Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 877: Chapter 335: Songyang Ridge, Seven Houses Surrender, First Batch of Silver Arrives

The wide and spacious main avenue, the various precious trees transplanted along the street, the standalone buildings on either side of the street built with a mix of wood, iron stone, and coming and going pedestrians occasionally exuding the aura of the Cold Resistance Level…

The scenery within the city constantly dazzled Ji Yang and the others, leaving them in awe repeatedly.

“Xia City seems very crowded now; I guess it’s not far from expansion!”

Xu Ning observed the somewhat crowded houses in the West District, furrowed his brows slightly, made a brief remark with a hint of sigh, and continued walking forward with Ji Yang and the others. After covering about three hundred meters, they soon saw a tall building.

“The Outer City is divided into the East, South, West, and North districts. Your group of five hundred will likely be spread across different districts according to your household registration. This tall building is the Government Office of the West District. I’ve already sent someone to inform them in advance, and soon someone will come to take you inside. Once you’re assigned to a district, you can go there yourself.

Since you’re new here, after being allocated to your respective jurisdiction, you’ll likely be placed in unified temporary large wooden huts. If you want to live in a standalone wooden building like others, you have to earn Contribution Value, buy land from the Camp Supply Department, and then build a house.”

Seeing Ji Yang and the others staring at the standalone houses along the street, Xu Ning was well aware of what they were thinking.

“May I ask Lord Xu, how much Contribution Value does a plot of land in the West District require?”

For the twenty thousand people from Longyou who came to Xia City less than a year ago, there were already many houses under construction in the city. Ji Yang and the others had seen them upon entering the city, hence they directly inquired about the land prices at this moment.

Xu Ning’s family resides in Inner City No. 15; he was evidently unfamiliar with the Outer City. He answered based on memory, “I’m not very clear; it should be around seven thousand to ten thousand points. Craftsmen are divided into three grades, with corresponding prices of nine hundred, six hundred, and three hundred points, respectively. The upper limit for materials is high; if you use only wood, it might not even require two hundred points. However, now in Xia City, there are hardly any pure wooden houses left; a bit of iron slurry must be used. More advanced ones use Green Stone brought from Beimang Mountain mixed with iron slurry. A well-designed house would probably require over ten thousand Contribution Value…

“What Lord Xu said is outdated. The land prices in the West District have risen to over fifteen thousand!”

Xu Ning was suddenly interrupted, turning to see someone walking out of the tall building, and a smile appeared on his face.

The newcomer was Li Longkai, who is now the Chief of Civil Affairs in the West District of the Outer City. Xu Ning’s earlier arrangement was to contact him.

Xu Ning is the Five Originals Guardian, a subordinate position within the Garrison Department, classified as fourth-rank according to Great Xia’s grading system. It is equivalent in status to the Medicine Lord, Mountain Yu, Military Preparation, Chief of Punishment, Construction, Chief, which is the heads of the other Six Departments.

However, when Yue Feng proposed the position of Defender, he said that during wartime, the Guardian Department had the authority to command the other Six Departments. So technically, the Defender holds slightly more power than the others.

Li Longkai was well aware of this principle, so he immediately saluted Xu Ning.

Xu Ning wouldn’t be arrogant, quickly returned the salute, and upon reflecting on Li Longkai’s statement about the West District’s land price exceeding fifteen thousand, he curiously asked, “Why is it so expensive when the West District is closest to the city gate?”

Xia City is built along the west side cliff of Twin Dragon Mountain, naturally opening the city gate to the west. This means the West District is closest to the city gate. By nature, everyone would feel the closer to the inner city, the safer. Hence, the land prices in the East District, closest to Inner City, are the most expensive, while the West District’s are relatively cheaper.

Li Longkai’s face showed a touch of worry, shaking his head, “There’s no choice; Xia City’s population is too large. Last month, over eighty thousand people from Beiyuan moved in, and the city clearly couldn’t handle it. Without adjusting the land prices, it can’t possibly meet the demand for so many people building houses. This time you’ve brought in one hundred and ten thousand people, so undoubtedly the West District’s land price will surge again. If we let everyone build houses, there simply isn’t enough space in the city.”

“I see!”

Recalling the crowded scene upon entering the city, Xu Ning immediately understood. Before the integration of Beiyuan in July, Xia City already had four hundred and twenty thousand people. Once it was integrated, the population immediately exceeded five hundred thousand; this time, he brought back eleven thousand people from Songyang Ridge, making Xia City’s total population now over six hundred thousand.

“Xia City should also expand; the Lord will definitely think of a way!”

Having stayed in Xia City all along, Li Longkai clearly had information that was more up-to-date than Xu Ning. Hearing this, he immediately smiled and said, “There’s already a plan. Last time I heard from the Minister, the Lord mentioned that expansion at the latest would start by the end of the year, but it’s still uncertain how large it will be.”

Expanding how large…

Xu Ning smiled and said, “In my opinion, expanding it tenfold wouldn’t be excessive. Xia City’s population could break a million, even several million in the future. Expanding it larger once saves trouble later.”

Li Longkai agreed with a nod, eyes full of approval.

Ji Yang and the other Songyang Ridge folks, hearing the conversation between the two, had long shown expressions of numbness. A million, several million; this was indeed too ahead of their time.

“Alright, you all follow me…”

“Cloud Dragon Army returning to camp, everyone make way quickly!”

“Cloud Dragon Army returning to camp, everyone make way quickly!”

…

Li Longkai was just about to lead Ji Yang and the others into the Civil Affairs Department for registration, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the loud shout coming from the main avenue.

As the voice continually resounded, pedestrians on the street dispersed to the sides, clearing the middle of the main avenue.

The tall building of the West District’s jurisdiction was located on the left side of the main avenue, so Ji Yang and the five hundred others were currently standing on the main avenue.