Six locations?
Zhao Xu's generosity surprised Li Qingzhao.
She knew that the First Emperor in the group had just sold a gold mine today, fetching an astonishing price of over 80,000 points.
While the group leader had explained that the gold mine contained a small amount of gold essence, driving up the price.
But a normal gold mine should still be worth tens of thousands of points, right?
He was gifting her six gold mines worth tens of thousands of points each without batting an eyelid?
Of course, this surprise only lasted for a moment.
After a moment of reflection, Li Qingzhao understood Zhao Xu's generosity, considering the current difficulty of mining and refining gold.
With that realization, she readily accepted the six gold mines as a reward for saving his life.
She walked to the desk, lowered her head, and studied the map marked with the locations of various gold-producing areas for a moment.
With the help of the group members, especially Yukinoshita Yukino, who lived in the technologically advanced 21st century and could access information online.
Li Qingzhao quickly chose six gold mines with abundant reserves, but difficult to mine, and with a relatively low gold yield.
She was about to circle those six gold mines with her pen.
Li Yi's message made her hand pause slightly.
Li Yi: “[Map], these two gold mines contain a small amount of gold essence.
“This material cannot be refined using ordinary methods, but it sells for a high price in the marketplace. From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, it’s the most worthwhile.”
Li Xiao Niangzi was very receptive.
After seeing Li Yi’s message, she changed the direction of her pen and circled the two locations Li Yi had marked on the map.
Then she circled the four gold mines with the most abundant reserves from the original six she had chosen.
She put down her pen and looked at Song Zhezong, who had just been stripped of his posthumous title, “These six locations will do.”
Zhao Xu glanced at the map and saw that none of the six locations Li Qingzhao had chosen were high-yield, easy-to-mine locations.
His respect for this Immortal soared even higher.
Seeing that the Immortal had made her choice, he didn’t say anything more and began writing the edict.
After a long string of flattering words, he wrote the specific locations of the six gold mines, clearly stating that all ownership was being transferred to the Immortal.
When he finished writing, he picked up the edict and reviewed it from beginning to end.
Satisfied that everything was in order, he took out the Jade Seal and stamped it onto the edict with a resounding “啪.”
All the high officials witnessed the entire process.
But none of the prime ministers or ministers raised any objections to Zhao Xu’s ‘reckless’ act of gifting six gold mines.
Firstly, the Immortal's arrival and revival of the Emperor were immense favors.
The Emperor's gratitude and gift were only natural in such circumstances.
Secondly, considering that only 25 prefectures in the entire Song Dynasty produced gold, the Emperor’s seemingly extravagant act of gifting six gold mines sounded a bit reckless.
But each of these officials, sitting in their high positions, understood the true nature of those gold mines.
Despite the 25 gold-producing prefectures in all of the Song Dynasty, the annual output was only ten thousand taels of gold.
Among those ten thousand taels, over 70% were from gold panning.
In other words, the amount of gold extracted from gold ore, after smelting and refining, from the gold mines in all 25 prefectures of the Song Dynasty was only about 3,000 taels.
None of these six gold mines were high-yield locations.
Even combined, their annual output probably wouldn’t reach a thousand taels.
Even assuming optimistically that the combined annual output of the six mines would reach a thousand taels.
But those thousand taels a year, even after a hundred years, probably wouldn’t be as valuable as a single Rejuvenation Pill.
Furthermore, the thousand taels were only the output, not the profit.
For those six gold mines to produce a thousand taels of gold annually, the labor, materials, and various expenses would all add up, making it uncertain if the net profit would even reach two to three hundred taels.
If there was a bad run of luck, the annual gold production might not even cover the costs, potentially leading to losses.
Calculated this way, mining those six gold mines for a hundred years might not even cover the cost of a single Rejuvenation Pill.
If they were still dissatisfied and dared to object.
The officials were afraid that the Immortal would feel cheated and directly empty their national treasury.
Thus, under this disparity in perception and value.
The Emperor, his officials, and Li Qingzhao reached a tacit understanding.
After the Emperor affixed his seal to the edict.
Instead of using a eunuch to read the edict, he personally handed it to Li Qingzhao.
“Immortal, please take a look. Is there anything that needs to be amended?”
Li Qingzhao took the edict and read it. It clearly stated the transfer of ownership of the six gold mines to her.
She nodded and accepted the edict, “This is good.”
Seeing that the Immortal seemed satisfied with his actions, Zhao Xu felt a slight sense of relief.
He was mentally calculating how to establish a good relationship with the Immortal, how to keep her in the Song Dynasty to help them.
But then, the ‘Immortal’ who had put away the edict scanned the entire room, her tone indifferent, “My business here is done. I will depart now.”
Before anyone could interject, she turned and walked towards the exit.
When the Emperor, the Empress, and the officials realized this and rushed to the entrance.
They only saw the ‘Immortal’ transformed into a streak of light, flying into the sky and disappearing into the vast night.
“She’s... gone?”
Staring blankly at the direction where the light had vanished, Zhao Xu mumbled in a daze after a long silence.
He wanted to offer her the position of National Teacher to keep her in the Song Dynasty.
He also wanted to improve his impression on the Immortal, hoping for some guidance to become a god himself.
But now... the Immortal had left without even giving him a chance to retain her.
Would he ever encounter such a divine opportunity again?