Trouble was something best avoided whenever possible. Fragile as Gao Family Village was, it could not yet withstand any upheaval.
Li Daoxuan was just about to wake Gao Yiye and have her relay his words.
Just then, another man climbed onto the wall. It was San Shier. He patted Gao Chuwu on the shoulder, signaling him to keep quiet, then raised his voice and called out to Wang Er beyond the wall, "Hero Wang, we in Gao Family Village appreciate your kindness. You've risen in rebellion, and government troops are hunting you. You'll likely have to flee to the ends of the earth. If Gao Family Village accepts these two carts of grain, our lives won't get any better; without them, our lives won't get any worse. They're something we can take or leave. But for you, these two carts are the means to survive your flight. They matter a great deal. You'd be better off keeping them. That's what we call 'putting everything to its best use.'"
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly. This fellow's pretty good. With San Shier around, I'll have less to worry about.
After hearing San Shier's words, Wang Er could not help wavering. Zhong Guangdao, another rebel leader who had risen alongside him, murmured, "Brother Wang, he has a point. Since Gao Family Village could give you a pile of flour last time, they clearly aren't short of grain. But we're going to take to the mountains as outlaws, and grain is something we really will be short of."
Another rebel leader, Zheng Yanfu, added, "Brother Wang, it won't be too late to repay their kindness once we've found our footing. Look at the stance Gao Family Village is taking. They clearly don't want any ties with us."
Wang Er thought it over carefully and understood. It seemed Gao Family Village did not dare accept his grain, either.
He was a decisive man, so he stopped agonizing over it. Cupping his fist toward the wall, he called, "In that case, I, Wang Er, will take my leave for now. I will always remember the debt of kindness I owe Gao Family Village."
With that, he beckoned to his men. "Let's go!"
Seeing him about to leave, San Shier suddenly spoke. "Hero Wang!"
Wang Er stopped and turned back.
San Shier sighed, then asked in a lingering tone, "How are the women of the wealthy households in the county town faring now?"
Wang Er went rigid, as though struck by lightning. After standing stunned for several seconds, he turned and shot Zhong Guangdao and Zheng Yanfu a deeply displeased look each. Then he turned back, cupped his fist toward San Shier, and walked away.
Before long, he disappeared into the night.
Li Daoxuan noticed that they were heading in the same direction they had retreated after stealing water last time. There should be a Wang Family Village over there, though he had no idea how far it was from Gao Family Village.
After that brief commotion, Gao Family Village fell quiet again.
San Shier pulled Gao Chuwu down from the wall. Behind them, a large crowd of villagers had already gathered. Wang Er's shouting had woken quite a few people, but only a handful had dared climb onto the wall.
San Shier began complaining to the villagers. "Your Gao Family Village has walls, but no defenses. You haven't even arranged rotating night watches. It's just as well Wang Er came this time-he shouted to wake us up and talk. But if some other bandits came, quietly tossed up grappling claws and hook ropes, and climbed over the wall, wouldn't we die without even knowing what killed us?"
His complaint was exactly what Li Daoxuan had wanted to complain about, too.
The village chief stepped forward and shook his head. "A night watch needs lanterns. Our village may be small, but putting lanterns all around the walls would still take several dozen. Where are we supposed to get the lamp oil?"
San Shier frowned. That was a fair point, but he immediately laughed and scolded him. "You're worrying about oil? Gao Family Village is under a heavenly deity's protection! Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, everyone can kneel together and worship the sky properly. Won't the oil come then?"
The villagers thought it over. "That's right! The Heavenly Deity likes best to grant us food early in the morning. If we all kneel and kowtow to him then, we might be able to beg for some oil."
Li Daoxuan found their behavior rather amusing. Why wait until tomorrow morning? I can give you oil right now.
He went into his kitchen, brought over a large container of cooking oil, and found a mineral-water bottle cap, intending to fill it with oil and put it into the box.
Before he could do so, however, a middle-aged woman stepped out from the crowd of tiny people. She was San Shier's wife.
Third Madam pointed at the villagers, her voice full of reproach. "I haven't been in this village long, but there are a few things I really must discuss with you. You people show far too little respect for the Heavenly Deity."
The villagers were puzzled. "Too little respect? How have we been disrespectful to the Heavenly Deity?"
An ignorant bunch of country bumpkins, Third Madam cursed inwardly. But she knew she could not say that aloud. Instead, she huffed. "The Heavenly Deity has manifested in this village and helped you so much. Have you built him a temple? Have you fashioned him a golden body? Have you offered him incense? Whenever you call upon him, all you know is to kneel and kowtow, begging for this and that, endlessly greedy, without even a proper ceremony."
That barrage of questions left all the villagers dumbfounded.
Seeing how truly unfamiliar they were with the wider world, Third Madam could only scold them in exasperation, like someone frustrated that iron would not become steel. "When monks ask the Buddha for blessings, even they have to bathe and change clothes, ring a bell, strike a wooden fish, and recite a few sutras-and the Buddha might still ignore them. If you really want to ask the Heavenly Deity for some favor, at least consider ringing a bell, burning incense, and lighting a candle. You need to observe all the proper rites."
At those words, realization dawned on the villagers. Indeed, it seemed they had neglected the proper courtesies. How did they have the face to keep asking for this and that?
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan almost laughed aloud. Those rituals meant nothing to him. They really weren't-
Wait!
A light bulb snapped on in Li Daoxuan's head. These rituals might actually mean something.
The tiny people were so small that their voices were very quiet, too. Li Daoxuan often could not make out what they were saying. Even when they shouted up at the sky, he might miss it.
If, every time they wanted to tell him something, they first took a large bell and struck it several times-clang, clang, clang-he would hear them much more easily.
So monks ringing bells actually served a practical purpose.
Damn it. Who would've thought I'd find meaning in all that formalism of feudal superstition? This is bad, this is bad. My materialist convictions seem to be wavering.
Third Madam unleashed another torrent of instructions at the villagers. "Tomorrow morning, everyone wash up and put on clean clothes. Especially you, Miss Gao Yiye. You're the divine envoy chosen by the Heavenly Deity. Come to my house, and I'll pick out something nicer for you to wear and get you properly dressed up. You'll lead the prayers to the Heavenly Deity... And you two blacksmiths, don't sleep tonight. Forge a large bell overnight so we can use it tomorrow morning."
Faced with Third Madam's arrangements, none of the villagers dared raise the slightest objection. They all obediently did as she said.
Li Daoxuan quietly watched the tiny people discussing these arrangements from "the sky," finding it rather entertaining. He had intended to give them the oil immediately, but now there was no hurry. He would see how things went tomorrow morning before giving it to them.
Besides...
His gaze settled on San Shier and Third Madam, and he thought, Having these two come to the village has been a tremendous help to me.
Before you continue