in the iron smelting industry.

Although so far, they haven't made a single penny, and have nearly emptied the coffers of all the businessmen and even corrupt officials who got involved, no one is worried. This is because the first batch of steel was produced two months ago, demonstrating the results, and everyone knows that they are about to make a fortune.

Meanwhile, Foshan's iron industry, which is centered on cast iron, was not actually affected much; in fact, it gained even more benefits than before.

The reason lies in the fact that Guangdong's iron smelting industry is mainly based on decentralized handicrafts. In various villages, wherever there are mines, several furnaces are set up to smelt iron.

Now, with the new Iron Alliance, plus the old Iron Smelting Alliance created by Chen Zuolin, these villages have discovered that they can directly sell their ore. Iron sand and iron ore are readily available for purchase, and they can simply sell them directly. Calculations show that this is more profitable than building their own earthen furnaces to smelt iron.

Meanwhile, iron smelting used to primarily use charcoal, while the new Iron and Steel Alliance used coal.

In other words, the old alliance had no conflict with the new alliance regarding raw materials, and even expanded its sources of raw materials and increased its production capacity.

The end result was that the group that had previously listened to Chen Zuolin had no intention of fighting against Ronan's group, because their interests had not been harmed.

In agriculture, Ronan introduced high-yield potatoes, corn, and even a host of other cultivated crops.

A land of fish and rice? That's nothing. We need to develop the area around Foshan into Guangdong's granary.

In the textile industry, Ronan also introduced more advanced looms.

The local gentry and officials did not object, because Foshan and Seris were different from other places; in other places, using looms was not cost-effective. This is the same principle as in India, where the cost of weaving cloth by hand is much lower than that of advanced looms, and the quality is not inferior. Even after a sea voyage, the cloth is still cheaper than cotton cloth produced by Western countries using advanced looms and assembly line methods.

It's just off the mark.

Some parts of Seris aren't quite as outrageous, but they're about the same.

If you bring an advanced loom over there, the locals will just laugh at you for being a complete idiot.

Foshan is different. Foshan is not a small-scale farming economy, nor is it a manor economy. Instead, it is a mixed economy in which handicrafts account for a large proportion. In short, there are no "cheap laborers" available here, and using more advanced looms can undoubtedly reduce costs.

Of course, capitalists' desires are insatiable. It's foreseeable that in just a few years, they will find local female workers too damn expensive. If they can't bring those mountain women from Guangxi to work, then they'll go to Southeast Asia.

In addition, there is the ceramics industry. Foshan also produces ceramics, but they are only low-end products sold to Southeast Asia.

Ronan simply adopted the assembly line model, still producing low-end goods, and then painted a grand picture, promising that one day all the poor people of Seres would be eating from porcelain bowls from Foshan.

After a series of combined measures, not only Foshan, but also various interest groups in Guangdong associated with Foshan as a transportation hub are already excited.

Officials and wealthy merchants alike all sided with Master Luo and Lord Liu.

However, Ronan knew that all of this was only temporary.

The same thing happened back in the Kingdom of Phos. As various industries flourished, most people were willing to follow Ronan and unite as one. However, once everything stabilized and it became clear that profits could no longer be expanded, trouble ensued.

Everyone, from the powerful and wealthy to the poorest peasants, felt they hadn't received enough and wanted to eat more.

When Ronan was in the Kingdom of Phos, he constantly killed and suppressed, eliminating the previous generation to make room for the new ones. At the same time, he continuously carried out new reforms, offering more distributable benefits to prevent the opponents from uniting.

But in Seris, he couldn't do that; he was just Master Luo, and the limit of his power was the same as the limit of Liu Menglong's power.

"In ten years at most, the situation in Guangdong will gradually stabilize and the growth rate will tend to be stable. At that time, a fierce battle between various interest groups will inevitably break out. However, by then, either I will no longer be here, or Seris will have undergone a dramatic change, allowing for an even bigger game to be played."

Ronan thought to himself, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

Guangdong, the team behind Seres, really has the potential to put up a fight in this world.

This place is, in a sense, the front line, with soldiers, meaning there are quite a few extraordinary individuals below the rank of Zhengshi here.

Moreover, it is an attractive region with developed trade.

After all, whether they are scholars or warriors, most people's talents are just so-so. They might try to level up when they are young, but by middle age, their cultivation is mediocre and they have no potential left. It is impossible for them to use their skills to serve the emperor, and they certainly cannot do evil deeds. So of course, they should find a good place to spread benevolence and morality.

Where is the best place to spread benevolence and morality? Of course, it's a place with money.

Living in the capital is not easy, and the powerful families in Jiangnan don't need us, so let's head south to Guangdong.

Therefore, it can be said that Guangdong has the third largest number of superhumans at the rank of righteousness, after the area around Beijing, the Jiangnan region, and the territory of Seris.

The technology team has developed a new generation of magic-resistant armor and a new generation of magic pistols.

Of course, none of them were put into production.

Ronan is contributing to Foshan's economy here, which is an international spirit. The high-level officials of Seres are all smiles, so there's no need for the title of "old friend of the people of Seres." Otherwise, they would definitely have given Ronan one.

But if Ronan were to establish a military industry here, let alone magic-resistant armor and magic pistols, even if Ronan were to forge cannons and produce muskets, we would have to take it over immediately.

"Brother Luo, Brother Luo, you must have a drink with me today."

Liu Menglong's voice suddenly appeared, pulling Ronan back from his reverie.

"Brother Liu, is there any great news?" Ronan asked.

"Double happiness." Liu Menglong smiled mysteriously, deliberately waiting for Ronan to ask.

Ronan played along, "Oh, which two happy events?"

"First, my wife is pregnant again, already two months along. She might give me a son next year to inherit my power," Liu Menglong said excitedly.

It's not that he doesn't like his daughter.

Instead, he and the "Zhao Yingqi" of this world are both summoners, but his first daughter was not born a summoner and did not inherit the power of either of her parents.

But there is still a high chance of a second pregnancy.

“Congratulations!” Ronan said.

"When the baby is born and reaches his one-month milestone, it will be the time when various industries in Foshan begin to take off. At that time, I will invite my parents and friends from all walks of life to come and hold a grand celebration here." Liu Menglong has already started thinking about his baby's one-month celebration.