Although Li Daoxuan had "vanished into the clouds," he had not actually left. He was still watching from outside the box; he had merely closed its glass lid and was looking through the glass.
After several days of experimenting, he had discovered that when he lifted the lid to look inside, Gao Yiye could see him "appear among the clouds." If he watched through a layer of glass, however, even Gao Yiye could not see him.
Humans were such strange creatures!
He could watch openly without any problem, yet sneaking a look felt so much more satisfying.
Watching Gao Yiye, San Shier, and the others reveal their true personalities after "the Heavenly Venerable departed" was quite entertaining.
Li Daoxuan did not think building a temple and making a statue of him was necessary, but if the little people enjoyed fussing over such things, he might as well let them. There was no need to interfere. The village only had forty-odd people anyway. Without enough manpower, they could not accomplish what they wanted, so he would just see how they went about it.
First, San Shier had the villagers bring out every oil jar, bottle, and other container in their homes. Everyone went to fill them with rapeseed oil. Even after every household's containers were full, half a pool of oil remained.
Then he organized the village's able-bodied young workers to carry the mineral-water bottle cap together. Like a colony of ants hauling a heavy load, they carried the remaining half-cap of oil into his temporary little home. Next came the pile of flour.
All the flour Li Daoxuan had put into the box had taken the form of spheres.
San Shier borrowed a millstone from the village chief and assigned Gao Chuwu and the other young people to grind the spherical flour back into powder. They had to make it look like ordinary flour.
As Gao Chuwu ground the flour, he complained, "Third Secretary, why do we have to crush it again? It's such a hassle."
San Shier smacked him on the forehead with a slap. "You don't know shit! I'm taking this flour outside the village to meet outsiders and bring people here. How strange would flour shaped like balls look to them? If government officials saw it, who knows what trouble might follow? We have to grind it into powder before we can pull the wool over Heaven's eyes."
Gao Chuwu said innocently, "If the officials see it, just tell them the Heavenly Venerable gave it to us."
San Shier gave him another slap. "You don't know shit! The Imperial Court has been cracking down on the White Lotus Sect for years. Anyone caught as a heretical cultist gets killed without mercy. Taking a ball of flour and telling people the Heavenly Venerable bestowed it would be walking straight into the net."
Gao Chuwu scratched his head. "Huh? Stop hitting me! I'm already stupid. If you keep hitting my head, I'll get even stupider."
Li Daoxuan watched with delight, then turned his attention elsewhere. Third Madam had taken Gao Yiye to sit beneath the eaves and was reading aloud to her from a Taoist scripture.
As Gao Yiye listened, her head felt twice its normal size, but she still listened intently and worked hard to memorize it, showing no sign of backing down.
The little people were working hard!
Li Daoxuan said, "I should put in some effort too. Time to pick up another little job and earn my living."
He opened his work QQ and clicked on the contact who handed out assignments. "Hey, man, got any work these next couple of days? Toss another job my way."
The other man laughed. "I've been waiting for you. Here, take this one. A game company wants a Monster Design. Mainly black, vicious, disgusting-something that turns your stomach at first glance. Eight hundred yuan, due within two days."
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Dusk fell, and the sun sank in the west.
Li Daoxuan stretched, loosening up his stiff muscles.
The client had just inspected his work and was reasonably satisfied with the monster design overall, but felt it needed a pair of fangs. He added them as quickly as he could, only for the client to decide that fangs were too common and a long tongue would be better.
He gave the monster a long tongue instead. After looking it over, the client decided the tongue should have spikes, so he shrank the fangs and pasted them onto the tongue.
The client was delighted. Li Daoxuan's savings increased by eight hundred yuan.
He had been busy working these past two days and had paid little attention to the little people in the box. Now that the job was finished, he finally had time to look.
The moment he turned his attention to the box, he discovered San Shier leading a large crowd of ragged people through the gate. He counted them-there were actually a hundred and two.
The newcomers swept their eyes over Gao Family Village's "towering walls." Apparently intimidated, they entered timidly and stood in the open space at the village center, not knowing what to do with their hands or feet.
Standing in front of the crowd, San Shier declared loudly, "I already told you everything you needed to know on the way here. In short, once you've come to Gao Family Village, you won't go without a meal. But let me lay down the unpleasant part first: if you eat the food bestowed by the Heavenly Venerable, you have to work for him. Whatever the Heavenly Venerable tells you to do, you do. Obey, and don't slack off or shirk your work. Otherwise... heh..."
He deliberately paused and gave a sinister chuckle, looking every inch the villain. "Going hungry will be the least of your worries. Anger the Heavenly Venerable, and you'll learn what it means for Heaven to strike you down and Earth to wipe you out."
Li Daoxuan was secretly amused. This fellow's trying to scare the newcomers, making me sound like some vicious tyrant.
Just then, Gao Family Village's chief came over. "Third Secretary, who are these people?"
San Shier chuckled. "They're villagers from Wang Family Village, Zheng Family Village, Zhong Family Village, and several other villages nearby. When Wang Er rebelled, he forced a great many villagers to go with him, leaving hardly anyone behind. I went over and called out a few times, and they followed me here."
Humans were social creatures. Once a village's population dwindled beyond a certain point, those remaining could no longer survive and had to move elsewhere.
Normally, the farmers were tied to their land and could not simply wander off. But after three years of severe drought, the land was not worth a damn. A handful of people guarding a village full of cracked yellow earth had only death ahead of them.
The village chief looked a little awkward. "With so many people arriving at once, where will they live? We don't have that many houses left."
San Shier smiled. "I can't be bothered worrying about where they live. I'm only providing food. Let them figure it out themselves."
The village chief said, "How about... we ring the bell again and ask the Heavenly Venerable for help?"
San Shier's eyebrows shot up, and he glared angrily at the chief. "Don't bother the Heavenly Venerable with every little trivial thing. We should only trouble him for help with things we can't solve ourselves. If we can solve something, we ought to do our utmost to handle it. Otherwise, one day the Heavenly Venerable will kick you in the crotch and tell you to get lost."
Li Daoxuan had been cutting up an aluminum can. Hearing San Shier's words, he put down both the scissors and the can. He has a point. Haven't I been doing too much babysitting?
I'll leave this can alone and see how the little people solve the problem themselves.
His takeout arrived just then. Li Daoxuan picked up his rice topped with shredded pork and potatoes, shoveling food into his mouth as he watched the box.
San Shier gave each newcomer a small bag of flour. These starving villagers, their faces sallow with hunger, were overwhelmed with gratitude, tears and snot streaming down their faces. They borrowed pots, cooked flour paste, and ate their fill.
The sky began to darken!
They were not worried about having nowhere to stay. They went outside, pulled up some dry grass, brought it back, and piled it at the foot of the wall. Then they lay down fully clothed. It never rained these days anyway, so what difference did a roof make?
They had barely lain down when, to their surprise, lights began appearing atop the wall, one after another. All around Gao Family Village's enormous walls, a lantern was lit every ten paces. Instead of candles, the lanterns held oil lamps. The burning rapeseed oil gave off a delicious aroma and cast a little dim light around the walls.
Two villagers carrying bows and arrows climbed onto the wall and began patrolling.
The newcomers were startled. They burn rapeseed oil like this? Just how wealthy is Gao Family Village?
Before you continue