Chapter 104: Women Only Slow My Sword-Drawing Speed
Seven days slipped by in a flash.
The cement was dry!
It had actually cured in five, but to be safe, Li Daoxuan waited a full seven days before allowing the tiny people to walk on the brand-new cement road.
On the first day the "Divine Road" was opened, the villagers dropped their work and flocked to the edge of the new path.
The adults tentatively extended one foot onto the cement, tapping it. "Ah, this road is so hard."
"It's hard as stone."
Once they realized this, the villagers grew bolder, stepping fully onto the cement surface. Beneath their feet, they felt an incredibly stable and solid sensation.
"This road is so smooth, not a single bump or dip."
"It's a bit sloped over there, we can play!" The children raced to an incline on the road, sat at the top, and swooshed down.
"Clear the way, clear the way, here comes the car!" Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu drove Solar Car No. 2, speeding along the cement road. Driving on the cement road was far more comfortable than on the dusty yellow-earth official roads; it was truly smooth and steady, requiring no effort to run.
Before, when they transported a full car of villagers, they didn't dare drive fast, taking forty-eight squabbles to cover six li at 40 kilometers per hour. But now with the improved road, they dared to push the speed to 80 kilometers per hour, reaching Zhengjia Village from Gao Family Village in just twenty-four squabbles—twice as fast.
However, after building one road, Li Daoxuan had grown tired of the "cement artisan" gig and had no intention of personally tackling future road construction. He handed a small pinch of cement to San Shier, along with a printed page of instructions, deciding that if more roads needed building, the tiny people could handle it themselves.
----
How quickly time had fled, like a flash of lightning.
A period of calm settled over the diorama box. The new county magistrate, Liang Shixian, periodically visited the "Li family" to request disaster relief grain. He distributed gruel everywhere to aid the populace, granting the people of Chengcheng County a rare period of respite and recovery.
Patrol Inspector Cheng Xu had also kept his head. He had expected the new magistrate, a member of the Donglin Party, to find a way to dispose of him immediately upon taking office. To his surprise, Liang Shixian was entirely preoccupied with distributing gruel, and hadn't uttered a single superfluous word to Cheng Xu.
For the time being, the two civil and military officials remained undisturbed.
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace in the capital.
The recently enthroned Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, sat in the imperial study, reviewing memorials. At sixteen, he should have been full of youthful vigor, yet not a trace of it could be seen on Zhu Youjian's face.
He turned the memorials slowly, for beneath his dragon robe, his moon-white inner garment bore several patches. If he moved too abruptly and his outer robe parted, revealing the patches, he, as emperor, would be utterly humiliated.
After leafing through the memorials for a while, he came across one sent by Liang Shixian, the magistrate of Chengcheng County, Shaanxi, which piqued the young emperor's interest.
"Considering the severe disaster in Qin (Shaanxi), whose impact is far from trivial, I humbly request an imperial decree for the Ministry of Revenue to deliberate and immediately grant exemption from the outstanding taxes of the seventh year of Tianqi, and this year's additional land and Liaodong levies. Furthermore, that taxes for the current year be halved, and other military and imperial family expenditures be eased. Otherwise, indeed, to take up the stick against these starving, dying wretches would avail naught. I further implore His Majesty to command the ministries to investigate the great famines of the eleventh and thirteenth years of Wanli in all of Shaanxi, and generously issue funds from the imperial treasury, dispatching officials to provide relief, thereby saving the disaster victims and pacifying the region. In the future, the public's revenues can still be anticipated. If it is said that the imperial treasury is depleted, and all other funds are insufficient, and therefore both tax exemptions and relief are entirely withheld, should a great calamity ensue and the realm be shaken, do not claim that your servant remained silent today."
Zhu Youjian's eyes narrowed. "Audacious! This fellow dares to threaten me, demanding I use the imperial privy purse for disaster relief, and then claims that otherwise the realm will be shaken, and I shouldn't blame him for speaking now? This is preposterous!"
Just as he was about to overturn the table, curse someone out, and order the arrest and execution of this minor county magistrate, he suddenly noticed a thick stack of memorials beneath, all seemingly discussing the same matter. Flipping through them, he saw they were all from civil officials, all addressing the situation in Shaanxi, and each one urged him to draw from the imperial privy purse to save the disaster victims there.
Zhu Youjian's temper flared even higher.
However, if one person angered him, he could have them executed. If a hundred people angered him, even if his fury magnified a hundredfold, he couldn't execute them all.
Zhu Youjian tossed the thick stack of memorials aside, shelving them indefinitely. He would neither grant tax exemptions, nor use his imperial privy purse for disaster relief, nor dispatch anyone to press for tax collection. He would simply leave them there; as long as he didn't see them, the problem didn't exist. The empire was vast; what did it matter if he overlooked a minor place like Chengcheng County for a moment?
He couldn't afford to offend the civil official faction right now; he needed them to get rid of Wei Zhongxian. He had to reclaim his own authority first. Otherwise, if he allowed Wei Zhongxian to continue his arrogance and tyranny, his very throne might be in jeopardy.
----
As for Li Daoxuan, he too enjoyed a rare period of rest.
With the box quiet, he didn't have to constantly monitor it. Each morning, he'd casually drop in some food to ensure the tiny people's basic sustenance. Then he'd switch on his medical nebulizer, letting a gentle mist of rain fall over them, and he was free to arrange his own life.
"Dad, I've made a bit of money recently, and I want to buy you and Mom a new house."
"Oh, Daoxuan, what have you done to earn so much? Have you designed some world-class blueprint?"
"Hahaha, I've been managing a TikTok video account recently, earning money through traffic."
"What? What traffic? Traffic can earn money?"
"Just forget it if you don't understand, Dad! All that matters is you know I've made money. I've already transferred two million to your card; you and Mom should go pick out a new house together."
"This... this... how can we take your money? We have our own house and a pension. You keep your money for yourself, and get a wife first."
"I'm barely twenty; why would I get a wife? My neighbor, Lan Xingyang, that plump fellow, didn't get married until he was thirty-five."
"Even if you're not marrying now, you should save the money for when you do. Your mother and I won't use your money; keep it for yourself. I'll transfer it back to you later."
His father abruptly hung up the phone.
Alright, Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly. He thought: 'You won't be able to transfer it back. Your bank card isn't set up for large transfers, and the activation process is incredibly complicated. You and Mom definitely won't figure it out, hahahahaha.'
He still had plenty of money; he'd earned quite a bit from selling micro-sculptures and toys. He rarely went out, so there was nowhere to spend it. Did he really need to find a wife to help him spend it?
Forget it!
Women only slow my sword-drawing speed; not a priority for now.
Go out for a good meal, watch a movie alone, stroll through Hongyadong alone, see a show at the 1949 Grand Theater alone, listen to a concert alone...
The feeling of freedom was wonderful; it had been a long time since he'd felt this way.
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