Chapter 17: City Renovation

Once the roads were paved, the next step was to quickly build houses to ensure that every household had a warm room before the harsh winter arrived.

However, plans often don't keep up with changes. Less than three days after the children returned to school, the first snow quietly fell.

Fortunately, the snow wasn't heavy. It fluttered down but didn't accumulate, melting into water upon hitting the ground and not affecting the ongoing construction in the city.

The construction team worked overtime. Fortunately, they were building student dormitories, expanding the school's original area by double. The extra space was used to construct two three-story student dormitories, similar to the small buildings outside the city.

These dormitories weren't entirely for the city's students, who lived just a few steps away from the school and had no need to board. They were prepared for future students from outside the city.

Earlier, Yin Jixue had specifically instructed Tengshe to mix the miners, ensuring that workers from inside and outside the city were integrated. Experienced workers were promoted to assist Tengshe in supervising the miners.

Most of these experienced workers were from the earliest group of low-ranking demons who had started mining. Now, hardly anyone referred to them as low-ranking demons.

Tengshe had returned to the palace.

As the end of the year approached, he mentioned that the Demon King usually spent some time in each city. If he hadn't returned yet, it meant he was still in another city, but he would be back by spring.

Many demons asked the guards at the palace gates when they could live in the kind of houses built outside the city. Yin Jixue waved her hand decisively: Renovate!

After completing the student dormitories, the construction team was given a new task: renovating the city. This was a major project, and the materials provided by Her Highness were top-notch. Once the renovations were done, the houses would be ready for immediate occupancy.

Yin Jixue drew a few sketches and had the city's residents vote. Half of the demons voted for single-story villas with front yards, while the other half preferred three-story townhouses.

This time, the materials came with an outer coating, allowing the houses to be painted in a unified color. Everyone unanimously requested black. Yin Jixue thought about it: black asphalt roads paired with black houses—if she were alone, she wouldn't dare enter the city.

After all, many of the houses along the streets could be turned into shops. In the future, so-called "black shops" would likely be a common sight.

Yin Jixue asked everyone to reconsider, explaining the importance of color. In the end, it seemed like the residents were suffering from decision fatigue and decided that the houses outside the city were just fine. They agreed to build the same style.

Of course, the house renovations weren't free. All demons were assigned work hours.

For example, a three-story house required 300 work hours per demon.

If a family had four demons, they would need to complete 1,200 work hours. Work hours could be transferred. If someone was unable to work due to health reasons, they could transfer their hours to their spouse, children, or even neighbors. Once the hours were completed, the house would officially belong to them.

For single-story villas, the requirement was 200 work hours per demon, also calculated per head.

Exchanging work hours for wages meant that while they didn't receive direct payment, the mines provided food. Each month, outstanding workers were also given 10 pounds of food, roughly 2-3 sweet potatoes. No one disliked working in the mines.

Yin Jixue divided the townhouse area from the villa area. This wasn't a division based on status or wealth—both townhouse and villa residents were equally poor. The division was mainly for lighting and city aesthetics.

The main road was lined with uniform townhouses on both sides, with shops facing the street and yards at the back. Parking areas and market zones were specially designated to facilitate future trade.

Those who chose to live in villas preferred the quieter environment.

The villa area was located near the western part of the city, just a street away from the western district. The western district had previously been a messy area for wandering demons, but it was now the first area to be renovated.

Now, no one dared to look down on the construction workers. The new houses they lived in were built by these workers, and in the future, they might even need to ask for their help to make furniture.

The day after the city's renovations were completed, heavy snow began to fall. Every household closed their doors and windows, with chimneys puffing out white smoke. No demon worried about surviving the winter.

Gousheng, tired from playing with his friends, returned home to find a pot of meat soup bubbling on the stove. The stove had been exchanged by his mother with work hours from Heisha the blacksmith. Heisha had moved into a larger house and had 400 work hours to her name. Since she was also busy forging, Gousheng's mother helped complete some of her work hours in exchange for the stove.

This stove, designed by Her Highness the Queen, served both as a heater and a cooking stove.

The stove was surrounded by flat iron plates, and Gousheng could even lie on them to do his homework.

The dried meat was from last year's ration. His mother had finally decided to take it out and cook it.

Although the dried meat was covered in a layer of mold, his mother washed it twice with boiling snow water, making it smell delicious. Gousheng couldn't help but want to sneak a bite.

The dried meat, after being soaked, weighed about a pound. Today was his father's birthday, so the family had prepared meat soup and steamed sweet potatoes. Gousheng guessed his mother's generosity was because his father had been named an outstanding worker last month and had received three sweet potatoes as a reward.

Their house had been renovated. His mother didn't want to move, so they built a three-story house. The walls were so sturdy that even kicking them wouldn't cause any damage. He heard they were made of blue bricks, and the roof was covered with green tiles. Although he didn't know what those were, he had never seen such a beautiful house before. This was his new home.

Living in the new house, he finally had his room and no longer had to share a bed with his parents. His mother worked at the printing factory, earning work hours every day and coming home at night to help him with his homework. His father lived in the mining dormitory and came home once a month.

Gousheng's mother saw her son returning home, sweating from playing outside. "Is it cold out? Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon."

"I'll finish my homework first. The teacher assigned a writing exercise." Gousheng pulled out a stack of papers sewn into a notebook from his bag and ran upstairs to fetch his brush pen.

The notebook and brush pen were provided by the school. Now they had homework—practicing writing every day. The teacher said that to learn well, they needed to know how to read and write.

The teacher often envied their lives. When the teachers were young, they didn't have paper or brush pens and had to write and draw on the ground. Now, the school even had chalk, which could be written on the wall, erased, and reused. All of this was thanks to Her Highness the Queen.

Gousheng wrote two characters and then bit the brush pen, trying to squeeze out more ink. He regretted not bringing a bowl of ink home earlier. Now the school was closed.

The ink was only available at school, stored in a small ink pool no larger than his bathtub. They had to dip their brushes into the inkstone on their desks to write. In his rush to get home after school, he hadn't dipped his brush, and now, after writing just two characters, he was out of ink.

Gousheng's face fell. He decided to ask Lian Rui if she had any ink.

"Dinner's almost ready. Where are you going?" his mother called after him as he headed out.

Gousheng remembered he hadn't brought anything to carry the ink. He rushed back inside and rummaged through the cupboard for his father's wine cup. "Mom, I'm going to ask Lian Rui for some ink. I won't finish my homework otherwise."

"You're such a careless child. Come back soon," she said, draping her coat over him. Her son loved studying, and she couldn't hide her smile.