Urban Sims

"I'm back……"

Gao Xiuzhen stood up and replied in a cat-like voice. Somehow, the anger in his chest dissipated instantly after seeing this man.

"What's wrong, Xiuzhen? Did you encounter something outside? Or are you still having any difficulties? Tell me and I can help you."

Seeing that she was unhappy and seemed to have something on her mind, Zhou Ming thought she had encountered something outside, so he asked with concern.

"No...no."

The woman shook her head. She didn't know where to say the words she originally wanted to say.

Seeing the man's smiling face and extremely happy expression, Gao Xiuzhen no longer had any reason to be angry. The man in front of her regarded her as a good friend, but she had always been one-sided lovesickness, which was self-indulgent.

What could she be so angry about in front of him, to the point of wanting to kill him?

It's so ridiculous.

For a moment, Gao Xiuzhen, who calmed down, felt hopeless and heartbroken.

"No matter what you encounter, just come back and stay here for a while, Xiuzhen, I have many questions to ask you."

These warm words in her ears were like a burst of spring rain, watering the woman's heart. Gao Xiuzhen felt the beauty of life again, and at the same time, she also smiled bitterly in her heart:

Zhang Shanhe, why are you always so nice?

…

the next few days.

It was rare for the two of them to have a long period of alone time.

I have been discussing issues related to spiritual practice all day long.

Exchanging ideas and experiences in a quiet place outside the city, or making drawings with swords, often resulted in some ideological collisions, and both sides gained a lot.

Grow together and improve together.

On days like this, Gao Xiuzhen almost forgot all his worries.

After adjusting his mentality, Gao Xiuzhen found that this kind of life was actually quite good.

But every time she saw Zhang Shanhe and his wife loving each other, she immediately felt very bad, and it took her two to three days to adjust her mentality.

According to the popular saying, that is spreading dog food.

Considering Gao Xiuzhen's character, this is undoubtedly very painful.

So after living in the city capital for four or five days, she moved out and lived back in the villa in Huxiang Academy, out of sight but out of mind.

However, one day when discussing the problem, Gao Xiuzhen couldn't help but ask the question that had been buried deep in his heart for a long time.

"Shanhe, the trade in Zhenlin City has been obviously depressed recently. I heard people said that you rejected Jinyan City's request for marriage. Jinyan City became angry and increased the boycott and blockade..."

Gao Xiuzhen asked tactfully: "Marriages between mountains and rivers, between families, and between cities are very common and can bring many benefits. Why would you refuse?"

Is it possible that it is really like what is circulated in Zhenlin City: The relationship between Zhang Shanhe and his wife has become so deep that "I would rather have a village girl in the mountains and fields than thousands of phoenixes in the golden city"?

If this is the case, Gao Xiuzhen, who comes from a big family, feels that this is a bit difficult to understand, because it is obviously not in the interests of Zhenlin City.

The relationship between Zhang Shanhe and his wife deserves praise and recognition, but it is not necessary to give up huge interests in order to stay together forever, right?

There is no need for you to divorce your wife. It’s okay to marry two equal wives as a token, right?

But he blocked the road completely.

Hearing the woman's question, Zhou Ming smiled slightly, glanced at her and said, "You are not the first person to ask me this question. You may be ranked a hundred or more."

"When people ask me why, I will explain one or two points to them. Too many people ask me later, so I don't bother to explain."

"But since you asked, Xiuzhen, I will explain to you in detail why I refused the marriage."

Gao Xiuzhen nodded repeatedly, cheered up, and pricked up his ears, wanting to hear what the man had to say.

The man spoke:

"I have done a lot of research on the form of marriage and found that this kind of bond connected by marriage and blood can indeed bring many benefits."

"Many families that are not very strong but have been able to stand for thousands of years or ten thousand years have survived because marriage has added a layer of security to them. Even if the two families are in the same situation, considering that there has been a marriage, generally They will not kill everyone; when in danger, they will help each other and tide over some difficulties."

"But that's about it."

"Marriage is not absolutely reliable. The starting point of all family marriages is never for the interests of other families, but for the interests of the family. If it cannot bring benefits to the family, or has no value, the marriage tie will be severed immediately, and the marriage will be regretted. Re-marriage is very common, and it also happens that if someone encounters a big disaster, instead of helping someone, they just add insult to injury."

"Let me ask you, all families only consider the interests of their own family, consider marriage according to the power of other families, and even want to gain benefits from the marriage partner, and they may not necessarily help you in times of crisis. On the contrary, when it may add insult to injury, how much of the true value of the marriage is left?”

"I personally think that instead of marrying with other families, it is better to attract some outstanding young people to join your own family. Not only will you marry off one less daughter, but you will also get an extra boost."

"This is a profitable business!"

Zhou Ming made a joke.

Gao Xiuzhen nodded, feeling that there was some truth in what he said.

But she still disagreed: "Wouldn't you offend all the families who want to marry you by doing this? What's the benefit of this?

Zhou Ming nodded slightly and did not deny it: "Indeed, refusing marriage will indeed offend many families."

"but……"

He changed his tone again: "For Zhenlin City in the future, the harm caused by marriage will far outweigh the benefits. If possible, I would rather offend all the big families who are not powerful in Zhenlin City. We don’t want those outside families to infiltrate Zhenlin City through marriage.”

Why do this?

Because Zhenlin City's high-level system is completely different from other cities outside.

Zhenlin City implements the "city chief election system". Elections are held every five years and can be re-elected for up to two terms. If you do not do well and complain, you may be rejected by the "Presbyterian Council" and step down.

In general, what Zhou Ming implemented in Zhenlin City was a special management system based on democracy, with mutual checks and balances of power, no absolute ruling class, and a mechanism for cultivating outstanding leaders.

As the first city leader with a high vote and successfully re-elected, Zhou Ming has four years left in his term. After these four years are completed, he will take off his burden and do something he likes to do.

Gao Xiuzhen was dumbfounded and asked in shock: "You mean, in four years' time, you won't want this city anymore, give it to others for free, and give up all the benefits?"

She looked at Zhou Ming like a fool and pointed at his head: "Are you sure there is no problem here?"

"What do you mean by giving it to others for free? My interests are not missing even a penny. After entering the Presbyterian Church, I still have the right to discuss politics and vote..."

Zhou Ming rolled his eyes at her, and then spent a lot of time explaining to her clearly, what does the so-called democratic centralism look like? Compared with the "family hereditary system" in other cities, what are the differences, what are the advantages, which one is more vital... and so on, which gave her a long day of lessons.

"So that's it..."

Gao Xiuzhen, who finally figured it out, suddenly realized it and his eyes were full of admiration: "I didn't expect that a city or even a country could still be governed like this?"

Genius, no, genius!

But she still couldn't understand that Zhang Shanhe could clearly be the undisputed lord of Zhenlin City, but he chose to be the city leader who would be subject to many constraints; that Zhang Shanhe could be as rich as the enemy, but he put a large number of workshops, The land and assets are converted into shares, and I only occupy a small part.

Why would he separate a large part of a lot of things that could belong to him completely?

She found it very difficult to understand. If she didn't know Zhang Shanhe quite well, she might, like those outside, suspect that he was mentally abnormal.

"So this person's realm, if he is not on the same level, it will be difficult to communicate in many aspects."

Zhou Ming rolled his eyes, shook his head vigorously, and explained three reasons to the woman:

"One, the more things I have, the heavier the pressure I bear. I can't manage a city of 500,000 people by myself. Thousands of various workshops, millions of acres of farmland, ten It’s impossible for me to take care of it.”

"Two, I need to unite the people around me and hope that everyone can contribute to this city; I must use part of the profits to reward those who have worked hard and encourage them to keep up their efforts! One person cannot conquer the whole world, and talents Surround yourself with the elite and let them contribute their talents to the city so that I can relax and have time to do the things I want to do.”

"What do you want to do?" Gao Xiuzhen asked.

"This is the third reason. Before I am 40 years old, I plan to get rid of the interference of worldly affairs, concentrate on being the principal of the students at Huxiang Academy, and concentrate on research and practice... In this world, the strong will be respected after all. I want to see if I can become a strong person."

Hearing this, Gao Xiuzhen suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at the man blankly. He felt that his brain had been cleaned with a broom, and everything suddenly became clear.

Everything is crystal clear.

It turns out that this man has planned everything and knows what he should do at any time.

Those who don't understand him, criticize him, and question him think Zhang Shanhe is stupid, but in fact they are self-righteous vulgar people and fools! The gap between the two in ideological realm is like the gap between heaven and earth.

Gao Xiuzhen only now fully understands what kind of person he is.

She felt deeply ashamed, and after learning his true ambition, her blood boiled and she blurted out: "Shanhe, I will become stronger with you!"

After saying that, I felt something was wrong, lowered my head, and my face turned into a red cloth.

Zhou Ming was very surprised. Did Xiuzhen mean to stay?

He immediately clapped his hands and said, "That's great! With you here, my cultivation speed will definitely be much faster!"

…

Zhou Ming's explanation completely convinced Gao Xiuzhen, making her think clearly and all her gloom disappear.

However, she still took a leave and left for an unknown destination. She returned to Zhenlin City two days later.

On the third day, Jinyan City sent a messenger and took the initiative to relent, saying that they agreed to the cooperation plan between the two cities, canceled the marriage requirement, no longer blocked each other, and restarted normal cooperation.

Zhou Ming agreed to cooperate. After several ups and downs, the relationship between the two cities finally embarked on a new development path. Since then, the two cities have become increasingly close and gradually formed a community of interests.

And a powerful new country will start from this small "Twin Cities Alliance", continue to expand, grow, and eventually be unstoppable...