Luo Leg Hair truly hadn’t expected this—he’d just arrived without having made any contribution, yet he was already given a splendid house. Sturdy and solid, he couldn’t even tell what the roof and outer walls were made of. It resembled thick wooden planks yet felt far sturdier. The inner wall was shockingly crafted from enormous iron plates, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
It was ten thousand tis better than the dilapidated wooden shack he used to live in back at the county town.
“Li Da, this fine house… it’s truly for ?”
“It’s yours, of course.” Li Da laughed. “I have one too, identical to yours.”
Luo Leg Hair stamred, “But… I haven’t done a single thing for the Deity yet.”
Li Da corrected, “Just ‘Deity’ is fine. Adding ‘Lord’ sounds odd. If the venerable one hears it, he might descend a divine decree to scold you.”
Luo Leg Hair: “!”
He’d never heard of an immortal issuing divine decrees just to scold soone. Unheard of!
Li Da leaned close, whispering with a chuckle, “In this village, there are two young lads nad Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu. The Deity issued a decree chastising them, calling them ‘two idiots’. Now the whole village refers to them as idiots. That’s the consequence of being reprimanded by divine decree. You’d best not follow their example.”
Luo Leg Hair inhaled sharply. What bizarre situation was this?
Gao Yiye glanced around his empty room. “No furniture yet. You’ll need to sleep on the floor temporarily for a couple of days. Later, I’ll send a few labor offenders to cut timber and make you so furniture.”
Luo Leg Hair questioned, “Labor offenders?”
Gao Yiye explained nearby, “Those who commit cris are apprehended by the Deity for labor reformation. They cleanse their sins through labor.”
Those words sent a jolt through Luo Leg Hair’s heart. He hastily bowed. “Saint Lady, please be assured. This humble man is a law-abiding person.”
Gao Yiye dismissed, “Don’t call Saint Lady. It sounds strange.”
Li Da chuckled beside her. “Most address her as Saint Lady, though… she herself isn’t fond of the title. Many still call her Miss Yiye.”
Lately, after hearing Third Lady’s advice, Gao Yiye had tried maintaining poise and striking poses. But ever since Li Daoxuan personally told her to stay true to herself, her lively spirit returned. She shed the pretense of formality, radiating much more of her natural charm. Villagers had gradually shifted back to calling her Yiye.
She much preferred this!
Reading the mood, Luo Leg Hair probed cautiously, “Miss Yiye, though the Deity has tasked with making paper, I have absolutely nothing here—no tools, no materials. How should I begin?”
Gao Yiye smiled. “Simply na whatever tools and materials you require. The Deity is listening from above.”
Luo Leg Hair started. He looked skyward but saw nothing, his heart uneasy. Timidly, he suggested, “My specialty is crafting bamboo paper. First… a large pool is needed… for soaking bamboo pulp.”
“A large pool?” Li Daoxuan casually grabbed a mineral water bottle lid, filled it with water, and placed it into the artisans’ well.
Luo Leg Hair was still gazing upwards when suddenly he saw a strange red object descend from the sky. It landed with a clang in the artisans’ well, revealing a large water basin filled with clean water.
Others seed utterly unfazed. They rely bowed swiftly towards the sky before resuming their tasks.
But Luo Leg Hair was terrified. With a loud “plop,” he landed hard on his backside, legs weak, montarily unable to rise.
Gao Yiye burst into laughter. “Don’t fear! Now we have a large basin. What else do you need?”
Luo Leg Hair stamred, “N-need… bamboo… lots… of bamboo… and li… li…”
Bamboo wasn’t a problem. Li Daoxuan instructed Gao Yiye, “Designate one labor offender. Their future reformation work will be to supply bamboo for the paper mill.”
Gao Yiye acknowledged crisply.
Next was the li!
Li Daoxuan could easily descend his building, grab a handful of li from any construction site, and effortlessly provide Luo Leg Hair with a small mountain of it.
But one thing occurred to him. Li was different from food.
During the severe drought, villagers truly couldn’t source food themselves. Him providing sustenance was essential aid, no issue there.
But li? Villagers had the capability to produce it themselves. Supplying it ready-made wasn’t necessary. Assigning people to make it would create valuable labor opportunities instead.
Li Daoxuan commanded, “Yiye, ask the villagers who among them knows how to produce li.”
As it turned out, this task didn’t stump them at all. The three master mud craftsn who took charge during the temple construction last ti knew li production techniques.
While building the temple, these three n, leveraging their “specialized skills,” received many extra rewards, enjoying substantial benefits. However, they’d been idle since, their “additional bonuses” ceased. Surviving daily solely on Deity-provided basic rations filled them with a tinge of regret.
Upon hearing this need for li production now, all three jumped excitedly, pleading towards the sky, “Deity! We can do it! Please entrust this work to us!”
Seeing their eagerness, Li Daoxuan felt his earlier reasoning confird.
Every person needed to realize their self-worth. Feeling useless eroded one’s spirit.
“Very well. The three of you shall be in charge of making li.”
With li arranged, tools like hamrs, pounders, and wooden fras were needed. Simpler still—ancient tis were never short of carpenters. Any villager knew basic woodwork. Assign these tasks entirely to the labor offenders.
Thus… the papermaking operation was set into motion.
…
Early morning. Li Daoxuan sat before his computer, editing a video.
Within his enclosure box below, all was serene. The dical nebulizer continued misting the chamber. Outside Gaojia Village fields, a continuous drizzle enveloped everything. Tiny figures busied themselves, digging and ploughing the earth, making final preparations for sowing autumn wheat.
He polished the captured papermaking footage, adding text: “A paper maker uses ancient techniques to craft bamboo paper…”
Finishing the edit, he clicked ‘Upload’. Oh, right. Link it to the Little Yellow Bike shop.
Just then, his QQ flashed. It was the toy factory manager, A Barrel of Pudding: “Mr. Li, regarding the microscopic ancient toys we discussed previously, we’ve produced our first batch of samples. Sending you photos now. Physical samples will arrive soon. Please assess their market viability.”
A flurry of photos rapidly flooded his screen.
Li Daoxuan scrutinized them and chuckled inwardly. The toy factory played it fun. They’d crafted a whole array of ancient miniatures: 1:200 scale antique plastic houses, miniature castles, tiny waterwheels, small windmills, miniscule horse carts, diminutive catapults, tiny siege rams, little crossbow carts…
It was an overwhelming feast for the eyes.
The most Cola-like part was that many actually had firing chanisms. For example, the tiny catapult had elastic plastic limbs and could shoot mini pebbles. The little crossbow cart utilized an incredibly fine rubber band to fire miniature plastic arrows.
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