Cai Qidong looked Wen Yan up and down, trying to see through him, wanting to know if Wen Yan was telling the truth or just coming up with some excuse to brush him off.

He had just finished saying he'd blocked all temple applications, and now Wen Yan was asking for a temple quota.

He thought for a moment and said,

"Are you doing this for Jiang Yanyan? He doesn't need it—he's a special case. He's got merit, he's an officially recognized River God, all the paperwork's done. He'll get an official temple. Even now, he can easily get the Dedication Brick. With both the hardware and software in place, he just needs a bit of time to settle, go through the process."

"I know. I'm not talking about him."

"Don't tell me you're planning to use the temple quota to win over that Dragon God? His temple isn't something that can be approved that easily. Even if I nod my head, it's no good. It needs several departments and headquarters' signatures."

"Of course I know. I'm not giving it to the Dragon God either."

"Then what do you want the quota for?"

"To use as a carrot."

"Huh???

"Have you ever seen a donkey walking in circles with a millstone?"

"So this is the carrot dangling in front of the donkey?" Cai Qidong leaned back tactically, sizing up Wen Yan.

Damn, he honestly thought Wen Yan was actually going to hand out a real reward, but turns out Wen Yan never planned to give it—at least not now. He just wants people to see it, smell it, but never taste it—just enough to keep them in suspense.

"You want to fish for that Dragon God with this trick? I'm afraid that won't work."

"When did I ever say I'd use it to fish for the Dragon God?" Wen Yan looked genuinely surprised.

"Huh?"

"That missionary, the one from out of town, drowned in the river just recently. And then it hit me: this stretch of water near Virtue City doesn't have a Water God anymore.

With Jiang Yanyan as a poster child, in the rest of the West River Water System, no matter what the local water gods say, their actions speak louder than their words.

When someone accidentally falls into the water, it only takes a little extra effort—a hand lent here or there—to build up good merit. It's not even hard.

Don't tell me you don't know—in the West River Water System, especially that huge area near Duanzhou, several people have accidentally fallen in these past few days—and every single one was rescued.

Don't tell me that's all just good luck, or someone happened to save them.

Just the other day, someone in Xing State—who can't swim at all—fell in, panicked, even started cramping up, but the current still washed them to shore.

Others might call it luck, but we both know better, right?

The area next to Virtue City needs a qualified new Water God, too.

No safety officer can compare to a local Water God.

Even if you blew the budget putting up cameras everywhere along the shore, hired people, brought in AIs to monitor the place 24/7—

None of that beats a local Water God, right? No debate there?"

Cai Qidong was a bit surprised. Honestly, he hadn't thought of that angle at all.

He figured he might be getting too out of touch—always thinking too big and missing the small stuff.

He knew everything Wen Yan mentioned, but had never paid much attention. As for that missionary, yeah, he really was drowned.

Judging by the West River Dragon God's territory, there was no way the Dragon God was hanging around Virtue City dunking that missionary—he drowned, and then his Nether Soul was taken away afterward.

Which means, if a missionary can drown today, then tomorrow, it could be anyone near Virtue City involved in an accident.

Aside from Cai Qidong's business, Wen Yan didn't want his front door to be the area that's actually more dangerous than anywhere else.

He's a dad now—his little rascal can't even run yet, but in a few years, with all these rivers everywhere, who knows if the kid will go playing by the water?

Finding a suitable Water God isn't something you handle in a day or two—it's better to prepare early.

As for what Cai Qidong wanted him to do, same thing. All talk and no carrot—asking him to negotiate with the Dragon God of West River, to see if they could get a decent conversation going—

Even if he wanted to talk face-to-face, the other side had to want to see him, right? If you've got no bargaining chip, what's there to talk about?

If you don't have something the other side desperately needs, what if they're feeling cranky that day and just kill you outright? Whatever happens next, you'll already be dead.

After Wen Yan's pitch, Cai Qidong thought for a bit—remembering how Wen Yan suddenly decided to adopt a kid, and how he loves to cook at the orphanage. Maybe he really does like children.

Wen Yan's concern about this does make sense. If this were thirty years ago, Cai Qidong might worry about it too.

"Alright, that's something I can approve. As long as the right candidate comes up, setting up a small temple by the river near Virtue City shouldn't be a big problem."

"Then give me a document, something written. If I just talk big with no proof, who's going to believe me? Who am I, anyway? How could I have this kind of power?"

"I said I would—what, you think I'm scamming you? Don't you like recording everything? Go ahead, I'll say it, you record."

"Minister, you misunderstand me. I never liked recording stuff, never even bought a recorder. Call recordings are automatic—not like I do it on purpose every single time. Still, a written document is more convincing. Besides, I can't whip out your recordings every time I try to persuade someone. That'd make our Scorching Sun Department look pretty unprofessional."

Once Wen Yan got serious, his tone was completely earnest.

Cai Qidong thought it over—yeah, since it's the carrot in front of the donkey, at least it should be the real thing: something you can actually see and smell, something that really feels like you could snatch it if you tried hard enough.

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