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Chapter 129: The Books Are Printed

Li Daoxuan settled onto his small stool, a takeaway container of spicy chicken offal balanced in his hands. Between bites, he watched the artisans begin their printing.

They first prepared a wooden frame the size of a "book page," then meticulously fitted carved wooden blocks, each bearing a reversed character, one by one into the frame, piecing them together until the entire frame was filled.

Next, they spread ink over these blocks, ensuring an even coating.

Finally, they took a sheet of paper and, with a satisfying *thwack*, pressed it down.

When the paper was peeled away, a freshly printed page lay before them.

Wang Scholar darted forward, seizing the sheet with both hands. He didn't even notice the wet ink as a laugh burst from him. "It's printed! Finally, it's printed! The first page of 'Pinyin'! This is incredible! Quickly, print, print! Let's get the entire Heavenly Book printed!"

The two printers, recently "recruited" from the county town, stared, their faces utterly bewildered. Their new master seemed a little unhinged, but then again, who cared? He paid so handsomely! Just work their fingers to the bone, and all would be well.

Print, they would!

"Master, how many copies of this page do you need printed?"

Wang Scholar began, "First, print fifty copies—"

He hadn't finished his sentence when Gao Yiye interjected, "The Heavenly Lord has commanded: the first batch shall be one thousand copies."

"What?" Wang Scholar gasped, quickly bowing towards the sky. "Heavenly Lord, our School Well currently has fewer than twenty students. Fifty copies would be more than enough. A thousand seems a bit..."

Li Daoxuan transmitted, "After one page is done with the movable type, you have to break it down and reassemble the blocks for the next page, right?"

After Gao Yiye relayed the message, the two printers quickly confirmed, "Yes, our type blocks are limited and must be reused. Once the first page is printed, we have to dismantle the movable type and reconfigure the layout for the next page."

Li Daoxuan continued, "Once the type is dismantled, reprinting the first page means reassembling it, which is too much trouble. So, for this first run, let's print more—a full thousand copies. That way, if we run short later, we won't have to reconfigure the layout."

The two printers had no idea who this Heavenly Lord was, nor that His Venerable Self had a penchant for grand gestures. After Gao Yiye relayed the instructions, they quietly mumbled to each other, "If a thousand copies aren't needed, it'll be a waste of paper and ink, and our master will lose money."

Wang Scholar overheard their whispers and chuckled. "You two actually worry about saving us money! Don't worry, the Heavenly Lord never considers saving costs when pursuing a task. If His Venerable Self gives the word, even if it's not a thousand, but a hundred thousand copies, just print them."

The two men exchanged bewildered glances. "???"

As they stood dumbfounded, Gao Yiye announced, "The Heavenly Lord commands: ten labor reform prisoners are to be assigned to assist the paper makers. As for the ink, the Heavenly Lord shall bestow divine ink."

Everyone bowed in unison, except for the two bewildered new printers, who hadn't the faintest idea what to do.

The block printer rushed into the courtyard, setting down a wooden basin even larger than a bathtub. Then, a colossal drop of black liquid suddenly descended from the sky, filling the enormous basin with a series of resonant *thumps*.

A rich, heady scent of ink immediately wafted through the air.

Gao Yiye declared, "Alright, let the printing begin! A thousand copies, remember!"

The two printers exchanged a glance. "..."

Well, print they would!

The two printers, having received generous "artisan-level basic wages," set about their work with diligence.

The first page was printed a thousand times, then the movable type was dismantled. New blocks were found, and the layout was reconfigured for the second page, which was then printed a thousand times. This painstaking process was repeated for many days until all thousand inner pages were finally printed.

Thick paper was then dyed blue and fashioned into covers, and the pages were bound with cotton thread.

Crisp and new, a thousand copies of "Pinyin" were thus completed.

Wang Scholar, beaming with satisfaction, held a fresh "Heavenly Book" and couldn't resist reciting a poem: "The old sage spoke of a Heavenly Book's descent, once carried by crimson clouds to a jade tower."

Of course, he hadn't written the poem himself; he was merely quoting another's verse.

"Hahahaha, let all the children come and receive a copy! One for each, hahahaha!"

Li Daoxuan found it amusing. He reached his hand into the box, hovering it before Gao Yiye. "Yiye, place a book into my hand."

Gao Yiye quickly obeyed, taking a copy of "Pinyin" and, rising onto her toes, carefully placed it onto the tip of Li Daoxuan's finger. As she did, her small hand accidentally brushed against Li Daoxuan's colossal finger, and she couldn't help but think: *Ah, I've touched the Heavenly Lord's hand again.*

Recalling her past pretense as "Madam Li," her cheeks flushed, and she silently scolded herself for such irreverence.

Li Daoxuan withdrew his hand, now holding a tiny book on his fingertip.

It was only a few millimeters in size!

He didn't dare pick it up with his fingers, fearing he might crinkle the delicate paper. Instead, he carefully flattened his finger onto his desk, gently tilting it until the book slid off and settled on the surface. With a magnifying glass in his left hand and the finest tweezers in his right, he delicately lifted the cover and began to turn the pages...

Under the magnifying glass, the rows of Pinyin annotations were absolutely hilarious.

"This is just too much fun," Li Daoxuan chuckled. "Alright, let's try selling some."

He photographed himself flipping through the book with tweezers and looking at it through the magnifying glass. He also took several ultra-close-up, high-definition macro shots of the tiny book. After enhancing the pictures, he uploaded them to an online marketplace with a captivating description: "Experience ultimate miniaturization: a 1:200 scale 'Pinyin' textbook. A tiny book that defies expectation, and yes, the pages turn!"

As for the price, he just picked one—he simply liked seeing a lot of eights.

After this little prank, his attention returned to the box.

San Shier was currently distributing generous rewards to the artisans. He knew the Heavenly Lord's nature: once artisans completed a task, they were to be rewarded, and very handsomely, as was the case now.

San Shier declared, shaking his head with exaggerated gravity, "Luo Leg Hair, the paper maker, is hereby rewarded for his meritorious service in printing with fifty catties of pork, ten catties of sugar, and two catties of salt."

Luo Leg Hair was ecstatic. "Thank you, Heavenly Lord!"

"The block printer and the movable type printers are likewise rewarded with fifty catties of pork, ten catties of sugar, and two catties of salt."

The two new printers had never heard of such terrifyingly generous rewards. Fifty catties of pork alone nearly made them leap for joy, but the next two items were even more astounding: sugar and salt! Ten catties and two catties? "Oh, my heavens!"

"For the first time, it feels truly wonderful to be a craftsman."

"Now I can pay my artisan levy for several years."

"It seems there's a promising future in being a craftsman here."

"Oh, I truly hope the Heavenly Lord gives us something else to do soon."

Li Daoxuan mused, *Want to work? That's the easy part. My only fear is that you won't want to work.*

He smiled and opened his phone. The various elementary school textbooks he'd prepared, especially the math ones, were crucial. Now was the time to start on them.