"This month's taxes are in and come to 7000 copper pieces. Unfortunately, we had some who could not pay due to unemployment." Old Peng spoke with a professional voice while pointing to the report at the top of the stack. He stood at the corner of my desk, similar to a teacher keeping an eye on his ADHD student. After confirming that I grabbed the correct report, he returned his eyes to the pad of paper in his hand.
"Mhmm." My voice echoed out as I skimmed through the report in question.
"A fight broke out at the Martial Hall between two disciples. The fight escalated to the point where some of the walls were damaged, and the guards had to eventually break it up. Martial Hall is requesting 3000 copper pieces to repair the wall, citing the delay of the guards."
"Right. How is that our fault?" I put the report to the side in the disposal pile.
"The Skyfall Bank is requesting assistance from the guard to collect overdue accounts from difficult clients." Without skipping a beat, Cao Peng wrote something in his notepad before continuing with his report.
"Once again, how does that affect us? If they don't have the manpower to collect their debts, then they shouldn't be lending." I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice as I spoke. I tossed the report in the discard pile. By the amused smile on Cao Peng's face, I failed in hiding my irritation from him.
"Lord Meng, Skyfall Bank belongs to the Meng family. Are you sure it has nothing to do with us?" The older man seemed to be trying to contain his amusement as he spoke.
"Defaulting on a loan is one of the worst things for a person to do! Send the guards to the bank to assist in collections. If need be, put them on a payment plan." My attitude flipped on a dime. Someone else's money has nothing to do with me, but no way am I squandering my wealth this time. I have been broke before. Never again.
{Three Hours Later}
"The Five Element Sect has issued bounties on two rogue outer sect disciples and urges caution to any martial artist or cultivator hunting them. " Old Peng checked another item off the list while I tried my hardest not to stare into space.
"Uh-huh." The pile to my right seemed no smaller than when we started. No matter how hard I try, my leg continues to bounce, and my eyes constantly glaze over as random thoughts come over. However, every time my attention drifts, I hear a strong tap on the desk from Cao Peng, knocking me out of whatever I was currently imagining.
"Hunters have reported finding tracks of an unknown beast of seemingly massive size in the forest to the south. As a result, there are rumors spreading about a high-level demonic beast in the forest. As a result, fewer hunters are willing to enter the forest to hunt game, leading to an increase in demand for demonic beast meat and hunted game."
"Uh-huh." At this point my answers are mostly perfunctory. While I am still able to understand what he is saying, the words on the paper are starting to jumble up, and my butt was getting sore from sitting in this chair for so long.
"The night guard have found traces of—"
{Three More Hours Later}
My forehead rested against the desk below me as I finally gave up. I have never run a city before, but the idea of doing this job every day for the rest of my life?
'Maybe I should go back into sales?' I let the thought play in my head until I remembered my wife and child. I groaned and tossed that idea to the side. If I were one of the top salesmen in my company and still managed to be broke, there is no way I could support my family.
'I just want Feng to grow up fast and take over. This is torture.'
I hear Cao Peng continuing to speak regardless of the fact that I have completely checked out.
"Our current supply of grain—"
"Stop! That's enough for today!" My head snapped up from the desk as I shouted out.
Cao Peng simply laughed and closed his notepad.
"Lord Meng, you lasted much longer than you normally do. I'm proud of you." He sent a smile at me that was supposed to be encouraging, but all it felt like to me was the very image of a devil laughing at me.
'At this point all I want is some food and some time to relax.'
"Would you like your lunch and some tea, Lord Ming?" Perhaps sensing my thoughts, the man made an offer.
"That would be great, thank you, Grandpa Peng." After replying to him, I stood up from the desk and stretched my stiff body. While I was doing that, Cao Peng went to the door, opened it, and spoke a few words to the maid who was stationed in the hallway at some point.
"Lord Meng, if you would follow me to the dining area?" The man asked and began to walk away. As I was following him, I took another glance at the desk piled with various reports and frowned. I debated for a second before searching through the stack of papers for two specific reports.
'Work now so I can work less later.' With that thought, I grabbed the reports and quickly caught up to Cao Peng, who was waiting in the hall.
He looked at the reports in my hand and smiled while saying nothing. Simply guiding me to the dining room.
After a few minutes Grandpa Peng led me to a room and opened the double doors. Behind the doors was a room slightly larger than my office with a long table in the center that could potentially seat dozens of people comfortably. By the various windows there were smaller tables that seemed to be designed for one-on-one talks.
Knowing that my idea would require insight from Grandpa Peng, I walked towards one of the smaller tables and took a seat while motioning for him to join me.
When he does so, I suddenly hear doors opening from behind me. Looking back, I see a trio of maids, none of whom I recognize, walk in with silver dining trays.
They approached the table and one by one removed the tops and placed the food. It wasn't until the last one placed a kettle of prepared tea on the table that they bowed and took their leave.
Quickly I folded the papers that I had been holding onto the entire walk and stored them inside my robe. Seeing the food, my thoughts of talking business before eating were quickly tossed aside.
In front of me was some kind of meat that held a resemblance to venison that had been diced into cubes and served over rice with a side of vegetables.
I grabbed the set of chopsticks on the side of the plate and began to eat with gusto. Thankfully, I was fond of Asian-style dishes in my past life. While I wasn't perfect with the chopsticks, I could manage well enough.
When I took the first bite, I felt it. It felt as if after swallowing, a warm sensation radiated through my body momentarily before fading. However, I paid this no mind and continued to eat.
Soon I finished eating and placed my utensils down on the now empty plate and closed my eyes in satisfaction. The sound of liquid pouring caught my attention, prompting me to open my eyes. Across from me, Cao Peng poured two cups of tea and pressed one toward me.
I grabbed the cup and took a sip and was once more surprised by the taste. Unlike the store-bought tea I had bought in the past, this one was extremely fruity and mellow. The feeling similar to the meat passed through me once more; this time, however, it seemed to flow through my head. The feeling was similar to waking up after a nap to a scalp massage. Unconsciously I let out a sigh.
'I have to make sure we never run out of this tea.'
"Are you feeling better, Lord Meng?" Cao Peng asked lightly as he sipped his tea.
"Much better." I replied, feeling reenergized.
"You brought those two reports out of the office with you. Did you have any questions?"
I nodded, then took the papers out of my robe and quickly skimmed them while organizing my thoughts. Finally gathering my thoughts, I set the papers down.
"The amount of paperwork is too much, and it is affecting the number of things I can get done in a day." Part of me felt silly saying this. Working six hours a day while living in a mansion with all your needs taken care of seemed like bliss compared to my old job. But the fact of the matter is that I am underqualified to completely solve every complaint and issue that appears every month. As far as my memories go, this was a problem with "old" Meng Tao as well.
From the playful expression on Cao Peng's face, he clearly thought my words were the start of another immature session of complaining. However, before he could reply, I continued on.
"I am not involved enough in the process of these issues to always know the best way to resolve them. We need to change how we do things; otherwise, I will always be out of touch with the city's growth or stagnation." I continued to speak as I clearly laid out my concerns with the current style of city management. I felt no shame from admitting my weaknesses. Something I learned early in life is that conveying my intentions accurately holds greater significance than satisfying my ego.
"Then what do you propose? This is the way things have always been done in Skyfall City, from your father all the way to your grandfather." Perhaps sensing the seriousness of the discussion, all the amusement dropped from Cao Peng's face and body language.
"I noticed from this month's financial report that we have a surplus of money in the vault, correct? I plan to hire a council to assist me in managing the city." I spoke clearly before taking a sip of my tea to clear my throat.
Cao Peng stared at me for several seconds before finally replying. "Doing this will surely cause a decentralization of power."
"That is of no concern of mine. What matters to me more than hoarding power is the development of the city." Trying to accomplish everything on your own is a fool's bargain. And trying to run a city without help is just as foolish. Doing so will also lower the amount of paperwork I have to do. And if it doesn't, at least others will suffer with me.
Cao Peng worked his jaw, a tick that I remember appearing whenever he was deep in thought. Eventually he spoke up again. "Understood, Lord Meng. I will gather those with potential by next week for you to speak with."
I smiled at him and set the papers to the side. We spent a few more minutes drinking tea and going over the specifics before he excused himself. Finally alone, I finished the tea and began walking to the courtyard with a smile. Thanks to the power of bureaucracy I will finally have some freedom.
'Now it's time to play with my new toy,' I thought to myself as I summoned my staff and began to twirl it in my hand.