After coaxing Ye Churan to sleep on the Grand Elder's bed, Ye Longlin walked out of the room. The little girl had the advantage of not being picky about beds and being easy to coax.
"The Ye family is gone. What are your plans now?" the Grand Elder asked. At least, he couldn't find a reason for Ye Longlin to stay in the capital anymore.
Ye Longlin pondered for a moment. "There's no news from the Dark Hall. Have the departments responsible for road network monitoring investigate how Bashan Tian left tonight after the Dark Hall Master made his move. Even though it's unlikely to yield anything, we should at least know where they disappeared from.
I'm not concerned with the restructuring after the Ye family's demise, nor do I wish to participate. That should be your concern. As for the position of Supreme Commander, you can decide. I've submitted my resignation twice, and I don't intend to submit it a third time.
I'll wait for Xiao Qi to return, and then I plan to take her to Chang'an to look for my mother's family."
This was his plan. Now that the Ye family was dealt with, only the Dark Hall remained. But he also knew that the Dark Hall's affairs couldn't be rushed; it had to be done step by step. So, he also planned to go to Chang'an to find the Xia family and see if they were still there.
His father was gone, and his mother had passed away when he was very young. In his memory, there were hardly any traces of his mother.
But no matter what, Xia Shumeng had given birth to him and raised him. He had never repaid this debt, the debt of upbringing, the debt of birth, whichever it was.
Therefore, he decided to go and see. The journey of finding his relatives might not be easy, but he still had to go.
His mother was gone, but his maternal grandfather was still alive. Even if it was just to pay respects at his mother's grave, it was necessary.
"Since you have plans, I won't say anything more. The matter of the Dark Hall ultimately depends on you to resolve. We old folks can't help much," the Grand Elder sighed, wanting to pat Ye Longlin's shoulder but ultimately not doing so.
Ye Longlin nodded slightly, then picked up the little girl and left the inner courtyard.
"Old Qin, do you think he'll still be in the military in the future?"
Qin Hanlie smiled, "He's always been here."
...
"Daddy, you promised to buy me clothes today. Are you going back on your word? Yi Yi doesn't like you anymore!"
In the courtyard of the Commander's residence.
The little girl was very angry because Ye Longlin had promised to take her shopping yesterday, but Ye Longlin had many things to handle today and had to postpone it.
However, the little girl didn't agree and started complaining that Ye Longlin had gone back on his word as soon as she woke up.
Ye Longlin, being a doting father, couldn't stand this. He understood the importance of things, though.
"Yi Yi, Daddy has to discuss cooperation today and earn money. Mommy didn't leave any money for Daddy. Daddy only has a hundred yuan in his pocket. How can a hundred yuan buy you clothes? So, Daddy has to earn money this afternoon. After earning money, we'll go buy clothes after dinner, okay?"
Ye Churan pouted, looking wronged, and stared at Ye Longlin.
The little girl snorted and ran back to her room to play.
"I didn't expect the esteemed Marshal Ye to be a daughter-slave. This is truly unexpected."
Wu Qiong sipped his tea, smiling. He was somewhat surprised that Ye Longlin was like this in private.
Ye Longlin smiled faintly. "There's nothing unexpected. Life is life, and events are events. It's normal. My wife has returned to Jinling, and it's inconvenient to bring the child, so I have to take care of her."
Without much further idle chat, Wu Qiong asked, "Does Marshal Ye's promise to us hold true? I came specifically for this matter today. I believe Marshal Ye's word is his bond and he won't go back on it."
Ye Longlin stood up, took a document from the room, and handed it to her before continuing to make tea.
"As I said, it depends on whether you wish to re-enter the secular world or continue to live in seclusion. The file bag contains two documents. If you wish to re-enter the secular world, you can have the Ye family's territory, but disaster reconstruction and the like will have nothing to do with us, and you'll need to raise funds yourselves.
If you choose to remain in seclusion, then it will be in the direction of the Dragon Pavilion base. However, it's a desolate area with blowing sand, so you'll need to adapt to the environment yourselves. As for housing and other necessities, you'll also need to build them yourselves."
He offered them two options.
After reading, Wu Qiong curiously asked, "If I were to rebuild the Ye family's territory, how much money would it approximately cost?"
The Ye family's territory was quite large, and rebuilding it would cost a significant sum.
"Around one hundred million."
Wu Qiong took a deep breath and asked again, "What about at your base?"
"It would cost at least two hundred million."
"Why would it cost so much?"
Wu Qiong was unfamiliar with the ways of the world and naturally didn't know. Ye Longlin patiently explained, "The Ye family has foundations and such, making construction convenient and simple. At the Dragon Pavilion base, the soil quality is hard, making it difficult to dig foundations. Moreover, buying materials from the capital and transporting them there incurs considerable shipping costs.
If the Ye family builds, a worker costs four hundred a day. At the Dragon Pavilion base, it would be at least eight hundred to a thousand a day, and you'd also have to cover food expenses."
When calculated this way, the capital location was indeed more cost-effective.
Wu Qiong had no choice. "Then we'll choose to re-enter the secular world. It's cheaper, after all. The Wu family is a reclusive family; money is of little use to us, and I still have to worry about where to get the funds."
Ye Longlin didn't respond to her latter remark, only addressing the first part. "Since you choose to re-enter the secular world, there will be many rules, and you must all learn them. After you return, someone will contact you specifically, and relevant departments will inform you of these rules."
Wu Qiong nodded. He could also imagine that the Ye family itself had met its demise precisely because it broke these rules.
"In that case, I understand."
"Marshal Ye, you will always be a friend of the Wu family."
Ye Longlin didn't say anything more. After he saw her out, a convoy stopped in front of him. Ye Qingtian, escorted by a group of guards, entered the Commander's residence.
"Tsk, you live much better than us. We're still living in thatched huts."
Ye Qingtian looked at the Commander's residence. They basically didn't leave their own residences and didn't want to. If it weren't for Ye Longlin's current situation, they wouldn't have come out into the world.
"Ancestor Qingtian flatters me."
Facing Ye Qingtian, Ye Longlin was more reserved. After all, he was his elder, an ancestor-level figure.
"I know you have many questions, and I know you want to know many things. I'll tell you everything today, don't rush."