Chapter 237: Printing Two Thousand More Copies
Gao Yiye saw the Heavenly Lord's expression and thought it seemed displeased, scaring her stiff. "Oh dear, oh dear... this... this..."
Suddenly, the Heavenly Lord's expression instantly shifted into a smile. "Alright, I'm not angry. I just wanted to ask how many copies were left, that's all."
Gao Yiye let out a sigh of relief. "I knew the Heavenly Lord was the most benevolent!"
Li Daoxuan thought to himself, *The word 'benevolent' makes me sound so old.*
Gao Yiye quickly found San Shier in the crowd. "San Shier, the Heavenly Lord has a question for you."
San Shier replied, "Oh? What divine decree does the Heavenly Lord have?"
Gao Yiye explained, "He wants to know how many copies of 'The Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord's Demon Slayer Chronicle' are still unsold."
San Shier's expression immediately became remarkably vivid, as if thinking, "Ah, the jig is finally up!" Though he didn't utter the words, his face spoke volumes, making it impossible not to feel he was thinking exactly that.
Several seconds later, San Shier snapped back to reality. He clasped his fists respectfully towards the low-hanging cloud in the sky. "'The Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord's Demon Slayer Chronicle' has three hundred and thirty-two copies left. I will immediately burn them all, ensuring they are utterly destroyed."
San Shier quickly replied, "I will also utterly destroy the printing blocks along with them."
Li Daoxuan said, "No need for that. I have a use for these books. Three hundred and thirty-two copies are far too few; I need more. Immediately inform the bookstore to print two thousand more copies. This time, the village treasury will cover the cost of printing."
San Shier was utterly bewildered. *Strange,* he thought. *Not only is the Heavenly Lord not destroying this strange book, but he wants more copies printed? And the Saintess wouldn't have to pay for it; the village treasury would? This could only mean the Heavenly Lord was planning something big.*
But this comic book was already saturated in Gao Family Village. Almost every family had one or two copies; there was no way they'd sell more.
He truly couldn't understand, but he dared not ask too many questions.
Li Daoxuan continued, "Once printed, load them onto carts and send them to Chengcheng County town. A small portion of these books will be handed over to Mrs. San; she will handle them. The rest will be moved into the Chengcheng Bookstore for a promotional event: buy one book, get two taels of flour free. Oh, and each person is limited to one copy."
San Shier exclaimed, "Eh? Huh? H-huh?!"
A few seconds later, he suddenly understood. *So that's it! This was to spread the Heavenly Lord's prestige to more people. And what would happen next was self-evident.*
"I understand!"
Li Daoxuan smiled. "I knew you would understand quickly. Go and make it happen."
San Shier bowed deeply, then hurried off towards the bookstore.
Gao Yiye, however, still didn't understand.
She blinked her innocent eyes, utterly bewildered. She completely failed to grasp what was happening. Her carelessly drawn comic book was now going to be reprinted with village funds, and even transported to the county town!
Wow! Her name was in the author's section, you know!
"Oh no, oh no," she fretted. "If people in the county town see my silly comic book, they'll laugh me to death!"
Gao Yiye: "..."
"Being mischievous was fine," she thought, "but this time, her mischief was going all the way to the county town. Oh heavens, it's over, it's truly over. Everyone in the entire county town would know about Gao Yiye, the naughty girl who drew nonsense!"
Li Daoxuan asked, "Yiye, have you finished drawing the second volume?"
"Huh?" Gao Yiye was a little flustered. "We're printing a second volume too?"
Li Daoxuan replied, "Of course we are! Quickly, get the original manuscript and hand it over to the block carvers. Get the second volume printed as well. And you need to speed up work on the third volume."
Gao Yiye's mind whirled with questions. For a moment, she couldn't tell if the Heavenly Lord was serious with his demands or just teasing her. She felt utterly dizzy.
Li Daoxuan commanded, "Hurry!"
"Oh? Right! Yes, right away!"
Gao Yiye quickly took off, darting back to the watchtower in a flash. She snatched up the manuscript for the second volume and raced towards the bookstore...
The young girl's legs flew rapidly, creating a delightful patter as she ran.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but smile. *This casually drawn comic book might just become the most potent weapon for conquering the county town.* Just then, a group of children caught his eye, heading towards the pond. This immediately drew Li Daoxuan's attention. It was November; surely the children weren't going to play in the water?
Falling into the water in this weather would surely lead to a serious illness, wouldn't it?
He quickly shifted his focus to them.
Only then did he see clearly. The leading child was Young Master Bai, followed by San Shier's daughter and over a dozen slightly older children.
The group walked to the edge of the pond, but thankfully didn't foolishly jump in to play.
Young Master Bai took a bucket, drew a bucketful of water from the pond, and placed it in front of all the children. Then, he picked up a withered leaf from the ground and gently placed it on the water's surface, saying, "Watch, everyone."
The withered leaf floated on the water...
The older children looked on foolishly. "What are we watching? What's so strange about a leaf floating on water?"
Young Master Bai scoffed, "Hey! You blockheads! You only know that a leaf floats on water, but do you know *why* it floats?"
With a flourish, he pulled out his "Middle School Physics" book and declared proudly, "This volume of the Heavenly Book explains that water can produce a force called 'buoyancy.' If this 'buoyancy' is greater than 'gravity,' then an object can float on the water's surface."
The older children looked utterly blank. Both "buoyancy" and "gravity" were completely unfamiliar terms to them.
Young Master Bai continued to chuckle. "You know how a stick, when placed in water, looks as if it's broken?"
The older children nodded.
Young Master Bai chuckled. "That's called 'optical refraction.' This Heavenly Book explains that too."
The older children stared at the "Heavenly Book" in Young Master Bai's hand, their faces full of confusion.
Young Master Bai continued, "And another smart thing I can teach you: high temperatures turn water into vapor, and this moisture-laden air rises into the sky to form clouds. Heh heh, so clouds are just water!"
He had just reached this point when Madam Bai suddenly burst forth from the side, furious. "Utter nonsense! Don't you see the Great Heavenly Lord's cloud floating high in the sky? All clouds are created by immortals casting spells! And you call them mere water vapor? You'll simply enrage me to death! If the Heavenly Lord hears your outlandish talk, he will surely punish you!"
Madam Bai raised her hand and swung a mighty slap.
Usually, Young Master Bai would dutifully take his beating. But this time was different. He actually ducked, easily dodging his old mother's powerful slap. He spun around and stood firm, proudly stating, "Mother, this time I'm speaking knowledge taught by the Heavenly Book, taught by the Heavenly Lord himself. I am not wrong, so I cannot simply take your beating. I ask for your understanding."
Madam Bai stared, "Eh? Huh?"
She looked down at her hand, a little disbelieving.
Her son had dodged her slap for the very first time...
As she stood there, utterly bewildered and at a loss, a large sheet of paper suddenly unfurled in the sky. On it, a line of large characters read: "DO NOT BLINDLY OBEY ELDERS! YOUNG MASTER BAI IS EXCELLENT."
Madam Bai was instantly overjoyed. "The Heavenly Lord! The Heavenly Lord praised my son! Hahaha, the Heavenly Lord said my son is excellent, hahahaha!"
Afterward, she would tell everyone she met that the Heavenly Lord had praised her son as excellent. That phrase she repeated for the rest of her life.
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